The latest accusations against the Pope and his involvement in covering up the systematic child abuse by Catholic priests and nuns over a period of a decade cannot hide the inhumanity and lack of compassion for those most vulnerable and reveals the irreligious inhumane practices within the Church.
The Catholic Church has been exposed of its direct and deliberate involvement in sexual abusing children throughout the world. Ireland was promised transparency and openness after revelation of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and nuns, Germany has set up telephone support lines for victims of sexual abuse while new scandals of child sexual abuse implicating the Catholic Church are surfacing in Italy .
The word Catholic Church and the Pope is synonymous with the word “paedophile”, ever day new revelations add credence and gravity to this association.
The impact on believers cannot be underestimated, those who have invested their whole life in following the Catholic Church, believing the Pope to be “God” representative on earth just to discover unequivocally that the Catholic Church and many of its representatives have been actively involved in heinous crimes against children breaks the very foundation of their belief system. This will inevitably begins with emotional crisis which will lead to mental break down and loss of “faith” in their present life style and their promise of an afterlife too.
The impact of these revelations and more to follow including those implicating the two other monotheistic religions will leave many believers suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
This situation demonstrates how belief and belief based religions are potentially highly destructive, especially when the truth about their practices and the absence of any substance in their belief is revealed for what it is, empty!
For believers who have been so badly let down, it is important to see oneself with eyes of self-compassion, to accept oneself without judgement and work towards self healing.
EXERCISES:
Self-compassion (by Dav Panesar)
Mindfulness (by Dav Panesar)
