No, this is not about paedophile Catholic priests, and it's not about Jimmy Saville and Gary Glitter. Well, I suppose in a way it is. I came across this article on the Royal Northern College of Music, where my cousin used to teach (she's 97 now, and a bit past abusing anyone), and I wondered how often accusations of sexual abuse were used as a way of getting back at someone you didn't like, or in short any reason but actual abuse.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/mar/01/one-to-one-music-tuition

My gut feeling is that a substantial proportion of cases are bogus. When I was a teenager, we had a teacher (I'll call him Smith) who delighted in putting his hand down inside the back of a boy's shirt. Of course we all thought he was decidedly queer, but he didn't actually go any further. The fact that he had a cleft palate made him even queerer. Nowadays, I'm pretty sure Smith would be accused of sexual abuse, and the tickling (I suppose you would call it) would be exaggerated into something unspeakable.

Do you really believe all the accusations?

I'll throw in a nice low figure for you.... 1%

It's not so much a question of the abuse but that abuse has knowingly been covered up.

I'll throw in a nice low figure for you.... 1%

It's not so much a question of the abuse but that abuse has knowingly been covered up.

Second sentence.... I thoroughly agree with you. Not only was it appalling PR, but it was morally wrong. What does concern me a little, though, is that the cover-up may have hidden accusations rather than genuine cases of abuse.

The number of genuine cases.... even I wouldn't go that low! But to revert to Mr Smith in my example, if a boy had said, "Mr Smith put his hand right down my back, and touched my crack!", poor Mr Smith would have been in trouble even though he probably didn't do anything of the sort (actually quite difficult to do inside the shirt.... though I haven't tested this by experiment!).

My reason for opening this thread was that I think what is going on in the Catholic Church and elsewhere is a witch-hunt. It's like in the days of witch-hunting, when there was a dotty old woman in the village, they used to throw her into the village pond. If she sank, she was innocent (but dead anyway); if she floated, she was guilty of witchcraft, and they could have all the fun of burning her.

I'll throw in a nice low figure for you.... 1%

It's not so much a question of the abuse but that abuse has knowingly been covered up.

Second sentence.... I thoroughly agree with you. Not only was it appalling PR, but it was morally wrong. What does concern me a little, though, is that the cover-up may have hidden accusations rather than genuine cases of abuse.

The number of genuine cases.... even I wouldn't go that low! But to revert to Mr Smith in my example, if a boy had said, "Mr Smith put his hand right down my back, and touched my crack!", poor Mr Smith would have been in trouble even though he probably didn't do anything of the sort (actually quite difficult to do inside the shirt.... though I haven't tested this by experiment!).

My reason for opening this thread was that I think what is going on in the Catholic Church and elsewhere is a witch-hunt. It's like in the days of witch-hunting, when there was a dotty old woman in the village, they used to throw her into the village pond. If she sank, she was innocent (but dead anyway); if she floated, she was guilty of witchcraft, and they could have all the fun of burning her.

Granted, but when you are involved in perpetuating irrationality within society you should not expect rationality to come to your aid. To do so would be in the very least hypocritical.

I'll throw in a nice low figure for you.... 1%

It's not so much a question of the abuse but that abuse has knowingly been covered up.

Second sentence.... I thoroughly agree with you. Not only was it appalling PR, but it was morally wrong. What does concern me a little, though, is that the cover-up may have hidden accusations rather than genuine cases of abuse.

The number of genuine cases.... even I wouldn't go that low! But to revert to Mr Smith in my example, if a boy had said, "Mr Smith put his hand right down my back, and touched my crack!", poor Mr Smith would have been in trouble even though he probably didn't do anything of the sort (actually quite difficult to do inside the shirt.... though I haven't tested this by experiment!).

My reason for opening this thread was that I think what is going on in the Catholic Church and elsewhere is a witch-hunt. It's like in the days of witch-hunting, when there was a dotty old woman in the village, they used to throw her into the village pond. If she sank, she was innocent (but dead anyway); if she floated, she was guilty of witchcraft, and they could have all the fun of burning her.

Granted, but when you are involved in perpetuating irrationality within society you should not expect rationality to come to your aid. To do so would be in the very least hypocritical.

It's not the Catholics who are conducting this witch-hunt; it's your supposedly more rational non-Catholics. I'm afraid that one just won't wash.

I think in fact you should consider the effect on the child of any kind of sexual abuse isanbirder.

I have no doubt it was and likely still is more common than you may imagine.

These priests hid behind the cloth and were protected by people who should have known better and made choices which would allow forgiveness and trust.

Instead they hushed it up in cowardice and shame. Now they must pay the price for those mistakes.

In my mind they are more than mistakes however....they are crimes in themselves to cover up such disgusting behaviour.

Yes of course there has been hysteria and witch hunts over the child sex abuse issue in some countries. Of course many innocent people are accused and many guilty people are never accused. The answer to the question asked by the OP is that the percentage is unknowable.

I think in fact you should consider the effect on the child of any kind of sexual abuse isanbirder.

I have no doubt it was and likely still is more common than you may imagine.

These priests hid behind the cloth and were protected by people who should have known better and made choices which would allow forgiveness and trust.

Instead they hushed it up in cowardice and shame. Now they must pay the price for those mistakes.

In my mind they are more than mistakes however....they are crimes in themselves to cover up such disgusting behaviour.

It's not just priests, Smokie. Yes, the current hysteria is about priests.... well Jimmy Saville wasn't a priest, nor was the person in my example.

notmyself and I, in posts 2 and 3 of this thread, have already deplored the cover-up.... by the Catholic Church..... and the BBC.

Yes of course there has been hysteria and witch hunts over the child sex abuse issue in some countries. Of course many innocent people are accused and many guilty people are never accused. The answer to the question asked by the OP is that the percentage is unknowable.

Quite true, JT, but I think it's important that people should realise that there is a lot of hysteria about the subject.... and not believe all they hear until the cases concerned have been investigated.