<![CDATA[Pressat Main Newswire]]> https://pressat.co.uk/rss/ <![CDATA[Pressat Main Newswire]]> https://pressat.co.uk/media/site/logo.png https://pressat.co.uk/rss/ en-gb Copyright: (C) Pressat Pressat <![CDATA[ WHY PUNISH ME? A first-hand account of clerical abuse ]]> https://pressat.co.uk/releases/why-punish-me-a-first-hand-account-of-clerical-abuse-ccda85bc1d765965f4fde274c4994cc0/ https://pressat.co.uk/releases/why-punish-me-a-first-hand-account-of-clerical-abuse-ccda85bc1d765965f4fde274c4994cc0/ Monday 6 September, 2021

Michael Moloney tells the story of how, as a vulnerable altar boy, he was psychologically and physically abused by Catholic priests. He traces the origins of clerical abuse all the way back to one of the most influential of Church Fathers, Saint Augustine of Hippo.


Earlier this month the UK Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse published a dossier of sexual abuse in religious institutions, and the church remains mired in safeguarding and clerical abuse scandals. Yet, by law every school in Britain must take part in a daily act of Collective Worship.  And every year 20,000 pupils are assigned faith school places against their families’ preferences.


The author explores Augustine’s teaching and suggests this Saint's ideas might play a more influential role in child abuse and adult mental well-being than has generally been recognised in mainstream social science. This thought-provoking book fills a gap in the shelf, lifting the lid on a story of abuse and religious indoctrination which continues to this day.


The title launches online on 29th September, 2021 at 5:30pm GMT. Register here for the launch event  Aimed at parents of school-age children and anyone involved in child-minding or education, the event includes a keynote talk on faith schools by Alastair Lichten, Head of Education at the National Secular Society, followed by an open discussion




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https://mike-moloney.com/media 06 Sep 2021 21:30:02 GMT Education & Human Resources Entertainment & Arts Government Lifestyle & Relationships Opinion Article
<![CDATA[ WHY PUNISH ME? Augustine’s sinful lust unwrapped ]]> https://pressat.co.uk/releases/why-punish-me-augustines-sinful-lust-unwrapped-3661a550815cc61be5ac20773d9eee37/ https://pressat.co.uk/releases/why-punish-me-augustines-sinful-lust-unwrapped-3661a550815cc61be5ac20773d9eee37/ Monday 2 August, 2021

The ‘God Debate’ is given a shot in the arm with this new assault on St Augustine. Available from 29th September, Why Punish Me? is a methodically studied account, initially from a child’s-eye viewpoint, of the shadow cast by Augustine’s fourth century teaching. The author served as altar boy and chorister while attending church boarding schools in Ireland and England, where he faced abuse. Tracing his religious background, he recalls daily prayers of self-censure and remorse, a penitential ritual still practised in many British schools.


He writes “Having a sensitive nature is a positive attribute; it is what makes us human. But imaginative and impressionable individuals are susceptible to corrosive feelings of guilt and shame. These feelings are sharpened by the ritual avowals of self-blame decreed by Augustine, the bedrock of Christian belief in the West.”


The Church of England service admits sin and begs forgiveness or mercy twenty-four times. Grace and love are said twice. Some children in faith schools today recite a shorter, but equally shaming version, often led by a cleric. Schools do not set out to sexualise pupils, but the NSPCC children’s charity lists ‘an authority figure causing a child to feel guilt and shame’ as a known method of child sexual grooming.


The author points out that clerical child sexual abuse is far from a historical problem. The UK independent inquiry reported in 2020 that more than 100 new cases are being recorded every year. Yet nothing in literature explains this deviance credibly. Here the possible influence of drill and doctrine on the sexual abuse of children and the callous neglect found in Ireland’s mother and baby homes, is explored in depth. We see how Augustinian theology, endorsed by teachers in many of Britain’s faith schools, might play a role in clerical child sexual abuse and adult mental well-being.


Why Punish Me? reviews research papers endorsing religiosity and suggests a lack of rigour. Academics tend to shun religion as a field of study and in these pages we discover why. This book is a valuable read for all parents and teachers, indeed anyone involved in education or child care. The distinguished literary reviewer KARL FRENCH comments “It tackles – head-on – an important and pressing subject. …it’s vital stuff. It’s about how we safeguard young people, how we grow up, how we interact with others, how we see ourselves.”


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https://mike-moloney.com/media 02 Aug 2021 08:23:31 GMT Education & Human Resources Entertainment & Arts Government Health Lifestyle & Relationships Media & Marketing