Harry Stemp was born in Uxbridge in 1934. He started his career with the Uxbridge Times-Journal as an apprentice typesetter at age 14. He soon began writing sports for the Times-Journal and eventually owned 10 community newspapers in central Ontario including the Times-Journal. He started writing his award-winning Stemp’s Stew in 1965. The column came to an end shortly after he sold his newspaper chain in 1989, but was rejuvenated in 2006 when Harry became a regular contributor to The Cosmos.
Long-overdue action
Sure hit a nerve with Ms. Kelly Anderson, following my comments re: what is happening to the Roman Catholic Church, as it attempts to deal with the way the Holy See has handled sex abuse cases by priests around the world.
As often happens in these matters, the letter writer attacks the messenger and, in general, ignores the message being delivered.
There is no doubt that sexual abuse of innocent young people is rampant around the world, as Ms Anderson points out. What happens when 'sick' adults are placed in a position of authority and influence over young boys and girls turns the stomach. And the physical and mental damage that is done to those victims calls for much stricter sentencing and not the slap on the wrist that happens in our courts on a regular basis. And how about parole? It was recently learned the Parole Board granted parole to a hockey coach, and he was set free three years ago with no publicity. The family of the victim, the general public and the office of the PM were shocked and shattered by this move by the National Parole Board. It is presently being investigated, and the ruling may be overruled.
Be that as it may. Ms Anderson makes the point that sexual abuse occurs in many, many organizations around the world including the Roman Catholic Church. On that she and I can agree. Where I have a problem is that in all organizations, with the Roman Catholic Church being the exception, the guilty parties are turned over to the police, face the courts and receive their penalties, as criminals should. A recent decision orders the Boy Scout movement in the U.S. to pay an $18.5 million fine for the actions of some of their leaders found guilty of sexual abuse.
What disgusts people is that, until recently, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church did everything possible to keep this blight on their organization a secret. In my way of thinking, this move indicated they were more concerned with their reputation as a leading religious organization around the world, than with the emotional damage it did to their young parishioners. And, sadly, these charges go right to the very top of the church - the office of the Pope and the Pope himself.
In a recent radio interview in Bogota, Colombia, a senior cardinal, Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, defended the Roman Catholic Church's practice of frequently not reporting sexual abusive priests to the police, saying that it would have been like testifying against a family member at trial.
Hello! I always thought the parishioners who were abused were also looked on as family members of the Church. But obviously not as important as those in control.
But later the Cardinal dropped a 'bomb' in the interview when he said that Pope Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was involved in a 2001 decision to praise a French bishop for shielding a priest who was convicted of raping minors. Sad.
On the plus side, the outrage around the world is finally creating action among Roman Catholic Church leaders who find themselves backed into a corner. Pope Benedict recently met personally with sexual abuse victims and promised “church action” to confront the scandals.
That is a step in the right direction. Openly admitting what has been happening and facing the victims. Also taking action to have the accused dealt with through the courts would go a long way to rebuilding a strong reputation for the Roman Catholic Church around the world, if that were to happen.
Among my many friends are a tremendous number of strong Roman Catholic devotees, who are devastated with what is happening in their religious lives.
Not having met Ms Anderson, she is not among that list, but I'm sure she agrees with me that we all hope the Church gets to the bottom of this mess. That Church leaders take steps to weed out the sexual predators who pose as priests and better screen new priests re their sexual preferences. These moves could eventually rebuild the Roman Catholic Church until it is back in the position of being one of the leading religious organizations in the world.
Hopefully this time with no ghosts lurking in the closet.
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Just got a message that the Huck Finn event was a huge success. Always a great day for families to gather around Elgin Pond, cast their lines and hope for the big one. According to my info, that happened when one angler hauled out an 18” trout. Wow! As a child raised in Uxbridge this was not an unusual happening.
Back in the 50's, Harold Cave, owner of the Times-Journal, and an avid fly fisherman, would often be seen heading home with more than one of these big beauties in his basket. But for years now the 'whoppers' have been almost non-existent. Is this a good luck omen for all those anglers who spend hours along the shores of Elgin Pond dreaming of the big 'hit'? Let's hope so.
And a big tip of the hat to the local business people and organizations that support this popular annual event for the enjoyment of our young residents.
