to think that what the BBC have done wrt to Jimmy Saville is as bad as the Catholic church?

[ethelb]

Just that really. The BBC appear to have been involved in an insitutionalised cover up of Jimmy Saville's behaviour, with people knowing but keeping quiet for years.

AIBU to think it is just as bad as the behaviour of the catholic church wrt to peodophile priests?

do you know the findings of the investigation already? can you link to them please OP

I said "appear". As in quite a few people within the bbc have come out and said they knew about it all along. They have only just started the investigation afaia.

Well, jimmy was also a knight commander of st Gregory the great (kcsg), and those are given BY the Pope.

read about it here

why bring the catholic church into it?

Why not compare it to insitutionalised cover up of sexual abuse in childrens homes in the 60's and 70's?

Or is this thread just another pop at the catholic church?

Similar alright - have said as much myself. Though no quite on scale

Yes, I do think it's as bad, although not worldwide. Much the same happened in the Church, and children were not believed. "Wicked girl/boy for making up stories about Father xxxx, who is a saint, blah, blah". Although my husband was an altar boy and he said that the priests he came across weren't like that, so they obviously weren't all bad.

And no ivykaty44 we don't know the findings of the investigation, but there are so many stories coming out now that it's hard not to believe.

Yeah but it's not just the BBC is it (obviously pending the outcome of the inquiry)? What about the hospitals, schools, care homes, and prisons that allegedly turned a blind eye to what he was doing? Or, as this excellent Julie Bindel article points out, what about the police and their failure to investigate allegations properly while Saville was alive?

I think it's simplistic and not very helpful to pin it all on the beeb. Child abuse is sadly widespread. Life would be a bit simpler if it was all down to one rotten apple in one organisation.

YANBU but as others have said, it's certainly not only these organisations or people who have covered up such information.

Appear to be - why not wait until there are facts laid out?

I don't know what this man did - I only know what he is accused of doing. I don't know whether the BBC covered up the crimes he is accused - yet

So why not wait a while.

Of course if you feel really strongly then you can stop paying the bbc and get rid of your tv until they have there investigation

I think it is easy to forget that, two or three decades ago, sexual exploitation of children just wasn't given the same weight as it is today.

My mother used to send me and my sister to "visit" an elderly chairbound neighbour when we were at primary school. She was teaching us to be altruistic and socially responsible. Actually, he used to kiss us on the lips and grope us. We told her but she still sent us!

When we have talked to her about it as adults she is slightly horrified at her younger self. But that is now. That was then.

Actually, this kind of makes the cover-up which happened in the RC church and in organisations like children?s homes in the 60?s more understandable (but not legitimate, acceptable or OK in anyway). These were the attitudes to women until very recently. The BBC as an institution is no better or worse than the RC church. Although, I guess you would have thought that an organization which says it?s committed to equal rights for women would have been a bit better.

Of course it isn't. One person versus thousands. Can't you appreciate scale at all?

The reason I am asking is because, as a Catholic, people have frequently suggested that I shoudl leave the church because of the absue. There have been threads on here where people have stated quite explicity that they think that practicing Catholics are complicit in child abuse by giving money to the church. I am just surprised there has been so little vitrol in the same vein against the BBC etc. I am just wondering what the difference was.

"Well, jimmy was also a knight commander of st Gregory the great (kcsg), and those are given BY the Pope."

What's that got to do with anything?

I think decent people should stay within the church and change things from within. It's your church just as much as anyone else's - why a certain sort of person get to take it over?

I take your point, ethel.

Are BBC journalists going to leave the beeb because of what has been going on? Of course not. For the same reasons I didn't stop being a Catholic, though you can be damn sure that if I see something I don't like the look of, I kick up a fuss. Last year I emailed the bishop because I found out that some priests had not attended a child protection session they were supposed to go to. He sent back a very quick and horrified response and promised to look into it.

GoSakuramachi I do appreciate scale. And I don't want to invoke Godwins law here, but pewople don't look at a murderer and go, oh well, at least he wasn't Hitler. It's kind of not the point.

I presume the child protection/vulnerable adults sessions are national because the Methodist Church has been doing the same? Those who don't attend the session are to be stopped from dealing with children/vulnerable adults.

@lavolcan what's your point?

My point was that all organisations need to be vigilant. In the case of the Methodist Church a list was drawn up and we had to sign in when we attended. Those who haven't done so will be chased up, and stopped working if they refuse to attend.

I am just saying that you need to have tightly drawn up procedures to make sure no one slips through the net.

"One person versus thousands. Can't you appreciate scale at all"

That assumes that there was only one person in the BBC abusing children. Presumably initially there was only one priest thought to be abusing children, and then more were found out.
If it was really as widely known that a single person was abusing children as people are now making out, but nothing was done/believed etc then I would imagine that there was a lot more than one person involved (directly, as opposed to 'knowing about others).

Exactly, all this stuff about Freddie Star. I'm not saying he has done anything but what if other stuff comes out of the woodwork. As people have mentioned not questioning peodophiles was pretty normal and being a celeb meant you got away with it. Who's to say there hasn't been a bigger scale cover up like the catholic church.

I have to say it is odd that eople are giving the catholic church the benefit of the doubt, which is never something the catholic church got or will ever get again. Not that it should. I am just surpised attitudes are so different.

Well it has a lot to do with it if you believe in conspiracy theories. Just ignore my comment!

what's the conspiracy? That the Pope gave Jimmy Saville the honour to encourage paedophillia cover ups or something?

Are people giving the Catholic Church the benefit of the doubt? I didn't think they were. The scale of the abuse seems to have been worse in Ireland and parts of the USA but presumably those were areas where the priests were deferred to more than in England, Wales and Scotland.