Sex and Religion
Two stories have converged recently in the press regarding sex and religion that I want to comment on for a minute. The first story is about how Pope Benedict has apologized and spoken out about the Catholic Church's sexual abuse history and how he has met with some of the victims to express his sincere sorrow at their situations. This is a good step and one that I commend Pope Benedict on taking. The Catholic Church is still going through the healing stage of this abuse and the Pope has done the right thing by confronting the issues head on.
On the other hand, we have the polygamy sect in TX that was broken up recently by authorities. Here is a religious sect that believes impregnating 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 year old girls is a fine way to go about growing their ranks. Now, my libertarian streak tells me that if a man and a multiple number of woman who are all consenting adults want to practice polygamy, who am I to tell them that they can't? But on the other hand, if such practice involves having sex with girls under the age of 18, that's against the law and all of our resources should be brought to bear in stopping such an act. You can read about the TX case HERE and HERE, in addition to reading about how many polygamists blend into our society HERE.
Please know that I am the last person who wants to tell someone how they should practice their own religion... that is a personal decision that has nothing to do with me or the government. However, when people use their religion to prey on children, as they have in both the Catholic Church abuse cases and with what is being reported in TX, that is against the law and the full force of our law enforcement should be brought against these perpetrators.
On the other hand, we have the polygamy sect in TX that was broken up recently by authorities. Here is a religious sect that believes impregnating 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 year old girls is a fine way to go about growing their ranks. Now, my libertarian streak tells me that if a man and a multiple number of woman who are all consenting adults want to practice polygamy, who am I to tell them that they can't? But on the other hand, if such practice involves having sex with girls under the age of 18, that's against the law and all of our resources should be brought to bear in stopping such an act. You can read about the TX case HERE and HERE, in addition to reading about how many polygamists blend into our society HERE.
Please know that I am the last person who wants to tell someone how they should practice their own religion... that is a personal decision that has nothing to do with me or the government. However, when people use their religion to prey on children, as they have in both the Catholic Church abuse cases and with what is being reported in TX, that is against the law and the full force of our law enforcement should be brought against these perpetrators.
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