Minnesota Minister No Longer On The Lam

Almost a year ago, John Walsh featured a story on The Hunt about a christian minister in Minnesota who had inappropriate sexual relationships with underage females in his church. Is this becoming a familiar scenario with christianity? Or at least, christianity in the Midwest? During the 1990's, a creep named Victor Barnard started a church in Minnesota so that he could entice the young, female daughters of his parishioners to move in with him, in a camp-like compound he built, while holding them hostage. He got the permission of their parents to keep them there, so the teenage girls had no say. Wow......gotta hate christianity sometimes! How could parents allow this? Barnard isn't really unique, either; Catholic parents have been ignoring their childrens' claims of clerical abuse for centuries.

Minnesota decided to find out what the rumors and claims of abuse surrounding Reverend Barnard were all about in 2012, but the good reverend moved his pimping operation to the state of Washington. At that point, it became national affair, rather than merely limited to Minnesota, so the FBI got involved. When enablers of the reverend "annunciated" to him that authorities were still hot on his trail, he picked up and moved to Brazil. It appears that his happened last year, but the story is still unfolding. Interpol got involved, and he was caught in Rio Grande last week, with a Brazilian enabler.

What is it, about Jesus, that makes his legend and persona so convenient for sex offenders and child abusers? And why don't they carry on their abuse with people their own ages, in a safe, sane, and consensual manner? What is it, about these clerical authority figures, that drives them to seek out relationships and isolated encounters with victims, rather than finding willing partners? Is it more holy, according to christian doctrines, to defile one's self with an unwilling child, and either ruin the child's life or kill the child, than it is to just admit that one is a pervert and find an equally corrupt adult? And what's with these parents who allow this crap, and don't put a stop to it when they discover it? Why would anyone cover for these people? Don't they love their children? One might accuse Barnard of starting a cult, but is this story unique to his operation? John Walsh covered it, and the media also made Barnard famous, but there have been so many reports lately involving clergy gone wild that we can no longer ignore the fact that Judeo-Christian religions somehow attract and propagate filth.

How can parents of clerically abused children continue to send them to church? When does enough become enough? Are social connections to abusers that important to these dumbass parents? Are the courts really deaf to the complaints of victims, particularly when voiced in unison? And even if the courts don't care, is it really that hard for an individual parent to look at the socially approved crime objectively and keep children away from it?