Re: Background Checks
From: Elizabeth Magill (pastorlizmgmail.com)
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2022 10:23:17 -0800 (PST)
I think, I hope, there is some way to be against background checks and
at the same time be supportive of the people who crave the safety of
knowing that the people around them will not abuse them.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to check on any priest (or any
man) that wants to join our communities. It's our inner, abused selves
that wants that. It hurts, many of us have been hurt.

We can appreciate that desire, we can support that individual, we can
individually google information.
And at the same time as a community we can decide to not go that route
by asking further questions--what will you find out? How will that be
enough information? What will that actually protect us from? Who will
that hurt along the way?

The reason, in the end, that we decide not to do this is not because
what the individuals want is wrong. What the individuals want is
right. We all want the safety that is being requested.
The problem is that the solution doesn't actually give the individuals
what they want.

With that in mind, I'd ask us to try not to accuse people who want
this safety as not caring about privacy, or overreaching, or really of
anything other than wanting a safe community.

-Liz
(The Rev. Dr.) Elizabeth Mae Magill
Pastor, Ashburnham Community Church
Minister to the Affiliates, Ecclesia Ministries
www.elizabethmaemagill.com
508-450-0431

On Mon, Feb 28, 2022 at 12:39 PM T G <triciamill9 [at] gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Wow, this all sounds like a huge invasion of privacy. Let's post everyone's
> > medications, what they are for, and what happens if they go off them?  Does
> > being a part of a cohousing community mean your privacy is gone? AND like
> > someone else stated, most people are abused by someone they trust who
> > hasn't been caught yet. I would be warry of some of the cohousing marketing
> > talking about how great a place it is to raise children because they can
> > trust all of their neighbors. I have seen some of that and it is
> > worriesome. Just because you know everyone, doesn't mean you should give
> > your children a false sense of security that they can blindly trust (priest
> > abuse is a good example given here). It might be a great place to raise
> > children for many other reasons, but be cautious of this as an example.
> > Everyone has skeleton's in their closet. You can't know them all and most
> > likely a background check won't find them. How many women have been abused
> > by a spouse only to have people say "we had no idea he was abusive!"? I
> > have known people in my life that I would never have guessed were abusive
> > to their loved ones or others.
> >
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