Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Friday, March 1, 2019
Emma Chang
Joel Danilewitz
Samantha Goldstein
Emily Huhman
Tara Jayaram
Jeremy Kaplan
Elias Khoury
Magdalena Mihaylova
Ellery Rosenzweig
Jason Rowland
Anu Roy-Chaudhury
Alex Satola
Ashley Zhang
Erin White
FINNTAN STORER
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Editor in Chief
MAGDALENA MIHAYLOVA
AND JOEL DANILEWITZ
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Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of The Daily’s Editorial Board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
As an editorial board,
we express our solidarity
with
victims
of
clerical
abuse
and
urge
serious
ramifications and judicial
impositions on members of
the Catholic Church on both
local and national levels, so
as to encourage true change
within the institution.
Pope
Francis
will
soon
issue
a
document
motu proprio — a rescript
initiated and issued by the
pope of his own accord
and apart from the advice
of others, as defined by
Merriam Webster — which
shows his commitment to
offering
some
concrete
proposals. But how realistic
is it to believe that the same
institution that sponsored
this abuse will now root
it out? Defrocking priests
who
engage
in
sexual
abuse
should
have
been
a consistent policy of the
Catholic Church. Instead,
we know that the opposite
occurred.
In
the
United
States,
the
2002
Boston
Globe
investigation
of
clergy
sex abuse in the Roman
Catholic
Archdiocese
of
Boston
revealed
a
vast
network
of
cover-ups
and
institutionalized
sexual abuse. The face of
public
relations
for
the
Catholic Church following
that
scandal,
Theodore
McCarrick,
was
recently
defrocked from his position
as a U.S. Cardinal after he
was found to have solicited
sex during confession and
sexually abused both minors
and adults. About one-third
of living U.S. bishops have
been accused of ignoring
cases of sexual misconduct
in
their
dioceses,
while
at
least
15
bishops
are
themselves
accused
of
committing sexual abuse.
Sexual
abuse
by
the
Catholic
Church
is
a
public safety threat to U.S.
citizens,
and
since
the
Church has proved unable
to police itself, it is now the
turn of legislators to step in
and protect the American
people. American Catholics
represent
over
one-fifth
of the population, and our
governing bodies need to
do a better job of defending
the rights of victims as well
as taking a stronger role in
prosecuting those involved.
Instead
of
providing
a
clear
and
actionable
response
plan
to
abuse
within the church, Pope
Francis has only offered
“reflection
points”
to
drive
the
conversation
surrounding
the
issue.
Since the Catholic Church
has shown an inability to
police itself, we at The
Daily believe that tangible
policy changes, as well as
some cooperation between
the Catholic Church and
state governments, are the
only path forward to help
protect
Americans
from
what should be described as
a serious danger to Catholic
Americans.
The issue of clerical sex
abuse is a deeply ingrained
problem within the Church
and has no simple solution.
It is difficult to overcome
the immense wrongs of the
Catholic
Church
without
taking its vast power and
institutional
influence
into
consideration,
while
still acknowledging its role
in religious and cultural
practice. As an Editorial
Board,
we
recognize
these
factors
and
again
emphasize the importance
of changes in policy and
judicial relations between
the state and Church in
order to protect Catholic
Americans.
Through
this
acknowledgement,
we
propose several amendments
that
can
be
utilized
to
make the Church a safer
institution.
Almost as deplorable as
the abuse itself is the web
of cover-ups among church
officials, and encouraging
reporting to outside entities
is a way for victims to have
an objective, legal voice.
Allotting social workers or
representatives to serve as
a resource for members of
the Church can ensure that
victims
are
being
heard
and represented to the full
extent of the law, while
simultaneously
holding
abusers
accountable
for
their crimes. Furthermore,
in the hopes of increasing
reporting, we urge the U.S.
government to get involved
legislatively
by
extending
the statutes of limitations
for these crimes. Reporting
crimes
—
especially
sex
abuse — is a trying process,
and allowing victims more
time to process their trauma
and choose a course of action
will give more victims the
ability
to
report,
while
re-emphasizing the fact that
abusers of any era need to
face
severe
ramifications.
We also implore Michigan
Attorney
General
Dana
Nessel to increase judicial
action in regards to clerical
abuse. This is already a
part of her platform, and
we encourage it to be taken
seriously
and
extended
across the country.
The
Catholic
Church’s
lack of willingness to self-
regulate in the aftermath of
these crimes is indicative
of a threat to the safety of
Catholic Americans across
the nation, and symbolic
condemnations
are
not
enough to overcome this
long-standing problem. The
absence of tangible policy
change is inexcusable and
underscores
the
Church’s
position as an institution
that cares little about the
victims it has left in its path.
The number of allegations
and scandals has reached a
point where we can no longer
expect them to hold their
own
leaders
accountable,
and we therefore must urge
our own policymakers and
attorney generals to enforce
greater action to protect
the public from clerical sex
abuse.
DYLAN BERGER | COLUMN
The catastrophic failure of socialism in Venezuela
W
hile
it’s
nearly
impossible
to
imagine
now,
Venezuela
was
one
of
the
wealthiest nations in the world
until the 1990s. With a healthy
democracy
and
burgeoning
middle class, Venezuela was
poised to remain prosperous for
generations to come. Following
the rise of socialism in Venezuela,
however, that all changed. The
people of Venezuela are now
forced to endure unimaginable
suffering due to a socioeconomic
collapse brought about by failed
socialist policies. Shockingly,
the type of big government that
has caused so much needless
suffering in Venezuela is now
popular in the United States.
We must learn from Venezuela
and reject socialist policies that
breed human misery.
When
I
use
the
word
socialism, I mean the wholesale
government takeover of the
economy.
That
is,
out-of-
control government spending,
socialized
medicine,
price
controls and the like. I feel the
need to define socialism because
the word means a lot of different
things to different people. In our
discourse today, there is much
disagreement over who or what
qualifies as socialist and for that
reason, I think it is necessary to
define the term.
Before the onset of socialism,
Venezuela was a true economic
powerhouse. In the 1960s and
1970s, the country produced
10 percent of the world’s crude
oil and maintained a GDP per
capita approaching that of the
United States. At the same
time, Venezuela could boast
a
democratic
government.
Elections occurred at regular
five-year intervals and were
contested peacefully by political
parties committed to democracy
and sensible economics. While
the country persisted for some
time after, the seeds of the
inevitable decline of this thriving
socioeconomic
system
were
sown with the nationalization of
the Venezuelan oil industry.
Former
Venezuelan
President Carlos Andrés Pérez
argued that more government
control over the oil industry
would benefit the people instead
of greedy industrialists. In 1976,
he created a state oil monopoly
called Petróleos de Venezuela
(PDVSA) and banned foreign
companies from the Venezuelan
oil market. When a global oil
glut hit the industry in the mid-
1980s, the Venezuelan state
proved unable to cope with the
market change. Within 10 years
of nationalization, Venezuelan
oil production fell by roughly 50
percent to less than two million
barrels a day.
Instead
of
embracing
market reforms, the people
of Venezuela turned to even
more
extreme
government
intervention to turn around the
economy. In 1998, Venezuela
elected self-proclaimed Marxist
Hugo
Chávez
as
president
of Venezuela. After he was
elected in a landslide, Chávez
promised cheering supporters,
“Venezuela’s
resurrection
is
underway
and
nothing
and
nobody can stop it.”
Unfortunately, the socialist
policies
implemented
by
Chávez
proved
devastating
to Venezuela’s economy and
society.
Chávez
instituted
aggressive
policies
to
redistribute wealth from select
industries and individuals to his
working-class constituency. For
example, Chávez nationalized
the Banco de Venezuela, or Bank
of Venezuela, and the nation’s
largest
telecommunications
company,
CANTV.
To
cope
with rising inflation resulting
from nationalization, Chávez
implemented price controls on
a wide array of basic necessities.
By the time Nicolás Maduro
was elected president following
Chávez’s 2013 death, Venezuela’s
economy was in full free-fall. By
over-inserting the government
into the economy, Venezuela’s
socialist leaders have brought
about the disintegration of the
country’s economy and society.
Venezuela has been brought to
its knees by poverty, corruption
and hunger.
The Venezuelan economy
has halved in size over the past
five years and inflation has
reached above 2 million percent
annually. The Venezuelan people
are
enduring
unimaginable
suffering as a result of this
crisis. Due to food shortages,
the average Venezuelan lost
24 pounds in body weight
during 2017 alone. With an 85
percent shortage of medicine,
Venezuela’s entire healthcare
system is at risk of total
collapse. More than 3 million
Venezuelans
have
fled
the
country, desperately searching
for a better life.
Venezuelans are no longer
willing to sit idly by while their
great country is ravaged by man-
made disaster. Being faced with
resounding defeat at the ballot
box, Maduro jailed potential
opponents
and
threatened
others in the run up to the May
2018 election. Following this
fraudulent
election,
Maduro
is using state security services
to hang onto power in spite of
his people’s wishes. Make no
mistake, Maduro has morphed
into a full-blown dictator willing
to watch his people suffer so he
can hang onto political power.
The world must support the
Venezuelan people in their quest
to liberate themselves from
the scourge of despotism. I’m
confident that the Venezuelans
will
emerge
victorious
in
their quest for the restoration
of prosperity and individual
liberty.
While
the
Venezuelans
struggle to free themselves
from a socialist system, an
increasing number of Americans
are fighting for one here. In
fact, a 2018 Gallup poll found
that 57 percent of Democrats
view
socialism
positively
while 45 percent of those aged
18 to 29 favor socialism over
capitalism.
Illustrating
this
trend
of
increased
support
for
socialism,
leading
2020
presidential contender Bernie
Sanders openly identifies as a
“Democratic Socialist.” Sanders
has pledged to “... create an
economy that works for all, not
just the very wealthy.” While
we all can support an economy
that works for everyone, the
socialist
policies
creeping
into the mainstream of our
society would do anything but.
Replacing human innovation
with a big government proves
destructive to any society.
A
plethora
of
such
destructive socialist policies is
currently finding burgeoning
support among the American
electorate. For example, U.S.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
D-N.Y.,
has
introduced
the
Green New Deal. This initiative
would rob the American people
of consumer choice, raise taxes
and lead to countless job losses.
As further evidence of this
trend, a significant number of
2020 Democratic presidential
contenders such as Sen. Kamala
Harris,
D-Calif.,
and
Sen.
Elizabeth
Warren,
D-Mass.,
have come out in support of the
elimination of private health
insurance in favor of government
control.
Unfortunately,
the
Venezuelans know this kind
of state takeover all too well.
Campaigning under the guise
of equality, socialist leaders
there robbed the country of
its prosperity and democracy
while
enriching
themselves.
Socialism
is
destructive
wherever
it’s
implemented
due to its desire to repress
individual liberty in favor of
absolute power for the state.
However, the human spirit
always triumphs. There’s no
socialist system strong enough
to quash our innate desire to
be free from the constraints of
absolute government control.
The American people must
reject socialism so that we never
face the same terrible plight as
our Venezuelan neighbors.
Dylan Berger can be reached at
dylberge@umich.edu.
FROM THE DAILY
Calling for action on the Catholic Church
O
n
Sunday,
Pope
Francis
concluded
an
unprecedented global summit addressing the
widespread issue of clerical sex abuse in the
Catholic Church. The Church has been at the center
of a massive scandal involving sexual misconduct,
implicating members of the Church from local priests
to the highest-ranking cardinals. It has also become
clear that clerical sex abuse was something of an
open secret among members of the clergy, creating
a culture of cover-ups and protection of offending
priests. Though Pope Francis delivered strong words
against perpetrators of abuse in his closing remarks,
declaring an “all-out battle”against sexual predators,
many were left unsatisfied by what seemed to be a
speech devoid of tangible solutions.
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