SRA? No Mention Prior. Author ansers questions no one asks

Morandir Armson  157  folkloric ‘shadow’ of the real phenomenon of CSA, filtered through  the religiously biased views of the anti-occult movements, and  reflecting our society’s struggle to face the reality of child sexual  abuse.  This is not the first time that accusations of satanic ritual abuse have  been used to overcome a social problem and to scapegoat unpopular  social groups. Ironically, the oldest known allegations of ritual abuse  were made in the second century CE against the Christian community  in Rome,  73  who were accused of infanticide, cannibalism and ritual  murder, in the same manner as in current SRA reports. One  consequence of these accusations was the massacre of the entire  Christian community of Lyons in 177 CE .  74  After the triumph of  Christianity in Europe, similar charges were leveled against pagans  and Christian heretics. For example, the Manicheans were accused of  making bread by mixing flour and the blood of sacrificed children  75  and the same claims were made about Jews in later centuries.  76  By the  medieval period, the concept of the Black Mass had evolved  77  and  accusations of indulging in it were regularly made against any who  offended the Church.  78  In 1307 CE, the Knights Templar, a knightly  order of crusading monks, were charged with heresy involving  satanic practices.  79  They were found guilty, their assets seized and a  great many were tortured and burned to death.  80  Among the charges  levelled at the Templars were accusations that the knights had  rendered down the fat of slaughtered infants for ritual purposes,  81  committed sexual acts with willing and unwilling partners  82  and eaten  human flesh.  83  The weight of historical evidence indicates that the  73  Ankarloo and Clark, op cit, 119.  74  Ibid, 120.  75  Ibid, 120.  76  Victor, op cit, 75.  77  Guiley, op cit, 26.  78  Ibid, 27.  79  Barber, op cit, 41.  80  E Burman, Supremely Abominable Crimes: The Trial of the Knights Templar  (London, 1998) passim.  81  Ibid, passim.  82  Barber, op cit, passim.  83  Ankarloo and Clark, op cit, 120. 

On a Panegyrical Note  158  charges were false.  84  In the seventeenth century, a number of witch  trials saw the same accusations levelled against a fresh crop of  alleged Satanists,  85  many of whom were convicted by use of forced  confessions and burned to death or hanged.  86  Again, these charges  echo very closely the charges of satanic ritual abuse made by modern  accusers. The allegations made against present day Satanists are  remarkably similar to these earlier examples, suggesting that the  claim of SRA is an older, more culturally and socially ingrained  phenomenon which recurs across history and is designed to scapegoat  unpopular social groups. The lessons of history suggest that such  scapegoating has severe consequences. SRA is arguably a folkloric  motif that floats in the human psyche, a concept which emerges at  certain times and then disappears into the cultural consciousness, only  to reappear at a later time. It is a self-perpetuating social organism,  developed in the archetypal well of Judeo-Christian and Western  cultural symbology.  Those who report satanic ritual abuse are extremely likely to have  been the victims of some sort of sexual abuse in the past and should  be treated with the greatest kindness and compassion. It must be  made clear, however, that Satanists, or occult and New Age groups  mislabelled as satanic, are not responsible for this abuse. Firstly, the  actions described in SRA reports do not correlate with any known  satanic belief or practise held by current organised satanic groups.  Secondly, the overwhelming forensic and statistical evidence  suggests that it is not possible for large, organised groups to  perpetrate the kind of abuse reported. Thirdly, there is evidence of  SRA reports being produced in contexts that create iatrogenic  memories, such as high levels of dissociation, group discussion of  abuse details and leading interviews with children. Fourthly, the  problem of attachment explains the displacement of real perpetrators  onto cultural symbols of evil. Historical evidence suggests that  accusations of SRA have been used in the past as a mechanism for  eradicating unpopular social groups and so managing social  84  Ibid, 120.  85  Guiley, op cit, 43-44.  86  Ibid. 

Morandir Armson  159  problems. The phenomenon of satanic ritual abuse has become  popular in the last thirty years because denial is the first stage of  trauma; as the sexual assault of children has been more widely  acknowledged and reported by the news media, members of Western  society have become traumatised by these disclosures. The reaction to  this has been a generalised attempt to relegate this behaviour to  outsiders, evil forces and criminal conspiracies, rather than to admit  that the perpetrators are likely to be our neighbours, colleagues or  relatives. Satanists are a perfect scapegoat for the average  Westerner’s inability to accept the depth of real horror in their world.  The anti-occult movement has encouraged this displacement, as it  serves their stated aim in the eradication of alternative religions and  New Age groups. As a consequence, the real issue of child sexual  assault is forgotten in the sensationalised search for secret satanic  societies. And occult and minor religious groups are unable to  practice their religion without discrimination, attack or social  condemnation.