Father Shay Cullen is a priest from Ireland and a member of the Missionary Society of St. Columban. He has devoted his life to rescuing and ministering to child prostitutes in the Philippines since 1969. Cullen is famous for his espionage and undercover activities. He can be described as a spy for Jesus. Sometimes he swaps his clerical robes for the guise of a paedophile tourist. Using hidden video cameras, he visits and exposes the hidden places where children are prostituted and abused. On one occasion in 1995 he infiltrated the brothel of an Australian madam who explained calmly and rationally that this was the ‘cheapest’ sex around. After filming these conversations with pimps and brothel owners, Cullen calls in the police, rescues the children and has the guilty people arrested.
Background Notes
In the Philippines there are an estimated 100,000 children who work as prostitutes. Some of these girls and boys have been sold by their impoverished families into a life of brutal slavery. In the worst forms of enslavement children are chained to beds, abused daily, threatened and tortured, beaten and bruised and made into a plaything for the rich and powerful. Cullen contends that sexual slavery thrives because of corruption which functions at all levels of society. Police officers, judges, and government officials are bribed by the sex offenders and their cases never get to court. Cullen has witnessed many abusers and paedophiles walk free from courtrooms and prisons. A powerful way of talking about Christian faith is to compare and contrast Shay Cullen with Tarzan, the human trafficker. Tarzan has a dangerous faith in the money god that has led him to prison in Panama and the possibility of eternal punishment. Cullen has a dangerous faith in Jesus and this has led him to brothels in the Philippines and the hope of the resurrection body.
Four Ways of Looking at the Story
Materialist faith: “We believe that life is all about consuming things. We believe that children can be bought for sexual pleasure.”
Relativist faith: “We believe that there are no right or wrong answers here. Whatever works for you.”
Karma faith: “We believe that these abused children are being punished for something they did in previous lives.”
Christian faith: “We believe that Jesus weeps for these children. Paedophiles must repent, believe in Jesus and get baptised. If not they will ‘die in their sins’.”
Questions
1) How would you describe the worldview of the Australian brothel owner?
2) How does this story reveal the kingdom of darkness?
3) Can you compare and contrast Shay’s faith with Tarzan’s faith?
Mark is a lively storyteller and the author of four books, including The Spy, the Rat and the Bed of Nails: Creative Ways of Talking about Christian Faith. His work is focused on storytelling and how this can help us to communicate the Christian faith. He has written many articles for the Baptist Times, RE Today, Youthscape, Direction magazine and the Christian Teachers Journal.
- I urge you to follow the Jedi Faith - August 20, 2024
- The Inspiring Story of George Muller and the Orphans - July 25, 2024
- The Inspiring Story of Catherine Booth and the Model Match Factory - July 1, 2024
