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PDF versionCredibility gap: Pope needs to answer questions
We now face the largest institutional crisis in centuries, possibly in church history
Mar. 26, 2010
Peter Isely, left, speaks to journalists as Barbara Blaine displays a picture of herself as a child and a banner saying, "Expose the Truth! Stop Secrecy," as they take part in a demonstration against child sexual abuse by clergy, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican March 25. (CNS photo/Alessandro Bianchi, Reuters)
The Holy Father needs to directly answer questions, in a credible forum, about his role -- as archbishop of Munich (1977-82), as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1982-2005), and as pope (2005-present) -- in the mismanagement of the clergy sex abuse crisis.
We urge this not primarily as journalists seeking a story, but as Catholics who appreciate that extraordinary circumstances require an extraordinary response. Nothing less than a full, personal and public accounting will begin to address the crisis that is engulfing the worldwide church. It is that serious.
To date, as revelations about administrative actions resulting in the shifting of clergy abusers from parish to parish emerge throughout Europe, Pope Benedict XVI's personal response has been limited to a letter to the Irish church. Such epistles are customary and necessary, but insufficient.
With the further revelations March 26 by The New York Times that memos and meeting minutes exist showing that Benedict had to be at least minimally informed that an abuser priest was coming into the archdiocese of Munich and that he further had been assigned without restrictions to pastoral duties, it becomes even more difficult to reconcile the strong language of the pope in his letter to Irish bishops and his own conduct while head of a major see.
No longer can the Vatican simply issue papal messages -- subject to nearly infinite interpretations and highly nuanced constructions -- that are passively "received" by the faithful. No longer can secondary Vatican officials, those who serve the pope, issue statements and expect them to be accepted at face value.
We were originally told by Vatican officials, for example, that in the matter of Fr. Peter Hullermann, Munich Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger approved the priest's transfer to the archdiocese, but had no role in the priest's return to parish ministry, where he again molested children. Rather, it was Fr. Gerhard Gruber, archdiocesan vicar general at the time, who, according to a March 12 Vatican statement, has taken "full responsibility" for restoring the priest to ministry. Gruber, subsequent to his statement, has not made himself available for questions.
We are told, moreover, that the case of Hullermann is the single instance during Ratzinger's tenure in Munich where a sexually errant priest was relocated to a parish where he could molest again. If true, this would be a great exception to what, in the two-and-a-half decades NCR has covered clergy abuse in the church, has been an ironclad rule: Where there is one instance of hierarchical administrative malfeasance, there are more.
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Given memos and minutes placing the pope amid the discussions of the matter, we are asked to suspend disbelief even further.
Context of mismanagement
The first reported clergy sex abuse stories, dating back in NCR to 1985, focused on the misconduct of priests who had been taken to court by parents of molested children -- parents who had gone to church officials, but received no solace. Instead, what they received from church officials was denial and counter accusation.
Almost from the beginning of the coverage of these trials, it was clear the clergy sex abuse story had two consistent components: the abusing priest and the cover-up by the bishop.
The story grew as more survivors of abuse came forward. What soon became evident was that this was not primarily a story of wayward priests, but of an uncannily consistent pattern by individual bishops. In nearly every instance, bishops, faced with accusations of child abuse, denied them, even as they shuffled priests to new parishes, even as they covered up their own actions.
The story was first flushed out in the United States and soon across Canada. By the year 2000, sex abuse accusations were turning up across the globe. In the United States, the scandal flared anew in 2002 when a judge released thousands of pages of documents dealing with the sex abuse scandal in the Boston archdiocese. Suddenly, ordinary Catholics had access to the patterns involved in the cover-up and to the unfiltered language of memos and legal depositions and letters that outlined how church officials sought to protect perpetrators and marginalize their victims. All at once, the public outrage was commensurate with the hierarchy's outrageous behavior. The story would repeat itself around the country: Wherever documents were released or legal authorities conducted investigations, the depth of clerical depravity and the extent of hierarchical cover-up were far greater than previously acknowledged by church authorities.
Knowing they had an unprecedented crisis of credibility and facing potential multibillion-dollar liability, the U.S. bishops met in Dallas in June 2002. The whole world, represented by more than 800 members of the press, was watching.
There the prelates unveiled what came to be a "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People." It was intended to protect children from molestation, establishing a "one strike and you're out" policy for offending priests. It did nothing, however, to hold accountable individual bishops who engineered the cover-up.
By early 2001, responsibility for managing the church's response to the ongoing crisis was delegated to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by Cardinal Ratzinger. The Vatican, by then, viewed the crisis as beyond the boundaries of any one national church.
Crisis crosses borders
In the last decade the story has not gone away. Rather it has continuously reared its head in nation after nation, especially in those countries with a free press and independent judicial system. A dominant characteristic of this story is that where and when it has emerged it has done so without the aid of church hierarchy. To the contrary, it has taken lawsuit after lawsuit, investigative report after investigative report, to bring this horrendous story to necessary light.
Another part of the pattern of this dispiriting tale is that church officials have never been in front of the story. Always late, always responding, and, therefore, at every step of the way losing credibility. This seemed to be the case once again with Benedict's pastoral letter to Irish Catholics.
By the time he issued the letter, the story had moved to his native country, Germany, and had touched him personally. In the past two months, there have been more than 250 accusations of sex abuse in Germany. From the German Catholic viewpoint, the pope's failure to mention anything about these abuse cases has pained them deeply and added to suspicions that the former archbishop of Munich has lost touch with his people.
Inexorably, a story that began with reports on trials in a few U.S. cities a quarter century back has now moved up the Catholic institutional ladder -- from priests to bishops to national bishops' conferences and to the Vatican itself. This last step is the one we see emerging this month. The new focus is unlikely to end anytime soon.
Time for answers
The focus now is on Benedict. What did he know? When did he know it? How did he act once he knew?
The questions arise not only about his conduct in Munich, but also, based also as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. A March 25 Times story, citing information from bishops in the United States, reported that the Vatican had failed to take action against a priest accused of molesting as many as 200 deaf children while working at a school from 1950 to 1974. Correspondence reportedly obtained by the paper showed requests for the defrocking of the priest, Fr. Lawrence Murphy, going directly from U.S. bishops to Ratzinger, then head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, and Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, now the Vatican secretary of state. No action was taken against Murphy.
Like it or not, this new focus on the pope and his actions as an archbishop and Vatican official fits the distressing logic of this scandal. For those who have followed this tragedy over the years, the whole episode seems familiar: accusation, revelation, denial and obfuscation, with no bishop held accountable for actions taken on their watch. Yes, there is a depressing madness to this story. Time after time, this is a story of institutional failure of the deepest kind, a failure to defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a failure to put compassion ahead of institutional decisions aimed at short-term benefits and avoiding public scandal.
The strategies employed so far -- taking the legal path, obscuring the truth, and doing everything possible to protect perpetrators as well as the church's reputation and treasury -- have failed miserably.
We now face the largest institutional crisis in centuries, possibly in church history. How this crisis is handled by Benedict, what he says and does, how he responds and what remedies he seeks, will likely determine the future health of our church for decades, if not centuries, to come.
It is time, past time really, for direct answers to difficult questions. It is time to tell the truth.
This is a hard-hitting and
This is a hard-hitting and wonderful article, marshaling all of the depressing facts of the sex abuse crisis. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse myself (not by a priest), my sympathies are always with the victims. There are two things to point out here--when survivors read of another abuse case coming to light and its subsequent cover-up, they suffer from PTSD. They don't just "remember" their abuse, they actually re-live it, in all of its horrifying reality. The second point is this: whenever the church put its reputation above the welfare of its most vulnerable citizens--the children--the church was (and is) guilty of idolatry. In its worst form.
I don't see any good ending to this story. I do not see Ratzinger stepping up to the plate, calling for transparency, and actually bringing to justice those who perpetrated the abuse. Unfortunately, nothing less will do.
This will be hard to believe
This will be hard to believe but the pope does have the power to turn the corner on this even at this very late date.
He is the only one who can but it depends on whether he has the will to do it. It will cost him everything and I do mean everything.
The curia has its own vested interest in opposing the pope but, again, the pope is the only one who has the power. He is the most knowledgeable of anyone about this given his former position as Head of the Holy Office. He knows. He always knew.
What will he have to do? Take the next step to start with.
For years he has been saying how sorry, etc., etc., he was and is that this happened. His sincerity is not doubted but he has not followed up by taking the next step.
He has apologized for "any mistakes that may have been made," much like Boston's Cardinal Law and the American bishops have said but they never actually ever said they were sorry for what they individually did or did not do, they never admitted that in so many cases that they committed crimes or were complicit in the commission of crimes.
While every country, Ireland, the States, Australia, Germany, etc., has its own variation on this horrid theme, the bishops, generally, have not admitted guilt. In the U.S. they have not.
In the United States no bishop, not even Cardinal Law, left his diocese in disgrace. Law was actually rewarded with his present position. He got to vote for Benedict XVI, he heads important church committees and such.
Auxilary bishops in Boston received their own dioceses like William Murphy and John McCormack to name just two.
Mostly the Catholics I have talked to fall into two groups. Those who have walked away from the institution, although they still think of themselves as "Catholic" and they always will be, and those who are angry and want to help in the reformation of the church. Voice of the Faithful members, www.votf.org have joined with others, the movement for an American Catholic Council, www.americancatholiccouncil.org, to start that going. Bishops in the U.S. and I suspect other countries have as we say, "cut a deal" with individual state prosecutors to avoid being charged criminally.
Yes, the church has lost its way. Leadership, all male remember, has failed big time but why?
Unless the pope admits that there were broad, fundamental, systemic and endemic reasons that allowed, permitted, facilitated this happening and then works with all interested parties to correct those flaws, developing a new paradigm for governmental leadership in the church, the church will evenually bleed out.
The church's ministry is pastoral. It should be reaching out in every way possible, first to victim/survivors then to all members who have been affected by this this. The bishops should be welcoming of any group that wants to help, but they aren't very welcoming.
Leadership hasn't really been doing this, they refuse to meet with people, they bad mouth groups like Voice of the Faithful and they continue in the U.S. to viciously oppose statute of limitation reform in the individual states by the power of the states' Catholic conferences, and remember, we have 50 of them!
No, actions need to follow words. They need to speak Truth to Power and they haven't done that.
Actions have consequences and bishops in the U.S. should be removed from office as should some in other countries.
They have failed the People of God.
Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
Victims' Advocate
New Castle, Delaware, USA
maureenpaulturlish@yahoo.com
To accuse Ratzinger or even
To accuse Ratzinger or even the US bishops involved in these questions of obstructing justice is simply naive in the extreme. No crime is deemed to have been committed in an abuse case if the victim has attained to adulthood when knowledge of the sordid act became known, which was the case in all but a few of the instances involved. Here's a link for your edification:
http://www.usccb.org/comm/rossetti.shtml
Criticize Ratzinger and the bishops for applying inappropriate Church penalties if you will but not for obstructing justice. Are Church officials to be held to legal standards from which secular, mental health professionals manage to enjoy immunity? That's what you are implying, you know. In the interests of truth, get a grip on your keyboard. You're making a fool of yourself.
Andrei, Children of all ages
Andrei,
Children of all ages from infants to 18 years old require a special trust from all of us. As documented in Boston and elsewhere, we hold EVERYONE who deals with children to a higher standard. If the Wisconsin accusation is true then I hold Cardinal Ratzinger responsible to the Law and to the morality of defiling children. I read your link and I think defending child molesters is abhorent and I feel some of the points of this link border on disgusting. Children are sacred, and protector's and defenders of molesters first instinct should not be trust or forgiveness of the molester, it should have been protection of the children.
Mental health professionals enjoy immunity, WHEN THEY TELL THE POLICE THERE HAS BEEN A MOLESTATION. Something that the priests, bishops, and cardinals failed to do. If a fool exists, then maybe you need a mirror.
I'm gripping my keyboard.
I'm gripping my keyboard. What are you gripping Andrei. So religious leaders who are complicit and priests who sexual abuse are not held to a higher law? That's what you are saying about Ratzinger and co. That they were in charge of building children's morality and ethics doesn't hold them to a higher standard?
What about scout leaders and day care center personnel who sexually abused children? All these people, and yes Ratzinger is not the son of the son of God, are pedophiles. If you haven't gotten your head out of that deep dark place, you might find that pedophelia is not currently treatable.
Pedophiles need to be incarcerated for life, as we see daily from the ones who are released from prison and abuse again.
Catholics have been killing my people, the Jews, for the first 1600 years or so of their conversion to accepting Jesus Christ as their Superstar, er, sorry their saviour, and one of yours Ann Coulter told me I'm an imperfect Christian.
Catholics supported engaged in slavery and killing millions of African in the process.
While they stopped doing that in the 1960s, they still engaged in sexual abuse.
Your religion should evaporate.
Outrage is the name of the
Outrage is the name of the game in Catholicism, Marty. On every front, they mock and ridicule every attempt by anyone other than --them-- to work toward peace and justice in this world.
It's not Jesus, but what has been done in his name, for example killing those who wouldn't convert to Christianity. That is the big difference: The strawman that Jesus has become because of some sick and delusional "Christians" who insist on and will kill for their very false notion of theological supremacy.
Your outburst dishonours your
Your outburst dishonours your people, Plitnick. You are also in denial.
Perhaps one of the brave letters in today's New York Times may be of interest to you:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/opinion/lweb27church.html
To the Editor:
Secrecy, fear of public scandal and a closed hierarchal structure are the main factors that allow child sex abuse to occur both in the Catholic Church and the much smaller Orthodox Jewish world (“Vatican Declined to Defrock U.S. Priest Who Abused Deaf Boys,” front page, March 25). The reports of senior church officials being unresponsive to complaints about deviant priests are exceptionally disturbing, and parallel what we have seen in Jewish institutions.
Strict laws requiring clergy to report sex abuse to law enforcement are essential. Mandatory background checks of all personnel are a must. The church scandal we are witnessing now is the fruit of civil lawsuits for damages. Ridiculously short statutes of limitations should be liberally extended. Since churches, synagogues, parochial schools and yeshivas can’t police themselves, government, acting through its laws, needs to step in.
Elliot B. Pasik
Asher Lipner
Long Beach, N.Y., March 25, 2010
The writers are, respectively, president and vice president of the Jewish Board of Advocates for Children.
1. You base your comments on
1. You base your comments on reports that are full of errors.
2. The Catholic Church has done more to protect children than any other group--religious, private or public!
3. The NYT is completely biased against the Church. It continues to fault the Church (this time basing their story totally on the words of trial lawyers who have ve$ted interests and a sodomite embezzling bishop), yet the same paper said the rampant sexual abuse problem among New York's Jews are individual cases and the orthodox community should be left to itself to take care of it.
Mr. Pitnik: I am an observant
Mr. Pitnik: I am an observant Jew. Your comments are misplaced as well as offensive. Your diatribe against the Catholic Church is nothing but a rant. The Church is guilty of a tremendous scandal, no doubt. But look to your own house first. The yeshiva world has been rocked by a similar scandal and cover up, so begin there. Catholics are no longer killing Jews, Mr. Pitnik. They have reconciled, as perhaps you should think of doing. As for the scandal within the Church and therole of the hierarchy, from bishops up to the pope, there is little to be said. They are responsible and they have been exposed. For centuries they have enforced a code of silence, secrecy, where they controlled every jot and tittle of decision making. The ultimate sin in their book was bringing scandal to the institution and avoiding the collosal financial ruin that they are now experiencing. That was their concern as they pontificated about being the moral authority for all Catholics. They now find themselves in a situation where entire solidly Catholic countries have lost all credibility in the Church, its leaders who shouted denials and tried to scapegoat the press, the media and on and on. The bishops involved must resign and if found culpable of criminal offenses through their neglect and denial, face the law. The same principal should apply to the pope. He is above no one in the Church but is above all in being held to the highest standard. He has failed whether through ommission or commission is irrelevant. The Church can no longer sell their line on the sanctity of celibacy. It should be chosen and never imposed. And the Church will no longer be able to defend its position of barring women from full sacerdotal rights in the Church. The culture of secrecy must stop.
Listen you little hater, my
Listen you little hater, my Irish has just gone up. What about the nuns and priests who went into the gas chambers for not denouncing Jews. Yes, Catholics read history books to. Now stuff off.
Mr. Vyshinsky, you quote a
Mr. Vyshinsky, you quote a biased source to make your point. Of course the US Conference of Catholic Bishops is concerned with minimizing the issues around sexual abuse!
I look at this more like the case of cigarette manufacturers - even if in 1950 they did not believe that priest molestation caused harm to children, we now know that it did and does. The Church is the "manufacturer" of priests - and they are responsible for their product. No matter when they become aware of the damage, they are responsible.
Priests hurt other people. The practice must be stopped, the harm must be acknowledged, the blame must be accepted. They were completely and horrifically wrong in how they handled this for decades, and thousands of people have suffered. It's not about the "statute of limitations" or legality. It's about MORALITY.
Church, health thyself. If you came to confess your sins, Mother Church, what would be your penance? "Make it right with those you have hurt" should be right at the top of the list.
I agree that confirmed cases
I agree that confirmed cases of priests abusing children should be reported to the police because ONLY the police can impose criminal penalties on the priests. But does the church have an obligation to report every accusation of molestation it receives, even ones that are not credible? Remember the McMartin Preschool case from the 1980's? The police received a report of sexual abuse by a woman who suffered from severe psychological problems. The police then sent letters to 200 families who also had kids in the preschool. Guess what? Through the power of suggestion and paranoia that follows from these types of allegations, the children reported horrific abuse that was "verified" by a physician and psychologist. At the criminal trial (it was the longest in California history), the jury learned there was no real evidence of abuse and no one was convicted. The McMartin's were victims, but who can they sue? Whose head can they demand? Imagine what would happen if SNAP received the transparency it demands. Innocent priests would have their lives ruined. The church was and is not wrong in imposing secrecy on allegations against priests. Anything else would be empowering not only the true victims (and there have been many), but the false accusers (and there have been many more). I cannot forget the sorrow on the face of Cardinal Bernardin (a true preist) when he was falsely accused of molestation by a man dying of AIDS who wanted to draw attention to his disease.
Further, take the case of the priest from Wisconsin who admitted abusing deaf boys in his care. A truly horrific crime and the worst of sins. The Pope elected not to continue with the hearing to defrock him. Why? The statute of limitations had run under Canon law (not a very good reason and one that could have been addressed if that were the only reason) and the priest was old, dying and repentant. The Pope chose to forgive someone he truly believed to be repentant and who needed mercy. A horrific, repentant sinner in need of Christ's mercy. And Catholics and non-Catholics alike condemn the Pope for his actions, for not doing the easy thing and stripping the man of his collar to appease the multitudes and to impose penalties only the Church can impose. He did the hard Christlike thing and forgave.
It is not the role of a
It is not the role of a bishop, pastor, or you or I to confirm the validity of an accusation of child abuse. This is the role of a state's child protective services, initially, with ultimate decisions residing with prosecutors' offices and the courts. Yes, the McMartin case was a tragic fiasco that got caught up in the hysteria of the time, but there is no reason to believe that church hierarchy, with its personal interest in avoiding scandal, would more accurately determine truth than the legal authorities designated to deal with these matters.
It is a legal REQUIREMENT to report an accusation of child abuse. Whoever is bringing the accusation to the Bishop (parent, fellow priest, child himself, etc.) should be counseled by the bishop to notify child protection services or the police. The bishop should do likewise, even if he (too bad it's always 'he')also choses to inform the priest in question of his action.
I agree that this is about
I agree that this is about morality and as a cradle Catholic I admit with sadness that the callous and morally reprehensible sacrifice of innocent young children to the deviant sexual urges of pedophiles and the pride and narcissistic arrogence of Bishops who placed secrecy above sanctity and now claim to be the champions of prolife and family values in the political arena is the height of hypocrasy. They lost their moral authority when they chose to keep the dirty little secret locked up while surepptiously sending the peodophiles out to seek and find more victims. Under their fancy vestments and sanctimonious exteriors are self serving cowards with the moral maturity of immature little children who think the righness or wrongness of an an act is determined by whether you are caught or not. I am not angry as much as I am sickeningly disusted be the hierarchy of this church. And the Vatican's response? Circle and defend, hire a PR con artist. Pope John was so very right when he said fresh air needs to be let into this church because the stench from within is foul anf fetid.....
Perhaps the Church ought to
Perhaps the Church ought to face up to sexism and make it next on the list.
That would be a first!
That would be a first!
Andrei Vyshinksy I hope
Andrei Vyshinksy I hope you're not serious. What you are saying it seems, is that the Church should not be held to any higher standards, moral, legal, or ethical than society at large. The same rules of evidence of the... what, U.S. Code, Code of whatever jurisdiction an alleged abuse case occurred in should be relevant to the Church? The Church is not a secular institution, and your comments strongly imply that. I care not in the least if a secular statute of limitations, statue of repose, or ANY statute has expired. IF there is significant evidence of abuse, or complicity on the part of Church officials, the Church is gravely damaged by ignoring these incidents that are far too numerous to be ignored.
There are reasons the Church is dying in Europe, faith is dropping in America, and you have done a great job of illustrating why. The self serving link from the bishops only serves to further that the Church is gravely out of touch with reality. I am beginning to understand why so many in my parish are becoming Episcopalians.
Andre, bishops and their the
Andre, bishops and their the criminal activity you support will be the reason people will no longer financially support the church, or their local parishes. But then, why should we hold them accountable - it's under control....well, maybe not:
"Connecticut Post
December 6, 2009
2 Clergymen Who Hid Abuse Still Working
Among the thousands of documents released last week by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport were depositions and other papers that revealed the involvement of former Bishops Walter Curtis and Edward Egan in the cover-up of alleged sexual abuse of children by priests in the diocese.
But the documents also detail how two senior diocesan prelates, Monsignors William Genuario and Laurence Bronkiewicz, reviewed sex abuse complaints against priests and gave orders to move them around. Both men remain active in the diocese and hold senior positions.
Genuario is currently head of the diocese's tribunal, a court where people can bring petitions to adjudicate issues involving their rights or status. Bronkiewicz is pastor of St.Mary's Church in Ridgefield, one of the wealthiest parishes in the diocese.
Added Cindy Robinson, of the Bridgeport law firm Tremont & Sheldon, who has represented more than two dozen people abused by priests in the diocese, "The newly released documents show that priests who helped hide clergy sex abuse were rewarded by the hierarchy of the church. This was because they were protecting the church from scandal."
All told, the diocese by 2003 had agreed to pay $37.7 million to settle dozens of claims of sex abuse committed by priests against minors, many of them altar boys."
But wait - there's more, Andre! It's like smacking gophers!
"Bridgeport Diocese: One Parish, 32 Allegations Of Sex Abuse
November 24, 2009
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport -- in a legal brief filed in Waterbury Superior Court -- admitted that it has secret files detailing 32 allegations of sexual abuse of children by eight priests assigned over the last 40 years to a single parish -- St. Theresa's in Trumbull."
Andre, could you contact the Milwaukee deaf victims, the Bridgeport victims, the CT Post and all other journalists who document this mess and inform them they're all fools, too?
I'll write the few people who still write checks to their dioceses - but they've before they figure it out.
Hey, guess what Andy! I've
Hey, guess what Andy!
I've been making a fool of myself since the good Brother Ralph french kissed me at eight years old! I was eight! He was pushing 45 or so I imagine. I was a fool to think that any of the church would see anything wrong with that. Members of the blessed laity included.
In my humble, foolish opinion, If you support the churches position, or the states position,(you do know about states statutes of limitation don't you, maybe you've even got a link there) you my friend are not part of the problem, you are the problem! I suggest you read Richard A. W. Sipe on " The Effect of Childhood Molestation on Adults."
Now examine your conscience, and make a good act of contrition!
It is this type of mindset
It is this type of mindset that has kept the Catholic church in a well-sustained state of denial for its abuses against society and the defenseless through out the ages. Try to think of what other kinds of abuses has the Church commited, other than sexual, and you will have a hard time accepting actual history.
You distinguish between the
You distinguish between the criminal justice system, the civil courts, and the laws of the church. Fair enough.
But justice in the church has been long delayed for some of our bishops. And justice delayed is justice denied.
"No crime is deemed to have
"No crime is deemed to have been committed in an abuse case if the victim has attained to (sic) adulthood when knowledge of sordid act became known"
Completely false, in both the civil/secular and religious/moral spheres. Statutes of limitations in civil and criminal law make no judgement whatsoever on whether a crime has been committed or not. They simply define when a case can be brought to civil or criminal court. A child abuser who molests a child 20 years ago is a much criminal as a child abuser who molests 20 minutes ago. The crime is as criminal 20 years ago as it is today.
And the previous is just in the civil/secular legal system. Are you saying, Mr. V., that a priest who abuses a boy is morally excused 1 minute after midnight on the day the statute of limitations expires? Does your religion offer nothing more eloquent than that? So time alone can wipe out both crime and sin?
And in no way was it was "just a few of the instances" where these crimes were reported at the time they happened. I must tell you, and it is well known, that many many thousands of families, children and others complained to Bishops and pastors when these crimes were occurring, and they were completely ignored, at best. Frequently, they were accused of being scandalous and sinning for the very act of bringing up the topic. Bishops and supervising priests lied about 'doing something about it', committing further criminal acts by failing to report the crimes to police and moving the perpetrator to another parish where they could abuse more kids.
This is the pattern, Mr. V., and this is the scandal. I speak from experience in this matter.
To Andrei, Thank you for
To Andrei,
Thank you for providing the link for further reading. In order to read the information provided it was necessary to wade through some internal conflict. I am a healthy, passionate and nearly whole (I will continue growing) woman who lived through sexual invasions of my father. The conflict I speak of comes from the survivor part of me that is ready to follow the lead of Jesus when His anger manifested with turning over tables and yelling. There are so many conversations around this behavior and everyone is 'setting up a table' to sell their point of view. In learning more about my father's history, we discovered he was an alter boy in a church who's priest molested those that served. It is likely my father was a victim. (in full disclosure, Dad also came from a very disturbed nuclear family and no doubt he wanted safety on that alter but was met with the shuffle of a secret) My father, a man who went to church seven days a week, died afraid. He never sought help, never knew the forgiveness my sisters and I evolved to shower him with. If there is a bottom line here, it is full disclosure. The abuser and the abused have hope for wholeness when EVERYONE knows the truth. In the time between full disclosure and now, well, we are just setting up tables in church: Some of us selling secrets, some of us calling for punishment, some of us hiding the secrets, some of us waiting for help. And perhaps it is necessary for the Catholic church to die in order to resurect anew. Timely.
Elisabeth your testimony was
Elisabeth your testimony was very moving and your capacity to understand and forgive inspiring.The Church can never die and will never die because our resurrected Lord promised us the gates of hell will not prevail against Her but what must die is the sin and selfishness in our individual hearts that prevents us from loving with pure unselfish hearts.God Bless you and your sisters on life's journey
Well said Andei. The problem
Well said Andei. The problem is that so many fools actually believe all the lies told in the Bible. You and I know they are false. You and I know that I am the way. You and I were right there helping those priest touch those children.
You and I will always be together, Andrei.
You might disagree with Andre
You might disagree with Andre but you show neither charity nor wisdom in your response and parts of it were crude.On your behalf I apologise to Andre
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Mental health professionals
Mental health professionals do not enjoy the immunity you seem to think. In Minnesota, at least, they are mandated reporters and must inform their clients of such. There is no "confessional" protecting them or their clients. Yes, church leaders and other religious workers should be held to those same high standards.
My question is "why would church leaders NOT want to do the right thing?" and the answers I am hearing are not comforting...
"Criticize Ratzinger and the
"Criticize Ratzinger and the bishops for applying inappropriate Church penalties if you will but not for obstructing justice."
I beg to differ, and so do many more:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/apr/24/children.childprotection
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4658963&page=1
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=65223
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25101.htm
Mental health professionals,
Mental health professionals, of which I am one, are, indeed, mandated reporters if we suspect child abuse of any type, molestation or otherwise. Our failure immediately to so report such abuse is an actionable offense against our state license and -- need it be said? -- an unalterable, fatal smear upon our reputation and credibility and, quite rightly so, essentially a career-ender.
You must be joking or
You must be joking or incredibly blind. What the pope as done, and by the way, the facts are indisputable. Lying to authorities about criminal behavior; aiding and abetting a criminal act and obstruction of justice. This pope before becoming pope has a nasty past. He has essentially been part of a criminal conspiracy for years. That is just the criminal aspects of the problem. The immoral, unethical,and hypocritical behavior in lying and the cover-up at the expense of CHILDREN who were raped and molested for so many years is an abomination compelling me to ask Why are not parishioners in the streets demanding justice and standing by the children instead of continuing to attend and refusing to attend church until The author is absolutely right in stating this is possibly the RCCs greatest crisis in history.. unless good people fail to act again and ignore reality. This could be the church's Waterloo.
Thank you for your honesty.
Thank you for your honesty.
Dear Maureen, Right On!
Dear Maureen,
Right On! I was so pleased that you wrote a comment in regard to the Pope's involvement in the Sexual Abuse comment. I am on exclaustration from Notre Dame with three others of the CT province and I am so disturbed by the Church and what it has done, that my faith is more in the living of the gospels rather than being canonically approved. I recall when Rosemary and Barbara met with the Pope (as Jos. Ratzinger) because they signed a N.Y. Times ad regarding a woman's right to choose and then found it too difficult to remain in ND- although they were- by our province leaders at that time- urged to stay.
Ah dear! Thanks again.
Helen
A woman's right to choose to
A woman's right to choose to kill the babe in her womb? You have a strange concept of living the gospel Helen. You were once a tiny collection of cells in your mother's womb. No one sentenced you to death.What gives you the right to ally yourself with those who would encourage such an evil act and try to persuade people that it is a right thing to do?
Mother Teresa said abortion is the death of conscience.How prophetic she was in that spontaneous response to a journalist's question.Once conscience is dead every evil becomes possible and every evil flourishes.
If a child is not safe in what was once a guaranteed sanctuary protected by Law why are we so shocked and surprised that children outside the womb are no longer safe and abuse of all kinds has steadily increased.
The only good thing that shines out of the ongoing scandal is that coscience is not stone dead because at least people are aghast at the worst of the abuse which shows some conscience is still in existence.
Good for you Sister. I went
Good for you Sister. I went to a Convent School in India and no nun ever let me down - but the priests have!
I hope that American Nuns continue to stand for truth and integrity - and humanity towards the victims.
This Pope is ammoral, arrogant and obdurate. He should RESIGN!!
Dear Sister Maureen,
Dear Sister Maureen,
Forgive me please, for my impertinance, but I must respectfully disagree!
The bishops have not failed the People of God. The People of God have failed themselves and most horribly their children by their complacency and lack of outrage!
The bishops, more pointedly the church as a whole, laity to Ratzinger, has failed God! Should we consider, "Whatsoever you do unto the least of these, you do also unto Me!" The further the hierarchy removes the church from the victims and the travesty in general the further they and the church distance themselves from God!
Otherwise I wholeheartedly agree and admire your courage! I know that God does also!
Dear Sister Maureen, I have
Dear Sister Maureen,
I have followed your writings on these boards and other places and have been happy to see them because you have presented a true picture and asked that the truth be told about the sex scandal and the the Bishops. Most of all you have presented an ethical stance that so many in our church have failed to see which is the serious damage done to the abused children. There are many that attempt to show that the priests really sexually assaulted mostly adolescent boys as if the age of the person being raped by such a trusted person had anything to do with the tremendous psychological and emotional trauma. There are those that blamed the gays and even changed the seminaries trying to "fix the problem" -not understanding that an all male priesthood with mostly male altar boys and all male seminarians would prejudice their homosexual read of the problem. When they were told that gays do not abuse in the general population more than do heterosexuals, they changed the subject or quoted more recent church teachings about the sinfulness of the homosexual act. The Church even would rather close an orphanage rather than let a child have two good parents that happened to be homosexual. This was an attempt to project the guilt of an extremely poor leadership into others.
Sister, I admire your correct statement that the Pope alone could fix the hemorrhaging losses of the church if he acted truthfully and was intent on accomplishing it. However, I do not share any enthusiasm about this pope who has only acted as a fixed authoritarian most of his life and has demonstrated little ethical depth to accomplish a truthful repair of a faulty church structure of governance. I think even if Benedict decided to try, he would face opponents in the curia and Opus Dei that would leave his attempts much in the same condition of JOhn Paul I's promise to clean up the vatican bank and clear up the Churches leadership around that unfortunate series of Church crimes.
I think we have found the enemy and it is the evil within the leadership of our own organization. I think it would take some one with a lot more presence of character than Cardinal Ratzinger and now Benedict have demonstrated. While anything is possible with the help of God, so many of the leadership actually believe that their actions are part of an infallible magisterial authority that by definition can not be mistaken. They fail to recognize the greatest learning experience of all - what we learn from making a mistake, and having the fortitude to correct it. Benedict , in truth, is is part of a sociopathic and sinful, authoritarian, leadership mind set that has begun to implode the very walls of what is Catholic. The bleeding has already been massive and the current of blood is likely to swift for any one to traverse. Bleed dry- we are in the process! It is probably unstoppable but must be the will of the Holy Spirit Whose truth these men were too fearful to hear or act on!
May the People of God gain grace by not fearing the truth of the spirit and by responding to IT without fear,
R. Dennis Porch, MD
Outstanding editorial and an
Outstanding editorial and an equally outstanding response from you, Sister. If our Church is to heal, the hierarchy must come clean, including the Pope, and the conditions that not only allowed but encouraged the Bishops behavior must be addressed and changed.
I hope we lay Catholics have the courage to take on this challenge. As Thomas Mann said,
"Tolerance, when applied to evil, becomes a crime."
Matt Patterson
Oh Sister Maureen, come on!
Oh Sister Maureen, come on! That NY Times hatchet job has been thoroughly debunked. It was a shoddy hit piece that contradicted itself in its own words. Card. Ratzinger wasn't charged with cleaning up this filth until May 2001. Fr. Murphy was already dead by then. Culpability lies with degenerates like Abp. Weakland who were too busy abusing other men and embezzling diocesan funds for hush-money payoffs. Then this wonderful shepherd of souls waited 20 years to report the case to Rome. Want to put someone in jail? Start with morally bankrupt reprobates like Weakland.
In response to both sides, I
In response to both sides, I offer this :POWER ALONE BELONGS TO GOD! Not to the victimizers, the victims OR their advocates, not to VOF or ACC, or any bishop or cardinal who holds the authority of The Church by way of a trust given to them by God! We do not need any more voices of men (or women). IT is DONE!
How can any "man"("person") speaking on this issue bring any kind of healing or rectification? Even the so called "advocates of the victims" cannot be trusted!! None of you mortals! None! We are like chaff in the wind ALL of us are nothing!
God alone! Jesus I trust in You!
Please pray this psalm in light of the issue being discussed! This is The Church we are speaking of! It is time to shut our human fragile stupid mouths and pray!! I exhort you all!
2
My soul rests in God alone, from whom comes my salvation.
3
God alone is my rock and salvation, my secure height; I shall never fall.
4
How long will you set upon people, all of you beating them down, As though they were a sagging fence or a battered wall?
5
Even from my place on high they plot to dislodge me. They delight in lies; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. Selah
6
My soul, be at rest in God alone, from whom comes my hope.
7
God alone is my rock and my salvation, my secure height; I shall not fall.
8
My safety and glory are with God, my strong rock and refuge.
9
Trust God at all times, my people! Pour out your hearts to God our refuge! Selah
10
3 Mortals are a mere breath, the powerful but an illusion; On a balance they rise; together they are lighter than air.
11
Do not trust in extortion; in plunder put no empty hope. Though wealth increase, do not set your heart upon it.
12
4 One thing God has said; two things I have heard: Power belongs to God;
13
3) so too, Lord, does kindness, And you render to each of us according to our deeds.
In the US 25% of girls and
In the US 25% of girls and 16% of boys are sexually abused prior to reaching age 18 (Finkelhor, at al., 1990). According to Vogelnatz, Wilsnack, and Harris (1999), child sexual abuse among girls in the US ranges between 21% - 32%.
According to the 20101 media release: “Sexual Misconduct Continues to Plague US Schools,” 10% of children will experience sexual misconduct by a school employee during their academic career.
In the United Kingdom, according a study by Adult Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse, 25% of males and 33% females experienced sexual abuse prior to the age of 18.
In India, according to the 2007, 13-state National Study on Child Sexual Abuse, by the Ministry of Women and Child, UNICEF and Save The Children, 21% of children experience severe sexual abuse.
Are the media (including NCR) and people concerned about the victims or about the Vatican and the Catholic Church (because of their ulterior motives)? Where is the outcry and the wall-to-wall reporting and investigation of these millions of cases? Why aren’t we more interested in finding out the real causes of child sexual abuse in our societies so that we can eliminate it, instead of trying to show that only if the pope and a few bishops acted differently, sexual abuse wouldn’t have happened?
While everybody seems to be obsessed withy a relatively few pedophile priests (many of them already dead), what about the victims, past, present and future?
The current media campaign – including NCR’s – is actually delivering the greatest child abuse cover-up of all, and function as an enabler of pedophiles by keeping the focus on a few priests and letting the millions of others carry on with abusing children in the homes, in our schools and sport facilities. I sincerely hope that one day these people in the media will be held accountable for their participation in this cover-up and enabling of child molesters!
All abusers, no matter who
All abusers, no matter who they are, should be dragged into the light of day and be made known to all. That one or another media source may or may not appear to be reporting the Catholic Church sex abuse story with more fervor than they might report abuse claims in another venue is another topic for another day, although there are layers to the Church's abuse scandal that make the story both more scandalous and more compelling.
It seems as if there are still too many Catholics who just want this story to go away, which is exactly the mindset that created the story to begin with.
Also, if those who are blasting the MSM in general or the NYT in particular for not reporting ongoing child abuse in other venues and the institutional cover-up of that abuse know of a specific situation other than the one in the Church, then why are they not reporting it themselves? Why aren't they naming names to the authorities and/or the press? Aren't they guilty of what they accuse the MSM/NYT for if that's the case?
If they know, why are they hiding the pertinent facts?
Why, too, are they trying to prevent people from focusing on the Catholic sex abuse scandal? They spew vitriol at anyone who dares to question the credibility of Church leaders as a result of this vile scandal, even going as far as to blame them for being complicit in the abuse of children in other venues because of their focus on the Church scandal, yet they themselves don't seem to be focusing on these specific scandals happening, supposedly as I type this, either. They're just focusing on hissing, spitting and shrilling at anyone who dares to speak up on the Catholic issue.
It really makes me wonder how much more there is that we haven't discovered yet. Why don't they want to rid the Church of this evil by dragging it into the light of day?
Up until recently, up until I saw the hate and vitriol being spewed in the direction of victims (I myself am one) by the lunatics and crazies of the Catholic blogosphere, I thought there might be hope for the Church.
I'm no longer sure there is. I sat in the back of Church today and felt numb. Completely numb. I looked around at my fellow parishoners and wondered who among them was really wishing people like me would just go away.
I don't think we've even begun to see the real harm this scandal has done the Church. I don't think it can ever be repaired. As long as their are Catholics whose first inclination is to point their fingers at others instead of looking at their own, this isn't over by a long shot, never will be.
Anonymous on Mar. 27, 2010.
Anonymous on Mar. 27, 2010.
You stated:
"In the US 25% of girls and 16% of boys are sexually abused prior to reaching age 18 (Finkelhor, at al., 1990). According to Vogelnatz, Wilsnack, and Harris (1999), child sexual abuse among girls in the US ranges between 21% - 32%.
According to the 20101 media release: “Sexual Misconduct Continues to Plague US Schools,” 10% of children will experience sexual misconduct by a school employee during their academic career.
In the United Kingdom, according a study by Adult Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse, 25% of males and 33% females experienced sexual abuse prior to the age of 18.
In India, according to the 2007, 13-state National Study on Child Sexual Abuse, by the Ministry of Women and Child, UNICEF and Save The Children, 21% of children experience severe sexual abuse.
Are the media (including NCR) and people concerned about the victims or about the Vatican and the Catholic Church (because of their ulterior motives)? Where is the outcry and the wall-to-wall reporting and investigation of these millions of cases? Why aren’t we more interested in finding out the real causes of child sexual abuse in our societies so that we can eliminate it, instead of trying to show that only if the pope and a few bishops acted differently, sexual abuse wouldn’t have happened?
While everybody seems to be obsessed withy a relatively few pedophile priests (many of them already dead), what about the victims, past, present and future?
The current media campaign – including NCR’s – is actually delivering the greatest child abuse cover-up of all, and function as an enabler of pedophiles by keeping the focus on a few priests and letting the millions of others carry on with abusing children in the homes, in our schools and sport facilities. I sincerely hope that one day these people in the media will be held accountable for their participation in this cover-up and enabling of child molesters!"
-------------------------------------------------
Almost 4,500 priests accused, just in the United States, is not a relatively small number---10-15 in number would be. But no other group, no other body CLAIMS to have been founded by Jesus Christ, CLAIMS to be guided by the Holy Spirit----CLAIMS to hold all truths from God as its complete possesssion. CLAIMS to have a visible leader (the pope) who is infallible in teaching faith and morals.
THAT Anonymous, makes the demand upon the Church's credibility higher. Public schools do not make this claim. Families across the world do not make this claim. No nation makes this claim. Nobody but the Catholic Church makes this claim. If that claim is made---then the bar of what is demanded of the Church is set as high as the sky! Don't really care if one priest in the whole world sexually abused a child/youth---it is one too many.
But what is worse---are the bishops, cardinals and the popes who knew about this and cared more about the institute than the victims and their families.
Yes, we should care about pedophiles wherever they are. But when they are in a Church, THE CHURCH----that makes all the claims about itself-----the LAST PLACE that anyone should even think of having pedophiles----to that extent nothing less than extreme rigor should be used to clean out "the filth" (Pope Benedict's words) from the Church.
4,500 priests??? Where did
4,500 priests??? Where did you get those stats? Be real or stop the false charges.
Clever to misdirect the
Clever to misdirect the misdeeds and criminal actions of the clergy to a series of wholly unrelated statistics.
Tell me...what source of information do you reference to support your claim that the majority of abusive priests are dead? This is not a generation of clergy that suddenly became abusive then died off...it is an institutional problem that has not abated.
Denial furthers the problem, and in that stance you mirror that which has perpetuated this situation for many years. Pedophiles in Catholic Church clergy positions are not in the minority, this has clearly been exposed to not be isolated to a few "rogue" priests but has now been documented to have been a widespread practice in every part of the globe. Abuse that pervasive could ONLY have continued to occur in an environment of knowledge and intentional silence and support.
Given this...the real discussion to move to the next logical question: Why is their a Catholic Church any longer?
What has been missed in all
What has been missed in all these comments is that this priestly behavior has almost certainly been going on for centuries. Imagine what it must have been like in the Middle Ages when the Catholic Church had huge temporal as well as spiritual power. Nobody dared challenge them, even kings. While you have a male-only culture it will attract some people people who like the proximity of little boys. What proportion we will never know, but common sense tell me that celibacy is an unnatural disaster.
Dear Ann, I am a survivor of
Dear Ann,
I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse myself (as you, not by a priest), and you were able to put in eloquent words what my sentiments are.
Best,
Norma
WWJD
WWJD
Somebody once said, "The
Somebody once said, "The truth shall set you free."
We reside in a community
We reside in a community which is largely Baptist and other denominations. At this time, I am so embarassed to say I am Catholic. Our newspapers are filled with stories of child abuse and the role of the pope.
Most people do not understand how a people of faith can tolerate the amount of corruption that has plagued the Catholic church. It is our feeling that the church has lost all standing in the greater Christian community.
What is the answer to this ongoing debacle? Of course prayer, but we need something more from those in authority....
Exactly what I was going to
Exactly what I was going to say
These are embarassing times
These are embarassing times for Catholics, but don't lose sight of all the good or fall into the media temptation to think only the Catholic Church has this problem. The truth is far from that! While we have shamed ourselves, we are not a business or organization. We are the people of God who live on the bread of life, who do more good in the world than any other church.group, program. Whatever happens, whatever end comes to this scandal, we will still be the Church founded by Christ, feeding on the Bread of Life, acknowledging our sinfulness even when it hurts or costs us. Contrary to the pride of those who think they will hurt the church by leaving it, remember you were chosen to be a part of the Body of Christ, not the other way around. Those who leave do not believe in the mystery of the Eucharist or they would never consider leaving no matter what comes to pass. The Church is not going out of business -- until the end of time.
Ah yes, we are the people of
Ah yes, we are the people of God. We are the Church. I remember hearing that in the 1960's, wasn't it? When the breath of the Holy Spirit swept through the open window -- until men like Joseph Ratzinger slammed the window shut. Don't drag that Great Truth -- indeed we ARE the Church and we we have had it with our leaders, our committers and our omitters. You are right about the Eucharistic truth, but we don't need the priesthood as it currently exists to bring His Presence to us, do we? If WE are the Church, WE can call our leaders forth, holy (and whole) men and women who know how to love and who have the courage to speak the truth from the pulpit, and ask them to lead us in the blessing of the bread that transforms. Amen.
Well said. This problem of
Well said.
This problem of corrupt leaders in the church pre-dates the church. Our Lord Jesus Christ had quite a bit to say about the white sepulchers when He walked the earth. We now know that abusive and psychopathic individuals are attracted to professions where they can prey on humanity in general and children in particular. The Catholic Church system of administration and canonic law has been unable to counter this modern onslaught of monsters in the priesthood. The drastic reduction in men willing to enter the priesthood may have severely lowered the standards so that more perverts could "pass". The rigid, top down authority structure hates to admit liability because of the expense of paying out claims due to abuse as well as the resultant erosion in moral authority. This massive lid (institutional lying) placed on admission of guilt and complicity might work in a secular corporation or a political dictatorship but it is an abject failure in a spiritual organization.
So the Catholic Church approves lying and obfuscation unless they are caught and then proceeds to ask for forgiveness and claim ignorance? No way, Jose. This is the Church, not the mafia.
What's the solution? Beyond spy cameras in every nook and cranny of a priest's area of contact with laity, I see none. Celibacy requirements may contribute to or agravate the child abuse, but is not the main cause of it. So eliminating the required celibacy won't solve this problem. You need TOTAL transparency. The Catholic Church will never agree to that.
I was raised a Catholic but I think the Church is toast. You can't put this genie back in the bottle. The credibility of the hierarchy is shot. Without credibility, there is no authority. If you have no authority, you have no followers, period.
If Ratzinger quits, there's a chance. Otherwise, forget it.
The body of Christ will, of course, survive and thrive.
If you hold to Catholicism
If you hold to Catholicism and its truths, then your answer must be no, you can not have the Eucharist without the priesthood. Only a priest can consecrate the Eucharist. Only men can be priests. Embrace the love of Christ who made us to love and complete each other. Completely equal in dignity, which does not imply the same in function. I would lovingly suggest revisiting how you speak about the Pope. I for one, commend his fortitude at confronting these issues of sex abuse, and accepting no excuses. He is the succesor of St Peter. Jesus built His church upon a rock, not upon us, or even all of His followers, or even all of His disciples. Majority does not rule. I lovingly call you to rethink your response if you profess Catholicism. There is no such thing as a whole man or woman. We are all broken. God restores the broken. I am not implying that anyone who commits any act against a child should be given a pass, but what do we really know (all media hype aside)? Sex abuse is repulsive, but certainly we know it exists among social classes. The Catholic Church, in my opinion is under target for many reasons, to borrow from Fr Corapi, strike the shepard, scatter the sheep. Another reason is most other faiths are so scattered, or not large enough to do a study to see how often sex abuse happens. I encourage a serious Catholic to get to the basics and remember that we are in this together, we do have the succesor of St Peter, we must embrace the Church's teachings, and go forward.
cr on Mar. 28, 2010. You
cr on Mar. 28, 2010.
You stated:
"If you hold to Catholicism and its truths, then your answer must be no, you can not have the Eucharist without the priesthood. Only a priest can consecrate the Eucharist. Only men can be priests. Embrace the love of Christ who made us to love and complete each other. Completely equal in dignity, which does not imply the same in function. I would lovingly suggest revisiting how you speak about the Pope. I for one, commend his fortitude at confronting these issues of sex abuse, and accepting no excuses. He is the succesor of St Peter. Jesus built His church upon a rock, not upon us, or even all of His followers, or even all of His disciples. Majority does not rule. I lovingly call you to rethink your response if you profess Catholicism. There is no such thing as a whole man or woman. We are all broken. God restores the broken. I am not implying that anyone who commits any act against a child should be given a pass, but what do we really know (all media hype aside)? Sex abuse is repulsive, but certainly we know it exists among social classes. The Catholic Church, in my opinion is under target for many reasons, to borrow from Fr Corapi, strike the shepard, scatter the sheep. Another reason is most other faiths are so scattered, or not large enough to do a study to see how often sex abuse happens. I encourage a serious Catholic to get to the basics and remember that we are in this together, we do have the succesor of St Peter, we must embrace the Church's teachings, and go forward."
-----------------------------------------------
Sorry---don't really care what Fr. Corapi states---the early Church did not have one mother church---it had five: Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, and Rome. And the bishop of Rome was considered first among equals---but not the tippy-top of the inverted funnel. The Church, my friend, is all of us----and by our very baptism---we are all equal in dignity and worth---WE are the Church.
St. Peter was not infallible---he made loads of mistakes---and the early Church did not always consult him in making decisions. St. Paul corrected him and St. James, the leader of the Jerusalem Church, was the one who decided to receive the gentiles into the Church as full members, sans the circumsion.
As far as your other statement are concerned---Gospels cannot be used to prove that no women were present at the Last Supper. None of the men who are attributed to have written the Gospels actually wrote them. They were written by others (who were not present then) to be directed to particular Christian communities. And if you look at Matthew's and John's Gospels---two Apostles who experienced and saw what Jesus did/said, they couldn't be more different from each other.
Finally, Jesus did not establish a papacy as a monarchy, an absolute monarchy. That is what Fr. Corapi and the others on EWTN miss over and over again. The early Church (the one closest to what Jesus had in mind) DID have women presiding at "The Meal." And we have enough artifacts to prove that point.
Get real! If not for the
Get real! If not for the Catholic Church, you would not have any basis for your Christian religion. I know, it is hard to swallow for you. The Catholic Church was THE Church until Luther protested - beginning 1517. The Church gave to the world, tradition and written, all that had been recorded up to that point.
You have stated with gentle
You have stated with gentle but firm faith the essence of what we must all do .These times remind me of the time the dtorm whipped up on the sea of Gallilee and the disciples were terrified . We must keep our hearts and minds on Christ. Our current Peter Pope Ratzinger needs all our prayers to sustainn him.
Hear! Hear!
Hear! Hear!
You say the Church chose us.
You say the Church chose us. Our parents chose for us. We can now choose for ourselves. My father was a teacher and coach in Catholic boys Schools. I am the oldest of his 5 children, a life-long catholic. My father was a "life-long learner",as am I. My father, Barney, told me once that the Catholic Church is the closest thing to Communism and he was right. It is a dictatorship. We have no rights to speak out against the injustice, inequalities and intolerances for women and gay people. Our Church reveres the patriarchial society......uses women to do the grunt work and does not afford us the same opportunity as men to minister to a congregation. We are second-class citizens. The Church demonizes gay people, who do not choose to be gay, but choose to live their lives authentically. The Catholic Church will gladly deny and toss out those who disagree with the Hierarchy, but will protect defend and spend $millions to cover up for pediphile priests. I do not believe gay=pedophile. I do believe that celibacy is difficult and unnatural..Why should anyone be required to deny their sexuality. We are all sexual human beings. In short, the Catholic Church is in DENIAL about the pain and suffering it is causing. Living in the Democracy of the United States of America is a contradiction to living a Catholic LIfe. Being A Catholic, which is equal to suspending my free will and following the DICTATES OF AN OUT OF TOUCH POPE is equal to denying the gifts of free-will, intelligence, compassion that Our Lord has given me. I love my husband, children, extended family and above all, my God. He is telling me, in so many ways, the Catholic Church is so wrong.....it is in the hands of MEN, who have no idea "what Jesus would do."
I do not think the church
I do not think the church chose us. God chose us to be his church and gifted each person with the gifts to work for and build up the Kingdom of God. Since there are none without sin, God chooses sinners to be His Church. Like any gift anyone can say no and go their own way. Some leave the church. Some are driven from the Church because their faith can not handle the sinfulness they see or experience. Some stay and work to make the Church better -- and they produce fruit. The vineyard has a lot of weeds, but it is still the vineyard and no matter what the criticism or protests or attacks, it will always be. With God's grace, we'll pull the weeds and heal the wounds and the earth shall give glory to God.
You are in one state of
You are in one state of complete denial.
"We are the people of God who live on the bread of life, who do more good in the world than any other church.group, program."
Really??
There are numerous SECULAR groups that do much, much more in the way of good in the world than Catholic organizations who think applying a bandaid without getting to the systematic root of suffering (like forbidding contraception for starters and the consequences of that) is doing 'more good'.
The church has got you right under its thumb and it sounds like you are delusional enough to enjoy same.
"Most people do not
"Most people do not understand how a people of faith can tolerate the amount of corruption that has plagued the Catholic Church..."
Yes, I, as a person of faith, struggle to know just what is the proper response. Some will posture disgust and say how horrible it is, but then will bury their heads about what needs to be done or address how this questions and changes some very basic structures of The Church. Others will spend a lot of time shooting the messenger - usually the media - with the subtext that it is The Church that is being victimized. Then others will just blame homosexuality, never considering that some of these victimizers may have been psychologically crippled from some teachings of The Church.
So, I pray and struggle to understand and to have hope. But the actions of the hierachy that show such resistance to looking at the situation openly and honestly, leaves me discouraged
Peace and prayers for all.
Benedict should do exactly
Benedict should do exactly nothing about these charges. He cannot be driven by a worldwide media which tries to make the Catholic Church look bad. What needs to be said is the obvious. The Catholic Church as a whole has dealt with this issue very poorly in the past. It also has dealt with it very poorly in the present by throwing money at people who make these claims.
People come forward with claims that are at least 30 years old, well beyond any statute of limitations. They make claims against dead priests; fully 1/3 of the claims are against dead priests. They take no polygraph tests, let alone pass one!. BUT the Catholic bishops give these people money in settlements!
Not one claim should be settled unless (1) it is within the statute of limitations (10 years) & (2) the priest is alive to defend himself & (3) the accuser has passed a polygraph test & (4) the case could be successfully tried in a court of law & (5) the plaintiff will most likely prevail in court.
As any good lawyer knows, you only settle out of court when the probability of the plaintiff prevailing over the defendant is greater than the other way around. Also, the out of court settlement should be less expensive than the total cost of going to court & losing.
If this common sense rule was followed, the Catholic Church in America would not have spent $2.7B & counting on settlements!
Jesus go to law
Jesus go to law school?
Suffer the little children, indeed!
The big problem with polygraph tests is their frequent inaccuracy. What about a preponderance of circumstantial evidence. What about similar testimony by people who were abused by the same man? Can not the church devise its own standards that favor the child?
What about the accused passing a polygraph test? Innocent until proven guilty is a US Constitutional principle, yes. But a priest promises obedience to his bishop or vows it to his religious superior. So, using your logic, why can't the bishop demand that the accused take the same test?
When trust is destroyed, there are no easy or good solutions.
Wow, this response is
Wow, this response is unbelievable. Blame the victim, blame the press, don't blame the priests or bishops or cardinals. Get real
No kidding! You nailed it
No kidding! You nailed it well.
The reason for late large
The reason for late large payouts is they know they are guilty and records exist to prove it. Also many states changed the statute of limitations law to allow these cases. This is why some Catholics are losing faith and why some are joining other churches like the Orthodox Church in America because their bishops have roots directly back to the apostles as well. Since these churches have married priests or ministers they have not had a major child abuse problem either. When you allow married men to apply the pool of men who can become a priest is over 4 times greater, reducing the chance a predator can become a priest. I am more interested in how today's Catholic bishops are handling the problem. Most of the bishops from the 1970s have now been judged by Christ for their actions, as most were them were age 60 or 70 back then. I believe today most lay people would go straight to the police instead of the church for child abuse cases.
The reason for the payouts is
The reason for the payouts is that in these types of cases and in this climate, accusations alone are enough to find the church liable. They'll pay 10 accusers for one real victim.
Let's see...in any other
Let's see...in any other environment, paying a victim off in exchange for silence is known a bribery. The problem now is that the church doesn't have the means to pay off all of the victims, the scale of abuse is too massive for that.
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