About the Priest scandals

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Zynxensar

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Hello all,

I may be an anomaly but I don’t get why the priestly scandals have so much impact on some Catholics. Jesus did say there will be some wolves among the flock so this shouldn’t come as a surprise. We just have to accept that there will be bad Priests and we’ll just need to pray and sacrifice for such to be dealt with. I don’t mean to offend anyone, just sharing my thoughts.
 
Because it has been forty years since this stuff has been in the public at least. Some people have had enough or are at their breaking point. In the new papacy Francis had spoken about already existing issues. Even st JP2 I think touched on various tragedies that have been a part of our history. People are going to be upset that it has happened again. Some people attribute it to spiritual warfare as far back as Leo the xiii. Or even the devil. The Church is supposed to be a sanctuary. Priests everywhere are speaking out about failure on part of the clergy that have not been in line with our dignity or morality as the proper bride of Christ. It is becoming harder and harder to be a practicing Catholic under attack of the protestants and the secular media. We need Mary desperately to fulfill her message. And part of that is our responsibility. It is just terrible.
 
When people in the church fail so badly at practicing what they preach on such a catastrophic level, it makes people question their credibility and whether or not they even believe the things that they preach. Consequently people start to doubt whether or not the things they say or claim to believe are actually true. This goes for everyone at all levels of the church.

As a disclaimer, I do not feel this way. Hypocrisy and human failure isn’t enough to drive me out because I still hold the teachings to be true. In the cases of priests doing terrible things, I separate the priest, as in the person – from their priesthood – the person that is in persona christi and dispenses the sacraments.

I absolutely believe some of this goes beyond just human error and is flat out demonic.
 
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Is annealing and ductility a worthwhile analogy to bring to bear on this?
 
@Zynxensar , I can understand why it has such an impact .

It is on a big scale .

It’s the worst scandal involving the Catholic Church for centuries .

We proclaim to be one , Holy , catholic and apostolic Church .

It puts the brakes on any attempts at evangelization .

Contrast the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland last month with that of Pope John Paul II in 1979 and you will see the scandal’s impact on the Church .
 
I think the sad thing is, a lot of that trust has been lost, which makes it difficult for some to grapple with. There is a loss of trust that parents potentially might have about their children, and a loss of trust for seminarians that would otherwise want to consider being a priest, and that makes it difficult for people to feel like our parishes, schools and seminaries are a safe environment to be in. So in that respect I think that’s also why it’s difficult.

It’s naive to say this problem is specific to the Church, but the bar is higher for us.

It’s a trying time, but hopefully a time of purification. God will have the last word.
 
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I completely agree with your thoughts that the bar is higher for the Catholic Church. My mother thinks the issue is the Catholic Church proclaims proudly it is the Church Jesus founded and now this… In her mind, )I consider her mildly anti-Catholic)
 
300 Priest involved with over 1,000 victims -
that’s a lot of wolves among the flock - in one area.
They were ravenous too -
 
Like I said in another topic - bring back the old “bell book and candle” rite of excommunication by anathema. Specifically for those who committed this crime against our faith and our Church. Anyone who has seen the movie Becket has an idea of what this is, and that version was watered down compared to the real thing.

This rite is really terrifying and hopefully can bring those who are committing these sins and crimes to repentance.
 
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It certainly is a public relations disaster. This time around the focus was again on these despicable priests, but also fingers pointing at the bishops and cardinals who let this happen and continue to occur, including a credible allegation against the pope.
 
Listened to this one homily recently and priest was saying how this was an organized attempt to destroy the church from within. It might sound a bit like a conspiracy theory but think about it. What better way to do it than from within? Satan wants to sow division and destroy confidence, he’s doing exactly that. I don’t know about all these homosexual accusations, I think abuse was a little over 80% homosexual. I heard someone say that back in 70s you had groups of homosexuals in the seminary and they would basically performs sexual acts with each other… So appalling if true, but if one sees these people as having an agenda then it makes sense. One doesn’t just wake up one day and abuses someone.

People are calling for celibacy requirement to be lifted and I don’t think that’ll help. Majority of clergy are good and some even struggle with Same Sex Attraction but you don’t see them doing what these members did. We need prayers for our priests and for healing in our Church and for the victims of abuse. So terrible what has taken place, but the evil needs to be exposed in order for the church to be wiped clean. My faith was pretty shaken when I heard about everything, but that is what the enemy wants. Need to stay strong and turn to God.
 
Zynxensar said:
We just have to accept that there will be bad Priests and we’ll just need to pray and sacrifice for such to be dealt with.
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Accept in the sense of acknowledging there are, yes, accepting it as a matter of course, something that is acceptable, never.

I remember reading a commentary regarding this abuse back in about 2000 when it came to light again. The writer said, “if you think this is bad, you should have been around in Francis of Assisi’s time.” Yes, it has always been a problem, but that is the nature of sin and man’s fallen nature. But it can never be accepted as allowable/understandable. It needs to vigorously and vigilantly guarded against and removed when found, like any weed.
 
Luke 22:31-32 “Simon, Simon, behold, satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren.”
 
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Zynxensar said:
I may be an anomaly but I don’t get why the priestly scandals have so much impact on some Catholics. Jesus did say there will be some wolves among the flock so this shouldn’t come as a surprise. We just have to accept that there will be bad Priests and we’ll just need to pray and sacrifice for such to be dealt with. I don’t mean to offend anyone, just sharing my thoughts.
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Yeah, I’m with you on this.
I mean obviously they affect the abused. And I get that the faithful have an amount of righteous anger and want this issue adequately dealt with. But I don’t get people who say they’re leaving the Church or not financially supporting their diocese etc.
I want to see bishops sacked and priests defrocked but apart from that it doesn’t affect my faith.
 
Agreed, I look forward to the “purge” that must happen in order to recover from this. But I equally look forward to the exodus of A la Carte Catholics that must occur in order for us to continue to preach the truth of the faith.
 
So much impact?!

You Don’t find sex abuse of children repulsive?

You think homosexual orgies are okay and seminarians being sexually harassed okay?

Two priests were arrested recently in Miami in a parked car engaged in a sexual act. They were so engaged they didn’t realize the police had been called and was watching them. This is disgusting.
Many more stories like this and it will make it harder for me to remain Catholic or even
want to be a Christian.

I would like to add to the story of these 2 priests that this took place during the day
and next to a playground!!!

Since these abuses were aired in 2002 I still converted in 2008 to the Catholic faith.
I guess in my naivete I thought these problems would be addressed and handled, but, truthfully, there has to be a reason they have continued to happen.
 
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People who follow the school of thought that says you can promote and support Gay Marriage, abortion, etc and still be Catholic. Ultimately I believe they will either leave or convert if priests actually preach on these issues. That’s a slightly different issue though, I don’t want to derail this thread.
 
Defrocking and excommunications would be a great start.

Having this affect someone’s faith and leading them to consider walking away from our Church is exactly the effect that Satan and his demons are looking for.
 
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AdamP88 said:
People who follow the school of thought that says you can promote and support Gay Marriage, abortion, etc and still be Catholic. Ultimately I believe they will either leave or convert if priests actually preach on these issues. That’s a slightly different issue though, I don’t want to derail this thread.
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Yes a la carte Catholics and “Sunday Catholics” are a result of an incomplete and not well formed understanding of their faith.

I too am sure they would not be comfortable hearing these issues preached at Mass.
 
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