Catholic priest Pennsylvania scandal

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jfz178 said:
There was a recent mass shooting where the shooter told his therapist exactly what he was going to do. But the therapist said she didn’t think he was serious. The college shooter in California some time back posted his exact intentions on social media. The cops questioned him about it, but did nothing.
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Yes, I remember hearing about that.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. 🙂
 
somecanadian said:
Okay but the Church HAS this policy in place. After that it’s up to individual priests, bishops and heck even laity to make sure it’s followed. The Church has done what it can. The rest is up to us.
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I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think there’s anything in place about priests not being alone with a minor. I don’t think they should be, to protect both the minor and innocent priests, as most priests would never think of molesting, yet some have been falsely accused. I don’t want to see any child molested, and I also don’t want to see any priest falsely accused.
 
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In our parish there is? I presumed all parishes would have had the same training?
 
You know, if this whole scandal has a side benefit, it may make institutions institute better and more stringent rules about adults being alone with children in an institutional setting. Maybe we all need to be a little less casual in our attitude toward children.
 
joeybaggz said:
You know, if this whole scandal has a side benefit, it may make institutions institute better and more stringent rules about adults being alone with children in an institutional setting. Maybe we all need to be a little less casual in our attitude toward children.
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I think people do need to be far less casual about children. This scandal could benefit society, but it will cause nothing but lifelong pain for the victims. That’s heartbreaking.
 
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I offer (without commentary) two new pieces of info in the Pennsylvania situation. From Pennsylvania priest faces charges as sex abuse fallout grows:

"A Roman Catholic priest was charged Tuesday with groping a 17-year-old girl and sending her nude images of himself, just a week after a Pennsylvania grand jury reported the church had covered up decades of priests’ child molestation across the state.

The charges of felony corruption of minors and misdemeanor indecent assault against the Rev. Kevin Lonergan, 30, a Pottstown, Pennsylvania, native who most recently served as pastor at the Cathedral of St. Catherine of Siena in Allentown, were not a result of the landmark grand jury investigation but stemmed from a complaint filed in June after the grand jury had finished its work, authorities said."

and

"Meanwhile, Beaver County fired a county government lawyer after a report showed that, as district attorney in the 1960s, he stopped an investigation of possible child abuse by a priest to gain political favor from the Pittsburgh Diocese.

In Allentown, the City Council voted unanimously to fire the city solicitor based on the report’s description of him, as a diocese lawyer, in 2002 attempting to “undermine” and “discredit” a woman who had accused a priest of molesting her two decades earlier."
 
Yes, completely. I was clarifying a rule for therapists (mental herapists) for patients secrecy that a previous poster gave. Priests at most can tip without giving names or hinting at the person if they find out in confession.
 
Joy, I know that you mean well with this statement, but every time a scandal like this surfaces, people say the same thing and nothing seems to change. I hope you’re right this time, but I’m not betting on it.
 
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CatholicGirl1 said:
Yes, completely. I was clarifying a rule for therapists (mental herapists) for patients secrecy that a previous poster gave. Priests at most can tip without giving names or hinting at the person if they find out in confession.
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That’s different from those who say a priest can’t, under any circumstances break the seal.
 
Jesus chooses to use priests to carry out his ministry, but he could very easily choose not to use them. Catholics have been misled into thinking priests are indispensable. God is not bound by anyone. He could feed us the eucharist directly from heaven, as he did with manna in the desert. The biggest problem with Catholics is dependency on outward signs, instead of inward faith. Outward signs strengthen us, but a deep personal relationship is necessary for salvation.
 
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joeybaggz said:
You know, if this whole scandal has a side benefit, it may make institutions institute better and more stringent rules about adults being alone with children in an institutional setting. Maybe we all need to be a little less casual in our attitude toward children.
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Joey, more stringent rules have been put into effect decades ago from abuse on children from clergy and teachers. Both institutions put into effect rules, regulations, regular background checks, finger printing, windows on closed offices, etc. As a member of ministry for many years and my wife as a retired elementary school teacher of 29 years, we know this very well. A person who is ill, will find a way to circumvent the rules and regulations no matter how stringent. Sad, but true.
 
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kgmlg said:
However, young as I was when this happened, I put my foot down with the “older people” in my family and said NO, it is NOT acceptable at all, and should be rejected at ALL COSTS! They told me I was disobedient towards the Catholic church because of this stand, and told me to confess my sins!!! Yes shocking.
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Sorry that you had to endure this from your own family, but you were and are 100% correct.
glencor63 said:
Jesus chooses to use priests to carry out his ministry, but he could very easily choose not to use them.
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Yes, that is true. However, as is all people on earth, including priests, they have the power of free will.
 
My original post was a reply to a person saying a priest can tell someone if their life is in danger and by whom. My post stated that they could not as that applied to mental therapists, not priests. I think priests can hint to someone if they are in danger, but nothing more specific. Someone replied, and I agreed that it was only for therapists and restated my original post.
 
ConstantLearner said:
I think people do need to be far less casual about children. This scandal could benefit society, but it will cause nothing but lifelong pain for the victims. That’s heartbreaking.
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True CL, I couldn’t agree more. It is heartbreaking. Feel empathy for the victims, encourage the present day church leaders to do all in their power to bring about healing for those victims.
But, set your feeling aside for a moment and ask how many abuse cases have actually occurred since 2002 and how many cover ups? The sins of the past make us feel remorse today, but today itself is a much better and stronger church in regard to the abuse of our children.
Peace.
 
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