Catholic priest Pennsylvania scandal

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pensmama87 said:
Trying to “defend the faith” with words right now is just going to look like dismissing the real pain that people have experienced.
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Defending Our Faith is totally different than excusing the evil actions perpetrated by a minority of its members.

The Catholic Faith condemns these abuses.
 
Judas, one of the chosen twelve, betrayed Jesus to his death.

The Church was never made up of perfection, it was always made up of frail humans who make mistakes.

The teachings of the Church have not faltered. The beliefs of the Church have not faltered. Some of its leaders have but that doesn’t change what the Church is.
 
I’ll admit, I am shaken to my core. There are two Gospel verses that keep coming to mind: Luke 18:8 “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” and Luke 17:2 "It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.

I have had nothing but good from almost every priest I have encountered in my 67 years. I know that men are sinful, but this is rotten from the top. I don’t trust the bishops to fix it. We need laymen and women to come in and clean the house. Then the bishops and priests must realize that they are responsible before God for souls. They need to quit being CEOs and politicians and get back to being pastoral. It will take time and tears.
As for me, I will redouble my prayers.
 
May our Lord be merciful.

Matthew 7:1-3. Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
 
I’ve been studying Church history. We’ve had scandals before. It’s just this time we’re living in history as opposed to reading about it.

The Church will prevail.

LOL! I should have mentioned Peter too. He also betrayed Jesus (in a way).
 
LOL

“Guys, c’mon… isn’t 2000 years ENOUGH time? Can we move on to focusing on someone else who betrayed Jesus now?”
 
Maybe you shouldn’t even ask this question because you know there are plenty of people in Congress who would be all to willing to close the public school system for good. But that’s another topic for another day and another thread.
 
So just ignore the reality because there might be repercussions?

Sounds a bit like what some Church leaders did…
 
Stop. No buck passing or whining about being persecuted by the media. The Church failed massively and systematically for decades and engaged in truly evil behavior. The bishops aren’t victims here.
 
No, that is not what I meant. The wish by some politicians to eliminate public-school education is not based on child molestation but on other issues. I’m never in favor of cover-ups for any institution, whether school, business, government, or church.
 
Given the scale of the abuse scandal, we need the Inquisition back, and to perform it on our own clergy.
 
An important part of this conversation is that this report, as I understand it, includes all those who were accused, guilty or not. Very few people seem to know that priest are most often accused for $$$! When more accusers jump on the bandwagon it is usually because they know the church will pay out just to stop the slander from spreading and because it’s cheaper than proving innocence. Besides the press and public has already condemned the accused. This repeated problem is one of the greatest abuses against the real victims of factual, sexual abuse. To accuse falsely has great monetary rewards and little or no consequences if caught. False accusations are also common in the secular world, especially among divorced couples attempting to get child custody. How many of the priests in this report are dead and unable to defend themselves?
 
It is, but people who are hurt will have a hard time making that distinction, and insisting on it when they actually are sharing their pain will look callous and cruel.
 
The mindset of hide, hide, hide has to be abolished! This is what compounded the evil - no willingness to recognize the acts committed because of image, pride and the resulting money! Instead, send the offender away and affirm the victim had no cause. Make sure no records exist to track the offense.
The upper management - formed as the USCCB - should be eliminated. They were the perpetrators of these crimes along with the action of the individual. Watchdogs need to be increased - opportunity non existent - and the targeted victim needs to have an immediate path to law enforcement for discovery. Its a criminal offense above the authority of a council!
 
spockrates said:
I don’t see such wide-spread sin of this kind in Christian denominations I’ve considered (just isolated incidents) so…
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Are those denominations unified international churches with a centralized hierarchy?

I come from a Baptist background. We all heard the rumors about the ministers and deacons to avoid. We have no unified structure. These predators just pass from local church to local church. No accountability. Sometimes the news picks it up, but often it is only in a local paper once and the story dies.
 
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BoomBoomMancini said:
Stop. No buck passing or whining about being persecuted by the media. The Church failed massively and systematically for decades and engaged in truly evil behavior. The bishops aren’t victims here.
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Wow - - quote me where I said the bishops are victims? Thanks for twisting my words.

The victims are the victims. All Catholics will be the collateral damage for a long time, especially the decent good priests.
 
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