Catholic priest Pennsylvania scandal

  • Thread starter Thread starter CatholicGirl1
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Don’t thank me. The information is higher up in this thread. Someone posted a whole report on it. I believe it was @Erikaspirit16
 
therese1998 said:
But, how does that change the teachings of Christ? How does that make His worlds untrue?
Click to expand...
No, it doesn’t change Christ’s words. It just means his church needs much (non-Luther) reform, not elimination.
 
Prodigal_Son said:
I was making a generalization about priests, not the general population. The generalization is well founded when applied to priests of the last 50 years.
Click to expand...
Yes , you are contributing to the ‘ all priests and religious are child rapists and paedophiles’ discourse.

Where is the discussion about the good and holy majority
 
Just remember it’s all speculation. No concrete proof at this time. It MIGHT explain why he stepped down though. Perhaps a conviction of spirit? God DOES protect His Church. Sometimes in ways we don’t see.
 
Roseeurekacross said:
Yes , you are contributing to the ‘ all priests and religious are child rapists and paedophiles’ discourse.
Click to expand...
Nonsense.

Consider the following statements:
  1. Most abusers who are priests abuse boys.
Vs.
  1. Most priests abuse boys.
Those are WAAAAAAAAY different. I defend #1, not #2. #2 is clearly and deeply and dangerously false.
 
Yup. The stats are that about 7-8% of priests are child molesters and 81% of victims will be male. So statement 1. is correct.
 
#1is wrong.
It is a dangerous assumption to make.

Also assuming men are the only or majority abusers is quite a dangerous assumption to make too.

#2 is also wrong. Girls are just as much at risk and are abused.

Australian stats from the Royal Commission say very differently.

That’s why a big inquiry is needed. It uncovers and blows assumptions out of the water.
 
Last edited:
Roseeurekacross said:
#1is wrong.
Click to expand...
How is it wrong?

Also, most abusers ARE men. These are clear statistics.

The rest of what you say makes no sense to me whatsoever. Please read my post more carefully. I never said girls weren’t at risk or abused. By the general population, they are abused more than boys.
 
How do our parishes help parishoners deal with these scandals? Shouldn’t there be some types of meetings to explain, to help us understand why this has happened?

It seems like we are not allowed to bring it
up. I doubt a priest will do a homily about
it.
 
Os2Hugh said:
We need to pray without ceasing for our priests and young seminarians.:pray:The devil hates our priests and will do everything to discourage young men considering or already n the priesthood.Without priests we have no Mass,without the amass we have no Eucharist.😔
Click to expand...
St Michael the Archangel defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray. … Thrust into Hell Satan and all the Evil Spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

May he with us thru this scandal and may the light of God shine brightly but not blindingly (as Satan’s would) so that people are not brought into sin. May the love of God transcend the Church and help us to live in communion with Him.
 
Last edited:
My pastor brought it up this past Sunday, acknowledging it but maintaining the “small minority” line. He’s a good shepherd, but it was also that Sunday when the diocese was advertising its capital campaign. Felt like damage control.
 
Loud-living-dogma said:
“The Keepers” is not convincing. The evidence is circumstantial at best.
Click to expand...
You must not have seen it. One woman talks about being fondled and raped repeatedly by the priest who was the chaplain at the high school. She goes on to say he took her to gynocological exams, where he watched her be examined. Then she goes on to say he brought his friends–including police officers–to the school to gang rape her. You think she’s crazy. Then her lawyer puts an ad in the paper saying, “Hey, did anyone out there have anything bad happen to them at this high school in the late 60s/early 70s?” And he gets over 100 replies. And they talk about exactly the same thing–medical exams where the priest is present, gang rapes that included the police. And they didn’t talk to each other. They’re independent reports. “Circumstantial”? Please.

And of course (!) it turns out that a woman–who is interviewed–says she complained about this same priest abusing her son a few years earlier, in the mid-60s. The reaction of the bishop? Transfer the guy to a girls’ high school. Beyond words. Circumstantial? Give me a break.
 
I am serene and confident in the Lord. It is the failure of modern and liberal behaviors, procedures and theology. The church only suffered the infection that exists in the civil world, in all the institutions. It is time for the laity, as legitimate members of the Church, to fulfil their active role in the church. Lay people, healthy, intelligent and with great faith, it is time to occupy the place of “religious” and “priests” failed. The clergy must not be a place for weak and weird people.
 
From a news article:

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A priest raped a 7-year-old girl while visiting her in the hospital after she had her tonsils removed. Another priest forced a 9-year-old boy into having oral sex, then rinsed out the youngster’s mouth with holy water. One boy was forced to say confession to the priest who sexually abused him.

https://www.mail.com/news/us/867597...ual-abuse-complaints.html#.7518-stage-hero1-1

I can’t say I’m surprised. Every group contains the evil as well as the good. What shocks me is the scope of this, the number of children abused, and the fact that the Vatican knew and covered it up. It is very saddening as well as horrifying.

I don’t think the Church needs to close its doors, but I think it needs to restructure from the top down. (I don’t necessarily mean Francis; I will consider him innocent until or unless we know he’s not.)

Unfortunately:

In nearly every case, the Pennsylvania grand jury said, prosecutors found that the statute of limitations has run out, meaning criminal charges cannot be filed. More than 100 of the priests are dead. Many others are retired or have been dismissed from the priesthood or put on leave.

Authorities charged just two as a result of the grand jury investigation, including a priest who has since pleaded guilty, though some of those named were prosecuted years ago. Attorney General Josh Shapiro said the investigation is still going on.

The panel concluded that a succession of bishops and other diocesan leaders tried to shield the church from bad publicity and financial liability. They failed to report accused clergy to police, used confidentiality agreements to silence victims and sent priests to “treatment facilities,” which “laundered” the clergymen and “permitted hundreds of known offenders to return to ministry,” the report said.

The report comes at a time of fresh scandal at the highest levels of the U.S. Catholic Church. Pope Francis last month stripped 88-year-old Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of his title amid allegations that McCarrick had for years sexually abused boys and committed sexual misconduct with adult seminarians.

The grand jury report: http://media-downloads.pacourts.us/InterimRedactedReportandResponses.pdf?cb=22148
 
Last edited:
ConstantLearner said:
When you say “the Vatican” knew, do you mean Pope JP II, Pope Benedict, Pope Francis? Maybe you don’t know, but if you do, would you please tell me?
Click to expand...
I think it’s reasonable to think that they ALL knew.

Francis: I posted a link about the Vatican diplomat (a priest) who was accused of child pornography last Sept.–the Vatican wouldn’t release his name and wouldn’t relinquish his diplomatic immunity. They simply shipped him back to the Vatican. And look at his reaction to the Chile fiasco–first he defended them all. Why? Why is that the default position? His words are nice, but his actions leave a LOT to be desired.

Benedict: his brother was the choir leader of the Regensburg boys’s choir for 30 years. There were almost 500 cases of abuse in the choir school. How could he NOT know? And how could he NOT tell his brother–whom he saw all the time?

JP II: Fr. Marciel Maciel–founder of the order of the Legion of Christ in Mexico. Nine seminarians accused him of sexually molesting them. In 2009 the Legion of Christ admitted that he had fathered a child (it later turned out there were six (6). Benedict–to his credit–ordered an investigation In 2010, and after the investigation, the Vatican released a report saying that Fr Marcial committed “true crimes and manifested a life without scruples or authentic religious sentiment.” Pretty mild. There were allegations of drug use dating back to the 1950s. PJ II refused to do anything–he was a buddy. He let him retire to Florida in luxury. Sexual abuse cases of Marcial Maciel - Wikipedia

It’s all out there. All you have to do is look. It seems to me that as Catholics, we have a duty to know about all this and to act. What can we do? Me, I write letters, lots of letters. And I talk to priests and deacons. And for the last 15 years or so I haven’t given a dime to the local parish. I give to the Sisters of Notre Dame, who run schools and clinics for girls in India.
 
Last edited:
Why would Benedict’s brother tell him that he was abusing children? I don’t think it’s a given that Benedict knew because his brother did.
 
Loud-living-dogma said:
Here’s a contrarian thought!

I don’t see any other organizations opening up their abuse files! Where are the public schools or other religious organizations doing this - - opening up personnel files as far back as the 1940s?
If you can believe this report (maybe you can’t, it’s from the Bar Association) - - there was a HELL of a lot of abuse of children going on. I don’t see anyone else owning up to it!
Click to expand...
I remember younger days using an excuse of my sister doing it too…(what ever I was in trouble for). The response was the same from my parents, may God rest their souls…“You’re older and should know better”!~
Is the Catholic Church a leader or a follower? Is there not a greater standard amongst Priests (who hold the Body of Christ in their hands)? I’m sick of hearing what others are doing…as if it will lessen the impact of this atrocity and heinous act against the dignity of a human. One report had a victim as young as 18 months…regardless, there is no age that should have been subjected to this.
There is no sin big enough that Christ did not die for, but My God…you never hear of anyone asking for forgiveness or admitting the sin.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top