Did Pope benedict REALLY say this before he was elected pope?

[godsent]

**",the fall of those Catholics who abuse the sacraments or their positions in the church.

“How much filth there is in the church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to him,” he wrote. He said the church often seems like “a boat about to sink, a boat taking in water on every side.”

“The soiled garments and face of your church throw us into confusion. Yet it is we ourselves who have soiled them! It is we who betray you time and time again,”**.

Can anyone tell me if this is true…if so,what he really meant by it?

Do you think even our pope sees the trouble that our church may be in?

Somone please reassure me

 

[Marilena]

**",the fall of those Catholics who abuse the sacraments or their positions in the church.

“How much filth there is in the church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to him,**” he wrote. He said the church often seems like “a boat about to sink, a boat taking in water on every side.”

“The soiled garments and face of your church throw us into confusion. Yet it is we ourselves who have soiled them! It is we who betray you time and time again,”.

Can anyone tell me if this is true…if so,what he really meant by it?

Do you think even our pope sees the trouble that our church may be in?

Somone please reassure me

Can you please provide a link to the alleged comments?

 

[Texan_in_DC]

Yes please provide us a link so that we can read the entire speech, not just a few pulled words that you have taken out of context, I believe I know what he is talking about in context prior to these statements.

And if my thinking is right I would have to agree with those statements, but please again refrence the site of your quote so that we can understand the the context.

 

[Pjs2ejs]

Context or not, it sounds like he is bashing the priests and those Catholics who have abused their offices. JP II did the same. Am I missing something?

 

[fix]

Here is one link:

“How much filth there is in the church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to him,” he wrote. He said the church often seems like “a boat about to sink, a boat taking in water on every side.”

“The soiled garments and face of your church throw us into confusion. Yet it is we ourselves who have soiled them! It is we who betray you time and time again,” he wrote.

“Have mercy on your church,” he prayed. "When we fall, we drag you down to earth, and Satan laughs, for he hopes that you will not be able to rise from that fall; he hopes that being dragged down in the fall of your church, you will remain prostrate and overpowered.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0502405.htm

I think his thoughts are accurate and not bashing at all.

 

[rwoehmke]

fix:

Here is one link:
I think his thoughts are accurate and not bashing at all.

AMEN!

 

[_Mary]

It’s true that many times the Church seems like it will sink–Benedict didn’t say that it will sink but that it seems like it. He knows better than we do that that can never happen. But he does see that there are many problems that need to be reformed. After all, the Church is a church for sinners–so that they may be made clean!

 

[armyfamily]

I don’t know if Pope Benedict really said this or not. ( Many of us know it is true) What I do want to tell you is to NEVER lose hope. God is and will always be in control. There are people around me who often get wrapped up in worrying or frustration due to the scandals in the clergy and church. I think that shows a lack of faith and hope. Yeah, I get crazy when I hear some things :banghead: but I keep asking God to keep me on the straight and narrow. All I can do is know my faith, make charitable corrections when needed and continue to have hope in my God and my salvation.


Peace,
Anne

 

[Mike_D30]

I take it to mean, that in a Church as large as the Catholic Church, there’s bound to be more than your fair share of problems. He’s just stating the obvious that the problems belong on OUR shoulders, not Christ’s Church. It is us who lets Him down, not the other way around.

 

[doomhammer]

armyfamily:

I don’t know if Pope Benedict really said this or not.

the whole link…
vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/2005/documents/ns_lit_doc_20050325_via-crucis_en.html

 

[Tonyagrace]

Pjs2ejs:

Context or not, it sounds like he is bashing the priests and those Catholics who have abused their offices. JP II did the same. Am I missing something?

Haven’t we all come across this at some point in our lives. As humans we are NOT perfect. Only Jesus Christ is perfect and sinless!

My question then is this…what do WE DO? What does one do if he/she is in a Parish with one of these priests who is abusing his office and promoting his liberal agenda at every turn?

Note: I have tried praying Psalm 25 (change pronoun of “me” to Father…) maybe I need to learn more about perserverance as Paul taught.
{where is that smiley face that is hitting his head against a wall…that’s the one I want to insert!}

 

[Petergee]

Tonyagrace:

Haven’t we all come across this at some point in our lives. As humans we are NOT perfect. Only Jesus Christ is perfect and sinless!

My question then is this…what do WE DO? What does one do if he/she is in a Parish with one of these priests who is abusing his office and promoting his liberal agenda at every turn?

The “filth” the Pope was talking about are those who commit sexual abuse etc. There is nothing sinful per se about “promoting a liberal agenda”.

 

[armyfamily]

Is it sinful if the “liberal agenda” goes against Church teaching? For example…such as birth control is ok (I’ve had priests tell me that in confession) getting drunk and missing mass is ok because everyone needs to let loose once in awhile (a friend had a priest tell her that in confession), homosexual relations are ok…, priests that hate the hierarchal church but promote their own brand of Catholic teaching…etc… what exactly liberal agenda are we talking about?

Peace :getholy:

 

[armyfamily]

oops, forgot to add women as priests…even though JPII reiterated that that would not change, I still hear priests and religious promote it as a possibility…

Peace in Christ

 

[USMC]

armyfamily:

Is it sinful if the “liberal agenda” goes against Church teaching? For example…such as birth control is ok (I’ve had priests tell me that in confession) getting drunk and missing mass is ok because everyone needs to let loose once in awhile (a friend had a priest tell her that in confession), homosexual relations are ok…, priests that hate the hierarchal church but promote their own brand of Catholic teaching…etc… what exactly liberal agenda are we talking about?

Peace :getholy:

Not only is it sinful, but the faithful should avoid such priests, and parishes, as they would a leper colony, since these wicked priests are far more deadly.

 

[Petergee]

armyfamily:

Is it sinful if the “liberal agenda” goes against Church teaching?

Yes, just as sinful as if they promote a “conservative agenda” or any other type of agenda which goes against Church teaching. What I was pointing out was the far-too-common fallacy that “liberal” is synonymous with “unorthodox”.

For example…such as birth control is ok (I’ve had priests tell me that in confession) getting drunk and missing mass is ok because everyone needs to let loose once in awhile (a friend had a priest tell her that in confession), homosexual relations are ok…, priests that hate the hierarchal church but promote their own brand of Catholic teaching.

I’ve seen and heard millions of words from priests of all shades of opinion, but I’ve never heard or seen any priest say these things, and I’m sure the priests I know are as “liberal” as anyone. Would you care to provide some evidence to back up your allegations? I would take it with a huge grain of salt when someone claims that a priest told them their sin is “ok”. People tend to kid themselves and hear what they want to hear.

 

[marysson]

**",the fall of those Catholics who abuse the sacraments or their positions in the church.

“How much filth there is in the church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to him,**” he wrote. He said the church often seems like “a boat about to sink, a boat taking in water on every side.”

“The soiled garments and face of your church throw us into confusion. Yet it is we ourselves who have soiled them! It is we who betray you time and time again,”.

Can anyone tell me if this is true…if so,what he really meant by it?

Do you think even our pope sees the trouble that our church may be in?

Somone please reassure me

It doesn’t matter if he did. Jesus said the Church will always survive. Trust Jesus.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be trouble. The Church has suffered something like “five deaths” according to Chesterton, and it always rises again.

 

[Marilena]

To the original poster:

Please provide us with a link. Without a link, it is hard to verify
information.

 

[Stephen_Butler]

I don’t know if the pope said this or not before he was elected. I also don’t think it matters. Whether this is correct, or good, or taken out of context, at absolute worst it means that the man who said it is no more perfect than any of the rest of us.

I feel that if you refer to another human being as filth that you have been both judgmental and offensive, and I advise against it. I will also advise myself against it the next time I say something similar which is equally or more offensive, and then I will remind myself again the next time I do it, and the next time, and if I am fortunate, perhaps one day I will have sufficient peace and grace to remove this type of verbal attack from my thoughts and speech entirely.

 

[John_Henry]

",the fall of those Catholics who abuse the sacraments or their positions in the church.

"How much filth there is in the church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to him," he wrote. He said the church often seems like “a boat about to sink, a boat taking in water on every side.”

**“The soiled garments and face of your church throw us into confusion. Yet it is we ourselves who have soiled them! **It is we who betray you time and time again,”.

Can anyone tell me if this is true…if so,what he really meant by it?

Do you think even our pope sees the trouble that our church may be in?

Somone please reassure me

He said it. And he is absolutely right.