German bishops publicly ask forgiveness for sex abuse

[whatevergirl]

You know something, these threads are fascinating in one respect: Mortal Sin is Mortal Sin: Who among us have not committed a mortal sin at one time or another, perhaps stole a little something as a teenager, got super drunk, has sex outside of marriage… …yet we are all ready to skewer people who committed this particular mortal sin.

We confess OUR sins and expect that to be the end of it. Yet we are all ready to take up pitchforks and torches and pursue these people endlessly.

I am not condoning what they did, and I realize how awful the crime is. But still, from a spiritual point of view, all mortal sin has the same end result. It seems that we should do unto others as we would have others do unto us.

Oh ya, and then there’s that little fogginess thing that Jesus always talked about. I have not seen “forgiveness” mentioned once in all of these posts.

You have to go back and reread…we all must forgive, and many of us stated that. It’s funny you say this, we went to Palm Sunday mass tonight, and that ran through my mind the whole time…that Jesus died for ALL of our sins. Not just mine, not just yours…ALL. It’s a beautiful thought, and it reminds me that our Church is Christ’s…and that we all have a Savior who died for us. I think it’s important that you posted this here as a solemn reminder…thank you. *

 

[whatevergirl]

Hey, no problem, this is a hot topic, and it is all over the place. But I think you’ll agree, that it is a good thing for this to come out, be exposed, because it shows that the Lord is still our “Abba Father.” The Body of Christ, the Church, will survive. Let the media and critics point their accusatory fingers. What they are pointing at is a cleansing and a sign, a fulfillment of scripture, that the “Gates of Hell will not prevail.”

Amen! I think the media will chalk this up to…THIS is what the Church is about, secrets, cover ups, and sex scandals. No, our Church is Christ’s gift to us all…He died for us all, and what happened, happened because of sin in the world. Sin in mankind. Not because this is what the Church is about. Good point, may our Savior Jesus heal our Church, and restore Her reputation.

 

[pcromwell]

Hi, this is my first post. I believe any adult, priest, religious, or non-religious should turn themselves in. This is not a Catholic problem its a problem with the human race. The Catholic Church is not a law enforcement agency. Anyone who does this or helps perpetuate this should turn themselves in no matter who, even the president of our country or the Pope. Public apologies are not necessary to me. Confess to a Priest and do what is lawfully responsible. Church donations should not go to victims. Catholics are not guilty of these crimes, only the perpetrators and the people that covered these crimes up.

 

[lemonbeam]

Hi, this is my first post. I believe any adult, priest, religious, or non-religious should turn themselves in. This is not a Catholic problem its a problem with the human race. The Catholic Church is not a law enforcement agency. Anyone who does this or helps perpetuate this should turn themselves in no matter who, even the president of our country or the Pope. Public apologies are not necessary to me. Confess to a Priest and do what is lawfully responsible. Church donations should not go to victims. Catholics are not guilty of these crimes, only the perpetrators and the people that covered these crimes up.

Welcome! I completely agree with you!!

 

[IHeartBenedict]

You know something, these threads are fascinating in one respect: Mortal Sin is Mortal Sin: Who among us have not committed a mortal sin at one time or another, perhaps stole a little something as a teenager, got super drunk, has sex outside of marriage… …yet we are all ready to skewer people who committed this particular mortal sin.

We confess OUR sins and expect that to be the end of it. Yet we are all ready to take up pitchforks and torches and pursue these people endlessly.

I am not condoning what they did, and I realize how awful the crime is. But still, from a spiritual point of view, all mortal sin has the same end result. It seems that we should do unto others as we would have others do unto us.

Oh ya, and then there’s that little fogginess thing that Jesus always talked about. I have not seen “forgiveness” mentioned once in all of these posts.

It’s because these sins are particular heinous. Because they were known and covered up for decades by higher representatives of that church’s hierarchy. They were perpetrated against* children* and youth, and particularly defenseless children in the Milwaukee case, the deaf. Perpetrated by the official representatives of a religious branch which appears to place special emphasis on the sinfulness of sexual sins, especially among the young, against whom these heinous crimes were committed.

Other representatives of other branches of Christianity do not appear to have performed these sins on such an industrial scale.

The ‘forgiveness’ has now been asked, somewhat belatedly, decades after the events, long after so many lives of the injured were destroyed. The sins of pedophilia are especially destructive to the developing personality. Mortal sins can be forgiven, but these lives will never be whole again.

…that’s why.

I understand they are heinous. But what I said was: “…from a spiritual point of view, all mortal sin has the same end result.” So from that perspective we should take care not to condemn others, lest in so doing we condemn ourselves.

 

[Edwardjohn]

Amen! I think the media will chalk this up to…THIS is what the Church is about, secrets, cover ups, and sex scandals. No, our Church is Christ’s gift to us all…He died for us all, and what happened, happened because of sin in the world. Sin in mankind. Not because this is what the Church is about. Good point, may our Savior Jesus heal our Church, and restore Her reputation.

Amen and amen.

 

[silentstar]

It’s because these sins are particular heinous. Because they were known and covered up for decades by higher representatives of that church’s hierarchy. They were perpetrated against* children* and youth, and particularly defenseless children in the Milwaukee case, the deaf. Perpetrated by the official representatives of a religious branch which appears to place special emphasis on the sinfulness of sexual sins, especially among the young, against whom these heinous crimes were committed.

Other representatives of other branches of Christianity do not appear to have performed these sins on such an industrial scale.

The ‘forgiveness’ has now been asked, somewhat belatedly, decades after the events, long after so many lives of the injured were destroyed. The sins of pedophilia are especially destructive to the developing personality. Mortal sins can be forgiven, but these lives will never be whole again.

…that’s why.

Also there is the part about ‘go and sin no more.’ Many abusers did not stop abusing and in fact expressed no remorse or empathy for the victims at all. It is common for abusers to lack empathy for their victims.

That makes the question of forgiveness especially hard b/c there will never be a sincere apology in the vast majority of cases, let alone any attempts at restitution such as the abuser paying anything toward therapy costs.

And often they continue offending even years later. In that case I have found forgiveness to be difficult.

I honestly don’t know what the Catholic Church says about forgiving people who don’t apologize, don’t have remorse and don’t stop abusing. I know that it is never good to hang on to bitterness against people who have hurt you but in this case I am having difficulty thinking about how to forgive.

My solution has been to report to law enforcement what can be reported and then try to detach mentally and let God deal with these people.

 

[whatevergirl]

Hi, this is my first post. I believe any adult, priest, religious, or non-religious should turn themselves in. This is not a Catholic problem its a problem with the human race. The Catholic Church is not a law enforcement agency. Anyone who does this or helps perpetuate this should turn themselves in no matter who, even the president of our country or the Pope. Public apologies are not necessary to me. Confess to a Priest and do what is lawfully responsible. Church donations should not go to victims. Catholics are not guilty of these crimes, only the perpetrators and the people that covered these crimes up.

First post? An excellent first post. I think you make a lot of sense here. Welcome to CAF!