How do we respond to the "sex abuse scandal"?

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Even Cardinal George has acknowledged that this isn’t about homosexuality, or even sexuality so much as about power. It is like Prison Rape (or most rape for that matter) a crime of violence based on control more than sexual desire.

It has nothing to do with the 60’s, but rather the would-be authoritarian backlash from (sexual) liberation. Priests often don’t do this because they are too sexual, but because they want to be able to dominate people, and get them to do what they are told to do. The opposite of the counter culture moral of the 60’s.

The news Today is that (5?) decades ago the Psychologist who advised the Pope, wrote to him, at the Pope’s request, to tell him to not do what the bishops and Cardinals did, don’t put them back in ministry, and don’t keep them as priests.
 
COMMHKS said:
I admire the victims who have posted here and expressed the importance of forgiveness. If someone abused one of my daughters, I pray I could be as charitable.

To those who seem to blame the “sex abuse scandal” on liberal theologians, misguided bishops, the mainstream media or suggest that the Catholic Church is being singled out because abuse occurs in other churches or in schools, please keep in mind crimes were committed. Crimes for which people are sent to prison every single day. The priests who abused these children committed crimes against vulnerable children and should have been brought to justice.

If any bishop became aware of a priest abusing a child and sent the priest to therapy or transferred the priest to an assignment where there would be minimal contact with children, that bishop failed to report a crime. I don’t care if a psychologist told the bishop the priest could be cured through treatment or thereapy. The abouse constituted a crime and it is very clear that there was an institutional policy within the Church to cover-up these crimes.

The sooner the bishops and the pope take responsiblity for the Church’s complicity in these crimes and stop blaming the media, the sooner the scandal will be over. They were the ones who could have done something to protect these children and chose to protect themselves instead.
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Every person has the freedom to choose his or her path that is never taken away. Although it brings great heartache to our Lord God, he allows that freedom of choice which can express our willing and truthful love and devotion to Him as it would/should that for your family or wife or husband, or choice of betrayal.

As scripture tells us, these things will happen as long as man is involved with any matter. The priests who committed these sins and yes crimes, will certainly be judged if not one way most certainly the other. It should be noted that law enforcement did not act on these cases either. If a superior authority, whether bishop, police or otherwise condoned it through complacency, they too will be judged, one way or the other. We seem to put aside the reality that Jesus has the final word regardless of man’s actions and no one escapes judgment. Trust ib Jesus as the High Priest of His Church that whatever evil has or will be done, He will see it is according to His will. It is our responsibility to remain and persevere and our responsibility to make our voices heard when matters of the Church fall victim as Christ warned us they would. Not one of us knows all the events other than to realize it was handled carelessly and if one looks deeply into the independant studies performed that showed the failings and look at the progress that has been made to correct and avoid such crimes, one can see humanity in its faults and struggles to learn from them as in any other issue. But we all need to be aware that these crimes and other crimes have existed in many Christian faiths but it is the largest person and the largest institution that always gets the most attention. We make news people, because we are the origin of all Christianity. When ours fall to sin, all the others who are separated from the True Church justify themselves and their beliefs by repetitious condemnation. As one who was a criminal and civil investigator and researcher I can tell you both media and lawyers not all but some) in such cases are often as corrupt as those they accuse for the sake of profit. Keep faith and trust that Jesus will see to Justice and stand strong in support of your faith. Those who committed these acts or covered them up are NOT our faith and are not our Church. They are the Judas’ whose weaknesses flourished in the food of satan.
 
Phil_Stone said:
The news Today is that (5?) decades ago the Psychologist who advised the Pope, wrote to him, at the Pope’s request, to tell him to not do what the bishops and Cardinals did, don’t put them back in ministry, and don’t keep them as priests.
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What is your source for this statement? If it is the news media then I wouldn’t trust it at all! Revisionist news is not a reliable source. The understanding that I have is that the majority of psychologists BACK THEN, were of the idea that pedophilia was 'treatable". We know NOW, today, that that is not true. Unfortunately, the Bishops BACK THEN had to go with the information that they had AT THE TIME. I am sure that there are mistakes that YOU have made in the past that you would not make today. When St. Peter denied Christ three times and realized what he had done, he wept bitterly… he wished that he had not done that…But Christ forgave him and gave him the keys to the kingdom and the responsibility of tending to His flock.

The Church now has in place - thanks in large part to Benedict XVI - very stringent guidelines and trainings for anyone in ministry that has contact with children. In addition, it spends literally thousands of dollars on FREE training for anyone…in how to spot and report child abuse. Anyone who has **any **contact with children is required to take the course. As horrible as this whole situation is…I believe that God can take any bad situation and make some good come of it.I believe that the Church will weather this storm and will come out stronger for it. Christ promised it; I believe it!

There is a story of a dream that St. John Bosco had of a man dressed in white (the Pope) who was at the helm of a ship…in the midst of a storm tossed sea, he was struggling to keep the ship between the two pillars of the church. Sound familiar?

Peace,

CC
[SIGN] I love my Papal Papa! [/SIGN]
 
ccolley said:
What is your source for this statement? If it is the news media then I wouldn’t trust it at all! Revisionist news is not a reliable source. The understanding that I have is that the majority of psychologists BACK THEN, were of the idea that pedophilia was 'treatable". We know NOW, today, that that is not true. Unfortunately, the Bishops BACK THEN had to go with the information that they had AT THE TIME. I am sure that there are mistakes that YOU have made in the past that you would not make today. When St. Peter denied Christ three times and realized what he had done, he wept bitterly… he wished that he had not done that…But Christ forgave him and gave him the keys to the kingdom and the responsibility of tending to His flock.

The Church now has in place - thanks in large part to Benedict XVI - very stringent guidelines and trainings for anyone in ministry that has contact with children. In addition, it spends literally thousands of dollars on FREE training for anyone…in how to spot and report child abuse. Anyone who has **any **contact with children is required to take the course. As horrible as this whole situation is…I believe that God can take any bad situation and make some good come of it.I believe that the Church will weather this storm and will come out stronger for it. Christ promised it; I believe it!

There is a story of a dream that St. John Bosco had of a man dressed in white (the Pope) who was at the helm of a ship…in the midst of a storm tossed sea, he was struggling to keep the ship between the two pillars of the church. Sound familiar?

Peace,

CC
[SIGN] I love my Papal Papa! [/SIGN]
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I understand not always trusting the media, that should be the case, everyone should always use back up sources to verify info.

Just like it would be nice to have you provide some backup for your info about the majority of Psychs saying that pedophilia was treatable . Because if you look at the experience that church supported institutions had with pedophilia that was not the case as there were very high recidivism rates. And most of these institutions were established to treat only priests, so the church was quite aware of the problem and they knew they were repeatedly paying for some of the same priests over again.

And most gravely, the church allowed priests who these institutions said were still a danger to be in contact with children. Like what happened in Germany , same stuff.

As far as the sanctions on child abuse, the church has not seen fit to make them universal and only in the US is the “one strike and you’re out” the norm.

As far as having the information at the time about the dangers of abuse, the church was telling clerics to not abuse pilgrims back in the time of the council of Trent. They knew abuse was bad then and they knew it was bad a century ago, fifty years ago and bad today.

What they didn’t count on was that people would see through the subterfuge and try to hold the church accountable to what Jesus taught. The church has ignored what Jesus taught throughout the problems with abuse and they are still being deceptive to this day.

To some that is OK, for others that don’t see the church’s condoning of abuse as a tenant of Jesus, it is very troubling.

Peace
 
ccolley said:
What is your source for this statement? If it is the news media then I wouldn’t trust it at all! Revisionist news is not a reliable source. The understanding that I have is that the majority of psychologists BACK THEN, were of the idea that pedophilia was 'treatable". We know NOW, today, that that is not true. Unfortunately, the Bishops BACK THEN had to go with the information that they had AT THE TIME. I am sure that there are mistakes that YOU have made in the past that you would not make today. When St. Peter denied Christ three times and realized what he had done, he wept bitterly… he wished that he had not done that…But Christ forgave him and gave him the keys to the kingdom and the responsibility of tending to His flock.

The Church now has in place - thanks in large part to Benedict XVI - very stringent guidelines and trainings for anyone in ministry that has contact with children. In addition, it spends literally thousands of dollars on FREE training for anyone…in how to spot and report child abuse. Anyone who has **any **contact with children is required to take the course. As horrible as this whole situation is…I believe that God can take any bad situation and make some good come of it.I believe that the Church will weather this storm and will come out stronger for it. Christ promised it; I believe it!

There is a story of a dream that St. John Bosco had of a man dressed in white (the Pope) who was at the helm of a ship…in the midst of a storm tossed sea, he was struggling to keep the ship between the two pillars of the church. Sound familiar?

Peace,

CC
[sign] I love my Papal Papa! [/sign]
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Children were once always taught by their parents, kind of similar to today’s homeschooling. The sad part about this is that the offenses seem to realy be about homosexual behavior, which is what I experienced and still have evidence of today. Unfortunately I would not disclose who and where since they are no longer affiliated with ministry as far as I can tell. One priest I know is now married and a professor. The man is a real genius. It would seem that he was sexually frustrated or unable to keep his promise of celibacy. I personally think that religious and clergy should only be considered in the late 20’s at the earliest.
 
Whitacre_Girl said:
While I am in NO way attempting to justify these priests or their actions, there are a few things we have to keep in mind with this situation.

ANYTIME there is a scandal in the Catholic church, you can bet your bottom dollar that the media is going to blow it WAY out of proportion, paint all priests with the same brush, and villify the church as much as possible. Is it any coincidence that this is happening at the same time as the healthcare bill? The church is pretty outspoken against it due to it’s pro-abortion statements.
"the media is going to blow it WAY out of proportion<< Please tell us what “proportion” would in your mind be apropriate!! 1-10, 20-50,or as it seems THOUSANDS!!!
BTW. What the heck has “Healthcare” got to do with SEX ABUSE!!!
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Yes let us pray… That you,and others, WILL be “shaken”!!!

My thoughts on this, in my opinion it is time the RCC awake from it’s self imposed state of coma,join,the 21th.Century… Stop holding on to “man made” rules,recognise that the Catholic world can,READ the Bible,define “fiction” from the TRUE word of Christ,as given to us through the testimony of the TRUE decendents of the Apostles…The “Dark Age” of ignorance is long gone… That priests remain unmarried, is,not only a sin against the will of our CREATOR, but also totally unnatural…
I was very hopefull when Pope Benedikt took control of the RCC,sadly my hopes have been in vain… The mistakes he has made,the irresponsible statements, are just too much… As head of the RCC,he should know what goes on in “HIS” / “OUR” Church…
NO EXCUSES, NO more “I/HE did not know”, what his staff were up to… it is not plausible…
The Press have every right to report such crimes,especially when the Vatican tries to HIDE them… How else would we have learnd about this scandalous behaviour…
TOO easy to blame the press/media… We should put the blame where it belongs, at the steps of the Vatican…
PS.I as a young girl was a victim of “coaching” by a priest,thank goodness I was not
so “gullable” as many;many others…I told my father,he “spoke” to the priest in question,in no uncertain terms…It stoped …not every one (aparently) was so lucky…I do not know if the incident was “reported” I doubt it…
In my family there has been,an incident of “payent for silence”,ca’ 42.000 british Pounds per person was paid out ca’ 4years ago to more than 200 persons. I can not go into detail (but if interested the forum can give my e-mail addy) as the person in question was made to sign a statement of “secrecy”… Alas, she died last year,so there is no reason for me to remain silent… She was in one of the Magdalenen orphanages along with her sister both are now dead…She remained faithfull to her “faith” but was not soo “true” to the “doctrine”/rules of the Vatican… It failed her when she was most in need… Stop making excuses start REFORMING … Enough is enough …
Feel the pulse of the faithfull,listen to the voice of reason… “fides et ratio” …only empty words??? I hope not …
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Tybourne said:
Yes, those who committed the crimes and sins were responsible, like the Sanhedrin guards who seized Jesus and the Roman soldiers who crucified Him. But so were those who created and allowed the atmosphere within which the abuse could happen. These were the bishops and theologians and we, lay people, with an excessive, misplaced fawning attitude towards priests, a “lust for servility”'as Newman put it.

Gluttony leads to lust. We need to restore fasting as a serious practice in the Church, both by way of reparation for this scandal, for reunion with the Orthodox and for peace and mutual understanding with Muslims. If I tell an observant Muslim, that I am ‘fasting’ by giving up chocolate for Lent, they would laugh at me! The spirituality of Servant of God Catherine Doherty would seem to be a good place to start to explore the place of fasting./QUOT
Oh,Now I got it Fasting!!! |course,soo stupid of us all. That of course is the answer, I give up Chocolate,cigarets, french/fries… and all will be just whoopie… Well how come Pope Benedikt did not think of that , ok too much to do with making sure the faithtull in Africa don|t take the Pill,use condoms, cos as we all know thez help to spread AIDS…!!
What a laugh if it was not sooooooooooo SAD…
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The initial study of sex abuse in Catholicism appeared in the Boston Globe. Those who conducted the research found that sexual abuse of children and youth among Protestant clergy was much rarer than among Catholic priests.
Code: 
Why? A few reasons.

1. Protestant congregations are apt to be smaller and it's much harder for a minister to get away with such evil.

 2. Protestant churches in general operate more democratically than Catholicism and there is not much of a hierarchy to help provide cover for a predatory minister.

3. The vast majority of ministers are married and are parents, and while this doesn't mean there are no predators among them, they have a vehicle for sexual expression and they also have children and may better understand what an evil sexual exploitation of children is.

 4. Catholicism is so structured that gays and others who are not normative in their sexual feelings may be attracted to it. A priest is not asked why he isn't married. He may become a priest to cover over his problem. He may think becoming a priest will overcome his problem. He is likely to have private access to children who may be altar boys, parochial school students, etc. - which ministers would not normally have. I also am inclined to think that the vestments and rich liturgy of Catholicism may have a special appeal to many gays. (This is not necessarily a criticism of gays - just a statement of what I believe is fact.) 

 5. The main failure of Protestant ministers is likely to be infidelity, usually involving a female member of his congregation, often a person who seeks counseling.

 But, of course, the vast majority of clergy, Catholic, Protestant, etc., would never think of sexually exploiting children or teenagers. May God bless them for all that they do!
 
Roy5 said:
The initial study of sex abuse in Catholicism appeared in the Boston Globe. Those who conducted the research found that sexual abuse of children and youth among Protestant clergy was much rarer than among Catholic priests.
Code: 
Why? A few reasons.

1. Protestant congregations are apt to be smaller and it's much harder for a minister to get away with such evil.

 2. Protestant churches in general operate more democratically than Catholicism and there is not much of a hierarchy to help provide cover for a predatory minister.

3. The vast majority of ministers are married and are parents, and while this doesn't mean there are no predators among them, they have a vehicle for sexual expression and they also have children and may better understand what an evil sexual exploitation of children is.

 4. Catholicism is so structured that gays and others who are not normative in their sexual feelings may be attracted to it. A priest is not asked why he isn't married. He may become a priest to cover over his problem. He may think becoming a priest will overcome his problem. He is likely to have private access to children who may be altar boys, parochial school students, etc. - which ministers would not normally have. I also am inclined to think that the vestments and rich liturgy of Catholicism may have a special appeal to many gays. (This is not necessarily a criticism of gays - just a statement of what I believe is fact.) 

 5. The main failure of Protestant ministers is likely to be infidelity, usually involving a female member of his congregation, often a person who seeks counseling.

 But, of course, the vast majority of clergy, Catholic, Protestant, etc., would never think of sexually exploiting children or teenagers. May God bless them for all that they do!
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The Boston Globe also reported about one incident more than 100 in one month!

I am fortunate never to have known a priest who was paedophile - those I have known have been good and holy men - some more than others.

cinette:)
 
Oh,Now I got it Fasting!!! |course,soo stupid of us all. That of course is the answer, I give up Chocolate,cigarets, french/fries… and all will be just whoopie…
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If nobody has ever apologized to you about the priest who seemingly ‘coached’ or ‘groomed’ you for abuse, please accept this apology from me, on behalf of the Church- though I’m in no official position to do so.

The abuse crisis stems from human passions that probably you, I and every other human person apart from a few living saints are subject to. These passions can *only *be tamed by the grace of God, but we can co-operate with that grace through ascetic practices. Giving up chocolate etc is *not *fasting. Fasting means not eating food or drinking. Apart from simply not eating and drinking, which should be done with caution and only under good spiritual direction, other Scriptural and traditional types of abstinence and fasting include:
  • Abstaining from alcohol- the Nazirite fast (Judges 13)
  • Abstaining from meat and alcohol- the fast of Daniel (Daniel 10)
  • Abstaining from meat but eating poultry and fish and drinking alcohol- the Benedictine Rule (Chapter 39)
  • The Black Fast:
    • No more than one meal per day was permitted
    • Flesh meat, eggs, butter, cheese and milk were forbidden
    • The meal was not allowed until after sunset
    • Alcohol was forbidden
    • During Holy Week, the meal consisted exclusively of bread, salt, herbs, and water
I understand that the the Black Fast is still observed by Eastern Orthodox Christians during Lent. Could this be ‘light from the East’ for the Latin Church?

We are surely mistaken to blame the problem on ‘predators’, as if abusive priests were a different subspecies of human? They are people like us, albeit warped, damaged and highly dangerous people.
 
portarica said:
I understand not always trusting the media, that should be the case, everyone should always use back up sources to verify info.

Just like it would be nice to have you provide some backup for your info about the majority of Psychs saying that pedophilia was treatable . Because if you look at the experience that church supported institutions had with pedophilia that was not the case as there were very high recidivism rates. And most of these institutions were established to treat only priests, so the church was quite aware of the problem and they knew they were repeatedly paying for some of the same priests over again.

And most gravely, the church allowed priests who these institutions said were still a danger to be in contact with children. Like what happened in Germany , same stuff.

As far as the sanctions on child abuse, the church has not seen fit to make them universal and only in the US is the “one strike and you’re out” the norm.

As far as having the information at the time about the dangers of abuse, the church was telling clerics to not abuse pilgrims back in the time of the council of Trent. They knew abuse was bad then and they knew it was bad a century ago, fifty years ago and bad today.

What they didn’t count on was that people would see through the subterfuge and try to hold the church accountable to what Jesus taught. The church has ignored what Jesus taught throughout the problems with abuse and they are still being deceptive to this day.

To some that is OK, for others that don’t see the church’s condoning of abuse as a tenant of Jesus, it is very troubling.

Peace
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My sources for the idea that Psychologists thought that pedophilia was treatable is based on my classes in psychology and my professors. I took several psychology classes (during the 80’s and 90’s) and I would assume that a psychology professor would have a good idea of what popular notions of psychology were at the time. What is your source? If you can provide a more accurate source, then I am open to it.

I don’t deny that some Bishops handled this whole situation badly and illegally in some cases (ie Archbishop Weakland). But that is hardly reason to hold the entire CHURCH…responsible. The Church is not just the Pope, Bishops and priests…it is the laity, too. So if you accuse the Church, then you also accuse the laity. One is not guilty simply by association.

CC
[SIGN] I love my Papal Papa! [/SIGN]
 
Tybourne said:
If nobody has ever apologized to you about the priest who seemingly ‘coached’ or ‘groomed’ you for abuse, please accept this apology from me, on behalf of the Church- though I’m in no official position to do so.
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:rotfl:
Tybourne said:
The abuse crisis stems from human passions that probably you, I and every other human person apart from a few living saints are subject to. These passions can *only *be tamed by the grace of God, but we can co-operate with that grace through ascetic practices. Giving up chocolate etc is *not *fasting. Fasting means not eating food or drinking. Apart from simply not eating and drinking, which should be done with caution and only under good spiritual direction, other Scriptural and traditional types of abstinence and fasting include:
  • Abstaining from alcohol- the Nazirite fast (Judges 13)
  • Abstaining from meat and alcohol- the fast of Daniel (Daniel 10)
  • Abstaining from meat but eating poultry and fish and drinking alcohol- the Benedictine Rule (Chapter 39)
  • The Black Fast:
    • No more than one meal per day was permitted
    • Flesh meat, eggs, butter, cheese and milk were forbidden
    • The meal was not allowed until after sunset
    • Alcohol was forbidden
    • During Holy Week, the meal consisted exclusively of bread, salt, herbs, and water
I understand that the the Black Fast is still observed by Eastern Orthodox Christians during Lent. Could this be ‘light from the East’ for the Latin Church?

We are surely mistaken to blame the problem on ‘predators’, as if abusive priests were a different subspecies of human? They are people like us, albeit warped, damaged and highly dangerous people.
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Today will be difficult for me to fast and I’m asking everyone on this thread to please pray for me and especially my wife. She is having a biopsy done as of yesterday and we are nervously waiting for an answer.
 
The_Geographer said:
Children were once always taught by their parents, kind of similar to today’s homeschooling. The sad part about this is that the offenses seem to realy be about homosexual behavior, which is what I experienced and still have evidence of today. Unfortunately I would not disclose who and where since they are no longer affiliated with ministry as far as I can tell. One priest I know is now married and a professor. The man is a real genius. It would seem that he was sexually frustrated or unable to keep his promise of celibacy. I personally think that religious and clergy should only be considered in the late 20’s at the earliest.
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So is he married to a woman? :confused:

Pedophilia is NOT about homosexuality…it is all about control. Sexual frustration is not the motivating factor either.

I do know that in most religious formation programs nowadays…there is a trend toward accepting people a bit later in life (ie not right out of high school)…this is to allow them to gain more life experience so that a call to religious life can be discerned with more clarity.

CC
[SIGN]Don’t just pray for your priest, thank him for his service! [/SIGN]
 
ccolley said:
So is he married to a woman? :confused:

Pedophilia is NOT about homosexuality…it is all about control. Sexual frustration is not the motivating factor either.

I do know that in most religious formation programs nowadays…there is a trend toward accepting people a bit later in life (ie not right out of high school)…this is to allow them to gain more life experience so that a call to religious life can be discerned with more clarity.

CC
[sign]Don’t just pray for your priest, thank him for his service! [/sign]
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He’s married. But after the seminary he was relocated as Pastor over a parish. I know of a teenage boy, not man, that he also tried his moves on. I was asleep when he did God knows what else before I realized what was happening. I woke up and jumped up. Never said a word to him fearing I might use martial arts on the man since I was pretty well trained at the time. That would have made it much worse.

He is married to a woman and they don’t seem to have children. I found him on a priest scandle website as admitting to the allegations I made against him. Yes, I know it’s really about control and more about homosexuality than it was pedophilia. However, people fail to realize the impact it really had on me and others like me. I was quite naive at the time, well protected from such sins. I was only 18 and a seminarian to become a priest… I was prepared for the celibate life but not how to deal with scandals. I was not even warned about the predominant misbehavior as well.
 
ccolley said:
My sources for the idea that Psychologists thought that pedophilia was treatable is based on my classes in psychology and my professors. I took several psychology classes (during the 80’s and 90’s) and I would assume that a psychology professor would have a good idea of what popular notions of psychology were at the time. What is your source? If you can provide a more accurate source, then I am open to it.

I don’t deny that some Bishops handled this whole situation badly and illegally in some cases (ie Archbishop Weakland). But that is hardly reason to hold the entire CHURCH…responsible. The Church is not just the Pope, Bishops and priests…it is the laity, too. So if you accuse the Church, then you also accuse the laity. One is not guilty simply by association.

CC
[SIGN] I love my Papal Papa! [/SIGN]
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I agree that one of the big problems is that we don’t hold ourselves as members of the laity accountable. We have been basically silent about the rampant disregard for what Jesus taught.
As for the failure of church orientated institutions to successfully treat the abusers, look at the link a few posts back about the Paraclete. As to taking some psych courses and not hearting about the issue is quite different from taking some courses in abnormal sexuality or criminal psychology, were they the subjects you took?

I don’t hold the entire church responsible, just the 1-4% of priests who abused and all the bishops and cardinals and popes, except those that did all they could to not condone abuse with inaction.

So that puts about 96-98% of the priests in the clear, but how many bishops ignored letters from the mothers of victims, how many letters were forwarded directly to Rome and how many letters from Moms were mailed directly to the Vatican?

If one kid was molested after a mom’s letter made it to a bishop or a cardinal or a pope, then it is just like they molested the kid themselves. There is no excuse for not protecting Jesus’ lambs, it would be akin to not stopping an abortion if one could stop it from happening.

Peace
 
portarica said:
I agree that one of the big problems is that we don’t hold ourselves as members of the laity accountable. We have been basically silent about the rampant disregard for what Jesus taught.
As for the failure of church orientated institutions to successfully treat the abusers, look at the link a few posts back about the Paraclete. As to taking some psych courses and not hearting about the issue is quite different from taking some courses in abnormal sexuality or criminal psychology, were they the subjects you took?

I don’t hold the entire church responsible, just the 1-4% of priests who abused and all the bishops and cardinals and popes, except those that did all they could to not condone abuse with inaction.

So that puts about 96-98% of the priests in the clear, but how many bishops ignored letters from the mothers of victims, how many letters were forwarded directly to Rome and how many letters from Moms were mailed directly to the Vatican?

If one kid was molested after a mom’s letter made it to a bishop or a cardinal or a pope, then it is just like they molested the kid themselves. There is no excuse for not protecting Jesus’ lambs, it would be akin to not stopping an abortion if one could stop it from happening.

Peace
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I appreciate your thinking and analysis of the situation. It is so Catholic - the kind of thinking to which I have always been exposed. Sure there were a couple of priests who have said things that have made me roll my eyes (nothing dramatic - just little things) but in the main the priests have been intelligent, highly educated, holy and dedicated men. I even know one from before he became a priest, then attended his ordination and then later when he left the priesthood to marry, employed him. He remains an honest and good person - exceptionally so.

When the abuse scandal was exposed the pain I felt was so intense and my first reaction was to defend (because of my experience…) Then I became angry and wanted to physically attack priests who might have abused. I KNOW that if I had been abused I would have been destroyed…and yet I had two incidences as a child when one man tried to fondle me while piggy-backing me - I wiggled away and ran - and another who exposed himself and I also ran - he was so handsome and I had idolised him but from that day I never went hear him. I have always been bold and cheeky and if a priest had done such a thing I would probably have shouted and screamed and told the world out loud but I realise some people would be too ashamed and timid. Now I want everything EXPOSED and a complete purge. I realise that the scandal will be with the Church for a long time and that perceptions will be extremely negative.

I would like a thread with people who have suffered abuse and how they handled it and how they came through it, if at all, and whether they are still Catholics.

I do firmly believe that there was a time when society believed that pedophiles could be counselled and cured. The realisation that pedophilia is incurable is recent.

I would also like to see the media more honest in their reporting. I saw the entire homily by Fr Cantelamessa and he said that he received a letter from a Jewish friend who went on to say that the persecution of the Church by the media was akin to anti-semitism. CNN reported (and the BBC) that Fr Cantelamessa had said that which is different from it coming from a Jew - in fact Fr Cantelamessa said that he got permission from the Jewish friend to speak about his letter. See the difference? Yet the media reports that it was Fr Cantelamessa’s opinion. It is a dishonest twist and it makes me wonder how many other twisted reports do we hear daily thinking that it is the truth. The media has a tremendously important role but when they rush to be the first to report without checking their facts then they really do us a disservice because they are reporting lies.

God bless you all
Cinette:)*
 
The_Geographer said:
He’s married. But after the seminary he was relocated as Pastor over a parish. I know of a teenage boy, not man, that he also tried his moves on. I was asleep when he did God knows what else before I realized what was happening. I woke up and jumped up. Never said a word to him fearing I might use martial arts on the man since I was pretty well trained at the time. That would have made it much worse.

He is married to a woman and they don’t seem to have children. I found him on a priest scandle website as admitting to the allegations I made against him. Yes, I know it’s really about control and more about homosexuality than it was pedophilia. However, people fail to realize the impact it really had on me and others like me. I was quite naive at the time, well protected from such sins. I was only 18 and a seminarian to become a priest… I was prepared for the celibate life but not how to deal with scandals. I was not even warned about the predominant misbehavior as well.
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Do you now have children?

Cinette:)
 
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