How to answer why we stay Catholic amidst abuse scandal

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Understood.

My point was just that the abuse within the Church is far worse than in a public sector because the Church guides it flock with regards to right and wrong, spiritual health, etc. A billion souls are entrusted to it. That isn’t the same for the public sector.
 
The reason I stay Catholic is first and foremost because the Catholic Church has the True Presence and this will never change despite the horrific abuses. Remember, even though Judas betrayed Jesus the other eleven Apostles did not betray Jesus. These two Bible verses should help give you clarity as to why we can and must stay Catholic during this difficult time:

_ “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”_ - John 14:6

Jesus says He is THE way, truth, and life, not a way, a truth, and a life.

” I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” - Matthew 16:18

These abuses are terrible and are definitely the work of the devil to try and destroy the Church. But never forget that Jesus says the Church may be infiltrated but it will NEVER be destroyed.

The devil wants to destroy the Church and will do so by attacking the exact thing he can never have, a human body. The devil is tempting those with pleasures of the flesh because he can never have these pleasures and he is deeply envious of it. In order for him to attack the Church he must first attack the domestic church which is the family. This is why we see him attacking sexuality with pornography, adultery, contraception, and abortion.

We must remain strong, and remain in the Truth. The devil presents his tricks with a hint of truth in that we as humans think sexual abuse is terrible, and it sure is. But his trick is that he manipulates our response hoping that we respond by leaving the Church all together instead of fixing the Church and remaining with the True Presence. This IS our faith and this is the wonders of Theology of the Body. Please research Christopher West for more!
 
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QwertyGirl said:
I think your response misses a critical difference between what happens with school teachers/ government officials and what has happened with the Church.

The Church presumes to have moral authority over its flock. Catholics turn to their priests and bishops (all the way up to the pope) to guide them spiritually and morally. This isn’t the case with any other segment of society.
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The question was “How do you explain that staying in The Church is not supporting abuse” So my answer was suited for that question.

I know people look up to priests and Bishops but that was not a part of the question. I know the difference between The Church and a public school. I was just pointing out that it can be argued that if someone is going to say being Catholic is supporting abuse the same can be said about other institutions.

I understand that The Church and public schools are different but it does not invalidate my point.
 
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I was born a Catholic and I will die a Catholic. The Church is much bigger than a minority of it’s sinful clergy. Speaking of sinfulness, the greatest evangelist St. Paul actively persecuted Christians and St. Peter himself denied the Lord not once but three times. The other Apostles abandoned Him also, so we have nothing to answer for as we remain in the Church
 
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I suppose you can tell them “If we are catching fire, we are over the target” But I doubt they will understand.

There are many things about our Faith, our Church, and our lives as Catholics that we cannot explain quickly with sound bites. Most people are not interested in longer discussions and disengage very quickly. It is beyond frustrating. Not just because they asked but will not allow you the opportunity to give an answer but also where is their curiosity?

I have found most of the prods I know, change churches on a dime. They might stick in the same denomination but will always move on when something is wrong. It is like trying to explain marriage to a serial dater who never makes it past the first fight.
 
My question would be, why do we have to answer this at all? Why do we have to respond to every criticism that somebody throws at us?

I could answer the question posed by the OP, but I know from past experience my answer is unlikely to be well received, accepted, or understood. So why waste my breath?

Nobody asks Muslims why they stay Muslim when certain Muslims, including some clerics, promote oppression, violence, and terrorism. It’s understood that the oppressive and violent Muslims and Muslim clerics are only a subset of the whole. Many Muslims and clerics are ordinary good people just trying to live their lives in peace. Likewise, many Catholics, including many priests, are good people just going about their business; they don’t abuse minors or cover up for those who do. Good people going about their business owe no one an explanation.
 
in my opinion, Catholics should on average have a holiness far above the common people. priests and religious should have a holiness far above the ordinary Catholics. And the argument that holiness is something interior and hidden is fallacious! in fact, holiness always manifests itself externally, when one is not hypocritical. if Catholics, priests, religious can not have remarkable holiness, then how useful are the sacraments, the intercession of the saints, the participation in the Mass, etc., etc.?
 
One of the best things about selecting a Catholic college as the first one I attended is discovering the very humanness of the monks who lived there. Those are who are called to religious life are not necessarily more religious or more devout than anybody else. It was a wonderful myth to be dispelled. Too often nuns and priests are given “demi-god” status. That’s a difficult role to stand up to. It is why, just like the rest of us, they are in need of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.
The efficacy of the Eucharist is not effected by the sanctity of the priest who presides over the Mass. Were that so, then Christ would not be present. It is one of the questions that was raised and answered in an early council of the Church.
It is hypocritical to think that any of us has reached perfection until that day when God has called us to Himself. He alone is judge. In the meantime, I pray each morning a specific prayer that I might reflect Christ to the world. It is as John the Baptist stated, “I must decrease that He might increase,” and Paul reminded those who heard his words, that their lives reflect the One in whom they professed belief.
 
I think what we also need is to repeat often that, yes, this happened, yes it was very wrong, and that except for one or two instances, all of this took place over 20 years ago.

The church HAS ADDRESSED the scandal. Unless you volunteer at the church, you have no idea. I’m an old woman, and I had to fill out a number of state and other forms (not sure for whom all), and our last person handling this for the church wasn’t very good at it, and I was tearing my hair out, trying to get to the right places on line and get the right forms filled out. (We now have a better security person in the office.) Anyway, I finally got clearance to volunteer at the church, setting up tables and chairs for the Friday fish fries. This took place in the middle of the day when kids were in school. I don’t think I ever was within a half-mile of a child. Common sense doesn’t prevail at all. Everybody goes through the same security checks, no matter what they are volunteering for, or the fact that they are female and older than dirt.

Well, ok, it was explained to me that this is mainly to create an awareness in everybody present that we have to be vigilant about who all is around the church and/or wandering in and out of it.

Basically, and trying to keep this short, I think we can say that abuse today is highly unlikely, due to the efforts of the Church to keep all avenues of abuse nailed down. The bad priests have been weeded out and now we have all these security efforts. What more can we do? It seems to me that the Church should be being applauded at this point.
 
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