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denbog
Guest
These are sinners but also criminals which should be booted out and go to prison. I have supported the church for over 55 years but now I will not give another dime to an organization which cannot do what is right for the sin of the clergy. It appears the church is pro life before you are born but your on your own once you get here.
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Ben_Dover
Guest
agreed
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lemonbeam
Guest
Why do you think he was referring to the sex abuse Priests? He didn’t talk about it.
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Adira
Guest
Although he didn’t specifically mention the priest scandal, coming so close on the heels of his statement about the Irish Scandal, it’s natural to assume he was thinking of the scandal when he made his Sunday address.
If he didn’t want the two statements to have nothing at all to do with each other, he should have chosen another topic for Sunday.
I was born and have lived in the Boston area all my life. The ‘priest scandal’ here had the impact of an atomic bomb. For years afterward, it still came up as a topic in the news and was talked about among the Church faithful. The impact is NOT over. Boston, still being a very Irish City has been following what’s going on in Ireland with disgust. Our wounds are still raw and the Irish situation just rubs them rawer.
I had attended one of the Boston Area churches where a priest had molested some young boys. I also knew of other churches where priests had done the same thing. I don’t have the words to express how shocking this was, especially when we learned molesting priests had been transferred from parish to parish.
The worst thing for all of us was the church hierarchy knowing about incidents and allowing this to go on. People left the Catholic Church. Some felt so betrayed by God, I don’t know if they go to any church anywhere.
We, in Boston, were assured that procedures were being put into place so that priests who were pedophiles would be dealt with and not passed around from one parish to another. The Church would advocate for the victim(s), instead of protecting the priests.
I can’t believe, so long after the revelations in Boston, that we are hearing about scandals in Ireland (among other places)!
Wasn’t Boston enough?!? Did they believe it was just something unique about Boston so there was no need to investigate anywhere else?
I believed Pope JPII really understood the terrible impact clergy abuse had had in the Church. I believed he took steps and was taking more steps to root this out in other dioceses.
I must confess that Benedict’s Sunday address, following so closely on the heels of his remarks to Ireland, doesn’t encourage me that he gets it.
Of course we must forgive those priests, or anyone else, who get caught up in sin. We must pray for them. I don’t want to see them whipped through the street! But, I don’t want child molesters and their enablers to continue on in the Church as if nothing has happened.
I DO want MORE assurances from our Holy Father that priests, monsignors, bishops, etc. will be dealt with if they are found to be molesting children, or if they stand against Church policy about reporting molesting clergy! Getting a ‘bad talking to’ is not the complete way to deal with such people.
Get child molesters far far away from children! For those who look the other way at such behavior - get these people out of the Church altogether.
If he didn’t want the two statements to have nothing at all to do with each other, he should have chosen another topic for Sunday.
I was born and have lived in the Boston area all my life. The ‘priest scandal’ here had the impact of an atomic bomb. For years afterward, it still came up as a topic in the news and was talked about among the Church faithful. The impact is NOT over. Boston, still being a very Irish City has been following what’s going on in Ireland with disgust. Our wounds are still raw and the Irish situation just rubs them rawer.
I had attended one of the Boston Area churches where a priest had molested some young boys. I also knew of other churches where priests had done the same thing. I don’t have the words to express how shocking this was, especially when we learned molesting priests had been transferred from parish to parish.
The worst thing for all of us was the church hierarchy knowing about incidents and allowing this to go on. People left the Catholic Church. Some felt so betrayed by God, I don’t know if they go to any church anywhere.
We, in Boston, were assured that procedures were being put into place so that priests who were pedophiles would be dealt with and not passed around from one parish to another. The Church would advocate for the victim(s), instead of protecting the priests.
I can’t believe, so long after the revelations in Boston, that we are hearing about scandals in Ireland (among other places)!
Wasn’t Boston enough?!? Did they believe it was just something unique about Boston so there was no need to investigate anywhere else?
I believed Pope JPII really understood the terrible impact clergy abuse had had in the Church. I believed he took steps and was taking more steps to root this out in other dioceses.
I must confess that Benedict’s Sunday address, following so closely on the heels of his remarks to Ireland, doesn’t encourage me that he gets it.
Of course we must forgive those priests, or anyone else, who get caught up in sin. We must pray for them. I don’t want to see them whipped through the street! But, I don’t want child molesters and their enablers to continue on in the Church as if nothing has happened.
I DO want MORE assurances from our Holy Father that priests, monsignors, bishops, etc. will be dealt with if they are found to be molesting children, or if they stand against Church policy about reporting molesting clergy! Getting a ‘bad talking to’ is not the complete way to deal with such people.
Get child molesters far far away from children! For those who look the other way at such behavior - get these people out of the Church altogether.
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Image_of_God
Guest
Since I think it was a homily, I don’t think he really had a choice.
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Mark77
Guest
i agree!?
**i too will not give another dime to any “organization which cannot do right…” so i will no longer pay taxes (the corruption, scandal & criminals in the US government make the failing of those in the Church look good) or even give my wife or children money because they are sinners.
**
**Keep your focus on Jesus Christ, our Lord & Savior, & not the sinners in His Church who have fallen for the Devils lies, as the Prince of Darkness would like you to do!
**
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, Ora pro Nobis Peccatoribus!
mark
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lemonbeam
Guest
A little unrelated, but I have just been reading about sex abuses cases in the Orthodox Church, Jewish community, Mosques and Anglican Church. People, aka. the media need to stop making out like this a Catholic problem. Do a little research, it most certainly isn’t.
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rfulks
Guest
To say that sexual abuse is not a Catholic problem is wrong on a lot of levels.
First, even if only 1% of the reported abuse cases by Catholic priests had happened, the fact remains that any child sexual abuse cannot be tolerated. This is among the most horrific things that can happen. For a Catholic priest to engage in such behavior can never, ever be tolerated or brushed off with the thought that since it happens elsewhere, it is no big deal.
Second, it seems abundantly clear that sexual abuse is a particular problem of Catholic clergy. I don’t know the statistics, but on a different thread someone quoted that 5% of priests have either committed or been accused of pedophilia or homosexual dalliances with teenagers, etc. I can believe that number. In my 35 years of attending Catholic churches, there have been (at least) three different priests in those churches found guilty of sexual abuse; the man who, until six months ago, was pastor of my current church just last week plead guilty to such a crime. In no other sphere of my life - different schools, hospitals, civic organizations, etc - am I aware of any other person who has been accused of such acts.
Third, and maybe most importantly, the reason this is a Catholic issue is the incredibly poor way that the Church hierarchy everywhere handled the issue - moving accused priests to different parishes, keeping silent about the issue, turning a blind eye to the evil acts of evil men. The actions of the bishops and others in power in the church, which in many cases allowed for the perpetuation of this kind of abuse, especially makes the Church at fault and especially makes this a world-wide Catholic problem.
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Zatzat
Guest
Someone should tell those Catholics responsible for kicking a child out of school for the sins of their parents about this.
forum.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=433712&page=1
forum.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=433712&page=1
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lemonbeam
Guest
In a statement, read out by Archbishop Silvano Maria Tomasi in September 2009, the Holy See stated “We know now that in the last 50 years somewhere between 1.5% and 5% of the Catholic clergy has been involved in sexual abuse cases,” adding that this figure was comparable with that of other groups and denominations.
I did not say that this can be brushed off. Please don’t put words in my mouth.
A Perspective on Clergy Sexual Abuse By Thomas Plante, Ph.D., ABPP, Department of Psychology, Santa Clara University says:
*However, although good data is hard to acquire, it appears that this 2 to 5% figure is consistent with male clergy from other religious traditions and is lower than the general adult male population that is best estimated to be closer to 8%. Therefore, the odds that any random Catholic priest would sexually abuse a minor are not likely to be significantly higher than other males in or out of the clergy. Of course we expect better behavior from priests than from the average man on the street. While even one priest who abuses children is a major problem, we need to keep this issue in perspective and remember that the vast majority of priests do not abuse children.
*
psychwww.com/psyrelig/plante.html
The number of Catholic clergy who abused minors is no higher than clergy of other denominations, and no higher than the general adult male population estimation.
Sexual Abuse in Social Context: Clergy and Other Professionals is a scholarly work that shows sexual abuse is not particularly prevalent within the Catholic hierarchy and that abuse is significantly higher among public school teachers than among ministers and priests. In the report, a study titled “Sexual abuse of students in schools” by Carol Shakeshaft, the instance of prevalence with the NTC public school system is described.
catholicleague.org/specialreports.php?id=10
I think the problem that we all have is the whole issue of the covering up of it all. Bishops and Priests sending away the sex abuser Priests to be ‘‘cured,’’ using therapy, instead of reporting it. They didn’t learn from repeat offenders and then it became public. The recent cases now emerging in Austria and Germany, like those that have shocked the American, Canadian, Irish and Australian churches, all date back 20, 30 and even 50 years. They are not repeatable. There are now child protection systems in place in Churches which have been judged by outside experts to be working well.
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Alexia2000
Guest
So, these were concealed for 20, 30 and even 50 years; I guess then in another 20, 30 or even 50 years we will be watching the sequel; because sadly, atleast one of the Bishops has refused to change the way things were done
But hey-ho, next time we could always blame the ‘outside experts’; we do that in a business environment all the time. Hire a bunch of consultants and then when things go pear-shaped, blame 'em and walk away whilst polishing ones halo
Or perhaps the Church does not recognise paedophilia as a ‘proper sin’ whilst homosexuality is a grave sin. Hang on, weren’t these male priests sodomising young boys against their will? Paedophilia, rape, homosexuality, and ofcourse, sex outside of marriage using condoms all rolled into one neat little package; oh dear, oh dear
But I missed one important point; these priests were sent in by the homosexuals to destroy the Church; problem solved; we can now blame the homosexuals and sleep tight; phew
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lemonbeam
Guest
The Child protection systems in Churches, as far as I know, did not exist 50 years ago. They do now. This can never happen again.
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rlg94086
Guest
As Jesus said, the parents need to “go and sin no more.” They haven’t been condemned. No one has thrown stones at them. If they repent, confess and receive absolution, they have the chance to “go and sin no more,” just as the woman in the biblical passage. However, to repent, they need to stop living as spouses and turn away from their homosexual lifestyle. Jesus did not ignore the woman’s sins, he forgave her and told her to sin no more.
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rlg94086
Guest
Exactly. My pastor had a similar homily…no relation to the priest abuse scandals. It has something to do with the Gospel passage for today, apparently.Since I think it was a homily, I don’t think he really had a choice.
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wisdomseeker
Guest
you are right. not to long ago an Orthodox priest was beaten by an ex marine here in my home town. this priest was accused by the marine of coming on to him and touching his private parts. the marine grabed a crow bar and beat the priest. just last month the court dismissed the case against the marine. so, the Orthodox church said they were dissapointed by the outcome. i hope that the marine was lying about the priest.
the point is the story didnt get much attention. i know if that was a Catholic it had made headlines for days.
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Soutane
Guest
Aye-Aye.
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lemonbeam
Guest
I agree. And I’m not taking pleasure in these sex abuse cases happening in other denominations and other religions, but you hardly ever hear of these sex abuse cases being reported in the media.
I’m not against news organizations reporting, but the LIES, the MISINFORMATION, and the TWISTING of the mainstream media is unreal. For Instance The Times, for which blogger Damian Thompson had plenty to say about this week.
Look at this: catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1794
The Times, and I bet this isn’t the only news organization following this low morality, there were two bills being debated in Albany on the subject of sex abuse: one targeted only private institutions like the Catholic Church, giving the public schools a pass; the other covered both private and public. The Times endorsed the former.
The Times have posted headlines about the Pope that are not true and that are misleading.
The media is not objective in reporting sex abuse cases.
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Soutane
Guest
Lemonbeam,you do this,I do this,others here do this,the Catholic League does this but people,our enemies and the media plug their ears and say"NAH-NAH-NAH-NaH…I can’t HEEEAAARRRR you"!!!
Don’t worry the Protestants,Jews,JW’s,Adventists and Muslims are next just as soon as we fix this problem once and for all.
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Soutane
Guest
She did NOT say that sex abuse was not a Catholic problem-she said that sex abuse was not EXCLUSIVELY a Catholic problem and that there were higher incidences of abuse in almost every other sector;especially Teachers,and Mommies and Daddies.I agree that one incidence of homosexual predatory behaviour in the Church is one TOO NANY.But don’t go putting words that she did not say into her mouth!!!
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