Practicing Catholics unfazed by abuse scandals; Pope’s popularity increasing

[OriginalJS]

Read this closely. 77 percent of Catholics “who attend Mass.” What does this mean? Every day attendance; Christmas and Easter only? These polls are hard to decipher. Whether they can be applied to all Catholics in the US is really problematic. But that is the inference.

 

[Ladygem]

I attend mass on Sundays, HDOs and First Fridays. I think that would qualify me as going to mass regularly. The way the abuse scandal has been handled is something I struggle with. I do not think it hurts Benedict XVI 's authority, he is the Pope and I do my best to defer to the Church’s teachings (also struggle with the issue of homosexuality and contraception), but it does hurt my opinion of him, so I cannot think of him as a “great” pope.

 

[Holly3278]

I have remained a faithful Catholic throughout all of the scandals and will continue to do so. Indeed, I converted right in the midst of the scandals. I am not saying that the scandals weren’t bad, they were. What I am saying is that I know the Catholic Church is Christ’s Church and that the gates of Hell could never prevail against it.

 

[Dee_S]

I would be among those that have increased faith and respect for the Church for how well they have handled it since news really broke out. Considering the many other institutions that were plagued by the crisis (such as schools and sports) the Church reacted the most positively by far.

Thanks be to God

These are extracts from the conclusion reached in a Special Report by Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights on SEXUAL ABUSE IN SOCIAL CONTEXT: CATHOLIC CLERGY AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS February 2004.
catholicleague.org/sexual-abuse-in-social-context-clergy-and-other-professionals-2/

The issue of child sexual molestation is deserving of serious scholarship. Too often, assumptions have been made that this problem is worse in the Catholic clergy than in other sectors of society. This report does not support this conclusion. Indeed, it shows that family members are the most likely to sexually molest a child. It also shows that the incidence of the sexual abuse of a minor is slightly higher among the Protestant clergy than among the Catholic clergy, and that it is significantly higher among public school teachers than among ministers and priests.

In a survey for the Wall Street Journal-NBC News, it was found that 64 percent of the public thought that Catholic priests frequently abused children.[xxxix] This is outrageously unfair, but it is not surprising given the media fixation on this issue. While it would be unfair to blame the media for the scandal in the Catholic Church, the constant drumbeat of negative reporting surely accounts for these remarkably skewed results.[xl]

By putting the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church in perspective, it is hoped that this report will make for a more fair and educated public response.

 

[wisdomseeker]

Only those who endure until the end will be saved. That is something to think about. The Sheppards will be accountable for the souls of those under their care. We must do our part to make sure we are on the side of our Lord at all times. Those who works in destroying the Church will pay in the end. It is not my place to condemn them but God’s.

 

[Wolseley]

I could not possibly disagree more. The holy father has given an apology with only words not actions, and for that I can never forgive him.

"For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

—the Gospel According to St. Matthew, 6:14-15.