Solution to Priest Sex Abuse Scandal

[InSearchofGrace]

Is this the ongoing audit and the current background checks for all levels from volunteers to employees to priests?
…

The audit process, from what I deduce from selected documents on the USCCB site, started in 2002 and is ongoing. Too little, too late, as critics would say. True, the CC should have moved decisively much sooner, but too little it is not. The audit is ambitious and not a small undertaking. 195 dioceses and eparchies (requiring on-site study) which oversee an estimated 20,000 parishes.

Of importance, the bishops set up a Charter to Protect Children and Young People with which all dioceses have to comply. This link provides the latest (2009) Annual Charter Report. . There is also a BishopAccountability.org which is an evidence archive of all past and present abuse claims.

The sweep included creation of the National Review Board and commissioning the John Jay College to obtain history and context of CC clergy abuse from 1950 to 2002. The JJ Report is not finished, but it brought in enough information to collaborate / confirm findings by 2004, completion in Dec 2010.

The background checks, as I understand it, covers all, religious, employees, educators (in parish schools) and volunteers. See this link. Evaluation of everyone who comes in contact with children is performed. It is integrated under the risk management program in force in all parishes, called Virtus.

I am not a CC employee, just a Catholic interested in how the Church as an organization is handling the scandal of clergy abuse, the biggest challenge in its history. As her detractors keep saying, the Church has a reputation of being secretive. That’s in the past, as I found out and as you will agree. Anyone, Catholic or non-Catholic (like you) can now look up a very transparent online information site.

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Not to overly secularize things, but if you used a corporate analogy, if a board of directors discovered that corporate officers had allowed senior employees to commit extensive criminal acts spanning years, the board ought to dismiss the officers.

According to this, the USCCB is a corporation, albeit with a mission statement not like all other businesses. There is probably a parallel to the board of directors, but I can’t tell you more without digging further.

If you are alluding to dismissal of bishops (officers) because of acts of its senior employees (priests), I would think the information I provided in my previous post (to portarica) addresses this.
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[Reuben_J]

I have not made any unsubstantiated accusations. Just go through the posts and follow the cites.

Somebody started the thread regarding solutions to the crisis, I offered up a very simple one, that ,BTW, is in accord with all the teachings of the church and BTW with the teachings of Jesus.

Others presented excuses for the behavior of the church’s leaders( look closely at the definition for excuse , also cited) and I presented arguments for why the excuses were invalid.

But whether the excuses are valid or not is immaterial. The crisis continues and continues to take a toll on the church. It harms faithful catholics and disparages the church in the eyes of the world and in doing so stifles the work of spreading the Good News of Our Savior.

The leaders of our church could alleviate both the pain that still causes suffering to victims and their mothers and improve the odds of the Church saving more people for Christ with a few simple words that wouldn’t cause harm or increase the financial liability of the church.

It would require some humility, but I think that is a small price to pay for the good of the church, but apparently it is too high a price to pay for some and too high a price to ask for others.
Peace

I will not show you your unsubstantiated accusation as it will make you even more defensive. Even your post above shows that you have not heard what others say. You have stubbornly gone on one way traffic as if you have an agenda.

I just want to say this: we don’t mind the opinion and the constructive criticism but just look at your posts – I have the mind to think that you are non-Catholic masquerading as a Catholic because you don’t speak like one. I just give it the benefit of doubt for now. In any case we don’t run down the Church especially by generalizing because this will only benefit the enemy – the Evil one. We should also speak of her leaders with reverence as we do for the Lord.

I will let you go this time but I am also letting the mods assess your posts and trust their wisdom.

 

[portarica]

I will not show you your unsubstantiated accusation as it will make you even more defensive. Even your post above shows that you have not heard what others say. You have stubbornly gone on one way traffic as if you have an agenda.

I just want to say this: we don’t mind the opinion and the constructive criticism but just look at your posts – I have the mind to think that you are non-Catholic masquerading as a Catholic because you don’t speak like one. I just give it the benefit of doubt for now. In any case we don’t run down the Church especially by generalizing because this will only benefit the enemy – the Evil one. We should also speak of her leaders with reverence as we do for the Lord.

I will let you go this time but I am also letting the mods assess your posts and trust their wisdom.

Just show one claim I made that is unsubstantiated. I also chose most of my words pretty carefully , if I am not sure about the meaning , I check the meaning carefully and then use what is appropriate.

I would suggest that you do the same and look at the actual definitions of the words you say I use inappropriately.

You say you welcome debate, but actually no one has actually considered the practicality of my suggestions to end the crisis and and more specifically to end the suffering of the mothers . And to answer the question posed earlier, it was my mother who was buried and regretted leading my brother to trust and put his faith as a child in the church. They are both gone now and all I wish is that the church stop putting people through the pain that they put my family through.

Every word in my posts that elicits some emotional response does so because those words are true. Deceit, subterfuge, condone , excuse , don’t tell me they are not true because I have first hand evidence of the truth.

Notice also that I have never mentioned any type of witch hunt or going back and chasing ghosts. All my suggestions are for the future. I don’t want any mother to continue suffering the way my mother did .

And further, the way some people throw out the “can’t be a catholic” label here is really disgusting. People who remain catholic despite some of the less than ideal actions of the church and try to get the shortcomings of the church addressed show more courage than those that accept less than the best from the church and berate those who want the church to be better.

You can insult me all you want, it really just shows that you must resort to ad hominem attacks because the facts are not on your side in this argument. The foolish part of your argument is that the world basically knows it is wrong. The church should just apologize and shut up and stop trying to defend what it did in the past.

The church must make peace with the faithful catholics that suffered because of abuse, and do everything possible to stop it from happening again. Because if it doesn’t every time something hidden comes out, it will make the church look bad again and that stifles the work of Jesus.

Peace

 

[Reservoir_Dog]

The audit process, . . . . .

Thank you much, very informative post.

 

[Reuben_J]

Just show one claim I made that is unsubstantiated. I also chose most of my words pretty carefully , if I am not sure about the meaning , I check the meaning carefully and then use what is appropriate.

Peace

You mentioned about the principle of Jesus that the Pope should follow. May I ask then what is that principle that you want to apply here? And please give reference and not just heresay.

You mentioned the Pope did not apologize. Just a couple of months back he did when he say the Church has sinned.

You said the abuse is ongoing today like as if nothing has happened to address the problem. Show me figures, how and when.

Then you mentioned about the Curia being guilty. Show me real examples where they are indeed guilty. Please show me the ‘cover up’ and ‘subterfuge’ pepertrated by the Vatican, the Pope and the Bishops that had not been addresssed.

The rest of your posts is for all to see but perhaps we can start with the above. Please do not run away from this request. This is a chance for you to extenuate yourself.

p/s:
I do not say that you are not a Catholic but the way you disparaged the Church would fall into the hand of the enemy. What? The Pope resigns, the Bishops and priests sacked simply on suspicion? And who would want this to happen? Not many Catholics but we know there are people who would gloat over it.

 

[InSearchofGrace]

… And to answer the question posed earlier, it was my mother who was buried and regretted leading my brother to trust and put his faith as a child in the church. They are both gone now and all I wish is that the church stop putting people through the pain that they put my family through.

Every word in my posts that elicits some emotional response does so because those words are true. Deceit, subterfuge, condone , excuse , don’t tell me they are not true because I have first hand evidence of the truth.

… All my suggestions are for the future. I don’t want any mother to continue suffering the way my mother did .

And further, the way some people throw out the “can’t be a catholic” label here is really disgusting. People who remain catholic despite some of the less than ideal actions of the church and try to get the shortcomings of the church addressed show more courage than those that accept less than the best from the church and berate those who want the church to be better.

… The church should just apologize and shut up and stop trying to defend what it did in the past.

Finally, a disclosure that explains the deep anger you have towards the Church. I pray you seek help to melt the anger and hate away. It’s been too long and it can’t be healthy.

The internet forum does not lend itself to ideal exchange or debate; we just have general guidelines and it’s basically freeform.

Had you disclosed earlier how close you were/are to the issue (I don’t mean all details needed to be divulged, just enough would have sufficed), the discussion would have taken a different track. Posters who responded to your statements would have known the contextual experience from which you draw. As a result, the thread became no more than a venting vehicle for you, a one-way traffic as ReubenJ said, along with a strong anti-Catholic agenda.

It must be hard for you to believe there’s any goodness left in the Church. That is why it’s surprising that you still identify yourself as a Catholic.

To say that the Church should stop defending herself from all claims made is not reasonable. She has moved towards settlement of many claims deemed indefensible. If I recall the stats correctly, there were unsubstantiated claims, about a third of the number that came in during the period of review. This is part of the long view you are unable to appreciate, and you can’t be objective, because you are way too close to the abuse issue, as Otjm indicated.

If you have a source that lends credence to your claim that the Church, the Pope and the bishops are involved in “continuing cover-up, deceit and subterfuge” related to abuse, let’s have it.

In addition, information has been provided to you upthread that the Church is addressing the very thing you wish for, that no future mothers would go through what your mother went through, that no child would be harmed anymore, like your young brother was.

Lastly, since you say you remain a Catholic, let me say this in all charity, accompanied by a silent prayer: as a family member of a clergy abuse victim, you can approach the diocese of your choice. In her move toward healing of the community, the Church invites all survivors and their families to come forward, whether the case is old or new. This is what I understood in listening to Bishop Cupich in this 6-minute video clip. Dioceses have formed a healing circle group with a coordinator just for this purpose. Let the Church make amends and help you. I think that would be productive, unlike what you have endeavored to do in this thread. Do this, please. If the suggestion is not acceptable, seek help elsewhere in order for you to deal with this long standing grief.

May you find peace.

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[Thomas_Casey]

This thread is closed pending moderator review.

Thomas Casey
Moderator