The Pope Spoke

[Fair_Lady]

During the heat of the media coverage over the sex scandal within the Catholic church, over and over again I’d hear on EWTN that the media “was just attacking the church because of its stance on abortion and gay marriage”. Those words kept coming in from not only the EWTN radio hosts and guests, but also from callers stating their opinions. I kept wondering when is anyone going to “get it”? That there truly is a huge problem within the church but it seemed like everyone just wanted to brush it off as an unwarranted attempt to smear the church.

Well, maybe there is a glimmer of hope. The pope has spoken. And he didn’t mince his words. From The Associated Press:

Speaking enroute to Portugal, Benedict said the Roman Catholic church had always suffered from problems of its own making but that “today we see it in a truly terrifying way.”

“The greatest persecution of the church doesn’t come from enemies on the outside but is born from the sins within the church,” the pontiff said.

“The church needs to profoundly relearn penitence, accept purification, learn forgiveness but also justice.”

Is this the beginning of the end of cover-ups within the church? Will appropriate action be taken with zero tolerance given to infidelities by clergy? Only time will tell, but it was refreshing to read the words of the pope.

 

[Stylites]

Without a doubt the greatest threat to the Church are its own members who do not adhere to Her teachings in charity, humility and justice. The same goes for all the 43,000 fractured and prideful denominations and their own faithless followers as well.

.

 

[adrift]

During the heat of the media coverage over the sex scandal within the Catholic church, over and over again I’d hear on EWTN that the media “was just attacking the church because of its stance on abortion and gay marriage”.

Is this the beginning of the end of cover-ups within the church? Will appropriate action be taken with zero tolerance given to infidelities by clergy? Only time will tell, but it was refreshing to read the words of the pope.

The Church has been addressing this for sometime. You wouldn’t know it from the secular press and some others. The recent attack on the Pope came from those who hate the Church. The quote from the Pope was not his first statements. That is what those on EWTN were noting. They went after the Pope trying to manufacture charges against him. I am disappointed in your statements because they show ignorance. Obviously you do not know the steps that the Church has taken. One unproven accusation gets a priest removed. Back ground check are made of anyone involved in paish ministry. Now what is being done in other faiths. How about schools? Yes there was cover ups in schools and other faiths and I find no sign that it is changing but getting worst.

 

[unafraid]

During the heat of the media coverage over the sex scandal within the Catholic church, over and over again I’d hear on EWTN that the media “was just attacking the church because of its stance on abortion and gay marriage”. Those words kept coming in from not only the EWTN radio hosts and guests, but also from callers stating their opinions. I kept wondering when is anyone going to “get it”? That there truly is a huge problem within the church but it seemed like everyone just wanted to brush it off as an unwarranted attempt to smear the church.

Well, maybe there is a glimmer of hope. The pope has spoken. And he didn’t mince his words. From The Associated Press:

Is this the beginning of the end of cover-ups within the church? Will appropriate action be taken with zero tolerance given to infidelities by clergy? Only time will tell, but it was refreshing to read the words of the pope.

There is nothing revelatory in this. There has been a great misconception (a slander really) that this Pope has been some sort of “silent co-conspirator” in a mysterious Vatican cabal regarding the clerical sex abuse crisis. Nothing could be further from the truth. Pope Benedict’s position on the scandal has been clearly and consistently annunciated ad nauseum. Here is but one example. As a moribund Pope John Paul II was bravely facing death, then Cardinal Ratzinger, during the Way of the Cross ceremony at the Colloseum in Rome, March 25th, 2005, stated:

"Christ suffers in His own Church. How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to Him. The Church often seems like a boat taking in water on every side. The soiled garments and face of Your Church throw us into confusion. Yet it is we ourselves who have soiled them. It is we who betray You time and again.

Have mercy on Your Church. When we fall we drag you down to earth, and Satan laughs, for he hopes that You will not be able to rise from that fall; he hopes that being dragged down in the fall of Your Church, you will remain prostrate and overpowered"

This Pope has been falsely portrayed in a manner akin to one of Dan Brown’s fictional Vatican villains, replete with requisite nefarious circumspection and dark designs. The reality is that Pope Benedict is a holy, forthright and candid man of God. His honesty emanates from his very being. Much like St. Jude, one can find “no guile in him”. If one wishes to mine the depths of truth, one must learn to dig beneath the lurid, garish headlines that are deliberately composed to conceal that very thing. This Pope has “spoken”, and he has done so out in the open, on the record, and without ambiguity, long before this news flash emerged.

 

[tafan]

There is no conflict between pointing anti-catholic bias of the media and at the same time acknolowdging that the media coverage has been a “blessing in disguise” for the church.

Is this the beginning of the end of cover-ups within the church? Will appropriate action be taken with zero tolerance given to infidelities by clergy? Only time will tell, but it was refreshing to read the words of the pope.

This is really the type of statement that gets old. in this country, bishop’s have had a zero tolerance policy and extrmemely strict behavior policies in place for around 7 years. The pope was on the forefrontof addressing this issue while still cardinal. He changed the canon law as to when cases must be reported to Rome. He reopened investigations against prominent clerics. He spoke publicly on the need to fix the problem. Yet you see over and over again demands that the church finally take action. I suppose 20 years from now, when new cases from the 70s and 80s come to light, people will still be demanding the church finally take action.

 

[Biggie]

Is this the beginning of the end of cover-ups within the church?

This is akin to “When did you stop beating your wife?”

 

[UnworthyApostle]

“The greatest persecution of the church doesn’t come from enemies on the outside but is born from the sins within the church,” the pontiff said."

Amen to that! Wolves in sheeps’ clothing have always been in the church and the wheat must be seperated from the chaff. Every heresy, schism, and scandal tears the garment of Christ’s bride to pieces. All faithful Catholics must pray for the Holy Father, priests who violated young people, and the bishops who “covered” it up. This has been a great travesty to the church and it must be dealt with in the most apropriate manner. We are the city on a hill which shines like a lamp to the world. When our light dims, the world becomes affected in the worst way.

 

[Fair_Lady]

Without a doubt the greatest threat to the Church are its own members who do not adhere to Her teachings in charity, humility and justice. The same goes for all the 43,000 fractured and prideful denominations and their own faithless followers as well.

.

No matter what what denomination a church is, obedience to Christ should be paramount.

 

[Fair_Lady]

Obviously you do not know the steps that the Church has taken. One unproven accusation gets a priest removed. Back ground check are made of anyone involved in paish ministry.

Not always. There are too many stories have surfaced of clergy who were never brought to justice in the courts of the land and who were allowed to remain in the church, but moved from parish to parish. It is my hope that stops.

Now what is being done in other faiths.

In one Baptist church I attended, a man in the congregation was accused of molesting his step child. The church reported him to the police immediately. After he did his time in prison, and showing remorse and repentance, he was restored to the fellowship of the church. However, it was made clear to him that he would never be allowed to serve within a position of aurhority or where others would be placed in his trust or care. I think that was an appropriate way to handle the situation.

How about schools?

The folks at EWTN kept on bringing up the school as well. I find that perplexing because anytime there’s been something in the media about the schools, action has been swift and sharp to bring the perpetrator to justice. In each case, the perpetrator has lost their teaching position.

On top of that, EWTN kept on comparing the number of incidents in schools in comparison to the church. I don’t get that. If there are more incidents in schools, how does that make it better in the church? The public school system is a secular insitute and run essentially by pagans. Is it really a surpise that pagans do evil things? On the flip side, there should be an expectation that within the church, this sort of evil should not come from the clergy who are professing faith in Christ. Comparing clergy to pagan teachers is like comparing apples and oranges.

 

[Fair_Lady]

"Christ suffers in His own Church. How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to Him. The Church often seems like a boat taking in water on every side. The soiled garments and face of Your Church throw us into confusion. Yet it is we ourselves who have soiled them. It is we who betray You time and again.

Have mercy on Your Church. When we fall we drag you down to earth, and Satan laughs, for he hopes that You will not be able to rise from that fall; he hopes that being dragged down in the fall of Your Church, you will remain prostrate and overpowered"

Those are good words from the pope. Now it remains to be seen as to whether or not he will defrock where there needs to be defrocking.

 

[Fair_Lady]

This is really the type of statement that gets old. in this country, bishop’s have had a zero tolerance policy and extrmemely strict behavior policies in place for around 7 years. The pope was on the forefrontof addressing this issue while still cardinal. He changed the canon law as to when cases must be reported to Rome. He reopened investigations against prominent clerics. He spoke publicly on the need to fix the problem. Yet you see over and over again demands that the church finally take action. I suppose 20 years from now, when new cases from the 70s and 80s come to light, people will still be demanding the church finally take action.

While some gains have been made, there is documentation that the church is still hiding at least a couple of wayward priests.

 

[Fair_Lady]

This is akin to “When did you stop beating your wife?”

It is a valid question when there is a valid issue to be addressed.

 

[Fair_Lady]

“The greatest persecution of the church doesn’t come from enemies on the outside but is born from the sins within the church,” the pontiff said."

Amen to that! Wolves in sheeps’ clothing have always been in the church and the wheat must be seperated from the chaff. Every heresy, schism, and scandal tears the garment of Christ’s bride to pieces. All faithful Catholics must pray for the Holy Father, priests who violated young people, and the bishops who “covered” it up. This has been a great travesty to the church and it must be dealt with in the most apropriate manner. We are the city on a hill which shines like a lamp to the world. When our light dims, the world becomes affected in the worst way.

There needs to be more people like you. You appear to be someone who faces problems and evil head on. This is what is needed to address the ongoing issues and to “clean house”. Bless you.

 

[puzzleannie]

During the heat of the media coverage over the sex scandal within the Catholic church, over and over again I’d hear on EWTN that the media “was just attacking the church because of its stance on abortion and gay marriage”. Those words kept coming in from not only the EWTN radio hosts and guests, but also from callers stating their opinions. I .

what I heard was, and I listen to EWTN a fair amount, were opinions along the line of the media, the NYT in particular, are attacking the pope unfairly through biased and frankly untrue reporting, slanted editorializing, and lack of adherence to common journalistic standards. Yes there has been speculation about their motives in so doing, but the burden of the complaint seems to be the media are not doing their job properly.

the analyis of this blogger gives the best example of the type of reasoned response I heard on EWTN and elsewhere.
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=458444 “you stitched up the pope and this is how you did it” says attorney

 

[adrift]

Not always. There are too many stories have surfaced of clergy who were never brought to justice in the courts of the land and who were allowed to remain in the church, but moved from parish to parish. It is my hope that stops.]

This is old news. It hasn’t been true for sometime. I notice you didn’t refer to tafan’s post.

This is really the type of statement that gets old. in this country, bishop’s have had a zero tolerance policy and extrmemely strict behavior policies in place for around 7 years. The pope was on the forefrontof addressing this issue while still cardinal. He changed the canon law as to when cases must be reported to Rome. He reopened investigations against prominent clerics. He spoke publicly on the need to fix the problem. Yet you see over and over again demands that the church finally take action. I suppose 20 years from now, when new cases from the 70s and 80s come to light, people will still be demanding the church finally take action.

In one Baptist church I attended, a man in the congregation was accused of molesting his step child. The church reported him to the police immediately. After he did his time in prison, and showing remorse and repentance, he was restored to the fellowship of the church. However, it was made clear to him that he would never be allowed to serve within a position of aurhority or where others would be placed in his trust or care. I think that was an appropriate way to handle the situation.

One Baptist church does not mean that all denominations do so.
Perhaps you should read this site StopBaptistPredators

While some gains have been made, there is documentation that the church is still hiding at least a couple of wayward priests.

Perhaps you will share this documentation or is it just air?

I don’t get that. If there are more incidents in schools, how does that make it better in the church?

This is a problem not just with the Catholic Church. By limiting it to just the Catholic Church, this widespread problem will not be addressed.