Why Catholic now? Abuse reports getting worse, lost interest in Inquiry

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Catholics are accustomed being beat up publicly. This recent discouraging moment will pass and new ones will pop up. we mustn’t get discouraged.
 
CMatt25 said:
I do understand. *The National Catholic Reporter *even had an article about Church files showing Pope Benedict as Cardinal hesitating on defrocking an Oakland CA priest because of concerns as to the effect it would have on the Church.

ncronline.org/news/accountability/more-documents-link-ratzinger-abuse-cases

And I have repeatedly wondered how true apostolic successor shepherds who know to teach the sanctity of life didn’t know enough not to cover up child abuse. The answer I always got was don’t believe any of the media reports and chalk it up to sin.

I understand we all sin. But it’s still a tough swallow for me to think apostolic successors don’t know enough not to cover up child abuse.
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Amen
 
lufty said:
ManOnFire is right, parishes SHOULD be closed when investigations are started, or evidence is uncovered by Law Enforcement. .
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Why? Why is it not enough to suspend the abusive priest? Why do you feel that the Church should also break up and scatter existing parish communities? Sounds like a great way to upset Catholics who are already struggling with revelations of abuse - and for what - credibility in the eyes of non-Catholics?
 
I have been on many threads such as this and have been quite vocal about this abuse.I have zero tolerance for this sickening evil thing. The abuse and the cover up.You can make all the excuses in the world and it won’t make it ok. No matter who does the abuse and the cover up it is an abomanation. The media would have nothing to report if those in the abuse and cover up would stand up and clean house once and for all. No matter the namne of the church or organizition! I am a woman and I was abused for years and it was covered up for years, until at the age of 12 I ran from the abuser. Even then it was covered up. Annd was until at the age of 38 I was able with Gods help to expose the deed, and it still was covered up. After a lot of praying and help from God I am able to talk about this. Now if none of you out there have never had this happen then you really do not know how evil and sick it is and how it effects you the rest of your life! So my message is there are no excuses for any church or organization to continue with not cleaning house!

I have zero tolerance for this mess. And whereever the church needs cleaning just do it. Don’t continue to make excuses,As the old saying goes, STAND Up and be a man.
 
tweetymom said:
I have been on many threads such as this and have been quite vocal about this abuse.I have zero tolerance for this sickening evil thing. The abuse and the cover up.You can make all the excuses in the world and it won’t make it ok. No matter who does the abuse and the cover up it is an abomanation. The media would have nothing to report if those in the abuse and cover up would stand up and clean house once and for all. No matter the namne of the church or organizition! I am a woman and I was abused for years and it was covered up for years, until at the age of 12 I ran from the abuser. Even then it was covered up. Annd was until at the age of 38 I was able with Gods help to expose the deed, and it still was covered up. After a lot of praying and help from God I am able to talk about this. Now if none of you out there have never had this happen then you really do not know how evil and sick it is and how it effects you the rest of your life! So my message is there are no excuses for any church or organization to continue with not cleaning house!
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No one is saying that abuse is ok. Lots of people have said “I abhor the abuse, it’s horrible and sick.” You seem to be ignoring their words.

And you cannot assume that none of us have experienced sexual abuse. You really have no idea, do you?
 
Student09 said:
No one is saying that abuse is ok. Lots of people have said “I abhor the abuse, it’s horrible and sick.” You seem to be ignoring their words.

And you cannot assume that none of us have experienced sexual abuse. You really have no idea, do you?
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I am not assuming anything, and I have no idea. But if you have my sincere prayers are for you or anyone else who has.
 
tweetymom said:
I am not assuming anything, and I have no idea. But if you have my sincere prayers are for you or anyone else who has.
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Tweetymom, you most assuredly have mine and anyone else who has experienced this.
 
kage_ar said:
If the National Catholic DISTORTER told me the sky was blue, I’d not believe it.
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I know. I figure a lot of folks will only believe whatever comes out of the Vatican. Or perhaps certain conservative media. So hopefully they won’t tell us the grass is purple. 😉 I know that would be lying but then as we keep being told, no one is devoid of the capability to sin. 😦 Peace to you and God bless.
 
Hey lufty, fellow RCIAer!

I decided to join the Church when news of the most current abuses were rolling in. Yet is does not discourage me. I know that God wants me to be in His Church, and that is much more important than what is going on.

One has to realize that we are all sinners, and priests are not exempt from that. My RCIA director tells the story of our bishop coming to our church and asking a few questions of the children getting confirmed. The bishop asked the one boy if he (the bishop) was a sinner. The boy thought for a moment and said ‘no.’ Our bishop smiled, sighed, and said that he wished it were true.
I know that the Church is a hospital for sinners, not a club for saints.

I do not doubt that the Church is the one that Our Lord set up over 2000 years ago. I just pray for the Holy Father, the priests, and the laypeople. And most importantly, for those who suffered and still suffer because of this horrible problem. I ask that the Lord will heal them, help them to forgive the men who used them in such a sickening way, and be drawn deeper into Him.

In Christ-
Never
 
None of the Catholics I know are trying to ‘minimize’ the abuse.

However, most of the Catholics I know are trying to make sure that what is reported as ‘fact’ about the abuse is really factual.

If somebody tells me that Pope Pius XII was a jerk who not only did not ‘help’ the Jews in World War II, but also collaborated with the Germans and was in league with the concentration camps, then by my ‘calling them out’ and exposing this statement as a falsehood, I’m not denigrating or questioning that the Holocaust happened. I’m not ‘supporting’ the Nazis, I’m not trying to ‘coverup’ anything. . .if somebody is making factual errors and I point that out, it is only the errors that I am concerned with.

Unfortunately it seems that some people have difficulty with simple logic. To them, it seems, that questioning the accuracy of statements means that one is ‘denying’ the event that all those statements surround.

If somebody tells me that George Washington was having an affair with a slave while serving as General in the Revolution, and I question the accuracy of that statement, by doing so I am not stating that the Revolution didn’t happen, am I?

So why on EARTH is questioning the accuracy of statements made about the Pope being read by so many as tantamount to saying the ABUSE didn’t happen?

If somebody said George Washington was having an affair, see above, and I question it, am I ‘minimizing’ the Revolution? Am I trying to put George on a ‘false pedestal’ or claim that he was ‘infallible’ and could NOT have had an affair? No, I am simply seeking correct, factual information.

Then why do people think that pointing out errors in the statements made that supposedly ‘implicate the Pope’ minimize the abuse? They don’t. If pointing out that George did not have an affair with a slave isn’t putting HIM on a pedestal, why is pointing out that then-Cardinal Ratzinger was not involved in the abuse calling putting HIM on a false pedestal? Why do we get the crazy misreadings of ‘infallibility’ brought up ad nauseam?

The media is not infallible. They make mistakes. And when they make mistakes, those mistakes need to be pointed out. Heck, the bishops made mistakes and they’re being pointed out. Well and good. But let’s stick to only those mistakes that were actually MADE and not try to ‘manufacture’ mistakes that were NOT made.

The media needs to be held to the same standard they are demanding of the Pope and bishops —if errors were made they need to be made public and steps need to be taken to rectify them.

So I’m waiting with bated breath for the apology of the media for the errors that THEY have been making regarding their attempts to claim that then-Cardinal Ratzinger was culpable for ‘not defrocking’ a priest (PLEASE read the excellent blog by Jimmy Akin which points out where the media ‘went wrong’ on that) etc. They made errors, they need to rectify them. . .
 
lufty,
I don’t blame you one bit for being discouraged. I understand where many people are coming from. It takes a lot out of us Catholics and we have not become complacent with what’s happened. The media is guilty of stretching this out of proportion and that is why we feel we are being treated unfairly.

Shame on those homosexual priests. Shame on those pedophiles. Shame on anyone that abuses another person, whether adult or child, but especially children. Yes, I do not consider pubescent children any less than prepubescent children. This is really a red herring in my book and an ill conceived defense of any Catholic for the bad behavior of priests. That’s why we, Catholics, need people like you to help us defend the faith, not the actions of sinners. We need outspoken people to defend life at whatever age. I consider sexual promiscuity to be a life issue. The clergy and laity that are guilty of covering it up should be forced into retirement [on their own nickle] after serving prison sentence as they are laicized or defrocked. I have a personal stake in this and will continue to understand people like you who have become distrusting of clerics that especially try to overly defend the Church on this issue. I do believe the Church has to defend itself though. But the clergy can come across better if they come out harsh against those that speak out about it. I love Fr. Corapi for this very reason. He tells it like it is and we must pray for good faithful priests. I would consider this.

You never hear about the overwelming Protestant scandals that I know about because that is where I came from. I know of far too many and the results are the same. Only they are not in the lime light. The entire issue is misunderstood because the media is pro-homosexual and they are trying to force the acceptance of homosexuals in our society. If they open the door that the priests were mainly homosexuals preying on young men, boys that who were basically young men, it would scandalize the homosexuals and open up a real can of worms that would marginalize themselves because of the over the top promiscuity of homosexual men in particular in our society. Homosexuality is a severe disorder that really hurts people. I have some stories having been surround by over populated populations in certain parts of our society. I’ve never had my behind pinched or cat called by women, but men, Yeap. All of it. I’m not homosexual but was warned not to say anything for my own sake. The locals would have me arrested and put away with no telling what other legal actions against me. That was in Key West on a vacation with my brother who was the skipper of our barefoot hull island hopper.

It is not a good idea for the Catholics to even discuss this on this case at this time. Until we can prove ourselves it will continue to be this way. But you have to remember that the Catholic Church is huge, 1.2 billion and counting. In comparison to other populations the incidents are nominal by comparison…but still NO EXCUSES. The Pope would serve the Church well by coming out openly and discussing this issue at length in my opinion. As long as he turns to the overly secularized professions of our world, priests and psychologists, we will continue to see this same behavior for years to come. Even so, it does not affect the Church in any way other than to be publicly chastised, probably caused from God to force us into a deeper more Christ like mentality. Look for truth, not the actions of others, as the reason for conversion. Take your time and if you need take several years to watch this pan out. I came back home after being away for 18 years. If I can come back anyone can. It takes time.

I wish you well and hope that the Lord will lead you home one day.
 
“The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a club for saints”

This struck me again and the thought is:

It takes true charity to become Catholic. Why? Because Catholics are expected to forgive others. We are expected to not chase off people from the fold, because to do so is sinful. Our previous Protestant faith chased people off. I know for a fact that both Church of Christ and Southern Baptist [both of which I have been in my entire life] are guilty of this and why people seems to believe they are present themselves as more Christian like. It is not true at all. They chase off the sinners rather than help them in the fold.
 
lufty said:
What keeps your regular Catholic going these day? Or how about those in RCIA or Inquiry as I am?

I find it disheartening that so little outrage from within the Catholic Community is present, nor are discussions regarding the Vatican’s lack of action to resolve this, and punish those Clergy that are guilty. Reading these forums, mostly I see allot of finger-pointing to the secular media for “attacking” the CC, yet many, if not most of these allegations on sexual abuse are a reality.

I for one have found it difficult to even consider attending Mass, or continuing with the Inquiry stage at this point, with so little (name removed by moderator)ut by the Catholic community present.
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Judas failed even worse!

Peter denined Christ three times an still became a Saint.

All the Apostles [except John] abondoned Christ and later give there lives in support of Christ church and faith.

We who live in glass houses ought not be throwing stones.

What these priest did is beyong wards of discust. But the Cathilic Church is ONE BILLION SIX HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE OF FAITH. Most who walk close to the Lord. The number if grossly sick, perverted and plian evil men; who abused there positions as priest and or bishops is FAR less than ONE PERCENT. Still too many, and no excuses made for there revolting actions. But I’ll let God handle it.

Friend, is your church any better?

Love and prayers,
Pat

Grateful to God fo permitting me to be a Catholic!
 
Tantum_ergo said:
None of the Catholics I know are trying to ‘minimize’ the abuse.

However, most of the Catholics I know are trying to make sure that what is reported as ‘fact’ about the abuse is really factual.

If somebody tells me that Pope Pius XII was a jerk who not only did not ‘help’ the Jews in World War II, but also collaborated with the Germans and was in league with the concentration camps, then by my ‘calling them out’ and exposing this statement as a falsehood, I’m not denigrating or questioning that the Holocaust happened. I’m not ‘supporting’ the Nazis, I’m not trying to ‘coverup’ anything. . .if somebody is making factual errors and I point that out, it is only the errors that I am concerned with.

Unfortunately it seems that some people have difficulty with simple logic. To them, it seems, that questioning the accuracy of statements means that one is ‘denying’ the event that all those statements surround.

If somebody tells me that George Washington was having an affair with a slave while serving as General in the Revolution, and I question the accuracy of that statement, by doing so I am not stating that the Revolution didn’t happen, am I?

So why on EARTH is questioning the accuracy of statements made about the Pope being read by so many as tantamount to saying the ABUSE didn’t happen?

If somebody said George Washington was having an affair, see above, and I question it, am I ‘minimizing’ the Revolution? Am I trying to put George on a ‘false pedestal’ or claim that he was ‘infallible’ and could NOT have had an affair? No, I am simply seeking correct, factual information.

Then why do people think that pointing out errors in the statements made that supposedly ‘implicate the Pope’ minimize the abuse? They don’t. If pointing out that George did not have an affair with a slave isn’t putting HIM on a pedestal, why is pointing out that then-Cardinal Ratzinger was not involved in the abuse calling putting HIM on a false pedestal? Why do we get the crazy misreadings of ‘infallibility’ brought up ad nauseam?

The media is not infallible. They make mistakes. And when they make mistakes, those mistakes need to be pointed out. Heck, the bishops made mistakes and they’re being pointed out. Well and good. But let’s stick to only those mistakes that were actually MADE and not try to ‘manufacture’ mistakes that were NOT made.

The media needs to be held to the same standard they are demanding of the Pope and bishops —if errors were made they need to be made public and steps need to be taken to rectify them.

So I’m waiting with bated breath for the apology of the media for the errors that THEY have been making regarding their attempts to claim that then-Cardinal Ratzinger was culpable for ‘not defrocking’ a priest (PLEASE read the excellent blog by Jimmy Akin which points out where the media ‘went wrong’ on that) etc. They made errors, they need to rectify them. . .
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Ok but where exactly are you getting the “facts” from? Is Jimmy Akin infallible?
 
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