I agree that all evil should be rooted out of the church wherever it’s found and that any clergy found guilty of any crime sexual or otherwise should be punished or disciplined for their actions / inactions as the case may be.
However the passage “let he who is without sin cast the first stone” comes to mind. My view is that while we must ensure that we carry out justice we must also be merciful to all including pedophile priests since we have all sinned and fallen short. Let expose evil wherever we find it but treat the offenders and victims both with the justice and mercy and compassion of Jesus our Lord also. If not then we will not befit to be called christian. How many times should we forgive? Not seven times but seventy times seven times
i find it odd how so much attention is focused on the priests… no one is perfect, the Protestants also have abuse trouble, everyone sins, forgive them and love them, the media just likes to prey on Catholics, pray for the priests…
what about the children? what about the countless boys and also girls abused, taken advantage of, assaulted, and raped by men supposed to be represtatives of Christ on earth? imagine the psychological and spiritual damage of being abused by a man you are supposed to view as Godly and respect (and whom you may love as a priest) and being told by him to keep the matter between the two of you, or (he could be defrocked, God would be angry, it’s our little secret…).
how disgusting. how wretched, in excusable, and perverse. we’re not talking about visiting prostitutes or arranging meetings with married women. we’re not just talking about a failture to keep one’s vows. we’re talking about kids who love and trust the Catholic Church, being coerced in to sexual contact (sometimes over years) with a person who has power and authroity over them and others in a unique way.
we’re talking about these men not being turned in to the authorities and defrocked, but moved around, shuffled to other churches, other orphanages, other schools, with no warnings to any lay people, where abuse could possibly further occur. we’re talking about agreements on many, many levels of the Catholic Church to keep these men “safe”, and not raise Cain.
so it’s all about the men, not the kids. not the kids’ parents or loved ones. the Lord Jesus Christ says woe to anyone who causes a little child who believes in Him to stumble in faith. it would be better for that man to have a millstone hung around his neck and be thrown into the ocean. how much more so men who willfully and selfishly take advantage of children, and those who allow these men to stay hidden within the Church.