Will it ever go away?

[debraran]

news.aol.com/story/_a/church-to-pay-record-amount-over-abuse/20070714212509990001

I found this article so depressing…so many religious orders too…Carmelites, Franciscans, Jesuits, etc. I guess everyone was touched by it.

I came back to the church 2 years ago, grew stale by the apathy of my old church and the scandals and hypocrisy of many priests/religious, but then realized that Jesus was the reason, not them, he couldn’t hand-pick everyone and if they made a mockery of his church, they should be reprimanded and prayed for, but I shouldn’t leave him, so to speak.

It’s hard though, at times, I just pray the media will not have any more to feed off in the future.

 

[JimG]

Parra said she was upset that her tithing would go toward paying the settlement.

This is a particularly depressing aspect of the whole affair. The tithings of good Catholics over decades are going to settle litigation claims.

Of course, one reason for that is that some dioceses have deep pockets. One doesn’t see too much in the way of litigation news about sex scandals in public schools because their liability is limited by law.

But unfortunately, the problem is not limited to the Catholic Church. Just go to google and type in the words: school sex scandal; or teacher sex scandal. In perusing those cases, I am struck by the fact that many of the abusers are women.

 

[debraran]

I realize we certainly don’t have the patent on abuse…teachers especially are in the news…2 avenues my son had musings about in the past for careers etc., teaching and being a priest, both are tainted, and many, many good people have to try to be good examples and carry the cross for others.
Before I weaned from the church, I stopped giving to them because of that, annual appeals, etc. I gave to charites, food kitchens, etc. but not the “church”. Didn’t want a cent of my money going to pay for anyones lawyer fees. The bitterness was great, not so much toward the priests in general, but the ones that covered it up. The way the church was set up in the past(not so much now) was that you put the priest on a pedestal, he was held to a higher standard. That’s why their abuse seems so much worse. They took advantage of that, like a teacher or coach, but they were supposed to be holy too…the other professions were supposed to be moral too, but not given the halo of the priest.

I heard stories as a youth, the “funny brother” at catholic school, the “very friendly priest” that took the boys out for beer…but never knew it was as rampant or out of control as later came to light. I know the percentage of them is low compared to all the wonderful men and women religious, but the hierarchy only have themselves to blame for the media circus. Even the priests have to admit that. I just hope it brings a new healing and better vocations…if we stick together we can do it and with prayer. BUT if the bishops do something like this again, hard as it is to even think it, then they can forget anyone trusting them again.

 

[JimG]

I heard stories as a youth, the “funny brother” at catholic school, the “very friendly priest” that took the boys out for beer…but never knew it was as rampant or out of control as later came to light. I know the percentage of them is low compared to all the wonderful men and women religious, but the hierarchy only have themselves to blame for the media circus. Even the priests have to admit that. I just hope it brings a new healing and better vocations…if we stick together we can do it and with prayer. BUT if the bishops do something like this again, hard as it is to even think it, then they can forget anyone trusting them again.

Having seen some of the new young priests now coming out of the seminaries, I am somewhat optimistic. There was a period of time when certain seminaries (and even particular ordination years) were seedbeds of future abuse. That, I believe, has ended. And of course, not everyone coming out of those years was an abuser. I am sorry for the contemporaries of the abusers who were tarnished with this.

 

[larry85704]

Well, abuse is sin. It will never go away, at least not soon.

What I hope goes away is Church hiding it, so it has to be discovered by the press. We all need to grow up and take responsibility for our sins as well as our successes.

Wouldn’t things been different if when an abuse occured in 950 AD, 1500 AD or 1990 AD the same swift action by the church would have taken place? As long as we, as a church, are willing to hide things, we are in deep doo doo.

 

[debraran]

double post

 

[debraran]

Amen to that!
I remember when listening to this priest, Fr. Schrier (link below) on Mother Angelica’s show talk about sin, his sin, he said priests are held to a higher regard and should remember that. He didn’t abuse children, but broke all his vows and lived for himself more than God. I don’t think we should judge anothers heart or intentions, but if you are “being Jesus” in a special way as a religious, you think you’d be scared to talk to him while doing that.
But I didsin big time myself,years ago, I’m glad though I wasn’t in that vocation and would have hurt many others also.

frtommylane.com/homilies/year_c/lent3.htm

 

[debraran]

Amen to that!
I remember when listening to this priest, Fr. Schrier (link below) on Mother Angelica’s show talk about sin, his sin, he said priests are held to a higher regard and should remember that. He didn’t abuse children, but broke all his vows and lived for himself more than God. I don’t think we should judge anothers heart or intentions, but if you are “being Jesus” in a special way as a religious, you think you’d be scared to talk to him while doing that.
But I didsin big time myself,years ago, I’m glad though I wasn’t in that vocation and would have hurt many others also.

frtommylane.com/homilies/year_c/lent3.htm

 

[Liberanosamalo]

The tithings of good Catholics over decades are going to settle litigation claims.

And this is a problem why? Think of it differently. We are the Body of Christ in the world. How are we called to be any different than Christ? Did He not also pay a great sacrifice to settle “God’s litigation claims” against humanity? Are we called to less? I personally don’t see a huge deal in helping by my donations to right a huge injustice. That’s what we are called to do. Bind up wounds. No one said it would be easy or free.

Or do we only want to imitate Christ when it costs us little?

And for reference, insurance claims are equal against other denominations and scouts and other groups. But they don’t get the press and publicity.

Further, many dioceses where much of the abuses occurred were notorious for abandoning the hard teachings of the faith in other areas. All the Catholics who were happy that Fr. Feelgood never condemned homosexual practices, premarital sex or artificial BC in his sermons were shocked (SHOCKED!) that Fr. Feelgood was also dispensing himself from Church teaching?

Add to that the number of families who dissuaded good, honest moral and talented sons from the priesthood because they didn’t think they should “waste” their lives. Sorry. You get the priests you deserve with that attitude. For everyone who ever took a look at a talented good-looking charismatic priest and ever said “What a waste,” look in the mirror. For every family who ever squashed a growing vocation in a son by urging him to carry on the family name or become a doctor, look in the mirror.

Let every diocese that became a hotbed of pro-choice politicians and re-elected politicians who contravened the law of God, ask themselves if the pedophilia scandal was the logical outcome of such infidelity to God, as the people turned a blind eye to immorality in all directions, and bishops refused to take a stand against public immorality also.

Will it last forever? No. Eventually God wins in the end.

 

[JimG]

And this is a problem why? Think of it differently. We are the Body of Christ in the world. How are we called to be any different than Christ? Did He not also pay a great sacrifice to settle “God’s litigation claims” against humanity? Are we called to less? I personally don’t see a huge deal in helping by my donations to right a huge injustice. That’s what we are called to do. Bind up wounds. No one said it would be easy or free.

It is a problem only in the respect that money which was originally intended for other charitable purposes will see those purposes go unfulfilled because of the malfeasance of abusers. If the guilt of the parties has been established and the amount of the settlement is fair, then one cannot complain about the payout. But in addition to the harm inflicted on the victims, the abuser has also inflicted harm on the parish or the diocese by depriving it of funds which should have been used for other purposes. In a perfect world, restitution would be required of the guilty parties. Meanwhile, victims of abuse at the hands of public school teachers or other entities, may go entirely unrecompensed because of legal liability limitations.