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#1
06-27-2010, 08:43 AM
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37954415...d_news-europe/
Pope: Belgian sex abuse raids deplorable by NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press Writer updated 48 minutes ago The pope on Sunday called the raids carried out by Belgian police investigating priestly sex abuse "deplorable" and asserted the right of the Catholic Church to investigate abuse alongside civil law enforcement authorities. Pope Benedict XVI issued a message Sunday to the head of the Belgian bishops' conference, Monsignor Andre-Joseph Leonard, expressing his solidarity with all Belgian bishops "in this sad moment." sorry, a priest or biship deserves no different treatment from anyone else suspected of committing a crime. 
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#2
06-27-2010, 09:19 AM
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#3
06-27-2010, 09:29 AM
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IMO The problem the church is currently having was brought on by itself. The recruiting of new priests was dwindling badly in the 50's. The church was taking anyone, not just the devoted (called as they say). Because going in 'candidates' knew they would not be allowed to marry the job naturally appealed more to homosexual men (who at that time had no hope of marriage and little hope of a long-term relationships) besides the decision to become a priest was applauded by parents and family. Of those priests a small portion were child molesters as well as homosexual. With these men then in a position of power and trust over adolescent boys a ticking time bomb was activated that could not be stopped. The problem snow balled and the church in an effort to avoid bad publicity and thus falling donations swept it under the rug. The homosexual/child molesting priests can be found and eradicated. The greed of the Catholic Church cannot. I know of actions by parishes I have been involved in that are absolutely sickening. That said I still feel I am Catholic, believe in God and will call for a priest on my deathbed. I will also be suspicious of any priest who is around my nephews or their kids until I make that call.
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“To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” Thomas Jefferson
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#4
06-27-2010, 10:29 AM
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i thought the issue of criminous clerics was settled way back when with henry the second and thomas a becket. i guess not.
the pope is flat, dead wrong with his persistence that priests should be treated differently just because they are supposedly 'men of god' and are part of the catholic church. and i also think that countries should quit treating the vatican as a country, with an ambassador. hell, they're trying to keep the pope from any questioning by saying he has the same immunity as a former president or other world leader. bullsh!t. the catholic church should receive no more protection than any other business or its leader. it's not a sovereign state, and should not be recognized as such! if bill gates had been committing wrongdoing, would he get a pass? no. would he be subpoenaed in an investigation? absolutely. the pope should have no more standing than bill gates. i wish i hadn't been raised catholic-i find it an embarrassment to have ever been involved with them. i repudiate them, and their greed and hypocrisy. i follow the golden rule, and have taught my kids the same. that's plenty for me.
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#5
06-27-2010, 10:53 AM
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http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/t...nt?oid=1065017
The "Pedophile's Paradise"Alaska Natives are accusing the Catholic Church of using their remote villages as a “dumping ground” for child-molesting priests—and blaming the president of Seattle University for letting it happen. In September 2005, former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger—who'd just become the pope—asked the justice department of the Bush administration to grant him immunity from prosecution in sex-abuse cases in the United States. Ratzinger, the onetime head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was accused of "conspiring to cover up the sexual molestation of three boys by a seminarian" in Texas, according to the Associated Press. Ratzinger had "written in Latin to bishops around the world, explaining that 'grave' crimes such as the sexual abuse of minors would be handled by his congregation. The proceedings of special church tribunals handling the cases were subject to 'pontifical secret,'" Ratzinger's letter said. The Bush administration granted Ratzinger the immunity. In 2007, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay $660 million to more than 500 victims of clerical sex abuse. Why does the church keep sending these priests, who have come to be such a major liability, back into ministry? "It's all about keeping the stores open, keeping the revenue rolling," Wall says. The Alaskan provinces in particular, Wall says, were a source of revenue—not from the Native population living there, but from parishioners in the lower 48 who were encouraged to donate for the Native ministry up north. "You could raise thousands to fund a mission that cost very little to run," Wall says. "The profit margin is huge."
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#6
06-27-2010, 11:01 AM
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As much as I agree these bas trds belong in the same state owned 2 person condos that all found guilty defendants should get which includes the poetic justice of roommates who have their own idea about the practice of daily intimacies on the cell block, I have to bring these pastoral issues back to a personal place that helped me remain somewhat with a christian heart despite being surrounded by the toxic human flaws of some individuals in the priesthood for most of my childhood and teen years. My parents "split up" when I was 7 years of age and the youngest of 5 kids, shortly thereafter my mother began what would be a 30 year supposed secret affair with a local pastor of a nearby Catholic church. The pain and shame this caused cannot be adequately quantified as my siblings and I living in a small densely Catholic community watched the years pass as the confusion and anger this forced relationship caused my brothers and sisters continued to esculate despite our protest. As numerous other clergy continued to treat this relationship as a normal marriage, neighbors grew more vocal while these clergy continued to increase in number with new women of favor. A room full of priests, booze and their women was an unnatural but common weekend gathering for me growing up. My father, who would raise me in my teen years, complained bitterly for years to Catholic leadership in Boston without acknowledgment or progress toward removing this priest from our home of multiple small children. Leaving out any further description of the atrocities of those years it comes down to this........ I didn't write this here with the intention of discussing the merits of my religion vs any other version of Christianity or to contrast completely different faiths with Catholic teachings for that matter so I'll skip the why's of my practice of faith. I write this to address how I got past this insanity. I remain a Catholic man who has raised his children in the church practicing a life that is based essentially on the 10 rules. I attend mass, look forward to celebratory holidays of the faith and teach my version of CCD to get kids ready for confirmation. I do so because I enjoy the practice of my faith while getting continued strength from it. I cannot let the sickness of the "few" though unfortunately I admit that in some situations the growing numbers of priestly misconduct is far too many to accept, complete with the disgusting human flaws of sexual abuse, greed and seeming complete disregard for all moral and civil laws. These acts cannot be tolerated or unpunished. To leave the church in response to my unfortunate circumstance is to keep myself and my family from what is right about the essence of living ones life according to the principles of Christ's teachings. So I choose not to leave the faith and give in to the walking filth of these character deficient men who pray on the weak while seemingly living above the law. I refuse to grant them "understanding" for their voluntary choices of celibacy and supposed life of poverty because it's hard or uncomfortable. If you make these choices and take a stand intended to last a lifetime then live with it or get out of the church as leadership. Separating human flaws from criminal behavior took awhile in my house, the faith that remained was a gift. The gifts these social, civil and moral criminals deserve have been earned of their own choices. To ignore the choices of these men and their consequences deserved is contributing to the problem. Removal of those not worthy from the church while sentencing those found guilty is the only way the faith can heal. I don't ignore the past but I choose not to let it dominate the future. Let justice remain blind but consistently delivered in every way for everyone.....I like the 2 horse in the first at Arlington today.
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#7
06-27-2010, 11:12 AM
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that was a heck of a post doc, i appreciate you responding. i try to follow the teachings christ gave the world, i just don't feel the need to go to church to follow them. matter of fact, more people who say they're christian and use that as an excuse to hate and judge others need to go back to sunday school! i just personally will never walk back into a catholic church for anything other than a funeral mass, and they won't ever get another thin dime from me....
many things irritate me, but nothing sets me off faster than when a child is hurt-or worse. that absolutely infuriates me, which is why i feel such disgust for this particular institution. this attitude from them is centuries old. the shame will be if they continue this for even one more day.
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#8
06-28-2010, 09:46 AM
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Hybrid Mode
