Posted on 04/15/2008 4:38:11 PM PDT by NYer
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE, APRIL 15, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says that it is hard for him to understand how sexually abusive priests could have betrayed their mission, and promised that the Church will do everything possible so that such a situation does not repeat itself.
The Pope affirmed this today from the Alitalia Boeing 777, "Shepherd One," that is carrying him to the United States for a 4 p.m. arrival at Andrews Air Force Base.
Some 70 journalists are on-board the flight.
"Really, it is a great suffering for the Church in the United States and for the Church in general and for me personally that this could happen," he said. "If I read the histories of these victims, it's difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betrayed in this way their mission to give healing, to give the love of God to these children.
"We are deeply ashamed and will do all possible that this cannot happen in the future."
The Holy Father affirmed that the Church must select candidates for the priesthood who are healthy and balanced. He said it is more important to have good priests than to have many priests. "We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry," the Pope added.
The Pontiff responded for about 20 minutes to five questions from the journalists. According to L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's semi-official daily, the interchange gave an inside look into the themes the Holy Father will discuss while in the United States.
Benedict XVI highlighted the eminently religious and pastoral nature of his trip, and his hopes for his meetings with U.S. Catholics and representatives of Judaism and other religions, and with leaders from other Christian confessions. He also mentioned his visit to the United Nations, marking the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Finally, he analyzed the increasing presence in the United States of immigrants from Latin American countries, emphasizing that their presence is a challenge for the Church, which is called to accompany them with great pastoral solicitude, aware of the risk their families run of being broken apart.
Ping
It would have been more explicit if he had said “exclude homosexuals” than simply “exclude pedophiles.”
It was the liberal US bishops’ decision to ordain homosexuals which led to the pedophile crisis.
It was the liberal US bishops’ decision to ordain homosexuals which led to the pedophile crisis.
Some people like to de-construct the English Language and pretend
that when a adult male has sex with a youth male it is not Homosexuality.
And they REALLY like to deconstruct to avoid that simple observation.
Overwhelmingly this was the result of liberal bishops ordaining homosexuals in disobedience to the Church rule (in place since the middle ages and reiterated as recently as the early 60s) that no homosexual or even somebody with homosexual tendencies should be ordained.
Which is why heterodoxy, disobedience to Church teachings, and homosexual abuse of teenage boys go hand in hand.
I'm very familiar with the practice as I was for many years a
"Youth Protection" trainer in the Denver Area Council BSA
We never had a problem in either of our groups, but then we strictly followed the "two deep" rule.
It meets with what he says -- GOOD PRIESTS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN INCREASING THE NUMBER OF PRIESTS...
This might cheer you up a bit (Fr. Pacwa):
http://thenewliturgicalmovement.blogspot.com/2008/04/fr-mitch-pacwa-sj-on-liturgy.html
Excerpt:
“That situation is changing, in some ways for the better. The left is aging and has no young followers to push its agenda. The young either become apathetic about a faith emptied of its truth and power through the progressive agenda, or they become orthodox. I describe the heterodox liberals as spiritual geldings and spays; they have removed the essentials of their faith and cannot reproduce, bringing in neither converts nor vocations.”
Thank you for posting that extract. He’s right. Young Catholics, many of whom were poorly catechized, are actually drawn more to the traditional Mass. The others have simply abandoned the Church.
What’s the “two deep rule”?
Rule One: No Poofters!
On account of his ancestor:
Sensible rules. They were put in place because homosexuals were worming their way into Scout troops in order to gain access to boys (just as homosexuals wormed their way into the priesthood in order to gain access to boys.) It's like when somebody asked Willie Sutton why he robbed banks, "That's where the money is."
I refer to the faculty of the Philosophy Department at the University of Wallamaloo, of which all but one member are named "Bruce".
And none are Poofters.
Yeah, we can do without those, too.
*****************
Sensible it is.
we certainly don't need any more pedophile priests...but the problem wasn't pedophile priests, it was homosexual priests. Stop ordaining homos and the problem goes away. i think we're well on our way to that end but there are still an awful lot of effiminate priests out there.
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