Posted on 03/31/2010 6:14:44 AM PDT by iowamark
Local Leader Defends Pope Benedict XVI
Milwaukee's archbishop admits mistakes were made in the handling of an abusive priest years ago -- not in Rome--- but here in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
Documents released last week show Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who is now Pope, decided not to remove Father Lawrence Murphy even after he admitted molesting boys at a deaf school in St. Francis.
While many are pointing blame at the Vatican, Archbishop Jerome Listecki said people can look a lot closer.
"As a bishop, a priest and as a man of faith, I apologize to anyone who has been a victim of clergy sexual abuse. This crime, this sin, this horror, should never occur -- especially by a priest," Listecki said at the end of a special holy week mass at St. John's Cathedral Tuesday.
Listecki apologized for the horrible crimes and defended the Pope -- who has been under fire in recent weeks for how he handled sex abuse allegations in the past and present.
"The Holy Father has been firm in his commitment to combat clergy sexual abuse, root it out of the Church, reach out to those who have been harmed, and hold perpetrators accountable," Listecki said.
Milwaukee has once again been gripped by the scandal with new documents that show local church officials tried to have admitted child molester Father Lawrence Murphy removed from the priesthood in the 90's -- but their request was denied by higher ups in Rome, including the man who would later become Pope.
Speaking to a packed church, Listecki rebuffed those claims.
"Mistakes were made in the Lawrence Murphy case. The mistakes were not made in Rome in 1996, 1997 and 1998. The mistakes were made here, in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, in the 1970s, the 1980s and the 1990s -- by the Church, by civil authorities, by Church officials, and by bishops. And for that, I beg your forgiveness in the name of the Church and in the name of this Archdiocese of Milwaukee," Listecki said.
http://www.archmil.org/News/ArchbishopListeckiCommentsonCl.htm
""Dear Friends,
This Lent throughout the archdiocese, we celebrated a Season of Mercy, acknowledging our sinfulness and our need to reconcile with our God. This Season of Mercy is a stark recognition of the presence of sin in our world, in our Church, amongst our people, and, yes, within priests and bishops. That sin has never been more present to us as a Church than through the sin and crime of clergy sexual abuse.
As a bishop, a priest, and as a man of faith, I apologize to anyone who has been a victim of clergy sexual abuse. This crime, this sin, this horror, should never occur, especially by a priest. Those who committed these crimes and those, including some bishops, who didn’t do everything in their power to stop it, go against everything the Church and the priesthood represent. For those actions, I offer my sincere apology.
So many people have suffered – first and foremost victims and their families. Because of the actions of the few priests who committed these crimes, all of us continue to suffer today.
This past week our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI has come under criticism for the way he has handled past cases of clergy sexual abuse of minors, including a case here involving Lawrence Murphy. The allegations against him, as well as the facts supporting him, are widely available.
The Holy Father does not need me to defend him or his decisions. I believe, and history will confirm that his actions in responding to this crisis, swiftly and decisively and his compassionate response to victims/surviovrs, speak for themselves. The Holy Father has been firm in his commitment to combat clergy sexual abuse; root it out of the Church; reach out to those who have been harmed; and hold perpetrators accountable. He has been a leader, meeting with victims/survivors and chastising bishops for their lack of judgment and leadership.
Mistakes were made in the Lawrence Murphy case. The mistakes were not made in Rome in 1996, 1997 and 1998. The mistakes were made here, in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, in the 1970s, the 1980s and the 1990s, by the Church, by civil authorities, by Church officials, and by bishops. And for that, I beg your forgiveness in the name of the Church and in the name of this Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
Because of those who have come forward -- those who have been harmed in a most egregious way; those who have been relentless in their criticism of the Church; those who have pushed and prodded – some say even forced -- the Church to change; those brave victims-survivors who have had the courage to come forward and publicly tell their story even after decades of feeling ignored -- because of their persistence and perseverance, we know the Church HAS changed.
We owe these victims/survivors our deep gratitude and we acknowledge our own actions have not always expressed that gratitude adequately.
We know that today the policies and procedures in place in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and across the United States, ensures to the best of our God-given ability, that no priest with a substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor can ever serve as a priest again in our Church.
Still, we know it is not words, but actions that will demonstrate our resolve. And, in some ways, regardless of what I say, tonight or any other time, our critics will say it is not enough. But that cannot and will not prevent me from making every possible effort at moving forward toward healing and resolution with those who have been harmed, and, determined, to make sure nothing like this can ever happen again.
To you gathered here tonight – our pastors, priests, deacons and lay ecclesial ministers – through your vigilance at our parishes and schools, we now have in place the mechanisms to effectively combat the scourge of child sexual abuse. Through the formation and training of our safe environment initiative, we know that you, in your parishes, schools and institutions, have put in place the necessary safeguards and practices to ensure our children are protected. Thank you. Remain vigilant.
Even though some do not want to hear it or accept it as truth, mistakes were made by law enforcement, medical professionals -- even reporters who helped bring initial stories to light and grappled with how to deal with perpetrators. We have ALL learned so much.
We cannot deny the past, but because of all of it, during these past years we have become a more prudent Church. We have taken significant steps to purge this abuse from our Church and even from the larger society. We hope and pray our actions have become a model for what TO do after decades of what NOT to do.
We are a Sacramental Church. Tonight, in this holiest of weeks, we consecrated the holy oil of the sick. This oil will be used this next year for anointing and healing throughout our archdiocese. Healing we all need.
So, tonight, my dear brothers and sisters, as we renew our commitment to love and serve Jesus Christ and his Church, may we
May God bless you.
(The comments above were shared by Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki at the end of the March 30, 2010 Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Milwaukee.)""
Bull.
The problem with the Catholic Church seems to be the inability to acknowledge that there are bad apples in the priesthood who commit very serious crimes and who need to be dealt with firmly. Instead of confronting the problem, however, the Church chooses the path of least resistance, which is to bury the whole thing and pretend it never happened! Now, though, the issue has returned like the stench of two-week-old cow dung, and it cannot simply be ignored. Getting out of the crisis will require honest dialogue about what to do with priests who abuse their robes and authority by molesting children.
For starters, there has to be a clearly defined process similar to the one adopted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in December 2002.
Called the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, it clearly spells out how cases of allegation of abuse involving priests should be handled. It is a good first step that needs to be refined and implemented around the world in Catholic parishes.
It is the only way to deal with the abuses because, frankly, prayers are not enough.
Look at how these leftist pigs lie:
“...who is now Pope, decided not to remove Father Lawrence Murphy even after he admitted molesting boys at a deaf school in St. Francis”
He left the active priesthood TWENTY FOUR YEARS before he died. TWENTY FOUR YEARS. The lying reporter makes it sound like the pope refused to remove him from the school he left more than two decades PREVIOUSLY!
Wow. They're down to bald-faced, outright lies now.
Umm, dogs and vomit. Wasn’t there something about that in the Bible?
What about the bad apples in families, in schools, in Protestant ministry? What should happen with them? Can you be an impartial judge? Oh, I remember Christ said something like "Judge not, lest you be judged."
The most probable pedophiles in order are:
Fathers
Teachers
Coaches
Protestant ministers
Priests are way down on the list.
So if a father is a teacher of mid-high history, coaches the girl’s basketball team and is a youth minister at his church on weekends/Sundays — watch out! He would be much more prone to pedophilia that any priest.
Sexual Abuse of Children by Protestant Ministers
Report: Protestant Church Insurers Handle 260 Sex Abuse Cases a Year
Abuse by Protestant Ministers of Every Denomination
Child Sexual Molestation by Various Protestant Clergy
"Yeshiva" of Brooklyn also Guilty of Child Abuse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Teachers and Pedophilia - In YOUR Backyard
Washington Post -- D.C. school officials reported 220 abuse allegations against teachers
Sex Abuse by Teachers Said Worse Than Catholic Church
WHEN BOYS ARE MOLESTED BY TEACHERS AND OTHERS IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY
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Catholic excuse #4.
“4. Other groups molest children more than we do.”
All abuse is wrong, look at my profile.
I make no excuse for the abuse of Children nor should other FReepers regardless of their faith.
I’m not making excuses — just pointing out the facts. I’ll pray for you so that you can see those facts.
The premise of your argument is that priests don’t rape children as much as other groups so in some sick way they aren’t as bad.
The fact that you even used that desperate statistic or argument to protect the church is incredible!
Think about it!
Not only were you making excuses, you did so in such a way as to slur other posters here by implying that
A. They only oppose the rape of children or covering that up when it occurs within Catholisism.
and
B. Other posters are unaware of just how much abuse goes on in various societal structures.
Neither is true.
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