Posted on 08/19/2018 5:33:21 PM PDT by pgyanke
While everyone feigns shock at the revelations out of Pennsylvania this past week, this isn't news to the faithful in the pews. We have been calling for accountability for years. We all know someone or of someone who has been a victim of abuse or targeted for such abuse. When confronted, prelates turned a deaf ear and a blind eye. The abuse that came to light almost 15 years ago was an opportunity to cleanse the Church. The result was a superficial cleaning that didn't touch the root problems, make amends with victims, nor administer appropriate penalties for offenders.
The Church (in large part) is still failing to address the root problems in the current crisis. I think Bishop Morlino of Madison had the best response I have seen so far in his pastoral letter. Cardinal Burke was very forthright in his interview with Raymond Burke on EWTN’s The World Over. Most other responses are more concerned with the embarrassment to the clergy and promises to do better… without specifics. The root problem is the homosexual subculture that has taken hold in the Church. Any letter that fails to recognize this truth is continuing to fail in correction. The first step in the cure of any disease is recognizing the problem.
I have noted for years that the liberal mindset is the most closed-minded of ideologies. They use our open-mindedness against us. While we invite all viewpoints into our midst, liberals recruit and promote only those of the same mind. You can see this playing out dramatically on college campuses today where conservative speakers are violently rejected and only the liberal side is embraced. The media and academia are both measurably over 90% liberal due to this phenomenon of only embracing their own side. As liberals gain authority, they only hire those who agree with their own orthodoxy. This is the same process that has brought us where we are today in the Church. Our leaders have sought to display their tolerance to the intolerant and have been repaid by a growing subculture, hostile to our teachings.
At Mass last evening, the celebrant priest made the comment, "we tried to rehabilitate offending priests but have only recently learned pedophilia is incurable." This is more obfuscation. The problems of pedophilia have been known for more than three decades. There were even promises made during the last flare-up that pedophile priests would be out of ministry and away from children. That promise wasn't kept and here we are again. Comments such as these suggest that we will continue down the same road with bandaids that don't address the true malady. This isn't a recent discovery, it's a convenient excuse for past inaction.
There are bad actors in every walk of life. They do bad things. When this happens, those in authority must deal justice in the aftermath. That is what the bishops have failed to do for a long time and it is worse than the abuse itself. In many cases, the power of the Church has been wielded against the accusers rather than the abusers. This must be addressed and corrected. Take a look at Fr Archambault in Massachusetts who admitted to abusing 26 minors aged 5 - 11. His murder is a horrible crime not to be condoned… that isn’t my point with the linked article. Consider the actions of the Church in his case: "His defense was that the children consented to have sex with him. This is despite the fact that one of the victims was just five years old and the priest was 42 years old. The church saw ‘sense' in Archambault’s defense and so he wasn’t charged with child abuse and was only declared to have committed a grave sin that 'must not go unpunished.' What was the punishment? He was put on paid leave and sent to a retreat in Alabama, where he was to go before God in prayer and penance for forgiveness. ...The families of Archambault’s victims were angered by the church’s decision. Unhappy with the verdict, they wrote a letter to Pope Francis, requesting him to turn over the matter to the police. Unfortunately, the Pope didn’t respond. A response, however, came from the church telling the families that the case had been closed.” Actions like this scandalize the faithful and punish the victims.
I heard a story from someone close to me recently that puts this situation into a clearer focus. He had attended a retreat where the abuse was discussed. He was told the accused asked for prayers as they deal with these disordered desires and offenses. My friend asked whether the offenders had called for prayers for the victims and their families... No. Sexual disorders are selfish in nature. This response continues the selfishness through the so-called rehabilitation.
The main body of bishops and priests is still in CYA mode rather than taking offensive action to root out the offenders in their midst. The modern Church in this country is following the secular culture in their sin rather than aggressively opposing sin. We are a go-along-to-get-along Church. We accept what is unacceptable to appear “reasonable” and “non-judgmental” rather than simply standing for the higher truths. Where we should simply preach the truth, we water it down by making it personal. When it’s personal, the truth is a two-edged sword most are not prepared to wield.
We fail in both justice and mercy. When we show mercy without justice to the accused, we do greater harm to accuser and victim together. The victim continues in their temporal pain which may be a millstone to their faith. The accuser is confirmed in his sin and a lack of real repentance may condemn him for eternity. Certainly, both situations are scandals of infinite magnitude.
Our Church has been embracing homosexuality rather than confronting it for decades. I offer these few examples (among thousands possible) to prove my words:
Any resolution that dances around the problem isn’t a resolution. If the Church doesn’t stand for truth (especially difficult truths) then it doesn’t stand with Christ, Who is Truth personified. I heard a parishioner after Mass today say that the only thing to be done is to pray. I respectfully disagree. In a way, that is a little like the Protestant understanding of faith... one must only believe in one's heart to be saved. Faith without works is a dead faith (James 2:26). Prayer without a firm resolve to do what must be done is an empty prayer. Where amends must be made, they should be made. Where the truth must be said, it should be said.These Catholic parishes openly celebrate LGBT. Why aren’t bishops stopping it?
New Ways Ministry:LGBT-Friendly Parishes
New Ways Ministry: Building bridges between the LGBT community and the Catholic Church since 1977
The homosexual subculture problem in the Church is related to my effort to encourage the bishops to speak out against the Democratic Party for their advocacy of abortion and homosexual marriage. Both are sins that cry out to God in Heaven. Both are in Democratic Party platforms at all levels... and yet our bishops have been silent in condemnation. Are they silent because they sympathize with the Democrats or has their silence been coerced by a ruthless party which threatened to expose the unfolding scandal? Neither situation is flattering for our bishops. The time is now to speak all truth and come clean for the scandalized faithful. The culture of death must defeated by the Church standing for the way, the truth, and the life.
"The floor of Hell is paved with the skulls of bishops," said St Athanasius. As a husband and father, I am responsible for the souls in my home. Priests are responsible for the souls in their parish. You are responsible for the souls in your diocese or archdiocese. You have been blessed with great power and authority in the Kingdom of God. You have been cursed with great responsibility to stand against evil. Rather than forcefully condemn the culture of death, you have allowed it to metastasize within the hierarchy of the Church. The task of removing this cancer will likely be the greatest challenge of our generation. Failure has eternal consequences for laity and clergy alike.
" If I say to the wicked, You shall surely die—and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade the wicked from their evil conduct in order to save their lives—then they shall die for their sin, but I will hold you responsible for their blood."I pray for all of the ministers of the Church in these dark times. Your challenge is to undo the decades of decay and neglect that have hurt your authority and message. Faithful Catholics everywhere stand with you as you stand for the truths of the Church. We know right from wrong and we know the Catechism of our Church. We will hear the truth when you preach it… and be disappointed when you fail. We know you are as human as we are. We know you have a most difficult job. We also know you are the ones commissioned to do what must be done. We will stand with you as you rise.- Ezekiel 3:18
I offer myself to you in service as you work through this and welcome the opportunity to discuss with you as your schedule permits. You will remain in my family's prayers.
For your ping lists.
A letter, imagine! Uh oh!!
May I ask that you read it? I would appreciate your honest criticism.
Yes, but when has a letter changed a bureaucracy that is harboring/supporting evil?
Exposure to the light of day has been a strong disinfectant throughout history. The homosexual lobby gained positions of authority and have undermined good priests and bishops trying to stand against them. The more we expose them, the more we give aid and comfort to the forces of reform in the Church.
They need to go fire and brimstone, make it crystal clear that any priest that violates his oath of celibacy will be defrocked and if it's with someone underage they will be immediately referred for prosecution and the church will be the first to testify against them. Then do it.
Instead they went corporate mumbo jumbo. Nothing will change because it's a homosexual crisis and the homosexuals are running the church so we get told it's really the victim's responsibility to put a stop to this. I frankly sat there getting angrier and angrier as I listened and came this close to walking out but the mass was in honor of my wife's brother and I couldn't do that to her.
The pedophile scandal is sinning by priests and other clergy members.
That is one problem, but a bigger long term threat is the present Pope, who can ruin Catholic dogmas and long held traditions.
If Catholics are not careful they will split up like the Protestant churches with a variety of views on Christianity.
Get rid of that Pope for starters.
The pedophile part is still a sin by Catholic standards and can be addressed that way.
Get rid of those clergy who are guilty of it. - Tom
New Jersey — not surprised.
I had the same reaction to the mumbo-jumbo read out to us at Mass. That’s what prompted this article. I wrote the priest an email and then expanded my thoughts here from what was still percolating around my head.
Not sure who you intend as recipient. I hope you are not sending to bishop, priest or other person of stature. Your letter is quite heartfelt with an authentic tone. However it’s completely unoriginal. You might chop it way down, focus on one theme, and offer it for a bulletin inclusion or local newspaper.
I think there’s WAY too many of these stories on freerepublic
Save stories for convictions. Murders of perps. Etc
Not hand wringing over and over and over
Thanks
This is a bogus fake news story. The real Fr Archambault committed suicide. _One_ person credibly accused him of abuse. There were also questions about "boundary-setting" in other situations involving kids, but there were not 26 verified victims of abuse. The story is bogus.
Seriously?! I tried to independently verify and found multiple sources! I will amend. Thank you!
Not murdered, Archambault committed suicide, shot himself in a closet in the rectory.
https://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/03/new_details_emerge_about_abuse.html
They compounded the problem ten fold since they didn't do a thing to tear down the whole queer mafia while at the same time pointing out that there were a great many false charges against priests because the Catholic Church, by hiding the crimes, became a slot machine that paid out more often or not with proof of an incident or without.
Now they've worked things around to where every priest or bishop is guilty until proved innocent. Just state that the enemies of the Church intended to reach when they advised the bishops who go along to get along to handle problems the same way government and corporations do.
Clergy who don't instantly reject that sort of approach don't deserve to be clergy since they obviously don't believe the Church is any different than any other bureaucracy with no purpose other than sustaining itself.
No problem with what you said - just be sure it will be totally ignored by the huge bureaucracy of the Church.
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