Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Covering the Catholic sex abuse cover-up
Radio Netherlands Worldwide ^ | 16 December 2011 | Robert Chesal

Posted on 12/16/2011 7:08:45 AM PST by Alex Murphy

Roman Catholic bishops in the Netherlands protected sexual abusers and covered up their crimes, according to a major new report released today. The church-installed Deetman Commission says there were up to 20,000 victims of abuse between the end of World War II and 1981.

Radio Netherlands Worldwide journalist Robert Chesal brought to light the abuse that led to a national scandal. He looks back at how the story unfolded.

You could say that 2010 was the year when the Roman Catholic sex abuse scandal went viral. Until February of that year, abuse of youngsters by Catholic clergy was primarily seen as a problem in Ireland and the United States.

German scandal
But that month, as northern Europe lay buried in snow, a simmering problem began to reach boiling point. Reports from a Catholic boarding school run by Jesuits in the German capital Berlin spoke first of a few, then of a dozen, and then of over a hundred victims of abuse by priests.

One of those reports reached me at the RNW newsroom in mid-February. That same day I read that Pope Benedict XVI had ordered the entire Irish bishops' conference to appear at the Vatican, where they would receive a dressing down for failing to tackle abuse in their dioceses. I decided to investigate what, if anything, had happened in the Netherlands.

Salesians
On the internet I quickly found a testimony by a man named Janne Geraets, now in his late 50s, who claimed to have been abused at a boarding school in the early 1960s. I arranged to meet him the following day and heard his story of the painful and deeply damaging abuse he suffered at the hands of a Salesian father.

As I walked to the bus stop after that interview, my head still filled with the disturbing images Geraets had described, I started thinking about where to look next.

Disturbing signs
I discovered that there were some worrying trends in the Netherlands which were as yet unreported in the mainstream media. For instance, a prominent Dutch jurist told me why he had stepped down as chairman of the assessment board of the Roman Catholic abuse hotline.

In fact, he said, the entire board had resigned because their recommendations on how to deal with known abusers in the church were repeatedly being ignored by the Dutch bishops.

I was confronted with another ominous sign when I rang up the Protestant counterpart to the Catholic hotline and was told that all cooperation between the Protestant and Catholic centres for abuse notification had ceased years earlier.

The representative I spoke to suspected the reason the partnership had broken down was that the Catholic side “had something to hide”. Another hotline employee lamented the fact that the Catholics showed no interest in a new protocol established by the Protestant abuse notification centre which the Protestants were more than willing to share.

Hotbed of abuse

Spurred on by Janne Geraets' insistence that he was just one of many children abused at his school, I enlisted the help of experienced investigative journalist Joep Dohmen at the NRC Handelsblad newspaper. Together, Dohmen and I pieced together a story that revealed the abuse of three minors by Salesians from the same boarding school.

We also brought to light the fact that one of the most respected bishops in the Netherlands, monsignor Ad van Luyn, had taught at that same school, in close proximity to what later appeared to be a hotbed of sexual abuse.

Our first publication on 26 February 2010, sparked an avalanche of abuse reports from former boarding school pupils throughout the Netherlands. The Catholic hotline was completely unable to handle the workload and within weeks the first steps were taken to create a commission of inquiry led by former government minister Wim Deetman.

Pope angers Europe
Meanwhile, it was rapidly becoming clear that the Catholic Church had a scandal of epidemic proportions on its hands in Europe. From Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria, shocking testimonies of abuse and allegations of church cover-ups were making headlines.

There was an angry reaction when Pope Benedict apologised to churchgoers in Ireland for decades of abuse that went unpunished. Why, the Germans and Dutch asked, should we be treated any differently from Irish victims?

The Vatican never gave a satisfactory answer to that question. On the contrary. A cardinal close to the pope called the scandal “petty gossip” and even some bishops who acknowledged wide-scale abuse blamed it on the freemasons, on homosexuality and on the loosening of society's sexual morals following the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s (a particularly odd fallacy, since so many cases of abuse stem from the 1950s and earlier).

On Good Friday, Pope Benedict's own preacher compared the incrimination of priests in the sex abuse scandal to past examples of persecution of Europe's Jews. Public relations are not exactly a strong point in Rome.

Simonis gaffe
The church in the Netherlands hardly made a better impression. The top Catholic figure here, Cardinal Simonis, left mouths agape when he denied that Dutch church leaders were aware of the wide-scale abuse by priests in their midst.

He chose a historically loaded phrase the Dutch normally use to mock feigned German ignorance of the Nazi concentration camps, saying “Wir haben es nicht gewusst”.

But Simonis' words sounded decidedly hollow when we reported, months later, that he had helped move a pedophile priest from one parish to another, allowing abuse of minors to continue.

Long-term damage
Incidents like these are among the many disconcerting facts that the Deetman Commission had to grapple with in its inquiry. Of the estimated 10,000 to 20,000 victims in institutional care between 1945 and the early 1980s, approximately half were repeatedly subjected to sexual abuse for longer than a year, the commission says.

Personal accounts reveal that the physical and psychological damage caused by such extended periods of victimisation is immense and long-lasting.

The commission singled out Roman Catholic boarding schools, orphanages, seminaries and other institutions, reporting that children there ran a greater risk of being abused. The inquiry blasted the institutions' failure to monitor the well-being of minors in their care.

In a first reaction to the 1,200-page Deetman report, Bishop Gerard de Korte said the church leadership had made wrong choices by protecting abusive priests and putting the reputation of the church before the well-being of victims. It's unlikely to be the last word we hear from the bishops on that sensitive point.

Justice a step closer
Along with many other journalists, I crowded into a meeting room in the Dutch political capital The Hague this morning for the official presentation of the report. Afterwards, colleagues asked me if this was a crowning moment in my career. I had to think about that. And my answer was no. Because I did not become a journalist to hold the Roman Catholic Church accountable for sexual abuse.

I did, however, become a journalist out of some kind of desire for justice and truth. And in that sense, I would have to conclude that with the Deetman Commission report, we've gotten one step closer to that goal.


TOPICS: Catholic; Ministry/Outreach; Moral Issues; Religion & Politics
KEYWORDS: catholic
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-5051-67 next last
I discovered that there were some worrying trends in the Netherlands which were as yet unreported in the mainstream media. For instance, a prominent Dutch jurist told me why he had stepped down as chairman of the assessment board of the Roman Catholic abuse hotline. In fact, he said, the entire board had resigned because their recommendations on how to deal with known abusers in the church were repeatedly being ignored by the Dutch bishops.

I was confronted with another ominous sign when I rang up the Protestant counterpart to the Catholic hotline and was told that all cooperation between the Protestant and Catholic centres for abuse notification had ceased years earlier. The representative I spoke to suspected the reason the partnership had broken down was that the Catholic side “had something to hide”. Another hotline employee lamented the fact that the Catholics showed no interest in a new protocol established by the Protestant abuse notification centre which the Protestants were more than willing to share....

....There was an angry reaction when Pope Benedict apologised to churchgoers in Ireland for decades of abuse that went unpunished. Why, the Germans and Dutch asked, should we be treated any differently from Irish victims? The Vatican never gave a satisfactory answer to that question. On the contrary. A cardinal close to the pope called the scandal “petty gossip” and even some bishops who acknowledged wide-scale abuse blamed it on the freemasons, on homosexuality and on the loosening of society's sexual morals following the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s (a particularly odd fallacy, since so many cases of abuse stem from the 1950s and earlier). On Good Friday, Pope Benedict's own preacher compared the incrimination of priests in the sex abuse scandal to past examples of persecution of Europe's Jews. Public relations are not exactly a strong point in Rome....

....The church in the Netherlands hardly made a better impression. The top Catholic figure here, Cardinal Simonis, left mouths agape when he denied that Dutch church leaders were aware of the wide-scale abuse by priests in their midst. He chose a historically loaded phrase the Dutch normally use to mock feigned German ignorance of the Nazi concentration camps, saying “Wir haben es nicht gewusst” [trans. "We have not known it"]. But Simonis' words sounded decidedly hollow when we reported, months later, that he had helped move a pedophile priest from one parish to another, allowing abuse of minors to continue....

....Incidents like these are among the many disconcerting facts that the Deetman Commission had to grapple with in its inquiry. Of the estimated 10,000 to 20,000 victims in institutional care between 1945 and the early 1980s, approximately half were repeatedly subjected to sexual abuse for longer than a year, the commission says....The commission singled out Roman Catholic boarding schools, orphanages, seminaries and other institutions, reporting that children there ran a greater risk of being abused. The inquiry blasted the institutions' failure to monitor the well-being of minors in their care....

1 posted on 12/16/2011 7:08:47 AM PST by Alex Murphy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Alex Murphy

There actually is psychotherapeutic treatment for these kinds of obsessions wherein the mind is totally absorbed with the sins of the Catholic Church.

However, once the treatment is completed, the individual is able to get on with their own lives and live productively.


2 posted on 12/16/2011 7:26:11 AM PST by veritas2002
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: veritas2002

Is this the same psycho-therapeutic treatment that the Bishop’s used when they sent pedophiles back into the church to work with children?

Let’s play, “Where in the world is Cardinal Law?”

He’s at the Vatican!

I win!


3 posted on 12/16/2011 7:38:30 AM PST by TSgt (Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

Comment #4 Removed by Moderator

Comment #5 Removed by Moderator

Comment #6 Removed by Moderator

To: Alex Murphy; TSgt
The elephant in the living room which nobody wants to discuss..........from the BBC's article on the same subject:

Institutional Dutch Catholic abuse 'affected thousands'

"It also conducted a broader survey of more than 34,000 people, to gain a more comprehensive picture of the scale and nature of abuse suffered by Dutch minors."

SNIP

"The report also estimates that one in 10 Dutch children have suffered some form of abuse, rising to one in five among those who had attended an institution - regardless of whether it was Catholic.

"Sexual abuse of minors is widespread in Dutch society," the commission reportedly said.

As for the Catholic Church in Holland, I've been waiting for this since 2002 when the US scandals first broke. Holland has been at the forefront of every sort of moral and theological aberration over the past 5 decades, whether it be drug use, homosexuality or promuiscuity. As far as religion goes, the Catholic Church in Holland has been a disaster. It has fallen over itself to embrace every modern fad. I've been amazed that the sex abuse issue has not reared its head earlier, given the overall cultural and religious decay in Holland. The only thing surprising about this news is that it took so long to come out.

Maybe they saved the worst for last.

7 posted on 12/16/2011 9:02:15 AM PST by marshmallow (.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Alex Murphy

The Dutch Bishops have long been a problem. This has been acknowledged by orthodox Catholics.

It is interesting that the places where Bishops are most tolerant of heresy in matters of doctrine and practice are some of the worst when it comes to sexual crimes and their coverups.


8 posted on 12/16/2011 9:12:37 AM PST by lastchance ("Nisi credideritis, non intelligetis" St. Augustine)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TSgt

still in need of more treatment i am afraid


9 posted on 12/16/2011 9:13:30 AM PST by veritas2002
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Alex Murphy

Remember too that the Dutch have long been tolerant of pedophilia.

Any sexual abuse is a grave sin. Keep in mind though that what constitutes sexual abuse can be far ranging especially when it involves minors. It can be anything from showing pornographic literature to someone to forcible rape.

All of this should be treated with the severity it deserves as any attempt to corrupt and/or harm the innocent is a sin against God and a rightly considered a crime. But it does help to know what is what so that an honest picture of the problem can emerge.


10 posted on 12/16/2011 9:18:59 AM PST by lastchance ("Nisi credideritis, non intelligetis" St. Augustine)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Alex Murphy; lastchance
oh, another one of the joke articles you publish! like TV Evangelists Unite to Beam Gospel to the Stars all are funny as they lack utterly in truth. Thanks for giving all a laugh daily!
11 posted on 12/16/2011 9:19:59 AM PST by Cronos (Nuke Mecca and Medina now..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Cronos

Did you also hit the abuse button?

This is not personal, my FRiend. I completely agree with your postings and just didn’t want you to miss one.


12 posted on 12/16/2011 9:25:12 AM PST by Dutchboy88
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Dutchboy88

you and abusing the Forum? nooooooooooo /sarc


13 posted on 12/16/2011 9:41:16 AM PST by Cronos (Nuke Mecca and Medina now..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Cronos

Is the article a made up story? If so, who made it up?


14 posted on 12/16/2011 9:42:26 AM PST by count-your-change (You don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: count-your-change
Is the article a made up story? If so, who made it up?

Worse yet, who finds it something to laugh at?

15 posted on 12/16/2011 9:45:06 AM PST by Alex Murphy (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2703506/posts?page=518#518)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: lastchance

An interesting question too then is why the Catholic church has been so tolerant of the Dutch bishops.


16 posted on 12/16/2011 9:52:08 AM PST by count-your-change (You don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Cronos

Abuse is what we have been reading about, my FRiend. The vile pastors and priests who have become drunk on the destruction of these young lives. And, the filthy, pathetic organizations (like Rome and other Protestant headquarters) that have been too polite to call out this demonic evil. I’m with you on your implications...all these groups are bound for darkness.


17 posted on 12/16/2011 9:52:25 AM PST by Dutchboy88
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Alex Murphy

All groups cover up the crimes etc of members of their group

It is human nature

Catholic Church is no different than coworkers covering up for drunks , cops covering up for corrupt cops etc etc etc


18 posted on 12/16/2011 9:59:29 AM PST by uncbob
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Alex Murphy

The account of a seven year old boy being sodomized is no joke. And the the effect on the child is no fictional story.


19 posted on 12/16/2011 10:13:09 AM PST by count-your-change (You don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: count-your-change

I agree.


20 posted on 12/16/2011 10:27:53 AM PST by lastchance ("Nisi credideritis, non intelligetis" St. Augustine)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: uncbob

Maybe so, but I would like to think that the immediate response to discovering such grave transgressions against God would be to do everything to stop those sins and prevent them in the future while shepherding both the victim and the abuser. The victim to see they are given the remedy they deserve under the law (Canon, Civil and Criminal) and supporting them spiritually. The abuser by calling them to repentence and restitution and reconcilation. That such restitution rightly includes facing the penalaties under criminal law for their crimes should not go unmentioned. This is one reason why cooperation with law enforcement is so necessary. How can a Bishop ignore the very real risk to a soul caused by lack of true repentence for such a horrible sin? Paying the temporal costs for a crime is a matter of Godly justice as well as temporal justice.


21 posted on 12/16/2011 10:36:18 AM PST by lastchance ("Nisi credideritis, non intelligetis" St. Augustine)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: veritas2002

And you still are not following the rules of the Religion Forum when it comes to making it personal...


22 posted on 12/16/2011 11:12:34 AM PST by TSgt (Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: uncbob

Well, I’d say it’s a bit different. You’re not likely to find co-workers or cops covering for their buddy who they caught raping a kid.

Of course, I wouldn’t have expected university football coaches to cover for that either, so I could be wrong!


23 posted on 12/16/2011 11:52:49 AM PST by Boogieman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: TSgt

Re-read my comments. I addressed no one in particular. I did NOt say “YOU” need....

Sometimes shoes fit when they are tried on....


24 posted on 12/16/2011 1:51:30 PM PST by veritas2002
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: veritas2002

Grow up


25 posted on 12/16/2011 4:41:38 PM PST by TSgt (Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: count-your-change

The answer is simple: far too many Catholics now act like Protestants. Thus, what used to be viewed as evil - and had to be stamped out - is now far more likely to be “tolerated”. Eventually this will change, but it will take some time.


26 posted on 12/16/2011 6:44:31 PM PST by vladimir998
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: All
Why have Protestants been so tolerant of abuse?



27 posted on 12/16/2011 7:02:30 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: vladimir998

Well, the on and off efforts at reformation hasn’t changed the toleration of this evil over the last thousand years.

In fact with the percentage of homosexuals in the seminaries being anywhere from 20 to 50 per cent, depending on who is making the estimate, the problem is likely to remain entrenched far into the future.


28 posted on 12/16/2011 7:28:27 PM PST by count-your-change (You don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: count-your-change

Actually this problem is relatively recent. There is no “toleration of this evil over the last thousand years.” A few cases here and there over centuries - until a modern host of cases - in no signifies that there was a toleration of this evil over a 1000 years. I am sure a number pf Protestants here at FR are intellectually dishonest to claim otherwise, however.


29 posted on 12/16/2011 8:14:59 PM PST by vladimir998
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: vladimir998; count-your-change
The answer is simple: far too many Catholics now act like Protestants. Thus, what used to be viewed as evil - and had to be stamped out - is now far more likely to be “tolerated”. Eventually this will change, but it will take some time.

Which gets stamped out - the Catholics who act like Protestants, or the Protestants?

30 posted on 12/16/2011 9:31:28 PM PST by Alex Murphy (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2703506/posts?page=518#518)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: Alex Murphy

Protestant sentiment among Catholics.


31 posted on 12/16/2011 9:43:17 PM PST by vladimir998
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: vladimir998
Protestant sentiment among Catholics.

How did it start? What does it look like? How should it be stamped out? Who does the stamping?

32 posted on 12/16/2011 9:47:46 PM PST by Alex Murphy (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2703506/posts?page=518#518)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: vladimir998
“Actually this problem is relatively recent”

Not so. Said Richard Sipe:

“The history of the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent (1545-1563) record the rampant corruption of bishops and priests. It is not hyperbole to speculate that sexually and financially the Church is equally corrupt today.”

Sipe was a Benedictine monk for 18 years and a priest. He made this statement in the book, “Sin Against the Innocents”, page 67.

Or you could go to Schaff’s History of The Christian Church.

Or Peter Damian's Book of Gomorrah from about 1049, (I have a copy).

Suffice it to say these are NOT intellectually dishonest people and I'm certain they don't post here on FR!

But if you're unaware of these sources it would behoove you to learn and if you are aware why would they be ignored?

33 posted on 12/16/2011 10:05:37 PM PST by count-your-change (You don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: count-your-change; vladimir998
Actually this problem is relatively recent

So ignorance and inexperience is to blame? Even if the problem were recent, the Bible isn't. You'd think, if they had any trust in it, the bishops would have gone to God's Word for help and advice. Rather, the bishops were ignorant and inexperienced with the Bible.

34 posted on 12/16/2011 10:18:17 PM PST by Alex Murphy (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2703506/posts?page=518#518)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: Alex Murphy
Of course the Protestant churches have their own problems, however given that there are about ten times as many Protestant ministers, pastors and the like as priests, etc. the actual numbers should show about a ten to one ratio of offences if the rates were the same.
I haven't seen anyone make such a claim.

And I think it quite proper that those who claim a higher calling and status be held to a higher standard as in ‘to those given much, much will be demanded’.

35 posted on 12/16/2011 10:23:08 PM PST by count-your-change (You don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: count-your-change

Some people are ignorant of history. Or so I’ve seen posted on this forum, a time or two...


36 posted on 12/16/2011 10:34:18 PM PST by 7MMmag (don't 'ya just hate it when that happens?...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: count-your-change

You wrote:

“Not so. Said Richard Sipe:”

Where EXACTLY does Sipe offer any evidence of a 1000 year problem of “tolerance” as you claimed. Please don’t pull the usual FR Protestant bait and switch. Either post evidence for what you claimed or don’t post false claims.

“Sipe was a Benedictine monk for 18 years and a priest. He made this statement in the book, “Sin Against the Innocents”, page 67.”

And his claim has NOTHING to do with what you claimed. Here is your claim again since you seem to be getting forgetful: “Well, the on and off efforts at reformation hasn’t changed the toleration of this evil [homosexual sexual abuse of boys] over the last thousand years.” If you actually even read his article in the book - and it isn’t a very good article to begin with because you get the impression that Sipe is just phoning it in - it is clear on page 66 that there was no 1000 years of toleration of sexual abuse but in fact punishments were harsh. So, your own source contradicts your claim!

Now, are you actually going to post conclusive evidence for your claim or will we get more of the usual Protestant lying?

“Or you could go to Schaff’s History of The Christian Church.”

Again, does Schaff back this up: “Well, the on and off efforts at reformation hasn’t changed the toleration of this evil [homosexual sexual abuse of boys] over the last thousand years.” If Schaff doesn’t have any evidence to back your bizarre claim up, then why even mention him?

“Or Peter Damian’s Book of Gomorrah from about 1049, (I have a copy).”

I have no idea if you have a copy of the book or not, but considering that it is mentioned at the bottom of page 66 in the article you just cited from Sipe I think it just as likely that you just decided to mention it whether you have it or not. And even his book makes it that your statement was false: “Well, the on and off efforts at reformation hasn’t changed the toleration of this evil [homosexual sexual abuse of boys] over the last thousand years.” After all, if you were right, then Peter’s book would never have been written. Logic, ever learn it? Apparently not. Again, your own source contradicts you.

“Suffice it to say these are NOT intellectually dishonest people and I’m certain they don’t post here on FR!”

No, they don’t post here, but if they did, they would all tell you you were wrong.

“But if you’re unaware of these sources it would behoove you to learn and if you are aware why would they be ignored?”

They should all be ignored because not a single one of them actually backs up your baseless assertion. Quite frankly, like other Protestant anti-Catholics at FR, you say something and then completely fail - and I mean utterly fail - to back it up with even one reputable source. Two of the sources you cite actually show you are wrong!!! At this point I can’t even take seriously the idea that you read the sources you cited since they actually contradict you. The complete failure of Protestants to back up what they claim, however, never seems to make any of you actually think, “Gee, I wonder if I am wrong since I can’t find a single reputable source that actually backs up what I posted?” Why is that? Is it that easy for Protestant to lie to themselves?


37 posted on 12/16/2011 10:50:37 PM PST by vladimir998
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: Alex Murphy; 7MMmag

I recommend this short article by Thomas Doyle, Catholic priest and canon lawyer.

“A VERY SHORT HISTORY OF CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Rev. Thomas Doyle, J.C.D., C.A.D.C.”

Simply google the title and his name, it should take you right to the site.


38 posted on 12/16/2011 10:55:31 PM PST by count-your-change (You don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: Alex Murphy

You wrote:

“So ignorance and inexperience is to blame? Even if the problem were recent, the Bible isn’t. You’d think, if they had any trust in it, the bishops would have gone to God’s Word for help and advice. Rather, the bishops were ignorant and inexperienced with the Bible.”

No, I think the Bishops often narrowly focused on the Bible’s call for forgiveness rather than focusing on their needs to protect their flock. When Protestants abuse children does it mean that they are sinners or ignorant of scripture? Basically that is the false dichotomy you are pushing. It’s stupid. It’s illogical. But you’ll push it anyway, right? Again, when a Protestant beats his wife, rapes someone, abuses a child, steals someone - whatever the violation of God’s law - it is your understanding that he must be ignorant of scripture rather than a fallen, sinful human being, right? That’s what you’re claiming?


39 posted on 12/16/2011 10:57:37 PM PST by vladimir998
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: lastchance

Yes, indeed. Odd is it not, that such crimes occur in the most “liberal”Catholic precincts. And the liberalism did not start with Vatican II.


40 posted on 12/16/2011 11:10:12 PM PST by RobbyS
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: vladimir998

So many of these perps have been told to believe, with the likes of Father Kueng, that Catholicism is a myth. At least the Catholicism in which they were raised. If you are a priest whose faith is unreal, then you feel yourselves caught up in a lie. The hypocrite is so often an angry. frustrated man, and he will want to share his sense of frustration by inflicting abuse on others.


41 posted on 12/16/2011 11:16:04 PM PST by RobbyS
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: vladimir998
Slow down, Vladi, I don't want to wipe the inside of my screen off.

I can't read the minds of these writers and so comment on what they might say, I'm left with reading what they actually did say.
The book I quoted wasn't written by Sipe, he wrote but that one chapter. Maybe that didn't show on Amazon's preview..I don't know.

Anyway accusations of false claims, lies, intellectual dishonesty, and so forth won't change the facts.
And the facts are that the councils, the edicts, canon laws and punishments promised were not enforced and the abuse then as now WAS tolerated. That's why it existed!

If it's any comfort, we see it's not just a U.S. problem.

42 posted on 12/16/2011 11:39:26 PM PST by count-your-change (You don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: count-your-change
Thank you for the info. I've perused that site before, but it has been while. Not something I'd go looking at, other than in when it's mentioned --- then claimed to be all wrong.

Things did work as you suggested. Went straight to the brief history page. It buttresses your comments here, regardless of the fierce denials.

43 posted on 12/17/2011 12:20:01 AM PST by 7MMmag (don't 'ya just hate it when that happens?...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: 7MMmag

If I find an interesting site I like to share it. As you can see Doyle is no hack, he’s a Dominican priest and is considered an expert on clerical abuse problems.


44 posted on 12/17/2011 12:49:02 AM PST by count-your-change (You don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 43 | View Replies]

To: TSgt

a highly developed reply


45 posted on 12/17/2011 4:17:54 AM PST by veritas2002
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: count-your-change

You wrote:

“I can’t read the minds of these writers and so comment on what they might say, I’m left with reading what they actually did say.”

And yet you apparently couldn’t find anything from the three of them to back up your assertion of a millenium of “toleration”. Apparently you CAN’T read only what they actually said.

“The book I quoted wasn’t written by Sipe, he wrote but that one chapter. Maybe that didn’t show on Amazon’s preview..I don’t know.”

It was clear to me that Sipe - just as I mentioned in my comments - wrote only one article for the book. Remember, I said, “If you actually even read his article in the book - and it isn’t a very good article to begin with because you get the impression that Sipe is just phoning it in - it is clear on page 66...”

So, you’re relying on an Amazon preview and passing off snippets of writing as if you read the whole article and actually know something? How sad. Does that strike you as honest?

“Anyway accusations of false claims, lies, intellectual dishonesty, and so forth won’t change the facts.”

When will you start presenting facts to actually bolster your claim? You have yet to present a single one.

“And the facts are that the councils, the edicts, canon laws and punishments promised were not enforced and the abuse then as now WAS tolerated. That’s why it existed!”

No, actually decrees were enforced, and that’s why we know of clerics who were punished. There was no millenium of toleration. Also, Church councils and canons tend to see sexual sins of any type as just about the most horrifying because they knew how dangerous they were to the proper conduct of clergy. You have failed - failed like so many Protestants here always do - to provide even a single scrap of information for your baseless assertion. Two of the works you cited even contradicted your claim. What a pathetic showing. How typically Protestant.

“If it’s any comfort, we see it’s not just a U.S. problem.”

If it’s any use to your knowledge, we know it’s not just a Catholic problem. The point is that Catholics don’t lie about the problem among Protestants. I wish Protestants wouldn’t lie about the problem among Catholics. Many Protestants, however, don’t know how to be honest apparently.


46 posted on 12/17/2011 5:44:34 AM PST by vladimir998
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: vladimir998; count-your-change; 7MMmag
The point is that Catholics don’t lie about the problem among Protestants. I wish Protestants wouldn’t lie about the problem among Catholics.

Spittake

....I found the National Catholic Register website where a letter of apology was printed by a woman who forwarded the same article that appeared in the Chronicle. It is entitled: “A Correction and an Apology” by Danielle Bean. She states: “But I should have dug a little deeper and looked more closely at some of the other parts of the speech. The rest of the speech, in which Mr. Miller relies heavily upon statistics found in an article from Sojourners magazine, cites an erroneous statistic of “10 percent of Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia.” “This statistic was later corrected by Sojourners, but it had already been picked up by Miller and others...."

....Philip Jenkins responds... ‘I regret to say that the statement is baloney. I never said it, and it’s not true!... Every time this 10 percent statement appears attributed to me, I try to debunk it, but these things have a life of their own. I have no idea what the actual proportion of pedophile protestant clergy is, but I would be amazed if it was more than a fraction of one percent.’

....“Regrettably, a much condensed version of Miller’s speech, as referenced on your blog, has recently gone viral within the Catholic community by way of the Internet and email. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of blogs, forums, Facebook pages, and news services that have posted this condensed version of Mr. Miller’s speech. It truly saddens me that such ‘false witness’ can be so uncritically accepted and further disseminated by so many within the Catholic community. It seems that we still find it easier to believe the worst about our neighbor rather than dig a little deeper for the truth.”
-- from the thread Letter about Catholics wrong about Protestants [re claim 10% of Protestant clergy are sex abusers]


47 posted on 12/17/2011 7:20:37 AM PST by Alex Murphy (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2703506/posts?page=518#518)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: vladimir998

It’s all an evil conspiracy, isn’t it? Catholic “saints” and experts have joined hands with Protestant historians to make paedphile and homosexual priests look bad and they’re all lying, right?


48 posted on 12/17/2011 8:47:03 AM PST by count-your-change (You don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: count-your-change
It’s all an evil conspiracy, isn’t it? Catholic “saints” and experts have joined hands with Protestant historians to make paedphile and homosexual priests look bad and they’re all lying, right?

Tucker & Dale Vs Evil
"Oh my God, that makes so much sense!"

49 posted on 12/17/2011 9:32:11 AM PST by Alex Murphy (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2703506/posts?page=518#518)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]

To: Alex Murphy

Perfect!


50 posted on 12/17/2011 9:49:01 AM PST by count-your-change (You don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-5051-67 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson