Posted on 06/21/2004 7:44:57 AM PDT by Salvation
Is there a bottom to this?
Well, the Holy Spirit is going to have to search high and low to find a cardinal that has not been tainted by this sexual abuse scandal.
Now, I have the utmost confidence in the HS. The one He chooses will probably be a very big surprise to all these "front runners".
If the choice is between a religious order accused of protecting molester priests, and the liberal, Catholicism loathing mainstream press, I'll simply believe neither, thanks.
The church has a long history of sheltering criminals. We forget that in the Middle Ages, churches and cathedrals were sanctuaries for outlaws. There would be a knock at the bolted doors of the chuch in the dead of night. The door would be opened and the furgitive from the law given a meal and a place to sleep for the night. No questions asked. Just love of thy neighbor.
I am not condoning breaking the law nor committing crimes as some priests have. But I think this issue has been overblown by the secular press due to its extreme hatred for Christianity and a theraputic society that thinks perfection must be everywhere in the church or else the entire instituion condemned. I think its time to suspend judgment and see if the church can become what she is supposed to be and correct the problem with forgiveness.
Ping for later
**The one He [Holy Spirit] chooses will probably be a very big surprise to all these "front runners".**
My thoughts exactly!
**The church has a long history of sheltering criminals. We forget that in the Middle Ages, churches and cathedrals were sanctuaries for outlaws. There would be a knock at the bolted doors of the chuch in the dead of night. The door would be opened and the furgitive from the law given a meal and a place to sleep for the night. No questions asked. Just love of thy neighbor.**
Not quite like the mosques of today where weapons are offered and ammunition is stored, huh?
""The congregation speedily examines every accusation of sexual violence against minors to verify, first of all, its veracity," the statement said."
WRONG ANSWER!!!
What qualifications do the Salesians have for investigating crimes of any sort of violence against minors or anybody else?
This problem will never be put right until the first reaction of bishops or religious superiors is to call in the police as soon as an allegation of a crime has been made.
As long as they consider themselves competent to investigate the veracity of abuse allegations, they will be complicit in covering them up and perverting the course of justice.
Amen, brother!
You are quite correct. Christianity and Islam are very different religions.
Bump!
That, coupled with the fact that the Church's seminaries seem to be controlled by homosexuals and that the Church has become quite liberal at the highest levels, leads one to believe whether the Church has any spiritual or moral legitimacy and authority. So much of what is going on is abhorrent in the sight of God, and my heart goes out to my friends who are Roman Catholic.
My suggestion and entreaty is that they study the concept of apostacy and ask whether such has occurred.
The Savior Himself said (Matt.7:16) "By their fruits shall ye know them," and when a leader such as Cardinal Rodríguez, who has been described as "a fast-rising star in the Roman Catholic hierarchy" speaks "as forcefully as any of his colleagues against telling police about abuse allegations," persons of conscience should be asking questions.
Indeed, when Cardinal Bernard Law, "the former Boston archbishop who became the lone American diocesan leader driven from office over his handling of abuse cases" has been appointed by the Vatican as the archpriest of a basilica in Rome -- and is vigorously defended Cardinal Rodriguez to boot -- Roman Catholics should ask themselves whether the closing of dozens of churches within the Boston archdiocese merely coincidental or is cause for genuine alarm.
All of this bears no resemblance to the Church that the Savior established and turned over to Peter and His other Apostles, who largely were martyred and later succeeded by several popes who history has recorded committed all manner of wickedness.
So much for apostolic succession and authority, and the growth of a few other Christian denominations should not come as a surprise.
My prayers are with the millions of good Roman Catholics who deserve so much better than they are receiving from those purporting to represent and speak for Almighty God.....
**My suggestion and entreaty is that they study the concept of apostacy and ask whether such has occurred.**
Definitely some has occurred. If you want to know more hang out for an evening on the Religion Forum and witness the traditionalists vs. the Novus Ordo Catholics.
**I've been pretty much a supporter of righteous Roman Catholic clerics and lay persons, but now feel that I should ask Roman Catholics to consider what seems to be a pervasive phenomenon of decay which has surfaced in scores of unrelated incidents throughout the Church.**
You speak of this decay happening only in the Catholic Church. Would you say that it is happening right here in the United States that was founded on Judaeo-Christian principles? Sure is! So should the question be rephrased to something like "How is the Catholic Church taking care of this problem?
The seminaries have been infested. You might be interested in checking out this assortment of links (all articles posted here on FR -- and fairly balanced) to judge for yourself about what is happening in the seminaries or with seminarians.
Today's seminarians reflect growing trend
Number of Seminarians Increases - Please Decipher This!!!!
In Seminaries, New Ways for a New Generation
Seminary Springtime: Father Darrin Connall s Big Success
EVIDENCE GROWS OF DIRECT DISOBEDIENCE TO VATICAN IN MAJOR AMERICAN SEMINARIES
Pope to Church: Risky Seminarians Must Go
U.S. Priests and seminarians survey: more vocations in orthodox dioceses
Vatican Announces Surge in Seminaries during JPII Pontificate
Seminary Reform Needed in Wake of Sex Abuse Study ["the crisis in the Church is ... homosexuality"]
**My prayers are with the millions of good Roman Catholics who deserve so much better than they are receiving from those purporting to represent and speak for Almighty God.....**
We thank you for your prayers and likewise, ask your forgiveness for all the wrongs the Catholic Church has wrought in the past.
Things will be better, and the Church will be stronger, despite this current cleansing.
The apostacy of which you speak did not happen overnight, nor will it all be cured overnight. It will take time. Believe it or not, my opinion only, the Catholic Church is probably slower in this regard than the bureaucracy of the United States.
I have many friends who are Roman Catholic, was never treated badly by the Roman Catholic Church or members thereof, and indeed was seen through some troubled times by a few Catholic priests in my younger days. The fact that I was not of their faith mattered not.
I remain certain that those servants of the Lord were and are godly men and I am in their debt. I continue to pray formy friends and family regardless of their religious affiliation. All the best, and may the Lord give you the strength to seek out and fight for that which is right....
I have many friends who are Roman Catholic, was never treated badly by the Roman Catholic Church or members thereof, and indeed was seen through some troubled times by a few Catholic priests in my younger days. The fact that I was not of their faith mattered not.
I remain certain that those servants of the Lord were and are godly men and I am in their debt. I continue to pray formy friends and family regardless of their religious affiliation. All the best, and may the Lord give you the strength to seek out and fight for that which is right....
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