"I Was an Altar Boy"

Catholic Way ^ | October 12, 2004 | Keith A. Fournier

[irish_links]

....You are suggesting all clergy are guilty of or prone to the offenses of a few. That is the very definition of bigotry.....

Well written Brother Petronski. Le mot juste.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.

[Campion]

The Catholic hierarchy was negligent when they allowed hundreds of dangerous men to become priests during the sixties. They are now justly blamed and execrated for their dereliction of duty.

This is the logical error called the "Fallacy of Composition". "The Catholic hierarchy" is not a moral agent, and cannot, properly speaking, be "justly blamed" for anything. Individuals do evil things, and it's illogical to blame an individual for some wrongdoing committed by another individual with whom he shares some common characteristics.

Blame the bishops who actually did evil things all day long, but don't tar bishops in general, priests in general, or Catholics in general for the sins of a few.

This is the same illogic that would blame "all Arabs" or "all Muslims" for 9/11, and "all white Americans" for slavery, etc. If you want to talk fundamental principles of conservatism, how about this one: individual blame for individual wrongdoing, not this kind of bogus guilt by association or "class guilt" junk. That crud is straight out of the Democratic Party playbook.

[Campion]

The Catholic hierarchy was negligent when they allowed hundreds of dangerous men to become priests during the sixties. They are now justly blamed and execrated for their dereliction of duty.

This is the logical error called the "Fallacy of Composition". "The Catholic hierarchy" is not a moral agent, and cannot, properly speaking, be "justly blamed" for anything. Individuals do evil things, and it's illogical to blame an individual for some wrongdoing committed by another individual with whom he shares some common characteristics.

Blame the bishops who actually did evil things all day long, but don't tar bishops in general, priests in general, or Catholics in general for the sins of a few.

This is the same illogic that would blame "all Arabs" or "all Muslims" for 9/11, and "all white Americans" for slavery, etc. If you want to talk fundamental principles of conservatism, how about this one: individual blame for individual wrongdoing, not this kind of bogus guilt by association or "class guilt" junk. That crud is straight out of the Democratic Party playbook.

[SuziQ]

I don't know about early elementary school, but I thought he attended a posh boarding school in Switzerland for middle school, then a private academy for high school. I don't think either of those two were Catholic. One never knows, but if his parents weren't strongly Catholic, it's doubtful he would have ever considered being an altar boy.

[Gator Bill]

You are suggesting all clergy are guilty

The hierarchy knowingly sheltered many. Why they did it is unclear.

[Petronski]

The hierarchy knowingly sheltered many. Why they did it is unclear.

Deftly put. It's an insinuation that you can deny making if you wish.

[Emmett McCarthy]

Through my 16 years of Catholic school, I never once heard it said that going to secular schools was "against the rules". In grade school, in fact, those of us in the Catholic school were dismissed early one day each week so that the kids from the public school across the street could come over for their own religion class. Are you saying that it was "against the rules" to attend a public school or to attend a secular private school? I don't remember ever hearing either - and the nuns we had never had any shortage of things they described as forbidden. I still don't eat a lot of fruit just in case I accidentally get hold of some of that "forbidden fruit".

[spotbust1]

First of all whether you are catholic, protestant, Jew or otherwise, has nothing to do with the right to life. Just because many religions have taken the right to life movement as a personal goal and battle, does not make it a religious issue. I still find it hard to believe that so many Americans cannot draw the line between abortion and murder. If abortion is allowed, then we should not be putting people in jail for stabbing anyone to death. Essentially it is the same act. If sKerry says that he cannot force his religious opinions on someone else, then he should be the first one behind the legalization of stabbing someone to death because they are annoying, bothering or causing you some monetary hardships. It should also be legal to kill the elderly because they are causing so many younger people to have to take care of them and look after them. What a bother that is. (sarcasm) Now doesn't that sound rediculous?

[Hermann the Cherusker]

The Catholic Church used to condemned the sending of Catholic children to secular schools (public or private) as a mortal sin. And this was from an era when Catholic schools were mostly free, so there was no financial excuse.