Liberal US catholics dismayed at choice of Pope

BOSTON (Reuters) - Liberal U.S. Catholics on Tuesday expressed dismay at the choice of a conservative new pope and doubted he will heal an institution racked by disillusionment and tarnished by a sex abuse scandal among the clergy.

The election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI rankled those who advocate married priests, a bigger role for women within the church and softening its policy on homosexuality, birth control, euthanasia and abortion.

Since taking over the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith as the Roman Catholic Church's chief ideologue, Ratzinger has denounced homosexuality and even branded other Christian churches as deficient.

"Gay and lesbian Catholics are going to be very hurt by this election because Cardinal Ratzinger was the lightning rod for so much of the anger they felt under the previous pope," said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of the New Ways Ministry, a national ministry for lesbian and gay Catholics.

Under the Pope John Paul II, American Catholics' attendance at weekly Mass declined as many were put off by what they saw as increasingly conservative Vatican doctrine.

The sense of alienation deepened with a well-publicized scandal over pedophile priests, which erupted in 2002 in the Archdiocese of Boston as court documents showed bishops shuttled pedophile priests from parish to parish.

Victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy reacted skeptically to word that Ratzinger was the new pope.

"Ratzinger is a polarizing figure to many, who seems to prefer combativeness to compromise and compassion," Mary Grant of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said in a statement. "It's ... crucial that the new pope follow the words and views of John Paul II who said 'there is no place in the priesthood for anyone who would harm the young."'

Catholics for a Free Choice, a progressive group based in Washington, laid out an action plan for the new pontiff to pursue in his first 100 days with the goal of healing fractures within the church.

It urged the new pope to appoint a commission to review church policy on condoms, to establish a pontifical academy on women's rights in the church, and to welcome back those marginalized over the last quarter-century -- including gays and lesbians.

But those familiar with Ratzinger said to expect more of the same, and they doubted he would tailor his views to adapt to the liberal forces evident in the U.S. church.

"This is the guy who's been in charge of stifling dissent in the church," said lawyer Carmen Durso, who represented dozens of plaintiffs in clergy abuse lawsuits against the Boston archdiocese.

"This says to me that the Vatican ... is not prepared to move into the 21st Century, which it desperately needs to do," said Durso, who was raised Catholic but no longer practices.

Christine Schenk, a nun from Cleveland, Ohio, who favors opening the priesthood to married men, said she was disappointed and puzzled by Ratzinger's selection, but she saw glimmers of hope.

Schenk explained that Ratzinger had never ruled out the idea of married priests, and that the church is facing a deepening shortage of priests -- so he may be forced to act.

In a 2004 document, Ratzinger denounced "radical feminism" as undermining the family and natural differences between men and women.

Asked if there was anything in his background that gave her hope that Ratzinger would build a stronger partnership with women in the church, Quinn said: "We always hope for miracles".

Cardinal Ratzinger: In the Church, priests also are sinners. But I am personally convinced that the constant presence in the press of the sins of Catholic priests, especially in the United States, is a planned campaign, as the percentage of these offenses among priests is not higher than in other categories, and perhaps it is even lower.

In the United States, there is constant news on this topic, but less than 1% of priests are guilty of acts of this type. The constant presence of these news items does not correspond to the objectivity of the information nor to the statistical objectivity of the facts. Therefore, one comes to the conclusion that it is intentional, manipulated, that there is a desire to discredit the Church. It is a logical and well-founded conclusion.

Source.

Actually, it was 4% of priests, and over 11,000 different young people were abused, according to the US Bishops Clergy Review Board.

Like JPII, Ratzinger's first instinct is to protect the institutional Church.

No doubt; the differences in the percents may be due to use of different bases. This would need to be checked.

In the meantime, perverted clergy are hardly an exclusive problem of the RC church. For example, the case of Baptist preacher Jack Hyles, and the many like-bent preachers his organizations have produced over the years:

http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/hyles/

Sin in the Camp of Fundamentalists (1/94)

http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/hyles/general.htm
Excerpt:

- Besides Hyles own church and schools being scandalized with immorality and pedophilic activity (numerous FBCH men have been charged or convicted of child molestation), Hyles spawned a number of "ministries" (there are approximately 200 independent Baptist churches nationwide that hold Hyles and his teachings in high regard) that have been scandalized in the same manner. For example, seven Hyles-affiliated churches from 1984-1993 have been rocked by child molestation scandals (San Diego; North Sharon, MI; Petersburg, VA; Anniston, AL; Monroe, LA; Beaumont, TX; and Hyles own church in Hammond). From 5/16/93-5/20/93, Detroit television station WJBK-TV aired a five-part exposé on Hyles and various associated ministries. Following are the "low-lights" of that series:

(a) A.V. Ballenger, a deacon and bus route driver at Hyles' First Baptist Church Hammond, was convicted in March of 1993 (and sentenced in July of 1993 to five years in jail) of molesting a seven year old girl. (This crime occurred in a Sunday School room of the church! Incredibly, after conviction, but prior to sentencing, Ballenger was allowed to resume his FBCH bus route!) The highlight of the sentencing hearing was the testimony of three young women. Each was molested by Ballenger when she was a child, and in each case, before age seven. Jack Hyles, who testified on Ballenger's behalf, defiantly declared the outcome of the trial null and void, claiming that the courts had no jurisdiction in this matter. Hyles told the girl's parents, "Deacon Ballenger just likes little girls."

(b) Hyles' protégé Earl Reeves, pastor of Lighthouse Baptist Temple in San Diego, served eight years in prison for molesting young women and grade school girls from his congregation.

(c) Hyles-Anderson Bible College grad and Calvary Park Baptist Church's (Petersburg, VA) youth pastor, Jeffrey Jerrell, pleaded guilty to having sex with eleven young girls from his congregation.

(d) David Hyles, Jack Hyles' son, had affairs with at least 19 different women at Miller Road Baptist Church in Garland, Texas, during the time he pastored there. (He was dismissed when a janitor found photos of Hyles having sex with a deacon's daughter.) Back in the Chicago area (Bolingbrook, IL), and after David's divorce from his wife, David was cohabitating with Brenda Stevens. Brenda posed for pornographic pictures in Adam and Chicago Swingers magazines (in an advertisement for group sex) during the time she and David were living together. After David married Brenda, Brenda's 17-month-old son by a previous marriage was found battered and dead at the Hyles' home. The police still consider the case a murder and continue to view David and Brenda as prime suspects. At the coroner's inquest in 1985, Brenda was a no-show, while David Hyles pleaded the Fifth Amendment. [David and Brenda Hyles later conceived a son, and named him Jack David Hyles. In March of 1999, Brenda Hyles ran him over with the family car, killing the 5-year-old boy. Brenda claimed that Jack David had fallen out of the car and she could not avoid running over him (3/25/99, St. Petersburg Times).] In June of 2003, it was reported that David Hyles had been kicked out of another church (Pinellas Park Baptist in the Florida Keys), over a 9-woman sex scandal this time. Nevertheless, he still keeps a full itinerary of speaking to churches on Sunday School growth.

"This says to me that the Vatican ... is not prepared to move into the 21st Century, which it desperately needs to do," said Durso, who was raised Catholic but no longer practices.

At the risk of repeating myself from one thread to another, I'll say it one last time. The pope's responsibility is to conserve the deposit of faith entrusted the the Catholic Church by our Lord, Jesus Christ and His Apostles.

Those catholics (in name only) who do not agree with the teachings of the church are free to leave and join any of the 30,000+ other christian churches that embrace those teachings they personally espouse. Even under the worst popes, NEVER has a pope erred on doctrine! The Church is a barque carrying the truths of our faith. (read my tagline)

Catholic Ping
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The feminist have infiltrated the church in order to subvert and bring it down, is it any wonder that they want to get into positions of power ?
Here is a every interesting speech you might want to read by a well known feminist and socialist.
Her name is ( Barabra Ehrenreich ) and you will discovery the devious and demonic plan how they want to get into power, and to subvert, and to dominate over men.
I hope this link works.
If it does not work, the speech was given at a women's collage ( were their tolerance ? I thought they want diversity ? well, that's another discussion ) .. this just proves their hypocrisy.
The speech was given at Barnard Collage, last June, 2004 , this speech I saw on C-span last June.
http//hereticscorner.typepad.com/the_heretics_corner/politics/
I don't know why this link is not working, but, you can go to : The Heretics Corner, and search for : June , 2004 archives.
That is the liberals, and the feminist strategy and plan to infiltrate and subvert and destroy the Church, and conservative institutions, so ? we need to be very discerning, and be on the look out for them.

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