Whether or not you want to call them homosexuals or pedophiles is besides the question. A priest or nun in the Catholic Church takes a vow of celibacy. Period. If an individual in holy orders cannot abide by his vows, he should leave. Simple.
The real question as far as I am concerned is how did so many priests enter into the priesthood who should have never been ordained to begin with? What made them think the Church was an acceptable career choice and a safe harbor for such activity?
I happen to think the liberalizations associated with the Second Vatican Council in 1962, coupled with the Sexual Revolution and the Counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s played a significant role. This is not to say that there weren’t any cases of priestly sexual abuse prior to Vatican II. But those cases were few and far between. Likewise, today when you pick a newspaper and read a case about a sexually abusive priest, chances are that case occurred decades decades ago, as relatively few new cases are being reported these days.
It would seem thatthe majority of the defective priests involved in the sexual abuse scandals in the 1960s and 1970s in the immediate aftermath of Vatican II. Was Vatican II the direct cause of the scandal? Hard to say. But this much we do know: The Church replaced its traditional Mass, relaxed its standards, liberalized its structure, and lowered its standards. It is no accident that Marxist Liberation Theology flourished during this period as well. Many CINOs within the Church were pushing for the ordination of female priests, permitting priests to marry, and relaxing Church positions on such issues as abortion, contraception, extramarital sex, and homosexuality. I noticed too a number of newer Catholic churches, constructed primarily in the suburbs, began to more or less resemble suburban Protestant churches.
So, what must have occurred IMHO, was a breakdown of standards and a loosening of discipline and tradition which created the environment for the homosexual/pedophile priestly sexual abuse scandal.
My initial reaction to the scandal was horror and revulsion and the sheer size and scope of the scandal. Then I decided to take actiion to take back my Church. I joined the Knights of Columbus and became a Fourth Degree knight. I volunteered for service in my parish as an Extroadinary Eucharistic Minister. Even in this capacity as a volunteer, I was required by the Archdiocese to take an extensive course on child sexual abuse in a program called VIRTUS. I can only imagine the rigorous psychological screening candidates for the priesthood must now undergo, but I do know it is quite extensive.
I therefore view the current attacks on the Holy Father as an attack on the Church itself because of his commitment to returning the Church to its ancient traditions and his acceptance of the Tridentine Mass. We all know what happens when liberals take control of institutions: They ruin them and defile them. The Second Vatican Council seems to have opened the door for them. Perhaps it should be revisited and the Church should also consider moving in closer union with our brethren Orthodox Church in the East which remained relatively free of the sexual abuse scandals.
Amen.
The loathing of the lavender arm of the USCCB for the Tridentine Mass is obvious. What is not so obvious is the reason why. They know that a return to orthopraxis in liturgy will and must be accompanied by a return to orthdoxy in theology, especially moral theology. With that return to orthdoxy in moral theology will come a slamming of the door on admittance of homosexuals to the seminaries, and an end of the reign of terror of the lavender mafia in the post-VII Church.
Expect their attacks on Pope Benedict XVI, aided and abetted by the MSM, to build to a deafening crescendo.