Posted on 03/16/2013 7:44:17 AM PDT by DogByte6RER
(Cardinal Napier, third from left)
Paedophilia is an illness NOT a crime, says cardinal just days after papal conclave
• Claimed people abused as youngsters who then become paedophiles 'not criminally responsible'
• Says paedophilia 'is an illness, not a criminal condition'
• Says those people do not deserve to be punished because they are damaged
• Pope Francis said that he wants a 'church for the poor'
A South African cardinal who helped elect Pope Francis has described paedophilia as a psychological illness and not 'a criminal condition'.
The Catholic Archbishop of Durban, Wilfrid Fox Napier, told BBC Radio 5 live that people who were abused as children and became paedophiles were not criminally responsible for their actions in the same way as somebody 'who chooses to do something like that'.
Cardinal Napier, who was among the 115 cardinals in the conclave at the Vatican that elected Pope Francis earlier this week, called paedophilia a 'psychological disorder.
And just three days into the new role, the pope and the Catholic Church are now faced with fresh child abuse controversy after the cardinal's remarks.
He said: 'What do you do with disorders? You have got to try and put them right.
'If I as a normal being choose to break the law knowing that I am breaking the law, then I think I need to be punished...
'From my experience paedophilia is actually an illness, it is not a criminal condition, it is an illness.'
The cardinal spoke of two priests he knew who were abused as children and went on to become paedophiles.
He told the BBC: 'Don't tell me that those people are criminally responsible like somebody who chooses to do something like that.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Being poor is not a crime, but armed robbery is.
Just because it’s an illness doesn’t mean it’s not a crime. We’re learning a lot of criminal behavior stems from mental illness, still harming people and breaking the law.
Let the Cardinal spend his days in the prisons curing them.
WRONG. THIS is the thinking that protects these monsters. They do NOT belong in society, much less the priesthood. Anyone who thinks this should be defrocked immediately. They are not legitimate priests. Until-and unless- this kind of thinking is purged from the Church it will deteriorate. The idea of religion is to RAISE one up from the abyss of sin-not descend into it and excuse it. Sick-evil men covering up for each other and this Catholic is sick of it.
By his thinking, no one is guilty of anything. We are all shaped by our environment and genetics, but unless one is truly mentally ill, we also have a free will.
The quickest way to flush this guy out is to ask how this “illness” should be treated. If his answer indicates that he recognizes it as a spiritual “illness” then he is on the right track, but still drawing a wrong conclusion. (BTW, spiritual illness is called SIN.) If he speaks of therapy and forbearance, this man is a monster and we should be asking exactly why he is taking this position. In my observation, those who seek to categorize child molestation as an illness often have a vested in making it seem less heinous.
And excommunicated, they are reprobates and are beyond redemption.
The Pope needs to address what this Cardinal said.
I’d much rather hear a response against the statements of this Cardinal than hear stories about the Pope going back and paying his own bill. He needs to address a real issue. No one in the Church needs to be saying something like this, much less a Cardinal.
But I disagree...because all these events are/were pre-meditated.
All those priests should be de-frocked and sent to prison. NO...the church turned it into a "payoff".
I think thou dost protest too much, Cardinal.
“• Says paedophilia ‘is an illness, not a criminal condition’”
Some of these Cardinals have spent so long studying theology that they forget certain things. In one sense he may be right. Think of this analogy: Is it sinful to have same-sex attraction? No. Is it sinful to act on those attractions? Yes.
What the Cardinal failed to recognize is how his perhaps strictly true theology could be easily misinterpreted.
If the Cardinal thinks that acting on those attractions is not a crime then he is wrong and I hope his mind is made right.
Homosexuality used to be considered a mental illness by the American council of psychology. They were overrun by practicing homosexuals and reversed their position. Following that, the campaign to "normalize" homosexuality began.
You are correct, it is a crime against God, man and nature, however it is also an offense that requires institutionalization as these people are clearly insane or so horribly maladjusted that they cannot be mixed safely with the general population. They must be isolated and treated. Prison works just as well, IMHO so long as they never mix with the population again.
I think homosexuality can be treated to a point, but there is absolutely a difference in the severity of the affliction. Some can live normal, even describably conservative lives among us. Love the sinner, hate the sin.
Others are more of the flamboyant, in your face types who are so highly unstable their behavior is unpredictable. These are "high risk" individuals who could easily go over the edge and either harm themselves or the innocents around them. There is clearly an obvious disfunctionality here that can be categorized by several mental disorders. These people need help and treatment, and should not be mixed with the general population. Think "San Francisco".
Anyway, I believe both disorders are aspects of mental illness and will not describe them as anything else.
And yet, they are criminal acts IMHO at many levels as well. Let's not break them down to the how and why, we'd both like to be able to eat today.
Cheers and thanks for fighting the good fight.
agree.
Would not be surprised to find many of the Catholic clergy believe this. It’s why I suspect they often don’t act with the same kind of shock and outrage that regular people do when they discover one of their own is raping kids (boys mostly). So the church’s response is compassion for the poor sick pedophile priest (who is often a known homosexual), followed by an attempt to cover it up.
I’ve been told the Catholic church has really started cleaning house and I sure hope that is true. We can only hope this Cardinal is not representative of the majority of his fellow Cardinals anymore.
Are there paedophiles who do not act on their inclinations? In that case, it is an illness like homosexuality, where one should not act on it, because of the sin, and harm to others such actions cause.
But paedophiles who molest children are criminals, of course! And they need to be brought to justice under the law.
I think some Church officials have completely forgotten that civil society has its legitimate demands, which must be served. One can pray for the sinner all you want, but he still must be brought to civil justice and punished.
This Cardinal should be gotten rid of. If he is blind to reality on this, what else is happening right under his nose?
And people wonder why many Christians don’t consider the catholic church Christians.
It’s a mental disorder that the practice of, is criminal.
Right. Thank you for saying that, succinctly.
It’s an illness when it seems like a good idea. It’s a crime when you act on it.
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