BBC: Pope orders talks on US sex scandals

BBC.com/Americas ^ | 15/04/02

[history_matters]

Pope orders talks on US sex scandals

The Pope has spoken out against "evil" abusers

Pope John Paul II has summoned leaders of the Roman Catholic church in the United States to the Vatican to discuss recent disclosures of sex scandals, which have rocked the church.

The Vatican says the meeting with American cardinals will probably take place next week.

Demonstrators have been calling for Archbishop Law to go

The Archbishops of New York and Boston - traditionally the two most important posts in the Catholic church in the US - have been under pressure to resign because of their alleged role in covering up cases of abuse involving priests.

The Archbishop of Milwaukee has also been accused of suppressing information about cases of alleged abuse.

The Catholic Church has also faced similar allegations in a number of other countries.

The Pope last month made his first public denunciation of guilty priests.

Time for action

Boston Archbishop Cardinal Bernard Law, 70, has been at the epicentre of a scandal in which he is accused of knowing that a few priests in his archdiocese were serial child molesters, but he did not discipline them - he simply moved them from parish to parish where they preyed on new victims.

The affair is similar to problems in St Louis, Florida, California, Philadelphia and Detroit.

Our correspondent says it has severely undermined the credibility of the church and clearly the Vatican now believes it has to take action.

Cardinal Law did not turn up to mass at his cathedral on Sunday because there were protesters outside the cathedral and he thought they would disrupt the service.

Heavy criticism

Across the whole country, 3,000 priests face allegations of child abuse.

Archbishop Bernard Law: Under pressure

Cardinal Law has been heavily criticised since former priest John Geoghan was convicted of child molesting.

He has acknowledged that he transferred Geoghan to another parish despite knowing of sexual misconduct allegations against the now-defrocked Boston priest.

Geoghan is believed to have abused more than 100 people over a 20-year period.

The scandals are also a huge financial burden for the church. They have settled out of court in many instances and the cost of that has been more than $1bn.

There is talk that some archdioceses will be bankrupted by the scandals.

Commentators suspect that the Pope will have to get rid of a layer of the Catholic hierarchy, starting with Cardinal Law.

[history_matters]

This is one of the few reports drawing attention to the scandals about to erupt in Milwaukee because of Archbishop Rembert Weakland's abuse of power and his penchant for protecting homosexual clergy even if they are predators.

[history_matters]

ping
Lord Jesus Christ, thou Good Physician, heal thy Church, we beseech thee.

[Gophack]

Typical liberal press ... even in England. The Pope has been speaking out against sexual sins of Priests for the past decade.

Aside from that, I think that this is a good move for the Church. It shows that His Holiness is serious about solving these problems and that he will be involved in decisions about how the Church is going to deal with this serious problem.

God bless.

Lord Jesus Christ, thou Good Physician, heal thy Church, we beseech thee.

[Malcolm]

This is not to address wrongs; rather it is a damage control session. Although I'm not fan of the non-Scripturally based Catholic Church, on the whole I've always had a good opinion of JPII. If he brushes this under the rug, (i.e., Cardinal Law is not demoted nor removed from his ofc), then these cheeseball "priests" and their "protectors" got away with everything. They molested young children, under the cover of Christianity, and where not only NOT disciplined but aided and abetted by this church to get away with it. SHAME!!!

[history_matters]

The Pope has been speaking out against sexual sins of Priests for the past decade.

The press relish the opportunity to paint the Pope in as bad a light as possible for whatever reason. I am praying for God to make good use of this papal summoning, and for the Church in America to be delivered from certain prelates and homosexual predator/priests.as a result.

Mary, Queen of All Saints, pray for us.

[history_matters]

Dear Malcom, join us Catholic FReepers in prayer for justice for the victims, and prayer for the Pope to clean house. Every prayer counts.

[monkeywrench]

It says these priests face allegations. You have them tried and convicted. I'm a Protestant, but, can clearly see an attack by the left in these over inflated numbers.

[PLK]

The ONLY solution to this problem is for the Pope to announce that Rome is going to begin asserting its authority over the Catholic Church in America. Catholics who publicly support abortion, homosexual behavior, capital punishment, etc. will be ex-communicated (I realize many Conservatives favor the death penalty - however, we cannot be hypocrites here - "cafeteria Catholicism" is one of the problems). Harkin will go, Kennedy will go, lots of them will be ousted. Next, he must purge the seminaries of the homosexuals who have infested them since the 60's. He MUST insist that Catholic colleges and universities espouse Catholic doctrine and abide by it - that means, for example, no more showing of the Vagina Chronicles on Catholic campuses. Period. It's time to clean house!!!

[Gophack]

I disagree with your post on several points. First, the Pope has repeatedly and emphatically spoken out against sexual sins of priests. Second, I do not believe that this is a "damage control" session ... this is a serious matter and is being dealt with severely by the Vatican. I commend the decision of the Pope to bring the Cardinals to the Vatican and deal head-on with these crimes.

Finally, the Catholic Church is Scripturally based. Our faith is entirely grounded in Scripture, and Scripture is an important part of every Mass. If you have a problem with a specific Catholic doctrine or belief that you believe is not scripturally based, I would happy answer your question if I at all can.

God bless.

[epluribus_2]

non-Scripturally based Catholic Church... Jesus and his disciples and my Church came BEFORE the scriptures - please check your ignorant biases at the FR door.

[history_matters]

Have you seen Father Elijah's Action Plan that he posted for Catholic FReepers. He posted it a while ago, and matters have gotten worse since. But it is an excellent guide for what we should do> Father Elijah's Action Plan for Catholic FReepers and other Catholics

[Askel5]

Adding to my special intentions.

[Gophack]

I agree wholeheartedly with your post, but I want to clarify your comments on the death penalty.

The Catholic Church has never opposed the death penalty. According to EWTNs Q&A board which I found has a good summary of the Church's position, it says:

The Church's teaching has not changed, nor has the Pope said that it has. The Catechism and the Pope state that the state has the right to exact the death penalty. Nations have the right to just war and individuals have the right to self-defense. Does that means that any and all uses of force to defend oneself against a criminal, or a criminal nation, are justified? No, and most people understand that.

Here's the link because it's good stuff, but I don't want to reprint it all here on this thread. In summary, there must be no other option to protect the public good for capital punishment to be just. Capital Punishment

God bless.

[codebreaker]

The Pope should address the abortions on nuns that the priests have arranged in Africa while he's at it...

[history_matters]

p i n g

[history_matters]

He needs to clean house of all the sexual fiends in the priesthood and the episcopate all around the world.

[history_matters]

p i n g

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

I think we'll see some resignations after next week.

At least I HOPE.

[codebreaker]

You got it...

Abortions on Nuns in Africa-Provided for by Priests