The roots of the Catholics' scandal

The Ornage County Register ^ | 9 June 2002 | Steven Greenhut

[thinktwice]

By now, even the Roman Catholic Church's staunchest defenders must admit that the church's ongoing sex-abuse scandal is not a matter of a few aberrations, but represents a disturbing pattern that perhaps has involved hundreds of victims and priests.

The church hierarchy remains in denial, with U.S. bishops proposing a new "zero tolerance" policy that would kick out priests who abuse children in the future, but would, unbelievably, offer a second chance to those who already molested a child.

[thinktwice]

"The cover-ups, the payouts, the shielding of personnal records continue." -- a subnote within the published article.

A related thread containing the Michael S. Rose "Catholic World" article is at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/689215/posts

[thinktwice]

FYI

[Cicero]

On the whole a surprisingly good article for a secular newspaper. It puts its finger on the basic problems: homosexual priests and liberal bishops who have allowed or fostered liberal bureaucracies and seminaries that have poisoned the Church. The only point I would disagree on, mildly, is his comment about Vatican II. Of course Vatican II didn't "mean" to produce a flood of liberal heresy. None of the documents agreed to at Vatican II encourage any of the liberal abuses that followed. The problem was that liberals kidnapped large parts of the Church apparatus, seized the "levers of power," and pretended that they were introducing various ill-considered and sometimes unorthodox innovations in the so-called "spirit of Vatican II." That pretence was essentially a lie.

From this article it sounds as if the Bishop of Orange County is among those who needs to resign.

[Jeff Chandler]

dominated by theological and social liberals - people who downplay or even disdain the true teachings of the church and have used their positions to promote liberalization on many matters, including on sexual matters. These leaders don't necessarily defy church teachings outright, but they often chip away around the edges.

Many people flocked to the church in the hopes that they could "save" it from its "outmoded" teachings that treat sex outside of marriage, homosexual behavior, birth control and abortion as sins.

liberal insiders

believers in the New Catholic Church

Some in the church came to depict the reverence of the Real Presence as "cookie worship." The "spirit of Vatican II" became a truncheon used by liberals to pursue the reforms they had always sought.

May God save us from the "enlightened" "progressives"

[curmudgeonII]

As with Clinton [and Nixon for that matter] the thing that bothers me isn't the fact that men have committed misdeeds --that's human nature. It's the coverup.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

bump

[thinktwice]

On the whole a surprisingly good article for a secular newspaper

Greenhut has his head on straight -- He thinks in terms of essentials.

[livius]

Surprisingly good article. I think what the Church in the US needs is something akin to Bush's shakeup of the agencies with his Homeland Security initiative. Go through and shake out the deadwood. Eliminate their positions (for example, the hundreds of ditzy feminist nuns who now control religious ed at both the parish and dioceses levels, or the parish "worship designer" who thinks of bizarre things to do in the liturgy). Make the clergy report to somebody who really knows what to do with them, that is, somebody orthodox. Get them back under control by knowing where they are and what they are doing, for example, by taking the simple step of insisting that secular clergy live in a rectory, something which is far from the case now.

As for the bishops, I think a lot of good ones have been appointed lately. What is disturbing is that Bishop Brown, mentioned in the article, was only appointed in 1998. How'd that happen?

[Tacis]

For years, we've wondered who is providing the massive support for fairies. If only 5-10% of the populations are fags, even throwing in parents who feel responsible for their kids' perversions, that doesn't explain the overwhelming pressure to give high status to a pattern of behvior that is pure deviance. Now, it begins to make sense. The full power of the church has been recruiting trusting young men and turning them into fairies. It is not an issue of paedophilia, is is a question of faggitude. These priests have damaged thier institution and the country and its culture.

The priests and their true believers will eventually do what thay have done for 1,500 years, defend the church against all criticism, valid or not. There are Protestants today only because of the crimes committed by priests 500 years ago. When today's priestly victims have picked the bones of the catholic palaces and damged the easy life of the rotten priests, maybe the church can get back on course.

[metacognative]

Why the shock? Liberals think homosexuals are fine. Homos think teenage boys are fine. And teenage homosexuals get the money. Glad the boyscouts stood their ground.

[viaveritasvita]

Thank God for Luther!!!! Could substitute "BSA" for "Catholic Church" and "BSA Leaders" for "priests" and come up with a frigtening future scenario. Get these perverts out of my face!!!!!!!

[american colleen]

Good article except this:

"Only Archbishop Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee, accused of living the socially liberal sexual life he made a career out of supporting, was decent enough to resign. He paid out $450,000 in hush money to an adult man who claimed that Weakland "started to try and kiss me and continued to force himself on me, pull down my trousers ... ."

That is just pure bunk. Archbishop Weakland was decent enough to resign!?!?! Please. Did the author do a little research on the matter? Weakland had already turned in his resignation because he reached the manditory retirement age of 75 a few months ago. It was just speeded up a little to save face. Archbishop Weakland had been "chipping away at the edges" of church teaching for decades. He is the face of the "New Catholic Church" as the author (correctly) describes it. Archbishop Weakland was hoisted on his own petard, but unfortunately, it took the media to do so and not the Bishops and Cardinals.

The church hierarchy remains in denial, with U.S. bishops proposing a new "zero tolerance" policy that would kick out priests who abuse children in the future, but would, unbelievably, offer a second chance to those who already molested a child.

I believe that the "second chance", if indeed that is going to be part of the "zero tolerance" policy, carefully (as it should) encompasses those offending priests accused of ONE incident 20 or 30 years ago and who have not offended since. It may not even be adopted - I am unsure myself if I would want it adopted, but I do know that the Bishops must be very, very careful to make sure that no unjustly accused priests, or priests that possibly had a homosexual encounter with an adult (over 18) many years ago and have repented and have trodden "the high road" since, are kicked out.

Other than those couple of things, the article is excellent. I hope and pray that the Bishops act decisively in the matter of homosexuality in the Catholic Church, get to the root of the matter and realize that the problem was created because the AmChurch is veering to the left.

Please God raise up Saints. I saw Fr. Neuhaus the other night on television and to me, he is a perfect spokesman in these trying times.

[nothingnew]

The roots of the Catholics' scandal The Ornage County Register | 9 June 2002 | Steven Greenhut

Where's Ornage County?

FMCDH

[nothingnew]

It is not an issue of paedophilia, is is a question of faggitude.

HAHAHAHAHA!!!...Well said!

FMCDH

[american colleen]

Regarding Bishop Brown, I was wondering the same thing myself. The only thing I could come up with was this: "San Diego News Notes" - it is all in "who you know" apparently.

[dheretic]

the unChristian blaming of 6-year-olds for their own molestations (see Cardinal Bernard Law's court defense)

And that folks, is the reason why I have completely abandoned any interest in the Catholic Church. The Pope should have publicly condemned Law for those statements and considered excommunication for such a thing! Saying that 6 year old is to blame for his/her molestation rather than sick POS that did it should not go unpunished considering the source of the comment.

[thinktwice]

If only 5-10% of the populations are fags, even throwing in parents who feel responsible for their kids' perversions, that doesn't explain the overwhelming pressure to give high status to a pattern of behvior that is pure deviance.

Being the still-loving parent of a now deceased "fag" as you put it, and seeing that pattern in others on my now deceased wife's side; I'd say it's about time to face facts and accept as fact that the human race includes a relatively high propensity for "deviance" (as you put it) in the overall chromosome population.

Meanwhile, if the word bigot fits, wear it.

[thinktwice]

I think what the Church in the US needs is something akin to Bush's shakeup of the agencies with his Homeland Security initiative.

I'd prefer the Garden of Eden approach and banish the bishops. Only problem I can see with that is we might end up with a second "Original Sin" that we'd all have to atone for.

[Catholicguy]

My Diocese of Palm Beach County, Florida has instituted a ZERO TOLERANCE policy - past and present- for everybody from the Local Ordinary to the ordinary janitor.

ANY Bishop can do something similar in their Diocese today. There is no need for a meeting to do these things. The uproar here - our last TWO Bishops were homosexual deviants who molested young men - was so great that a panel of layman, headed by a protestant Judge, was formed and they reviewed ALL existing records and some priests were suspended.

WE are waiting for a new Bishop but the current Apostolic Administrator has signed-off on background checks for every single individual employed by the Diocese from the Bishop to the janitor in the Catholic schools.

I think we are in fairly good shape in regards this scandal and I think folks are seeing a change for the better..at least in my neck of the woods

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

I can't imagine any circumstance or context in which it should be tolerated for clergy to engage in anal copulation with other men or boys. Any bishop who thinks that clergy guilty of the anal rape of a minor should be given a second chance at active priestly ministry is nuts. Someone who is frequently and obsessively bothered by inordinate tendencies, irrational impulses, and neurotic complusions toward anal sex with other men does not belong in the sanctuary. Period. End of story. No one should be fuzzy or confused about this. It's just common sense.