Posted on 12/10/2004 3:55:29 PM PST by Canticle_of_Deborah
Vatican, Dec. 10 (CWNews.com) - Pope John Paul II (bio - news) praised the American bishops for their efforts to overcome the sex-abuse scandal, as he met with the final group of US bishops completing their ad limina meeting on December 10.
The Pope said that during his meetings with all the members of the American hierarchy, over the course of the last several months, he had "witnessed your determination to deal fairly and forthrightly with the serious pastoral issues which have been raised as a result" of the scandal.
The Holy Father stressed that he "shares the deep pain which you and your people have experience in these last years," and urged the American bishops "to persevere joyfully in the ministry entrusted to you."
The scandal, John Paul II said, had given the Church in America "a providential call to conversion and deeper fidelity." The crisis, he added, gave the American bishops an opportunity for "to begin the new millennium by starting afresh from Christ."
The Pontiff also praised the American hierarchy for its efforts "to ensure… that each of the Church's institutions and apostolates expresses, in every aspect of its life, a clear Catholic identity."
In his concluding remarks, the Pope gave the bishops "two urgent tasks" for the coming years: evangelizing the culture, and "building a culture of respect for life."
The Pope's remarks were made to a group of bishops from the province embracing Minnesota and the Dakotas. This was the final group of American bishops to complete the ad limina visit. Beginning in April, all the active members of the US hierarchy had spent a week in Rome for meetings with the Pontiff and the Roman Curia. The bishops made their visits in 14 separate groups, arranged by geographical region and ecclesiastical province.
We have a serious problem.
There is diplomacy, and there is delusion.
How many bishops will remember this in five minutes.
The pope was also heard to say "Well diddled, my good and faithful servants, now go forth and get caught no more." ;^(
"Their peoples pay me lip service but their hearts are far from me."
Just when I was already depressed over his latest appointments...
I was talking with a friend today, and I wondered whether the Pope has gotten so loosely attached to reality that he doesn't know what's going on anymore, or if he has always been going in this direction. She said that she had received a message from someone who had seen the Pope recently (in an audience of some sort) and reported quite happily that the Pope was just fine and "knew who was in the room." Somehow, I don't find that a very ringing endorsement of his condition.
But on the other hand, maybe it's better to think that he's not really making these decisions and that someone else has seized the reins, rather than to accept that he is consciously making these choices himself.
The Pope has a problem, also.
There aren't enough basilicas in Rome for the Pope to hide the wolves as "archpriests".
Did you copy and paste this article is from the far reaches of bizarro world? Sad to the point of being comical.
I don't know what I find more disturbing, the thought of him being out of touch and not realizing what he's says and does, or the thought of him being in touch and meaning what he says and does.
I wonder what kind of lies these bishops told our pope?
>>I wonder what kind of lies these bishops told our pope?<<
JPII is a very intelligent man. If he wanted the proper information, he would have it, no matter what the Bishops told him.
I would like to believe that he is a happy, prayerful man who takes the words of his Bishops who want to keep him in the dark. It is scary to think otherwise.
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The Pope believes that the bishops have dealt "fairly and forthrightly with the serious pastoral issues which have been raised"
Either the Pope is not in control of his intellectual faculties or he is being dishonest. There was nothing fair or forthright about the way the bishops handled the sex-abuse scandals. They suppressed dealing with its real cause: homosexuality in the clergy. And they studiously avoided their own complicity in the systemic corruption. What's more, the Pope had to know all this once upon a time.
These same men covered up the destruction of thousands of young lives not for months or years, but for decades, paying out hush money to the tune of almost a billion dollars. They are still paying. And they bullied the victims and their parents by any means at their disposal. In some cases some victims committed suicide. For all this, not a single bishop has been removed or even censured, only hapless priests who were only the tip of the homosexual iceberg. So now these moral cowards get a pat on the head for going through the motions. Not a word for the victims.
Anybody still want to argue why traditionalists believe this Pontiff lacks good judgment? It was John Paul, remember, who argued that defending the traditional Mass against its planned destruction was an act of schism. He gave Lefebvre and company the back of his hand. His fulsome praise for the disgusting collective performance of such unworthy men is still another indication of his general failure.
Can someone translate this from Entish into plain language? Or does the Pope always seem to speak publicly in platitudes without directly addressing the issues?
It's his style. You can read one of his encyclicals and not have the slightest idea what it said.
LOL. They created the scandal. They are the very reason we have this problem. It's like catching a serial killer, putting him in jail and then applauding him because he didn't kill anyone on his first day in the slammer.
Ok....Once you've read this, you have the same reaction as everyone who has commented here. We've all grasped the obvious.
Now...go back and read the whole thing again, and see if THIS doesn't stop you in your tracks!!:
"The Pontiff also praised the American hierarchy for its efforts 'to ensure… that each of the Church's institutions and apostolates expresses, in every aspect of its life, a clear Catholic identity.'"
Laugh or cry? I am beside myself.
That was way over the line!
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