Posted on 04/08/2010 11:36:45 PM PDT by Dr. Eckleburg
A West Texas teen filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Archdiocese of San Antonio and Archbishop Jose Gomez alleging repeated sexual assaults by a parish priest, who he says the church's leadership should have known was abusive.
The allegations came just days after Gomez was named to a high-profile post leading the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, where he is scheduled to be formally introduced to parishioners in May.
The lawsuit accuses the Rev. John M. Fiala of repeatedly sexually assaulting the teen, including twice forcing him to have sex at gunpoint when Fiala was the pastor at Sacred Heart of Mary Parish in the remote community of Rocksprings. The lawsuit alleges the incidents occurred in 2007 and 2008, during Gomez's tenure overseeing a swath of south and west Texas.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
I had mentioned to another poster that this confusion often happens for those who cannot tell the difference of where one puts their faith. As I see it if their faith rests too heavily in their church over that of Christ then the response will generally be defensive and sometimes more than that. But if Christ is center in their life their response is generally more balanced and we all learn. Although they cannot tell themselves this is where they are you can generally see it as they post.
Ok so say this is so...then is it not up to us to discern that, and would that not change our approach in how we respond when we recognize they cannot see it themselves? In a sense it's like getting a blind man to see something in writing ....or conversing with someone who loves their country but cannot grasp that it is the people who make the country.
That photo depicts exactly what I have great concerns for the catholic church about. I did do much research on catholic sites to understand why the need for this and why it is so widespread. Most interesting was the Vatican site itself with many photos depicting just as this one....and it generally is a ceramic made statue or wooden statue of Mary..not Christ. It is very disturbing to see.
But that means we can all then offer the elements if we have Christ within us...it is not reserved for appointed Priests alone or that in them doing so elevates them above the partaker or any other Christian.
The Bible also says we have the mind of Christ.
My questions: when he had it worked out, why isn't he bringing criminal charges against the brute who actually assaulted him? Why would he bring a lawsuit against somebody (the Archbishop) who actually wasn't involved?
You do realize that the accused priest was a member of a religious order that was not under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop, right?
Doesn't it strike you that the assailant should be facing criminal charges?
And according to the article, the teen kept coming back every two weeks for over a year?
Try an analogy: isn't that something like being in an ongoing abusive relationship with an Alaska State Police officer, and then bringing charges against Governor Palin?
Yes, that is what every one of us should strive for as a believer.
But we don't all have the same gifts.
1 Corinthians 12:28-29 (New International Version)
"And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles,
second prophets,
third teachers,
then workers of miracles,
also those having gifts of healing,
those able to help others,
those with gifts of administration,
and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.
"Are all apostles?
Are all prophets?
Are all teachers?
Do all work miracles?"
I do think as we grow in our knowlege of and love for Christ it just seems to be a natural process. Less of me and more of Him seems to say it well, as some have said. I am not a gift seeker as I have discovered that though we may be stronger in some areas over others.. the longer we walk with him the more one can see all of these gifts in step, and as a situation might occur for Him to use them. It truly is about letting Him live His life thru us.
Amen to that. I am trying to live in gratitude and trust. Depending on Him. Every day. Every day.
...why isn't he bringing criminal charges against the brute who actually assaulted him? Why would he bring a lawsuit against somebody (the Archbishop) who actually wasn't involved?
There are likely other people involved now directing and advising this who know full well that wading thru legalities is difficult enough in cases as this, but when you add the complicated hierarchy of the catholic church and who is what, from their "society" perspective as well as the potential "religious" fallout, and "political" structure within the church organization, and aspirations of the leadership...well then you surely have various ways in which to get the desired results....perhaps finding the least resistance and overcoming even those possible threats.
Do keep in mind that some never do....many take years to even make small strides. I think many people do not fully understand the lifelong affects this type of abuse has on children...even on teens. Most spend a lifetime at undoing the damage and even then the scars will remain. Confusion, fears, flashbacks, abandonment issues, and perhaps worst of all is how they view God in the aftermath.
Church becomes an ugly word and in many cases they never come back...the whole setting of the church building itself can trigger the former happenings emotionally and mentally, and the scars reopened for some with even the thought of returning or attending a church. Important to remember that many of these acts are often done in the church building itself...or ones associated with.
I recall a car accident I was in, really shook me up, a stop sign was blocked and both cars were totaled. I would thereafter even stop at corners where there were no stop signs...I was so hyper vigilant that it took a long time to get past that. So imagine someone being physically abused over months or years...where this act attacks not only their body, but in an unnatural way where this abuses their very soul.
That is what is so tragic about this form of abuse...nothing of the child is left unaffected....
It is a major blessing that most of the people in my life have been decent, kind, even remarkably good to me; were it not so, I don't know how I would have "gotten over" the bad ones.
You are engaging in false witness again. Are you worshipping the US flag when you say the pledge of alliegence? This position of yours sounds Muslim.
I don’t kneel to the flag of the United States and I sure don’t pray to it. Pity Roman Catholics can’t say the same thing about statues and graven images.
As I said, I have learned and try to abide by the rules of the FR RF. I can only hope you would do the same.
And it's not clear to many of us why you constantly ping the Religion Moderator to your posts. Are you trying to get the thread pulled?
Allot of street people have been abused in many ways...they get to the point where the street is the only place they believe is safe because they at least know what to expect... the street becomes their dysfunctional family where love and hate strangely find a balance for them even though it is abnormal for us......so you see how abuse can affect the thinking process and how we perceive situations....as well you know.
I have often told people to listen to their bodies....the mind and heart can deceive us but the body never lies...it knows.
You have a “history of making personal remarks to others on the RF”
“No, I do not. If I did, I would have had many posts pulled, but I haven’t.”
That’s as bad as the rest of your logic.
“Your error stems from the fact that Roman Catholic apologists confuse criticism of a church, faith, practice or belief with personal criticisms of individual FReepers.”
I make no such error, no do I confuse those things.
“The former is permitted; the latter is forbidden.”
No, you’re allowed to say pretty much anything to a Catholic. The RM doesn’t seem to step in until a Catholic has said something he considers actionable.
“It took me a while to learn how to post within the rules.”
What you have learned is how to phrase a personal insult in such a way that the moderator lets you get away with it. This, combined with the preexisting bias, pretty much gives you carte blanche.
“It’s a much more civil method of discourse”
Your discourse is about as civil as the Katyn Forest massacre.
“and it actually improves your own debating skills.”
It’s amazing, yes, but it seems that you haven’t even noticed that everyone you’ve quarreled with has wiped the floor with you.
Go figure.
“Pity Roman Catholics can’t say the same thing about statues and graven images.”
Don’t you ever get tired of lying?
Silly me; Satan gives you all the energy you need.
lol. Some days it seems the only thing Roman Catholic apologists can do is to assault other FReepers. The reasons for that are many, no doubt, not the least of which is that they obviously have no rebuttal to the topic of this thread — the egregious and unrepentant sins of its priestcraft.
Please don't make this personal and don't make this thread about me. Both actions are against the rules.
“Come on it’s really not hard to understand at all.”
Oh, I understand it all right. The guy is lying.
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