Fascinating ...
It seems that in the past, too many extremely young men (sexually immature) entered into the seminaries. This may have contributed to the pedophile/homosexual priest scandal.
A better policy might be to wait until a person is sexually mature before entering into a vocation requiring celibacy so that that individual knows full well whether or not he can keep his or her religious vows of celibacy.
I also happen to think the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s dramatically lowered the bar and standards. Many priests were ordained who had no business anywhere near the Church. Liberation Theology as well as the sexual revolution and the counterculture as well came into being all around the same time as Vatican II.
The coming together of all of this created a perfect storm which created an environment which permitted depraved individuals to think the Church could somehow become a safe harbor for their depraved behavior.
. . . to emphasize the mental sickness aspect of delinquents in general -- their being patients, victims of upbringing etc. -- rather than their responsibility for immoral behavior.
The element of discipline and punishment . . . penance -- was not popular, and this went along with an often glaring lack of consideration of the sufferings and needs of the victims of crimes.
A powerful factor in this was also fear of the media, of public opinion; not demonstrating "liberal" views on this issue and being "intolerant" could prompt hostile reactions within the media and within sections of the Church itself.
. . . too much with "the cloak of charity:" no punishment
And there you have it, misplaced compassion at the expense of the victims and the need to be liked by liberal society. This phenomenon carries over into the issues of capital punishment and illegal immigration.
He left out the planned infiltrations and the fact they used secular psychologists for advice in the 50’s and 60’s.
Not to mention certain devious individuals and outside World chuch types input before VII.
We now have Greeley stating maybe the priesthood should have a trial/temporary period.
Are you kidding me?
Excellent article, great responses.