Posted on 06/17/2004 11:20:09 AM PDT by Rutles4Ever
Bettinelli reports:
I just got this message from Rod Dreher:
"On Sunday, The Dallas Morning News will begin publishing the results of a major yearlong investigation into a largely uncovered aspect of the Catholic sex abuse scandal. The series of stories are international in scope, and will make headlines nationally and overseas. I’m not at liberty to disclose details yet, but I’ve seen advanced copies of the articles, and they are devastating. I believe at this point, more details will be available on Friday morning, when one of the reporters on the series does an interview on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition.” The stories will be available on the dallasnews.com website starting either late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
I expect these stories to dominate conversation among concerned American Catholics next week, and into the early summer (because there will be much more to come; next week’s series only reveals part of what our reporters have uncovered and documented). These findings give lie to the claim from Church officialdom that this scandal is over. The cover-up continues."
Rod Dreher confirms:
"Not only stories, but photographs. I’ve seen the planned cover of Sunday’s DMN. The picture they’re going to run is a jaw-dropper...I hate to tell you this, but the bishops already know. They have known. They hoped you and I wouldn’t find out. That’s part of the story... Also, our people are now talking to national media about this. Starting Friday night, you might be seeing stuff about this. I’ll let Dom and others know if any early media appearances are scheduled."
(Excerpt) Read more at bettnet.dyndns.org ...
Divorce was considered scandalous by the Church. Maybe that's where the confusion came in, in the minds of these clerics.
Whatever. With the exalted place of priests in the minds of Catholics, nobody challenged them on their error. They just did what they were told, or left the Church.
What's funny is that there is a clear Biblical exception to the sinfulness of divorce for the victim of infidelity. Presumably, if the husband "walks out", there's big-time infidelity.
Yes, there was an article about Tuscon possibly filing for bankruptcy, because I posted a smart-aleck answer about giving that diocese to Olmsted and letting him taking care of both.
The story is homosexual pedophiles embedding themselves in the church claiming to be men of God with a calling who used the vocation to hunt children.
This is a gay homosexual predator issue that the Catholic Church and other faiths fight IMO.
Then I mis-spoke. But the priest was well aware I could not go to church alone at 7 years old with my younger siblings.
Nitpick away though. Keep defending that practice. It drove thousands of women, especially women, into other churches.
It drove people to get annulments so they could go back to church. Annulments which cost thousands of dollars.
Keep defending the indefensible.
All bishops?
All priests?
That is what you are implying, and it is calumny. The majority of our priests are good men.
ALL of the churches, Catholic churches, in our area followed the same practice. It was common practice across the nation.
SOME churches, I've discovered since being an adult, turned a blind eye to separated/divorced status. But many, if not most, did not. Not back in the 50's and 60's.
Then they lost so many people they changed their policy. But not in time for my family, which needed the church more than we ever needed it.
Peach wrote: You are all making me so sorry I shared this story with you because your tones are mean spirited, accusatory and quite ugly.
Peach, we are just trying to share what the law in the Catholic Church is. Please do not take it personally or as an attack on your Mother.
Many priests made the same mistake as the one who came and talked with you. And many of the Catholics treated in that way with falsehoods are now coming back to the Church.
One thing we need to remember is that we are all the Church, and as the mystical body of Christ, the Church as a whole cannot sin. However, the men who are in positions of responsibility in the Church, as well as each individual member of the Church, can (and do - daily) sin. I think that our greatest scandal is the absolute lack of instruction that has gone on for years (decades) in our Church. The gates of Hell will not prevail against our Church, and She will continue on, but I fear that we are in for some shocks. We will be shaken, but I exhort those in the Church to remember that priests and bishops are humans, broken with sin and as frail as we are, who make mistakes. Even the pope sins (remember that his infallibility is in matters of faith and morality in the Church, just as God's Old Testament prophets were able to correctly discern God's will for His people).
We mustn't leave Christ's Church because of others' sins! Cling to Jesus, the center of our Faith, for He will sustain us through these turbulent times.
Even some of the "good" men looked the other way while a pastor might be abusing a young boy in the next room.
Priests didn't rat out other priests. Why, I don't know.
Another thing that maybe you don't understand --
The Church is a living institution, hence the mistakes, human in nature. And definitely there are changes, thank God!
During Vatican II this was all changed, and maybe that it what you do not realize.
"Did you know that Bush is Catholic and therefore must also be blamed for this abuse?"
sigh. Bush, and his family, are Methodists.
Though I do think I understand your post to be tongue-in-cheek, just wanted to clarify.
Any idea what this fresh angle of the scandal is about?
I am sure that the mainstream media will be all over this due to Kerry (and other dim CINOs) being on the outs regarding his stance on abortion, homosexual marriage, etc. They will use it to try to make Kerry's position seem principled, imho.
I weep for the church I love, and I will never leave it, but it should have been cleaned out a long time ago.
Oh, brother.
The Church itself has admitted they mishandled the abuse situation. They moved priests to prey on more children rather than deal with them in a more appropriate manner.
NO ONE is saying it's all priests.
My ONLY point is to say that the church has permitted so much abuse for so long, in their own words, that I don't think they have the moral authority to condemn the war which freed 25 million people. Their moral authority vanished, imo, the first time they moved a "problem" priest and didn't kick him out where he couldn't prey on other children.
Their moral authority was lost when they told tens of thousands of separated and divorced men and women they could no longer go to church because their spouse abandoned them.
But enough. I've obviously touched on a nerve with a lot of you. You want to defend the church. Go for it. But I won't be among their defenders. They have problems. They need to deal with them openly and honestly. Thus far, they have not.
What we're attempting to explain to you is that that wasn't "policy". Priests or bishops who did that were making it up on their own.
I realize it. I miss the church, the music, the majesty, the Latin, the beauty.
But I'm bitter and I'll admit it and I won't go back. We're happy going to Episcopal church, although they are quite liberal and I don't like that :-)
**They have ruined so many young lives in order to give their homosexual and pedophile priests a thrill.**
Individuals have done this -- not the church, not me, not Campion, not Johnny Z, all members of the living Catholic Church.
Edited for clarity.
It's Bush's fault, you know. Somehow, it is. They are merely delaying the release while they find the connections.
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