Posted on 03/09/2007 9:39:24 PM PST by Caravaggio
In the face of modern challenges to the Faith, Catholics who have a high profile in media, culture and government have a very grave responsibility to witness it correctly; otherwise, they will be held accountable in heaven for their anti-witness which affects the faith of millions.
For example, last Friday Sean Hannity took a few moments out of his afternoon radio show to make an apology. When I heard that the rather brash Hannity was actually going to apologize for something I was interested to find out what that would be. At first he sounded very sincere in saying we have to take responsibility for our mistakes. Fine so far. Then he went on to tell his hearers that he had taken two bites of a chicken sandwich that day because he had been traveling and literally forgot it was a Friday of Lent. He stopped eating it when he realized it was a Friday, but he used the opportunity on the show to make a fairly big deal about the "eat meat on Friday and you can go to hell" issue.
Well, even though he claims to be a "good Catholic," Hannity is hardly a credible commentator on Catholic matters. The chicken sandwich scandal was fairly trivial in the overall scheme of his show, but it said much more about the depth of his faith than anything else. I suspect that a great number of Catholics live their faith in the same wayrule-bound and juvenilebut we need something better from a public "Catholic" like Hannity. We need a vibrant witness of someone who knows and embraces his Faith as deeply as he articulates his political passions.
(Excerpt) Read more at hli.org ...
Database of accused, sued, admitted, criminally-charged, and jailed priests in the US:
http://bishop-accountability.org/priestdb/PriestDBbylastName-B.html
According to the John Jay report commissioned by the U.S. bishops, allegations of sexual abuse were made in 1950-2002 against 4,392 priests. The number is generally believed to underestimate the problem. A few bishops have released the names of accused priests, but no official list exists of U.S. priests who have abused children and vulnerable adults. Below we present the most complete list currently available, culled from media reports and legal documents with many photos, assignment records, and source articles.
Hundreds of articles. Thousands of priests:
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/AtAGlance/news.htm
Where the money goes:
Cathedral Now 'Sex' Collateral
New York Post [Boston]
December 10, 2003
The Catholic Archdiocese of Boston mortgaged its cathedral and seminary to finance a clergy sexual-abuse settlement that has grown to nearly $90 million, a spokesman confirmed yesterday.
The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. John's Seminary were mortgaged to secure bank loans so the archdiocese can get the settlement money this month, said the Rev. Christopher Coyne, a spokesman for the archdiocese.
Otherwise, the archdiocese would have had to wait for the proceeds from the sale of a 28-acre parcel that includes the mansion that housed Boston's cardinals. Plans for that sale were announced last week.
The loans will enable the archdiocese to begin paying settlements to 542 sex-abuse victims on Dec. 22 as scheduled, Coyne said.
"We have the money to pay off the survivors and their families," he said.
The archdiocese also has dipped into funds for retired clergy, as well as for cemeteries, to finance the settlement.
A $75 million bank loan is being secured by mortgaging St. John's Seminary, while a $15 million loan from the clergy retirement fund - which provides pensions and health care to retired priests - was secured by a mortgage on the cathedral and related properties. One-third of the loan is also being guaranteed by an individual, whom the church has declined to identify.
"While we had hoped to borrow the entire $90 million from the banks, that proved impossible because of our overall financial situation and our commitment not to pledge parish assets," Bishop Richard Lennon, the archdiocese's chief administrative officer, wrote in a letter to parish priests.
The archdiocese has also announced the sale of other properties expected to bring in more than $20 million, which would pay for the carrying costs of the loans, outreach and counseling for victims, abuse-prevention programs and any unsettled abuse cases.
These include a building that houses the Cardinal Cushing Resource Center and 12 acres that were owned by a now-closed Lawrence, Mass., parish.
The decision to mortgage the two properties was first reported in the Boston Herald on Saturday.
Check my facts? I did indeed. Thank you for reminding me that I had a lot to catch up on regarding the sex scandal in the Catholic Church.
Judge Ponders Who Owns Church Property
Sex-Abuse Suits - with $500 Million at Stake, the Federal Case Pits Bankruptcy Law and Catholic Church Law
By Steve Woodward
The Oregonian [Oregon]
December 7, 2005
After hearing more than three hours of sometimes heated debate Tuesday, a U.S. bankruptcy judge will now decide who owns the pews that Catholics in Western Oregon sit in each Sunday.
The issue before Judge Elizabeth Perris is whether parish property belongs to individual parishes or to the Archdiocese of Portland, which encompasses 124 parishes, three high schools and about 400,000 parishioners. The ruling could determine whether the parishes' estimated $500 million in real estate, cash and investments is available to pay millions of dollars in child sexual-abuse claims.
Perris has set no timetable, although she is expected to rule within the next several weeks. It's also possible that she will skip a ruling and order a trial instead. A trial would enable her to consider factual evidence, in addition to the purely legal arguments that lawyers have presented so far.
Sexual-abuse plaintiffs first posed the property ownership question to Perris in August 2004. That was one month after the Archdiocese of Portland became the nation's first Roman Catholic diocese to file for Chapter 11 protection in the wake of multimillion-dollar sex-abuse lawsuits.
The bankruptcy came the same day that the archdiocese was scheduled to go to trial in a $135 million sex-abuse lawsuit involving the late Rev. Maurice Grammond. The archdiocese had already made settlements totaling $53 million for more than 130 previous claims. The bankruptcy froze dozens more claims seeking hundreds of millions more in damages.
...excerpt
More links and resources:
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/resources/
Happy Lenten Reading!!!
And one last link that mentions the one billion dollars in payment for the sexual sins of priests. I believe the amount will far surpass one billion when all is said and done.
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/101/story_10181_1.html
Are you finished yet?
Do you need more proof that I don't have my facts wrong?
Here's a link to contact Sean Hannity:
Hannityandcolmes@foxnews.com
hope this hasn't been posted previously.
I'm not a Catholic so I can't speak to that, but here's an e-mail that I sent to Mr. Hannity after I saw the interview.
Mr Hannity,
Since you went to seminary, can you please tell me where the "good book" (your words) says, "Judge not lest ye be judged." I'm certainly not judging your heart, but I couldn't find that. Matthew 7:1 says, "Judge not, that ye be not judged." Second point, You asked the priest, "Am I not a good enough Catholic? Am I not a good enough Christian?" Well, no...you're not. None of us are. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" No matter how many "hail mary's" you say, or how many priest you confess to, unless you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord and confess with your mouth, you are going to an eternal hell. John 14:6 says, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Sean, it's not how good you are or how many sacraments you keep, it's Jesus alone that will save you. As you say on a daily basis while you blaspheme the Word of God, "Let not your heart be troubled." You really should finish that verse. It's John 14:1, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." It's Jesus who you must believe in Sean. I will continue to pray for you salvation.
I'm a little late to this discussion, but how would you feel, Ol' Sparky, if you knew that your support of a staunchly anti-abortion candidate will ultimately lead to more abortions than Sean's support of a pro-abortion candidate? I mean, I thought this was one of the things that distinguished us from the leftists in this country-- we are interested in results. I believe that (given the candidate field we have now) a Guiliani nomination will ultimately be better for the pro-life movement than a _____ nomination. If it effects it at all.
Not surprised.
Hey one of the more famous Catholics, Sean Hannity, says
Catholic Priests have a problem with molesting children, is he "mischaracterizing" too?
Why in the world would you believe that? Giuliani supported public financing of abortion as mayor of New York and has given money to NARAL. He appointed leftist judges to court sin New York. Someone has to be drinking the Kool-Aid if one believes Giuliani would nominate anything but a pro-Roe justice to the Supreme Court and that IS the ONLY issue that really matters in regard to abortion and the upcoming Presidential election.
Absolutely, he is. The vast majority of priests are not pederasts (though a lot of them support this "new theology" BS).
Yes he is mischaracterizing.
First - it would be fair to say "a few Catholic priests" - the percentage is not really that high but high in profile.
Second - it would probably be more accurate to say "a few Homosexual Catholic Priests"
and Third - have a problem molesting (with the hopes of recruiting) young adolescent and preadolescent males (not pediophiles per se you understand but homosexuals drawn to young males).
You are correct that Judge Not is a false doctrine.
A good essay on this can be seen at
http://www.saint-mike.org/spcdc/library/secret.asp
By scripture, do you mean the Bible?
Catholics do not depend solely on Sola Scriptura
Regardless of what Christian religion you belong to, the first one was the Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ and entrusted to the apostles for teaching. As from the first, God speaks to his Church through the Bible and through sacred Tradition. Sacred Tradition
"The Bible is all I need," but this notion is not taught in the Bible itself. In fact, the Bible teaches the contrary idea (2 Pet. 1:2021, 3:1516). The "Bible alone" theory was not believed by anyone in the early Church.
It is new, having arisen only in the 1500s during the Protestant Reformation. The theory is a "tradition of men" that nullifies the Word of God, distorts the true role of the Bible, and undermines the authority of the Church Jesus established (Mark 7:18).
Although popular with many "Bible Christian" churches, the "Bible alone" theory simply does not work in practice. Historical experience disproves it. Each year we see additional splintering among "Bible-believing" religions.
Today there are tens of thousands of competing denominations, each insisting its interpretation of the Bible is the correct one
He says there's corruption on a high level regarding this problem. Why do some recognize as problem and others don't?
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