I dunno...
Jesus said, "by their fruits you shall KNOW them."
He also said "my sheep hear my voice and they follow me, and another will they NOT follow."
"beware of wolves in sheep's clothing" also comes to mind.
The author of this article is pathetic.
These are no longer baseless allegations. They are fact. The pedophile leadership in the "Church" is going to jail.
If the shepherds are pedophiles, and they are the one and only true voice speaking for God, all the while covering up or actively practicing the most hideous forms of sexual abuse... What does it say about Jesus? If the shepherds are following HIM and they are practicing pedophilia, HOW can that reflect them being followers or leaders for Christ, unless the Church believes that Christ was twisted?
I think we see the fruit of organized religion manifest in so many perversions and distortions, that NONE of them can be trusted. JESUS... can be trusted. The rest are going to have to produce INDIVIDUAL fruit that demonstrates they love God, instead of the "wolf in sheep's clothing" act we currently see.
A tree is known by its fruit. If pedophilia is the fruit, the TREE is a pedophilia tree. That goes for Catholic, Protestant, Jew or Islam.
Wisdom is justified by her children, or by what she produces. To date I am increasingly disturbed by the increasingly evil fruit we have flowing in organized Christendom. The catholics have their twisted priests. We have our swaggarts, bakers, and skirt chasers on evangelical TV.
Moral Authority, that this author bows down to in the final statement smacks of idolatry.
EVERY BODY KNOWS Moral Authority flows from MORAL BEHAVIOR.
There is NO OTHER WAY to demonstrate it, earn it or keep it.
Moral Authority does NOT flow from an organization.
It comes from lving a Godly lifestyle. And God, is NOT a pervert, a pedophile or a serial adulteror, drug addict or chronic alchoholic.
When leaders behave, moral authority is a given, and no article is needed to "prop up" the faithful. The Sheep have an ear for their shepherd, and I have it on good authority, that they will not follow after hirelings.
Christians believe that moral authority flows ultimately from God. The personal misbehavior of people God employs to speak moral truth may give some a convenient excuse to ignore that truth, but the truth is the truth no matter what sort of scumbag happens to be proclaiming it.
I have never met a pedophile priest, and I don't know personally anyone who has. I am a Catholic, and Newsweek or New York Times would be the last publications for me to search for the "truth" about my Church and my "shepherds."
...I think we see the fruit of organized religion manifest in so many perversions and distortions...
From your many biblical quotes I would think that you know WHO founded this "organized religion." One/twelfth of this organization was Judas, too.
...When leaders behave, moral authority is a given, and no article is needed to "prop up" the faithful…
The moral authority of the Church comes from her faithfulness to Christ and His Gospel, not from the behavior of one or two disturbed individuals.
The article is needed to expose the misinformation contained in the other publications.