Posted on 04/14/2002 4:40:17 PM PDT by Notwithstanding
Whatever... 450 children coming forward saying they've been sexually molested over a 30 year period qualifies as news to me...
Yes.
"Calls for Law's resignation mounted after church personnel records released by MacLeish at a news conference last week showed Law and other archdiocese officials knew the Rev. Paul Shanley had been accused of abuse over three decades."
Don't know what school you attended but over three decades equals 30 years where I went.
No doubt that, prior to 1965, a solid majority of American Catholics (religious and laity) had apostasized from the consistent teaching of the Church on contraception. Vatican II told them (or so they thought) that they were following "the signs of the times", or being responsive to the "inner forum".
We live in a democracy, and dwell in a democratic age. It seems backward and hopeless both for the Church to "resist" what the people of God, and their clergy (at least the honest ones) have discerned as the truth.
Unless they are wrong.
The Church thinks the people have fallen to worshipping a golden calf. In the long view, the Church probably thinks this is a temporary aberration.
What if the Church is right, and the Peopple of God are wrong?
Your defense for the Catholic Church is astounding...
Perhaps you should read the article for this thread and not make false claims that the author thinks there is no scandal here. This author is merely pointing out the EXTREME agenda of the pro-gay anti-chastity media.
If you are on the side of the media, then of course you are pleased with their agendized reporting of this scandal.
I stated nothing of the sort...
No. Corrupt individuals within the church have a morally bankrupt agenda, and that is what led to them covering up the gay priests.
Thus, it is time for the most massive set of excommunications in history.
Yet, there are other members of the church who knew nothing of this garbage, and their existence should be noted.
It isn't every Catholic.
Pope Paul VI convened a commission to "study" artificial birth control. If there was no doubt as to the authenticity of the teaching, why convene a commission? I remember reading what one cardinal said when asked what it meant if the Church did change the teaching. Wouldn't that mean that the original teaching had been wrong?
"No. It would mean that the Church moved from one certainty to another certainty."
The commission was made up of priests and lay people, and many of the priests sided with the majority of the lay people in recommending a change.
When word of the majority vote hit the press, it was easy to predict what the reaction would be.
The Pope rushed out HUMANAE VITAE, but many bishops, theologians, and priests didn't buy it, and the genie has been out of the bottle ever since.
Nevertheless, you choose to ignore the extreme agenda of the media to sock it to the Catholic Church - which is whatthis thread's article is about. No one has claimed there is no scandal worth reporting. It is the way it is reported.
While I apologize for my error, the entire theme of your posting in this thread fails to address the points the author has made.
In the short term, folks will cease to view their church as worthy of obedience on sexual topics, and maybe topics in general. They will cease to pay much attention. Perhaps it was inevitable. Educated middle class folks simply prefer to make their own moral judgments when push comes to shove, and cease in general to revert to a third party for guidance. That is just the way it is.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.