Well, it seems to me there are still three things worth saying.
1) The creeps and weirdos who have sex with kids -- from what I've read -- do not think of themselves as hurting the kids. Rather, they see themselves as initiating the kids into adult pleasures and deep personal experiences. So, the priests who follow that lifestyle can go on mouthing platitudes like this, and then turn around and invite the alter boy to his office...
2) Catholics do not live with Scripture as much as Evangelicals do, but even Catholics can't get away from things like Matthew 18:21-22 --
Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"The Church can't simply kick out priests if the priests actually seem to repent their awful actions. But the Church needs to find a way to forever keep such priests away from children...
Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."
3) The media is singling out the Church for failing to deal with pedophilia, but isn't pedophilia also a crime in society overall? Just because a guy is a priest, that doesn't put him outside our regular legal system. Why the heck doesn't the media come down hard on our police and judges who can't find ways to punish these priests in the secular courts?!
Mark W.
Sure they can; forgiveness doesn't mean excusal from the punishment incurred by one's actions.