Sex runs rampant in the Catholic Church

Capitol Hill Blue ^ | January 9, 2003 | DOUG THOMPSON

[arj]

Recent revelations that at least 40 percent of Catholic nuns in the United States are victims of sexual abuse are just part of a growing sex scandal in the Church that goes far beyond the abuse of young boys by priests.

Capitol Hill Blue has learned that internal investigations by the Church have uncovered massive evidence of frequent sexual activity by both nuns and priests (often with each other), use of Church money to pay for abortions for pregnant nuns and a “casual and tolerant attitude towards sexual activity among Church leaders.”

Details of the investigations are a closely guarded secret of the Church hierarchy, but sources tell CHB that the results are being closely studied by Vatican officials who express “shock and outrage” at the high levels of sex involving priests and nuns.

“For God’s sake, this is the Church. It is not a bordello,” exclaimed one priest involved in the investigation. “This is a crime against God.”

In interviews with current nuns and priests, as well as with a number of clergy who have left the church, a disturbing portrait of immoral activity within Church walls emerges, including:

--Priests who regularly have sex with female parishioners. According to two sources, as many as 5,000 priests in the U.S. have been discovered to have had affairs with parishioners.

--At least 34,000 nuns who admit sexual abuse or activity.

--Frequent sexual contact between priests and nuns. The investigations are said to have found “dozens” of cases where nuns who became pregnant from these affairs had abortions paid for out of Church funds (even though the Church opposes abortions).

--Hundreds of confirmed reports of lesbian sexual encounters among nuns as well as homosexual contact between priests.

--Hundreds of cases where priests and nuns leave the Church and marry shortly afterwards, many having children conceived while they were still Church clergy.

“You are dealing with human beings with human failings,” admits Jonathan, an ex-priest who left the Church years ago and married a former nun. Their oldest child was conceived during an affair when both were still in the Church. Jonathan agreed to be interviewed only on condition that neither his last name nor his wife’s name be used for this article.

“Yes, we both took vows of chastity but we broke those vows,” he says. “We weren’t the only ones. I knew several priests in my diocese who broke their vows as well. My wife knew many nuns who violated their vows.”

Jonathan says stories about rampant sexual activity among priests and nuns circulated in the Church for years but that Catholic leaders looked the other way.

“There were two hypocrisies at work,” he says. “One because some of the Church leaders were, themselves, unfaithful to their vows and the other because everyone knew the damage to the church if this ever became public.”

Only when confronted with the revelations last year of widespread abuse of children and the subsequent cover up has the church taken a closer look at the sexual activity.

"The bishops appear to be only looking at the issue of child sexual abuse, but the problem is bigger than that," says St. Louis University researcher Ann Wolf, one of those who authored the study on widespread sexual abuse of nuns. "Catholic sisters are being violated, in their ministries, at work, in pastoral counseling."

St. Louis University conducted a national survey of nuns in 1996 but the Church-affiliated school never publicly released the results. The study, paid for by several of the nun orders, was turned over to the Church. Wolf and the other researchers found 34,000 nuns who had been either sexually abused or engaged in sexual activity.

“What they found were those who admitted it,” says Jonathan. “There were, and are, many others.”

Jonathan admits his wife was not his first sexual partner while he wore the robes of priesthood. He had affairs with female parishioners and other nuns.

“It was all done with a wink and a nod,” he says. “Just about everybody knew what was happening but nobody wanted to do anything about it.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops claims to know nothing of the studies and refuses to comment on the specifics of this article. Phone calls to various Catholic officials and Vatican offices were not returned.

[Mr. Lucky]

Nope. He meant Martin Luther just like Gophac said.

[Gophack]

I completely agree with you that there are many Catholic institutions that have been taken over by liberals in the clergy. There is no dispute there. But they don't interpret Scripture and they do not make infallible proclamations (thank God!)

I was listening to a radio progam this morning that was talking about the new Ave Maria University in Florida. The priest involved in setting up the new university was lamenting the fact that so many Catholic universities were basically now secular colleges, without daily Mass, without upholding the pillars of truth of the Church, and allowing co-ed dorms, Planned Parenthood on campus, etc., etc.

There is a problem, and with the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, we will clean it up. The problem was the priests who went through seminary and were ordained in the 60s and 70s. The liberal movement wasn't just in secular society, but in most churches as well, including the Catholic Church.

But the fact that some priests are errant and some priests are gay and some priests should be defrocked, doesn't detract from the truth of the teaching of the Catholic Church which stems from 2,000 years of faith and history.

I, too, get very frustrated when a bishop doesn't stand up against the liberal pro-abortion establishment. I get frustrated when my parish priest neglects a prayer for the unborn. I want to scream and jump up and down, but the fact is I -- and others -- need to put our thoughts and feelings into actions and prayer.

There are many holy priests out there. The young priests being ordained today are overwhelmingly traditional. They are not afraid to stand up and speak the truth, even when it turns their million dollar donors against them.

I don't know ultimately what will happen, but I do know one thing: The gates of Hell will not prevail, (even when Satan pulls a few into his greedy claws.)

God bless.

[Bluntpoint]

Facts. Interpretation. Perceptions. Biases.

Is Jesus our salvation?

Can he save us if we pray in a Methodist, Church of Christ or Lutheran Church?

You see, I was raised in a catholic neighborhood. To be kind, their behavior did not encourage me to want to be catholic. I married one. She no longer practices.

Like most catholics I was raised around, she treated her membership to the church more as a club and not spiritually.
She was a catholic because her parents were catholic and their parents, ad nauseaum.

[Gophack]

Respectfully, Catholics do not believe that the Pope is King. We only call Christ the King, always have. We believe that the Pope is the Vicar of Christ, His representative on earth, and can not err in the teachings of faith and morals, from the time that Jesus Christ made St. Peter the rock on which His church was to be built.

Many non-Catholics do not understand the role of the clergy and the Pope in the Church. Many non-Catholics do not understand how everything about Catholicism IS Christ-centered. Everything leads back to Christ. Everything. The Mass -- both the Litury of the Word (the readings and the Gospel) and the Litury of the Eucharist are Christ-centered. A crucifix is on the altar of every Catholic Church to remind us that Jesus SUFFERED and DIED for our sins and our salvation, and we are not worthy.

God bless.

[Mr. Lucky]

The things which you suggest ( accurately in my opinion ) that non-Catholics do not understand about the Catholic Church are virtually identical to the things Catholics do not understand about Protestant churches and many Protestants don't understand about each others' churches.

[Gophack]

You are correct that there are many Catholic communities that do not do enough, or anything, to encourage people to be and practice their Catholicism.

I am I guess what's called a "revert". I was Baptized Catholic, but rarely went to church because my family didn't go to church. I was a "CEO" Catholic (Christmas and Easter Only). I had little to no understanding of my faith. If someone asked, I would say I was Catholic without having any understanding of what that meant.

I married a Catholic who went to 12 years of Catholic school who had parents who went to church regularly, and usually made the kids go. He was definitely more well-versed in the faith than I was, but he didn't always live it, per se. For example, we had pre-marital sex and used birth control.

After I had kids, however, I was discovered I was missing something in my life, and that was my faith. I started going back to church regularly. I went to confession for the first time since First Holy Communion. I started reading and learning about my faith and finally feel like I have what I have been missing.

I always had faith that Jesus was there for me. I just didn't know what I was missing ... now that I regularly receive the Sacraments, now that I understand WHY, I have grown stronger and more devout and more faithful.

I actually envy Catholic converts because they have a far deeper understanding and respect for the faith than many cradle Catholics.

God bless.

[Gophack]

You're probably right. I do have many Protestant friends and we agree on many things (the Incarnation, the Holy Trinity, the Resurrection, etc) and we disagree on many things (the role of Mary, the Holy Eucharist, Confession). Among the Protestants, they disagree on many things as well. For example, I believe it's the Episcipalians who believe in the Real Presence and Lutherans believe in the Immaculate Conception of Mary and Anglicans have the Sacrament of Confession.

I try and understand my Protestant brothers and sisters, because many of them are good and holy people who love Jesus, but I still believe that all Protestants are separated from the one true Chruch.

God bless.

[Mr. Lucky]

We all ( I guess ) believe the Apostles, Nicene and Athanasian Creeds. We all believe the catholic ( or Catholic ) church referred to in each of the creeds was the universal Christian church then existing. What we all have difficulty agreeing on today is which modern church most correctly follows the commission given by our Savior to St. Peter.

This last point of disagreement, however, appears irreconcilable ( much to Satan's delight, I suspect ).

[ninenot]

Among other things, one must examine the term "sexual abuse."

In civil proceedings, this term covers EVERYTHING from "lewd stares" (akin, I suppose, to a 'hate crime--absolutely undefinable except in the eyes of the narrator) through rape.

Looking, talking, AND touching are all included, whether innocent, (albeit stupid) or not.

Methinks that CapHilBlue is in need of a circulation-boost article--and may have found one.

[Gophack]

This last point of disagreement, however, appears irreconcilable ( much to Satan's delight, I suspect ).

I agree that Satan is pleased that we are not united. With the power of the Holy Spirit, however, nothing is irreconcilable.

Where we do agree, we need to be united. Where we disagree, we need to be respectful. There is too much evil in the world for us to be taking swords, verbal or otherwise, against each other.

God bless.

[Mr. Lucky]

I agree. Thanks for the post.

[ninenot]

If the Catholic Church was really the Church of Jesus. They would change this right now. Jesus would never put up with this.

Well, that allows me to ask you: What would Jesus do?

Trust me, there are many Catholics on FR who are embarrased and/or angry about the morons who are running and/or teaching at the Catholic colleges.

But the simple solution (SHOOT THE SO-and-SO's) is frowned upon; and the more complex one (weed them out) is darn difficult to do when all you have is the Authority of the One Who was crucified for speaking the Truth.

What I am trying to tell you is that the Pope cannot get the Bishops to do the right thing as easily as you (or I) might like...

[Barnacle]

Details of the investigations are a closely guarded secret of the Church hierarchy, but sources tell CHB…

This article is a bunch of Bravo Sierra according to my high level secret sources.

Navigating the treacherous
waters of a liberal culture.

[Gophack]

Good points. You might also point out that while Jesus may not like what's happening, He knew it would happen, just like He knew who would betray Him and yet He still allowed Himself to be crucified for us.

Remember the two thieves? The one who said, "Hey, if you're really who you say you are, save us and yourself" and the other who repented and believed, knowing he was going to die. Which thief made it to Heaven?

We don't know why God allowed this to happen, but we know He didn't cause it to happen, but will ultimately use the evil for good.

God bless.

[ACAC]

I like what I have heard about Ava Marie College. That is what I thought a Catholic school could be. EWTN upholds what the Catholic church teaches. I just don't understand how univeristies like Notre Dame get away with what they do.

[Conservative til I die]

Yes, but so is preaching that a priest can interven to have ones sins forgiven.

And this has what to do with the article, exactly? Oh yeah, you're just being a troll and getting an early start on farting all over the thread with unrelated bashes.

[Conservative til I die]

To deny your church leaders this, is unnatural

My mind is still blown at how anyone can "deny" or "force" a voluntary vow onto anyone.

[Conservative til I die]

Could you please be honest before you start going off on these threads and let everyone know you're a non-Catholic (Orthodox, right?) with an agenda? At least it'll be honest that way.

[Conservative til I die]

You're either saying

A) Christ wasn't celibate or B) He's a heathen because he isn't as good as Christ?

[Conservative til I die]

That's not what Our Lord taught. He said to the apostles, "Whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven, whose sins you shall retain they are retained" (Jn 20:19-23).

Must not be in his Bible, I guess.