Re: The catholic church abolished?

Question

Ok, So, I have recieved several posts defending the role of priests. Let me explain further. Priests are held to a higher standard than stepfathers, or other menwho have been convicted of this terrible crime of pedophilia. When a "man" commits this crime, it DOES depend on his position in life. We EXPECT a consecrated supposedly "living for god" priest to ACT like it. When a family man does this , yes, it is just as terrible, but the role of the priest makes it doubly devastating, because well, priests are supposed to be "nurturing", yes? THATS why the crime of ONE SINGLE PRIEST destroys the image of the "holy" church, and that is what you, the readers aren't getting. Add to this the obstinate refusal of the Vatican to even address the problem as well as the Inquisition which has been swept under the rug with a cavalier attitude of " oh, well bygones are bygones" and the so-called "holy" church with its pathetic attempt to render itself the ONLY purveyer of "truth" and that explains it

Whether you "get" it or not is quite irrelevant, for it is the children who have been betrayed by the very ones who were entrusted with their "spiritual well-being" who will come back to laugh in your faces, and spit out the communion wafer in contempt of your whitewashing the whole sordid affair. Forgiveness? yes, with God's help....Trust? Never again. Any priest worthy of the robe should throw it away in solidarity with the children, and in effect, discarding ANY association with such filth. How are the children to know who is whom? Words and platitudes are not enough. Real action is required. To make sure that the kids are watched "carefully" so Father so and so is one of the" good ones", well, they aren't fooled by that one.

Dear readers, I apologize for not being able to come up with the *exact* verse in Gods word, but iI DO know that it says in the Gospels that Jesus said (again, I don't know exactly where) Woe to anyone who causes these little ones to turn away, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with an anchor around his foot. Gee, what DO you suppose THAT means?......

Answer 1

Should we not also hold to a higher standard out police officers, teachers, child welfare workers? I am not defending the actions of my Church - I think a single instance is wrong - but why should anyone be treated differently? A crime is a crime, regardless of who committed it.

Answer 2

Two of the disciples of Jesus out of the 12 betrayed Jesus. One was sorry, the other committed suicide. Does this mean that the other 10 were just as wrong? Jesus works through humans with humans mistakes and sins. The Vatican has spiken strongly against any priest who has broken any laws especially against children. These priests are removed immediately from their role as an active priest. Many have been arrested and have done time.
The Church is holy because Jesus is holy and lives in and through the church. We are also a church of sinners who depend upon the love and forgiveness of God. The church has done much to help the victims and families of those affected by the sin and mistakes of its priests. The church is doing all is can to insure that present and future priests are carefully screened and taken out of active ministry who have broken the laws of society and of their vows.

Answer 3

Agreed!!!! You are right, it does make the church look bad. What adds salt to the wound, is the Church HIDING those priests to avoid punishment. If I were to kill someone and a friend hid me from the authorities, my friend would be just as guilty as I and would be arrested for it. It is sickening for a group to claim to have the MORAL AUTHORITY over others while engaging in this type of activity and then covering it up. I'm not sure how anyone can rely on such a group knowing they have outright lied about pedophiles and the total disregard for the victims themselves. How is it that people do not see this? If the headlines had been a priest of pastor of any other religion, I am sure they would be tearing the whole religion apart with the justification that they had been lied to by the people of that religion. I guess brainwashing really does the trick for them.

Answer 4

I agree with you on the main points. It is terrible when ANYONE hurts a child...it's just more shocking when it's a supposed man of God that does the hurting.
I am not Catholic, nor do I agree with many aspects of the Catholic faith...however, you cannot hold all priests accountable for the crimes of a few. I do believe that there are still good priests...as I believe that there are priests that are still abusing, just like there are fathers, mothers, siblings, strangers abusing. Should the Catholic church be abolished? Not because of the sins of the priests....sorry.

Answer 5

I totally understand what you are saying. It is horrible when a priest hurts a child. Not only is he supposed to be representation of holiness and the church. But he is in a position of authority and trust. It is the same as when a teacher commits crimes like this. Those are the people we entrust with our children and it is heartbreaking.


I don't need to hear your ranting. Nobody hear is going to say they are glad children are molested. Go bring it to the Vatican if it bothers you so damn much. I don't give a **** about the church. You act like we are all here to defend priests. Half the people here don't even believe in god let alone one of the worst churches of them all.

Answer 6

You're flat wrong that a priest is held to a higher standard with children than their own dads/stepdads!

I agree that an ordained priest who is living for God needs to act like it. But you're missing the point that these CRIMINALS had no intention of living for God. They became priests (or teachers or scout leaders or whatever) to get private access to children without raising suspicion. Pedophiles are notorious LIARS, dude.

So again, you can't hold the crimes of a few CRIMINALS who LIED to get access to children so they could commit their CRIMES against the men who are honest and true to the calling of a priest.

Answer 7

I can't agree that a Priest is worse than a Father who commits that crime. A father is the one who helped bring you into the world, is meant to nurture all aspects of you and take care of you and love you unconditionally always.

I am sorry if you were hurt by someone and need to find a way to let go of the anger and rage from experiencing or knowing someone who has experienced that type of trauma.

One single priest does not destroy what is holy, no one can destroy what is holy and sacred, that is why it is holy and sacred.

Answer 8

So you are advocating that the Catholic Church be abolished because even one priest abused a child?

As commendable as I may think that abolishing the Catholic Church may be, I don't think that your proposition is really logical.

Presumably even worse than a step-father or priest abusing a child would be if a child's actual father abused their offspring.

As horrible as it may be, I can't see any reason why the occurrence of such a crime would be grounds for abolishing the entire institution of fatherhood.

Answer 9

The Church's holiness does not depend of the personal holiness of her members. "Holy" refers to the sanctity of her doctrines, and the sanctity of those who actually live them out. Above all it refers to the sanctity of her founder and head, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

The Church has answered for the Inquisition, both during the time the court was still common, and today with the Symposium on the subject. For an introduction, see this article:

Answer 10

>>Add to this the obstinate refusal of the Vatican to even address the problem<<

Norms have been tightened, abusive priests have been laicized, seminaries are being inspected, and candidates for ordination are being more carefully evaluated. What do you think needs to be done that hasn't been done?