Is The Roman Catholic Church Vetting Its Future Priests Properly?

Question

With the multitude of paedophile cases which have come before the courts regarding catholic priests and the grave damage which this does to our religion both financially and in terms of being taken seriously should the catholic church vet its trainee priests more rigorously.

We catholics should be setting a moral example to the rest of mankind therefore it is paramount that our priests are seen to be beyond reproach in all of their behaviour:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WSnYJCX6V_c

Can can the church tackle this problem?

Answer 1

Anyone who thinks that political parties would do anything, or have anything to do with catholic priests who molest children, has a serious mental problem!
And yes, they should be throughly screened, before being allowed anywhere near children!

Answer 2

If you are active in the Catholic faith you would have a hard time not knowing that it already has.

New Priests are being more closely scrutinized, and EVERY person that works with the youth must be first trained to recognize signs of abuse and what to do if they suspect it.

New incidents are almost non-existent. The Church has apologized and asked for forgiveness, it is also paying for counseling for victims as well as paying out settlements.

That does not make the abuse OK or justified in any way, but it is doing all it can.

The instances of abuse among Priest was always low in comparison to the general population, but now it is much lower.

While it has addressed the problem, we need to stay vigilant as do other groups that have adults working with youth.

God Bless!

P.S. to the dude above me, do you what most pedophiles are?

MARRIED MEN!

Answer 3

Whatever happened to forgiveness? Whoever is without sin, would they care to cast the first stone?

I hate that many of our priests have done this, but I equally can’t stand the attitude that has been leveled at the Church, particularly by the anti-Catholics. What about the protestant clergy that have committed the same offenses, AND THEY’RE MARRIED? Where is the outrage there?

Answer 4

Yes.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles website states:

+ There is no priest or lay person currently in ministry in the Archdiocese who has been found to have abused a young person.

+ Before being allowed to work alone with children, church employees and volunteers are being fingerprinted and will clear a criminal background check.

+ More than 40,000 priests, teachers, lay employees, coaches and volunteers have been trained in abuse prevention techniques under the Archdiocese’s Safeguard the Children program.

http://www.archdiocese.la/news/story.php?newsid=912

With love in Christ.

Answer 5

I think you mean screen them?

You are right- there were problems...the problems came from the liberals who de-emphasized objective morality in the 60's and 70's.

The other problem is with society in general. EVERYONE is bombarded with sex everywhere we go. Heck, DAIRY QUEEN is using sex to sell ICE CREAM!!!!!

This effects everyone- the rest of society deals with it through immoral activity- adultery, fornication, masturbation, etc.... but when a priest does, it is awful because we do look to them to set the higher standard.

We must pray for our priest- current and future- that they have the strength to confront the evil and immorality in this world head-on and lead us well.

Answer 6

Sure they could handle it... by allowing priests to be married; or by castration. Nothing short of those two methods will reduce the sexual frustration at the root of the problem.