The Catholic Church Doesn't Practice What it Preaches.

Freedom for All · 5th October 2006 09:54 PM

From another thread, a response totally off that topic:

Originally Posted by ilikeGW

This happened all over the city about 6 years ago. Half the stories were made up, a quarter of the remaining stories were found to be true and the other quarter were charges against priests who had died and/or involved witnesses (named by complainants) who refused to corroborate the stories.

The real problem is that church officials confronted with these allegations report them to the proper authorities.

The proper authorities for allegations of sexual molestation of children is NOT the church priest, its NOT the bishop, and it's NOT the cardinal. By law, those allegations are required the reported to that agency most suited to handle the charges...the POLICE and the DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.

The Church isn't allowed to say it's no big deal, nothing happened. It's a criminal matter. Naturally, the Church has been covering up cases like this for centuries, so they knew what to do. They shuffled the offending priest into a different unsuspecting parish where he could get unrestricted access to more fresh meat.

And, as is totally typical for the Catholic Church, the only concern was how much money they could avoid paying.

But hey, Catholics buy their salvation in the donation basket, so it's best to let them hang onto the money as long as possible, right?

Yep, there were some cases that were false, some that were questionable....and far far too many that were dead nuts on, and the Church did everything possible to discredit those people and avoid paying them for their ruined lives. Those real cases are what's important. The Church was totally disgraceful in it's actions.

ilikeGW · 11th October 2006 05:56 PM

Oops, didn't see this until today.

I know there were TOO MANY cases that proved to be true, but sick people inhabit every walk of life, unfortunately the Church is not immune. Churches have a wall of silence much like that of the Police department. Most problems are dealt with inhouse but delicate matters such as the crime of molestation should never be dealt with behind closed doors and away from the public without law enforcement's involvement.

The Catholic Church has it's problems, that's for certain, but so does every religion. Catholicism is more prominent because of it's size.

Freedom for All · 11th October 2006 06:45 PM

Well, you see....it's a criminal offense to do what they did, ie, not disclose the molestations to the proper authorities.

What the world saw was as hypocritical case of cover up and stonewalling as has ever been done. And Catholics around the globe not only accepted the cover up, but defended it.

This kind of corruption is one of the reasons Martin Luther protested in the first place.

ilikeGW · 11th October 2006 06:51 PM

I never defended it, that would be insane. My problem was that many of the claims were falsified and there was no way in proving one way or another if they happened. True, if the church had done what was morally and legally right in the beginning, these cases would have been easily proven true or false.

Common Sense Craig · 11th October 2006 07:23 PM

Originally Posted by ilikeGW

I never defended it, that would be insane. My problem was that many of the claims were falsified and there was no way in proving one way or another if they happened. True, if the church had done what was morally and legally right in the beginning, these cases would have been easily proven true or false.

But that is how people defended these sick pedophiles, by saying many of the claims were false, thereby letting the Pope and other high-ranking priests say all claims were false or to be very vague and hesitant about admitting that the molestations were anything except misunderstandings. Then they say, "Oh, we'll take care of the priests!" and then shuffle them around to other churches hoping the situations would just go away.
At least every other month I read about a priest who molested young boys blowing his head off because he can't live with himself anymore. At least that's one way of punishing them. Too bad the boys are now damaged mentally and physically. I'm surprised parents aren't still very wary of their boys being alter boys. But it could be that those parents are so brainwashed in their beliefs that a priest saying he wants to have a camp-out with just 9-year old boys doesn't even phase them and they send little innocent Johnny off to his religious retreat.

Forrest Williams · 12th October 2006 01:05 AM

Many Catholics are very unhappy with the way the church handled these vermin. As someone else posted here..there is a wall of silence in the Police and Fire departments. In addition...hospitals are well known for their wall of silence,they protect doctors and nurses who have done horrible things. I do not say this to [excuse] the church,I just want to point out that this occurs in many institutions and even in our own government.

I believe one of the causes of this dilemma in the Catholic church is the issue of celibacy. Knowing that celibacy is a [requirement]...what type of men are attracted to the priesthood? One could conclude that many find celibacy not to be a great sacrifice since they are not attracted to women in the first place! Others may simply be non sexual and others may be pedophiles. So required celibacy [may] well be part of the problem! Pedophilia occurs in other denominations and is not exclusive to the RCC. However...the incidence of pedophilia seems to be much higher in the rcc.

Making celibacy an [option] as opposed to a requirement [may] drastically reduce the incidence of molestation in the rcc. It would be a step in the right direction. While it is true that molestation occurs with married men,I am willing to bet the incidence in the priesthood is not proportional to society in general! It should be remembered that even though there is a higher incidence in the priesthood,priests who molest are a small percentage within the priesthood. I know in my area that the Bishop has taken a no tolerance stand on molestation.

Many denominations do not practice what they preach and try to cover up the sins of their ministers! Priests and other Clergy are mortal..they still commit sin and are in need of forgiveness. I remember the 700 club fiasco with the Bakers. They tried to protect them as well...when Jimmy Swaggart got caught doing the very thing he was famous for preaching against! They [tried] to protect him as well. If you break one commandment,you break them all....Sin is sin....and it is a sin to cover it up and put others in jeopardy.

Yes..the Catholic church does not always practice what it preaches but what church does? Until Jesus returns...we will have to live with the mortal Priests and Clergymen of other denominations and make needed changes in policy.

Forrest Williams · 12th October 2006 01:33 AM

Originally Posted by Freedom for All

But hey, Catholics buy their salvation in the donation basket, so it's best to let them hang onto the money as long as possible, right?

Somehow I get the impression that your Catholic bashing goes well beyond the molestation issue and it's cover up.You seem to have a problem with [all] Catholics..if so.. you are a religious bigot. All denominations have issues to atone for,when you attack all Catholics you weaken your entire argument.Jesus paid the price for my salvation,what I put into the donation basket has nothing to do with my salvation. If you don't like Catholicism..fine..but please do not lump all Catholics in the same [basket].

Freedom for All · 12th October 2006 05:18 AM

Originally Posted by ilikeGW

I never defended it, that would be insane. My problem was that many of the claims were falsified and there was no way in proving one way or another if they happened.

And...that's not the job of the church, that's a civil function reserved, in this country, to the police, the district attorney, and the courts.

And...many Catholics have defended the coverup.

Originally Posted by ilikeGW

True, if the church had done what was morally and legally right in the beginning, these cases would have been easily proven true or false.

It's just like the Foley thing. Covering up only means you're getting in bed with the criminal. Except the Church has several centuries of history showing that this is exactly how they treat this issue. They eliminate a local problem by moving it around and around.

Freedom for All · 12th October 2006 05:22 AM