My Fellow Catholics Please Help Me To Understand

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, I'm not a troll or an angry atheist. I'm a life long Catholic trying to understand why do I remain in the Catholic church. All the recent articles and documentaries about the rampant sexual abuse within the church really upsets me. I'm saddened and hurt whenever I come across an article about clergy abusing a child. I spent years working as a child advocate and a crisis counselor dealing with abused children. However, I feel like a hypocrite because I support an institution which covers up the abuse of children. If you're Catholic, then help me understand why do you continually support the church? Why isn't there pressure put on the church to punished clergy who abuse children? Why isn't there pressure to reconcile with victims who have been abused by clergy? It seems like this topic is often times push under the rug when I'm in the company of other Catholics. Us Catholics come together for numerous issues (abortion, poverty, immigration, etc.) However, when it comes to clergy abuse its like silence. No one wants to touch this issue. The Vatican is so powerful that even our government, The Supreme Court, and folks in Congress are afraid to touch this issue. We can hunt down Bin Laden, but we can't prosecute or find pedophile priests? Our government can go head to toe with some of the most vile criminals or terrorists around the world, but we can't prosecute pedophile priests? We can nuke places off the face of the earth, but we can't prosecute pedophile priests? Even when I try to discuss this issue with some of the priests that I know they become extremely uncomfortable and try to change the subject. I was looking at the crowd during the Walk For Life March this year. I was wondering, "It will be great to see a crowd like this to stand up against clergy abuse here at home around the world. A March Against Clergy Abuse, raising money for victim's legal fees and therapy would be great!" I'm at a lost for words and my heart is truly broke. I even told my husband today that, "I'm not sure if I want to remain Catholic because the Vatican creates a safety bubble for clergy who abuse children." Many of the monsters who have abused children are hiding out with the comforts of retirement. While their victims have yet to get justice and families of deceased love ones are still waiting for justice. Does this upset you as a Catholic? Does it make you angry with God or the church? Help me understand how can many of us (myself included) support the Catholic Church?

I'm at a crossroads here. To leave the Catholic faith equates to rejecting my family, my friends, my culture, my customs, and everything that makes me who I am as a person. I love being a Catholic. It has shaped me into the person that I am today. However, the child abuse issue is not something that I can tolerate or remain silent about. I'm not sure if anyone else has felt this way or not. If you have felt this way, did you leave the church or did you choose to stay?

My fellow Catholic.

When reading the Bible, did you ever notice something called a paragraph?

Organize your thinking first, and then your life may follow.

I don't think there's anything in the Bible about paragraph use. But there is something about self righteousness.

[Anonymous]

The media is non-Catholic. Rabbis are worse than Priests but you would never read about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The media is non-Catholic. Rabbis are worse than Priests but you would never read about it.

So how would you know about it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The media is non-Catholic. Rabbis are worse than Priests but you would never read about it.

So can you provide some information to back this statement up?

I don't doubt that there are leaders in all religions (who are conveniently all men) who have taken grave advantage of their position of trust.

Regarding Catholicism, I think the shame and criticism is much more severe because of the centralized organization. It's not just the raping and abusing priests, but the people who facilitated it, protected the abusers, and tried to hide it. There are layers and layers and layers of the immorality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, I'm not a troll or an angry atheist. I'm a life long Catholic trying to understand why do I remain in the Catholic church. All the recent articles and documentaries about the rampant sexual abuse within the church really upsets me. I'm saddened and hurt whenever I come across an article about clergy abusing a child. I spent years working as a child advocate and a crisis counselor dealing with abused children. However, I feel like a hypocrite because I support an institution which covers up the abuse of children. If you're Catholic, then help me understand why do you continually support the church? Why isn't there pressure put on the church to punished clergy who abuse children? Why isn't there pressure to reconcile with victims who have been abused by clergy? It seems like this topic is often times push under the rug when I'm in the company of other Catholics. Us Catholics come together for numerous issues (abortion, poverty, immigration, etc.) However, when it comes to clergy abuse its like silence. No one wants to touch this issue. The Vatican is so powerful that even our government, The Supreme Court, and folks in Congress are afraid to touch this issue. We can hunt down Bin Laden, but we can't prosecute or find pedophile priests? Our government can go head to toe with some of the most vile criminals or terrorists around the world, but we can't prosecute pedophile priests? We can nuke places off the face of the earth, but we can't prosecute pedophile priests? Even when I try to discuss this issue with some of the priests that I know they become extremely uncomfortable and try to change the subject. I was looking at the crowd during the Walk For Life March this year. I was wondering, "It will be great to see a crowd like this to stand up against clergy abuse here at home around the world. A March Against Clergy Abuse, raising money for victim's legal fees and therapy would be great!" I'm at a lost for words and my heart is truly broke. I even told my husband today that, "I'm not sure if I want to remain Catholic because the Vatican creates a safety bubble for clergy who abuse children." Many of the monsters who have abused children are hiding out with the comforts of retirement. While their victims have yet to get justice and families of deceased love ones are still waiting for justice. Does this upset you as a Catholic? Does it make you angry with God or the church? Help me understand how can many of us (myself included) support the Catholic Church?

I'm at a crossroads here. To leave the Catholic faith equates to rejecting my family, my friends, my culture, my customs, and everything that makes me who I am as a person. I love being a Catholic. It has shaped me into the person that I am today. However, the child abuse issue is not something that I can tolerate or remain silent about. I'm not sure if anyone else has felt this way or not. If you have felt this way, did you leave the church or did you choose to stay?

My fellow Catholic.

When reading the Bible, did you ever notice something called a paragraph?

Organize your thinking first, and then your life may follow.

I don't think there's anything in the Bible about paragraph use. But there is something about self righteousness.

Ha! this made me laugh. But I do agree with the PP; paragraphs would help as it IS hard to read.

[Anonymous]

Cardinal Bernard Law came to speak to my Confirmation class in the 80s in a suburb of Boston. Like another PP, I was raised in a Catholic family & was very devout. My parents were Eucharistic ministers etc. I have an uncle who was a priest. But Cardinal Law shook me right out of my faith on the actual day of my confirmation! Instead of talking about a million positive things he could have in the moments before we became adults affirming our chosen faith, he told us a story about a girl who'd been raped by her father and chose to keep the baby. Time & place, folks, time & place. I am not a Bill Maher type who thinks that religious people are stupid. I think the poster who believes the faith has endured for thousands of years & trusts that, not the people in power, is lucky. S/he still has his/her faith and his/her faith community. But Cardinal Law robbed me of my faith, so now I am an agnostic who doesn't know if there is a God, just that I *do* know that manipulative men who use their religious power to try to control young women -- the very same men who apparently covered up pedophilic rape of thousands of my neighbors -- are not part of an organization I need to be ANYWHERE near. Not to mention that our local church shunned my mother when my father divorced her. In her time of need. And that the first man I ever had sex with (who was a good Catholic boy who wanted to marry me) was dysfunctional because he'd been molested by an altar boy (who himself, we can guess, was abused by a priest?). Yeesh. OP, I think you will probably know in your heart of hearts if you can stay with the church or not. I wish I still had faith; I wish I still had a supportive community and the certainty I had as a child when I read scripture and hoped to be a holier person. But if you still believe in *God*, then your issue is probably just which church you feel most comfortable with. If you think you can make change, I do think that changing the church from within is likely a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Fuori della Chiesa non c'e la salvezza.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fuori della Chiesa non c'e la salvezza.

Dogmatism in action

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The media is non-Catholic. Rabbis are worse than Priests but you would never read about it.

So can you provide some information to back this statement up?

I don't doubt that there are leaders in all religions (who are conveniently all men) who have taken grave advantage of their position of trust.

Regarding Catholicism, I think the shame and criticism is much more severe because of the centralized organization. It's not just the raping and abusing priests, but the people who facilitated it, protected the abusers, and tried to hide it. There are layers and layers and layers of the immorality.

One reason there is more attention to priest abuse is that they are supposed to be chaste and celibate and preach purity to followers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The media is non-Catholic. Rabbis are worse than Priests but you would never read about it.

So can you provide some information to back this statement up?

I don't doubt that there are leaders in all religions (who are conveniently all men) who have taken grave advantage of their position of trust.

Regarding Catholicism, I think the shame and criticism is much more severe because of the centralized organization. It's not just the raping and abusing priests, but the people who facilitated it, protected the abusers, and tried to hide it. There are layers and layers and layers of the immorality.

One reason there is more attention to priest abuse is that they are supposed to be chaste and celibate and preach purity to followers.

I really don't think that's the concern.

These are priests who are pedophiles. They are people that like control and power, which their position provides them. It's not the lack of sex - it's the desire to abuse in their privileged position.

Nuns are chaste, but you don't see them raping children - because they are not in positions of power.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The media is non-Catholic. Rabbis are worse than Priests but you would never read about it.

So can you provide some information to back this statement up?

I don't doubt that there are leaders in all religions (who are conveniently all men) who have taken grave advantage of their position of trust.

Regarding Catholicism, I think the shame and criticism is much more severe because of the centralized organization. It's not just the raping and abusing priests, but the people who facilitated it, protected the abusers, and tried to hide it. There are layers and layers and layers of the immorality.

One reason there is more attention to priest abuse is that they are supposed to be chaste and celibate and preach purity to followers.

I really don't think that's the concern.

These are priests who are pedophiles. They are people that like control and power, which their position provides them. It's not the lack of sex - it's the desire to abuse in their privileged position.

Nuns are chaste, but you don't see them raping children - because they are not in positions of power.

and they are short on testosterone

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The media is non-Catholic. Rabbis are worse than Priests but you would never read about it.

So can you provide some information to back this statement up?

I don't doubt that there are leaders in all religions (who are conveniently all men) who have taken grave advantage of their position of trust.

Regarding Catholicism, I think the shame and criticism is much more severe because of the centralized organization. It's not just the raping and abusing priests, but the people who facilitated it, protected the abusers, and tried to hide it. There are layers and layers and layers of the immorality.

One reason there is more attention to priest abuse is that they are supposed to be chaste and celibate and preach purity to followers.

I really don't think that's the concern.

These are priests who are pedophiles. They are people that like control and power, which their position provides them. It's not the lack of sex - it's the desire to abuse in their privileged position.

Nuns are chaste, but you don't see them raping children - because they are not in positions of power.

and they are short on testosterone

So it's biological? Those men have no choice? It's the testosterone that makes them do it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The media is non-Catholic. Rabbis are worse than Priests but you would never read about it.

So can you provide some information to back this statement up?

I don't doubt that there are leaders in all religions (who are conveniently all men) who have taken grave advantage of their position of trust.

Regarding Catholicism, I think the shame and criticism is much more severe because of the centralized organization. It's not just the raping and abusing priests, but the people who facilitated it, protected the abusers, and tried to hide it. There are layers and layers and layers of the immorality.

One reason there is more attention to priest abuse is that they are supposed to be chaste and celibate and preach purity to followers.

I really don't think that's the concern.

These are priests who are pedophiles. They are people that like control and power, which their position provides them. It's not the lack of sex - it's the desire to abuse in their privileged position.

Nuns are chaste, but you don't see them raping children - because they are not in positions of power.

and they are short on testosterone

So it's biological? Those men have no choice? It's the testosterone that makes them do it?

Why does it being biological exclude them from having a choice? We all have biological urges that are destructive. We choose to overcome them. But it is hard. Everybody struggles with gluttony, lust, sloth, etc. Men especially struggle with lust, but they do need to do their best to overcome this. And we need to help them if and when we reasonably can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The media is non-Catholic. Rabbis are worse than Priests but you would never read about it.

So can you provide some information to back this statement up?

I don't doubt that there are leaders in all religions (who are conveniently all men) who have taken grave advantage of their position of trust.

Regarding Catholicism, I think the shame and criticism is much more severe because of the centralized organization. It's not just the raping and abusing priests, but the people who facilitated it, protected the abusers, and tried to hide it. There are layers and layers and layers of the immorality.

One reason there is more attention to priest abuse is that they are supposed to be chaste and celibate and preach purity to followers.

I really don't think that's the concern.

These are priests who are pedophiles. They are people that like control and power, which their position provides them. It's not the lack of sex - it's the desire to abuse in their privileged position.

Nuns are chaste, but you don't see them raping children - because they are not in positions of power.

and they are short on testosterone

So it's biological? Those men have no choice? It's the testosterone that makes them do it?

They have a choice, but the testosterone too often wins out.

[Anonymous]

OP, if still reading this thread, can see many snares .... Don't debate them or argue with them. You simply say, I am a child of the Church, and go to mass. Ignore this -- it leads to one place and one place alone.