Reply to My Fellow Catholics Please Help Me To Understand

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[quote=Anonymous]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?

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