We have passed the point where mere words from the Vatican carry any significance. The same old story has been repeated time, after time. The Pope must take clear and decisive action if he is going to continue to have any credibility.
8
If the Catholic Church was serious about repenting, it would reform the church, not offer meaningless words. The church should start by doing away with the patriarchy. A lot of the abuse stemmed from a male dominated culture that was insulating and self-protective.
15
I am so sad, so profoundly sad at this moment. As a practicing Catholic, I would like to see all those involved with sexual abuse tried in the courts and suitably punished per the laws of the state where the abuse occurred. I would also like the Church to move into the modern world right now: to kick out the transgressing priests; to ordain married priests, including (maybe especially) women; to accept birth control; to help us concentrate on social justice and the environment; to lead the flock with honesty, humbleness and transparency. Wake up before there is no Church left!
9
Every pope in my lifetime has said the same thing yet nothing changes. As long as children are given alone time with an adult (other than parents or grandma), you set yourselves up.
I met a sex-offender once when I was homeless. He had just gotten out of prison and was trying to put his life back together. First thing he did was join a church. Lots of felons do that 'cause churches have resources and are forgiving people. Next, he started volunteering at the homeless meal that was hosted at his church twice a week. This church encouraged their kids to volunteer and there were always well-groomed 5th - 8th graders from well-off homes. I noticed that he did not volunteer to help the same meal organization when another church just 6 blocks away hosted the meal two other days a week. But that church did not encourage kids to volunteer and it was only adults.
Next, he told me about how he was going to march in the Seattle Pride parade with PFLAG.
Do you see a pattern here? Find a place with kids, tell the adults you are one of them to gain their trust, find time alone with the kids, and pounce on your prey.
The Catholic Church needs to quit allowing their kids to spend ANY time alone with an adult (other than parents and grandma) and they will have fewer problems. Confession? Make it a confession to two priests or a priest and a nun. Teacher/parent conversations? Again, make all such conversations involve two adults.
The Catholic Church could eliminate much of this problem over time by allowing priests to marry. Peter whom they acknowledge as the first Pope was married...had a mother-in-law. Men are made to believe they must do something, then, he did not: be celibate to serve Christ. Put a group of younger men in a seminary just when their hormones and pheromones a working over time and sexuality is bound to burst out, even for those who ache for stimuli around them not to affect them. Cycles occur; cycles repeat as generational patterns. Also, Catholics and other Christians "get it' that there is such a thing as temptation in an era where many do not believe in it.
How does one flee the temptations of the flesh when there is nowhere to flee?
Being married does not detract from love for Christ; in fact, it could be argued that those who are married understand the metaphor of the church being the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:2-33) perhaps more so than priests who are not married in a unique way.
Those fulfilled in marriage will be less likely to let their yearnings for intimacy spill over inappropriately.
Of course, cycles and patterns of behavior replicated neurologically in the brain (habituation) will have to be broken.
Pope Francis, the church MAY be asking these men to do what Jesus does not necessarily require of them: to go though life without mates.
3
How about this. Legal authorities contact church officials and tell them to put a stop to this epidemic of cold molestation OR ELSE.
Those Bishops and Cardinals who covered up the crimes of their underling priests, many of them had to coverup so as to be able to keep their own crimes of abuse from being discovered. Until the church ends the abnormal celibacy requirement for the clergy, virtually nothing will change. And having women on equal footing isn’t such a bad idea either.
8
Nothing will change until the USCCB is disbanded. It is nothing more than a hierarchical corporation with allegiances and alliances with those politicians and political entities who espouse their liberal agendas. Were they a private corporation, shareholders would demand that they be fired on the spot. The USCCB has received millions in American tax-payer monies which they are using to resettle and provide legal assistance to illegal immigrants who are breaking the laws of our country. Pope Francis has been silent until a few hours ago about the Pennsylvania case and the head of the USCCB Cardinal Di Nardo offered a weak and pitiable statement of apology. With all that is going on, Pope Francis will be continuing his trip to Ireland and continue with his pronouncements on illegal immigrants, the evils of capitalism , climate change and changing some words of the Lord's Prayer. Perhaps the only message that will begin to make a difference to those in power will be public protest by Catholics who have had enough of a culture which permitted and covered up the terrible crimes committed by clergy and those bishops and cardinal who know of these offenses all along.
3
Absolute power corrupts. The church like many other religious institutions & organizations (like what's left of the old Republican party) are full of falsehoods & people that wear their religion on their sleeves.
4
I am an Episcopalian, an early branch of the Catholic Church. Many Catholics I know love their church and the care of the poor that is embedded in its ministry. So I am saddened by the continued revelations of priest, bishop and cardinal abuse and/or cover-up. Perhaps the Church should consider deeply the laws of clergy celibacy. From that dictate springs so much that is wrong.
11
Here’s what the Pope should do:
Declare a worldwide Church day of mourning and Church repentance in which every single church in the world would be draped in mourning and priests would literally wear sackcloth and ashes.
Churches should be open for special services in which the Catholic Church begged for forgiveness before the people and God.
Part of this service should be an open microphone at which every single person abused by priests (or the abused’s family members) could say anything they needed to tell before the whole congregation.
The services should last as long as they need to — 24 hours, 48 hours if necessary. Between each speaker there should be literal (!) Mea Culpas from every priest officiating.
This should be done in EVERY Catholic Church in the world, starting with St. Peter’s in Rome, presided over by the Pope.
If they don’t do it in Rome, the New York diocese should start at St. Patrick’s and set an example.
This should be an official service, with candles lit. Bells should toll, as at a funeral, between each speaker. Priests barefoot, sackcloth and ashes. begging (!!) forgiveness on behalf of the Catholic Church, lying prostrate on the ground if they are able.
THEN the Church can start on the road to reconciliation.
5
I feel for the victims, butI do not think getting rid of the statute of limitations is warranted. There are very good reasons for having these limits. There may be room for some compromise though if the requirements for burden of proof is raised so that something indisputable like genetic tests or photographs prove the case.
You do realize that this type of behavior, or misbehavior, occurs in all religious institutions, not just the Roman church? Look at all the coaches who have been denounced just this year...anytime adults have dominion over youths this can be expected, that's why schools now have clearance procedures in place for all adults who work with children.
16
@Nina: Excuse me but it's the Catholic Church that has criminal abuse virtually written into it's constitution by requiring celebacy of its clergy. Just think of what kind of person of sound mind would agree to give up sex in order to be a priest. The priesthood is obviously attracting a significant number of unbalanced men who are battling their natural sexual urges and we see the sad sad results. You cannot compare this level of abuse with any other religion, or coaching situation, that I am aware of. Is it also possible that some young men who are in the process of deciding to become a priest might have it in the back of their minds that there exists an outlet for their sexual urges in the form of alter boys and young priests down the line. This cannot be a secret culture of criminal abuse and coverup that exists, unbeknownest to new recruits to the priesthood. Nothing will change in the Catholic Church until the vow of celibacy is done away with, and priests can marry, have a family and live a more normal life, better to serve their congregants.
3
There are many reasons why doing away with the celibacy requirement would be beneficial. However, anyone who thinks this will help solve the problem of sexual abuse in the Church is ignorant about the nature of sexual predators and perhaps even homophobic, since it isn't too much of a stretch to imagine them believing that this is the fault of gay priests. It is only the fault of the predator and the institution that protects them, regardless of marital status or sexual orientation.
9
Thank God for the Protestant Reformation, as the Roman Catholic church has been corrupt for centuries. No human institution is without sin, including our Protestant churches, but the Catholic church sure seems to have taken evil to another level as evidenced by the grand jury findings. That is not to disparage the many good Catholics that I know, or the good that the Catholic church does in the world, but the institution has had centuries to clean itself up and has not done so. Yet, it still claims to be the one true church, and that we Protestants merely have "ecclesiastical communities". Sorry, but I cannot buy that.
5
I think it is highly unlikely that anything meaningful will change in the Roman Catholic Church. If nothing meaningful happened after the revelations in 2002, why should anything different be expected now?
10
I was raised a Catholic in the Diocese of Scranton and was a practicing Catholic well into middle age. But the church's attitude toward women soured me early on and has only gotten worse, not the least of which was the time I sat through a sermon at Sunday mass while the priest said it was OK to let children associate with divorced Catholics, they won't hurt your children, they are good people, too.
I was sickened by reports out of Boston and elsewhere about the abuse. But have been absolutely horrified by the actions of some priests in the Scranton Diocese during the past 2 years. There have been sermons blaming the media for the Boston church scandal. During the presidential campaign priests urged their parishioners when voting to "vote for the children" -- a reference to Trump. Violation of the separation of church and state and non-profit status aside, I was appalled that the priests who present themselves as moral arbitrators were telling their followers to vote for a man who: has had five childrenb y three different wives; publicly mocked the handicapped, bullied people unmercifully, wanted to eliminate health, food aid, and social programs, especially for children, AND was an abuser of women, showed no respect for women.
I am not shocked by the PA report. I was surprised about the church's lobbying on the statute of limitations, though.
But now everything makes sense to me.
19
If the Pope is on their side, he should personally see to the exposure of the redacted names of offenders in the grand jury report.
6
May I suggest this is just another piece of evidence that organized religion is a big scam to enrich and empower its leaders who bamboozle simple, needy, unsophisticated or just plain dumb people by convincing them "the Church" knows what "God" wants. Why are we listening and paying for clergy again?
6
If the Church of Rome is truly repentant, it will be financially responsible for the damage its priests and lay brethren have caused by their sexual abuse. They will not leave it to the local parishes to pay. They will use the vast wealth of the Roman Church to pay for the on-going need for phycological counselling and financial support for those whose lives have been wrecked by sexual abuse by Church officials. Anything else is repetitious verbiage.
11
New law:
If you cover for a rapist priest, you’re just as guilty as the rapist.
No statute of limitations. Massive purge needed.
All crimes are to be reported to local authorities. Then:
Priests can marry
Ordain women priests
Only then does this enterprise have a chance to come into the 21st century.
6
If the Catholic Church were a doping professional athlete it would be fined and suspended.
2
@Bartolo: Actually, at the level they are operating, they would be disbanded and barred for life (from heaven too.)
2
Their statement should have said “this is business as normal, what’s the big deal?” Wake up people, they do not care! They would rather police our sex lives (and use the levers of government to exert that control) while their depraved priests serially dish out sex abuse. How much is enough? It is beyond comprehension that we even allow this criminal organization to operate.
6
And this is just one state! And one country! My heart is sick thinking of the millions of children in the United States, yes, and in African and Central and South American and Asian countries who have also been abused by the Catholic Church. The numbers are staggering and grotesque. Shut down this pedophilic institution now, pay reparations to all victims by selling the gold and jewels in the Vatican and put the criminals behind bars.
10
Mothers, watch your children. That nice priest or whoever? You never know. I seriously doubt this will ever end.
3
Gee whiz, the pope "mishandled" the crisis. The same crisis has been mishandled by every pope dating to Henry, La. in the 80s! Read "Lead us not into temptation", Deja vu, all over again!
6
Several points bear mentioning:
1. This problem is not just limited to Pennsylvania. Since Pennsylvania alone had over 300 priests engaged in pedophilia, it is very likely that across the U.S., thousands of priests were engaged in this deviant, predatory practice.
2. This problem is not just limited to the U.S. it appears to be a problem in almost every country in the world where Catholicism has influence.
3. This problem is not just limited to the past few decades. In all likelihood, it has been going on for many centuries, if not millennia.
4. Clearly, the practice of pedophilia and the covering up of these crimes is widely and deeply woven into Catholicism. It is not just a few aberrant priests. It sadly is part of the Church’s very fabric.
5. For the problem to be fixed, if it even can be fixed, there needs to be a revolutionary overhaul of the institution from top to bottom. Crying crocodile tears, scolding a few bishops and moving others into less public positions will not get to the source of the problem. Pedophilia and the toleration of pedophilia appear to be integral parts of Catholic institutional culture. If real change is to happen, that entire culture needs to be destroyed and perhaps attempts can be made to rebuild it from the ground up.
6
Note a few things about this:
1. The pope has not yet spoken himself. Only "the Vatican" flak-catchers. So when their response gets ridiculed, as it is in many of these comments, it's not the pope himself who will face criticism.
2. Calls for "a Vatican-led investigation". How about an impartial, independent one? Preferably, by atheists, in my opinion.
3. Congratulating themselves on the fact they haven't been caught in any incidents since 2002. Yet. What would we say about a rapist who says, "Hey, at least I haven't raped anyone since 2002"?
7
Just close it down. Sell all the stuff; the artworks, the artifacts and relics, the real estate, all of it.
They're just a self indulgent, self important, out of touch bunch of old men with zero experience of how real people live.
How can anyone take them seriously when they attempt to tell us all how to live.
The EVIL way the abusers went about they're disgusting and damaging hobbies combined with those who enabled this horror preclude them from making any morality judgements on the rest of us.
Just close it down, call it a day and donate all the funds from the liquidation of "the church" to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Even though I was raised Catholic, I never really believed any of it. Still, after reading the latest, I gotta go take a 3 day shower. So glad I had that tankless hot water heater installed. Heading to Costco first to buy a 55 gallon drum of bleach and Purel.
21
It took 2 days for the Vatican to respond to this Grand Jury report. Once again it was the same old rhetoric. The Catholic church has known for years about this abuse and deliberately hid it. Both the Pope and the Vatican have done,( and continue), to do nothing to correct it. Why should anyone expect anything different now? Prayers don't cut it anymore.
The Church's response is no different than our politicans offering their prayers to families of victims of mass shootings. They don't need prayers they need action.
6
No Catholic am I, nor any other Christian.
But I must say I was very happy and hoping for reform in the world-wide nation-state/faith when the new Pope announced he would take the name of the inspiration for the Minorite movement, that taught of a savior, poor and dedicated to the people.
The Vatican still has more money than it needs to at least pay damages and pay for psychiatric treatment of the abused.
What would the original Francis do?
1
Actions speak louder than words. Separate the abusers from our church. Have them remanded to civil authorities to face justice. Anything less is unacceptable.
72
In many instances, though far from all, the Satute of Limitations in various states assures that many of the guilty will never face charges. This is an injustice to all survivors of sexual abuse that needs to be addressed.
2
I think it speaks volumes that it took the Vatican this long to respond to the report. Protect the hierarchy at all costs with no acknowledgment that the church's incessant lobbying prevents the extension of statutes of limitation, an act which would finally bring the victims justice.
4
I'm glad that the Vatican has come out with this statement. It's important in addition to other statements from all over the world, including the Catholic Conference of Bishops, decrying these atrocities and criminal conduct of these priests. Now, the hard work continues in reforming Church policy and practices to make sure that our parishes and seminaries are safe havens for old and young alike. Now, the hard work continues for the tremendous priests, religious and laity, and volunteers who live good and decent lives in service to others, in accordance with the Gospel.
2
As a Catholic , I believe Pope Francis must admonish the Pennsylvania Council of Bishops for opposing rather than vigorously supporting a change in the Statute of Limitation laws in Pennsylvania that are shielding from prosecution criminals who happen to be priests. We must prosecute their crimes. They can confess in jail or if found not guilty , be cleared in their public trials. Other states have done this. Pennsylvania must. The US Council of Bishops must encourage Pope Francis to act soon to get this obstruction by Pennsylvania priests to change this Statute of Limitation ended immediately.
6
I've seen so many responses calling for an end to the celibacy rule. But to what effect? Most of the damage was done decades ago -- not too many recent incidents. Further, there are married men who have still fondled underage boys and girls. It's not a cure.
Other than prosecuting any living pedophile still affiliated with the church, there isn't much that can be done outside of class action suits against individual parishes where the abuse occurred.
7
Saddest of all, and a reminder to everyone, we are a full sixteen years past the previous Catholic priest pedophilia scandal uncovered in the Boston diocese and yet here we are again, listening to the same tired 'morally reprehensible' pro forma message that was supposed to appease the paying masses back then.
As such, the Catholic church truly has lost all credibility with at least myself. What I am confounded by is why we continue to allow them to operate here with such impunity. Our politicians continue to hand them huge tax-free medical and hospital operating contracts when in fact the church owes us restitution for their crimes.
WHY are we continuing to reward them instead of issuing the proper punishments and demanding real dollar restitution ?
6
Talk is cheap. This centuries-old abuse was well known in the "halls of power".
Time to put the catholic church out of business - and OUR lives - for good.
10
"Actions speak louder than words". Something the Vatican has conveniently and frequently forgotten. Your words are hollow, Pope Francis. Invoking God and Jesus' name don't work anymore. #Timesup.
18
So the church does not care about the sex life of its clerics,
but cares about the sex lives of ordinary catholic couples or women
by self-righteously refusing them
- contraceptives,
- abortion and
- pushing poor women into having more children than they can possibly feed or educate?
47
It is far too late for apologies. The Catholic Church has been exposed for what it is: a conduit through which vulnerable individuals are preyed upon while predators and their enablers enjoy untold power and riches.
It is clear that institutional reform cannot happen from within, and therefore must be imposed by outside forces.
A good place to start would be the removal of the church's tax exempt status. Why should taxpayers fund this predatory, cruel institution?
23
Talk is cheap. what's needed is action.
16
We have heard this all before, all the mea culpas, all the apologies, from the Catholic hierarchy, and in the end what we see is the church hasn't changed. Whether the number of abuse situations have in fact died after 2002, that doesn't mean the church has fundamentally changed. The Bishops and Cardinals who covered for abusers have faced little consequences, starting with Cardinal Law, and there are members of the current hierarchy, including McCarick, who either were known to have committed abuse, or cover it up, who until recently were in power. Apparently the accusations against McCarrick were known a long time ago, yet he was promoted up the ranks, and was a big time power broker under JPII..why?
If the church is serious (which I doubt), the words are meaningless, they need to clean house of those who were involved in the coverups or did it themselves, they should fundamentally look at JPII and his role in basically ignoring the problem while promoting those responsible for acts of abuse, and they should stop fighting legislatures trying to get rid of the statute of limitations many church people and the church itself have used to escape consequences. What the church forgets is repentance isn't just words, it is about making it right and accepting the consequences of what you did; the church is still using all its power to avoid the consequences.
66
@bill d The "Lavender Mafia".
Look at the Church's history. Consequences of its action is not relevant to maintaining its power, political power.
1
@bill d I was taught "look at what people do not at what they say." That teaching helps me navigate through life when I encounter all the people who send double messages. I was raised Catholic and have struggled to separate the theology that I came to love from the Church that refuses to live as Christ-centered. Thank you for your comments.
1
“Morally Reprehensible” could also describe the Church’s decision to treat women as second class and its outdated rules about contraception, causing untold misery in countries that need birth control the most. The church will never get respect until it changes those appalling regulations and attitudes.
29
All talk, little action, much defensiveness. Pope Francis is a huge improvement over his predecessors but he, too, just doesn’t seem to “get it”.
Notice most abuse scandals have so far come to light in first world countries with strong legal systems. The amount of abuse in poorer countries where people have even less access to legal infrastructure I can’t even imagine.
The house is filthy and rotting from the inside and the caretakers are busy hanging fancy curtains on the windows and saying everything is fine as they have been since the 1980s when the first brave survivors came forward.
16
The constant expressions of condemnation by the Pope or other high officials of the Catholic Church of the crimes of priests, bishops and cardinals now ring as hollow as those of politicians who offer their thoughts and prayers after every mass murder in the United States which often include children and are even directed against children. And then do nothing.
The victims of the priests have psychic scars for life, but at least they are alive, except for those who feel driven to kill themselves. The victims of gun violence are dead and I feel certain that any parent would prefer that their child lives even if damaged.
If the church should be considered complicit as a whole in these outrages how can the Government of the United States and its Congress not also be held complicit in the murder of children because it will not pass even the most reasonable and limited gun legislation.
The Congress of the United States fails to provide what is the most basic function of government, which is the safety and security of its people. In what way is its betrayal of the people’s trust, of its highest moral purpose, any different than the church’s of its members’ trust and its high moral purpose.
I do condemn the priests and the church that enables them. My point is that it is not alone in this.
5
I raise multiple points. *** The celibacy of Catholic priests may be only a part of the problems. There are sexual criminals, married with children. The acknowledged holiness attached to the trust and respect in a community, regarded as unconditional, is the issue in my view. Also, there may not be two clearly divided groups such as the one consisting of corrupted clergy and parishioners, and, the other forming the non-corrupted. If this were true, why the group #2, willingly or unwillingly, had or has kept silence instead of taking adequately appropriate actions earlier on the group #1? *** Additionally, that all women should be clearly devided into two groups (Maria as Virgin Mother, or, Maria-prostitute) is problematically simplistic. Especially in the modern world in which we live, viewing recreation or procreation as the sole binary which describes the nature of physical intimacy, must be inwardly self-challenged in one’s mind. *** Besides, several possibilities can be considered for investigations. For example, if there are mutual threats having been going on among or between clergy and parishioners, there must be recordings devices set in confessionals, which priests use at anytime while following their survival manuals in necessities.
3
I don't think I read anywhere in this article anything about enacting prison time for the perpetrators of the horrendous crimes against the children these priests committed. First, I suppose the statute of limitation has to be lifted for these crimes, not for reparation from the Church. All citizens, of all faiths, especially Roman Catholics, need to see these priests behind bars so that could contemplate their nauseating sins in a stark, bleak and unadorned setting seemingly removed from a higher power for a very long time. The Vatican needs to insist that criminal charges apply to all who have any complicity in these crimes or all is lost, especially congregants.
26
This will make for interesting sermons at mass this coming Sunday.
My only problem with the focus on the Catholic Church is that it misses the larger picture. I happen to believe that the issue within the Church was one as much of convenience as it was of who was attracted to be a priest in the first place. That said, the Church should just go out of business.
The other issue is that it is as much a function of power. Being Catholic is a designation allowing society to isolate a problem. The issue is endemic within all structures where there is a hierarchy of men who will use their power to abuse others who feel powerless .
Men have the majority of abusers of both sexes. Focusing on a particular religious, political or cultural part of society is to miss the majority of abuse. The family is a structure and it is as much a part of the chain of abusers as any larger structure. It is well documented that parents abuse children as well as sibling-on-sibling, relative-on-relative, etc. Abusers are everywhere. It’s just that the Catholic Church is such a closed organization and its own nation-state, using god mumbo jumbo to protect its assumed sanctity. It also has money and so there is profit in going after the church. As the largest organized religion in the US, it also a target for the jealous builders of crystal cathedrals and TV personalities (700 Club) who abuse the public in many ways for profit and control.
Time to go watch Life of Brian.
8
@Dwight Bobson 90 percent of the Priests won't mention it this coming Sunday. A few will but most won't.
1
Too little, too late.
Two steps the Pope must take if we are to believe he is repentant on behalf of his clergy:
1. Instruct all bishops to immediately refer every complaint to the civilian authorities, suspending the priest involved, and never, under any condition, transfer him to another jurisdiction.
2. Direct the bishops in Pennsylvania to reverse their opposition to the proposed reform of the commonwealth's civil statute of limitations and instead vigorously support it.
Failing at least those two steps makes the Papal pronouncements sanctimonious hypocrisy.
38
As penance for the sins of the church the Pope should require the cardinals to sit and listen as he reads all 900 pages of the report. From there the cardinals should make all the bishops in their territory to listen as the cardinal reads all 900 pages of the report. Then and only then should they make any comments.
8
But Bill Donohue of the Catholic League claims to have read the whole document. He says it’s all exaggerated, full of lies and reflects a liberal agenda. No wonder the RC Church is is deep trouble with a totally biased layman like Donohue leading the pro-Catholic charge.
2
So, more "thoughts and prayers" from another religion that feels very much like all those other fundamentalist religions that want to control the lives of others, especially women, but have no accountability to anyone. Another American Taliban.... When will people stop believing in the mythology.
13
The leaders of the church have shown over and over that they are either unwilling or unable to solve the problem. The People of God are expected to accept this and also foot the bill for any compensation claims. They are the ones who authorize and empower these leaders. It is time to withdraw support. Jesus himself said to his followers, if you are into power, if you are into preeminence this is not place for you. If you want to follow me, you must serve people and be responsive to them, the latter he learned from his Jewish Mother. I myself think if this Church is to continue they have to give back their power and authority to the people who are by now capable of thinking for themselves, are capable of recognizing false prophets, and can recognize when they are being lied to once again. I do think the Pope means well. He cannot change things on his own, and the rest of the clergy has shown they won't change until they have to .
10
Right - and unfortunately the crimes continue.
11
How about selling some art and establishing a $20 million fund to compensate victims and their descendants. Talk is cheap.
74
@Sparky $20 million wouldn't even be a footnote in the Catholic church's ledgers. Their wealth exceeds that of most nations.
Try $20 billion. That'll get their attention. Or, instead: Seize their collection of art. By whatever means necessary . . .
5
@Sparky
A $20 million fund to compensate victims would not begin to cover the issue. Try selling every property owed by the Catholic Church in the United States, and the funds obtained from such a sale will still will not compensate the victims properly. That is how serious this issue is.
2
The Catholic Church has lost whatever ethical credibility it ever had. Even the most loyal "followers" of the church are finally seeing what this venal, corrupt institution is all about!
Can we stop calling priests, "father" and the pope, "holy father"? These idolatrous designations seem almost criminal in light of these detestable accusations and this nauseating report!
As a criminal syndicate, devoted to fleecing their flocks and raping the innocent, the RRC needs to stop shaming women, gays, etc., for demanding a say in the church and society in general!
They need to loose their tax exemption. Now!
The hierarchy of the church really does need to stop pontificating about social issues of any kind because no one really cares what these purveyors of guilt have to say! It is necessary to take their tax exemption away: Now!
42
I was right with you until you threw the women and gays into it. Why would women and gays want to be a part of a corrupt criminal syndicate that rapes the innocent?
Hundreds, if not thousands of books have been written justifying the "holy" institution of male celibate priesthood, with women banned except in service roles as nuns. No matter the many words of humility and "service to others," the institution is organized to control society, maintain power, and collect tithes; and more.
Ruling through guilt and shame, the church is a safe haven for homosexuals, so it's no wonder that we have the present situation. It's harder to control the internet than it is to control other news outlets.
I'm waiting for more exposure of the practice of stealing babies from young unwed mothers, supposedly for their own good, but also for a handy money raising enterprise.
An interesting book on church practices, although dated now is, The People's Padre by Emmett McLoughlin. An ex-Catholic priest tells of his work in the slums of Phoenix, Arizona's south side in the 1930s and 40s, and how his crusade for the city's poor and minorities earned him the opposition of the Church.
6
@Destravlr Homosexuals are not raping young women in YOUR church, pedophiles are. How can you pretend to understand the issue when you don't even know the difference between a homosexual and a pedophile?
By his lack of real plan to reform, by his empty words, the Pope has said it all. He is unable or unwilling to change. The Catholics are done. Now.
15
Empty words from the Vatican and the Pope. No where near sufficient. The church doesn’t get it - this will no longer be tolerated. The church is finished. Done. Pack up and leave, dispose of the wealth, distribute it to your many victims. And leave. Now.
9
As a Jew, it is impossible for me to mentally separate these latest horrendous disclosures of priestly misconduct from a second instance of great moral failing on the part of the Catholic Church--its continued refusal to publicly disclose Vatican documents relating to the wartime conduct of Pope Pius XII, the Pope who reigned during the Holocaust.
That Pope, it is quite clear, did very, very little to try to save the Jews of Europe, not even going so far as to issue the slightest condemnation of Hitler or the Third Reich. The Catholic Church needs to reveal all documentation relating to Pius' wartime conduct so that historians can review it. Until this is done, the taint of the Pius' wartime reign will continue to hang over the Catholic Church and the world.
52
@Caleb
Actually, that isn't true, but what did happen makes it even more bald faced what Pius XII did (or didn't do). While Pius XII refused to issue any kind of denunciation about the treatment of the Jews in Europe (including suppressing a statement his predecessor, Pius XI, was going to issue but died before he could with the increasingly harsh treatment of Jews under the Nazi regime), the Vatican issued well over a dozen encyclicals against actions of the Nazi regime, as did the German church, when it involved issues like euthenizing the handicapped or where the Nazi regime interfered with the church in any way, they were willing to face the wrath over those issues, but not the Jews (and as far as the old 'what legions did the pope have', the answer is the pen is a mighty weapon. Half of Germany was devoutly Catholic, many in the military were, and it could have been the final spark against Hitler and his regime; the other encyclicals had impact.
This isn't just a Catholic thing, there is a similar thing in the world of the ultra orthodox, who are just as hierarchical and secretive as the Church, and have had many allegations of abuse within the community, that they bury, claiming the right to 'deal with it ourselves'.
4
The pot calling the kettle black, eh?
5
Here’s my suggestion: Italy should nullify the Lateran Treaty, confiscate those 110 acres, & turn the beautiful buildings into an international museum. Of course, millions will continue to believe in fairies, but they can no longer point to the Renaissance genius’s for justification.
14
Quoting the Bard: "Match the word with a deed." The Pope's carefully calibrated statement will take on real meaning when he moves against those who participated in or enabled this sordid mess. Demotion, even excommunication seem to be in order for some. He has no credibility, especially when he refused to denounce a known pedophile a few months ago. It's time for Catholics of conscience to flip things around, and excommunicate the church that betrayed so many innocent kids.
8
This crosses the 'conservative' and 'liberal' lines. Both sides are equally guilty in the cover ups and worse.
4
Time to do federal RICO indictments against all the parrishs and dioceses involved. The property should be given to the members to do with as they see fit. Perhaps order background checks on all seminarians. Certainly stop treating the Vatican as a sovereign state.
14
Let priests marry and ordain female priests - these are the only ways this church can ever become admirable again.
8
At this point, if you don't quit the Church and especially stop contributing Money, you are a Collaborator. And shame on you.
Seriously.
45
I have no doubt that Francis is a good man who means well. His lack of real action shows that the embedded political structure of the Catholic Church has much more power than he does. The conclusion is that this Church cannot be reformed from within.
94
@Caleb According to Catholic doctrine of infallibility, the Pope's power cannot be challenged. That dogma was questioned on occasions by modern-day Popes, but never refuted as part of his position. Francis can declares reforms whenever he wishes. That so many Cardinals -- many of which are guilty of concealing these horrendous acts during their careers -- may disagree with him, his power is absolute.
Until Frances acts, he is far from a "good man." Rather, he is the head of the conspiracy that conceals these illegal acts. He should be charged, much as a criminal mob boss would be, and his extradition to the US to face that charge demanded.
Of course it will never be honored. But if the charge is made and he enters US territory: He could be taken into custody.
I'm dreaming, of course.
3
How long has this been going on with the Catholic Church and its priests molesting children and the church hierarchy covering it up? A very long time it seems with fresh revelations popping up on a regular basis. The leadership of the Catholic Church doesn’t seem to understand what a reprehensible crime it is to sexually molest children in spite of the proclamations (and empty words) by the Pope
To me it is clear the the Catholic Church has many elements of a vast criminal enterprise, yet it still has its naive and gullible devotees defending it.
I know we have separation of church and state in America but how much more do decent people have to tolerate from the Catholics before their church is shut down? That is the only way I can see to put an end to the horrible crimes being committed by its priests on innocent children.
56
Not too long ago this Pope defended a Argentinian bishop accused of protecting pedophile priests in Argentina until a huge backlash ensued.
10
The government does not have the authority to "shut down" a religious institution. It does have the authority to investigate and prosecute every crime as far as it will go, which is what must be down. Where the Church goes after that is the business of the Church. The government also has the authority to remove tax-exempt status from all churches, which it probably should, but it can't do that to any one church.
4
@Flatlander
Decent Americans of all backgrounds MUST write to Trump and the State Department requesting the immediate rupture of diplomatic relations with the 'Holy' See and the deportation of the nuncio. Set up a petition now.
1
If there's any evidence of the devil actually existing, it lies in the Catholic church.
36
You can't make pronouncements on what is morally reprehensible after flushing whatever moral authority you ever had down the toilet.
28
I left the church over this, not so much disgusted by the pedophile priests, but by the response of the Catholic church. Where is the mea culpa? how can such a depraved entity continue to pretend that it is the beacon on the hill guiding its people. Where is God in all that. I suspected all along that God had become mostly an accessory for religions, the response of the catholic church in this scandal proves it. When it came time to choose between God and the church, I chose God. It was the hardest thing I ever did but it was the right thing to do.
13
@Jacqueline
I was always disenchanted with my Catholic faith for many years before this scandal broke out because I felt it was misogynistic and out of touch with with the times and reality. The fact that the church is against birth control and didn't allow women to be priests were the initial reasons I abandoned the church. Nuns were always treated as second class citizens within the church.This child abuse atrocity validates my decision, and the only thing that will force the church to change is if mass numbers of parishioners leave.
17
I hold almost all Cardinals responsible for a cover up and call for American Cardinals to be vetted for complicity, especially Timothy Dolan.
23
It is easy to point the finger at the celibacy policy here, but in a sense that would be a mistake. As a happily married straight guy, if I were forced into celibacy, would I start molesting boys? No, and I think that is universally the case. The real issue related to the celibacy policy is that it screens potential priests, perhaps sometimes even unwittingly on their part. The result is a pool of priests with a disproportionate share of molesters. ...and the celibacy policy has nothing to do with the cover-ups and shameful lobbying efforts undertaken by higher-ups. Was it not for these people this travesty would not have hurt nearly as many. I sincerely doubt that this is how Jesus would have responded.
15
As a Catholic, I absolutely believe that the statute of limitations must be waived. The Church needs to allow criminal charges and civil suits to be filed against all who were involved in the abuse, either perpetrating it or covering it up.
Who cares if the Church goes broke? That’s only money. We are talking about children whose lives were systematically destroyed over decades by a machine. There is not enough money in the world to make reparations to these children.
These priests, bishops, and Cardinal McCarrick belong in prison. Until they are there, all the mea culpas in the world are insufficient.
153
This is an easy fix. The Pope just has to command his American cardinals and bishops to immediately cease their efforts to prevent the rolling back of the statute of limitations. They are even now lobbying in Pennsylvania! If the Pope really is on their side, he'll do it. And command them to stop hiding the wealth of the American church, as then-Archbishop Dolan did in Milwaukee.
7
I was raised catholic and was always struck even as a 10 year old with the hypocrisy of my catechism teachers who taught about Jesus's message of love and compassion, but we're anything but loving and compassionate. I don't understand how the catholic church is really any different from the mob. They are both large scale criminal conspiracies/organizations. We seem to treat the church differently because it tries to do some good, but we all know that was true of the mob, too. Given what we now know about the church, can we even say that it's primary mission is something other than self preservation which has been accomplished by focusing on protecting child rapists? It has lost its right to be treated any differently from any other criminal organization. The PA inquiry should be the start of rooting out this cancer, not the end. Why would anyone give it money? Why should it be tax exempt?
28
Reflect, please, on the fact that this report concerns only one state. There are forty-nine othere states and the territories to go. There is horror yet to come. Hopefully there will be a quick end to the Church operating as a sovereign entity, immune to the laws of the country, within America. If that needs legislation from every state in the Union, that would be possible. Do it quickly.
23
@inkydrudge
Catholics should exercise caution. They were not viewed with admiration by early Americans. I read that the basilica of Philadelphia necessitated stained glass windows placed sufficiently high to prevent bricks and Molotov cocktails from reaching them. Wonder what they did to attract such animosity......
1
I have often wondered what keeps this child-abusing, misogynistic system in place. This summer I finally had an insight. Like the Republicans who support Trump because they see him instituting their agenda, rank and file priests, as well as Bishops, don't stand up to the Vatican on this and other issues because they are in a system that is set up to protect them and their agendas. As priests, their identities, livelihoods, housing, social status and more are all connected to maintaining the status quo. Why stand up and say that the system is inherently disordered (a term that the Vatican has had no trouble using when speaking of homosexual persons), when the system as it is defines your sense of self and livelihood? Today's Catholic priests are no better than today's Republicans when it comes to standing up for what's right.
15
One of the biggest problems is the degree to which the Catholic Church (like many institutions, organizations or communities, large or small) is invested in its own security and the maintenance of its own culture -- rather than the word of God or the unfolding of the Divine Spirit in time.
People in power want to keep that power, and groups of priests function like many a tribe in that they are first oriented to their own protection. People who point out the repressed shadow or the evil in any institution, organization or even nuclear family, tend to be attacked, because the nature of group systems lacking adequate conscious development (which is a demanding task for all of us) is that they are oriented to preservation of the dysfunctional status quo. Witness how many who name the existence of sexual abuse in their own nuclear family, end up disowned, because the family would rather turn against their own child or sibling, than face the truth.
Given the reality of human nature, you cannot just train men in seminary and give them a very cozy job with lifetime security and power over large numbers of people, and expect not to have problems. The Catholic Church has yet to incorporate depth psychology and an appreciation of the unconscious aspect of the psyche, and the problem of repressed contents of the psyche -- not to mention the problem of those predisposed to be pedophiles.
Allow women as priests -- there are far fewer female perpetrators of child sex abuse.
12
What hypocrisy! This church has protected, enabled, honored, supported, endorsed pedophiles for centuries. Their tax free status finances these crimes and should be revoked.
36
NYT, TWO STUDIES CITE CHILD SEX ABUSE BY 4% OF PRIESTS, By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
WASHINGTON, Feb. 26— Two long-awaited studies have found that the Roman Catholic Church suffered an epidemic of child sexual abuse that involved at least 4 percent of priests over 52 years and peaked with the ordination class of 1970, in which one of every 10 priests was eventually accused of abuse.
The human toll amounted to 10,667 children allegedly victimized by 4,392 priests from 1950 to 2002, but the studies caution that even these numbers represent an undercount. The totals depend on self-reporting by American bishops, the studies note, and many victims have never come forward out of fear or shame.
Even the authors of the two reports do not agree on the meaning of the findings. The review board's report mentions that more than 80 percent of the abuse at issue was of a homosexual nature. The report theorizes that the problem reflects a cohort of gay priests, based on their figures that the percentage of male victims rose from 64 percent in the 1950's, to 76 percent in the 1960's and 86 percent in the 1980's.
Yes, the Catholic Church must scrutinize candidates entering the priesthood and make sure they are not homosexual. In any religion, it is a beautiful calling to spread the word of God, but not as a homosexual.
3
@manoflamancha
"There is no inherent connection between an adult's sexual orientation and her or his propensity for endangering others. Scientific research provides no evidence that homosexual people are less likely than heterosexuals to exercise good judgment and appropriate discretion in their employment settings."
#Facts Matter
Do some reading!!!
http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_molestation.html
1
@manoflamancha - Pedophilia and homosexuality are NOT mutually inclusive. If there are no gay priests, there will still be those priests who prey on youth. It's the same in any religion. The issue here is that no other religion in the US as such a huge membership. In PA, 25% of the population is Catholic. If you add up all the other religions in that state, I'm sure you'll find equal numbers of abuse. The problem is that the bishops covered it up for so long. Fortunately, that is changing.
5
@manoflamancha: Make sure they are not homosexual? Wow. How to miss the point entirely.
10
why doesn't the FBI get involved?
15
If I was a Catholic, I would absolutely demand that before attending another service and contributing financially to the Church, all of these infamous "secret archives" setting forth the sexual crimes of priests and their clerical supervisors would have to be publicly released, throughout the U.S. All of this perverted trail of child terror must be unmasked.
7
With all due respect, without meaningful action the Holy Father's words ring as hollow as the Republicans' "Thoughts and Prayers" platitudes after every school shooting. Pope Francis is the autocratic head of the entire Catholic Church. His word is law and his pronouncements considered divinely inspired. If he were serious he would:
1. Immediate release of all hidden documentation related to abuse.
2. Settle all pending lawsuits.
3. Order meaningful compensation payments to victims.
4. Name and punish all offenders.
5. Hand over all offenders for prosecution, where applicable.
Until and unless Pope Francis does all these things, the black cloud of shame will remain over his Church.
27
Much has been made of ending celibacy, but it’s not really about celibacy. Of course celibacy guarantees that you will never be troubled with a wife who cannot practice birth control and the resulting progeny. You really won’t have much to do with women at all! And there are a lot of other reasons why men go into the priesthood: as we see you can almost never get fired from it. You usually get a very nice house, complete with the housekeeper who makes all your meals. You Don’t take the vow of poverty, as nuns are required to. It’s a pretty easy job: you just have to recycle some sermons and some oft quotable lines. And these days the lines at the confessional are very short.No one will bother you, a perfect job for an isolate. You will get lots of unmerited respect and many people who will obey you without question. And you get all expense paid trips Rome now and again. Credentials? Not many. Time was the church would take him at least one son of a brood to give the family a break. Make the church great again.
8
Celibacy requirement screens out a lot of healthy men who otherwise feel called to the priesthood. As a result, the bar is lowered. The church accepts as seminarians men who lack the emotional maturity to deal with the challenges, because the candidate pool becomes so small.
5
Many Catholic priests take vows of poverty. Franciscans, Dominicans and Jesuits to name a few.
There are plenty of less financially fortunate diocese where priests do their own laundry, cook for themselves and get around by bus. I know several and they're quite admirable.
"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."
--John 8:32
As a former Catholic, who can still recite the "Our Father" in Latin, the above is only true with the Catholic Church when the divine intercession of civil law forces popes and cardinals and bishops to cough up the truth, whether they want to or not.
Case in point, the Catholic Church ran the Inquisition for 500 years until it was forced to stop under the civil law of a unified Italy, starting in 1871.
It is NOT true if the Catholic Church is left to its own devices.
"Forgive them, father, for they know not what they do" -- Luke 23:34
Somebody else can forgive them. The repetition of this child abuse stuff tells me the Catholic Church is not "repentant", and is not structured in a way that it will ever be truly repentant.
9
@DaveG .....nice words pope...the pope in issuing platitudes rather putting priests in prison, is a co-conspirator of this sexual- predator institution...put anyone involved, including people who are part of the coverup, in prison...they are criminals by any interpretation of law
5
Lord's prayer in Latin? I can. And in Greek, Spanish, French, and German; working on my Romanian.
2
If only there were additional genders & sexual orientations of humans, that could help serve in leadership positions, to be watchdogs of the historically toxic patriarchy & cycles of abuse....
5
You might want to read Aristophanes' speech in Plato's Symposium. Talk about different genders! He was 2500 years before his time
The Church leadership has put Gen X and millennial adherents in a situation they didn’t ask to be in. Many of us wanted to raise our children in the religion in which we were raised, believing implicitly in the Church’s theology, institutions, and personnel.
We came of age hearing about the Boston scandal, hoping its lessons were scarring and aberrant enough that this would never happen again. The skepticism raised by Boston would never really go away, but still, we had faith that the Church of our parents and grandparents deserved another chance.
How wrong we were! How our faith and forgiveness were betrayed! And now: How many of us are ready to say we’ve had enough? Not because we wanted to leave behind our faith and our more conservative family and friends, but because the choice between the sanctity of our childhoods and the safety of our children is untenable.
This isn’t a choice we wanted—it’s no choice at all.
15
So....does this mean that the church will stop lobbying in PA (among other states) against extending the statute of limitations? I thought not. Words and deeds, Francis, words and deeds.
86
All talk and no action.
1000 victims, 300 perpetrators, cover-ups for 70 years. In one state, alone! This excludes those that went unreported, so this is a conservative estimate at best.
Lets multiply by 50 states and roughly 190 countries to get a better idea of the worldwide scope of the problem.
This reveals a very ballpark estimate of 240,000 victims, and 72,000 perpetrators. And if you don't think it's been going on since the beginning of time, I have a bridge to sell you.
Anyone involved, in any way, with such a "church" should consider themselves part of the conspiracy.
68
@Mark F Yet millions will continue donating money to fund the activity. All in the name of this book here. They're all complicit. I don't know how you can morally justify donating money to an organization that works towards hiding sexual predators.
6
by any reasonable interpretation of US federal or state law...all of these priest should be serving long prison sentences....and the co-conspirators, the politicians who support the laws against prosecution are also criminally liable.
48
@greg anton Many are dead and beyond the reach of mortal and temporal law.
4
I am a Catholic and have two simple pleas to Pope Francis. (1) Remove celibacy requirement for priest. (2) Instate woman priests. Then only then all will be quiet.
90
@MJ Cho. Those are simple and reasonable requests. No doubt. Yet, nothing more than talk happens. Culture is hard to change. So why not find an Episcopal or Lutheran Church where the music and feel familiar but those requests were answered 500 years ago? I don’t understand why more RCs don’t act.
15
I really do not know which comes first; culture or forced change....
Well, I did, but I fully understand why many people don't. "It feels the same" is based on superficial resemblance. I investigated the Episcopal Church for that reason, but I stayed because it felt like home.
As I understand it, the problem is that if you attain a certain level in the church (I believe it is Cardinal or Bishop), you swear before God to never act against the church. So either you act against your oath to God and tell, or you act against humanity and stay silent. And who wins? Not humanity.
And for those suggesting that ending celibacy would stop this, you are wrong. There would be more "healthy" priests and nuns, but pedophiles will still sign up. They go wherever they have access to children.
25
@joan:
However, a man with a wife and children, will hardly have time to take 11 year old boys on trips or have drunken sleepovers at the rectory!
4
@Richard Marcley You can bet that the female priests will keep an eagle eye on the male priests who like to be alone with children.
1
More condolences from the Vatican. The Pope must insist that Cardinals Wuerl and O'Malley resign and retire for their part in covering up was was going on in there dioceses and seminaries. The too must be held responsible. How many more sexually abusive priests and Bishops are their hiding from justice.
5
Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo: "I apologize and humbly ask your forgiveness for what my brother bishops and I have done and failed to do."
Roman Catholics and others have heard this pablum for twenty years or more. Time for the episcopate to follow the example of the prelates in Chile: resignation en masse. Simultaneous resignations by auxiliary bishops, bishops, archbishops, nuncios and cardinals.
Administrative matters can be carried on by nuns who already have administrative experience The Vatican can decide whether to accept all the resignations or to search for a few clean actors midst the moral trash heap.
And decide without delay.
19
@Daniel P. Doyle What are those that resign going to do with their lives? Without the church, they are useless and provide no meaningful value to society. In fact, I'd argue their lives are useless right now as they are directly in support of an organization hiding sexual predators.
3
Perhaps the prelates can turn to farming vegetables or cultivating fruit trees. Building demolition work, auto dismantling work or superfund site cleanup work would be other possibilities.
Turning to manual labor to feed themselves will be a more positive alternative than the allegedly imposed life of "prayer and contemplation."
Manual labor to produce something useful for society would be real atonement, not a white wash.
2
Richard Sipes did all he could
To enlighten the church leaders for his entire adult
life
Please read his books on clergy abuse
It is the least we can do to honor this good man
Richard died on Aug 9 and you may read his obituary in the Times
There is a lot of loss to deal with—no country,
No church.
The Holy Mystery remains
Peace
4
So if the Pope is for the victims, why isn’t he ordering an end to celibacy and a male only priesthood? Tired of waiting for the answer? The Episcopal and Lutheran Churches, which started answering these issues 500 years ago, welcome you! It’s that simple, that easy. See you there.
3
Anyone belonging to, attending or financially supporting this criminal organization should stop immediately and starve this beast. Put these men out in the cold and let them find real jobs and live a real life. That is really the only moral and ethical action to take at this point. There is no hope for reforming the "leadership" of this corrupt organization. Continuing to support it is tantamount to aiding and abetting criminal activity.
15
Fire every bishop from these six dioceses who is still holding any position within the church ... starting with Cardinal Wuerl.
8
@Sequel Agreed! Bishop John Barres too! In an article this morning it was disclosed that Barres permitted a priest who was charged with sexually assaulting a child, to serve as the canon lawyer for another priest accused of assaulting adolescent boys. This Barres, who ordered parish priests in recent weeks to lecture about the "evils of contraception." This Barres, who wouldn't allow female altar services on the altar because of his grand presence at his cathedral in PA. DRVC goes from Murphy, the soldier of Cardinal Law to this one. WE DESERVE MUCH BETTER!
7
Dear Vatican - then DO SOMETHING about it! Release your records. Do real penance and try to redeem yourself.
signed, a former Catholic
11
Earlier in my life I was a Roman Catholic altar boy and seminarian who later graduated from Notre Dame and the Catholic University of America with a PhD in clinical psychology. Now I am a psychoanalyst certified by the American Psychoanalytic Association appalled by the moral theology of Roman Catholicism that condemns sexual desire as a mortal sin outside marriage conducted within the the proscriptive standards of the Vatican. It is a moral standard not ever to be discovered in the Life of Christ. Today, that blatant hypocrisy is now crassly exposed in the widespread misconduct of priests. Without sanction, limits or restraint they exploit children. Christ sheltered children. He embraced and protected them. Why cannot the Vicar of Rome and his college of cardinals and archbishops, bishops and monsignors shield them from predators who themselves are shielded from scrutiny and legal sanctions for their criminal misconduct. Save our innocents from these criminals. Expose and expel them from the priesthood. Send them to law enforcement. Failure to do so destroys those Christ sought to shield from the cruelty of life. You shield them and you betray Christ and His love for those who cannot defend themselves.
61
@Siebolt Frieswyk 'Sid' Better yet, do the world a favor and disband the church.
5
@Siebolt Frieswyk 'Sid'
I too attended Catholic Schools, for 12 years, when the
list of priests and brothers accused of pedophilia was published by the Los Angeles Archdiocese there was not
one priest that I could name that was not on that list.
Their power, abuse and perversion was so pervasive, I simply don't have the words to describe how sick and angry it makes me. Pray for my brother a victim who died after years of emotional suffering.
20
@Siebolt Frieswyk 'Sid'
The hierarchy of the RCC lives high on the hog and priests have plenty of discretionary funds.
In my lifetime, I personally have met 3 men who started their careers as gay hustlers because of priests!
Gifts, money, a car, in one case, an apartment in another, etc., etc.
6
Is #Metoo reaching out to the mostly male victims in this story of predators of boys?
6
@Dan Holton Why yes, they are. Why did you decide to use this story of sexual abuse to attack a group aiding victims of sexual abuse?
3
"Pretty is as pretty does..."
Let's see what concrete and real action the pedophile church takes other than making themselves look good to their supporters...who by the way are losing faith in their own church and running away in disgust.
The rest of us see these pedophiles as just that; and subject to civil laws and lawsuits for their reprehensible behavior towards the most vulnerable in our society.
5
What we haven't yet heard announced is a zero tolerance policy that refers all sexual abuse allegations against priests and brothers to local law enforcement, no exceptions. For decades, perhaps centuries, the Catholic Church has tacitly extended an invitation to pedophiles to fill its ranks by making it clear that, even if caught, they would face reassignment to another parish or, at worst, isolation in a beautiful setting with a sinecure for life. What criminal wouldn't take those odds? The church might as well have placed ads pimping out these young children on the dark web. The result was the same.
72
Words, words, words, not worth the paper they're written on.
21
@frequent commenter
Agree now the money and influence will go in high gear to get this shut dow, watch.
2
“To address what he called a “moral catastrophe,” Cardinal DiNardo called for a Vatican-led investigation into the abuses of Archbishop McCarrick and questions surrounding them.”
Vatican led investigation? Is he serious? Isn’t that like leaving the rooster in charge of the henhouse?
40
@Gershwin More like the fox investigating the mysterious disappearances of the chickens.
It does not require a Freudian persuasion to recognize priestly celibacy is now an evil requirement.
4
Finally the secular authority is doing its job.
3
@Real:
In one state!
3
Clearly the Vatican needs to appoint a lay panel to investigate, including lawyers, psychologists, and ex-politicians.
6
@Andrew Dabrowski
Not sure about including Lawyers.
1
As a practicing Catholic I feel betrayed. To little, to late. So shameful to have this criminal activity going on for decades with no conscious. Just hid it.
I cannot see a way forward with this church.
33
Then quit! Send a message of revulsion and disgust by doing so.
12
@2x4
Quitting sends no message at all. People disappear and are silent, except, yes, for the occasional angry post. Many of us who remain and will fight for radical reform are not comforted by calls to leave-quite the opposite. One reason for this is that it is so difficult for us to distinguish between those who have disdained our church all along, indeed who disdain all religion, and others who, though open minded, otherwise, have been, as we, scandalized and disappointed. We have been betrayed, some of us who remain have been abused, and God knows we've all felt shame and embarrassment. It would be good to hear at least the occasional word of sympathy and encouragement from other Christians and others.
2
And is that all the response for this horrid, well orchestrated, destruction of 1000, probably still more, children?
13
“Victims should know that the pope is on their side.”
Yes, they should. The question is, a week from now, a year from now ... will they?
6
Recognizing predators whose tools of trade are charm, manipulation, deceit, violation of trust and the 'mask of normalcy' is complex. Meanwhile children are suffering. While some red flags exist Pennsylvania's parishes could not identify or chose to ignore them. This grand jury report should open the gates on other states who will find similar sordid tales. [Boston? local newspaper's articles for similar scandals?]. This Vatican's challenge is to save the church and is to attend the needs of their flock and rout this conspiracy of silence and evil. Predatory members of any church/organization should be tried, convicted and jailed. For the church to attempt to protect these "sinners" is a piece of the problem. Defrock them and turn them over to the police. And bring women into the priesthood for real change.
5
@MWG
Makes Jimmy Swagert and Tammy Baker along with her spouse look like saints. Point being something very questionable about Religious organizations. Most folks are good people just stay away from Religious schemes.
3
And what is the plan to deal with the problem, that most definitely is not confined to Pennsylvania? Sounds like the “thoughts and prayers” we get when people are massacred at concerts and in schools.
49
Spare us the calls for forgiveness. And please don't patronize us with more "Vatican-led" investigations. We know where those end up - nowhere.
Only Church support for all of the grand jury recommendations, as well as a federal inquiry into the Church will do. And I would go so far as to make this a more general inquiry into all faith-based institutions with insular cultures. You know who you are.
30
As a recovering Catholic I have long despised the way the Church suppresses, hides and otherwise shields priests etc from criminal prosecution.
When the current Pope was elevated I had a moment of hope that something would change.
That lasted right up until Jozef Wesolowski, the papal emissary to the Dominican Republic was secretly swept out of the country minutes before the local police were to arrest him for paying homeless and poor boys for sex and doing so in public places.
He was swept to the Vatican and kept hidden from Dominican Authorities until he died.
This is not an isolated instance and everyone should reject any claim by the Holy See that they are actually doing something about sexual abuse by church leaders and priests. They are only responding with the minimum action that global courts are demanding.
If the pope wants to clean up the Church, then he fires every Cardinal and Bishop and places into Church Law that accusations of sexual abuse will be openly turned over to the police, IMMEDIATELY and the church is NOT to interfere or shield the abuser.
Until then he is a political animal who hides pedophiles and abusers.
104
@mike
This current Pope won’t live long enough to have any influence. The Catholic Church is all powerful with a lot of money and a lot of sway with Politicans. If there are some Kennedy’s left that will be a good start.
1
Besides, he's a Jesuit.
1
Church leaders morally reprehensible? But are not they the "children of god", created in his/her's/its image ... but not with his/her/its ethics and morality?
1
Who can possibly take comfort from the Pope's words? A string of adjectives is not a statement of actions, of which there have been few and largely futile.
The moral authority of the Church has been wrecked in the most ironic fashion possible. The presumption of its moral posturings on abortion and birth control have been punctured by the sexual perversions and exploitations of priests, both as practiced by some and protected by others, including bishops and other officials higher in the hierarchy.
The larger problem reflects a fact of institutional dynamics. When the Church insists on its absolute authority as a moral and religious interpreter of God's will, it relies on a concentration of power which, like all concentrations of power, corrupts and, as absolute power, corrupts absolutely. The Church can never be other than a corrupt or potentially corrupt institution because there are no checks on its power. Self-policing has failed because the people doing the policing are bureaucratic people.
Although the Church is a religious organization, it has all the characteristics of an organized crime syndicate. Sad to say, its most devout members are enablers of the institution which many now distrust and disrespect--a challenge to their faith.
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As a Catholic I am angered, shamed, and heartbroken on so many levels. I am heartbroken for the victims, I can't begin to imagine the impact the abuse had on their lives. I am angered and shamed by my church, the one founded by Christ - a church I left for another Christian denomination after my divorce, and a church I returned to under their rules. My faith is in Christ, not the church, but I pray that the leadership of my church will put away everything but their faith and the absolute need to do what is right in the eyes of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - our only true leader. How many tears must the Father weep before there is true reconciliation?
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@Fran Eckert
Take up a collection Fran the Church Lawyers will be numerous and expensive. All this mess will get tied up in courts for years and people will use that as an excuse to forget about it.
It took a little while for the Vatican to respond while their lawyers made sure the statutes of limitations had already run against these claims.
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Not good enough from either the Vatican or the Pope - the first word in describing these priestly activities must be "criminal!"
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I am a 75 year old cradle Catholic and now my heart is broken. How do I defend my faith, what do I say to those who question the latest news of abuse. And this is only one state, maybe only the tip of the iceberg. When I go to Mass on Sunday, can I feel the same love of the Catholic Church or has it been shaken to the core?
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@Diane Backovich Or like me, look forward, left & right and wonder, who among us is hiding either their suffering or their crime?
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I may be the only one here to say this, but I am sorry for you. We are not hearing much from grieving laity, and we are hearing quite a lot from outsiders saying "disband the Church!" That's not for non-Catholics to decide. I am not a Catholic. It's obvious some very major housecleaning has to take place, which might remove many, many clergy members from diocesan priests to Cardinals. But take some comfort remembering that the Church is not its buildings, nor its clergy, but the communion of saints, the living and the dead.
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@Diane Backovich Diane can we get your weekly contributions online using a credit card? This way you won't have to worry about missing Mass. Also, have you considered the church in your will? We have lawyers and settlements to use that money on. Your in Christ the RCC Bureaucracy.
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Every large organization seeks to keep growing, increase and consolidate its power and preserve and protect itself. The Church is a large organization run by imperfect and fallible humans.
I have a feeling that this type of behavior, based on fear, greed, and lust for power, has been going on for hundreds of years.
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@John
Duh. If you were born into the faith all we were taught was fear.
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@Dan Green No guilt or shame?
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While Cardinal DiNardo calls for “substantial leadership by laity,” that is a small and incomplete start.
Well-trained law enforcement needs to be involved. The pope himself recognizes this as a criminal issue. High time to respond and report to appropriate authorities outside the church.
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It seems that church leadership is offering "thoughts and prayers" instead of any meaningful reform.
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Yes. An AR-15 to all parishioners so they can immediately off suspected pedophile clergy (male and female). Sorry, folks, you're only hearing half the story right now. Look to Ireland for the distaff angle.
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Apologies are too little, too late. It is the perfect time to address a big part of the UNDERLYING reasons for abuse (not that that justifies them in ANY way) :
STOP CELIBACY -
it is an arbitrary addition to priesthood introduced around 800 AD (+ took 200 years to be enforced in the last villages)
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