Another Catholic Scandal
The article includes examples of Bishops instructing congregations to flood legislators with letters, emails and phone calls against extending the window. A common plea is "it will bankrupt the diocese." This kind of remark reflects what is important. The finances of the diocese number one, abuse victims are somewhere far down the list.
Some Catholic dioceses have taken out bankruptcy. And, what harm has this done? The average believer in the pew may not notice any difference. Mass is still be held. Priests are still there to do what they have always done. Weddings and funerals continue. Often commercial properties are sold.
For some years I've been reading the semi monthly rap sheet on clergy crime in the Freedom From Religion Foundation publication. Volunteers send news accounts of clergy who have been charged or sentenced for various crimes. There are about 75 new ones each issue. A few are from other countries.
I've never seen statistics on this but I have a theory on the pattern of stolen money and sexual abuse. First I must acknowledge that size creates the impression of more clergy crime. Thus, Protestant churches not affiliated with any denomination generate huge numbers of clergy. The other large number is Catholic clergy. Both of these are so large random misbehavior will create the impression of frequent abuse when it may not be.
There is something curious about these reports, however. One group with thousands of clergy almost never show up in the crime reports. These are clergy from "main line" Protestant denominations. Why would might this be so?
I'd suggest it is because these churches report to lay boards of directors who, in turn, function in a structured governance model. This is different from of being supervised by other clergy, as in the Catholic Church, or in a less structured organization, like clergy in non denominational churches.
The moral standing of Catholic Clergy would rise if they would encourage resolution of abuse cases instead of trying to avoid resolution.
Not satisfied with being an atheist, you have a predictable bigotry to all things Catholic.
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Deleteright on. Wonder if Jon knows that the Boy Scouts are also opposed to these proposals. . Anyway, what of the injustice of having old crimes hanging over one's head for years on end? Isn't that why we have laws that close the books after a reasonable period of time. Old Jon reminds me of the saved who are said to get their jollies by looking over the bar and enjoying the sufferings of the damned. Shadow Joy is great, is it not?
Matt, “Familiaris Consortio” #26, The Rights of Children: “Special attention must be devoted to the children by developing a profound esteem for their personal dignity, and a great respect and generous concern for their rights. This is true for every child, but it becomes all the more urgent the smaller the child is and the more it is in need of everything, when it is sick, suffering or handicapped.” What is the Magisterial teaching on the punishment of priests who sexually abuse children?
DeleteI certainly could be mistaken but if history is any indication, Jon will pivot from Catholic bigotry to another abortion story. Usually, it's about how crazy Catholics and Protestants believe women should be prosecuted for miscarriages. We'll see.
ReplyDeleteMeantime, there is a real abortion story. The SCOTUS decided to hear an abortion case on Friday that could overturn Roe v. Wade. - https://abyssum.org/2019/10/05/it-is-not-too-much-to-hope-for-so-pray-pray-pray-that-scotus-will-with-the-case-of-june-medical-services-v-gee-begin-the-process-of-reversing-roe-v-wade/
June Medical Services vs. Gee doesn't have the roll-off-the-tip-of-your-tongue as Roe v. Wade or Doe v. Bolton but who cares about the name. Personally, I'm not certain the Gorsuch and Kavanaugh appointments will push the Court to overturn Roe. Chief Justice John Roberts is squishy and he will possibly be the swing vote that Kennedy used to be on the Court.
But one could hope and pray for Roe to be overturned.
I am certain history is correct that Matt Noah will pivot from a Catholic child sexual abuse topic to trumpeting his anti-abortion and far right wing political rants. Deny, distract, and disparage. Sound familiar? So Matt where in the documents and declarations of the magisterium of the Catholic Church or it’s catechism does it provide for the punishment of priests who sexually abuse children?
DeleteSpeaking of 'free thinking', Breitbart News Entertainment Editor Jerome Hudson, a Black man, spoke at Turning Point USA’s annual Black Leadership Summit (BLS) in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, and told an audience of hundreds of young activists that “there’s a political awakening happening in America and it’s being led by young free thinkers like you.”
ReplyDelete"The left tells lies,” said Hudson, “people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton and Barack Obama, they’re all race hustlers and victimhood vendors. You see they called America racist. They called capitalism racist. These people even said that personal responsibility is racist. Hell, everything, to them, was racist.”
But the truth is — racism is nearly nonexistent in America today. There’s so little racism [in America], that people like Jussie Smollett have to stage hate crimes — the truth is that the political left has a monopoly on bigotry in America. The Democratic Party is the Party of the KKK. They are the Party of lynching. They are Party of Jim Crow. The Democratic Party is the Party of slavery. And now the Party of slavery is the Party of reparations for slavery?
Click on www.breitbart.com if you want to read the whole story.
Matt "The Democratic Party is the Party of the KKK. They are the Party of lynching" Back when Southern Democrats were segregationists, pre 1960, that would be accurate. In 2016 the KKK endorsed Trump for President.
ReplyDeleteThe modern day Democrat party is no different today than when it was in the past. Their policies still enslave Blacks. As for the KKK, your gal pal Margaret Sanger spoke at a KKK meeting because she knew they would want to rid American of Black babies. Trump told the KKK where to stuff their endorsement. And if the KKK endorsement is the best retort you have to unlink Democrats from racism in today's society, wow. Just wow.
DeleteBlack unemployment, Hispanic unemployment and probably even Muslim unemployment are at historic lows under Trump. All without the help of the Democrat party obsessed with rewriting the 2016 election through the Mueller investigation, Impeachment and blaming the Russians. When do Democrats take time to legislate?
Matt--"And if the KKK endorsement is the best retort you have..." They did not endorse the Democrat, the KKK endorsed the candidate whose father was rung up for racists policies in his rental property. I would advise you not to be so upset with how the Republicans and Trump are doing in DC just now. They will change course and straighten themselves out eventually.
ReplyDeleteI would advise you ...
DeleteSo, you can't possibly defend Democrat policies on welfare, abortion and slavery. Never mind the first Republican president, Abe Lincoln, won and then issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Trump and other Washington Republicans are doing great against the Democrats and all the phony charges echoed by all the lib media outlets. The Biden and Pelosi children are now being outed as recipients of Ukraine and Chinese 'influence money'. Hillary's plutonium sales are right up there. Trump did thing none illegal, immoral or unethical.
Democrats have been and always will be specialists in racism of all kinds.
The Free Speech Movement of the 60s and 70s liberals has now turned 180 degrees around. Which American universities now squash speech and prosecute speech? (Hint: All of them) Even you have a safe zone against comments since you reserve the right to not publish those you don't like.
ReplyDeleteThe New York Times, America’s leading “liberal” paper, has published an article openly declaring war on freedom of speech.
ReplyDeleteIt, and much of the left, has been at war with free speech for a while — but its new article, bluntly titled “Free Speech is Killing Us,” is its most unequivocal statement yet.