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How do you feel about what's going on and the Church's reaction to it?If you are Catholic, does this shake your Faith in general or just your Faith in the church? (If it does shake it at all.)
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2002
I'm utterly disgusted. And I wish my parents hadn't baptized me into the Catholic religion. Stuff like this is why I don't practice. The attitudes of coverup, blame, etc. just annoy me greatly.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2002
Haven't child-molesting preacher jokes been in the dirty joke books since the beginning of time? I just don't think it should be such a surprise.Yes, there're pedophiliacs in the clergy. There are also pedophiliac writers, bankers, computer scientists, and astronomers.
It's a horrible offense, and those guilty deserve a lot worse than simply being excommunicated, but I'm sorry. This isn't news.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2002
First, let me preface my remarks by saying that I am NOT in favor of what these priests have done. That being said....Is this really an issue of pedophilia? Are these priests actually going after children, mostly male, because they are homosexual pedophiliacs?
I don't think so. It would seem to me that, if a priest wanted to do something he isn't supposed to do, why not attempt to do it with a group of people who are the least likely to say anything?
It would seem, then, that maybe the real issue might be how well priests are selected in regards to controlling sexual desire or the policy of celibacy itself. Priests weren't always celibate, and in light of these revelations, maybe they shouldn't be.
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2002
Whoa, Chris. Are you saying some priests just want to have sex, but it's important they do it with someone who won't tell, so THAT'S why they pick kids? Priests who molest children have access to lots of grown women and men but they consistently target kids. Because they're sexually attracted to them. Because they're pedaphiles.There's a big difference between priests who can't resist temptation and enter into sexual relationships with GROWN PEOPLE, and pedaphile priests. I think addressing the celibacy requirements can help the first group, but the second group belongs in jail, as do the bishops and cardinals who KNEW about it and did nothing to protect their parishoners.
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2002
Let me reiterate that I am in no way trying to defend the actions of the priests who committed these acts or those who knew and did nothing about it.I'm throwing around some ideas because I don't believe that this is a simple issue. I guess I wondering if, although they molested chilren, are ALL of these priests suffering from pedophilia?
In other words, would they have have molested children whether they were priests or not OR given the pressure of denying basic human sexual desires coupled with perhaps the desire to stay in the priesthood they went after children because children are the least likely to bring the priest's actions to anyone's attention.
Either way, it is still wrong and still illegal and still deserves punishment. I'm just wondering that, in trying to keep this from happening to other children, the best and/or only course of action is to say that all these priests are pedophiles and we should base our preventative actions on that belief.
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2002
Just want to share my opinion on how frustrating I find it that the Catholic Church is the group getting all the attention for this, when there are plenty of chid molesters among the clergy of all faiths.Also, to chime in with a thought, if you were a priest and didn't want to get caught violating your vow of chastity, but weren't a pedophile, wouldn't you go to a hooker? I mean, would someone that wasn't a pedophile ever want to have sexual activity with a child, under any circumstances? I'm thinking no. I agree with those that point out that removing the priests' celibacy requirement in the Catholic Church simply does not address the problem, which is child molestation, not sexual deprivation.
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2002
I have to say, of all the major media outlets, NPR had had the best coverage of this issue, by far.I wouldn't leave the Church over this issue. I'm Catholic because of my belief in the Sacraments and in the essential message of the church.
I agree with PG that there are bad people everywhere, and that just because you're not Catholic doesn't mean that your children are safe. Molestation is not something that is unique to the Catholic church, just as adultery and fraud aren't unique to fundamentalist television evangelists.
The Catholic Church as had its low moments and its bad men - many of them have even been Pope - and unfortunately, it is in the middle of another low moment. Several Church leaders made bad, wrong decisions and people are justifiable outraged. They treated mental illness as a sin that could be cured through prayer, and pedophilia simply cannot. And while my faith in Church leadership is shaken, my faith in my religion is not.
There's more than celibacy at issue. There are many priests - and nuns - who engage in straight and gay relationships with other consenting adults. These men and women decided to break their vow of celibacy and have a sexual relationship, but I imagine that breaking that vow by molesting a child is not something that crossed their mind. I believe that when the Church left these mental illnesses untreated, they made a grave mistake, but I don't see how celibacy ties into the picture - a pedophile is a pedophile.
-- Anonymous, April 29, 2002
Also, to chime in with a thought, if you were a priest and didn't want to get caught violating your vow of chastity, but weren't a pedophile, wouldn't you go to a hooker?There is always the question of access. It is certainly easier to have sex with somebody who's in your company every week than to go out and find a prostitute. This is even easier if it's somebody who you have great power over.
How this leads anyone to choose a young child is still beyond me. I think it's pretty clear that it takes a pedophile to have sex with a 12-year-old, boy or girl. It's an illness, and should be treated. If acted upon, the perpetrator should be jailed.
-- Anonymous, May 01, 2002
and while my faith in Church leadership is shaken, my faith in my religion is not.That's a distinction I wish more news outlets would make in their news coverage.
It cracks me up when I read headlines like "Can the Catholic Church recover?" Hey, it's nearly 2,000 years old. It's survived worse.
-- Anonymous, May 02, 2002
The Catholic Church is a mob of Galahs!!!!!!! They can pay anyone to do anything even to cover up the sexual molestering of a 14 yr old girl(including kinky bum sex, doggy style, and fischy positions.) This is appauling. If the priests take out a vow of chastity they should keep it and not have sex with underage girls (horny old bastards!!!!)Sometimes I wish I was never baptized in the catholic church. This statement may be offending but it is the TRUTH!
-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002
OK. I have to know. What is a fischy position? I take it this is something that can occur during molestering?
-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002
I don't know what a galah is, either.Fischy = doing it like a fish? How do fish have sex, anyway? Shoot sperm into the water and the females rush to catch it?
(I've been up since 5 a.m., don't mind me.)
-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002
Shoot sperm into the water and the females rush to catch it?So many images in my head...please make them stop...
-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002
I think that fish have little exterior genital sort of spots, which they rub against one another at the appropriate times. While growing up, I remember there was a taxidermied 5-pound bass on the wall in our study (not in the trailer, either, thankyouverymuch) and it had a dime-sized pink spot in the back near the tail, and as Inappropriately Inquisitive Child, I was told that's where the eggs come from.The whole thing was appauling, really.
-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002
Kinky bum sex?I suppose if you clean up the bum, take them off the street and give them a shower that could work.
Or maybe the grime of living on the street is the whole kinky appeal.
-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002
I've been following the stories of priests involved in child molestation over the past few months in both the USA and Australia and have found a site that seems to be the answer as far as I'm concerned. My first thought was of castration and looked up eunuchs and found some pretty disturbing photos. I went further in my search and found this web site...http:/www.bpt.ca.gov/chemcast.html. The church should look into this as a solution as it seems so simple and not as drastic as regular castration. However if priests marry the church (I'm not catholic so really can't comment on their vows) they're certainly not going to use that equipment anyway. We know that being allowed to marry does not prevent the horrers of child molestation as it seems to run rampent in the anglican/episcopal church where marriage is allowed. I believe that those going into the priesthood should be asked if they are willing to undergo the chemical castration, if they have any doubts they should look into another way of life and seek professional help.
-- Anonymous, June 06, 2002
That seems a bit...excessive. Besides, castration wouldn't prevent molestation, only intercourse. Not to get too graphic, but there's not much that can't be simulated with, ya know, objects and the like.
-- Anonymous, June 06, 2002
Y'know, if it was simply a matter of the (somewhat numerous) cases of sexual molestation by priests, I would be able to agree that pedophilia is a problem that occurs in many professions for many reasons. Of course, the sexual abuse of a minor is appalling, no matter what the profession of the person who does it. But what really blows my mind, what fills me with contempt for the entire corrupt institution, is the completely cavalier attitude of the Church, not in the past, but in what needs to be done in the present. If it was simply that Cardinal Law of Boston had believed that pedophile priests need simply to be transfered, well, I could blame him and forgive the Church. But even now, even with all the attention and the loss of funds and scandal, there is a total unwillingness on the behalf of the Church to do nearly anything to address the situation, or even to make it clear that pedophilia is a mortal sin that they will not tolerate within their ranks. This is an organization that has no qualms about unilaterally declaring that use of birth control is a sin in all cases, in opposing abortion under any circumstances, including when the life of the mother is at risk. I have a hard time stomaching the idea of an organization whose entire purpose is supposedly moral in nature placing a higher value on the potential of every sperm and ova than on the well-being of the human children that result, who are actually members of their faith.
-- Anonymous, June 07, 2002
Actually, priests have to have fully functioning equipment in order to be allowed in. They have to be consciously choosing to forego that use of that equipment (yeah, and that seems to be working SO well), as opposed to making it easy on them by castration.And what Jay said goes double for me too.
-- Anonymous, June 07, 2002
I decided to convert to Catholicism when my fiance and I got engaged, so I started my conversion classes early in January. The story didn't break until halfway through the class, and I have to admit it made me stop and think about whether or not I really wanted to continue through with it. I mean, do I want to be in a religion that is known for it's dirty old priests? Then it dawned on me that the religion isn't about the priests. It's about your faith and belief in God. Honestly, through the soul searching I think that it actually strengthened my resolve to become Catholic.I do think that the one strike and you're out policy should hold. None of this transferring priests around to different parishes bit that Cardinal Law did. But I am happy to see that there are actually some changes that are coming about from this tragedy; they are actually finally discussing the issue, instead of covering it up, and that's half the battle. And whoever it was that mentioned that other religions and professions have the same issues with child abuse was right on. The Catholic Church doesn't have a corner on the market for this sort of thing; it's just become the butt of every joke because of it.
-- Anonymous, June 13, 2002