Catholic Church Holds Summit on Sex Abuse
Pope Francis this week is hosting the Catholic Church’s first-ever summit on sex abuse.
Nearly 200 bishops and other prelates from around the world will gather in Rome to discuss transparency, responsibility, and accountability as related to clerical sex abuse.
The summit will feature a series of speeches from bishops and laypeople as well as testimonies from sex abuse victims.
In his opening address on Thursday, Francis called on his audience to discuss “how to address this evil that afflicts the church and humanity.” The world is watching and expecting the meeting to produce “not simple and predictable condemnations, but concrete and effective measures to implement.”
In a document provided to attendees, Francis outlines a list of discussion points including:
- Establishing rules for handling accusations
- Involving experts outside the Church to conduct investigations
- Increasing the minimum marriage age to 16
The summit differs from ordinary Catholic meetings in that participants won’t make speeches from the floor or vote on a final document. There is no clear procedure for making proposals. And while Vatican officials have portrayed the event as a turning point in the sex abuse crisis, many are doubtful the summit will achieve any real progress.
“It’s not enough to be encouraged, inspired, and energized,” said Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, Australia. “We will need some concrete measures, not final measures, but concrete steps in the right direction, and some of them I think will have to come from the Pope. I can’t see where else.”
Among the most urgent needs is a “workable mechanism to ensure accountability for bishops” who fail to report sex abuse.
One of the biggest challenges in preventing sex abuse is the current distribution of responsibility between local dioceses and the Vatican – a system which makes it easy for those in power to defer accountability for abusive clerics and to cover up accusations. Perhaps this is why the sex abuse crisis exists worldwide.
Among the goals for victims and activists is for the Church to implement the “zero tolerance” policy adopted by the United States in 2002. According to the policy, abusers are immediately removed from the Church if found guilty of a single act of abuse.
The first high-ranking Catholic to suffer this punishment in the US was Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was kicked out of the Church this month after having been found guilty of soliciting sex during confession.
Other Cardinals on the chopping block include Australian Cardinal George Pell, who is on trial for “historic child sexual offenses,” and French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who has been accused of participating in a cover-up.
The Vatican does not favor “zero tolerance” and in years past has reduced the sentences of abusers. Last November, the Vatican asked the United States Conference of Bishops to delay a vote on measures that would hold bishops accountable for abuse committed by priests in their diocese.
As a Catholic, I am horrified regarding the sexual scandal in our Church and am praying that there will be quick action against the perpetrators- when evidence is clear.
However, the media has failed to report on sexual abuse of minors by school teachers and other faiths. IF it is true, there was recently a post by a Southern Baptist Bishop [I think] that they are facing accusations from 700 people and RUMOR has it that school teachers have committed outlandish numbers of unimaginable, similar crimes.
WHERE IS THE MEDIA COVERAGE OF THOSE ABUSES?????
I do not fault the coverage of the abuses within the Catholic Church, but there needs to be some truthful parity in all sectors of society!
I am saddened and shocked by the scope and depth of deprivity to which the Catholic Church has sunk. It is totally corrupted and has lost its purpose—inspire and uplift the Christian ideals inhumanity. What can be salvaged? The Vatican? national Council of Bishops? The priesthood? Seminaries? Pedophelia is the deathnell of Catholicism.
The REAL FINAL WORD came from Jesus (Matthew 18:5-6)[Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me but whoever causes one of these little ones to sin it would be better for him to have a milestone fastened around his neck and drowned in the depths of the sea.]! He will avenge (as is his right ALONE).
The smoke of Satan long ago has invaded the Vatican, there is no other plausible scenario where a very specific, very rare spectrum of homosexuals somehow know to seek or are magically drawn to join an organization that should be the last place homosexual pedophiles would feel and be safe.
It is as if there were billboard advertisements along every highway, freeway, bus stop, taxi, TV ads, magazines stories promoting homosexual pedophilia and welcoming homosexual pedophile predators en masse from across all spectrums of society of the world, there is no continent spared.
It is far more sinister than that, it desecrates God and Gods home, organized religion is desecrated as no other act could do.
Homosexuals are a narrow slice of humanity, pedophiles are also an even narrower slice of humanity, there are far more gays that are not pedophiles than there are gays that are pedophiles.
Imagine a slice of society representing 12% of humanity,they are the homosexuals.
Estimates are 5% of society are pedophiles, 5% of the 12% represent homosexual pedophiles,
A very rare, highly specific sub genre of the homosexual spectrum is a very rare slice of humanity!
Now factor in that they must be willing to sin before God, desecrate all they allege to be Holy, take advantage of the power of God to sexually abuse a child, a sociopath in other words.
Sociopaths are also a very rare specific slice of the human spectrum, so not only are the homosexual and pedophiles but also sociopaths!
A tri fecta of rare specific spectrums of society combined to make an extremely specific, extremely rare sub genre of a sub genre, and they are all magically attracted to the church, the last place anyone would think to go if that person, this can only mean that Satan is delivering this specific depraved persons to extract the most degradation and humiliation to God.
Do Only Catholic Priests Molest Children?
I hate to break it to you, but many other churches besides the Catholic Church have the exact same problems… but the Mainstream Media ‘MSM’ fails to report on it.
Sorry… As much as the Leftists and the MSM love homosexualism, they hate the Catholic Church even more! Homosexuals have been running rampant in OTHER churches, schools, youth sports, the BSA, and other youth organizations. However, it is the Catholic Church that gets all the Bad Press from the Leftist MSM, while all the others are usually ignored.
In the 1970s, the Catholic Church accepted the advice of many so-called “experts” in the mental-health industry and concluded that pedophile priests could be successfully treated with private therapy. (Nowadays this therapy has been made illegal by those same Leftists! They have banned the ability of individuals to receive counseling or therapy to avoid unwanted feelings of same-sex attraction.) The theory was not proven correct, and it helped protect many priests as they sexually abused thousands of boys.
That was a disaster for many children and for the church, but it yielded a bonanza of lawsuits, media stories and therapy sessions for professional psychologists, lawyers, and reporters.
Somewhat recently, we were informed at Mass during a sermon, that during the 1960s and 70’s the Priestly Vocations were way down, so it was thought that it would be acceptable to allow men who were practicing homosexuals or with homosexual tendencies to become Priests because they would follow their priestly vows and remain Celibate. We were then told that that “did not work out so well!”
Those with the ‘tendencies’ chased many of the others with true vocations out of the Seminaries!
Not well indeed!
However, the Catholic Church has taken care of this problem, about 10 years ago.
The Church has screened ALL seminary candidates all the way back to their elementary school days to make sure they don’t have those deviant proclivities. The original problem was that, back in the 20th century, The Church accepted a person’s word that they wanted to serve Christ and His Church, and many Homosexuals used this to get into the seminaries and become priests and, later, even Bishops. Those have either died or been retired or outed and turned over to authorities. None of those cases is less than 10 or more years old. Sorry, but the Catholic clergy is being cleaned up already. BTW the protestant clergy is still having problems in this regard. There is no one authority to go after them, sorry to say.
According to studies:
Because the Church followed the Leftist’s Mental Health Professionals advice…
It is true, the Catholic Church does have a problem with homosexual and/or pedophile priests, and those that are doing it should be prosecuted, removed, and imprisoned!
HOWEVER…
1. There are organizations out there whose goal is to “Get Catholic Priests” for molesting children, whether they actually did it or not! No FACTS are needed or wanted. Just Persecution, Prosecution, and Removal, or Imprisonment. They are following Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s advice on eliminating political opposition: “Vilify, vilify! Something will stick!” and utilizing his quotation: “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.”
2. Many other organizations are having the very SAME problems as the Catholic Church, such as the BSA, Day-Care Centers, Schools, Youth Sports Teams, Olympics, and other Churches, etc. However, the MSM refuses to make those incidents into anything more than just LOCAL News and only reported and disseminated as such, it seldom becomes NATIONAL News… if it ever even makes the news!
3. How does one successfully defend themselves against something that was “supposed” to have happened in utmost secrecy and 10 or more years ago? For instance, Where specifically were YOU, exactly 6 months ago, who did you see, or not see in your wide circle of acquaintances? Now make an account for yourself for every minute, for just that 24-hour period? Now, PROVE IT! Would that be difficult for you, or IMPOSSIBLE? Yet priests who are accused of molesting children many years ago, and without a shred of evidence except the accusation! How is it possible to do defend oneself when you are being raked over the coals, for something you may or may not have done?
4. Of course… no one would ever think of lying and “Jumping on the Band Wagon” of falsely accusing a Catholic Priest of molesting them 30 years ago, just for the Court to award them a Million Dollar Settlement?
5. It seems that many times the Statutes of Limitations and standard Rules of Evidence are not applied when someone is out to get a Catholic Priest.
6. Leftists are now wanting to make Child Molestation or being a pedophile LEGAL, under “sexual orientation laws” for the so-called ‘minor-attracted persons’, however, it is the same Leftism that is out to get ALL Catholic Priests.
EXAMPLE: The homosexual-dominated non-denominational ‘Metropolitan Community Church’ (MCC) (Wikipedia – Metropolitan Community Church)
This is a lesson in sexual political reality. “Two sociologists who studied MCC in its formative years found magazines with ads for sex next to devotional literature. One congregation member referred to its youth ministry as — the ‘Chicken Coop’ because it attracted predatory older men, known as: ‘Chicken Hawks.’” Not one of the Leftists or the MSM criticizes a homosexual church for preying on adolescents. Chicken Coop and Chicken Hawk are just two of the 254 words used as referring to “BOY” in the “The Queens’ Vernacular” dictionary. It is referred to as: “The Everyman’s dictionary to the gay underworld”
“The Queens’ Vernacular, A Gay Lexicon” by Bruce Rodgers, The first modern gay dictionary.
Paperback, 265 pages Published January 1st, 1972 by Straight Arrow Books
ISBN 0879320265 (ISBN13: 9780879320263)
Reprinted as: “Gay Talk, (a sometimes outrageous) dictionary of gay slang”
by Bruce Rodgers, (Paragon 1979, ISBN 0 399 50392 7)
See also: Polari (also seen as ‘Palare’) is a gay slang language.
Use a search engine to find: “254 BOY WORDS“
Editor’s note – CAUTION: Although a Sociologist wrote this document the contents are of an extreme vulgar & sexual nature that most readers will find highly objectionable.
The Presbyterian Church (Totally Non-Biblical!) has recently included a “Drag Queen Storytime” During Services at least at one church. (It is also in many public Libraries!)
The Methodist Church and The Episcopalian Church – Both currently believe in women pastors, ministers, and bishops, artificial birth control, and they accept homosexuality as being normal and good in spite of Romans 1:26-27. These two “Churches” are currently undergoing a 21st Century reformation of their selves, with individual congregations breaking away from their own hierarchy over the question of scriptural inerrancy concerning homosexuality. They are more concerned with going along with the current popular Leftist opinion trends of secular society than it is in being true to what scripture actually says about homosexuality. The Lesbian Methodist Bishop Dr. Karen Oliveto Calls Jesus a ‘Bigot’ and Defends Demon Possession. (Totally Non-Biblical!)
All three of these churches have recently included “Chrislam” as an accepted practice and belief. Any church that accepts “Chrislam” or “Christianized Islam” as an accepted practice and belief is not CHRISTIAN! (Totally Non-Biblical!)
How many of these so-called “churches” have chapters of the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) meetings on their church properties? They are a pedophile and pederasty advocacy organization in the United States. It works to abolish age-of-consent laws criminalizing adult sexual involvement with minors, one of their trademark phrases is “Sex before eight, or it’s too late”. This is an obvious attempt to remove the last perverted prohibition from our legal code as well as our societal safeguards to protect our children.
These horrific crimes have cost the many thousands of victims more than we can imagine. But how much has this homosexual culture cost the Catholic Church? Obviously, its reputation has suffered greatly. However, laypeople who give their tithes and offerings must be appalled that, rather than feeding the hungry or providing other ministerial needs, the Church is attempting to compensate victims for the questionable damages, supposedly done by priests — to the tune of $3 billion.
Finally, the words of the Apostle Paul are especially damning (Romans 2:24): For, as it is written, ‘The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’
Funny thing…
Many of the same people, who are condemning the RCC, are fully supportive of all of the Leftist’s Pro-Homosexual Agenda, supporting so-called transgenders, and now the so-called “Minor-Attracted Persons” and the rest of that unscientific and un-Biblical heresy!
Many of these people have Openly Practicing Homosexual and Lesbian Ministers in their own churches! They are such hypocrites!
Yet when the RCC is involved, it is somehow eviler than what they fully support in their own church and political life?
– – – – – – –
BLOCKBUSTER NEWS… that you never heard of!
“A new investigative piece by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News has revealed an alleged 20-year-long sex scandal within the leadership of several Southern Baptist churches. According to the investigation, about 380 leaders and volunteers within the church have been accused of sexual misconduct.”
But of course, you will NEVER hear this Block-Buster News from the Leftist-leaning MSM, because it did not happen at a CATHOLIC Church!
Have you previously heard about this at all?
No!
Of course, you did not! It did not happen at a CATHOLIC Church!
Very little if any of this child molestation ever hits the Mainstream Media, unless it is an “accusation” against a Catholic priest, that may have supposedly happened 10, 20, 30, or even 40 years ago!
Doctors, Teachers, Coaches, Scout Leaders, and Protestant Preachers… just about anyone working with children are accused of committing Child Molestation all the time, but the MSM ignores it as ‘Just Local News’ if it even makes the news at all! But let a Catholic Priest be accused and it is National News…!
How do you possibly mount a defense against something that if it had been done, it would have been done in a very private setting… and it was very many years ago!
Tell me, where were you, and what were you doing exactly 97 days ago?
Whom did you see, who did you not see?
NOW PROVE IT in a COURT OF LAW!
Let alone what you were doing, and whom you saw on an uncertain date in time, THIRTY years ago!
But let a priest be “accused” of child molestation that “supposedly” happened many years ago, the priest is crucified by the Media and it is National News.
It could be that it is someone with an agenda, or just wants to jump on the ‘Gravy Train’ and sue the Church for millions, collect a huge settlement, and get his 15 minutes of fame?
– – – – – – –
The numbers below are from a Dept. of Education study conducted by Charol Shakeshaft at Hofstra University.
Please write down the following two numbers. Memorize them. Know what they refer to. The numbers are as follows:
143,000
422,000
The first number, 143,000, is the total Enrollment of children in Catholic K-12 Schools in the state of California.
The second number, 422,000, is the number of children in the California Public Schools that have suffered sexual molestation by teachers and other Public-School employees.
In other words, the number of sexual abuse cases in California Public Schools is nearly THREE TIMES THE TOTAL ENROLLMENT of all the students in California’s Catholic Schools. However, you seldom hear anything about any of those 422,000 cases! These numbers PROVE that Public School Child Abuse is grossly UNDER-REPORTED!
“The physical sexual abuse of students in schools is likely more than 100 times the abuse by priests.”
If these numbers come as any surprise to you at all, then realize that no one is getting a bigger ‘pass’ than the public schools.
Geri, you are absolutely correct!
I have posted a more thorough treatise on the subject on this page.
Titled: “Do Only Catholic Priests Molest Children?”
If you like it you are free to use it, just credit the source.