The Pope Covered Up Pedophile Priests

Xantar · 03-25-2010, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Top Vatican officials — including the future Pope Benedict XVI — did not defrock a priest who molested as many as 200 deaf boys, even though several American bishops repeatedly warned them that failure to act on the matter could embarrass the church, according to church files newly unearthed as part of a lawsuit.

Source: New York Times

I remember having a conversation with Strangler about religion way back in 2004 or so. We were going through the definitions of "deist" and "theist" and "atheist" and so on when he casually dropped the line, "Catholic = corrupt."

I thought he was being pretty harsh at the time. Sadly, it seems I was too optimistic. I honestly don't know how the Catholic Church recovers from this or how regular ground-level Catholics who weren't involved in any of this can rebuild the institution.

manasecret · 03-25-2010, 11:05 AM

The infallible pope, everyone. Oh, but this wasn't about Catholic teachings, so he's still infallible.

thatmariolover · 03-25-2010, 11:37 AM

This has been a long time coming. Even late last year there was significant criticism pointed at the Pope for not intervening in Ireland when they specifically asked for help.

I don't think Catholicism is corrupt, so much as Catholic tendencies lead to corruption. It's unfortunate, but I think it may become necessary to do personality testing and background checks on new Priests. As much as you'd like to think they choose such a difficult path to bring religion to others, many choose it because it is an easy way to gain both prestige and access to victims.

I also think this would never have happened under Pope John Paul II. Benedict is exactly the sort of Pope the Catholic church doesn't need. He's completely set in his ways and has shown no ability to adapt the church to fit in the 21st century.

Professor S · 03-25-2010, 11:50 AM

This is quite litrally a top-down problem, with no fault put to 99.9% of Catholics, but all falling on the church itself. The Catholic Church believes that it is not beholden to any secular laws of any nation where it teaches, and is only beholden to their own dogma. Quite literally, the church covers up these things because they don't feel it's anyone's business but their own.

Meanwhile, the church's civilian population must follow the laws of the nation where they live, AND live by Catholic dogma (to be considered a "good" Catholic.

This kind of separation of rule/double standard is bound to create such corruption and scandal.

manasecret · 03-25-2010, 02:42 PM

Since I don't think anyone will argue the Catholic Church's case here, I'll bring up an argument I have read before. It comes from a letter written to Tulane's student-run newspaper, The Hullabaloo, in response to an article or editorial about one of the latest Catholic sexual abuse scandals of the time. (This was a few years ago.)

The crux of the argument was that the Catholic scandals are overblown, because the rate of Catholic priest molestations is similar to the rate of molestations by other regular men, such as grandfathers. What do you think?

Professor S · 03-25-2010, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by manasecret

Since I don't think anyone will argue the Catholic Church's case here, I'll bring up an argument I have read before. It comes from a letter written to Tulane's student-run newspaper, The Hullabaloo, in response to an article or editorial about one of the latest Catholic sexual abuse scandals of the time. (This was a few years ago.)

The crux of the argument was that the Catholic scandals are overblown, because the rate of Catholic priest molestations is similar to the rate of molestations by other regular men, such as grandfathers. What do you think?

The rate of molestation isn't the cause of the problem, its the fact that a trusted and presumably moral organization has gone to great lengths to cover it up and harbor felons.

Typhoid · 03-25-2010, 03:00 PM

Quote:

I honestly don't know how the Catholic Church recovers from this or how regular ground-level Catholics who weren't involved in any of this can rebuild the institution.

People should be smart enough to blame those involved, and not the religion as a whole.

I mean, it's an easy fix. All you have to do is not molest children. It's not splitting an atom or anything. It's just self-control that a select few people don't have.

This situation reminds me 100% of the South Park episode though. Good times.

Anyways, like I said - I don't think the "Catholic Faith" will have to recover from this. Not in the eyes of Catholics. In the eyes of everyone else, sure. But what do they matter to Catholics - they aren't part of Catholicism. Catholic parents need to not be so trusting of their priest just because he's a priest. People are still people, regardless of how close they want to be with God.

Quote:

ts the fact that a trusted and presumably moral organization has gone to great lengths to cover it up and harbor felons.

100% agree.
The Pope should immediately be de-Poped.
But since he's the pope, and everything he does is considered the will of God, maybe God wanted him to harbour felons.
I'm clearly joking, for the record.

TheSlyMoogle · 03-25-2010, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Typhoid

This situation reminds me 100% of the South Park episode though. Good times.

Wait wait wait wait wait! You mean you all molest children?

LOL.

This is a sticky situation though. Dirty old priests.

Of course no one wants to protest this by leaving the catholic church, because being catholic is a sweet deal. Oh I fucked up, but I told my priest, now all is forgiven.

Vampyr · 03-25-2010, 06:03 PM

Good old religion.

The Germanator · 03-25-2010, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSlyMoogle

This is a sticky situation though.

That's what the Priests said.

manasecret · 03-26-2010, 11:44 AM

I wish more things had the power to draw people together like religion does, but things that don't rely on faith and belief.

As in, I see good in the video game culture and specifically what Penny Arcade has done with PAX and Child's Play.

I see good in Wikipedia, Firefox, and other such coming together of people for a common good.

But these in the end don't have the same numbers that religion draw.

Xantar · 03-26-2010, 01:08 PM

So here's a question for you: would this have happened if Catholic priests didn't have to be male and celibate? What if priests were allowed to marry and have families? What if some of them were women? If Cardinal Ratzinger had been a father, do you think he could have condoned the cover up of child rapists?

thatmariolover · 03-26-2010, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xantar

So here's a question for you: would this have happened if Catholic priests didn't have to be male and celibate? What if priests were allowed to marry and have families? What if some of them were women? If Cardinal Ratzinger had been a father, do you think he could have condoned the cover up of child rapists?

No, I don't think it would have happened if Catholic Priests didn't have to be celibate men. But that's part of a much bigger problem. Would it have happened if Catholicism wasn't so stagnant? So utterly and completely incapable of changing with the times? I mean, the Catholic church practically ignores the outside world entirely, It's almost entirely turned inward; a circle of priests wearing mirror's on their backs, reflecting the world back at itself and never looking at it for what it really is.

If a widely accepted scientific belief is suddenly called into question, do we ignore it or cover it up? No, we adapt or find a new theory that fits better. But in the church, if something happens that might cause doubt it's usually covered up or glossed over.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bond

Do we not have any Catholics here? I don't formally consider myself Catholic, but I have been strongly influenced by and benefited from the Catholic / Jesuit tradition of education and culture. I'll post my thoughts from inside and outside the Catholic church when I arrive home.

I was baptized Catholic and attended a Catholic church fairly regularly until I was 9 or 10. But that was before I thought for myself a lot and I stopped going around the time that I did. I eventually tried Lutheranism with the ELCA and was confirmed Lutheran, but it was more because the church was next door and we had an absolutely stellar Pastor that was willing to openly discuss theology and its various merits/flaws with me.

Bond · 03-26-2010, 01:28 PM

Do we not have any Catholics here? I don't formally consider myself Catholic, but I have been strongly influenced by and benefited from the Catholic / Jesuit tradition of education and culture. I'll post my thoughts from inside and outside the Catholic church when I arrive home.

BlueFire · 03-26-2010, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bond

Do we not have any Catholics here? I don't formally consider myself Catholic, but I have been strongly influenced by and benefited from the Catholic / Jesuit tradition of education and culture. I'll post my thoughts from inside and outside the Catholic church when I arrive home.

I was raised Catholic but I have rejected it for years. I think the institution is silly and the pedophile cases growing by the day.. well, that's quite sickening.