OMG - Catholic Molestation

i really resent this.
how dare they all keep it quiet.
i do understand how many would feel compelled to stay quiet (while thinking that they wish 'these situations' would just go away.)
but...
i still resent it.

damn.

leslie

Heartbreaking . . . .



steph

I heard an interview with one of the abuse victims on NPR a couple days ago.

Disgusting (not the interview...just that the abuse happened in the first place)

Thus, my major point of disgust with the Catholic church. It's not just the fact that there were child molesters. There can be bad apples anywhere. It's the fact that as an institution, the Church made a conscious decision to hide (and hence prolong) this viscious cycle of evil. I read about a month or two ago about the leader of the Legionaries of Christ being a child molester and the Church knowing it was going on only a few short years ago. Did they learn nothing from the scandal that rocked the Archdiocese of Boston ?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?:angryfire

This was a major bone of contention with dh and me about getting the kids baptized. I didn't really want to do it. Dh did. Funny because I was practicing when we met and he does not, but he was adamant. We stand-up and make the Baptisimal promises for the kids, but I didn't really feel right doing it. I've looked at other churches/religions, but deep down to my toes, I'm still Catholic, even though there's a lot I don't agree with. I don't want to let those perverse creeps take away my faith when they have already taken so much more from so many others.

I'm just disgusted and lost and I don't know what to do to change it.

lisa, i'm sorry for your pain.:icon_hug:
somehow, you need to find a priest/mentor who you can trust, so you can share your concerns and despair.
they are out there, without a doubt.
and even more likely, one near you!
but do find some sort of chaplain, please.

leslie

Thanks, Leslie! It's not the priests I have a problem with. It with the Church as an institution. I'm very bitter. There are always going to be bad apples from any walk of life. It's the fact that the whole institution systematically chose to ignore, hide and enable some thing so heinous that has me ticked.

A friend of my older brothers' became a Franciscan friar years ago. In fact, the gentleman that replaced Bernard Law was at my middle of nowhere church for this guy's ordination. I need time and proof. Everytime it seems like they are getting their crap together, something else comes out that they are continuing to look the other way.

i didn't make myself clear.
i suggested what i did, so you could share your concerns with someone who you trust...
in hopes of he/she advising and ideally, soothing your distress.
i go see my minister when i'm disillusioned, and he helps me tremendously.
but it also helps that i really like and trust this person.
i would never talk w/someone, just by virtue of a title, is what i mean.

let's face it:
something is seriously wrong when there is no accountability within an institution that represents God.
it is enough so, that it makes its readers distressed, nevermind its patrons.
just devastating, all around.

leslie

I realized that after I reread your post. I actually think I may have a conversation with db first. He and some of my other siblings will be here with their families. He has been just as disillusioned as me, but somehow managed to become resolved and move past this mess. His wife is a Catholic turned atheist, so he certainly hasn't been "drinking the Kool-Aid" by any stretch. His religion and his faith have both been constants and he's managed to hang-on to both. I really respect and trust him too. He's not one to just blindly follow. He can probably get me in the right direction.

Oh, and I definitely agree with you, title doesn't mean squat without the credibility to back it up.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I can't stand to hear of any church hiding abuses. It's just so disgusting, and to think that for years, so many people looked to these leaders for spiritual advice.

Any abuse is flat out wrong, but for a church to cover and move these criminals from place to place to harm other people is just so vile to me. It's not like the Church is devuldging these details out of "what is right" for the victims. it is totally damage control for the church. sick sick sick.

So many other religions have their power abuses.

"Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely" I love this quote. I don't think you can find a more absolute power than a religious leader who's flock follows his every word.