.." Studies have shown that most priest sex offenders are not pedophiles. They are primarily men attracted to other men. Most of the abuse cases involve teenagers - this is not pedophilia. I think the abuse of teens is because priests are often around young people and the teens are obviously vulnerable. In the case of Cardinal McCarrick, abuse was with adults eighteen or over (seminarians). What McCormick did was despicable. It's very hard to understand how Francis could have covered for him and even relied on him for advice regarding episcopal appointments but this is precisely what happened. ""
Studies have shown......that is a cover for all sins.....
Homosexual priests that abuse teenagers under Age .. should go to jail like civilians do, like Men and Women that have sex with students...It's the Law.
Not enough jails exist to imprison all the convicted priests . Where is the Inquisition now that we need it , please come back Torquemada to torture and Burn at the stake the sinners...
Joke for Sergio ... The Chilean Bishops called to el Vaticano by Francis.. to discuss abuses and cover ups were served a menu of Niños Envueltos
PS Don't Quote "studies"
I agree that priest abusers should go to jail whether they committed pedophile crimes or crimes with under age teens. The age of consent, however, varies from country to country. In the US it varies from state to state. It's a fact however that most of the offenses have been with teens and not pre pubescent children (pehophilia). The latter crime, in my opinion, is far worse so the penalty should be greater. Such crimes are not limited to priests of course. Consider the wife of French President Macron. She was his high school teacher when he was a fifteen year old. It's incredible but true that Macron's wife was married and had a daughter in the same class when Macron was fifteen. Macron's parents were shocked and did everything they could to discourage the romance. The French are more tolerant about sexual matters than the British or the Americans (at Mitterand's funeral Mitterand's wife and girlfriend stood next to each other at the grave). In the US or UK a teacher seducing a student would be a serious crime (see the film British Notes on a Scandal with Judy Dench which deals with this subject very powerfully).
Many of the reported crimes go back many decades and have long passed the statute of limitations. This fact augments the numbers and makes it look as though most priests are molesters. I don't think this is true. There should be none but it's not fair that some people brand all clergy as molesters. And it's not only the Roman Catholic Church that is guilty.
Pope Francis is as Argentine as it gets
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elhombresinnombre
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I guess you are thinking of non-episcopalian churches which have a bottom-up organisation (a most unfortunate expression given the subject under discussion) Roman Catholics and Anglicans and other episcopalians are very much top down.
jeff1234
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Any organization, regardless of its method of organization, is nothing without its members. Americans have a saying 'vote with your feet'. It doesn't take many members withholding support to force leaders to address problems (ie: the current crisis at Facebook over privacy).
Instead of speculating about why Francis isn't taking more action, how about starting with boycotting Mass for a few Sundays? Or withholding donations? Couldn't that be seen as in keeping with spirit of Catholicism?
London2Baires
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The solution is easy, the pope should just disband the church entirely. Problem solved! And many other problems solved too! ;-)
By non episcopalian I think you mean non liturgical churches, those without bishops or bishops with real authority. There are bishops within the churches of the Anglican Communion but there is no final authority vested in the equivalent of a pope. The Archbishop of Canterbury acts as the Primate of the Church of England but his authority is limited. Anglican groups in various parts of the world often go their own way. For example, in the US they decided to ordain women to the ministry long before the Church of England agreed. The Anglican Church is far more collegial in its approach to leadership than the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is not a democracy. It's really a monarchy with the Supreme Pontiff selected by the College of Cardinals (whose members have been chosen by previous Supreme Pontiffs). Only a few decdes ago the Pope wore the famous beehive crown. Pope Francis has said that he wants more collegial decision making but in actual practice he has been authoritarian, especially in dealing with conservative bishops and congregations. None of this is to say that the laity have no infuence. They can, as suggested here, withhold contributions and many have voted with their feet by dropping out altogether - some because of the scandals (though these exist in other religious communities but are less reported) but I suspect many others have left because they simply have no interest. In the end I think civil action will have the greatest effect on the hierarchy of the Church. As individuals and governments initiate investigations and start litigation against the Church there will be no way that the leaders can ignore it. The Catholic Church is diminishing in the West and will continue to get smaller as parishes, schools, hospitals and other charitable institutions are closed. This is especially true in Europe where few practice Christianity anymore but where Islam is fast growing.
Rich One
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Yes Sergio not ALL PRIESTS, not only Catholic Priests but other Churches, and also Macron's wife...so . What a nerve for priests that are abusers to keep dispensing the Communion... their hands are tainted , Jesus already said it... Those that corrupt children .. should hang a millstone around their neck and be thrown in the lake... Jesus knew better...!
There should be no place for pedophiles among the clergy and I agree that it is a sacrilege for them to dispense communion when they have committed such serious crimes. Pedophilia seems to be a mental illness that some men are unable to control. Whatever the cause, candidates to the priesthood need to be very carefully vetted. I'd add that those bishops and even cardinals who were fully aware of such crimes but reassigned pedophile priests to other parishes (this was detailed in the film Spotlight about the Boston Globe's investigation of priest sex abuse) also committed grave crimes by reshuffling these priests but it has to be said that they were acting in the context of not only a Church culture but a general social culture that brushed these crimes under the rug.
Pedophilia is actually a small part of the priest sex abuse problem, however. Most of the abuse has been with teens and this is not the same as pedophilia. As I said, Cardinal McCarrick (his scandal is just one of many) took advantage of seminarians who were at least eighteen years old, so cases like this are of a different nature. Men like McCarrick are not pedophiles. Their attraction is to other men yet they have chosen a life that requires celibacy that they have not been able to adhere to. It is not unreasonable to believe that it is less than honest to enter into religious life - or to remain in it - if you cannot follow the rules but it is also true that the Church has inadvertently contributed to a culture of sexual dysfunctionality through its insistence on celibacy in all cases and its inability to deal honestly with the whole spectrum of human sexuality.
It is disconcerting that the Pope has been ineffectual in dealing with the issue of priestly sex abuse and that he has even protected some of the worst culprits. It is disappointing that he is not willing to address the issue in a forthright and open way.
Rich One
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Sergio why you want to distort the truth, and mislead the readers, by taking away the Guilty from the Church, saying Pedophilia were only few cases, tennagers under age a few cases..! most cases were men over 18, above the age of consent..! Based on STUDIES and your Personal Impressions...!
I have't in the least distorted the truth. I've been following this crisis for years. If you read what I have said I very definitely blame the Church for what has happened. For decades these crimes were covered up and predator priests were often reassigned to commit the crimes again. Go back and read what I wrote. Pedophilia is in fact a small fraction of the sex crimes committed by abuser priests but whether one crime or thousands all such crimes are reprehensible. Most of the abuse cases were with teens so that is not pedophilia. You seem to be saying that most crimes were committed with men over 18 which makes the offense less grievous, no? Still wrong because priests are supposed to be celibate but not as serious as acts involving teens or worse, pre pubescent children. This is what you seem to be saying and if so, you contradict yourself. I am the one addressing the seriousness of the problem but YOU are saying that the crimes were less serious as they involved men 18 or older who had passed the age of consent and were capable of making their own decisions.
