Vatican Declined to Pursue Accused Priest

Religion • Views: 3,027

Yes, it’s another case of child abuse covered up by the Catholic Church: Vatican Declined to Pursue Accused Priest.

A Catholic priest charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl in Minnesota has been allowed to continue working at a Catholic diocese in southern India despite warnings from an American bishop that he could still “pose a risk to minors,” according to church documents released Monday.

In a letter sent in December 2005, the bishop, Victor H. Balke, told Vatican authorities that preliminary investigations showed that the priest, Father Joseph Pavanivel Jeyapaul, had molested a 16-year-old girl after promising to discuss her interest in becoming a nun. Bishop Balke wrote that the priest had also “misappropriated a substantial amount of money.” Bishop Balke asked the Vatican to investigate the allegations and “apply whatever penalty you feel appropriate.”

He wrote that Father Jeyapaul, who had returned to India to care for his dying mother, was not complying with his request to return to the diocese to be made accountable.

But five months later, the Vatican office he appealed to, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, declined to take on the case, saying only that “Father Jeyapaul’s priestly life should be monitored so that he does not constitute a risk to minors and does not create scandal among the faithful.”

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77 comments
1 windsagio  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:13:33pm

But really, its just demon-possession in the MSM. or maybe banal evil because they hate the Church’s Morality.

2 NJDhockeyfan  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:15:23pm

I’m glad I’m not Catholic.

3 Hawk With Claws  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:16:02pm

What’s the point of trying to cover it up at this point?

Isn’t it just common knowledge that some vile priests molest kids?

4 McSpiff  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:16:44pm

re: #2 NJDhockeyfan

I’m glad I’m not Catholic.

First year my family skipped Easter mass. I’ve been fairly open about being atheist, but I still go for mom. No interest this year. She never even mentioned it. Very sad times.

5 Hawk With Claws  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:17:30pm

I’m also not following this story because I do not care about the Catholic Church.

I’m more interested in Karzai’s growing anti-American rhetoric and actions and about the growing instability in Iraq.

6 cliffster  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:19:08pm

re: #5 Hawk With Claws

I’m also not following this story because I do not care about the Catholic Church.

I’m more interested in Karzai’s growing anti-American rhetoric and actions and about the growing instability in Iraq.

Cool. You should start a blog about that.

7 watching you tiny alien kittens are  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:19:32pm

Why that is just shocking news, how could the Catholic Church think that they could ever cover something like that up?…what?…oh yeah, nevermind. :(

/

8 Hawk With Claws  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:20:37pm

re: #6 cliffster

Cool. You should start a blog about that.

It’ll be a super secret blog with a super secret password to read it and all readers will have to pay an Oreo tax to read it!

//

9 reine.de.tout  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:21:56pm

… saying only that “Father Jeyapaul’s priestly life should be monitored so that he does not constitute a risk to minors and does not create scandal among the faithful.”

Oh, yeah.
That scandal among the faithful is the real issue, yeah, right.

It will take years and years, but I really hope (and pray) that having these things brought to light, these “scandals among the faithful”, will cause some big changes.

10 Sancho  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:22:16pm

Haven’t you heathens heard? It’s only atheists and middle-aged Marxists who have any problem with systematic child rape under the aegis of an all-loving God and His representatives.

11 NJDhockeyfan  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:22:38pm

re: #4 McSpiff

First year my family skipped Easter mass. I’ve been fairly open about being atheist, but I still go for mom. No interest this year. She never even mentioned it. Very sad times.

My grandparents were Catholics as were my parents & my aunts & uncles. My mom didn’t like the Catholics and raised us Episcopal. Now I’m a Christian without a church. We are members of the Baptist church my wife grew up in but I don’t feel like I belong there. I’m a damn yankee, ya know, so I’m an outsider.

12 reine.de.tout  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:22:53pm

re: #5 Hawk With Claws

I’m also not following this story because I do not care about the Catholic Church.

I’m more interested in Karzai’s growing anti-American rhetoric and actions and about the growing instability in Iraq.

Oh, follow it.
Broaden your horizons.

13 Hawk With Claws  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:23:23pm

re: #12 reine.de.tout

Okay!

14 Hawk With Claws  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:24:15pm

Charles, I’m going to try and check my tone in the future. This is your blog, I’m not complaining, I’m just saying that I don’t know that much about it.

15 webevintage  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:24:27pm

My God, my God, my God….

16 McSpiff  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:25:00pm

My grandfather was injured in a car accident a few months ago. On his way home from making an extra donation at the cathedral. Because the local bishop had signed a payout to abuse victims, and my grand father didn’t want to see the parish suffer for the actions of the priests. The bishop was arrested soon after entering Canada with child porn. So ask me how I really feel when the Vatican calls this nothing but nasty gossip…

I realize its just a coincidence, but I’d be lying if I said the family wasn’t a little bitter.

For the record, he bounced back within weeks. Like he always does. A seriously great dude (y’all can blame him for the way I argue politics tho).

17 darthstar  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:25:20pm

As a recovering Catholic with little compassion for the Church, but with a lot of friends and family in it, I hope this crisis escalates quickly to its apex and that the Church makes the changes necessary to get through this, for while I dislike and distrust organized religion, I do see how it can be a benefit to society as a whole…though I don’t believe it should be a part of any government.

18 The Shadow Do  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:26:12pm
…monitored so that he does not constitute a risk to minors and does not create scandal among the faithful.”

Disgusting. There is a whole lot of folks that need to be seen on camera being frog marched out of jail with a clerical color pulled over their head.

I can not express how outraged I am about how this Church is treating this. People, kids, moms, dads, have been horribly hurt for life. And I do not know of one single case where some son of a bitch wearing a collar has done time. what a horror this is for the young victims.

19 Randall Gross  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:28:07pm

re: #10 Sancho

Dawkins might be getting more press but Thunderfoot is really harshing the Vatican’s buzz…

Of Catholicism and Capone

20 Political Atheist  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:29:12pm

I would just say that the church and our religions can help us realize our connection with god. That having been said, none of the faithful require the church, the connection between them and god exists all on its own. Any church or priest can fall. The connection is as permanent as our very souls. Take heart. IMHO.

21 reine.de.tout  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:31:20pm

re: #17 darthstar

As a recovering Catholic with little compassion for the Church, but with a lot of friends and family in it, I hope this crisis escalates quickly to its apex and that the Church makes the changes necessary to get through this, for while I dislike and distrust organized religion, I do see how it can be a benefit to society as a whole…though I don’t believe it should be a part of any government.

You been drinking coffee?

22 Killgore Trout  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:32:10pm

Maybe somebody should come up with 10 or so ethical rules and include something about diddling toddlers.

23 Dark_Falcon  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:32:49pm

re: #19 Thanos

Dawkins might be getting more press but Thunderfoot is really harshing the Vatican’s buzz…

Of Catholicism and Capone

[Video]

Most Chicago’s gangsters were Catholic. Not only the Capone family, but the leaders of the rival North Side gang were Catholic as well. three of the North Siders and most of the Capone family are all buried in Mt Carmel Cemetery.

24 NJDhockeyfan  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:37:36pm

re: #23 Dark_Falcon

Most Chicago’s gangsters were Catholic. Not only the Capone family, but the leaders of the rival North Side gang were Catholic as well. three of the North Siders and most of the Capone family are all buried in Mt Carmel Cemetery.

I believe the NY families are also Catholic. They commit crimes all week, then go to church on Sunday and say a few hail Marys/our fathers and are clean again!

25 Dark_Falcon  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:41:12pm

Brutal weather here in Chicagoland. Hailstones as big as peas are falling right now.

26 Joo-LiZ  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:41:18pm

OT:
For those following the campus conflict between Pro-/Anti- Israelis, it seems that events in Ottawa have moved to the next level.

An Israeli student and his non-Jewish but openly-Zionist roommate were attacked outside a bar this weekend with a machete — and only narrowly escaped.

The attacks seem to be clearly motivated by the Middle East conflict.

This is quite a frightening escalation, which occurred at Carelton University in Ottawa, Canada. A police report has been filed, and one of those attacked claims to have recognized one of the attackers.

We will see what comes of this. I have a feeling that it will be dealt with as a standard, despite clear wider-implications.

27 HoosierHoops  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:41:32pm

Duke wins the National Championship!
What a great game…Dang it! There has got to be some hemlock around here somewhere…
/Congrads Duke

28 freetoken  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:42:11pm

OT (so soon, but I suppose I could try real hard and make a connection…), have we discussed Limbaugh’s latest fanning the flames of the nut-o-sphere with his dalliance with birtherism today?

Michelle Obama, Birther

The connection would be that birther-central - WND, is now also home to Ratzinger-defense-central

29 swamprat  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:42:47pm

re: #23 Dark_Falcon

Most Chicago’s (KNOWN) gangsters were Catholic. Not only the Capone family, but the leaders of the rival North Side gang were Catholic as well. three of the North Siders and most of the Capone family are all buried in Mt Carmel Cemetery.

Jewish mob
Irish mob
German mob

The Italians were less than discrete.
Then they went to Florida;
The heavies went to Miami,
the uh, “others” went to Tampa.

30 Spare O'Lake  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:43:16pm

No Win for the Church Alert:
1. The damage to the Church from the resignation of the Pope would be cataclysmic.
2. The damage to the Church from the Pope’s refusal to take personal responsibility for his own complicity will be huge.
3. The damage to the Church from finding and defrocking every single pedophile priest will be huge.
4. The damage to the Church from not finding and defrocking every single pedophile priest will be horrific.

31 albusteve  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:44:21pm

an international ring of child rapists…and it goes all the way to the Vatican…people will sit on their ass and let the whole thing blow over….Hollywood here we come!

32 McSpiff  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:44:29pm

re: #30 Spare O’Lake

No Win for the Church Alert:
1. The damage to the Church from the resignation of the Pope would be cataclysmic.
2. The damage to the Church from the Pope’s refusal to take personal responsibility for his own complicity will be huge.
3. The damage to the Church from finding and defrocking every single pedophile priest will be huge.
4. The damage to the Church from not finding and defrocking every single pedophile priest will be horrific.

Would the church being damaged really be a bad thing? They’ve clearly shown they cannot be trusted to properly handle the power they do have.

33 Dancing along the light of day  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:44:40pm

Gah! How much more of this is there?
And, a WHAT POINT does the Vatican admit to the problem & fix it?
No tolerance for the “problem priests” would be a good place to start.

34 Lidane  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:44:42pm

re: #28 freetoken

Oh lord. A friend of mine on Facebook tried to turn this into a huge deal, and I had to roll my eyes. I ended up just ignoring him and not replying at all.

Honestly, the sooner this nirther shit is exiled by the mainstream GOP, the better. It just makes anyone who spouts that nonsense look like the crazy conspiracy nut they are, and it doesn’t do anything to raise the level of discussion.

35 Aceofwhat?  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:44:46pm

re: #25 Dark_Falcon

Brutal weather here in Chicagoland. Hailstones as big as peas are falling right now.

It was 80 in Jacksonville today…if that helps/

36 albusteve  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:46:13pm

re: #17 darthstar

As a recovering Catholic with little compassion for the Church, but with a lot of friends and family in it, I hope this crisis escalates quickly to its apex and that the Church makes the changes necessary to get through this, for while I dislike and distrust organized religion, I do see how it can be a benefit to society as a whole…though I don’t believe it should be a part of any government.

what do you mean “get through it”?

37 Lidane  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:47:07pm

re: #30 Spare O’Lake

Maybe if they’d tackled the problem from the beginning rather than just shuffling abusive priests around from parish to parish and shaming the victims into silence, they wouldn’t be facing this crisis now.

They might not have molested those kids, but by fostering an environment where the clergy and the institutional Church were protected over the victims, they brought all their current problems on themselves.

38 Aceofwhat?  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:47:13pm

re: #33 Floral Giraffe

Gah! How much more of this is there?
And, a WHAT POINT does the Vatican admit to the problem & fix it?
No tolerance for the “problem priests” would be a good place to start.

Seriously. Aren’t the “faithful” more pissed off, to say nothing of more endangered, by letting sickos continue to be sanctioned rather than giving them Das Boot? I can’t figure out how this line of thinking is logical OR moral.

39 albusteve  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:47:39pm

re: #33 Floral Giraffe

Gah! How much more of this is there?
And, a WHAT POINT does the Vatican admit to the problem & fix it?
No tolerance for the “problem priests” would be a good place to start.

too late….the lie will grow and grow

40 freetoken  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:48:54pm

re: #34 Lidane

Birtherism, like the denial that so many have over child abuse, won’t go away very quickly.

41 reine.de.tout  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:49:32pm

re: #33 Floral Giraffe

Gah! How much more of this is there?
And, a WHAT POINT does the Vatican admit to the problem & fix it?
No tolerance for the “problem priests” would be a good place to start.

The Vatican is a very large and very old bureaucracy that moves at a snail’s pace.

They can’t do that. They cannot continue to do that, particularly on this issue.

I posted this on my FB the other day. This pretty much describes what I think they need:


Please copy and paste this to your status if you know someone, or have been affected by someone, who needs a smack upside the head. People who need a smack upside the head affect the lives of many. There is still no known cure for someone who deserves a smack upside the head, except a smack upside the head, but we can raise awareness.
42 albusteve  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:50:12pm

re: #40 freetoken

Birtherism, like the denial that so many have over child abuse, won’t go away very quickly.

difference is one is a criminal enterprise where the other isn’t

43 Aceofwhat?  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:50:40pm

re: #40 freetoken

Birtherism, like the denial that so many have over child abuse, won’t go away very quickly.

that’s an awfully strange and creepy comparison. i doubt you meant anything by it, but at the same time, i’m guessing that the victims of the latter would disagree vociferously with the analogy…

44 swamprat  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:52:47pm

re: #30 Spare O’Lake

No Win for the Church Alert:
1. The damage to the Church from the resignation of the Pope would be cataclysmic.
2. The damage to the Church from the Pope’s refusal to take personal responsibility for his own complicity will be huge.
3. The damage to the Church from finding and defrocking every single pedophile priest will be huge.
4. The damage to the Church from not finding and defrocking every single pedophile priest will be horrific.

An industry whose greatest asset is forgiveness, would be hard-pressed justifying prosecuting the guilty. Even though the press say the pope has “enforcers”(!)

In the old days, these guys would be excommunicated on sight!/tales of the gold monkey reference

Guy was transfered from Minnesota to southern India.
No punishment there! Or maybe they figured his peccadilloes would cause less ruckus

45 reine.de.tout  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:53:30pm

re: #38 Aceofwhat?

Seriously. Aren’t the “faithful” more pissed off, to say nothing of more endangered, by letting sickos continue to be sanctioned rather than giving them Das Boot? I can’t figure out how this line of thinking is logical OR moral.

Yes, the faithful are fed up and disgusted.
Also hurting are all of those good priests who are now watched and looked at with skepticism by their congregations.

When you protect the bad at all costs, it’s the good who are punished.
Exactly backwards from what it should be.

46 watching you tiny alien kittens are  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:54:00pm

re: #30 Spare O’Lake

No Win for the Church Alert:
1. The damage to the Church from the resignation of the Pope would be cataclysmic.
2. The damage to the Church from the Pope’s refusal to take personal responsibility for his own complicity will be huge.
3. The damage to the Church from finding and defrocking every single pedophile priest will be huge.
4. The damage to the Church from not finding and defrocking every single pedophile priest will be horrific.

Hah, they have a way out, I’m sure that right now as we speak the same P.R. firm that does all the hideous Burger King commercials is making a pitch at the Vatican for a “rebranding” of the church.

The “New Catholic Church”
The “True Reformed Catholic Church”
The “Child Safe Catholic Church”
The “No-Longer Pedo Catholic Church”
heck, the possibilities are endless….

Plus they are going to have this character in a creepy looking plastic Pope mask with a funny pointy hat that chases screaming terrified children around in their “image building” commercials. Except that when he catches them he doesn’t flip them over and anally rape them, nope he just gives them “raspberries” on their little tummies! Won’t that just be adorable?

/Gahh!

47 albusteve  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:54:21pm

Catholicism…the hardest religion to live by, the easiest religion to die by

48 McSpiff  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:54:45pm

re: #44 swamprat

An industry whose greatest asset is forgiveness, would be hard-pressed justifying prosecuting the guilty. Even though the press say the pope has “enforcers”(!)

In the old days, these guys would be excommunicated on sight!/tales of the gold monkey reference

Guy was transfered from Minnesota to southern India.
No punishment there! Or maybe they figured his peccadilloes would cause less ruckus

The pope does have enforcers. They’re responsible for keeping this under wrap for several decades.

49 albusteve  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:56:53pm

re: #48 McSpiff

The pope does have enforcers. They’re responsible for keeping this under wrap for several decades.

exactly…some set it up, others do the deed, and still others work the cover-up…like the fucking Mob…and all the while, the gold keeps rolling in

50 McSpiff  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:57:00pm

re: #45 reine.de.tout

Yes, the faithful are fed up and disgusted.
Also hurting are all of those good priests who are now watched and looked at with skepticism by their congregations.

When you protect the bad at all costs, it’s the good who are punished.
Exactly backwards from what it should be.

Didn’t those good priests have a duty to step forward and do something though? If you know someone has abused children, and you know they’re around children again, don’t you have an obligation to go to the police? I’m honestly wondering how many priests truly had no idea any of this was happening.

51 Bagua  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:57:21pm

re: #5 Hawk With Claws

I’m also not following this story because I do not care about the Catholic Church.

I’m more interested in Karzai’s growing anti-American rhetoric and actions and about the growing instability in Iraq.

Who put you in charge of topics? Hint, nobody.

This is an important issue that many here are very concerned with. Not that the blog owner requires our interest or consent to post what he considers worthy.

52 NJDhockeyfan  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:58:28pm

re: #47 albusteve

Catholicism…the hardest religion to live by, the easiest religion to die by

I disagree. They are trailing someone else by miles.

53 reine.de.tout  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:58:57pm

Hot off the press!
See the next thread.
Hawk with Claws is YoungLibertarian92, now blocked

54 albusteve  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:59:34pm

re: #52 NJDhockeyfan

I disagree. They are trailing someone else by miles.

well, Islam are true believers whereas Catholics are just a once a week deal…no offense

55 McSpiff  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:00:12pm

re: #54 albusteve

well, Islam are true believers whereas Catholics are just a once a week deal…no offense

Hey now, some don’t eat meat on Fridays. That’s gotta count for an extra half a day.

56 Dancing along the light of day  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:00:15pm

re: #53 reine.de.tout

OMG!
How many times has YL gotten in & blocked?

57 NJDhockeyfan  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:00:41pm

re: #54 albusteve

well, Islam are true believers whereas Catholics are just a once a week deal…no offense

I’m not offended, nor am I Catholic either. Just wanted to give credit where credit is due.

58 Spare O'Lake  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:01:58pm

re: #32 McSpiff

re: #37 Lidane

If the Vatican acts like a bunch of politicians, they will probably do as little as possible in the hope that with the passage of time the problem will subside.
If they choose to do the right thing, then every single pedophile and every single enabler must be defrocked.
As for the Pope, he is the leader of the Church and is therefore a special case - he ought to publicly confess and repent for his own wrongful actions, and then, a la Anthony Quinn in Shoes of the Fisherman, he should announce that he will apply every resource and asset of the Church to heal and fully compensate each and every victim.

59 reine.de.tout  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:02:00pm

re: #50 McSpiff

Didn’t those good priests have a duty to step forward and do something though? If you know someone has abused children, and you know they’re around children again, don’t you have an obligation to go to the police? I’m honestly wondering how many priests truly had no idea any of this was happening.

McSpiff - you know, I wonder about that too.
If I see something wrong I feel obligated to do something about it.

It seems some priests did make the proper reports through the proper idiotic bureaucratic chain, and then there would be years of inaction, and then nothing of substance would happen.

If I had been a priest and knew one engaging in these activities, I would have done everything in my power to make sure that person was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I’m at a loss to understand how this just grew and grew the way it did.

60 reine.de.tout  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:02:21pm

re: #56 Floral Giraffe

OMG!
How many times has YL gotten in & blocked?

Nine or ten, I would think.

61 freetoken  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:05:46pm

re: #43 Aceofwhat?

Well, I really didn’t mean anything more than to point out the inability of some to deal with reality, because they have to hold onto their previous belief system.

The RC hierarchy has a very, very long history of being unmoved in their group-think. It takes really big efforts on the part of heros to see any changes. The RC hierarchy is so invested in their system that the disgust of others hasn’t, so far, been able to force their hand to do what is right.

62 McSpiff  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:06:34pm

re: #59 reine.de.tout

McSpiff - you know, I wonder about that too.
If I see something wrong I feel obligated to do something about it.

It seems some priests did make the proper reports through the proper idiotic bureaucratic chain, and then there would be years of inaction, and then nothing of substance would happen.

If I had been a priest and knew one engaging in these activities, I would have done everything in my power to make sure that person was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I’m at a loss to understand how this just grew and grew the way it did.

My mother raised a point about alcoholic priests. Both her and my father had known several. Good men of God, never abused children or anyone else, always there to rely on in times of need, who simply liked the booze too much. The ones they grew up with are now long deceased. But she wondered how many turned to drink simply because they felt powerless against a system that we now know hid some truly awful monsters? We’ll never be able to prove this of course, but its a theory that I sadly think has merit.

63 Bagua  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:07:34pm

Funny how we all expect the Vatican to do the right thing and not act like a typical political group covering up their sins and blaming their opponents. I mean, they are human after all, it’s not like they are priests or the Pope or something.

64 NJDhockeyfan  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:08:15pm

re: #63 Bagua

Funny how we all expect the Vatican to do the right thing and not act like a typical political group covering up their sins and blaming their opponents. I mean, they are human after all, it’s not like they are priests or the Pope or something.

The Pope & priests are human too.

65 Spare O'Lake  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:08:36pm

re: #58 Spare O’Lake


If the Vatican acts like a bunch of politicians, they will probably do as little as possible in the hope that with the passage of time the problem will subside.
If they choose to do the right thing, then every single pedophile and every single enabler must be defrocked.
As for the Pope, he is the leader of the Church and is therefore a special case - he ought to publicly confess and repent for his own wrongful actions, and then, a la Anthony Quinn in Shoes of the Fisherman, he should announce that he will apply every resource and asset of the Church to heal and fully compensate each and every victim.

Sorry for this rant, no offense intended.

66 reine.de.tout  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:10:35pm

re: #62 McSpiff

My mother raised a point about alcoholic priests. Both her and my father had known several. Good men of God, never abused children or anyone else, always there to rely on in times of need, who simply liked the booze too much. The ones they grew up with are now long deceased. But she wondered how many turned to drink simply because they felt powerless against a system that we now know hid some truly awful monsters? We’ll never be able to prove this of course, but its a theory that I sadly think has merit.

May be a whole lot of truth in that.

67 reine.de.tout  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:11:11pm

re: #65 Spare O’Lake

Sorry for this rant, no offense intended.

Gotcha!
No offense taken, it’s what needs to happen.

68 Kruk  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:12:42pm

re: #1 windsagio

But really, its just demon-possession in the MSM. or maybe banal evil because they hate the Church’s Morality.

Now, now. There’s no need to go looking for such exotic explanations as demons or evil when you can simply blame the World Wide Jewish Conspiracy (tm).

[Link: www.huffingtonpost.com…]

Seriously, the Church needs to own up to this. This isn’t persecution, it’s not a campaign to undermine Christianity, it’s the result of decades of covering up abuse finally coming to light. The world is far more connected now, and far less frightened of religious authority than it was 50 or even 20 years ago. Unless the Church starts addressing it’s problems, these stories are are going to keep coming.

69 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:16:25pm

They should be allowed to have families for two reasons (that I can think of):

One is the obvious one.

The other is that if your children are in proximity to the other priests, you have incentives to watch him and be sure he’s a good guy.

70 Spare O'Lake  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:16:45pm

re: #67 reine.de.tout

I loved Shoes of the Fisherman. Quinn was magnificent…and what an uplifting ending.

71 McSpiff  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:18:36pm

re: #66 reine.de.tout

May be a whole lot of truth in that.

re: #66 reine.de.tout

May be a whole lot of truth in that.

I feel for the good priests, I truly do. I’ve had some truly wonderful experiences, that make me smile even now. My parish priests for years had attented seminary with my great-uncle. He might as well have been a part of the family. We know have some amazing polish priests in our arch-diocese. I wish they could speak with their own voices, instead of towing the company line. I have no doubt the message would be very different, and received very different, by both Catholics and non-Catholics.

72 Bagua  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 9:26:09pm

re: #64 NJDhockeyfan

The Pope & priests are human too.

Something we all agree, no doubt. But if I’m not mistaken, there remains an article of faith within the Catholic Church called Papal Infallibility.

As we struggle to understand their behaviour, as an institution, I believe we have to consider that their world view is not the same as ours. Our modern laws, psychology, justice systems, media, literature, society and science do not have the same weight to them as their dogma and theology.

They see these matters from their own perspective, one I consider deeply flawed. Part of this, I assert, is their belief in penance, that the priest has sinned - having been tempted - and that he is cleared of his sin by confession and penance.

I expect there is a definite aspect of blaming the victim as well. The priest has status as a man of the cloth, a holy man, who has been tempted by sinful into violating his vows. The devil always seeking out such a target as a special prize.

73 yenta-fada  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 10:15:33pm

re: #26 Joo-LiZ
The Ottawa Citizen is already saying how “emotions run high on both sides” EXCUSE ME.
That crappy moral equivalence is used on the CBC, CTV, all the mainstream media in Canada except for the National Post and MacLeans magazine. Canadians do not know anything about the Middle East except for what the media, University Professors, and “Human Rights” commissars tell them. Muslims are a minority. They are oppressed. That’s the whole picture. Completely one-sided and completely wrong.

74 miguelj  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 10:17:44pm

And what if the cover-up trail leads to the Vatican beyond any doubt?
Maybe we’ll all get to see if those Swiss Guards can really fight or not, huh?

75 yenta-fada  Mon, Apr 5, 2010 10:26:19pm

re: #74 miguelj

As a non-Catholic who has worked in the Catholic school system, I can see that the teachers and other staff have a much saner approach to everyday problems than the Church ‘higher ups’. The former do not respond to something ordinary like divorce the way they used to. The facts of life are not ignored. I cannot see that the Catholic Church official positions have moved an inch in my lifetime. Do you really think that the Cardinals would vote for a Pope that did not reflect total allegiance to the traditional stance of the Catholic Church and the power that it wields? This is about power, not about anything else IMHO.

76 sffilk  Tue, Apr 6, 2010 7:26:29am

re: #26 Joo-LiZ

This sucks, big time! But why am I not surprised at this?

77 sffilk  Tue, Apr 6, 2010 7:28:43am

re: #58 Spare O’Lake

re: #37 Lidane

If the Vatican acts like a bunch of politicians, they will probably do as little as possible in the hope that with the passage of time the problem will subside.
If they choose to do the right thing, then every single pedophile and every single enabler must be defrocked.
As for the Pope, he is the leader of the Church and is therefore a special case - he ought to publicly confess and repent for his own wrongful actions, and then, a la Anthony Quinn in Shoes of the Fisherman, he should announce that he will apply every resource and asset of the Church to heal and fully compensate each and every victim.

But then, that would mean doing what’s proper, yes? Do you see any chance of that happening?


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