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May 21, 2013
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 How the Pope Can End the ScandalPosted on Mar 25, 2010How in the name of God can the Roman Catholic Church put the pedophilia scandal behind it? I do not invoke God’s name lightly. The church’s problem is, above all, theological and religious. Its core difficulty is that rather than drawing on its Christian resources, the church has acted almost entirely on the basis of this world’s imperatives and standards. It has worried about lawsuits. It has worried about its image. It has worried about itself as an institution and about protecting its leaders from public scandal. In so doing, it has made millions of Catholics righteously furious and aggravated every one of its problems. So instead of going away, the scandal keeps coming back, lately in a form that seems to challenge Pope Benedict XVI himself. It was sickening to read Thursday’s New York Times story reporting that Vatican officials “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.” In Germany, the pope’s home country, more than 300 victims have come forward in recent weeks, and Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose party has Catholic roots, called the scandal “a major challenge for our society.” Advertisement “In light of the facts that Father Murphy was elderly and in very poor health, and that he was living in seclusion and no allegations of abuse had been reported in over 20 years,” the Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said, “the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith suggested that the Archbishop of Milwaukee give consideration to addressing the situation by, for example, restricting Father Murphy’s public ministry and requiring that Father Murphy accept full responsibility for the gravity of his acts.” Murphy, he noted, “died approximately four months later without further incident.” The statement is representative of what’s wrong with the church’s response. It is bureaucratic and self-exculpatory, even asking us to feel for this priest because he was “elderly” and “in very poor health.” The spokesman called the case “tragic,” but tragic does not do justice to the outrage here. Yes, the statement included an acknowledgement of the “particularly vulnerable victims who suffered terribly from what [Murphy] did,” and that he had violated his “sacred trust.” Is this the best Father Lombardi could do? During his visit to the United States in 2008, Pope Benedict started moving toward a better approach. He seemed genuinely pained and angered by the scandal. He repeatedly apologized and said he was “deeply ashamed” of the abusive priests who had “betrayed” their ministry. But while this was a step in the right direction, apologizing for the misbehavior of individual priests will never be enough. The church has been reluctant to speak plainly about the heart of its problem: in handling these cases, it put institutional self-protection first. The church needs to show it understands the flaws of its own internal culture by examining its own conscience, its own practices, its own reflexes when faced with challenge. As the church rightly teaches, acknowledging the true nature of our sin is the one and only path to redemption and forgiveness. Of course this will not be easy. Enemies of the church will use this scandal to discredit the institution no matter what the Vatican does. Many in the hierarchy thought they were doing the right thing, however wrong their decisions were. And the church is not alone in facing problems of this sort. But defensiveness and institutional self-protection are not Gospel values. “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” The church needs to cast aside the lawyers, the PR specialists and its own worst instincts, which are human instincts. Benedict could go down as one of the greatest popes in history if he were willing to risk all in the name of institutional self-examination, painful but liberating public honesty, and true contrition. And then comes something even harder: Especially during Lent, the church teaches that forgiveness requires us to have “a firm purpose of amendment.” The church will have to show not only that it has learned from this scandal, but also that it’s truly willing to transform itself.  TAGS:
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By melpol, March 31, 2010 at 11:20 am Link to this comment
Punishing and replacing the pope will not prevent choir boys from being
Report thissodomized. If men are hired to fulfill church duties the problem will continue for
another thousand years. The solution will come only if frigid women are appointed
to lead the church and the boys choir.
By Grandmëre Mimi, March 31, 2010 at 8:16 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
What if the pope called for the establishment of a
Truth and Reconciliation Commission similar to the
commission in South Africa after apartheid ended?
The problems in the Roman Catholic Church are deeply
Report thisembedded in the structure and the culture of the
church. As long as the pope and his close advisors
remain in denial, nothing will change.
By freethot, March 30, 2010 at 4:50 pm Link to this comment
Check out this hi definition experience of the paintings in the Sistine Chapel….
IMHO ...it looks just like one big ancient
homosexual Porn site!
Good luck finding a nude woman here..
99% Beefcake, folks!
This hidden homosexual sex thing goes WAy back…...to
the very
beginnings of the Roman Catholic Church.
Report thishttp://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html
By Tim O., March 30, 2010 at 11:15 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Pederasts often think of their victims as equals, even though they manipulate them and use them. It is a psychological disorder. There is no clear way to fix them. Once defined as a pederast, that person should never be allowed alone with any child ever again. If they have committed a crime they should probably be kept in confinement for the rest of their life. Saying all this is simply a preface to my real point which is this: The coverup is the real crime. And it is the real sin, also. What the authorities did is even worse for us all than what the disturbed pederasts did. The pederasts were always going to re-offend. It is up to the authorities to make sure they don’t have the opportunity to do so. This isn’t rocket science. We’ve known this for decades now. The Pope must take responsibility for this, and he, and his fellow bishops, must serve some serious time. Nothing else would be justice.
Report thisBy melpol, March 29, 2010 at 10:54 am Link to this comment
Only an International Organization of Pedophile Hunters can save our children. Its millions of investigators would be given the license to shine their lights into the darkest closet and expose the most hidden pervert. Interviewing children for signs of foul play would lead to uncovering the names of countless pedophiles whose trust was never doubted. The costs of financing this organization will be high but the body of each child is priceless and sacred.
Report thisBy expat in germany, March 29, 2010 at 9:46 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Changing the celibacy rule will not stop pedophilia! Plenty of pedophiles have been, and are, family men. The church needs a rule similar to the one used by gynecologists: No priests allowed alone with children, ever.
Report thisBy melpol, March 28, 2010 at 5:52 pm Link to this comment
The Vatican should be restructured and turned into a rehabilitation center for the millions of adults that had been sodomized as children. Church funds should be seized and used as reparations. Church leaders convicted of pedophilia or acceptance of it should be severely punished.
Report thisBy samosamo, March 28, 2010 at 11:59 am Link to this comment
By CitizenWhy, March 28 at 1:10 pm #
““The “church” has no right to end this scandal. Who gave the
church permission to put itself above just laws of civil society
designed to protect the most vulnerable members of that
society? No one with any legitimate authority. Like any criminal
conspiracy the church ignored and defied the law. This criminal
behavior calls for prosecution.”“
******************************
Who gave…, maybe the holy spook or the devil, this goes way
Report thisback and a lots further back than believing in santa claus, the
tooth fairy, easter bunny, republicans or democrats; shoot back
to that time when man found he could cajole and hoodwink his
fellow man into seeing and believing what he does not, you
know the original CON game that allowed CONmen to have the
ignorant do the dirty work.
By CitizenWhy, March 28, 2010 at 10:10 am Link to this comment
The “church” has no right to end this scandal. Who gave the church permission to
put itself above just laws of civil society designed to protect the most vulnerable
members of that society? No one with any legitimate authority. Like any criminal
conspiracy the church ignored and defied the law. This criminal behavior calls for
prosecution.
From a religious point of view the church put its precious “image” over the welfare
Report thisof human souls. That puts it, in its own warped view of the world, in the camp of
Satan.
By diman, March 28, 2010 at 5:48 am Link to this comment
I’m so glad that this criminal organisation is starting to break down, finally!!!
Report thisBy yours truly, March 27, 2010 at 5:57 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
I see the Pope as a humongous Humpty Dumpty sitting on a wall, about to have that big fall. Taking with him, of course, the rest of the Church hierarchy. What’ll happen to all the parishioners who believe in the pie-in-the-sky? The same thing that happens to the rest of us, we hold on to life as well and as long as we can, eventually die, are buried or cremated and then, except for families and friends left behind, that’ll be the end of it. Who can ask for anything more?
Report thisBy James M. Martin, March 27, 2010 at 4:27 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Dionne tells “how the Pope can end the [pedophile] scandal….” Ho hum, the Poop is not going to do anything to end the scandal but deny he was ever implicated in it, which takes cues from the GOP and Tea Baggers. What I would like to know is, why do Roman Catholics like Dionne keep going to cathedrals every Sunday? Since, obviously, some of the money in the plate goes to the Vatican, the “faithful” are enablers in the sense that they enable pedophilia.
Report thisBy rosebud, March 27, 2010 at 12:39 am Link to this comment
The Roman Catholic Church absorbed the structure of Rome by way of organization - think Emperor/Pope, Senate/Cardinals, Governors/Bishops, Vestal Virgins/Nuns - you get the picture - however, the Vestal girls were at least considered priests.
The Roman male had the freedom to choose sexual partners who were either male or female - another concept embraced by the Church. However, most men in the Church seem to like little boys.
The grandeur of Rome - big palaces, great art, lots of money, jewels, high status - sounds like the Church to me. Rome lasted 2600 or 2700 years and crumbled from within. Need I say more…
Report thisBy CitizenWhy, March 26, 2010 at 5:35 pm Link to this comment
The comment by Frikken Kids above gets to the heart of the matter:
“He (the present Pope, as cardinal Ratzinger) should admit that as the leader of
the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith for a quarter century he designed
and controlled the cover-up and was more fully aware of its scope than
probably anyone else in the world. He must admit that by covering up for and
protecting child rapist, he enabled their continued access to more and more
victims and it directly culpable for the rape of countless children.”
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is in charge of clergy
Report thisworldwide. Ratzinger, the present Pope, as its head, read all the reports,
admitted he was disgusted, and then covered everything up, either with the
knowledge of or on the orders of Pope John Paul II/ This pope and the last pope
who put the “reputation” of the corporation called the church above the welfare
and dignity of thousands of innocent human souls. Disgusting.
By samosamo, March 26, 2010 at 3:31 pm Link to this comment
It seems to me that if anyone would want to make sense of all
this craziness that they would want to understand the origins of
any religion and I am not talking about when the bible was
written or when certain people were supposed to walk the earth
or some mighty event befell and that there came a time etc. etc.
I am talking about going so far back to the original attempts of
earliest man to put meaning and explanation to what this world
meant and why they were here. That would require no less than
going back as far as to the astrological awakening in early Egypt or futher, long before judeo/christianity, catholicism or islam was a
twinkle in some person’s eye; and why would there be esoteric and exoteric information and about the origins of freemasons.
The information is out there and it has been researched for
thousands of years and so have the discrepancies of how and
why and who started what, as I found that one day, I had become
baptized into a religion and that the ‘final truth’ about that
comes from a book considered the ‘truthful authority’, the bible,
with nothing but being told so, which for me made it a very weak
case for what I was SUPPOSED to believe no matter how much
anything ran contrary to nature.
Here is a link that maybe will peak some people’s curiosity for a
start:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_origin_of_religions
or read some of Thomas Paine’s ‘Blasphemy of the Bible’, ‘Essay
on Dreams’ and ‘Examinations of the Prophecies’
http://truthbeknown.com/
Report thisBy Mo, March 26, 2010 at 2:11 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Dionne, like the late Tim Russert, is another one of the active Catholics in journalism who try to spin the story by talking about sin, theology, celibacy, and church teachings, but always leave out the fact that crimes have been committed, and that these priests, and the bishops and cardinals who protect them, are criminals and should be tried as such. He also doesn’t mention that he’s a columnist (as is William Pfaff) for the Catholic publication, Commonweal.
Report thisBy Druthers, March 26, 2010 at 12:16 pm Link to this comment
This establishment will have to do something. And you can be sure that something will allow this group of bachelors living together in luxry in the Vatican to continue to do so.
Report thisThey are so sorry - but they didn’t call the police.
They know what is taking place and this worry about how THEY are going to survive is their first and last concern.
I couldn’t care less. How many lives have they sabotaged in the dark?
And they dare to give advice and orders to others?
By Frikken Kids, March 26, 2010 at 8:11 am Link to this comment
Here’s how the Pope can end the scandal. Admit the plainly obvious - that he and probably at least hundreds of others (priests, bishops, cardinals, and the late Pope JP2) engaged in a criminal cover-up of thousands (probably hundreds of thousands) of cases of child rape. That criminal conspiracy spanned spanned the entire globe. He should admit that as the leader of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith for a quarter century he designed and controlled the cover-up and was more fully aware of its scope than probably anyone else in the world. He must admit that by covering up for and protecting child rapist, he enabled their continued access to more and more victims and it directly culpable for the rape of countless children. Finally, he should submit himself and every single person who was also involved in the cover-up (and obviously every priest who raped or otherwise abused children) to criminal prosecution. To do anything less betrays the obvious - these men are not godly, they care only about the fabulous power and riches of their church. Nobody who genuinely believed in their god could ever conceal rapists of children for the sake of saving money or saving face. If Ratzinger held any job but Pope, would there be even a second of delay in hauling him into a courtroom to be confronted with the abominable crimes he has committed?
Report thisBy Seeker, March 26, 2010 at 7:08 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
As a lifelong Catholic who is extremely involved in the Church, I totally agree
Report thiswith the observations in this article. While I strongly believe in the teachings of
the Church and in its Sacraments, I find the institution itself largely ignores the
teachings of Jesus Christ when making business decisions. Money and the
protection of money from lawsuits is the primary concern time after time, very
often blocking good works in the name of fiscal prudence. Our pastors and
bishops have become enmeshed in business and finance concerns with very
little time left for attending to the spiritual needs of the people. We don’t need
more buildings or more beautiful things. Bottom line our bishops and priests
need to be spiritual shepherds not chief executive officers. We need the
presence of God in our midst and we need the leadership and example of our
priests to show us the way! I understand that the sex abuse problem is not
limited to the Catholic Church, but that does not minimize our guilt. I believe
that the glorious expensive vestments worn at Mass should be replaced with
sackcloth as an expression of repentance as a community and as reminder that
we MUST all undergo a conversion of heart.
By photoshock, March 26, 2010 at 6:47 am Link to this comment
The way that the Holy Father is acting right now, is the height of self-protection and self-aggrandizement.
Report thisNo longer can the hierarchy of the Church, any church hide behind the veil of secrecy that is inherent in any
organization as large as the Catholic Church.
There are so many layers of bureaucratic, administrative bullshit, that the ‘laity’ cannot openly
address their concerns and problems with the organization without being ostracized and shunned by the local faith community.
The laity, those people to whom the priests minister are the real church, not the priests. If it wasn’t for the laity, we all would think that these men wearing funny dresses and clothes were nothing more than bi-sexual characters that we need to protect our
children against.
Speaking from a purely Catholic perspective, I am ashamed at the way the Church has hijacked the celibacy rule and created an institution of the priesthood. In medieval times, the reason that the R.C. Church, decided to institute celibacy is that the wives of the priests would inherit the land and the churches and money that was left after their husbands, the priests died. Institutional celibacy did not happen until this time period. Up to that point, in the life of the church, there were married parish priests, the hierarchy even engaged in illicit marriages, some openly, having many mistresses and multiple children with multiple wives.
You tell me, were these the actions of ‘G-dly’ men, whom, chosen by ‘G-d’ to lead the faithful, were supposed to be examples to the faithful?
My point is this, let us, Roman Catholics, return to a more primitive form of Christianity and find the true meaning of the words, ‘whoever shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.’
By peedeecee, March 25, 2010 at 9:00 pm Link to this comment
You ask:
How in the name of God can the Roman Catholic Church put the pedophilia scandal behind it?
Simple. Three requirements:
1) public apology and reparations to all those who were abused by clergy.
2) Serious punishment and defrocking of the guilty.
3) Most important: get rid of the unnatural celibacy requirement and humanize the church. That will show seriousness of intent.
Report thisBy SoTexGuy, March 25, 2010 at 5:00 pm Link to this comment
The question:
“How in the name of God can the Roman Catholic Church put the pedophilia scandal behind it”?
Answer: divest my friends, divest.
If the Vatican didn’t have worldwide assets in everything from land, buildings, platinum reserves and whatever else.. totaling in the bu-zillions of dollars.. then a lot less people would be after them to ‘atone’ for their sins.
Oh! I’m not dismissing the systematic abuse of children and all the cover ups! It’s just simple fact.. no real money, no law suits and no press.
Anyway.. imagine what it would do for tax revenues to have all that swag put back on the tax rolls! Heck, all the churches can do the same thing.. keep their houses of worship tax-free.. everything else, the stock portfolios, ‘retreats’ in Bimini or wherever and all the dross (from a spiritual view) they have accumulated.. TAX it!
That will pay for the next Wall Street bailout at least..
Vamonos!
Report thisBy samosamo, March 25, 2010 at 4:22 pm Link to this comment
Nothing short of the same kind of corporate doublespeak and
speakese. Philandering is an old friend of religion and as long as
people are ‘granted’ forgiveness through a ‘sun of god’ then
everything will be alright, right? But it’s actually more like well it
was an old day yesterday and a new day today, so the meat is
back on the table.
Seems to me that any religion that sprang out of the middle
Report thiseast, and I am talking most especially the judeo/christian,
roman catholic and the muslims, are nothing but the most
virulent organizations of egotistical hatred all acting as a
authoritative pomposity of good.
By markpkessinger, March 25, 2010 at 4:16 pm Link to this comment
I think there’s a larger problem here that no one is discussing, and that has to do with the Roman Catholic Church’s very theology of holy orders. There are several reasons why other Christian denominations, although not immune to this sort of thing, have not been as plagued by it as the Roman Catholic Church. Apart from the wholly unnatural celibacy requirement, you are simply asking for trouble when you start with a theology of holy orders that ranks priests as somehow more “holy” than laity, “bishops” more so than priests, and one particular bishop (i.e., the bishop of Rome), more than anybody low living). Then, when you find out that many of your priests and bishops (and popes) have feet made of a clay even softer than that of the average parishioner, how do you explain it away?
Report thisBy gerard, March 25, 2010 at 3:52 pm Link to this comment
Reading through this, I couldn’t help but relate it to our entire benighted capitalistic, war-mongering society. Far more lives are ruined by the robbery, lying and unjust adjudications of corporatocracy than the Church could every effect. Not that I’m upholding the Church—but the comparison and contrast is irresistible considering the present situation of the nuclear-weapons-ridden, cruel,war-mongering, silly, blind stupidities of most of our present activities—and we consider ourselves perfectly sane, entitled, well-meaning and legitimate. Criticism arouses little more than righteous indignation, if that.
Report thisBy CitizenWhy, March 25, 2010 at 3:51 pm Link to this comment
The big problem: The Pope knew. His complicit in many criminal cases. He has no
Report thisright to “end” this scandal. He should be indicted.