Comments (11)

OK, Anthony, where is "Father" Aguilar? Where did he go after Mahony transferred him to Rivera? Why is he still practicing Mass in the Mexican State of Puebla?

Worth repeating:
The Crises (pl) in the contemporary Catholic Church:

1. The inappropriate conduct of many priests, the emotional stress on the victims and the resultant billion dollars in lawsuits.

2. The lack of talent in the priesthood.

3. The lack of Vatican response to the historic Jesus movement.

4. The Church's continuing cling to original sin and the resulting subsets of crazy ideas like limbo.

5. The denial of priesthood to women.

6. The restriction of priesthood to single men (unless you are former Episcopalian priests).

7. And the continued chain of Vatican "leadership" by old European white men.

Okay let's see if this one disappears....

The problem arose in response to two things: poor screening of seminary candidates, and abuse of clerical authority. The classes and meetings that I have attended as a volunteer in Catholic education place great emphasis on how to discern and report unacceptable behavior among other lay staff and volunteers. Finding anyone to listen to a complaint or suspicion about a member of the clergy or avowed religious community is still a problem just because of the top down structure of the organization. I have to say, in my archdiocese they really seem to be trying to address this.

Part of the problem is the ongoing discussion of child abuse by priests in the US. The problem is world wide. It was and is no secret in my native country.

Medieval European literature is replete with references. It continues in the US today as does the refusal of priests to listen to acknowledge complaints about lay youth leaders and others.

The entire business is and always has been dispicable.

When my brother graduated from medical school, he told me they could opt out of taking a formal class that was required on recognizing child abuse in medical practice and instead take some form of a home study course, or something like that. This was years ago. It sounded like a homework assignment, and then take a test. I told him he wasn't getting a pass from me. There's too much at stake.

Gee, I guess my comment last night was too controversial....I wrote about the child protection classes that volunteers take...Maybe my concerns were less pertinent than the conquistador gold.

The obvious, if painful solution, is for the Pope and Catholic scholars to *learn about abuse.* How it happens, its entire millieu, its traps, its effects, how Christian theology can *feed into this,* instead of looking for theological reasons for 'how can this evil happen...' They're still looking to purge a 'sexual sin' with nothing but more *control,* (Not that some isn't needed in a hierarchical authoritarian system, but it's just clearly not enough.)

Abuse is about *control,* itself. The sexual kind just involves *sex,* and doesn't occur in a vacuum, or among a laundry list of 'sins' that collectively need 'fighting.' How much of the Church's fixation on things sexual was *taught* by people who joined the clergy to 'struggle with their sins' in the first place?

"The issue that concerns me most is the Pope’s admission, “It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission ... to these children.”"

Much of the problem, Professor, is how naive that very mission *is* about sex and sexuality. Abuse of many kinds tends to come in its own generational cycles and contexts and rationales... frankly, trying to deal with the problem in the same way as caused it is pretty doomed to failure.

I'm pretty sure the Pope sees this issue in terms of keeping people obedient Catholics and otherwise keeping the flock in line. But this is one of the longstanding attitudes that nurtured the abuse to begin with. I know it's his job to say 'Jesus' a lot, but really, starting with apologies as humans instead of treating it as some 'trial of faith' for someone else, imposed by some people standing up and speaking out, might be a good first step.

A welcome dose of sanity and perspective on this issue about the strict, even extreme measures that have been taken recently under the intense pressure of media hysteria and trial lawyer hounding.

As far as naivete, priests, like cops, are perhaps more familiar than anyone else with human failings and the dark side of human nature.

I chalk it up to relaxed standards of recruitment, a 60s non-judgmental culture, and bad advice from psychiatrists who claimed that various priests were "cured".

washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2008/04/benedicts_fear_of_feminism.html

Nows your chance to mention the Conquistador gold to the pope. We know he wouldn't hesitate to return it but you gotta ask.