Religious “morality” is once again on open display with the news that more than 500 people have filed claims accusing Jesuits of sexually abusing children across the Northwest.
The Jesuits claim to have so far spent about $25 million and have settled 200 sex-abuse claims. In bankruptcy documents the Jesuits claim to have $4.8 million in assets and liabilities of $61.8 million.
The amount of money they are spending to clean up this moral mess is staggering. And, all the cases aren’t even settled!
In other news, the New York Times reports on the disgusting cover-up of sexual abuse in Connecticut and the lengths the Catholic Church went to in their unholy efforts to conceal documents related to the cases. This went to the top of the chain and even included Bishop Edward Egan.
Interestingly, while settlements on child seduction, abuse and rape are occurring, The Catholic League’s Bill Donohue is in a tizzy over a PETA ad that features model Joanna Krupa holding a crucifix over some dogs with the caption, “Be an angel for the animals. Always Adopt. Never Buy.”
“The fact is that cats and dogs are a lot safer in pet stores than they are in the hands of PETA employees,” Catholic League President Bill Donohue said in a statement. “Moreover, pet stores don’t rip off Christian iconography and engage in cheap irreligious claims. PETA is a fraud.”
How typical of Donohue and his useless organization, which is no more than a PR firm for hypocrisy. The Catholic League always finds fluffy pet issues, no pun intended, instead of fixing the moral depravity within the church’s walls. Deflection is the specialty of The Catholic League, which is used to stifle genuine reflection and having to face up to the unspeakable facts.
Millions of dollars are being shelled out because of priest scandals and the main thing Donohue is concerned about is finding a sensational issue so he can get his mug on TV.
Outrageous, isn’t it?
It shows you what The Catholic League truly values – and it’s not families. I’m not saying one has to agree with the PETA ads. But, I am pointing out that Donohue and the Catholic hierarchy in general under Pope Benedict has their priorities skewed.
I never again want to hear a Catholic priest lecture GLBT people on sexual morality. There simply is no moral authority for these priests – or Donohue – to discuss sexuality of any kind. It is time they clean up their own act before pointing fingers.
Short of murder, there is nothing worse than child sexual abuse – the primary sin of this Church. Given their sordid history, it is astounding that they would even consider entering the debate on allowing healthy gay couples the freedom to marry.
Have these “holy men” no shame? Have they no sense of decency and honor? I think the answer is self-evident.
Although not a Catholic myself, I cannot count how many men have told me their clergyman sexually abused them when they were boys, and that goes for other faiths as well, as my 2nd partner was abused by his pastor in an African-American Baptist church when he was 12 [I don't think he ever got over that, either, even when he passed away at age 50!]. Finally, the absolute hypocrisy of one church heirarchy is coming to light.
About damn time……
Yes, the Catholic Church is not alone. Religious sexual oppression is a huge part of this problem. Instead of open, healthy sexuality, it leads to lies, sexual hang-ups cover-ups and poor mental health.
Quite sad that despite the carnage, they are locked into a mindset where they cannot admit they are wrong, thus they never learn and are doomed to repeat the tawdry past.
It is about time that the fruits of the Catholic Church are finally being exposed! Through lawsuits and making such an investigation public knowledge is a welcome step! A true and lasting change in society requires self-analysis. So, before everything is relegated to yesterday’ news, wouldn’t it bring healing to ask the question “why”? Why was such a perversion covered up for so long by an organization that claims to be the guardian of Christian ethics and morals? The harm to society is immeasurable! Who can gauge the crumbling ethics and morals in society and the increasing cynicism because of such conduct? And what about the victims and their families who were deeply and emotionally traumatized?! And let us not forget the alienation from God in society caused by such “bastions” of religious faith! Where does the responsibility lie for all this? Enforced celibacy has no biblical foundation at all! Why was it instituted in the first place?!
What would Jesus of Nazareth say if He came to the Earth and saw what the church — which claims to speak for Him — has made of His life’ work?
A move has been made by a small group of people against such shameful sham Christianity. They’ve put out a website and call themselves “The Free Christians for the Christ of the Sermon on the Mount in All Cultures Worldwide.” At this website they announce a lawsuit against the Catholic Church — of all places, in Germany, a bastion of the Catholic institution! And the sexual abuse of young people is one of the reasons they give for having taken such a step. As they put it, they do not want to remain silent anymore on the “brazen labelling fraud,” with which Christ is mocked and His name abused to such an extent. They demand that the They demand that the Catholic Church no longer call itself “Christian.”
As a Christian, I fully support this and consider it high time that someone calls a spade a spade. Nothing against the sincere folk and priests who work hard and honestly, upholding the ideals of a Christian life. But as an institution, it has taken on a life of its own, and one could indeed ask if there is anything Christian about it! I commend the courage of these people to call the Church to task. Perhaps your readers would like to check them out: http://www.christus-oder-kirche.de/christ-or-church/index.php. There seems to be a grassroots movement to bring this up for discussion on the internet. Surely this could be very healthy for our society!
My mother and her sisters were removed from their home in Ireland, and tossed in a Catholic run industrial school there. My mother was removed from school at 9 years of age, forced to do laundry the rest of her childhood, and all three girls were sexually abused, verbally abused, and beaten regularly–my mother nightly while in her sleep. To this day, my mother awakes screaming in the middle of the night, an old woman still unable to escape her Catholic abusers. And the abuse shown my mother, sadly, did not end with her release from that institution; rather, it followed her home, where she unfortunately shared it with me. The abuse stops with me, however, as I refused to become my abuser. Still, I now have my own ghosts to battle, in addition to battling the same Catholic oppressors who now, having ruined the childhood of two generations in my family, wish to oppress my civil liberties as a gay man who wishes to marry the one individual through whom he found the love of family. I will fight them to my death, and by golly,I will live to see my community win that war.
Michael, that is horrible. The Catholic Church has done harm to so many that it no longer has moral authority to speak on any subject. My heart goes out to you and I will pray and think good thoughts.
Not that the Catholic Church had much if any moral authority left before this latest round of lawsuits, but they pretty much squandered that on homophobic garbage to the effect that GLBTQs are as much of a danger as global warming (talk about no sense of proportion!) and comments by Cardinal Barragan.
I hope vicitms continue to courageously come forward until no onle believes anything the Roman Catholic Church has to say.
The website for the Free Christians for the Christ of the Sermon on the Mount in All Cultures Worldwide has been changed to:www.christ-or-church.de