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Pedophilia and the Pope
townhall.com ^ | April 17, 2008 | Sandy Rios

Posted on 04/18/2008 6:38:50 PM PDT by kellynla

I can understand why nearly three-quarters of U.S. Catholics say they approve of their new Pope, Benedict XVI. He is a deep thinking Pontiff who, like John Paul II before him, holds fast to refreshingly strong moral convictions. When he said he was ashamed of the existence of pedophile priests and their subsequent abuse of young boys, unlike the scoffers, I believe him.

It’s true that many Catholic leaders, to their disgrace, ignored early reports and initiated a cover-up. If financial retribution can ever repay such betrayal, many archdioceses have been bankrupted by the scandal. The church, however slow, has made attempts to purge themselves of this sexual deviance with one notable—and perhaps fatal—flaw.

“We will rid the church of pedophile priests,” said Pope Benedict on his flight to America. That’s good news except for one thing: the root problem among the priests was homosexuality, not pedophilia. Pedophilia is the attraction by adults to children, both boys and girls and the priest scandals have been, with few exceptions, man to boy.

Man/Boy “Love” has been a staple in homosexual practice since the time of the ancient Greeks, famous for taking young boys as students and bonding with them sexually. Modern gay magazines have regularly advertised for “Chickens,” defined by Bruce Rogers in “Gay-Talk: A Dictionary of Gay Slang” as “any boy under the age of consent … heterosexual … fair of face and unfamiliar with homosexuality.”

Until recently, the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) marched in gay pride parades nationally. But once homosexual activists realized the obstacle this posed to advancing their acceptance, NAMBLA was forced to take a low profile—at least for now.

In his book “Good-bye, Good Men,” author Michael Rose reports that many Catholic seminaries have gradually become conclaves for homosexual men, often leading to the exclusion of the “faithful,” who take seriously the teachings of Scripture on sexual behavior.

It is a disservice to shift the focus of the Catholic Church disgrace to pedophilia in order to soft pedal the larger danger of homosexual behavior to an ever-increasingly, gay-sympathetic public. Denying the correlation of homosexuality and priest-abusers of young boys further enforces the persuasive myth of activists that it is “just another lifestyle.” It will be difficult to oppose the cultural shift AND the homosexual clergy with the truth, but I believe Pope Benedict has the moral fortitude to do it.

The moral law established by our Creator brings clarity. Human sexuality, arguably the most beautiful gift of God to mankind, has been made ugly and perverse by all of us who think we can ignore those standards and practice any kind of sex outside of marriage without restraint.

Sexual perversion destroys lives, undermines civilization and ultimately wounds us all. The problem that unfolded in the Roman Catholic Church has its roots in homosexuality, not pedophilia. It is an important distinction. If Pope Benedict XVI can’t bring moral clarity on this issue to a world rapidly descending into homosexual acceptance, then who can?


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: abusivepriests; catholicism; homosexualagenda; homsexuality; nambla; pedophiles; pedophilia; pope
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"The problem that unfolded in the Roman Catholic Church has its roots in homosexuality, not pedophilia."

1 posted on 04/18/2008 6:38:50 PM PDT by kellynla
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To: Salvation; NYer; narses

ping


2 posted on 04/18/2008 6:39:19 PM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: kellynla

Man/Boy “Love” has been a staple in homosexual practice since the time of the ancient Greeks...


Give me a break. This kind of perversion was common in all cultures on all continents. And its prevalence in ancient Greece has been greatly exagerrated. Thankfully the arrival of Christianity enlightened the Greeks, among he first to finally rid themselves of this practice.


3 posted on 04/18/2008 6:49:39 PM PDT by eleni121 (EN TOUTO NIKA!! +)
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To: eleni121
I think his only point was that the issue goes back a long time--he wasn't dissing the Greeks.

If classical Greek literature is any indicator, however, it would seem that ancient Greece had more than it's fair share of acceptance of homosexual behavior.

Of course post-pagan Greece is like anywhere else, though, you must admit they do have some rather unique ideas about men's fashion:


4 posted on 04/18/2008 7:02:09 PM PDT by AnalogReigns
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To: AnalogReigns

Well NR has a history of attacking Greece..while suporting the Turks. So, I say lay off the Greeks.

About the foustanela...they are great for fighting Turks up in the mountains. Scottish kilts have the same origins. My mom used to make me (and my brothers) wear one at ethnic festivals...and I am a girl!


5 posted on 04/18/2008 7:09:11 PM PDT by eleni121 (EN TOUTO NIKA!! +)
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To: kellynla

Benedict has his own house to get in order before he can speak to the world with moral clarity.


6 posted on 04/18/2008 7:25:22 PM PDT by count-your-change (you don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
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To: count-your-change

back at ya


7 posted on 04/18/2008 7:35:51 PM PDT by Notwithstanding ("You are either with America in our time of need or you are not" - W? No, 'twas Sen. Hillary 9/12/01)
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To: kellynla
It’s true that many Catholic leaders, to their disgrace, ignored early reports and initiated a cover-up.

Early reports, like, in 1960?

My father planned to become a priest, and enrolled in a Catholic seminary. But he lasted only a matter of weeks, because of the bitter, mean, furious, spiteful, and petty men he found in leadership positions there, men representing the polar opposite of what he was raised to understand Christ's earthly servants ought to represent.

Not to mention the evening meeting with one of the teachers or administrators that went like a scene from the movie Airplane.

Needless to say, since I'm here typing this, he decided not to become a priest after all.

8 posted on 04/18/2008 7:37:29 PM PDT by mvpel
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To: count-your-change

“Benedict has his own house to get in order before he can speak to the world with moral clarity?”

And just who do you think you are, newbie, to be telling the pope what he can and/or needs to do.


9 posted on 04/18/2008 7:39:24 PM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: mvpel

For the 1001th time, the Church was led to believe by the psychiatric & psychological community that the priests who were guilty of sexual abuse of others could be “cured.” And once it had been determined that they couldn’t be “cured”; they were removed.


10 posted on 04/18/2008 7:44:51 PM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: kellynla

The first thing that should be dealt with are the Seminaries. If they are set right in the beginning, the problem will be eliminated.


11 posted on 04/18/2008 7:48:50 PM PDT by davisfh ( Islam is a serious mental illness)
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To: kellynla
I'll tell you who I'm NOT. I'm not claiming to be the “vicar of Christ”, I don't claim “immediate and ordinary” authority to deal to deal with immoral shepherds, (priests who are pederasts are going to be removed, what about homosexual priests?), I haven't had to pay out $2 billion to victims of abuse by my “brethren” and now be “ashamed” of the failure to follow Biblical principles in dealing with these false shepherds.
And I DO understand Jesus’ word about a tree producing rotten fruit. That's moral clarity.
The observation I made might be shared by the victims of the abuse that occurred. So who are you?
12 posted on 04/18/2008 8:08:01 PM PDT by count-your-change (you don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
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To: count-your-change

what a silly ass reply....you are nothing, the Pope is the spiritual leader of ALL christians, whether you like it or not......are you baptized....if so, you are a Catholic....welcome home!!!


13 posted on 04/18/2008 8:14:52 PM PDT by terycarl (lurking, but interested and informed)
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To: kellynla
The problem that unfolded in the Roman Catholic Church has its roots in homosexuality, not pedophilia.

Of course this is obvious to most thinking people.

Someone ought to talk about, just for perspective, the rates of pedophilia in the public school system and other institutions for a while, because it's not a "Roman Catholic" problem. It's inexcusable in the Church, and everywhere else. But it's by no means unique to it.

Heard a priest talk the other night about what it was like to be a seminarian in the seventies (He was an Episcopal priest first, converted to Catholicism in the eighties). He went to Yale, his parish was in New Haven. When an elite faction within the Episcopal church began pushing for women "priests" in the '70's, he said, lecturers would show homosexual pornography to students as part of their 'education.'

We haven't heard a peep about the problem of pedophilia in the Episcopal church. And who knows, it may disintegrate before we do. But it's, by all reconings, a fact.

And just what the hell happened to this country in the late '60's? In retrospect, it looks as if some sort of all-out attack was launched from within.

14 posted on 04/18/2008 8:21:28 PM PDT by the invisib1e hand (to love New York is to love humanity.)
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To: kellynla
"And just who do you think you are, newbie, to be telling the pope what he can and/or needs to do"

Who's asking, newbie?

15 posted on 04/18/2008 8:28:27 PM PDT by joebuck (Finitum non capax infinitum!)
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To: terycarl

Give me a break, the pope is just another pastor, but with a funny hat.


16 posted on 04/18/2008 8:29:55 PM PDT by joebuck (Finitum non capax infinitum!)
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To: count-your-change

Your misinformation of the Catholic Church and Catholicism is laughable.

I suggest you keep your opinions of the Catholic Church, Catholicism, Catholics and the pope to yourself and let people think you a fool than post them and remove all doubt.


17 posted on 04/18/2008 8:32:02 PM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: kellynla
Bingo on the homosexuality vs pedophilia angle.

Much of the problems with America's Catholic churches, IMHO, can be traced to Jadot.

18 posted on 04/18/2008 8:34:48 PM PDT by ikka
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To: joebuck

“Give me a break, the pope is just another pastor, but with a funny hat.”

Well, you just won my Tagline of the Week Award.

You & Bill Maher have a lot in common.


19 posted on 04/18/2008 8:35:48 PM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: kellynla
"Well, you just won my Tagline of the Week Award."

Keep it for a year. It'll be the smartest thing you've ever posted.

20 posted on 04/18/2008 8:52:24 PM PDT by joebuck (Finitum non capax infinitum!)
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