Oh...and it wasn’t just one bad priest...it was a conspiracy of priests...who allowed a 14 year old girl to be sexually assaulted and told her to keep her mouth shut...so as to not give the church a “black-eye”...our parish priest’s exact phrase. He defended the man who did it...said he was old and not in his right mind...etc. My parents were counseled by him to not press charges against the guy..that he would take care of it...put him in a place where he wouldn’t do anymore damage..my parents bought that line of crap...but we found out later he was back in his own parish immediately and stayed there with his filthy hands handing out the Eucharist until he died 3 years later. My parents were counseled to never mention the incident again...and they didn’t ...so my sister was left with that pile of crap to deal with...without the help of anyone. And years later when my sister went back to our parish priest to seek his help in dealing with her pain...he told her “just forget about it...it was all in the past”....A priest...we were taught, was a representative of Christ here on earth....my sister still has a problem with God...can you blame her?
Dirty little secret, you don't need a bureaucracy between you and God. I pray she finds a way to reconnect with God. I know I'll be flamed by all of the "my way or the highway zealots," but I've seen God's miracles happen hundreds of times with no church involvement.
EVERYONE has to answer to God for actions taken.......EVERYONE.
How old was he?
As I've stated elsewhere, the real scandal in the Catholic Church wasn't the sexual abuse, but that 66% of Catholic bishops covered for the 4% of sexual predators among Catholic clergy. Their actions negatively affected 95% of the dioceses in the United States. Their actions cost the Catholic Church over three billion dollars paid in settlements and awards to the victims. Two-thirds of the bishops. Roughly the same percentage that chose not to speak out when Notre Dame honored Obama last spring. Coincidence?
Related threads:
The Bishops Who Speak... And Those Who Don't
So how many bishops back Notre Dame now?
Kneeling Before the World [Catholic Caucus]
Immunity, Denied (Catholic Caucus)
Sixth Circuit: Vatican Can Be Sued for Sexual Abuse
[Faithful Departed author Philip] Lawler points out that while less than five percent of American priests have been accused of sexual abuse, some two-thirds of our bishops were apparently complicit in cover-ups. The real scandal isn't the sick excesses of a few dozen pedophiles, or even the hundreds of priests who had affairs with teenage boys -- the bulk of abuse cases. No, according to Lawler, it is the malfeasance of wealthy, powerful, and evidently worldly men who fill the thrones -- but not the shoes -- of the apostles. In case after case, we read in their correspondence, in the records of their soulless, bureaucratic responses to victims of psychic torture and spiritual betrayal, these bishops' prime concern was to save the infrastructure, the bricks and mortar and mortgages. Ironically, their lack of a supernatural concern for souls is precisely what cost them so much money in the end.
Your story is a very personal story.
I personally believe that Christ can speak to Christians in different ways. My story is just the opposite, of a myriad of protestant denominations leaving me feeling betrayed by those churches.
After marrying a Catholic, I converted about four years after our marriage, after praying and studying for years. I’m not a perfect Christian and not a perfect Catholic...and it’s that way for all of us. I strive to be stronger.
I’m grateful you have found Christ and that is most important. Some that have been through what your sister and family have been through have rejected God outright.
Prayers out for your sister and you, as well as your family. May your faith in Christ be strong.
There is a family in my Lutheran parish with a similar story. One of their kids was abused, and they were told it was better for them to suffer than for the diocese to have the scandal. In the end, the diocese went bankrupt.
I wish I could say this was just a Catholic thing, but it is not. Look at all the abuse that goes on in schools sometimes, and how many of the teachers bounce around from school to school.