Posted on 03/22/2010 7:53:23 PM PDT by Steelfish
MARCH 22, 2010 The End of Euphemism Benedict XVI and The Corruptions of Catholic Ireland.
GEORGE WEIGEL
In a March 20 pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland, Pope Benedict XVI vigorously condemned the physical and sexual abuse of “children and vulnerable young people” in which Irish priests and religious women had engaged for decades, and mandated an Apostolic Visitation of various segments of the Irish Church.
The visitation seems likely to result in major changes in the Church’s leadership in what was once one of the world’s most intensely Catholic countries, and is now one of the centers of aggressive secularism in Europe. “Sinful and criminal acts” against the young “and the way Church authorities dealt with them” are, the Pope suggests, among the reasons that Irish Catholicism has imploded in recent decades. And Benedict does not hesitate to draw the necessary conclusion from that analysis — radical reform is the only path back to a vital and vibrant Catholic Church in the land of St. Patrick.
There is very little euphemism in Benedict’s pastoral letter; its language is both unprecedented and unsparing, as is its candor about the failures of bishops in dealing with abuse. Abusing priests and religious women are told, bluntly, that “you betrayed the trust that was placed in you by innocent young people and their parents, and you must answer for it before Almighty God and before properly constituted tribunals.”
Moreover, the Pope writes to the abusers, “you have forfeited the esteem of the people of Ireland and have brought shame and dishonor upon your confreres. Those of you who are priests violated the sanctity of the sacrament of Holy Orders in which Christ makes himself present in us and in our actions” — which is to say, you have profaned holy things.
(Excerpt) Read more at article.nationalreview.com ...
RICO.
I did not know the Irish Priests were so guilty of child abuse. Is it more than in the U.S.?
JPII was the big failure. He never made any bishops - Irish or otherwise - behave and follow the orders of Rome, and this had a trickle down effect.
The Irish bishops completely rejected Rome and felt perfectly free to do so because of JPII’s non-enforcement of anything Ratzinger had forced him to say. And their clergy felt perfectly free to reject or ignore the Irish bishops.
Naturally, now that BXVI (the former Cdl Ratzinger) is in charge, he is enforcing things... and neither the Irish bishops nor the pro-gay press likes it.
Tough on them.
No, the problem is that Ireland is a small country without a lot of very populous dioceses, but some of the bishops blatantly covered up for the molesters by doing things such as forcing the boys who were victims to make a vow of silence - and now all of Ireland knows about it.
In most cases, as usual, this was actually not a situation of pedophiles attacking prepubescent children, but gay men going after early adolescents. This still cannot be discussed in Ireland (or in the US), and I think Benedict’s program for missions is a great idea and will force some of the Irish bishops to either acknowledge their complicity or grow a spine and clean up their dioceses.
Frankly, I think the Pope is going to have to replace aout 99.9% of the Irish bishops to get any change. The remaining .1% (who is he?) might be the successor to St. Patrick...
I was raised Catholic and never heard of such things before the middle fifties. Then, while going home on leave while in the Navy, I was propositioned by a gay priest at a train station in New Mexico. Nothing happened, but I was forever ... shocked.
Later, I learned that New Mexico was where such priests were sent for rehab treatment.
And then in the sixties, all hell broke loose in what I’d call our modern day sexual revolution.
I’ve now come to believe that the condition is genetic. I now know that it runs in my late wife’s family.
I wish Benedict and all Catholics the best.
Yes, and about time. JPII was not an enforcer of Catholic discipline. BXVI follows the motto of St. Benedict: “When pruned, it grows.”
Before that, it was the Venerable Bede and the English St. Augustine. Sure and begorrah, nothin but trouble in the Emerald Isle.
Nothing new here. Bless all here. Move along. Draw me a pint of Guiness on your way out. Safe home.
Our bishops are on the side of those who want to KILL US AMERICANS. Our bishops are so corrupted with Marxism--of all varieties, the academic, the dimestore versions, the witless, thoughtless, brainless Democrat-robot versions--that, as a group, they have become enemies of life, enemies of human liberty, enemies of the American people. Our Catholic bishops--with about fifteen exceptions--have become as destructive and hostile to America as in the worst nightmares of anti-Catholic bigots--of whom there have been many in the course of our history.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.