[metmom]

And therein lies Catholicism’s problem.

It’s the ANCIENT church that dealt with them that way. After a few hundred years, that all changed.

So this problem has been undealt with for well over 1,000 years.

Not a very good track record.

[Mrs. Don-o]

This brief article focuses on two points in time: the 4th century (St. Basil) and the 11th century (St. Peter Damian.) It doesn't attempt an overview of what was happening before the 4th century, between the 5th and 11th, between the 12th and 21st.

Like Israel,the Catholic Church has preserved a long, long written record of sin and grace: the downfalls, the repentances, the restorations. The Old Testament record of God's people contains hints about similar seasons of human iniquity (the Baal-Peor incident in Hosea comes to mind). I suspect we'd find recurring eruptions of human iniquity all along, if we have some way to look into the record.

What was *your* church doing about sexually offending clergy, say 700 years ago?