[maryz]

Crisis does have a website, but the current issue is not posted.

I think Sims makes some very good points, though I wish he had been more forceful and less diffuse.

[maryz]

This article is, in any case, a great deal better than today's column in The Wall Street Journal by Archbishop Harry J. Flynn. I haven't checked to see if it's on the free part of their website for posting, but to give you the flavor of it, "Over the past decade, we have learned that we are facing a solvable problem. Bishops around the country have put in place programs that work." Not one word about homosexuality in the priesthood and hierarchy.

I don't recall ever having heard of Archbishop Flynn before. According to the blurb in the WSJ, "Archbishop Flynn is arachbishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse." Maybe some of you know more about him.

[Catholicguy]

This really is the Time of the Laity. The Bishops will not put anything effective into place and even if they did, the "policies" will have no forceful effect as the Bishop's conference has no authority. It's only "authority" is if individual Bishops decide to abide by the policy. And we know that each Bishop runs or ignores his own Diocese as he desires. The Bishops oppose Rome and we think they will listen to their own non-authoritative rhetorical scaffolding erected to conceal as much as to heal?

It is time for the Laity to grow-up. We KNOW, or we should, which priests are trustworthy. We KNOW, or we should, which Bishops are trustworthy and Orthodox. We do NOT need Rome or the Bishop's Conference to tell us what to do.

It is OUR job to teach the Faith to our children. It is OUR job to assure our children are in a safe school if we do not homeschool. It is OUR job to either tithe to our local parish if it is orthodox or we can tithe to those in our communities that are worthy of help. It is OUR job to inform ourselves and other Catholics in our communities about those in the local Hierarchy and to PUBLICLY oppose heresy, schism, and evil as it presents itself and, more importantly, to publicly praise those acts and persons who are orthodox.

We have GOT to stop relying upon others to solve our problems

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

No mention of the 1961 ban on ordaining homosexuals. They're tempting fate if they think a program like Courage will mitigate the risk.

[zbogwan2]

St. Catherine also wrote: “It is essential to root out from the garden of the Church the rotten plants and to put in their place the good ones.”

Hope the church heeds these words of wisdom?

[ThomasMore]

The crisis is mostly, however, about active homosexuals in the priesthood. Anyone (including an archbishop) who does not admit this is simply part of the problem.

It couldn't have been stated more clearly and precisely!

[ThomasMore]

which is going to involve, among other things, firing vocations directors, cleaning up the seminaries, and defrocking (with Rome’s permission) a number of priests.

This is an absolute MUST!

[ThomasMore]

The laity constitute 89 percent of the Church, and these scandals among the clergy did not occur in a vacuum. Do we pray for priests? Do we foster vocations among devout and intelligent young men? Are we supportive of parish priests, who have very difficult jobs and often only hear complaints? Are we charitable toward their human failings?

I agree with much of what he has to say, but come short on this one. Don't lay this issue of depravity off on the laity. You can't have it both ways; we have a higher calling but we're not fully responsible for our actions. All the devout Catholics I know pray for and are supportive of their priests, foster good vocations and are more than charitable. What does that have to do with some sodomite imposter who's wrecking my family; the Church!?!? When it comes to these perverts and heretics I only respect the office; but like the early fathers, I hold their actions and doctrines in contempt.

[ejo]

"The institutional Church has been deeply corrupted by the sexual revolution"

But, but hasn't the whole of society become corrupted by the deviant behaviour of certain individuals...The movie industry, sporting,educators, etc have all been tainted by this insidious plague. Why then hold the Catholic Church as the only one to be tried and convicted.... as we write, there are grand plans to hold a Gay(sad) parade through the streets of Jerusalem...does this not evoke the same outrage as has been poured out on the Catholic Church? Do these deviants not deserve to be chastised for the corruption they bring upon the law abiding and God fearing people the world around.....I am just about fed up with the Media, it used to be, a favorite newspaper's bold statement in the upper right hand corner "All the news that is fit to print"

Pleazzze, give me a break. Media seems to be the culprit here.

[sinkspur]

We are not talking here about priests with a homosexual orientation who are struggling to live the virtue of chastity. We are talking about active homosexuals who have broken their vows.

The author of this piece knows that there are many homosexually-oriented men in the priesthood who are celibate. There just are. And one might guess who they are, but, because they are celibate, one will never know.

That's why a blanket policy against admitting homosexuals to the priesthood will never work. First, if they're celibate, you'll never know.

And, if they're celibate, why not admit them?

[Zon]

Can the Bishops Heal the American Church?

What is the church without the trust of people to become or remain parishioners? How can the bishops regain lost trust and those "parishioners" that fled the church? How can bishops stem the tide of parishioners sitting on the fence poised to jump ship?

I doubt this will enable the bishops to "heal" the church. Albeit it is what the parishioners, those that have fled and those on the fence, want from the bishops. They want the bishops to be completely honest and come completely clean about the scandal. However, if the bishops do that it will most likely cause even more parishioners to flee the church than already have. Apparently the bishops, facilitated by the church, have dug their own Catch 22 demise.

As I understand it the church has been sick almost since since it's inception. Or is it that priests sexually abusing people a recent occurrence with a short history?

[NetValue]

"The crisis is about active homosexuals in the priesthood.....the cases in question involve not pedophilia but the sexual abuse of teenage boys.....the media prefer not to treat homosexual behavior as the issue. Still, it is issue, and if the hierarchy does not root it out.....then the devastation is going to continue."

Let me not mince words. A priest occupies a position of trust to be true to moral behavior and a Christ-like model for all to follow. A homosexual priest using his position to carry out his base desires upon an innocent adolescent and to then be protected by his superiors is the lowest evil.

I believe the proper penalty for these corruptors of youths is not removal from the priesthood but life in prison. Were a homosexual priest to molest any member of my family and be set free or protected because it's a first offense, neither he nor his superiors would ever be seen again. Guaranteed!