[Boston Archdiocese] Bombshell details of sexual abuse revealed in documents

Boston Herald ^ | 04/08/2002 | Tom Mashberg

[proud to be breathing]

People who act like this scandal is some sort of new phenomenon directly correlated to modernity have never bothered to pick up a history book. How about Pope Alexander VI, father of four illegitimate children (among whom were Cesare and Lucreazia Borgia). See Burchards "Pope Alexander VI and his Court" Extracts from the Latin Diary of the Papal Master of Ceremonies,1921, for the gory details of the orgies that the Pope put on. The Pope awarded prizes to those men who had the most sexual partners, as "the coupling took place in front of everyone present". Papal infallibility must have been strained by the sight of all that libidinous behavior. A more available book is William Manchester's "A World Lit Only by Fire". In Pope Leo's own words "The lack of rule in the monasteries of France and the immodest life of the monks have come to such a pitch that neither kings, princes, not the faithful have any respect for them." In 1520, eight nunneries were closed because of, in the words of the day, " the dissolute disposition and incontinence of the religous women". In three counties in England, court records of the time show that 23% of the men indicted for sex crimes against women were Catholic clerics. A real challenge would be to find a century in the last 20 when there wasn't misbehavior, avarice , and sexual advances, criminal or otherwise, that took place at probably every level of the church. And no I'm not bashing the church, just pointing out that the church, from the Pope on down, is made up of people, fallible, imperfect beings. This is nothing new.

[Mike Fieschko]

That could be true. It doesn't seem much got cleaned up until the Protestant rebellion.

The cleanups were done, the heresies of some, and evils of some, returned.

Most histories of the Church detail the problems and what was done about them and how long it took.

Msgr Hughes' history of the General Councils here and his history of the Church here, along with the relevant articles in the Catholic Encycopaedia are good places to start.

It helps to have a perspective a little broader than the amnesiacs since the recent Council.

[Aliska]

how can you possibly expect to stand martyrdom?

It isn't true martyrdom if you are being persecuted for doing bad or sticking up for an organization which has allowed such an abomination.

[O6ret]

The CYA attitude among American Catholic clerics is too well established.

That's funny. Sounds like there's a lot of unCYA going on.

[bvw]

Give up false comforts is my only reccommendation. The rest can follow as you are inclinated.

[SamAdams76]

People who act like this scandal is some sort of new phenomenon directly correlated to modernity have never bothered to pick up a history book. How about Pope Alexander VI, father of four illegitimate children (among whom were Cesare and Lucreazia Borgia)...

That is true. But they also used to burn "witches" at the stake and leave unwanted babies outside to die (a then-acceptable practice called "exposing"). That doesn't mean that we should accept such behavior today.

This most recent reveleation is the most damaging one yet. Not only did high-ranking officials of the Church knowingly send a known homosexual child-molester to another unsuspecting parish where he could molest more children, but they actually stated in a letter to the receiving parish that the priest in question "had a clean record." They basically gave this very sick priest a clean bill of health and thus allowed him to molest other children. This is no longer a church matter of sin, but a very serious criminal matter. The church officials involved in this episode need to be prosecuted and put in jail.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

"There is a desperate need for a large group of very determined, very angry, and not-to-be-denied men from outside the United States (preferably, from the Vatican) to come to America and begin a wholesale housecleaning, beginning with the bishops who hid this filth under their carpets. "

This is not exclusively an American problem.

This from the front page of the Boston Globe:

     "At the southernmost end of the Americas, on the remote Chilean archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, a community is racked by allegations that a Catholic priest sexually abused children.
     In Ireland, where Catholic prelates are still revered figures, a well-known bishop quit last week for failing to oust a pedophile priest; the previous week, in Poland, one of the world's most devout Catholic countries, an archbishop who once served on the pope's personal staff resigned after being accused of using an underground tunnel to make sexually harassing late-night visits to local seminarians.
     Australia and Canada have been home to priest sexual abuse scandals; bishops in Belgium and France have run into legal hot water for failing to act against abusive priests. Even Italy, home to the church's headquarters, is riveted by a developing scandal in Sicily."

[Campion]

It isn't true martyrdom if you are being persecuted for doing bad or sticking up for an organization which has allowed such an abomination.

If you think the Church is a mere "organization," like the General Electric Company, I think you're already well on your way toward losing your faith. If the Church is not Christ's handiwork, it is a blasphemous lie. If it is Christ's handiwork, it is far more than a mere "organization".

I have no desire to "stick up" for the men who have done evil. They are sinners and will suffer the consequences of their evil acts. The Church is the Body of Christ, and I pray that all Catholics will "stick up" for her.

[Campion]

But they also used to burn "witches" at the stake and leave unwanted babies outside to die (a then-acceptable practice called "exposing").

Exposing babies was a pagan practice unanimously and vigorously condemned by the Catholic church since its earliest days.

And the burning of "witches" was primarily a northern European Protestant sport. The Spanish Inquisition eventually started throwing out all accusations of "witchcraft" without even investigating them, because they thought, rightly, that they were only covers for personal vendettas.

[SamAdams76]

I did not mean to imply that the Catholic Church was responsible for the burning of witches and the exposing of babies. Perhaps I should have been more clear. My use of the word "they" was in reference to civilization in general. I was trying to make the point that earlier behavior does not justify behavior today.

[Aliska]

If my child had been sullied by a priest I don't think I would look for a better parish. I think I would leave the church.

[redhead]

"Maybe we'd better ask some of these bishops just why they were so anxious to cover up.

This has been my mantra all along. Why are they so afraid that some of this stuff is coming out? Is it because they are afraid their own behavior will be exposed? Ick.

[Vladiator]

If my child had been "sullied" by a priest, I think I'd be in jail because I would have beat him with a baseball bat until he was dead, then gone on to to bishop who covered him up.

[henbane]

This is not exclusively an American problem.

The Gay Priest Problem

What Needs to Be Done, and Why It Won't Be

By Paul J. Shaughnessy, S.J.

[By permission of Catholic World Report, from November, 2000]

[CLIP]

. . . it is instructive to ponder the following message to his fellow gay clergy by South Africa's Bishop Reginald Cawcutt, penned in response to a rumor that the Cardinal Ratzinger's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was about to issue a letter prohibiting the acceptance of gay seminarians.

"Kill [Ratzinger]? Pray for him? Why not just f-- him??? Any volunteers -- ugh!!! ... I do not see how he can possibly do this -- but.... If he does, lemme repeat my statement earlier -- that I will cause lotsa s-- for him and the Vatican. And that is a promise. MY intention would be simply to ask the question what he intends doing with those priests, bishops (possibly "like me") and cardinals ... who are gay. That should cause s-- enough. Be assured dear reverend gentlemen, I shall let you know the day any such outrageous letter reaches the desks of the ordinaries of the world."

Bishop Cawcutt's actual communication, be it noted, contained no prudish dashes. While the virulence of his language may be exceptional, the targets of his antagonism are not, and it is noteworthy that none of Cawcutt's several defenders distanced himself from the content of the prelate's harangue. Cawcutt's astonishing survivability puts one in mind of President Clinton's, and to some extent the persistence of the gay priest problem and President Clinton's immunity to scandal have a common cause: Clinton in his own sphere and gay clergy in theirs have been indispensable agents in the advancement of the liberal agenda. Like their secular counterparts, Catholic liberals, even where they do not positively applaud the sexual recreations of gay priests, are willing to overlook the resultant embarrassment in order that a more important end may be served -- in order, that is, that gays may remain as active members in the Church to assist them in their project of replacing ecclesial authority with personal experience as the norm determinative of authentic faith.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Paul Shaughnessy is a Marine Corps and Navy chaplain currently serving at Pearl Harbor. This article is the product of Jesuit-lay collaboration, and the author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of those who helped in its preparation.

FULL ARTICLE

[Aliska]

Now that's the difference between you and me. Some of my indoctrination took. It's a mortal sin to attack a priest. So you're talking double mortal sin here. Triple if you factor in the bishop. Better to leave the church and let God be the judge . . . although I admit he is even slower than the hierarchy sometimes . . .principle of double effect: Which is the lesser sin, killing a priest or leaving the church.

Now supposedly if you know the church is true and leave you cannot be saved and if you murder a priest, you can. Odd that, but that's what the rules say.

[Aliska]

Bring back Torquemada. Let the homosexual inquisition begin. Start with Mahony and Law. Put them on the racks.

Sigh. I thought we'd left all that behind us, but I see that the papal bull ad extirpans still has some adherents.

That is a scary thought and I hope I don't live to see that again. And we don't need a violent backlash on homosexuals, either, and if the church were to pursue your course too vigorously, all h*** could break loose . . . is that what you want?

I saw that picture of that pitiful little man who was such an ogre and I found myself not wishing him to come to some bad end but find him despicable nonetheless.

[F16Fighter]

"Can't be a top down thing..."

I beg to differ, and these pathetic SOBs have whatever they've got coming to them.

The infestation of homosexuality/pedophilia within the Catholic Church (under the guise of teaching the word of Jesus Christ) has convinced this observer the casual practice of cover-ups has for many years indeed been institutionalized FROM TOP TO BOTTOM.

And who could deny the overwhelming clout, power and intimidation the Church has had through the centuries up till the present to squelch any "rumors" unopposed. Up until now that is.

[F16Fighter]

"It's a mortal sin to attack a priest."

Is that before he's molested your child, or after??