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Posted on 04/18/2010 9:49:35 PM PDT by Judith Anne
I seriously wonder about some FReepers, sometimes. Any other person accused of a crime would be defended by every FReeper as being innocent until proven guilty by a court of law. I've seen whole threads written by men who have been accused of child abuse by ex-wives out to deny them their visitation rights or to wrest more money out of them. These men are rightly indignant, and furious about the unjust accusations that cannot be proven but are never withdrawn.
Yet where are those FReepers when a PRIEST is accused? Where is the presumption of innocence? Suddenly, every accusation becomes a verdict, and not only the accused but his entire organization and all its adherents are held responsible.
I can only wonder what some of these so-called conservatives (who so faithfully defend the Constitution) would do, if THEY were the ones accused! It is a nightmare for any man -- all of you know how even the accusation stains the man forever, even if it is proven false!
Not only that, many here assert that the problems of 30, 40 and even 50 years ago must be tried in the media TODAY!
Remember the Duke rape case? There are more similarities than differences here. The priests are accused, nifonged, and instead of being defended, they are vilified!
What other man of you could stand under the weight of such an accusation trumpeted by the press, and come out whole? None! And such accusations made, LONG after the statute of limitations has passed, sometimes even after the accused is dead and buried for YEARS -- are YOU one of those who automatically, reflexively, spitefully, and gleefully act as judge, jury, and executioner?
Women! What if it were YOUR HUSBAND, YOUR BROTHER, YOUR FATHER, YOUR UNCLE, YOUR SON who was accused? Wouldn't you want the best defense possible? Wouldn't YOU believe in their innocence? Wouldn't YOU help protect your loved ones as much as possible? And yet, YOU JUDGE THE CHURCH FOR DOING WHAT YOU WOULD DO?
Shame! Vast shame! On all who have sinned against the innocent!
How does it feel to be on the receiving end?
I remember that coverage.
It lauded the types of Catholics that Catholic FReepers despise ("Cafeteria Catholics") (You know the type: heavy on social justice; light on doctrine; birth control: OK, after all, it should be your conscience that decides; abortion: not for me, but I don't want to impose...you know, the "good" Catholics)
How does it feel to be on the receiving end?
Typical day.
I always figure that the devil wouldn't bother if we weren't doing something right.
Bingo!
** Suddenly, every accusation becomes a verdict,**
Seriously, this happened in my state.
From a juror: “We know that he is a Catholic priest, now let’s find him guilty.”
Even though all the dates from the state records (he worked in penal instisution) proved that the priest was NOT even present at that institution or incident on the dates the accusers specified that the sexual abuse occurred.
It isn't just "cafeteria Catholics" who believe in evolution and Biblical criticism. In fact, plenty of Catholic FReepers do as well.
True.
But your original stipulation didn't make it seem that this was your specific point:
They're intellectual, they're historically victims of ethnic prejudice, they don't interpret the Bible literally, and they believe in evolution.
I maintain my original contention: the Catholics loved by the media were the "cafeteria Catholics." Orthodox Catholics have never been in vogue in the MSM.
There is no doubt that Priests did molest children. These are not allegations, they are proven facts, in many time confessed to or adjudicated.
ROTFLOL.
Apparently (paraphrasing William Munny) "honesty's got nothing to do with it."
Except when the MSM wants to discredit YEC or Biblical literalism.
In the case of pederast priests, they're on their knees thanking God they don't send their children to parochial schools.
Can you give me an example or three where the MSM has done so?
I honestly don't remember seeing such.
The alleged perpetrators are Catholic
The alleged cover-ups were allegedly done by Catholics
The alleged culture was Catholic
The alleged decisions to move the priests around was Catholic
The payouts (they’re not alleged) have been Catholic.
What is it- twenty some dioceses in bankruptcy over this? A billion plus dollars or some such figure. And that’s just in the US?
Oh, and the blind defense is by.....wait for it.... Catholics!
Those dastardly clever Protestants.
lol. AMEN!
Excellent post - although the U.S. payout is over 2 billion dollars...so far.
Except when the MSM wants to discredit YEC or Biblical literalism
Can you give me an example or three where the MSM has done so?
I honestly don't remember seeing such.
If you think the MSM is YEC or Biblically literalist, you must live in a different universe.
The MSM "went ape" when JPII declared evolution "more than a hypothesis" and again when Jesuit George Coyne claimed that G-d did not design him.
Don't worry. I live in the same universe as you do. But if you think the MSM are supportive of orthodoxy, you haven't been paying attention.
As for JPII supporting evolution, I remember that the MSM got the reporting on that completely wrong. IIRC, they indicated that he, all of a sudden, became a Darwinist.
In fact, in the speech (Italian version) that generated the MSM reports, he said, Consequently, theories of evolution which, in accordance with the philosophies inspiring them, consider the spirit as emerging from the forces of living matter or as a mere epiphenomenon of this matter, are incompatible with the truth about man. Nor are they able to ground the dignity of the person.
While that does not make him a six day creationist, he was far, far from a Darwinist.
Unfortunately, Fr. Coyne was unable to grasp that concept and he was fired from his position at the Vatican Observatory for that little error in judgment.
See what I'm saying?
Of course. YEC and Biblical literalism have no relation whatsoever to Catholic "orthodoxy." Which is why the MSM preferred the Catholics to Fundamentalist Protestants for so long.
Remember the Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart scandals? Catholics were laughing up their sleeves at such a clownish religion and patting themselves on the back for being so "respectable."
You know what they say about payback.
No they didn't. They liked "Kennedy" Catholics, "McCarrick" Catholics, "O'Brien" Catholics, "Küng" Catholics and so on. In fact, they still do. I don't seem to recall them ever liking the Chaput kind of Catholic, the Tilton kind of Catholic, the Donahue (Bill, not Phil) kind of Catholic, etc. And I certainly remember all of the hand wringing once they figured out that JPII was not a Communist, despite having come from Communist Poland...and I absolutely remember them screaming about Ratzinger, both before and after he was elected.
Remember the Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart scandals? Catholics were laughing up their sleeves at such a clownish religion and patting themselves on the back for being so "respectable."
Yes I do. I remember both of them quite vividly. And let's not forget about Robert Tilton in that mix, as well.
You know what they say about payback.
Yeah I do. Although I do not believe in Karma.
But having said that, I do believe that this is God's purgation being given to His Church now due to the lack of fidelity of Her members.
Plenty of examples in the OT to show how He did so for Israel. Plenty of warnings in the NT about what would happen if we grow lax. Fortunately, God is more faithful than we are.
Too true, too true.
One thing is for certain. These Fred Phelps types who have so much hatred and malice in their hearts expose themselves on a daily basis for what they are, and they are no Christians.
It really is a shame that the few that are here are a stain on the Religion Forum and Free Republic because there is no place for hatred and bigotry in the conservative movement.
“I see you haven’t been around FR long...check the Religion Forum for the last month, and count the anti-Catholic articles.
I didn’t dream this up out of nowhere.”
Actually I’ve been on FR for years, just on a different account.
And I’ve seen plenty of insults of Protestants, too. Just yesterday I was reading a thread insulting Martin Luther, a commenter talked about how he ripped six books out of the Bible and tried to take out more, etc.
Anyway, you didn’t respond to the list of many non-Catholics who are assumed guilty around here. Don’t you see that there are plenty of them who are assumed guilty, too?
I personally believe that the vast majority of priests are good men who are trying to do good. And that the RC church members have done a lot of good in this world. So I am not on a hunt.
It’s the issue of child molestation/abuse, not the issue of Catholicism, that gets most of us riled up. That’s my opinion.
Yes, when someone presents himself as particularly holy or set apart, as in a priest OR a minister OR a teacher, it rankles even more. Because of the hypocrisy.
But I think you are assuming an agenda too intensely. Debates about Catholicism/Protestantism will occur, particularly in the religion forum. Both sides can get accusatory and ugly. The child molestation issue is largely separate as I see it.
As for the accused priest in the article it was a VICAR FOR PRIESTS and CANON LAWYER THAT SAID “A CREDIBLE ALLEGATION OF SEXUAL ABUSE” had been made against him. TWICE.
It sounds more like “John” just caught.
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