(June 17, 2015 at 9:11 pm)Jenny A Wrote: Randy,
Just for the record, I don't think priests are more likely rapists than the general population. There's evidence that they are actually less likely to rape boys (or anyone else) than other men. (That's kind of interesting if you consider that there are a higher percentage of homosexuals in the Catholic clergy than there are in the general population.) What bothers me, and a goodly number of Catholics too, is that the church repeatedly not only did not report rape to the police, but put those raping priests right back out there with young boys in new communities.
Jenny-
We have disagreed on some things in the past, but here we are in full agreement.
Now, I do have several thoughts on how SOME bishops in the Church handled the situation (surprised?
)1. There was cover-up to avoid scandal. I personally don't think that any pope was involved, but bishops and possibly some cardinals were. Not good.
2. There was probably some inclination to deal with the disciplining of the priests within the Church rather than turning them over to secular authorities. Hindsight is 20-20, but that was not such a good idea.
3. There was thought in the 40's, 50's and 60's that therapy would help these men. That has proven to be false, but the bishops meant well based on what they knew about homosexuality at the time.
4. Based on the two previous points, the idea of moving these priests was based upon the idea that 1) avoiding scandal was a good thing and 2) helping these men with their sexuality problem would stop the behavior. Instead, it made things worse.
Now, as a result of all that has occurred, the Church has gotten much wiser about how it handles a number of things...from the acceptance of candidates to the seminary to the child protection programs put in place at every parish in the country (if not the world). Needless to say, kids are much safer...I'd even say VERY safe at a Catholic Church...especially when compared to their schools and other activities such as swim teams, etc.
But much damage has been done, and it will take a long time to heal.
