A Nun's Views on Abortion

[Catholic_Lady]

The difference is though, that the Islamic terrorists kill because they believe it's what Allah wants them to do. They think what they're doing is good, and they are motivated by their religious beliefs. But the priests and other clergy involved in the sex abuse scandal either doing it themselves or by covering it up, were not motivated by their religious beliefs. They were motivated by their own gratification and their own selfishness and disregard for the victims in order to save face. What they did was very very much contrary to fundamental Catholic teaching. They acted against the Church's moral code, not in what they believed was in accordance with it.

I understand that to some degree, but at the end of the day this is associated with Catholicism now because, firstly, it was almost unique to the Catholic Church, and secondly it was swept under the carpet by The Pope to save face. That did not help, at all. When there was a massive cover up, rather than a call by the Pope to find the priests responsible, strip them of their position and have them sent to jail, it just made the whole Church look shady.

Simply saying "it's against the Church's moral code" is the absolute minimum I expect from practitioners of the faith. You are rightly outraged that the scandal happened, not because you're Catholic, not because you're practicing, but because you are a moral woman in your own right. I'm simply saying turn that outrage into something productive, take it further than "this isn't my religion". Actually rally Catholics to collectively condemn and call the clergy to justice, and maybe then people will start to see the Catholic faith in a different light.

I like what you suggested in your second paragraph. I think it would be a good thing if more of us would stand up behind our faith and call for justice against the criminals. I feel like too small of a person to start something like that on my own, but if there was such a movement I would feel like it is my responsibility as a Catholic to help. Because I agree with you - even though what was done was directly against Catholic moral code, it was still done by Catholics in important roles. Of course, the problem is that I'm sure that's what everyone else is thinking too: "I would support such a cause, but don't know the first thing on how little me could go about starting something like that."

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I think it's unfair to dismiss all the charity we have done as a Church as having 0 ties to the faith we hold so close to our hearts. I kinda feel like you're doing the opposite of what you suggested I might be doing though. You're not attributing to Catholicism all the good things we have done, while attributing the bad. Even though the former is very much in line with Catholic moral laws, while the latter is very much against it. Also, when you say "they"... who do you mean by that?

I find it hard to attribute good things you've done to Catholicism because I'm an atheist and I do the same things. I regularly devote time and money to various charities/people. I think you would do the same thing, even if you didn't think life was sacred because of your religion. I think life is pretty important without it.

1. How is sexual abuse against the Catholic faith? I mean, I was using it as an example, but I guess I do attribute it to the church because of the MASSIVE undertaking this church has embarked upon to keep its name clean at the expensive of thousands of small children. Fucking thousands.

When I say they, I mean the pseudo monarchy that sits on thrones in Rome while the rest of you do charity work and get raped by priests.

so fundamentally against our moral code.

2. Maybe your moral code, but until recently, you had a string of Popes who knew and didn't give a shit. I don't see any examples anywhere in the Bible that say it is against the faith to rape or abuse children. In fact, there are clear examples of child abuse and rape of adults being okay. No kids are raped in the Bible, but I'm pretty sure they didn't mean wives had to be of age to obey their husbands since of age is a fairly new concept.

I'll see if I can find it on youtube once I finish the Leah episodes and the Paradise Lost documentary which I started while washing dishes.

3. Enjoy all your good documentaries! Being honest, none of them I've pointed you in the direction of is very uplifting. As a head's up the priest in that documentary raped an infant. If that's too much for you, skip it. It's a fucking harrowing doc.

1. Church teaching on faith and morals are stated in official Church doctrines like the CCC:

2356 Rape is the forcible violation of the sexual intimacy of another person. It does injury to justice and charity. Rape deeply wounds the respect, freedom, and physical and moral integrity to which every person has a right. It causes grave damage that can mark the victim for life. It is always an intrinsically evil act. Graver still is the rape of children committed by parents (incest) or those responsible for the children entrusted to them.

...This is what I mean when I say they acted against our moral code. 

I'd also like to clear up a misconception about priests. While the amount of cover up is something that is unique to Catholic Clergy, rape is not. Priests don't abuse children any more than the average man. And in fact, the vocation that is most guilty of this are non priest teachers, by far. I'm not saying this to undermine the evil of it. And I think it's worse when it's done by a priest than when it's done by a teacher who is neither a priest or a nun. I'm saying this because I feel like your last sentence under #1 kind of insinuated a stereotype about priests in general. That gets to me not only bc I dislike stereotypes, but specifically because my husband considered being a priest before we began dating and I think of what a pure hearted person he is and what he'd be getting unjustifiably lumped into if he had gone that route.

As for the clergy that works at the Vatican, I'm not sure what their day to day is like or how much each of them has done and/or continues to do for the betterment of man. But I don't see how we can assume they do/have done nothing in that regard. I know Pope Francis has been making a change by refusing all the fancier things and special treatment he would otherwise get as a pope. I think that's a good thing and I hope his example sets a new trend.     

2. As Catholics, we go by the CCC as stated above. The bible is a hard to understand book that can be interpreted many different ways, so we make our teachings clear in Church doctrines.    

3. Ugh. Thanks for the warning. It's mostly when children die or when I see them hungry on those charity advertisements on TV that I have to turn away. So I may be able to get through the doc depending on how detailed they get and if they show pictures of the baby.