Compassion literally means “suffering with” (it’s from the same root as the Passion of Christ, for example, or passionate). That’s what came to mind when I read this from the Associated Press, With tears in his eyes, Pope Benedict XVI made his most personal gesture yet to respond to the clerical sex abuse scandal Sunday,… Continue reading Sex Abuse Scandal: The Right Medicine
Tag: faith
Handling The Sex Abuse Scandal: How It Should Be Done
The last three posts I’ve had on this blog have been dark: showing how bad things get when dioceses, priests, and any Catholics lose sight of what’s important and pursue things of this world: approval of the world (particularly the media), unfettered sexual pleasure, and so forth. But I wanted to highlight two instances where… Continue reading Handling The Sex Abuse Scandal: How It Should Be Done
The Terrible Case of Paul Shanley
Paul Shanley was mentioned in this morning’s post, so I thought I’d provide some background. If you’re not familiar, he’s one of the worst, and most notorious of the predator priests, and was active in Boston under Cardinal Law. He was (and it is “was,” he’s been defrocked) a heretical priest who preferred jeans to… Continue reading The Terrible Case of Paul Shanley
The Abuse of Children: What Role Did Homosexuality Play?
One of the thing I’d planned to cover originally was the role, if any, played by homosexuality. And this issue has gotten huge, as Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone openly suggested that homosexuality played a role. It immediately created a media firestorm, because it was the Vatican again refusing to just throw its hands up and say… Continue reading The Abuse of Children: What Role Did Homosexuality Play?
Fr. Barron on Abuse Coverage
Fr. Robert Barron of Word on Fire provides a compelling and concise response to the most recent coverage of the abuse scandal. As expected, his take is worth a read. His post also has a good summary of some of the relevant Catholic coverage. Here’s Fr. Barron’s response to the issues of “defrocking” a priest… Continue reading Fr. Barron on Abuse Coverage
The Catholic Church’s Rules on Sex Abuse Reporting
The Vatican has put together a clear-cut, straightforward explaination which describes step-by-step what everyone involved should do if a sex abuse claim is raised. Here’s an even more condensed version of the steps involved: A: Preliminary – “The local diocese investigates every allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a cleric,” and if there’s… Continue reading The Catholic Church’s Rules on Sex Abuse Reporting
Fr. James Searby on the Woman Who Washed Jesus’ Feet
I mentioned earlier today about Alexandria’s Theology on Tap Program. During my free time last summer, I caught up on a bunch of the speakers I’d missed. One of them was Fr. James Searby no the subject of, “Lights, Camera, Faith!: A Catholic At the Movies.” I thought the priest speaking was a good speaker,… Continue reading Fr. James Searby on the Woman Who Washed Jesus’ Feet
Upcoming Theology on Tap Speakers!
I’ve mentioned before my love of Arlington’s Monday night Theology on Tap series. Their spring series looks incredibly good: Tonight: Fr. Terry Cramer on “Franciscan and Diocesan Priesthood: Exploring Charisms.” Since he’s been both a Franciscan and a Diocesan priest, he’s in a pretty unique position to address this topic. April 19th: Fr. Keith O’Hare… Continue reading Upcoming Theology on Tap Speakers!
The Difference Between a Coadjutor and Auxiliary Bishop
The announcement of Archbishop Gomez’s election as Coadjutor Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has many people wondering what a “coadjutor bishop” even is, and how that differs from being an “auxiliary bishop,” or just a plain old (diocesan) bishop. The answer is simple enough: Within a given Latin Rite diocese, there is a… Continue reading The Difference Between a Coadjutor and Auxiliary Bishop
What is Modernism?
A commenter, enowning, responded to my previous post by noting: It’s somewhat surprising to find Heidegger called a Modernist since the usual aspersion cast his way is postmodenrnist. You should add some balance and explain what Catholic theologians like Karl Rahner and Joseph Ratzinger found in Heidegger. They are respected and widely read, whereas no… Continue reading What is Modernism?