(1) The stock left-wing claims about the sex abuse scandal are that it was caused by celibacy, and that the cover-up was caused by an all-male priesthood. Given those claims, consider this tidbit: the world’s first Lutheran bishop has resigned, because she covered up sex abuse committed by non-celibate Lutheran pastors. Sort of makes Maureen… Continue reading Food for Thought
Tag: sex abuse scandal
More Eerie Stuff from the 1970s
Bear in mind that the Catholic sex abuse scandal was at its worst in the last 1960s through the 70s. There are a lot of factors which contributed to things suddenly getting very, very bad: the seminaries went from overly-strict to overly-lax in the aftermath of Vatican II; there was a sense that “anything goes”… Continue reading More Eerie Stuff from the 1970s
Tough New Vatican Guidelines on Sex Abuse
I. The Reform The Vatican codified tougher laws on sexual abuse in Normae de Gravioribus Delictis, a document dealing with the most serious offenses against the Catholic Faith. As regards sex abuse, the reforms include: an increase in the statute of limitations for reporting sexual abuse from ten to twenty years; the right to lift… Continue reading Tough New Vatican Guidelines on Sex Abuse
Polanski to Evade Justice in Swiss Paradise
This was just announced less than an hour ago, so I don’t have a lot of details, but the Swiss Ministry of Justice has announced that it will not extradite Roman Polanski to face justice for child-rape. ABC, in a two paragraph story, notes: “The reason for the decision lies in the fact that it… Continue reading Polanski to Evade Justice in Swiss Paradise
Douthat on the Lasting Impact of the Sex Abuse Scandal on the Church
Ross Douthat wrote a short article for the Atlantic, where he used to work. Called “The Catholic Church is Finished,” he makes two points. Both are right, and few people seem to grasp both at once, much less articulate them this well: This was the year when the cover-up of priestly sex abuse, a long-simmering… Continue reading Douthat on the Lasting Impact of the Sex Abuse Scandal on the Church
Pope Benedict XVI on the Sex Abuse Scandal
The pope addressed the sex abuse scandal again, and the New York Times coverage was plenty fair, particularly because it put everything into context. The tendency, even amongst good journalists, seems to be that abuse case coverage has been referential: that is, coverage on abuse cases would mention other abuse cases, giving it the appearance… Continue reading Pope Benedict XVI on the Sex Abuse Scandal
The Twilight of Modernism
A reader writes… Most Catholics and most others are pro life. It doesn’t mean they want to recriminalize abortion, contraception, return to the days before divorce was easily available or further stigmatize homosexuality, neither do they embrace the culture of pseudo celibate, closeted Gay, clergy. They aren’t misogynists, homophobes, child sodomizers or heretic burners. Most… Continue reading The Twilight of Modernism
Can a Catholic Be Pro-Life?
That question hopefully seems absurd. A Catholic cannot not be pro-life. But an anonymous blogger named “Steve” has further polluted the Internet with a post over at the hateful-Reformed blog Triablogue about Frank Beckwith. If you’re not familiar, Beckwith was head of the Evangelical Theology Society (ETS), but after reading up on the Early Church… Continue reading Can a Catholic Be Pro-Life?
The Other Roman Sex Scandal
I. The Good and the Bad within the Media’s Reporting of the Catholic Sexual Abuse Crisis The media’s role in the sex abuse scandal has been mixed. In a lot of ways, the media scrutiny seems to have been sent by God. The allegations of widespread sexual abuse were pretty unbelievable to a lot of… Continue reading The Other Roman Sex Scandal
The Sex Abuse Witch Hunt Frenzy
I was hoping that as the latest sex abuse media frenzy progressed, it would get a bit more introspective. Something this happens: at first, tea partiers were depicted as a bunch of ignorant white Southerners who were a white hood away from reorganizing the KKK. As the media coverage continued, you started to see glimpses… Continue reading The Sex Abuse Witch Hunt Frenzy