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: sex abuse scandal
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
Two Contending Views on the Pope’s Role in the Sex Abuse Scandal
It’s Holy Week, so I’m purposely steering more towards the Passion of Christ than the sex abuse scandal (although I won’t be surprised if it’s addressed on Thursday by the pope). That said, the clamor over sex abuse has gotten louder and, if you can believe it, crazier. Let me cite you two views on… Continue reading Two Contending Views on the Pope’s Role in the Sex Abuse Scandal
What You Need to Know About De Delictis Gravioribus
In response to my last post, my dad asked: Thanks for bringing this subject up in your blog. I have been reading news accounts from many sources and concur with your assessment of the situation. The only part of the “scandal” that I don’t have enough information on is the directive that Cardinal Ratzinger wrote… Continue reading What You Need to Know About De Delictis Gravioribus
Is This a Joke? Media Attacks Benedict for … Something?
I’m not usually a fan of the way Catholics stories get reported on the media, but this one has been shocking. I’m going to go more in-depth on the sex abuse scandal as a whole soon, but I just have to say this: the press has been desperately manufacturing a story to suggest that Pope… Continue reading Is This a Joke? Media Attacks Benedict for … Something?
The Sex Abuse Scandal
American Catholics had what George Weigel famously called the “Long Lent” of 2002, when we were shocked by one after another revelation that perverted sexual predators were infesting the priesthood, and that a jarring number our bishops were too cowardly or incompetent to stop them. Now Europe is going through similar crises, and it looks… Continue reading The Sex Abuse Scandal