"If you're Catholic, you support pedophilia."

[cornsail]

Isn't who/what people are attracted to basically determined well before the age people can get married?

 

[Mel]

If you're an 11 year old boy who likes other 11 year old boys and you know it from that age, then you're gay (I know it's not always as clear-cut as that, but I'm saying it for the sake of argument). If you keep liking 11 year old boys as you get older and into adulthood, then that's not normal, and it has nothing to do with not being able to get married.

Priests make a choice when they decide to become a priest.

 

[mlp]

Yes but if this was the case, you would see an equal amount of paedophiles taking up the leadership posts in Protestant/Baptist churches etc. But I think a lot of the paedophile men at the Catholic church are not born paedophiles, they are *made* because of the culture of the church they grew up in where they were left alone with abusive older men for generation after generation, and also the shroud of secrecy that has protected the abuse for centuries.

I addressed what I think are the reasons for the Catholic Church to have a higher incidence of individuals with pedophile tendencies to be attracted into the clergy than some other denominations.

But make no mistake about this: the Roman Catholic Church was far from the only church to sweep this stuff under the carpet. The several dozen cases with which I have personal familiarity occurred in one Protestant denomination, and I know all of the denominations had similar problems. When clergy sex abuse issues started becoming public, almost all denominations in the U.S. started taking quick and decisive action to take care of the problem, based on strong advice from legal counsel.

What you need to realize is that in most Christian denominations, power flows from the bottom up, with congregations electing regional leaders, and those regional leaders electing central church authority figures. Entities that are structured like that tend to be more responsive to public perception. They know the cost of not being responsive - entire congregations and groups of congregations splinter off. There is a reason that there are half a dozen Lutheran denominations in the U.S. alone.

A hierarchal church (in which power trickles down from the top), like the Roman Catholic one, and especially one in which all authority descends from one individual who is deemed to be infallible, is not going to be responsive to the concerns of the people at the bottom the way a nonhierarchal church is.

 

[K-II]

I propose a program called 'Babysit a Catholic Priest" where no young men will be allowed around Catholic priests without adult supervision. This is the only way I can think of that the abuse will stop.

If I were an aspiring pedophile, I'm pretty sure I could think of a way to use this to my advantage.

 

[Freesia]

I addressed what I think are the reasons for the Catholic Church to have a higher incidence of individuals with pedophile tendencies to be attracted into the clergy than some other denominations.

But make no mistake about this: the Roman Catholic Church was far from the only church to sweep this stuff under the carpet. The several dozen cases with which I have personal familiarity occurred in one Protestant denomination, and I know all of the denominations had similar problems. When clergy sex abuse issues started becoming public, almost all denominations in the U.S. started taking quick and decisive action to take care of the problem, based on strong advice from legal counsel.

What you need to realize is that in most Christian denominations, power flows from the bottom up, with congregations electing regional leaders, and those regional leaders electing central church authority figures. Entities that are structured like that tend to be more responsive to public perception. They know the cost of not being responsive - entire congregations and groups of congregations splinter off. There is a reason that there are half a dozen Lutheran denominations in the U.S. alone.

A hierarchal church (in which power trickles down from the top), like the Roman Catholic one, and especially one in which all authority descends from one individual who is deemed to be infallible, is not going to be responsive to the concerns of the people at the bottom the way a nonhierarchal church is.

Yes but when you think about it, being a priest is a celibate position. To take a celibacy vow it helps to not want to get married. And this could suit a paedophile just fine and actually attract paedophiles. If marriage was allowed, the priesthood would at least attract some non-paedophile catholic men who would otherwise be put off by the inability to marry, and there might be less paedophiles as priests as a result.

 

[Digger]

A classmate of mine from high school, who later became a priest himself, is suing the catholic church because of being sexually abused by our latin teacher. I sat next to John in latin class in fact. He seemed like a nice kid, kind of introverted and socially awkward like me, so we got along. Anyway, our teacher Father Martin was well-known for liking to hang with the boys and everybody thought that was so cool because he was one of those 'hip' priests who acted like a kid himself.

Though I'm obviously saddened to learn many years after the fact that John was abused as well, and glad to see him taking a stand against it, I can't say that I agree with his thought processes in regard to the whole mess (that homosexuality and not pedophilia drives priests to abuse boys). The lawsuit is still pending as far as I know:

http://tribune-democrat.com/x519125464/Citing-anti-gay-stance-outspoken-priest-quits

 

[K-II]

Yes but when you think about it, being a priest is a celibate position. To take a celibacy vow it helps to not want to get married. And this could suit a paedophile just fine and actually attract paedophiles. If marriage was allowed, the priesthood would at least attract some non-paedophile catholic men who would otherwise be put off by the inability to marry, and there might be less paedophiles as priests as a result.

Like pouring water into bleach until it's diluted enough to drink.

 

[peacefulveglady]

Does anyone understand why Catholics have to dip their fingers into a bowl of water or something in that nature before heading into the sancurary?

 

[Digger]

^^^ Repentance of sin and purification. We're supposed to 'bless' ourselves with holy water upon entering and exiting the church in order to cleanse ourselves.

 

[Digger]

^^^ Repentance of sin and purification. We're supposed to 'bless' ourselves with holy water upon entering and exiting the church in order to cleanse ourselves.

In retrospect however I think it's supposed to cleanse us from being f-cked up by Catholic priests themselves.

 

[Freesia]

It could be to wash your hands before eating the crackers you eat at the front.