The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #162491   Message #3870369
Posted By: Joe Offer
07-Aug-17 - 01:31 AM
Thread Name: BS: Clerical Abuse of Children
Subject: RE: BS: Catholic Abuse of Children
Well, both Ake and Greg_F now have broken records in their players.
Ake, with all due disrespect, most of us don't use the word paedophilia. It's a clinical term. Nonetheless, most of us are appalled at the thought of a priest raping a 14-year-old boy, and believe the priest should be sent to prison. We call it child abuse, or child molestation, or sexual abuse of children. But yes, most of the victims are age 11 or older - but normal homosexuals do not rape 14-year-old boys.
So, shut up already.


Jim says: Might surprise you to learn that many Church of Ireland (Prod) churches are being used as music or cultural centres

Doesn't surprise me at all, Jim. I've known that for years. But such churches are still white elephants that cost a lot to maintain, and they sell for very low prices or are given away. In Chicago, the archdiocese has had many beautiful old churches that they can't give to anybody - and the city won't let these landmark buildings be torn down.

The point I've been trying to make, Jim, is that you speak in half-truths and anachronisms. You insist on blaming the child abuse scandal on "The Church," and fail to acknowledge that the vast majority of the people who committed these crimes are dead or extremely aged. In sticking to your "The Church" abstraction, you also fail to acknowledge that the people and actions have changed over the years since the crimes took place. Reparations are going to be paid out of funds that would otherwise be used to support aged nuns and priests who did not commit the crimes in question. It's certainly fair that reparations should be paid - but if the priest and nuns agree to pay a certain amount and then that amount is tripled, is that fair?

The criminals should be prosecuted, and reasonable reparations should be made. But opening up the same stories over and over and over agan - twenty or thirty years after they ended - what good does that do anybody?

"The Church" that you speak of died long ago. Catholics don't do things that way anymore. Strict controls have been put in place to prevent future child abuse. No doubt, the controls will fail from time to time, but I think the lesson was learned years ago.

But go ahead, you wallow in your anger about long-ago events for as long as you like. What good does that do you?

And mg, you also speak in anachronisms. Get over it. For the two of you, it's like these decades-old crimes are being committed over and over again, every day. Your outrage is getting moldy.

MG, that archbishop you call "creepy-creep" is Timothy Cardinal Dolan, who used to be Archbishop of Milwaukee. Your name for him fits pretty well. Luckily, Pope Francis doesn't seem to be appointing people of his ilk - but no doubt, Dolan has his job in New York permanently. I once saw a priest do a great imitation of Dolan as a bobblehead doll. Apparently, he nods and grins at people as he walks along. He's quite the glad-hander - one of the darlings of the conservatives. Still, St. Patrick's is a landmark with historical and cultural value and it gets constant heavy use - you won't get a lot of support for selling it. Same with St. Peter's in Rome. What right does anyone have to take it away? If a person in my employ commits a crime, how much can be taken from me?

-Joe-