Joe, Joe Joe,

You say I need reading glasses...I suggest (and it's just a suggestion) you take off you rose coloured RC glasses before you post....maybe just for a few minutes and once.... and think a bit from the perspective of a sexual abuse victim.

At times you do show glimmers of sympathy, but as the song says "but, then you go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like"....in your case repeating Vatican propaganda or whining about the money.... (Wasn't it Cyndi Lauper who sang "money changes everything"? Yes, the RC organization suckered many parishes for their sins and omissions. But, as a RC, you just have to "such it up" and move on. Dwelling on it, and waiting until you are dragged to the courts does not indicate sympathy nor compassion for victims and a resolve to do your best to help make a wrong a right. Parishioners live with costs of the RC mistakes...who can be paid....abuse victims (and their families) must live with a lifetime sentence of the results (check out the long term impacts of sexual abuse by those in authority).

There is really no point in going on and on about your fine RC experiences and stellar RC knowledge. It is fine that you are an internal protester and stuck with a sinking ship....do you feel you need a medal for that.   All your RC knowledge, internal protests and concern for the local RC finances does not matter to the victims, nor those who lost faith in the RC church, but, not God.

You seem to have big time contempt for former RCs who chose another, non RC route, and it does not look good on you (to me, that is). What's with that? Could some of the early RC programming be in conflict with the scatterings of compassion, libertarian and logic you often show in your posts?

Maybe there has been compassion shown to many RC abuse of victims in the USA, I do not live there. But,from accounts that I read it was mostly because the victims, after frustration about no RC action, came forward early and launched legal action, there was little of that before....yes, compassion after being forced or embarrassed into some form of action to save the imiage of the RC church. We see more and more cases around the world where the RC church has not aggressively sought out sexual abusers, nor proactively reached out to locate, assist, and show compassion and attempt to heal those abused. Just read the newspapers outside the USA.

Read the link I sent again....the article from the victim....it is not about money, it's about accountability, compassion and

You say "I think that all Catholics were betrayed by the molesters and by the bishops who covered up the crimes, and it's those Catholics, not the molesters or the bishops, who are paying the million-dollar settlements"

... And you wish we believe you when you say you have and see compassion for the victims, after saying that?