Oh, and let me call it to your attention that Raggytash reported the 1972-1983 offenses of ex-priest Laurence Soper in this thread (click) on 10 August 2017. So, yeah, it's another year, and Raggytash is still starting threads to repeat the same old story, over and over again.

I don't deny the severity and appalling frequency of the offenses. It's all true, and it's a horrible truth. One could certainly call it an atrocity, this widespread physical and sexual abuse of children by priests and the subsequent coverup by bishops. But this atrocity peaked a generation ago, and the offenses have dwindled dramatically since dioceses worldwide instituted strict controls in the years since the U.S. bishops instituted controls in 2002.

But yet, Raggytash and Jim Carroll and Steve Shaw continue to pour shame on Catholics for these offenses that happened years ago. Of course they're right, since these offenses were indeed horrible. But I wonder if that incessant shaming for thirty-year-old offenses has any constructive effect. And what's the reason for their obsessive shaming of Catholics? Why don't they put as much effort into shaming all the other groups who have to bear the shame of past atrocities?

Almost every group must bear the shame of some sort of atrocity committed in its history. The primary American atrocity is racism - against indigenous people, against the black descendants of slaves, against immigrants - much of that "original sin" of racism in the U.S. is in the past, but much of it continues and may continue forevermore. Germany's "original sin" is fascism and multi-faceted genocide, and Germany will bear the shame of that atrocity forever. Britain's "original sin" is imperialism, an atrocity that continues to have dire consequences in the irreparable damage it did to indigenous cultures all over the world.

So, why aren't there threads posted once or twice every month to shame the Americas and the British and the Germans? For most of you, it's safe for you to pour shame on Catholics, because most of you aren't Catholic (or are no longer Catholic). And many of you pour similar shame on Jews for the offenses of the government of Israel.

It's the same with all atrocities - and with all crime, for that matter. If the offenses are committed by members of other groups, we humans tend to pour shame on those other groups for offenses committed by (usually) minorities within those groups. That way, we can feel smugly superior to "those people" and watch gleefully as they wallow in their shame.

Don't get me wrong. The sex crimes by Catholic priests and bishops were horrible, and we Catholics are both ashamed and outraged by those crimes committed against our children. And although we and our children were victims, we must bear the shame (and cost) of the offenses committed years ago by priests and bishops who are now mostly dead or elderly.

But how long will this shaming last? Yes, we Catholics must bear the shame of these atrocities, but how much external shaming is sufficient? And where is the dividing line between appropriate shaming, and bigotry?

Raggytash, you've started so many threads to shame Catholics, so it's obvious that you're very adept at this shame game. Why don't you start threads shaming some of the groups you identify with? Surely, there must be some skeletons in your closet, too.

-Joe-