This morning I wake up to some bad news

[matilda36]

First of all, if this is the way the church is moving, my already small hopes for the election of an intelligent, caring progressive new pope have just started diminishing:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4432283.stm

Then I read this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/snooker/4417783.stm

I am stunned. He is 26 years old, the pin-up of snooker and a very good player. I admire his decision to play at the Crucible and I wish him all the best.

Blessed be Paul and blessed be the victims of abuse whose pain the Church treats so carelessly.

Comments

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

I actually have an unpopular position on this.

While I do believe that the CHurch has (A) covered up scandals and moved bad priests from one parish to the next, only to continue the problem and (B) acknolwedge that some people were abused by priests and that bad priests exist, I still have a problem with it.

Why? I don't believe all these people were abused. Call me a cynic, but people tend to jump on the bandwagon of abuse scandals ALL the time. At least here in the United States. I find it insulting for the people that really have been abused. The worst part is there is not a concrete way of knowing who tells the truth and who doesn't. You can't automatically assume everyone is lying because that takes away the seriousness of the offense. But people do tend to try to cash in wherever they can and unfortunately they will pick anything they can, even if it is a very serious matter.

That being said, I think the Church could have helped it's position by looking at these accusations and being firm, and participating in a thorough investigation. Instead, they have years of coverup and continued to coverup after the scandal broke.

It hits home for me because I am in the state where Cardinal Law is from. Not only that, we also learned that the priest from my church was investigated by the cops for having child porn on his computer. They in turn had to ask the kids that served as alter boys and girls if anything had happened (my family included). The people swear nothing happened, which is a relief, but now some accusations are starting to pop up. DOn't know what to believe.

[matilda36.livejournal.com]

First of all, I feel deeply for your family and Parish involved in such an investigation. Both if the accusations turn out to be true or not, it's one of these very distressing situations who torn apart families and communities.
The numbers quoted in the article are provided by the Church itself, so I consider them realistic, if not conservatives (they would not have any interest in giving higher numbers)and frankly quite frightening.
However I do see your point. I come from a culture where there's very much the tendency to criminalise the victim, and denouncing abuse is considered a shame, not something to make money from, so I appreciate your insight on American attitudes.
But I still think that the Church acted too slowly on this issue, counting on centuries of privilege. This is another reason why we do need a progressive, intelligent Pope, who not only understands the need for change, but is able to