Should liberals leave Catholic Church?
The Answer:
They already have.
I disagree with the basic premise of this article. They focus on the rules and regulations, conservative and liberal, controversy and moments. They completely miss the point that the Church can't change moral teachings. It doesn't have the authority to contradict what God has handed down. Not that anyone does, but most of us are better at fooling ourselves than not. That is why Jesus gave us a Church that wouldn't change and corrupt under the influence of fallen human nature.
But their final line is right on the money.
The church in Rome thinks in centuries, not in news cycles. It isn't budging.
Will liberals in America ever get the message?
5 comments:
Kale, I'm interested to hear your thoughts, then, regarding rampant sexual abuse by priests in the Catholic Church. That's one thing that bothers me about it - is they profess that God is giving them these teachings, they'll never budge, then they bugger young boys.
Please explain this to me, I am naive, obviously.
Sam,
First, define rampant? As a future journalist, you know that these cases get a ton of press, but I don't see them as rampant. Any case of abuse is too many. Would you agree then that this abuse is rampant among female teachers? There have been many high profile cases of that recently.
That said, the abuse of children by someone who is supposed to stand in the place of Jesus for us is despicable. They should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and any bishop that has hidden or continues to hide this scandal should be defrocked and also serve time. There is no room in the Church for those who harm children.
But your question seems to imply that the teaching of the Church encourages this pedastry? You are going to have to point to some proof for that one. We judge an institution by those who follow the teachings, not by those who break them. Shall we accuse all journalists of being tabloid paparazzi? Most carry cameras and seek stories like them.
Perhaps the most astounding proof that the Church is guided and protected by the Holy Spirit is the fact that it is filled with sinful men. There have been adulterers, homosexual pederasts, and all sorts that have been prominant in the Church. Yet even these (and the rest of us sinners) have failed to bring the Church down. If 2000 years of human corruption and frailty, from St. Peter on, hasn't done the Church in, there has to be something Supernatural behind it.
... or money?
I wasn't accusing all priests, but there are several cases around America right now where there is evidence that the various church entities where the criminals were committing bad deeds KNEW about what was happening and would merely transfer a priest to some other location.
They've been hiding the abuse. That doesn't seem very moral to me, and that bothers me.
Name one institution that has survived for 2000 years. Money and power lead to corruption, corruption leads to demise.
Power has corrupted bishops in the past, but the Church remains. Money is a driving force in the US especially, but the Church remains.
Like I said, Sam, hiding or transfering abusers is despicable. They should be defrocked and handed over to authorities. It isn't moral. But as I stated, this ins't the position of the Church.
The Church has always taught that pedastry and victimization is wrong. If someone doesn't follow that teaching, is the teaching wrong? No. Now you may argue that the reaction of Rome may be too slow and that it doesn't seem to care. I may agree to a certain extent that it is slow, but the Church isn't centered around the US like the media here thinks it is. The scandal here is largely a creation of our permissive society and the laxity of the bishops. Perhaps Rome has waited for them to clean it up.
Sam do a study on puplic schools and you will see that the sexual abuse there is 100 times higher over the same time frame, 100 times not 100%. That being said neither is justified and punishable to the full extent.
Money? Well when you get that big offer from some paper or news station I hope you consider their intent and what they stand for instead of how much they are offering you.
Also consider that there are 42,000 priests in America and, saddly, if a person were to take 42,000 random people out of the general population that there would be equal or even greater numbers of abusers. This still does not condon the action by any means and as a sinner myself I call for the heads of those who did such deeds and those who covered them up. But Kale makes the one point that stands, just because some do not follow the teachings and tenants of the faith does not make those teacings and tenants wrong. So yes Sam, regretfully, those who hid and did certianly have left any moral high ground and that bothers me as much as it does you, I can assure you that. Consider this: How many police officers have done wrong while on the job, stealing, killing, extorting, covering up, and on and on? That being said, should we abandon the law? Should we then allow everyone to do what they want? Should we change the job because some abused their position? Answer to all that is, of course, no.
Now, should we repair the system, be more diligent, or forget that there are many more good police officers that can carry out their duties with honor and dignity? Answer to that is, yes, of course.
Eric
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