If I still considered myself Catholic I would have been crossing myself and pulling the rosary from the bedpost as I lay in bed this morning reading the Los Angeles Times article about Cardinal Mahoney being stripped of his duties. From there I went to http://www.bishop-accountability.org/ where I began to read through the list on my iPad. Reaching the bottom of the page, I though, hmmm--not nearly so many as abuser priests as I thought. But that was just the A's. I read the B's next and then my morning reading time began slipping away. The discoveries were chilling. Priests from the city I was born in. Priests from the St. John's University where I went to Mass nearly every afternoon during my college years. Priests from towns where I visited and attended church.
Mahoney was a big name in my household some years back. The Someone and I had both our daughters baptized in the Catholic Church--a gross oversimplification, but you probably wouldn't believe it if I told you one of them was actually baptized in a hotel sink by the Someone himself. I went to Catholic school for 16 years. I lived in a town where, to my knowledge, my father was the only non-Catholic. There were no public schools in that town. My entire world was Catholic. I still maintain connections to that world through family and my college, College of St. Benedict, which I am quite fond of. I am a member of no church these days, and I am proud, happy, and very comfortable with that choice, but the magnitude of the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church still shames and horrifies me. If I prayed, I'd pray for a special hell.
4 comments:
They should shut that damn religion down. Of course, that's my own personal opinion. And I feel the same way about most religions so there's that, too. When I went to a sexual abuse survivor's group I was appalled at how many of the women there had been abused by their deacon/pastor/elder/whatever-in-some-religion fathers.
Well, I feel I have been totally let down by all these revelations, such evil done by the very people that are supposed to be showing us the right way to live. I grew up as a Catholic and tried to follow the teachings in the best way that I could and feel that having given the basics of the religeon to my own children, we can all find our own way... If you choose, as my parents did, to follow and believe fervently and gain strength because of your beliefs that is fine.. and if you choose to not attend church, but live your lives as well you can, thats all right too..
I do not believe that it was written anywhere that we have to attend churches.. that idea was built in later... but all of us did expect those chosen[ we were told it was a vocation- you had the call from god to follow] to show us the right and godly way to live.. these awful people who pretended to follow the scriptures and then blighted the lives of so many should not just be stripped of their name and calling, but burned alive for the evil that they did!!!
All the money in the world will never compensate for the damage inflicted on their victims.. The church has had too long, the ability to act above the law, and it is right that matters are being made clear and we can see the proper picture, that evil has walked and worked amongst us for too long..
It is so totally shocking to know the truths as they appear to be allowing to come out.. but I bet there is still a lot of things not uncovered yet... Tragically those people who were victims will carry the scars forever, but perhaps knowing at last that these evil people are being named will help them find some peace. The only way that religion becomes oppressive and dictator like is when people see it as a way to inflict power on the followers.. true kindness to others, helping your neighbours, doing to others what you would wish for yourself, are all good ideas.. but they are not the basis for dictatorship which does happen.. The thing about the human race is that it seems always to be seeking the truth ... which is hard, nay almost impossible to find for real....
that is why so many blindly follow self appointed leaders.. Ah well, nothing's going to improve the human race at the moment... but I do share your shock of all these terrible stories becoming news!!! I had not read this in any papers over here.. wonder why that is!??janzi
I'm wondering why in hell the current archbishop didn't strip Mahoney of EVERYTHING. It's vile.
Mahoney Confirmed me. Our principal was on edge the entire time, threatening us into impeccable behavior. "Don't mumble!" she would shout at us in rehearsal to practice our Confirmation names. I was so scared, on the day, I mumbled and he had to ask me again. Sister Andreen's worse nightmare had come true...
When this news broke, I remembered feeling so left out that only the boys were allowed to serve the Lord directly. Then I imagined what happened to some of those boys in the priest's care and my heart broke. For all the boys(and girls) I knew and those I didn't know, I am so sorry we didn't know...
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