Pope blames 'terrifying' sex abuse on Catholic Church

[Torie]

Yes it appears that the Pope has finally come closer to finally smelling the roses as it were. I wonder what caused him to back down from seemingly acquiescing in some of his top clerical spokesmen  blaming others for being unfair and inaccurate in characterizing clerical wrongdoing here.

Here is a teaser from the article:

"The Pope has laid the blame for the "truly terrifying" clerical sex abuse crisis squarely on the Catholic Church for the first time as he arrived in Portugal for a four-day visit.
 
"Benedict XVI said that "the greatest persecution of the church does not come from enemies on the outside but is born from the sins within the church."

"His remarks were a repudiation of a string of senior figures of Vatican who in recent months have attributed the scandal to a shadowy conspiracy mounted by outsiders, ranging from a hostile media to liberals within the Church."

[Derek]

yea it's about time he came clean. Wonder what God thinks of such acts...

[12th Doctor]

So... I'm confused.  He says this, and makes no effort to cover it up, and you guys continue on the attack.  Would it have improved the situation had he said this before, prior to knowing all the facts?  That seems to be what you guys are pissed off about now.

[Sewer]

makes no effort to cover it up

He did in the past.

[Joe Republic]

So... I'm confused.  He says this, and makes no effort to cover it up, and you guys continue on the attack.  Would it have improved the situation had he said this before, prior to knowing all the facts?  That seems to be what you guys are pissed off about now.

Uh, who's continuing any attack?  This is the first step in the right direction, obviously.

[Tuck!]

Well he better do something about it.

[12th Doctor]

makes no effort to cover it up

He did in the past.

You mean like when he reorganized the entire Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith to try to handle these cases?

[Derek]

Sex abuse scandals, just what Jesus would've wanted. I agree with Catholic theology but not the church itself. tsk tsk

[12th Doctor]

So... I'm confused.  He says this, and makes no effort to cover it up, and you guys continue on the attack.  Would it have improved the situation had he said this before, prior to knowing all the facts?  That seems to be what you guys are pissed off about now.

Uh, who's continuing any attack?  This is the first step in the right direction, obviously.

The attack has shifted now, and that shift is reflected in your attitude, obviously.  Now its... "Oh man, after the long cover-up (which had nothing to do with this Pope) the asshole finally decided to do something."

[12th Doctor]

Sex abuse scandals, just what Jesus would've wanted. I agree with Catholic theology but not the church itself. tsk tsk

And yet, if Christ's Church had always been free of scandal, he would have died an old man, surrounded by his ever-faithful disciples.

[Derek]

Sex abuse scandals, just what Jesus would've wanted. I agree with Catholic theology but not the church itself. tsk tsk

And yet, if Christ's Church had always been free of scandal, he would have died an old man, surrounded by his ever-faithful disciples.

You're referring to the disciples betraying him? The disciples would've been between 12 and 20. If they had not betrayed and denied Jesus, then Jesus wouldn't have died for our sins. Jesus would condemn the Catholic priests who molest children.

[Joe Republic]

So... I'm confused.  He says this, and makes no effort to cover it up, and you guys continue on the attack.  Would it have improved the situation had he said this before, prior to knowing all the facts?  That seems to be what you guys are pissed off about now.

Uh, who's continuing any attack?  This is the first step in the right direction, obviously.

The attack has shifted now, and that shift is reflected in your attitude, obviously.  Now its... "Oh man, after the long cover-up (which had nothing to do with this Pope) the asshole finally decided to do something."

Right, heaven forbid that the supreme leader of an organization be held accountable for the widespread activities of its members. 

We all know that priests have been fiddling kids for centuries, but it's reassuring to finally see a Pope actually attempt to do something about it instead of either trying to cover it up, ignore it, or treat any accusations as defamation, like his predecessors.  Despite his latest statements being damningly overdue, of course.

[12th Doctor]

Sex abuse scandals, just what Jesus would've wanted. I agree with Catholic theology but not the church itself. tsk tsk

And yet, if Christ's Church had always been free of scandal, he would have died an old man, surrounded by his ever-faithful disciples.

You're referring to the disciples betraying him? The disciples would've been between 12 and 20. If they had not betrayed and denied Jesus, then Jesus wouldn't have died for our sins. Jesus would condemn the Catholic priests who molest children.

The point -----------------------------------------------------------------> You

[Badger]

So... I'm confused.  He says this, and makes no effort to cover it up, and you guys continue on the attack.  Would it have improved the situation had he said this before, prior to knowing all the facts?  That seems to be what you guys are pissed off about now.

Uh, who's continuing any attack?  This is the first step in the right direction, obviously.

The attack has shifted now, and that shift is reflected in your attitude, obviously.  Now its... "Oh man, after the long cover-up (which had nothing to do with this Pope) the asshole finally decided to do something."

Well, bluntly put, Soulty, isn't that a pretty apt summary of the situation? (The "asshole reference being optional depending on one's personal view of Benedict?)

[Derek]

Sex abuse scandals, just what Jesus would've wanted. I agree with Catholic theology but not the church itself. tsk tsk

And yet, if Christ's Church had always been free of scandal, he would have died an old man, surrounded by his ever-faithful disciples.

You're referring to the disciples betraying him? The disciples would've been between 12 and 20. If they had not betrayed and denied Jesus, then Jesus wouldn't have died for our sins. Jesus would condemn the Catholic priests who molest children.

The point -----------------------------------------------------------------> You

Point being that just because something has never been perfect doesn't mean you shouldn't try to clean things up. Especially when it comes to molesting children.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Point being that just because something has never been perfect doesn't mean you shouldn't try to clean things up. Especially when it comes to molesting children.

Interesting term.  The question I have is - Clean up what?  All the bad press........or find the reason for the problem and have real change?

I'm not sure of the true answer....motivations are tough to decipher sometimes.

(Oh, and please no Catholic bashing comments - Mrs. & Daughter M are Catholic as is most of my family.......the problem is not limited to the Catholic Church.)

[Derek]

Point being that just because something has never been perfect doesn't mean you shouldn't try to clean things up. Especially when it comes to molesting children.

Interesting term.  The question I have is - Clean up what?  All the bad press........or find the reason for the problem and have real change?

I'm not sure of the true answer....motivations are tough to decipher sometimes.

(Oh, and please no Catholic bashing comments - Mrs. & Daughter M are Catholic as is most of my family.......the problem is not limited to the Catholic Church.)

I have nothing against Catholics in fact I was baptized Catholic. I meant clean things up as far as finding out what the issue of molesting children is and clean up the church.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Point being that just because something has never been perfect doesn't mean you shouldn't try to clean things up. Especially when it comes to molesting children.

Interesting term.  The question I have is - Clean up what?  All the bad press........or find the reason for the problem and have real change?

I'm not sure of the true answer....motivations are tough to decipher sometimes.

(Oh, and please no Catholic bashing comments - Mrs. & Daughter M are Catholic as is most of my family.......the problem is not limited to the Catholic Church.)

I have nothing against Catholics in fact I was baptized Catholic. I meant clean things up as far as finding out what the issue of molesting children is and clean up the church.

I'm not convinced that's what they want to clean up, Derek.  You may be right.  That's just my guess.

[Derek]

Point being that just because something has never been perfect doesn't mean you shouldn't try to clean things up. Especially when it comes to molesting children.

Interesting term.  The question I have is - Clean up what?  All the bad press........or find the reason for the problem and have real change?

I'm not sure of the true answer....motivations are tough to decipher sometimes.

(Oh, and please no Catholic bashing comments - Mrs. & Daughter M are Catholic as is most of my family.......the problem is not limited to the Catholic Church.)

I have nothing against Catholics in fact I was baptized Catholic. I meant clean things up as far as finding out what the issue of molesting children is and clean up the church.

I'm not convinced that's what they want to clean up, Derek.  You may be right.  That's just my guess.

The sex abuse needs to stop!

[12th Doctor]

So... I'm confused.  He says this, and makes no effort to cover it up, and you guys continue on the attack.  Would it have improved the situation had he said this before, prior to knowing all the facts?  That seems to be what you guys are pissed off about now.

Uh, who's continuing any attack?  This is the first step in the right direction, obviously.

The attack has shifted now, and that shift is reflected in your attitude, obviously.  Now its... "Oh man, after the long cover-up (which had nothing to do with this Pope) the asshole finally decided to do something."

Well, bluntly put, Soulty, isn't that a pretty apt summary of the situation? (The "asshole reference being optional depending on one's personal view of Benedict?)

Nothing would have been helped by him making a public statement before.  Benedict used the period of time between the opening of the flood gate and now doing what he should have been doing... gathering information and coming to the realization of the measure of the situation (and let's not forget, he spanked the Irish bishops a few months ago, once things came out with that situation).  The Pope is not omnipresent, nor omnipotent... as hard as people find this to believe, the entire institutional Church does not open its doors, and shift its course just because he wants it to... all the more true in the post-Vatican II climate.  He sought to appreciate the enormity of the cover up (not the enormity of pedophilia acts specifically, since, for the trillionth time its seems less common for priests than the general population), before he acted.  People blaming the Vatican and the Pope is only proof that most people aren't paying attention to what is going on, or have already jumped to a predetermined conclusion, since local bishops and national bishops councils have been the culpable parties in all cases.