Author Topic: Priests Need to Be Allowed to Marry; Pope Speaks Out Against Priest Sex Scandal  (Read 6757 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Jazzhead

  • Blue lives matter
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 11,593
  • Gender: Male
My brother-in-law is a major leader in the Holy Cross order.

His seminary graduation class had 8 people.
7 of the 8 have left the priesthood (my brother-in-law is the last remaining one to remain a priest)

Of those 7, 6 left the priesthood to marry another man.

The problem is homosexuals in the seminaries.
There, I said it.

The honest fact of the matter is that the priesthood attracts men who view themselves as sexually deviant.   These are men who were raised in Christian homes,  and were counseled from a young age that homosexuality is an abomination.    Yet as they became increasingly aware they were wired that way, they faced an impossible dilemma - how to reconcile their sexuality with the Church's teachings?    The solution was to try to suppress those feelings by rigor and discipline, and ultimately by taking a vow of celibacy.   Unfortunately, once embedded in the priesthood these troubled young men found themselves with the like-minded, and some of them - a minority to be sure, but hundreds of cases over decades adds up to a horrible scandal -  were warped to engage in true deviancy,  and to take advantage of the vulnerable;  perhaps seeing something of themselves in these young boys.   

At the same time, it must be recognized that the Church's attitude toward moral wrongdoing is quite different by design from the that of the State.   The State focuses on punishment and deterrence, while the Church focuses on repentence and  forgiveness.  It is hardly surprising that the Church leadership saw itself as being true to its mission by not turning in these men, but accepting their words of confession and shame, and promises of change.  To a Christian,  no man, not even a murderer, is beyond redemption,   and the Christian must be willing to forgive when faced with a sincerely-expressed confession of wrongdoing and pledge of repentance.   

The current Catholic scandals are a terrible black mark,  and the damage done to these priests' victims is incalculable.  Yet, the Church was living up to its ideals when it took seriously these men as lost sheep who could still be saved through the lessons of Christ.   

The moral lesson, ultimately, is how best to reconcile the punitive demands of the State and the community it represents with the Church's focus on the power and obligation of confession, redemption and forgiveness.   
« Last Edit: August 21, 2018, 02:25:42 pm by Jazzhead »
It's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide

Offline Sanguine

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 35,986
  • Gender: Female
  • Ex-member
The reason priests are having sex with children is because they're not allowed to have it with women.

No, that is 100% wrong.  The reason is because they are sexually attracted to young children and being a priest puts them in a position to act upon that attraction.  Adding in a wife isn't going to change that.

Offline Sanguine

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 35,986
  • Gender: Female
  • Ex-member
That will not fix homosexual pedophilia, which appears to be the problem. And don't even suggest that the Church start having "Gay Marriages".

What needs to happen is that these pedophiles need to be rooted out, defrocked, and sent to civil authorities for prosecution. Clean house.

As I think you note, pedophilia and pedastry is the problem, not homosexuality as many of the victims are girls.

Offline The_Reader_David

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,275
The Latin Rite's requirement of priestly celibacy (in contrast to the practice of the Eastern churches, whether Orthodox, Nestorian, Monophysite or Uniate which have since Apostolic times allowed married men to be ordained to the priesthood -- but not priests to marry after their ordination) has always meant that men who feel no desire for marriage (often meaning because they desire other things by way of sexual gratification) have been pushed into the priesthood, rather than into the normal way of trying to work out one's salvation in celibacy, monasticism.

Celibate chastity in the world is dangerous both the the person attempting it and to those around them.  The problem was always there, but I think got worse since Vatican II, which reduced the rule of prayer required of priests from something approximating the monastic cycle of prayers (one insight from Orthodox monasticism is that celibacy is only feasible (and may even be enjoyable) in the context of an intense prayer life), and with the shift in much of the developed world of allowing the judgements of secular psychologists to form the basis of the judgement of stability of candidates for ordination.  Psychological stability is not the same thing as spiritual stability, and making that change was a grave mistake.
And when they behead your own people in the wars which are to come, then you will know what this was all about.

Offline WarmPotato

  • TheWarmPotato
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 669
  • Gender: Male
  • Follow WarmPotato on YTB
    • My Youtube Channel
Hey screw the Pope he's got no respect for the bible at all - soft on gays, soft on abortion, soft on tradition - he doesn't care to preserve anything!!!
Check out my youtube Channel!

https://youtu.be/b6E3JS3Dmaw

Offline Jazzhead

  • Blue lives matter
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 11,593
  • Gender: Male
Hey screw the Pope he's got no respect for the bible at all - soft on gays, soft on abortion, soft on tradition - he doesn't care to preserve anything!!!

Maybe some of this "tradition" isn't worth preserving.
It's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide

Offline roamer_1

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 43,314
Celibate chastity in the world is dangerous both the the person attempting it and to those around them.

@The_Reader_David
Being differently ordered than y'all, I still have a dog in this fight. Without the strictures you'd apply, I have had periods of celibacy and a sort of solitude/monastic retreat in my life... And I have also experienced true fasting.

In all cases, as it is with my kind, when these things were true, they were always Spirit driven, and spiritually enabled. From my rather freestyle perspective, I cannot imagine a life-long vow, as inevitably, for me at least, the body grows weak, and the spirit wafts and wanes.

I see it, and I know its value, but I think the value of the thing is only there when the Spirit calls, and if that call recedes, if the Spirit is satisfied, then I think there should be no repercussions, within the boundaries of the law.

Thus the vow, perhaps taken in youth, and without knowledge, becomes a stumbling block and the purpose of the act is turned against itself.

JMHO.

Offline verga

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9,702
  • Gender: Male
Once again people are ignoring simple facts. The Vast majority of abuse is committed  family members or other residents in the household.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/12-confronting-statistics-on-child-sexual-abuse_us_587dab01e4b0740488c3de49

1. Approximately 20 percent of girls (1 in 5) and 8 percent of boys (1 in 12.5) will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday (Pereda et al, 2009).

2. 95 percent of sexually abused children will be abused by someone they know and trust (NAPCAN 2009).

3. Of those molesting a child under six, 50 percent were family members. Family members also accounted for 23 percent of those abusing children 12 to 17 years (Snyder, 2000).

https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-child-abuse

90% of child sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator in some way. 68% are abused by a family member.

https://www.nsopw.gov/en-US/Education/FactsStatistics?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1#prepetrators

An estimated 60% of perpetrators of sexual abuse are known to the child but are not family members, e.g., family friends, babysitters, child care providers, neighbors.
About 30% of perpetrators of child sexual abuse are family members.
Only about 10% of perpetrators of child sexual abuse are strangers to the child.
Not all perpetrators are adults—an estimated 23% of reported cases of child sexual abuse are perpetrated by individuals under the age of 18.

So for all the haters out there, Priests and public school teachers are no where near the top as perpetrators
In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
�More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.�-Woody Allen
If God invented marathons to keep people from doing anything more stupid, the triathlon must have taken him completely by surprise.

Offline darroll

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 572
  • Gender: Male
No, that is 100% wrong.  The reason is because they are sexually attracted to young children and being a priest puts them in a position to act upon that attraction.  Adding in a wife isn't going to change that.
YES.
They are sick puppies. God made youngsters as unattractive as possible. Even some pregnant women look awful.

Offline Absalom

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,375
Once again people are ignoring simple facts. The Vast majority of abuse is committed  family members or other residents in the household.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/12-confronting-statistics-on-child-sexual-abuse_us_587dab01e4b0740488c3de49

1. Approximately 20 percent of girls (1 in 5) and 8 percent of boys (1 in 12.5) will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday (Pereda et al, 2009).

2. 95 percent of sexually abused children will be abused by someone they know and trust (NAPCAN 2009).

3. Of those molesting a child under six, 50 percent were family members. Family members also accounted for 23 percent of those abusing children 12 to 17 years (Snyder, 2000).

https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-child-abuse

90% of child sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator in some way. 68% are abused by a family member.

https://www.nsopw.gov/en-US/Education/FactsStatistics?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1#prepetrators

An estimated 60% of perpetrators of sexual abuse are known to the child but are not family members, e.g., family friends, babysitters, child care providers, neighbors.
About 30% of perpetrators of child sexual abuse are family members.
Only about 10% of perpetrators of child sexual abuse are strangers to the child.
Not all perpetrators are adults—an estimated 23% of reported cases of child sexual abuse are perpetrated by individuals under the age of 18.

So for all the haters out there, Priests and public school teachers are no where near the top as perpetrators
---------------------------------------
We own our opinions, yet equating truth w/hatred is dishonorable.
The former sets one free while the latter keeps one mentally incarcerated;
allowing this behavior to persist and metastasize.

Offline jafo2010

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5,525
  • Dems-greatest existential threat to USA republic!
One of the amazing things is how little people know about history.  The Roman Catholic church was NEVER started with the concept of celibacy.  It is not in the Bible as a requirement.  In fact, for roughly the first thousand years of the Catholic church, celibacy was not a policy.  Popes were married and had families much like all in society.

I think it is safe to say that celibacy is aberrant behavior.  And this aberrant behavior attracts some of life's most deviant types to the priesthood.  And that is why so many children have been sexually assualted by predators in the priesthood.  While marriage alone does not guarantee the elimination of sexual assault on children, what it does do is open the door for more normal minded individuals to enter the priesthood, men who would push the deviants out when they were exposed, versus the dense population of deviants in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic church that protect these predators.  When a predator is exposed, the church historically moved them to another parish where they continued with the practice of preying upon innocent children.

Until the Roman Catholic church ends the idiocy of celibacy, it will be plagued by sexual abuse.

I was raised Catholic, and fortunately was never solicited by a priest, but the numbers are undeniable.  The numbers of deviant priests are high, i.e. 1 out of 6 I believe.  This level of criminal behavior being protected by the hierarchy of the church should have the church banned in America as an entity.  But hey, let the children continue to suffer.  We as a nation prize our children so much.  Huh, that is an utter lie.

The movie Spotlight was shocking.  At the end of the movie, they had numbers of children sexually assaulted by priests.  I was disgusted by the numbers, over 250,000 children in the USA alone.  Disgusting.

And the current pope, and all that proceeded him are criminal for not ending this disgusting abuse.  I equate the Roman Catholic church to something equal to or worse than a satanic cult.

Offline Frank Cannon

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 26,097
  • Gender: Male
Judging by the Vicar of Christ, Pope Frank's previous statements I would guess he would be in favor of them marrying young kids, since that's OK now.

Offline roamer_1

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 43,314
I think it is safe to say that celibacy is aberrant behavior.

I would not go that far @jafo2010 ... But in order for it to be legit, it has to be a calling, not a requirement. And certainly not a lifetime requirement.

Offline truth_seeker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 28,386
  • Gender: Male
  • Common Sense Results Oriented Conservative Veteran
Fear not. Regarding sexual issues with Priests, the Pope has convened a conference of men-Priests, that don't wear pants.
"God must love the common man, he made so many of them.�  Abe Lincoln

Offline jafo2010

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5,525
  • Dems-greatest existential threat to USA republic!
roamer+1.....caling, smalling.  Poppycock.  That is the word used for people entering the priesthood or becoming sisters.  THEY WERE CALLED.   Ugggh.  I am believing they were mostly called by the devil himself, since so many of them are deviants.

And believe me, the REAL NUMBERS are much worse than that published.

If I had my way, I would make sexual assault on a child under the age of 12 a capital crime, and anyone covering up the crime a co-conspirator.

I was once on a community school district's board, and we were presented with the fact that a student from 14 years prior informed us that when he was 10 years of age, he was routinely sexually assaulted by his teacher (a public suburban school).  He contacted us because he realized this individual was still teaching 4th grade.

In the state I am talking about, they had a 7 year statute of limitations to file criminal charges.  Since it had been 14 years, we could not bring charges.  Our solicitor told us we could not fire the teacher, nor alert the public or inform the parents of his current students without the guaranteed risk of the perp suing the school district successfully.

This former student was deposed by our solicitor, took a lie detector test, passed with flying colors.  Despite the threat of this teacher being able to sue the district, we told him he had to resign or face being terminated.  He demanded $500,000 in severance.  We told him leave or be terminated.  He resigned.  It took the state 1.5 years to yank his teaching certification, despite being notified immediately.  That means he could go to another state and start teaching there.

When my son was entering 4th grade, my son was assigned to his class.  My wife in no uncertain terms said I had to call the principal and have him moved to the other 4th grade teacher.  This was years before the above discovery, and I was not on the board at the time.  My wife said there was something very strange about this teacher and she did not want our son in his class.  I had him moved, but the principal was very reluctant to make the move.

Imagine all the children this sexual deviant, child predator, attacked through the years, and we were told by our solicitor we could not say a word.  It's just wrong. 

We should have a national law that enables the indictment of a sexual predator of children, with no statute of limitations.  But then again, the notion this nation values its children is simply not true.

Offline truth_seeker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 28,386
  • Gender: Male
  • Common Sense Results Oriented Conservative Veteran
A classmate from high school, an attorney initially became an international absconder, after being convicted in California, fleeing to Australia and decades later bein found in South Africa.

He was present at our 50th reunion, smiling and apparently accepted by those he stood and mingled with. Maybe they simply did not know. I was a bit stunned by his apparent ease, attending the event.

I have read that sexual misconduct and crimes, are more prevalent than most of us know.

I recently learned about a situation involving a family that has been kept quiet for decades.
"God must love the common man, he made so many of them.�  Abe Lincoln

Offline verga

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9,702
  • Gender: Male
One of the amazing things is how little people know about history.  The Roman Catholic church was NEVER started with the concept of celibacy.  It is not in the Bible as a requirement.  In fact, for roughly the first thousand years of the Catholic church, celibacy was not a policy.  Popes were married and had families much like all in society.

I think it is safe to say that celibacy is aberrant behavior.  And this aberrant behavior attracts some of life's most deviant types to the priesthood.  And that is why so many children have been sexually assualted by predators in the priesthood.  While marriage alone does not guarantee the elimination of sexual assault on children, what it does do is open the door for more normal minded individuals to enter the priesthood, men who would push the deviants out when they were exposed, versus the dense population of deviants in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic church that protect these predators.  When a predator is exposed, the church historically moved them to another parish where they continued with the practice of preying upon innocent children.

Until the Roman Catholic church ends the idiocy of celibacy, it will be plagued by sexual abuse.

I was raised Catholic, and fortunately was never solicited by a priest, but the numbers are undeniable.  The numbers of deviant priests are high, i.e. 1 out of 6 I believe.  This level of criminal behavior being protected by the hierarchy of the church should have the church banned in America as an entity.  But hey, let the children continue to suffer.  We as a nation prize our children so much.  Huh, that is an utter lie.

The movie Spotlight was shocking.  At the end of the movie, they had numbers of children sexually assaulted by priests.  I was disgusted by the numbers, over 250,000 children in the USA alone.  Disgusting.

And the current pope, and all that proceeded him are criminal for not ending this disgusting abuse.  I equate the Roman Catholic church to something equal to or worse than a satanic cult.
Just wondering have you ever taken the time to compare the number of children abused by Priests to oh say the number sexually abused by non Celibate family members. The numbers just might shock you.
In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
�More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.�-Woody Allen
If God invented marathons to keep people from doing anything more stupid, the triathlon must have taken him completely by surprise.

Offline Smokin Joe

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 56,417
  • I was a "conspiracy theorist". Now I'm just right.
Just wondering have you ever taken the time to compare the number of children abused by Priests to oh say the number sexually abused by non Celibate family members. The numbers just might shock you.
@jafo2010

I find it interesting that the Hollywood and media types are loudly pointing the finger at the Priesthood, where a few dozen of 410,000 priests are accused, when Hollywood is literally teeming with sexual abuse and exploitation.

Something about the mote in one eye and the beam in another....

As for celibacy, it is and remains a choice, as does going into the priesthood. IIRC, that choice is based on a verse in Matthew, in which after the Ressurection, those in Heaven are neither married nor given in marriage, but are like the Angels. That is, devoted to The Almighty, rather than to one another. There are also numerous admonitions against homosexuality and against leading children astray (better to have a millstone tied around their neck and be cast into the sea), so clearly, those who do not follow their vows, which they freely engage in, are in violation of those same vows.
Celibacy would include not diddling little boys or girls just as much as adults, so ANY violation of the oath is just that--a violation, whether with child or adult. Here, the problem is liars who want to exploit their position in the community as someone respected--just as film producers with a casting couch in their respective community. The deceivers need to be ferreted out, defrocked, and when appropriate (in actions involving a violation of secular law as well), prosecuted.

The seminal difference is that the former is a violation of trust and an oath before The Almighty, the latter just bid'ness if you want to get anywhere in that town.


I have no idea where you get the numbers of 1 deviant in 6, especially considering the size and scope of the clerical community (410,000 Priests worldwide), and would like to see the source which you get those stats from.

I'd wager that if a clean study was done, that one vocation would shine as pure in contrast to the other ('entertainment media'), but then, it is supposed to do so. Also, have you done any investigation into what the level of sexual misconduct is in other denominations? How about other vocations, such as schoolteachers or politicians?
« Last Edit: September 19, 2018, 01:03:46 pm by Smokin Joe »
How God must weep at humans' folly! Stand fast! God knows what he is doing!
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

C S Lewis

Offline roamer_1

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 43,314
roamer+1.....caling, smalling.  Poppycock.  That is the word used for people entering the priesthood or becoming sisters.  THEY WERE CALLED.   Ugggh.  I am believing they were mostly called by the devil himself, since so many of them are deviants.

That precludes the notion that one can legitimately be called to do something.
I dunno how to put this...

If I INTEND to seriously fast, in my own will, I will maybe make it to mid-afternoon, and I will be snarfing down a cheeseburger...

But every now and then, I am called to fast. And then, fasting is a powerful thing.

Celibacy in itself, without all the 'priest' baggage, is like in kind - And some are truly called to it.