Friday, April 2, 2010
Prominent Catholics Say Problem is Homosexuality, Not Pedophelia ... Does that Mean Molesting GIRLS Is Okay?
Some prominent Catholics have said that the problem is not pedophelia so much as homosexuality. Does that mean that molesting underage girls is okay?
And given that some forms of abuse by the clergy did not involve sexuality at all (and thus not homosexuality), does that mean that they are okay?
The Vatican has also said that the storm of criticism regarding sex abuse by priests is akin to anti-semitism. There is of course a big difference. Anti-semitism (which is wholly different from anti-Zionism or criticizing Israel) is a form of hatred based on someone's race - rather than that person's actions. In other words, it is hating someone based on something that the hated person can't do anything about.
In contrast, people are angry at the actions of the Catholic Church. Specifically, the Vatican has known of child abuse by priests and bishops for many decades, and yet has failed to defrock the abusive clergy and has covered it up.
Note 1: While the agent of consent in Vatican City is 12 years old, when there is a relationship of dependence (like teacher/student/ etc.) the age of consent is 15 years.
Note 2: I strongly believe in freedom of religion, and this is in no way meant as an attack on the Catholic faith, only on criminal activity and cover-ups. Indeed, tomorrow I will focus on other denominations.
12 comments:
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Posts
Beating is OK. Buggering is not OK, unless, of course, the buggeree is of the age of conssent. Do I have that correctly???
ReplyDeleteI am an atheist and am more than happy to see the edifice of some church and its infantile and self-serving belief systems brought down, but a question keeps nagging me about all of this, well two really: Why now, and why have they (the Church) made it so easy? This behaviour has been part of the Catholic world for years, so why the media storm now when it could have happened ten-twenty years ago. And given that the Church believes itself under attack, have they made it so easy for their "attacker(s)" to do this? The media to have never gone for the Pope himself in this manner, having seemed to settle for the "rogue priest" angle in the past.
ReplyDeletesvali.
ReplyDelete.
http://www.projectcamelot.org/svali.html
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and this...
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd-SLRyuRq0&feature=player_embedded
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http://economicedge.blogspot.com/2010/04/guest-post-and-more-on-most-important.html
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No one is saying that it is ok to molest girls. As a matter of fact, 80% of the victims of priest sexual abuse are boys at or past puberty. Not girls and not small boys. Thus, homosexuality is a cause of the bulk of this problem.
ReplyDeleteLike government they have lost their legitimacy and credibility.. the diehard's and brainwashed will still follow but who cares...anyone that hurts a child or that puts their sexual pleasure over the well being of another...should be beaten...badly if not worse...then maybe people will relearn the word...repercussions....and these lowlifes make stem cells a controversy...go figure.
ReplyDelete"Some prominent Catholics have said that the problem is not pedophelia so much as homosexuality. Does that mean that molesting underage girls is okay?"
ReplyDeleteYou pose a monumentally idiotic question like this as serious and expect adult Catholics not to see you as bigoted? And to make matters worse you go on to offer a laughable disclaimer like this:
"Note 2: Several of my family members who I like and respect very much are Catholic. And I strongly believe in freedom of religion. This is in no way meant as an attack on the Catholic faith."
Did it ever occur to you that a remark like this one is in no way different from the ridiculous old standard, "some of my best friends are Jews", made years ago by some to prove they weren't anti-semitic? And you, in the same breathe, complain when someone in the Church detects the acrid scent of anti-Catholicism? I mean, please.
Andrei Vyshinsky
An anti-semite is one who hates Jews, or one who is hated by Jews, or both.
ReplyDeleteThus, the present outburst of anti-Catholicism can be an outburst of hatred directed against Catholics, or an outburst of hatred from Catholics, or both.
Having been abused by a priest when I was an alter-boy, I'd like to offer my two cents to this discussion.
ReplyDeleteRaising the question of whether the priests were gay or not does not justify their abuse of a position of power over an easily influenced victim. What happened to me was something that affects me to this day.
This kind of attack is horrific because it happened in my formative years and skewered my outlook on life and relationships.
There is absolutely nothing that can be said to justify the priest's actions and having the Catholic church back them only makes it worse.
It took me 25 years before I could tell my parents and only because the shrink convinced me that it would provide me with a form of closure. Before that I attempted suicide on several occasions because my outlook on life was tainted.
Sexual relations between an adult and a minor is wrong no matter how you look at it... there can be no justification.
I'd have to take the other side of this. How can attacks on pedophilia mixed with religion not be taken as attacks on the Talmud? Would Coca-Cola not get out the lawyers if a school tried to ban RC Cola?
ReplyDeleteYour "so molesting girls" tag line is flippant and distorts the position of those who have raised the homosexual aspect. Homosexual pederasty, i.e. sex with underage teens, is not the same thing as pedophilia. Homosexual pederasty or pedophelia is terrible at all times and worse when it involves an abuse of power, as in the clerical case. Yet homosexual pederasty is actually widely tolerated in our society. Any major city's gay clubs and bars cater to homosexuals of pederastic tastes. When was the last time there was a major police bust of these clubs in your town?
ReplyDeletethe catholic church is an abomination and the pope is the incarnation of the devil.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Vatican. 3,000 cases reported covering last 50 years. Eighty-precent from U.S. Of the 3k, 30% are hetero (incl. adults victims), 60% pederasty, 10% true paedophelia. So 300 cases, spanning 50 years, with 55,000 priests in US and over 400,000 worldwide. How do those stats compare to general pop? Other religious groups? Also, 80% of all paedophelia and child sex abuse occurs within the family -- fathers, brothers, uncles -- which frankly I find somehow even more horrific. It's a situation a child lives IN for years....
ReplyDelete