Defending the Church and the Holy Father

Our Church and our Holy Father are carrying the Cross with Christ this Easter.

Reading the following around the internet….

The Myth of Pedophile Priests
As more pedophile priest scandals blow up across Europe we should be ashamed of the offenders and those who sheltered them and oppressed the victims. The guilty should be weeded out, removed from office and handed over to the civil authorities where they are guilty of crimes. Systems to avoid abuse must be established and rigorously maintained, and victims should be justly compensated for their suffering.

However, Penn State professor Philip Jenkins (who is not a Catholic) has written the most objective book on the subject, and he summarizes his arguments in this excellent article. In light of his work, we should remember some basic facts and principles:

* Priestly celibacy is not the issue – married men are more likely to abuse children than unmarried

* Most child abuse takes place within the home.

* All religious groups have pedophile scandals, and the Catholics (while the largest religious group) are at the bottom of the list statistically.

* Child abuse is prevalent in all areas of society: schools, youth organizations, sports, etc.

* Statistically, of all the professions, Christian clergy are least likely to offend. Doctors, Farmers and Teachers are the professions most likely to abuse children–not clergy.

* Among clergy offenders Catholic priests are least likely to offend.

* Catholic cases of pedophilia make more headlines because of anti Catholic prejudice and because the Catholic Church is bigger and more lucractive to sue.

* Pedophilia and Euphebophilia are different problems. The former is sexual attraction to pre-pubescent children. The latter is attraction to teenagers. Most cases branded ‘pedophila’ are actually ‘euphebophila.’

* Most of the cases of euphebophilia are homosexual in nature, however the politically correct do not want this problem to be associated with homosexuality.

* The number of Catholic priests guilty of pedophilia is very small.

* What we now call ‘cover up’ was often done in a different cultural context, when the problem was not fully understood and when all establishment organizations hushed scandals. They did so for what seemed good reasons at the time: protection of the victims and their families, opportunity for rehabilitation of the offender, the avoidance of scandal to others. It is unfair to judge events thirty years ago by today’s standards.

* When lawsuits are looming people smell money. We must be wary of false accusations.

* When guilt is established the offender must be punished, not sheltered.

* Distinctions must be made between types of abuse. Some offenses are worse than others. Verbal abuse or corporal punishment during a time when that was acceptable, while lamentable, is not the same as sexual abuse or extreme physical abuse.

* Sexual abuse of an adult, or a sexually experienced older teenager is wrong, and damaging, and should be punished, but it is not the same as the sexual abuse of a younger, innocent child.

I am in no way wishing to be soft of pedophiles and those who covered for them, however justice and truth demand an objective analysis of the facts. ~From Father Longenecker‘s blog.

And, from the Archbishop of NY, “What deepens the sadness now is the unrelenting insinuations against the Holy Father himself, as certain sources seem frenzied to implicate the man who, perhaps more than anyone else has been the leader in purification, reform, and renewal that the Church so needs…No one has been more vigorous in cleansing the Church of the effects of this sickening sin than the man we now call Pope Benedict XVI. The dramatic progress that the Catholic Church in the United States has made — documented again just last week by the report made by independent forensic auditors — could never have happened without the insistence and support of the very man now being daily crowned with thorns by groundless innuendo. ”

A reply to the New York Times article.

More on secular atheism and moral relativity.

A round up of many articles in support, via The Anchoress.
“Pope Benedict has taken serious steps to address the abuse scandal in the Church. What steps have a degenerate liberal elite taken to protect children in society at large? These are the same people who favor the abortion of unborn children.” http://catholicworldreport.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=165:the-pope-and-his-pharisaical-attackers&catid=37:exclusive&Itemid=54 , 

PRAY for ALL victims and for the Pope.