Comments on: Catholic Priests, Sex Abuse Equals Hypocrisy

By: Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 12:27:30 +0000

so whats been done to stop all this happing in the church ?? NOTHING??

By: Jason Taylor

Jason Taylor — Wed, 12 May 2010 09:34:37 +0000

I was molested by a priest when I was 12 years old. I never said anything about it until recently. I was so ashamed. My family hated homosexuals and I feared that if I told I would be punished and ridiculed as being gay. But this wasn’t about being gay. (Which I am not) I’m not homophobic. This was child rape, plain and simple. After getting diagnosed with esophageal cancer, I wanted to clear up a few things so I called the diocsees in Grand Rapids. The lady I talked to was cold and uncaring even after making me descibe in detail what happened. All they did was offer me some counceling. I didn’t ask them for anything and she made it quite clear that they did not compensate victims for that. She almost acted like I had victimized the priest. What gives. That incident fucked up my whole life! Who can tell me how to get compensation?

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:44:25 +0000

Pamela, I wrote the article, I am the author of “Above His Shoulders.” The church you attend I must applaud if they have implemented programs to help your victims locally. I am speaking on a global scale. The research pans out that attendance is dropping over the last ten years. I have priests supporting me, agreeing with me. Look at the money for the commercials, help to bring individuals back to the church.

What has not been done:
No mandatory treatment programs for offenders.
No mandatory resignation for priests
No mandatory incarceration by the Vatican to implement a mandate
No immediate call to action for replacement.

We cannot look at just our small world, our church, and our country. This is a global issue and the Vatican has fallen way short on being effective. This is an atrocity and nothing has been done as mandate for the church as a whole.

Take a role, speak up. Change cannot occur if we just close one eye and look at our own backyard, we need to look at the whole picture.

By: Pamela

Pamela — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 06:33:22 +0000

Sexual abuse is truely a most callous act, especially in the hands of those we should trust. I think that while there are reported cases, and mishandlings, there has been the difficulty of usually the perpetrator (s) covering it up. Not only that, some victims are ashamed or have no understanding of how to bring the offendor to the open. Thus, it is a long complicated process to amend. I am truely saddened that it happened in the Catholic Church, but I’ve met no priests who would do such a thing. The bible shows that sin is a fact in every Christian community, and the Church has made changes to help stop and heal the wounds. Every time you look and see this, but the person who wrote this article could not see it. My Church has record numbers of people all the time, it will grow even in tough times because, while abuse did happen, it’s not the entire picture of the core of the Catholic Church. P