Good Friday...supposedly the most solemn day on the Christian calendar...as we celebrate and reflect on Christ's death on the cross...
Yet on this day, the Pope's personal preacher, Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, likens the calls for the Pope to step down (due to his mishandling of the Irish priests' child abuse cases) to:
1) The Jews' persecution in Nazi camps
2) Collective persecution of Jews (anti-Semitism)...
However, there is no way that the two situations can be compared.
The Pope is not being persecuted...he and his priests are being called upon to be accountable to their parishioners and to other people who hold them in high esteem.
It is wrong to use your office as a Church leader...one to whom people look for spiritual guidance and example:
1) To abuse children
And/Or
2) To perpetuate abuse (cause it to spread), by covering up abuse.
This not only goes for the Catholic Church but for all religious organizations.
The unfortunate fact is that over 70% of pedophiles were themselves abused as children.
(According to Wikipedia: a pedophile is any adult who is sexually attracted to young children or who sexually abuses a child or adolescent minor).
The Bible is very specific about church leaders who mislead and/or illtreat young followers (including children) and cause them to sin.
In Mark 9:42 Jesus says it would be better for a millstone to be wrapped around their neck and they be cast into the sea, than for them to touch/mislead these little ones. (For a broader context, please read Mark 9:39-47).
In the verses following this one, in Mark 9:43-47, Jesus goes on to say that if your hand causes you to sin..cut it off, if your eye causes you to sin...pluck it out..for it's better for you to enter heaven being maimed, than for you to keep these offending parts of your body and go to hell, as a result.
The issue is not whether or not Catholic priests or nuns should be required to be celibate.
It is that when these leaders:
-
Know that they have the spiritual and mental problem of pedophilia, that they do the honest thing and excuse themselves from having any dealings with children.
It has been shown that there is no effective cure for pedophilia.
As such, pedophiles, whether in the church or not, should be identified and banned from being around children.
-
Do abuse children...that these children's pleas for help be acknowledged and acted upon by the church..
That these church leaders be reprimanded by the church, removed from the office of Church leader and be reported to the police.
(In most countries, it is illegal to abuse children).
Is this so hard for the Pope and his personal preacher to understand?
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What do you think?
(I would like to thank miqul for the use of his Flickr photo entitled, "Pope Benedict XVI in nazi camp in Brzezinka").
Gillian
Sources Include
1) St. Mark 9:39-47: What Jesus says about church leaders who mislead/ill-treat young followers, Biblegateway.com, accessed April 3, 2010
2) Article, "Catholic sex abuse cases", Wikipedia.org, accessed April 3, 2010
3) Article, "Pedophilia", Wikipedia.org, accessed April 3, 2010
4) Article, "Profile of a Pedophile", About.com Guide, accessed April 3, 2010
5) Article, "Stockholm Syndrome and Pedophiles", via Lifetips - Move Up in Life, accessed April 3, 2010
6) Article, "Pope's preacher: Abuse critique like Anti-Semitism", by Victor L Simpson - Associated Press Writer, via The San Diego Union-Tribune, April 2, 2010
