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Catholic Church Followers - Did You Leave Your Church?
Roman Catholic sex abuse cases
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaClerical sexual deviancy allegations have been made against a variety of religious groups including but not exclusively Roman Catholic priests monks and nuns. An estimated 0.2% of Roman Catholic priests have been proven to be abusers.
Some incidents involved diocesan priests and members of the various Roman Catholic religious orders, with reports coming from the United States and Ireland and. Cases involved seminaries, schools, orphanages and other institutions (such as the Irish industrial schools) where children were in the care of clergy.
Criticism of the Church and its leadership focused on the failure to act upon information, and often to move priests who had received complaints from church to church in order to protect them. Some allegations have led to successful prosecutions of the accused, as well as civil cases settling for millions of dollars.
The John Jay Report, commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, found accusations against 4,392 priests in the USA, equaling about 4% of all U.S. priests between 1950 and 2002. Figures supplied by the Catholic League promote the view that abuse statistics in the Catholic Church are similar to abuse in other institutions such as the preliminary estimate of education abuse statistics compiled by the U. S. Department of Education.
I’M CURIOUS. DID EVERY CATHOLIC LEAVE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AFTER HEARING THEIR PRIEST HAD ABUSED CHILDREN?
sorry for repeat title - messed up copy/paste
Comments (17)
The Catholic church is in crisis over this continuing scandal. It's one of the most shameful things we've ever witnessed (Bostonians in particular get very, very angry over this....).
To answer your question, yes, a ton of people have left the Church as a result.
March 15, 2008 12:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Please look at your own column. You state that 0.2 of catholic priests have been shown to be abusers. That is an insignificant number of priests. The number of abusers in other professions is greater, including family members. Using your logic there is one candidate for President in the Obama campaign. His name is Barack Obama and he has been an abuser of a different type but an abuser none the less for the last 20 years. Are all of you leaving the Obama campaign? Is this the point you are trying to make because if it is you've done a good job.
March 15, 2008 11:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm sorry. What was Barack abusing for 20 years? Was he sitting too forcefully in his pew?
The "abuser" in this instance is the minister, not the congregant. While the poster's parallels are loose, you should re-read what he actually said.
I would go another route. How many of you have left YOUR church because YOUR minister said something you didn't agree with, or said something inflammatory? There's a history of yelling in Protestant churches, and there's a history of railing against injustices. And there's a history of shock politics in pulpit sermons. Black ministers of the civil rights era, such as Wright, have a tone and a method that is different than what I grew up with in a white Episcopal church, but jumping on the "Obama's dangerous because his mentor said something volatile" is pretty ignorant.
March 15, 2008 12:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
So now we're down to percentages being SMALL?
Did you leave the Catholic Church after hearing what your LEADERS of church HID from it's church goers -- the child abuse of thousands?
I don't mean just your Pastor's guilt (if that's what happened) I mean, from the Pope on down -- what THEY did.
Did you leave the Catholic Religion all together?
I'm sure there were a few that did, but I'm betting the Bulk did not.
Mainly because they LOVED the IDEA of the Catholic Church....not any ONE man/woman.
March 15, 2008 12:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
As a matter of fact, I did. I used this exact example yesterday in a post. How can Obama possibly expect anyone to believe that he never heard these statements and/or simply didn't agree with them, but he has higher principles of unity and healing? Due to the Church's positions on women and AIDS, I felt that by participating in this institution, I was endorsing and promoting these beliefs. Obama has been closely associated with this man for 20 YEARS! It's fascinating, watching the blind devotion of Obama supporters, trying to now justify this too. If I was in a church and Rev. Wright started to speak with such hostility, blame and crudeness, I would walk out and not go back. Period. What does this say about Obama's judgment. First Rezko and now this--his whole lack of foreign policy experience is supposed to be based on judgment. And then there's the general election: the Republicans will play these tapes 24/7--goodbye middle American vote.
March 15, 2008 12:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
I left the Catholic Church well before any of this broke, for reasons unrelated to clergy abuse, choice, or contraception.
I am now what the religious folks refer to as "unchurched". I have my own beliefs, and they are enough for me.
And perhaps it would do you well to look at the abuse itself as being bad actions by very sick individuals. The dreadfully poor institutional response to it is quite another story.
March 15, 2008 1:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have heard it said repeatedly over the internet that Obama should LEAVE his church and walk away from his Pastor for the words that the Pastor said.
I was pointing out that millions of Catholics STOOD by their church AND it's leaders -- even knowing they HID this awful story and chose to keep some of these abusers for YEARS.
Why didn't they leave THEIR church? Probably because they loved the BELIEF of the church, not necessarily the MEN/WOMEN's words of that church.
March 15, 2008 1:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
I left the Catholic Church ling before this scandal broke out. I joined the Lutheran Church and ran into the very same hypocrisy and superiority.
I left that after the reverend took off with the funds for new pews.
Jesus said you'd find the worst hypocrites inside the Temple.
He wasn't kidding.
I really don't see this post as having much to do with anything at all. It's like cherry-picking the Bible to justify Homophobia or War. Your message is all religions suck. You might be right.
What has that got to do with Rev. Wrights outspoken comments? It's O.K. because he's religious? I don't buy that.
I also don't buy that whatever he says be somehow attributed to Obama. People are free to have opinions. I think that people should quit buying into this baloney, completely. Apparently Obama does as well.
Maybe you should listen to him, rather than trying to piss off Catholics.
March 15, 2008 1:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Did I leave my Church?
Nah - and I wouldn't, any more than I'd leave America just because Republicans happen to be in charge.
The Church (for me) contains too much of real benefit for me to walk away - I mean, I'm obviously hugely disappointed in lots of the leadership because of this.
However, it's worth mentioning that a big reason I'm progressive is due to my Catholicism.
If I walked away do to the scandals, I would not just be walking away from (too many) corrupt leaders. I'd be walking away from Dorothy Day, who is a hero of mine. I'd be walking away from Oscar Romero, who was martyred for trying to enact peace. I'd be walking away from Therese of Lisieux, who showed that greatness could consist in doing small things with great love.
March 15, 2008 3:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
I left the RC church a long time before the sex abuse scandal broke. In part this was over a matter of metaphysics - I'm a scientist and there was/is an awful lot of Christian theology that simply doesn't square with the facts.
However, I had separated from the church long before I got my basic chemistry and physics under my belt. I saw an arrogant institution that seemed more concerned with its cultural prerequisites and political influence than it did with its member’s spiritual well being and the good of humanity in general. I saw an institution unable and/or unwilling to grapple with the grievous wrongs of omission and commission it had committed in the past. Most of all I saw that the message of the church was very much at odds with the its conduct. After a while it became a matter of conscience that I separate myself; after awhile you realize aberration is actually the norm and that you have been sold a bill of goods. When that moment comes you either continue as part of the problem or you do what ethics demands.
March 15, 2008 4:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not saying Catholics SHOULD have left their church after Leaders were found to have been HIDING the truth from them. I was mearly pointing out that other churches have their sins and bad actions -- yet followers aren't forced to leave their church, nor were they asked why they DIDN'T.
Be Fair is all I'm saying.
March 15, 2008 6:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
AIUI, bad ministers from many religions prey on members of their flocks, even young members. I was more disappointed when the Church got all political in opposing Kerry.
March 15, 2008 6:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
I left after I realized there was an institutional commitment to misogyny. I refused to serve as a godmother to my cousins, as I felt I would be lying. (Being a godparent is a literal commitment to raise the child as Catholic.)
I don't think Obama is telling the whole truth here - how anyone could be a member of Wright's church and have Wright as his spiritual mentor and not run into this deep vein of indignation is not plausible - BUT I think Obama is telling the truth when he says he found his spiritual path thanks to Wright taking his hand and leading. Probably too subtle to parse, given the reptilian-brain quality of responses to the videos, but a bit truer.
It's also worth noting that the choice of a church for the young Obama was as much a pragmatic duty as a search for meaning. He elaborates at length on this in "Dreams for my father", a moving read for anyone. Had only he had some dreams for his mother - I'd like to have read those too.
March 15, 2008 8:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wish they all did. It's Irish Catholics like Maureen Dowd and Chris Matthews who have been the worst of the Hillary haters.
March 15, 2008 9:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think anyone is saying that Obama should leave "The Church", merely that he should have long ago left this church building.
He said that he had been looking for a church that he could be comfortable in, and found Trinity, which happened to have Rev Wright who became his mentor.
I'm sure that there are other church buildings in Chicago with inspiring pastors, that he could go to.
Maybe he is just more comfortable in this one. Think he will continue to hear nothing?
March 15, 2008 9:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
I heard that Hannity on Hannity and Colmes Fox -- said he should leave the church AND resign from his Senate seat.
If this is true -- can you believe this man? He's getting worse than Limbaugh.
March 15, 2008 11:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good - let Hannity hang himself.
The further Sean goes with this witch-hunt (Obama should resign his Senate seat?!?) the more people will realize how crazy these attacks are.
March 15, 2008 11:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
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