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ROME -- Irish priest and theologian, Brendan Purcell, talked to NBC News' Jim Maceda about the repercussions of the recent sex abuse scandals, how his Dublin diocese is coping, and what it means for the Catholic Church at large.
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He says the church can't just put the scandal behind. "It's a bit like the Holocaust.You don't put the Holocaust behind you, but effectively, we can't allow that, while it's happened, to prevent us from doing the work we should be doing anyway. If we are priests, its to bring God to people when they feel they need something more in their lives."
In terms of the Catholic Church's future, he says they should be asking how the institution fits into the modern world. "Can we offer a message that's exciting, that's interesting? And if we can't we should close shop."
Watch the complete interview above.
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The media and the anti Christ are always after the Catholic Church. The Priest who have abused children should and will be brought to trial and prosicuted. The Church is doing everything it can to safeguard our children. Why isn't the media and the anti Christ going after educators and coach's the way they constantly bash the Catholic Church? J.R. Ct.
People like john rondano should be locked up and added to the sex offender registry for aiding and abetting the rape of minors by the Catholic church.
The problem is...it's not just one priest. There have been many cases just like this through the years. The difference with this one is the possible trail that leads all the way to the pope. And the church has not done "everything to safeguard children.In many, many cases when these monsters were discovered they were packed up and moved to other churches; generally, to start all over again. This isn't an "Antichrist" conspiracy; it's just the truth. Lookt up the facts...The 2004 John Jay Report[21] was based on a study of 10,667 allegations against 4,392 priests accused of engaging in sexual abuse of a minor between 1950 and 2002
Is anyone so blind as to think that all but one or two out of TEN THOUSAND allegations were true? Also, keep in mind, those numbers are only for the US.The number increases greatly if you go worldwide. And as for the inevitble rebuttal that they are fabricated, well, if that is true, then why this..
As of March 2006, dioceses in which abuse was committed or in which abuse allegations were settled out of court had made financial settlements with the victims totaling over 1.5 billion dollars
Do you really think the church would let go of that much money if it weren't true? And lastly, just to let you know. I am christian...I was raised Catholic, but that doesn't blind me to the disgusting facts. This is an out of control situation that the church refuses to deal with in the manner that it deserves.
Look folks, these are the types of the reasons that people are moving away from religion. People aren't blind, they can see the corruption and hypocrisy in organized religion. If a strong leader ever came along and cleaned house, things might be different, but as long as the sweeping under the rug, denial and pointing fingers at everyone else continues organized religion will continue to spiral down the drain.
The media and the anti Christ are always after the Catholic Church. The Priest who abused children should and will be brought to trail and prosecuted. The Church is doing everything in its power to safeguard our children. Why isn't the media and the anti Christ going after educators and coaches the way they constantly bash the Catholic Church? J.R. Ct.
@john rondano.. do you even read what you post... deranged lunatic with your hallucinations of anti-christs. no wonder you run after jesus having heard he cured lunatics like you. however jesus cannot cure your problem, he was unable to cure many like you in his time. your paranoia has you blaming everyone else, and denying the crimes of the church.
The media needs a scapegoat, and the Catholic church is an easy one. The idea of parents sending their kids to participate in church events and to be with a priest is a comforting idea, one that should bring hope and happiness. And when it's filled with abuse and torment, it's a pretty easy way to shock the world, which the media likes to do.
Q. How do you separate the men from the boys in Ireland, or the Catholic priests from the boys? A. With a crowbar.
Hundreds of thousands of Catholics have "left the Church in droves!" Why? For many it was Pope Paul VI's Encyclical, which forbade birth control. Many were sick and tired of the Church being in their bedrooms. Then, the priest/Pedophilia Scandal hit, and unspeakable abominations and sins against our children were revealed. These are the same children, I might add, that the Church told us we had to have! Pedophilia shows how much the Church honored and respected our children and their parents. Those, who remained faithful got screwed, royally by the Church! Not only were many children molested, raped and sodomized, but countless other children were put at risk by bishops, who transferred offenders from one parish to another. Maybe many of those who have left have heard the call of the Good Shepherd, as stated in the Book of Revelations of St. John the Divine, "Come out of Her my children!" I know that I have!
Get serious, bloggers! The problem of child sexual abuse and exploitation is not just in the Catholic Church, because it's happening in homes, schools, and non-Catholic youth ministries in every large and small city in the world, unfortunately right now. Just log onto your state's Sexual Offender list, normally provided by law enforcement authorities. Why do all of these people abuse children? Look around you, there just may be a pervert close by!
The problem is, the media and Catholics and the general public HAVE NOT PUT ENOUGH PRESSURE on the Church for the obscene abuses it has known about for decades while protecting itself and the abusers and rapists from going to jail. That makes ALL Church hierarchy guilty of protecting the worst of our society -- child molesters who destroy young lives and the continuing lives of tens of thousands of victims who can never fully recover from the abuse, the shame, the emotional confusion and wreckage that can follow for a lifetime. The Church hierarchy -- the priests, bishops, cardinals and the Pope himself need to be brought to court as the criminals or aides to crimeS that the law demands. Catholic Church leaders and parishoners allowed the crimes to continue, the Church criminals under their management to go free, and even continue their crimes.
I know, because it happened to me as a 14 year old almost 50 years ago. The priest said he wanted to help me, make my life and my struggles at my Catholic high school go away. He said, "You need to trust me and know that our friendship can make your life much happier. I can take care of you here. Any problems will go away." As he said this he reached out as if to tuck my shirt inside my pants, and then slid his hand down to fondle my crotch. He said, "I'd like us to be friends, and your time here will be something to be proud of."
I was shocked beyond words. I begged off, knowing he could control my future there, and left. That night I was crying when I told my dad what happened, it was so traumatic and disgusting to me. The priest I was told to look up to, to trust, to learn from, both educationally and spiritually had groped me and wanted to do a lot more. That was crystal clear. My "Orthodox Catholic" dad was so shocked by it he swore me to secrecy forever. NEVER to tell anyone, my mother, family, friends, never a word He would take care of it -- he'd call the diocese leaders and the school principal and demand action against this molester. I continued to go to school and this teacher acted as if nothing had happened. A week later I tearfully asked my dad what was going to happen, and he said the people he talked to were equally shocked and said they would investigate and discipline this priest based on what ever they found.
The outcome -- I was flunked out of the school at the end of my freshman year! Told I had failed some classes, and that it was in my best interest to not come back. My father said almost the same thing -- not too hard to believe based on his shock and confusion about how I was treated and the stone wall he ran into when he protested strongly about what happened.
As a result, I wanted to have nothing to do with Catholicism or formal religion ever again. It took me at least ten years to get beyond my hatred of not only the priest, who continued teaching and possibly molesting at this school until he retired, but I've distrusted all authority since then. I trust no one. It has caused problems in my career, my marriage, and relationships of all kinds. And forget it if anyone shows their self-righteous side. They don't get away with me holding my tongue.
So these criminals need to be one place for their continuing crimes against "their flock" -- society and the people who trust them for their special leadership and connection to God. They belong in jail, with all the other molesters and rapists and life-destroyers we put there who do the exact same things they do. That's what they are, and according to our laws, that's what they deserve. But the Church protects them even now, by refusing documents, refusing to confirm anything. The Church is THE LAWBREAKER in all these cases for allowing these people to perpetuate their crimes, as the enablers of these crimes. But you don't see parishioners outraged about it -- until it happens to them, to their family. And even then, as happened to me, the Church uses their emotional position with the parents to make it all go away.
The Church needs to be turned inside out -- and given no respect until all the criminal enablers at the top are in jail with molesters themselves.
One question not asked is whether Jesus would go to Church. He certainly would not,
even told his flock to stay at home and shut the door, and pray there. Something that makes a
lot of sense in the hindsight of what people were subjected to. The four gospels are full of warnings
what is going to happen in the name of God and himself.
http://socratesbooks.blogspot.com/2010/06/church-scandals-and-vaticans-handling.html
If the church would just hold its hands up and admit that it's rotten to the core, then people would be in a more forgiving mood, but it twists and turns and points the finger at everyone but themselves! It will take an age for this church to earn back the respect it has lost and I often wonder how many have left the church since the paedophile scandals broke. Needless to say, this information will not be available via the church's records. Perhaps we'll have to set up our own Tomb Raiders to assist us in this matter?