Amos

You know sullster, I don't think that there is a Catholic around who condones the behavior of the accused priests. Bernard Law was not one of them and he did his job the best he saw fit in a rapidly changing social environment. He did this to the best of his ability with the manpower he had to work with. But he was wrong and has learned the hard way that sexual preference is not just learned behavior that can be changed overnight.

But let me ask you this, if you were raped would you go to your rapist for compensation or would you go to the police? Would you go back for seconds? Would you negotiate a settlement?

Is is not our civil duty to report sexual violations to the police, even if they occur within our own family structure?

So let me suggest that if the first child that was molested would have done this there would not have been a second one.

wade-w

I think you mistake a complete disdain for the institution of the Roman Catholic church and the way the leadership of the church seems to be more concerned with PR than with the well being of the faithful with hating its adherents. I seriously doubt that many of us here at II hate anybody simply because they are Catholic. You may have so much of your personal identity and sense of self-worth wrapped up in being a catholic that you can't see it, but the rest of us can tell the difference between the institution and the individual parishioners.

You have said you are now attending college. If your college has any courses in logic or critical thinking, I suggest you consider taking them.

Gemma Therese

There is a religious sister at my college with her doctorate in Analytic Number Theory ...

Gemma Therese

wade-w

So now it is the boys' fault for not reporting it sooner? How many excuses are you people going to make?

Your arguement is flawed, Amos, because child sexual abuse is not quite the same thing as the rape of an adult. Often, the child feels like it is his fault, that he is somehow to blame. The abuser in cases like these exerts a great deal of psychological pressure not to reveal what is going on. I can guarantee you that what is being revealed today is only the tip of the iceberg; there are certain to be many more boys who were abused than will ever admit it to anyone.

wade-w

What does that have to do with your lack of critical thinking skills?

Gemma Therese

Amos

</strong>

These are not excuses at all. Let me remind you here that the accustation was pimping and I suggest it is more like milking. Children? Some of them were 16 and probably have been sexually active for half their life.

Psychological pressure in young boys? We once visited the local bar that was next to the church and hung a pair of girls panties on his clothesline. This was on saterday night and for all to see who visited the early Sunday mass. That was about grade 8 or 9 where we had him as teacher.

I still have not condoned their behavior so how is my argument flawed? In your "somehow?"

Philosoft

I beg your pardon. Bernard Law was interested only in protecting image - the Church's and his own. You must be saying something other than what I understand.

<strong> Oh yes, I'm sure he's learned. We can all rest comfortably now knowing Law can be trusted not to repeat his mistakes.

<strong> Suggestion noted. Victim-blaming noted. Complete ignorance of child psychology noted.

B. H. Manners

I know I am a late comer to the discussion, but we had a rather cruel incident down here in Texas a few years back.

A priest by the name of Rudy Koch in Ennis, TX was found guilty of molesting kids. It caused a lot of pain and harm in the community with one or two of the boys later killing themselves. I used to work for one of the grocery stores in Ennis as a front end manager and the Catholics there would make every fucking excuse in the book as to why it went on for so long. Also, after Koch was sent to jail many were mad at the families who sued for bringing "shame and disgrace" on the holy mother church. Idiots! The "Holy Mother Church" brought shame and disgrace on herself, not those sweet innocent children!

The head honcho over the diocese, a Bishop Graham, would not do anything about Koch afte numerous complaints, so one or two priests took the initiative to make the right decision for him. They turned him in and got him arrested. One of the priests ministers right here in Corsicana I believe and he got a lot of flack for going above his bishop's head.

Later, families sued the diocese because it failed to remove Koch when it became apparent he was molesting the children at his church. The diocese lost around 100 million dollars in settlement to the families of the victimized children and had to auction off a lot of its property to pay the bills. Graham, I believe, was never formally disciplined by the Catholic Church and allowed to retire a few years later.

The Catholic Church is nothing but a money grabbing organization who pimps its own people so its leadership can live in luxury and power, and I don't give a flipping fuck up Jehovah's ass what some Friar Kolbe did or whoever.

[ December 18, 2002: Message edited by: B. H. Manners ]</p>

Vorkosigan

I see that since you are unable to dispute me on the facts, you have now resorted to personal insults.

Vorkosigan