There has been a rash of sexual abuse stories making headlines in the past six months revealing one priest after another. It has caused a major ruckus in the catholic hierarchy and new reforms and guidelines being set regarding this serious matter. The question no one seems willing to address regarding this issue is this; How can these priests that are part of the "one" perfect, flawless church commit such deeds? How can those that are able to "forgive" sins in the confessional be such sinners? How can those that are deemed by most of their flock as virtually flawless be guilty of such horrible acts? Below is a news report on this subject that sheds some light on just how vast this problem really is. The truth is that there are many, many more than this article suggests.
NEW YORK (Jan. 12) - Since the Roman Catholic church became embroiled in a sex abuse scandal a year ago, more than 1,200 priests in nearly every diocese in America have been accused of sexually abusing children, The New York Times reported.
A survey conducted by the Times through Dec. 31 found that 4,268 people have claimed publicly or in lawsuits that priests abused them in the past six decades.
The Times survey, relying on court records, news reports, church documents and interviews, found that 1,205 priests, or 1.8 percent of all priests ordained from 1950 to 2001, had been accused of abuse.
Most of the priests accused of abuse were ordained between the mid-1950s and the 1970s, while the alleged abuse occurred primarily in the 1970s and the 1980s, the newspaper reported in its Sunday editions. Some allegations date to the 1930s.
Since last January, when the Boston Archdiocese disclosed documents showing that officials had protected priests who molested, hundreds of people have come forward with accusations of abuse.
The Times reported that more than 400 priests have resigned or retired because of the scandal since last January, including Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law. Law was accused of transferring from parish to parish priests who were accused, often repeatedly, of sexually abusing minors.
A separate count conducted by The Associated Press showed at least 325 priests had either resigned or retired since the scandal erupted. The AP count relied solely on statements from dioceses, while the larger Times figure also includes court records, news reports and other sources.
Experts say it is impossible to tell how many abuse victims exist, saying many didn't report the abuse before the 1950s because of the social stigma and that many still have not come forward.
``My assessment is it's only the tip of the iceberg,'' said William R. Stayton, a Widener University professor who teaches human sexuality. He was shown the results of the Times study.
``You really don't have a true picture. I have worked with many clergy sexual abuse cases over the years, and very, very few of them were reported.''
The Times survey also found:
Half of the priests accused of abuse were accused of molesting more than one child, and 16 percent were accused of having five or more victims.
Eighty percent of the priests were accused of molesting boys. A majority was accused of molesting teenagers, while 43 percent were accused of molesting children 12 and younger.
The newspaper reported that 63 priests were accused of abuse in the 1950s, and seven in the decades before. Two hundred fifty-six priests were accused of abusing minors in the 1970s, 537 in the 1970s, 510 in the 1980s and 211 in the 1990s, the newspaper said.
Experts who reviewed the Times study said it was possible that the number dropped off in the 1990s only because many victims have not yet come forward. But church officials noted they began to more thoroughly address the problem at that time, reporting sex abuse cases to law enforcement, psychologically screening for candidates for the priesthood and adding courses on human sexuality to the seminary curriculum.
There is a very easy answer to this:
1 Timothy 4:
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
Notice the group that this scripture puts these circumstances in; they are considered as those that have "departed from the faith," and also are said to be listening to "seducing spirits and devils."
It is interesting that the catholic church has always prevented the priests from marrying and also command that their followers abstain from certain meats such as eating fish on Fridays. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you force a man to be celibate that sooner or later the desires of the flesh will win out. That is one of the reasons that Paul spent a whole chapter in 1 Corinthians 7 on the guidelines regarding marriage and remaining single. You will also notice neither that Paul, nor nowhere else in the Bible does it institute the regulation of ministers of the Gospel not to marry. It is a man made regulation by the catholic church and you can see what happens when those types of laws are put on man.
This is but another classic example of the catholic church implementing their man made traditions and regulations over the Word of God.
As I said before this is only a drop in the bucket as to how many of these abuses are actually happening but are not reported. There are also many reports of priests raping nuns and many private abortions as a result of this. This does not sound like the "One True Church" to me.
It is quite obvious that there is more deceit and lies among the leadership of this church than even the people are aware of. If I were a catholic I would have some serious questions as to how I could be in this system and be following pathological liars.
It also proves the scripture above that I used, showing that these hidden abuses that were lied about and kept hidden so that the church would not look bad. They were more concerned with their image than the truth or setting the wrong right. They lied to people about these abuses and hid them and destroyed people's lives that were abused. Keep in mind that this was done by these ministers of this supposed only true church.
My question would be as a catholic; if they lied to me about this, what else are they lying about?
