- Nov 30, 2003
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- Faith
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I used to be on this forum years ago. I was Catholic then and even more of a Catholic now. But my Catholic faith had been tried. It has been tried by the sex scandals. I feel I was lied to. I was told that the sex scandals were a thing of the past. I was told that these scandals were no more than what happens in the general population. Sadly, I realized that was not true. It is far worse than I ever imagined it.
Our Protestant brothers and sisters, I am afraid, are more aware of these scandals than we are. We must confront this. We must be able to explain how the one true, holy, apostolic and Catholic Church could have so much corruption even from the very top.
Again, I want to reiterate that I am a faithful Catholic and I would encourage everyone here to remain a faithful Catholic. Our Lord never promised that His Church would always be triumphant. But He did promise that the gates of death and hell shall not prevail against His Church. G.K. Chesterton said that the Church at times seems to be dead. But we worship a God who knows how to come back to the dead. That has happened throughout the history of the Catholic Church. Throughout its history there were times that Satan seemed victorious over the Church. But then God would raise up a saint(s) to guide the Church out of its corruption. We need to pray for God to raise up saints again.
Lately, the New York government has invoke RICO against the Church. The statute of limitations has been greatly expanded. Men can now sue the Church for the cover-ups on the sex abuse done on them when they were boys. Other cities will follow. Insurance companies are refusing to cover for these lawsuits, saying that the Church officials lied to them. The Church will spend millions of dollars suing the lawsuits ands I think the the Church will probably lose. We are talking of hundred of millions of dollars lost, money that you and I put in the offering every week. Thousands of churches will close (actually, that is starting to happen now). I will not be surprised that we will need to have Mass in someone's basement, as there will be no more Catholic Church buildings and there will only be a handful of faithful Catholics left.
In all this, I think I see God's hand in this. In the Bible, God called Gideon to raise an army. God whittled that army to just a handful of soldiers. But then they became more than victors. I think that is what is going to happen now. Many will leave the Catholic Church, especially the clergy. But the ones who remain will be great saints. And the Church will come back more glorious than ever.
Unfortunately, I doubt I will be here to see it. I am now 67 years old with many physical problems. Maybe none of us will be alive to see it. But I want to encourage all here to be faithful. Do not be discouraged. God has not left His Church. You may see this great miracle of the Church raised from its ruins.
Any thoughts?
Our Protestant brothers and sisters, I am afraid, are more aware of these scandals than we are. We must confront this. We must be able to explain how the one true, holy, apostolic and Catholic Church could have so much corruption even from the very top.
Again, I want to reiterate that I am a faithful Catholic and I would encourage everyone here to remain a faithful Catholic. Our Lord never promised that His Church would always be triumphant. But He did promise that the gates of death and hell shall not prevail against His Church. G.K. Chesterton said that the Church at times seems to be dead. But we worship a God who knows how to come back to the dead. That has happened throughout the history of the Catholic Church. Throughout its history there were times that Satan seemed victorious over the Church. But then God would raise up a saint(s) to guide the Church out of its corruption. We need to pray for God to raise up saints again.
Lately, the New York government has invoke RICO against the Church. The statute of limitations has been greatly expanded. Men can now sue the Church for the cover-ups on the sex abuse done on them when they were boys. Other cities will follow. Insurance companies are refusing to cover for these lawsuits, saying that the Church officials lied to them. The Church will spend millions of dollars suing the lawsuits ands I think the the Church will probably lose. We are talking of hundred of millions of dollars lost, money that you and I put in the offering every week. Thousands of churches will close (actually, that is starting to happen now). I will not be surprised that we will need to have Mass in someone's basement, as there will be no more Catholic Church buildings and there will only be a handful of faithful Catholics left.
In all this, I think I see God's hand in this. In the Bible, God called Gideon to raise an army. God whittled that army to just a handful of soldiers. But then they became more than victors. I think that is what is going to happen now. Many will leave the Catholic Church, especially the clergy. But the ones who remain will be great saints. And the Church will come back more glorious than ever.
Unfortunately, I doubt I will be here to see it. I am now 67 years old with many physical problems. Maybe none of us will be alive to see it. But I want to encourage all here to be faithful. Do not be discouraged. God has not left His Church. You may see this great miracle of the Church raised from its ruins.
Any thoughts?