Depressed about Catholicism hatred

[RKO]

If anyone says that the Catholic Church is or has been "accepting" of pedophilia, they are either mistaken or lying.
What we were guilty of is some really bad administration and perhaps cover up to save the embarrassment and liability. Unfortunately, those decisions allowed it to continue and to build until it exploded.
No person or group of persons IS the Catholic church. Not even the Pope. It is the sum of all it has been and evrything it has said and done for 2000 years. As a liberal, I often am told that if I dare to disagree with any utterance of any person who they think is a better Catholic than me, that I shouldn't be Catholic. Fortunately, I am well aware that they don't get to choose. Look at what the Church is and decide if you are part of that or not. Then you will decide...

 

[RKO]

You're asking me if this is GT and yet you're the one asking me to go ask all the patriarchs of the Orthodox Church to produce their pedophile stats? Seriously? You seriously think we have the epidemic you guys had?

Gurney, if I had to guess, I would think you are right. But what he is saying to you is that you are just guessing. Remember, this crisis in the RCC existed for decades or possibly centuries before it was brought into the light.

 

[Erose]

Besides we wouldn't know anyway since the Orthodox is a very small fish in a big ocean in the USA. Most media folks probably don't even know the existence of the Eastern Church. So everything is pure speculation.

 

[ebia]

Do you think it would hold up statistically? When you are comparing two bodies where one is significantly larger you should expect more "x" statistically. Don't forget that you are comparing a little over 1 million versus over 78 million. If the percentage of clergy is similar then you are looking at 78 catholic priests for every orthodox priest. So from the estimated sampling you should then expect that sexual abuse should occur 78 times more often in the Catholic Church. Anyway the point being don't bury your head in the sand, and think that it is just them guys, when the facts lead one to this being a societal issue far greater than the statistics show. It is simply every where. In every Christian denomination, in every religious body not Christian, in every school district, etc., etc. The problem comes when the light isn't shown in these places of darkness because they aren't as big as the largest religious body, and thus children continue to be the prey to these monsters in sheep's clothing.

There is also the extent to which the church in question ran institutions that brought clergy into contact with children. The RCC ran a lot of schools and children's homes. Thats not always true of other churches.

On the other hand there is recognition here that the formation in some seminaries did not help the situation.

 

[Erose]

There is also the extent to which the church in question ran institutions that brought clergy into contact with children. The RCC ran a lot of schools and children's homes. Thats not always true of other churches.

On the other hand there is recognition here that the formation in some seminaries did not help the situation.

The point I am trying to make is that child sex abuse is a societal problem, that has also affected the Catholic Church. Society needs to stop thinking of this as a Catholic issue, for it isn't. It is a result of the plague of sexual promiscuity that has eaten up our society.

If any other Christian wants to make the argument that it isn't a problem that their church has, all you got to do is just Google your favorite denomination's name and 'sex abuse' to get your rose color glasses removed.

 

[ebia]

The point I am trying to make is that child sex abuse is a societal problem, that has also affected the Catholic Church. Society needs to stop thinking of this as a Catholic issue, for it isn't. It is a result of the plague of sexual promiscuity that has eaten up our society.

I don't think it is - the timing is wrong.

If any other Christian wants to make the argument that it isn't a problem that their church has, all you got to do is just Google your favorite denomination's name and 'sex abuse' to get your rose color glasses removed.

I wasn't saying it hasn't been a problem in other churches. Rather that the extent of the problem is bound to correlate with the extent to which the church in question runs things like schools and children's homes. So (here) we see it a lot in the RCC (that ran lots of both) and the Salvation Army (that ran a lot of children's homes) but not so much in the EOs (say) who ran few of either.

 

[New Legacy]

You're asking me if this is GT and yet you're the one asking me to go ask all the patriarchs of the Orthodox Church to produce their pedophile stats? Seriously? You seriously think we have the epidemic you guys had?

I did not ask you for that.

I can pull up a google search of Orthodox priests and pedophilia. The media only reports cases involving Catholic priests and somewhat attractive female teachers.

We did not have an epidemic, crisis, or any of that. Catholic priests are less likely than the general male population to be involved in pedophilia. If the media pulled up every accusation made about teachers since the 1950s, teachers would be considered pedophiles overnight and it would be an 'epidemic'.

As I recall you are a teacher and you should be teaching critical thinking skills and instead you seem to be forgetting them. According to CNN, the plane crash in the Indian ocean is the most important event going on in the world for the last few weeks.

 

[New Legacy]

The point I am trying to make is that child sex abuse is a societal problem, that has also affected the Catholic Church. Society needs to stop thinking of this as a Catholic issue, for it isn't. It is a result of the plague of sexual promiscuity that has eaten up our society.

If any other Christian wants to make the argument that it isn't a problem that their church has, all you got to do is just Google your favorite denomination's name and 'sex abuse' to get your rose color glasses removed.

That is exactly the problem, it is a problem in Catholic only because it is a general problem.

I never knew a single priest that was a pedophile, and I know many. I know of preachers and teachers that are.

 

[New Legacy]

Catholic sex abuse cases - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Research and expert opinion reported in 2010 indicated that evidence does not point to men within the Catholic Church being more likely than others to commit abuse, and indicated that the prevalence of abuse by priests had fallen sharply in the previous 20 to 30 years.


Yet that is exactly what people believe when they are easily manipulated by the media. The real scandal to me is the obvious bias and abuse by the media.

And that people think it is a "Catholic priest" thing.

 

[Erose]

I don't think it is - the timing is wrong.

I wasn't saying it hasn't been a problem in other churches. Rather that the extent of the problem is bound to correlate with the extent to which the church in question runs things like schools and children's homes. So (here) we see it a lot in the RCC (that ran lots of both) and the Salvation Army (that ran a lot of children's homes) but not so much in the EOs (say) who ran few of either.

I understand. I'm hammering more than anything.

 

[Michie]

Catholic Church sex abuse allegations fall to lowest levels ever in 2013...

 

[GoingByzantine]

Not to hijack this thread, but I feel so put down lately by the world around me. I feel hated for being a Catholic, I have felt this way before, but lately I just feel like the world around me is running me over. The minute someone finds out I am Catholic, they either feel pity for me, try to "save me" or they just outright start attacking my faith. I have been reading the Bible a lot more lately, and I enjoy listening to Protestant Radio Shows of the non-conservative variety. There is really some good information to be heard from these shows. Occasionally though they devolve into Catholic bashing, and then I feel put down once again. Now there is this new allegation that my church is "Pope Centric" rather than "Christ Centric" and this too really pains me that some Protestants can't see that I love Jesus just as much as they do.

You know I posted a thread in GT earlier this week about "judging people", and it seems to me that many Christians are ignoring sacred scripture and judging Catholics and Orthodox in a very unrepentant way. I am at the end of the line, I don't know what to do anymore, I feel so hated just for loving God through a denomination that is not socially acceptable in our American society.

 

[LarryP2]

Not to hijack this thread, but I feel so put down lately by the world around me. I feel hated for being a Catholic, I have felt this way before, but lately I just feel like the world around me is running me over. The minute someone finds out I am Catholic, they either feel pity for me, try to "save me" or they just outright start attacking my faith. I have been reading the Bible a lot more lately, and I enjoy listening to Protestant Radio Shows of the non-conservative variety. There is really some good information to be heard from these shows. Occasionally though they devolve into Catholic bashing, and then I feel put down once again. Now there is this new allegation that my church is "Pope Centric" rather than "Christ Centric" and this too really pains me that some Protestants can't see that I love Jesus just as much as they do.

You do realize a lot of those morons on talk radio have trouble writing their own names, or finding their a$$ with both hands, don't you? They would have trouble pouring the pee out of a cowboy boot, if the directions were written on the heel.

This present anti-Catholicism is a revival of the most lamentably and woefully ignorant anti-immigration hysteria that first occurred in the mid-1800s. There were two primitive political impulses attached to this rank outburst of sub-human bigotry: No-Nothingism and Nativism. These odious, retromingent, half-educated radio hucksters ignore the overwhelming evidence of Catholicism's second-to-none ministries in hospitals, sainthood, and education. Since Fox TV never reports on it, there is no way these numbskulls would ever hear about them.

Just switch the channel, would you already?

 

[GoingByzantine]

You do realize a lot of those morons on talk radio have trouble writing their own names, or finding their a$$ with both hands, don't you? They would have trouble pouring the pee out of a cowboy boot, if the directions were written on the heel.

This present anti-Catholicism is a revival of the most lamentably and woefully ignorant anti-immigration hysteria that first occurred in the mid-1800s. There were two primitive political impulses attached to this rank outburst of sub-human bigotry: No-Nothingism and Nativism. These odious, retromingent, half-educated radio hucksters ignore the overwhelming evidence of Catholicism's second-to-none ministries in hospitals, sainthood, and education. Since Fox TV never reports on it, there is no way these numbskulls would ever hear about them.

Just switch the channel, would you already?

It's more than just the Radio, more so than not, it is too my face.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Not to be contrary to some here, but don't you think the self-pity for anti-Catholicism is WAYYY less justified in 2014 than it was 50-60 years ago in many ways?

Back in the 1960's, my grandparents and other family members told me about how evangelical Protestants were going door-to-door down in our neighborhood in Long Beach, CA BEGGING people not to vote for John F. Kennedy simple for one reason--He's Catholic!!! Ahhhhhh! Look back at the old days the way Catholics were truly hated. Irish Catholics were considered scum ("no Irish need apply" anyone?). It used to be that Polish, Irish Catholics were marginalized and stuck in enclaves. Halloween and St. Patrick's Day were scoffed-at. Nowdays Halloween is cherished and St. Patty's Day beckons parades and love from everyone regardless of skin color or race.

It used to be that Catholic characters were always the bad guys or non-existent at all. You also had next to zero Catholic politicians or political clout in America.

Nowdays you a very strong Catholic presence in the U.S. Where the Republican Party used to be very ANTI-Catholic, now Catholics from Pat Buchanan to Paul Ryan FLAUNT their Catholicism in order to impress Republican voters! Catholics have tremendous political influence and everyone wants to court their votes! Popes are someone that everyone from Protestants to atheists want to meet or see.

You watch movies or read comic books and the Catholic characters are usually the "good guys!" Read "Daredevil" comics and it's the Catholic priest trying to talk Matt Murdock OUT of vigilantism and mayhem. Watch the X-Men movies or read the comics and Night Crawler is the character who has integrity, honesty, and a strong sense of kindness to others. he prays the rosary and recites the Our Father and loves the Catholic faith.
And yet all the LAPSED Catholic characters in Marvel or DC are the badguys be it Lizard, Venom, Kingpin, whatever....

Look at Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ!" There wasn't a soul in the world who didn't know that Gibson made that movie with a HUGE Catholic influence! Evangelicals all over the world touted the film, Catholic as heck that it is, and they saw Gibson as a demigod himself for producing something so awesome. Or look at the how popular the heavily Catholic-influenced Tolkien films have been received!

Catholics enjoy more notoriety and freedom in many ways than they did 50-100 years ago when evangelicals lumped Catholics in with Jews and "Blacks" in the deep south loathing them and preferring to fall on a sword rather than align with them. Now every major Tea Party or GOP group has a sizable Catholic population within.

Yes, guys like Obama have made many policies like birth control, abortion, and the LGBT nonsense a type of new pseudo-religion that has threatened Catholicism, but I still say that real legitimate "anti-Catholicism" has always been there, will always be there, but we must focus on what we believe to be the Truth.

I'm an Orthodox Christian and you know which religion I believe is true. But when I tell people MY faith, they don't even know what it is! "Oh, so you're Jewish?" is what I usually hear! So which is worse, knowing a religion and maybe having some preconceived notions or not knowing it whatsoever!? One could argue that one either way.

 

[Michie]

Christianity is Christianity. Different branches but we all believe in Jesus. Lets stop talking about each other as if the other were pagan or something.

 

[Erose]

Not to hijack this thread, but I feel so put down lately by the world around me. I feel hated for being a Catholic, I have felt this way before, but lately I just feel like the world around me is running me over. The minute someone finds out I am Catholic, they either feel pity for me, try to "save me" or they just outright start attacking my faith. I have been reading the Bible a lot more lately, and I enjoy listening to Protestant Radio Shows of the non-conservative variety. There is really some good information to be heard from these shows. Occasionally though they devolve into Catholic bashing, and then I feel put down once again. Now there is this new allegation that my church is "Pope Centric" rather than "Christ Centric" and this too really pains me that some Protestants can't see that I love Jesus just as much as they do.

You know I posted a thread in GT earlier this week about "judging people", and it seems to me that many Christians are ignoring sacred scripture and judging Catholics and Orthodox in a very unrepentant way. I am at the end of the line, I don't know what to do anymore, I feel so hated just for loving God through a denomination that is not socially acceptable in our American society.

Christ warned us before He left that this will be the way it is going to be. He said that the world hated Him before it hated us. It is part of the course. Me take it realizing that you are doing Christ's work. If the world loved you, then most probably you are not living your life for Christ. But I think that the more it hates you, most probably the more you are living for Christ.

Don't let it get you down. The hardest part at times about being a Christian, especially one that is Catholic is that we are called to handle persecution and suffering as Christ handled it.

 

[bill5]

I am just really depressed about everyone hating the Catholic church

"Everyone" doesn't hate the RCC, FYI.

The last straw was tonight when someone I thought was a really good friend started attacking the RCC because of the Churches refusal to perform gay marriages saying the church is against homosexuals but "doesn't mind pedophilia".

Sorry to hear you have a friend who is so glaringly and painfully stupid. That's like hating pacifists because they won't fight.

I got really upset about this even bursting into tears. To cut a long story short she did apologise and we did make up but I get the distinct impression that her opinion of the Catholic Church has not changed and I'm not sure how sincere her apologies are.

Her son is gay btw

ah and there's the agenda, what a surprise. No offense but a "friend" who has no problem attacking your beliefs I would question as a friend.

I don't attack him or his lifestyle and always treat him with respect just like I do all human beings.

I would have pointed that out and said it's a shame she couldn't grant you the same consideration.

Sorry it's bothering you so. Personally such fools rarely get to me as I see it's a failing of theirs, not mine or my beliefs. They're certainly entitled to believe what they wish and I respect that - I only ask the same of them. Sadly, it's all the rage for the so-called "oppressed" groups (most if not all of which enjoy far more freedoms and acceptance than ever) to fail to do so. Hypocrisy, another thing I have no patience for.

 

[Chococat]

Not to hijack this thread, but I feel so put down lately by the world around me. I feel hated for being a Catholic, I have felt this way before, but lately I just feel like the world around me is running me over. The minute someone finds out I am Catholic, they either feel pity for me, try to "save me" or they just outright start attacking my faith. I have been reading the Bible a lot more lately, and I enjoy listening to Protestant Radio Shows of the non-conservative variety. There is really some good information to be heard from these shows. Occasionally though they devolve into Catholic bashing, and then I feel put down once again. Now there is this new allegation that my church is "Pope Centric" rather than "Christ Centric" and this too really pains me that some Protestants can't see that I love Jesus just as much as they do.

You know I posted a thread in GT earlier this week about "judging people", and it seems to me that many Christians are ignoring sacred scripture and judging Catholics and Orthodox in a very unrepentant way. I am at the end of the line, I don't know what to do anymore, I feel so hated just for loving God through a denomination that is not socially acceptable in our American society.

I know what you mean as I seem to have come across a lot more of it recently either from Protestants on FB or liberals like my friend and I know it does get you down at times. Too bad some people just seem to think we are engaging in self pity.

You do realize a lot of those morons on talk radio have trouble writing their own names, or finding their a$$ with both hands, don't you? They would have trouble pouring the pee out of a cowboy boot, if the directions were written on the heel.

This present anti-Catholicism is a revival of the most lamentably and woefully ignorant anti-immigration hysteria that first occurred in the mid-1800s. There were two primitive political impulses attached to this rank outburst of sub-human bigotry: No-Nothingism and Nativism. These odious, retromingent, half-educated radio hucksters ignore the overwhelming evidence of Catholicism's second-to-none ministries in hospitals, sainthood, and education. Since Fox TV never reports on it, there is no way these numbskulls would ever hear about them.

Just switch the channel, would you already?

I so agree and that also applies to some of the antiCatholics on FB. The spider outside my window has more brains in one of her little legs than many of them have in their heads!!! NB This is NOT directed at ALL Evangelical Protestants as I have some lovely friends in that group who accept me as a sister in Christ. Rather it is directed at the haters in that
group

Sorry it's bothering you so. Personally such fools rarely get to me as I see it's a failing of theirs, not mine or my beliefs. They're certainly entitled to believe what they wish and I respect that - I only ask the same of them. Sadly, it's all the rage for the so-called "oppressed" groups (most if not all of which enjoy far more freedoms and acceptance than ever) to fail to do so. Hypocrisy, another thing I have no patience for.

I know I am probably being oversensitive as I can be at times. I totally agree about the hypocrisy. It seems it's ok for certain groups to complain about being treated unfairly - and to be fair - they do sometimes have a point - but when Catholics/Christians complain we are accused of "playing the victim". It seems there's one rule for them but another for us. I guess it's because we are not a group that it is "politically correct" to support

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

To whom is this directed, Michie?

Christianity is Christianity. Different branches but we all believe in Jesus. Lets stop talking about each other as if the other were pagan or something.