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Former Archbishop a bad hombre

Very sad. McCarrick was known widely in the priest community as Uncle Teddy (even though he had no siblings which means no nieces or nephews). He would invite priests down to his house at the shore and there would be not enough beds so one would get to share with him. One priest I know had heard of his exploits multiple times years ago and said it was one of the worst kept secrets in the Diocese but somehow went unreported for years. Shame!
 
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Very sad. McCarrick was known widely in the priest community as Uncle Teddy (even though he had no siblings which means no nieces or nephews). He would invite priests down to his house at the shore and there would be not enough beds so one would get to share with him. One priest I know had heard of his exploits multiple times years ago and said it was one of the worst kept secrets in the Diocese but somehow went unreported for years. Shame!

How did he get a "house at the shore"?
 
Only nuns take a vow of poverty. Priests seem to be able to do whatever they want.

Not true. Many of the religious Catholic orders like the Jesuits and Benedictions take a vow of poverty however it is not required in many dioceses.
 
Judas betrayed Jesus. Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. There have been scandals over 2 millennia yet the Catholic Church is the oldest institution in the world. These facts serve as a powerful proof that the Church is a Divine institution over which the gates of hell will not prevail. Paradoxically, behavior by McCarrick and others in a way should strengthen one’s faith. That said, individuals like McCarrick are vile and evil.
 
Judas betrayed Jesus. Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. There have been scandals over 2 millennia yet the Catholic Church is the oldest institution in the world. These facts serve as a powerful proof that the Church is a Divine institution over which the gates of hell will not prevail. Paradoxically, behavior by McCarrick and others in a way should strengthen one’s faith. That said, individuals like McCarrick are vile and evil.
Unreal spinzone
 
I served a couple of masses as an altar boy on visits by McCarrick to my childhood parish. I guess lucky for me he preferred seminarians to altar boys, but it does make me feel bad for the seminarian who essentially was his assistant...forget the official name. I can only imagine what McCarrick must have put him through.
 
I never wanted to be an altar boy. My Elementary school had two pedophiles roll through during my K-8. So glad I didn't do what my mother wanted...... My sisters were all altar girls.....good thing girls were safe :)

This is a huge problem, which will take many years to fix. The Seminary down here in Florida was a carbon copy of the one described in this article. I feel bad for straight guys that want to be priests and do the Lord's work.
 
No it’s not. You go to church for time with God not the priest. You may want to challenge the people running the organization but the beliefs of the faith should never alter.

I don't disagree, but if you look at the atrocities that have happened in the Catholic Church over really the better part of the last 50 years, it's tough for me to think about going to church and mass in the same way.

But, I do believe in Jesus Christ and all the things that Catholic religion/faith is centered around. I also believe, radical change is needed for the Clergy; time to allow married people to become Priests/Deacons, what have you.
 
Humans will screw up. Those of us with the highest calling will, and so might we all. While it staggers me that so many Priests have been guilty, that has never been the real issue vis a vis the Church.

The Church knew this was going on, and systematically covered it up for decades. They took a dirty priest from one state and shipped him somewhere else. That it is what it the real tragedy of this. They aided and abetted sexual molestation. (I was the target of a priest but luckily, I knew what was going on and he was not a threat to me, just a sad unhappy man who I could easily turn away. He showed up unannounced at my Mom's house, and she could not accept that his intentions were unpure. I escaped, no harm done.)

My parish priest was an absolutely wonderful man. My wife grew up about ten miles from me, and she thought that same of her parish priest, who was a terrific friend to my Mother in law as well. We had him over for dinner, and he told me how he and my parish priest we great pals and always hung together at the gatherings they attended together. They wore the collar and were seen as men who deserved respect. And they were.

I assume most priests are good men. I hope churches are filled with many men like the ones I mentioned. And yet, their Church's actions stained their reputation. I bet priests are greeted differently now, and snickering is not uncommon, and not a polite bow of respect. Tragic.
 
The Church needs structural change wherein the people have a voice in the selection of priests, pastors and bishops.
The Episcopal church has a model like this. Pastors are vetted before they get the job. Then it’s a 3 year contract. If they do something wrong, they are fired or not renewed. And no Bishop can protect them or hide them out.
The pastor and curate work at the pleasure of the congregation.
 
The Church needs structural change wherein the people have a voice in the selection of priests, pastors and bishops.
The Episcopal church has a model like this. Pastors are vetted before they get the job. Then it’s a 3 year contract. If they do something wrong, they are fired or not renewed. And no Bishop can protect them or hide them out.
The pastor and curate work at the pleasure of the congregation.
There's no need to protect them or hide them out, as the Episcopal Church has codified homosexual acts and same sex marriage. They now are welcomed. Your suggestion is nothing more than putting sin to a vote. It's the worst path for the one true Church to take and needs to be fought tooth and nail. Better to get rid of the Father Martins and others of his ilk wherever they exist and that includes the Vatican.
 
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My parish priest was an absolutely wonderful man. My wife grew up about ten miles from me, and she thought that same of her parish priest, who was a terrific friend to my Mother in law as well. We had him over for dinner, and he told me how he and my parish priest we great pals and always hung together at the gatherings they attended together. They wore the collar and were seen as men who deserved respect. And they were.

I assume most priests are good men. I hope churches are filled with many men like the ones I mentioned. And yet, their Church's actions stained their reputation. I bet priests are greeted differently now, and snickering is not uncommon, and not a polite bow of respect. Tragic.

Society is funny. There's no consistency. People have no problem looking at priests or cops negatively because of a few bad apples and it's acceptable. However take another group of people and look at them negatively because of a few bad people and you will get destroyed. It's a shame that it has become acceptable for the many good priests and the many good cops to be viewed negatively.
 
I never wanted to be an altar boy. My Elementary school had two pedophiles roll through during my K-8. So glad I didn't do what my mother wanted...... My sisters were all altar girls.....good thing girls were safe :)

This is a huge problem, which will take many years to fix. The Seminary down here in Florida was a carbon copy of the one described in this article. I feel bad for straight guys that want to be priests and do the Lord's work.

I was an altar boy and had many interactions with good men of the cloth through the 70s and 80s. The bad apples were in the vast minority, luckily; the coverup was the far greater sin, as Seton75 so eloquently outlined.
 
I feel bad for straight guys that want to be priests and do the Lord's work.

Also for gay guys; that would be equivalent (or worse) to a straight female victim of Harvey Weinstein's casting couch.

I became more attuned to the psychic cost of same sex abuse when a male gay neighbor friend committed suicide after he was raped by two men.
 
90% of priests are good guys! nothing wrong here! gods teachings! doesnt matter that the other 10% actually makes up a million people! this is proof that the church is honorable!

how does this problem stack up with the other religious denominations?
 
90% of priests are good guys! nothing wrong here! gods teachings! doesnt matter that the other 10% actually makes up a million people! this is proof that the church is honorable!

how does this problem stack up with the other religious denominations?

You last week: I prefer synagogues
You this week: Expert on ordained Catholics

Do you really think there's 1mil priests? And it's more like 99% are good guys, and the rate of abuse in the Catholic Church is on par with that of the general public (and far lower rates than public schools), since you asked. No one is excusing the 1%, or the high-reaching cover-up, including practicing Catholics.
 
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Society is funny. There's no consistency. People have no problem looking at priests or cops negatively because of a few bad apples and it's acceptable. However take another group of people and look at them negatively because of a few bad people and you will get destroyed. It's a shame that it has become acceptable for the many good priests and the many good cops to be viewed negatively.
Agree that there are mostly good priest and police officers. Some professions will always be held to a higher standard as they should IMO like priests and cops because the public relies on them so much. Politicians are held to an extremely low standard for instance which makes no sense at all. The Catholic Church is the problem here.
 
Society is funny. There's no consistency. People have no problem looking at priests or cops negatively because of a few bad apples and it's acceptable. However take another group of people and look at them negatively because of a few bad people and you will get destroyed. It's a shame that it has become acceptable for the many good priests and the many good cops to be viewed negatively.
People like cops and priests are held to a higher standard, and that is logical and good imo.
 
Agree that there are mostly good priest and police officers. Some professions will always be held to a higher standard as they should IMO like priests and cops because the public relies on them so much. Politicians are held to an extremely low standard for instance which makes no sense at all. The Catholic Church is the problem here.

People like cops and priests are held to a higher standard, and that is logical and good imo.

I don't think that's the point. The point is it's sad that the good people are being lumped with the bad. Yes we should be upset with those who committed terrible acts. The good people who have upheld those high standards should not be impacted. Many of us have tried to do good things for our communities getting involved with youth sports. Hopefully we are held to a higher standard because we are entrusted with young children. How would we feel if we were looked at as bad people because a few bad apples do things that in no way, shape, or form represent our values or why we got into helping the youth of our community?
 
90% of priests are good guys! nothing wrong here! gods teachings! doesnt matter that the other 10% actually makes up a million people! this is proof that the church is honorable!

how does this problem stack up with the other religious denominations?

Not sure if you actually want a response or if you're just trying to be inflammatory (leaning towards the latter), but here you go. It's probably more like 99% are good guys, but any organization consisting of that many humans is going to have its share of bad ones. At least they've finally recognized the problem and are starting to work towards combating it. As for other religious denominations - they're all having the exact same issues - they just don't make the front pages because they're not the Catholic Church. Google search any one and you'll likely find plenty of accusations.
 
I don't think that's the point. The point is it's sad that the good people are being lumped with the bad. Yes we should be upset with those who committed terrible acts. The good people who have upheld those high standards should not be impacted. Many of us have tried to do good things for our communities getting involved with youth sports. Hopefully we are held to a higher standard because we are entrusted with young children. How would we feel if we were looked at as bad people because a few bad apples do things that in no way, shape, or form represent our values or why we got into helping the youth of our community?
Comes with the territory right now unfortunately and its not helping attracting good police officers or priests for that matter. Not disagreeing with the point "you were trying to make" but the original post is really about the failings of the church. McCarrick was a glaring example.
 
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