Pope’s letter “Puny Christianity and Blame Shifting” says NSAC
National Survivor Advocates Coalition (NSAC) calls Pope’s letter “Puny Christianity and Blame Shifting.”
NSAC: “Read it and weep.”
NSAC Asks: “When was it ever right in any time, circumstance, educational setting –particularly Catholic Church schools– to abuse innocent and vulnerable? Why wouldn’t Pope, bishops, priests, nuns know this?
NSAC calls for re-routing of collection money in US and Ireland and Tax Revolt in Germany where tax money support Catholic Church
The National Survivor Advocates Coalition (NSAC) issued a response today to Pope Benedict’s pastoral to the people of Ireland saying simply and directly “ read it and weep.”
“The letter stings with a puny Christianity using holy language to deflect responsibility for the criminal acts of abusing children and the cover up of crimes, “ the coalition said.
“The people descendant of the great St. Patrick, inseparable with the faith for centuries, and intrepid heralds of the Gospel to many nations are spoken to as though the scandal happened in a vacuum and Pope Benedict and the central government authority of the Church bear no responsibility for the actions of Irish bishops and priests trained, selected, placed and kept in power by the Vatican.
“Simply writing the words ‘criminal activity’ does not mean and should not be confused with the Pope taking responsibility for the cover-up of crimes. “ the coalition said.
“Like a shell game the letter shifts blame for the crisis on turbulent societal times, bad education of priests and the failure to apply canon law, “ the coalition said.
Let it be resoundingly asked: When was it ever under any circumstance, time, or educational structure considered right to abuse the innocent and vulnerable, to sodomize and rape them, and to cover up these crimes ?
We agree with Pope Benedict that the letter should be read in its entirety and judged in its entirety.
As the survivors, the faithful and all men and women of goodwill read it, let is be remembered:
• Pope Benedict ran the Vatican office where cases of sexual abuse by priests have been piling up for years
• Pope Benedict ran the Munich diocese where evidence has come forward of his knowledge of abuse by at least one priest before he ever headed a Vatican office
• the Irish scandal does not exist in a vacuum, it follows the media revelations of scandals in Canada, the United States, Australia and co-exists with media revelations of scandal in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
“The Church has laryngitis in its moral voice and this letter is not the cure” the coalition.
“Read it, “ the coalition said, “because knowledge is power.”
“ Weep, “ the coalition said because:
• it does not announce the removal of Cardinal Sean Brady as primate of Ireland
• it does not include the acceptance of the resignations offered by Irish bishops
• survivors are left without acknowledgement that a Pope who headed the Vatican office where sexual abuse cases have been piling up for decades knew of their plight and did nothing to stop the cover-up and come to their assistance
• the Irish faithful and all men and women of goodwill are given an “apostolic visitation” as the answer to a deep seeded culture of secrecy that grievously wounds the innocent and vulnerable
• the emphasis is on priests and there is not acknowlegement of abuse by nuns included in the church institutions and included in the Irish government reports.
Until and unless there is true and substantial response to the crisis, the coalition urged:
• Catholics in the United States and Ireland to re-route their collection money either to the direct suppliers of parish utilities and vendors of parish services bypassing diocesan assessments or give the money to trusted charities
• Catholics in Germany to revolt against the use of tax monies to support the Catholic Church (taxes are the way churches are supported in Germany)
In making its comments today, NSAC acknowledged the “noble courage” of the survivors that have come forward in Ireland and throughout the world and extended to them its solidarity “most particularly on this difficult day.”
Contact NSAC: Kristine Ward, 937-272-0308 kristineward@hotmail.com www.nsacoalition.org
The debate about whether pedophilia should continue to be regarded as a psychiatric disorder has recently resurfaced now that the American Psychiatric Association is examining the list of conditions it will classify as psychiatric disorders.
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In 2003 and 2009, pedophilia was debated by the American Psychiatric Association conference. Its elimination as a disorder was strongly suggested. “Removal of pedophilia from the current classification would undercut its current status as a deeply problematic and dangerous form of sexuality and would undermine efforts to maintain its illegal status. Henceforth it would be regarded as simply an ‘ingrained behavioral preference’.”
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In 2009, the United States Congress passed legislation signed into law by President Obama making pedophiles a protected class. As a result, any effort, by word or action that could be construed as militating against them, singularly or as a group, can now be prosecuted as a hate crime
Amos
20 Mar 10 at 1:33 pm
If I still belonged to the Catholic church, this letter would certainly end that relationship. We all know how involved the pope actually was during that time with knowledge of the clergy sexual abuse scandal. All he is doing here is all he has always done – said that the abuse is horrible, that it shouldn’t have happened, that it happens in all of society and not just the Catholic church, and that Catholics should begin healing and forgiveness. From the time I was a little girl in Catholic school, I was taught that not even God forgives us if we are not truly repentant, and if we do not promise to try not to sin again. So, since the pope indicated none of this, and neither have the offending priests, bishops and most cardinals, how can we forgive them? What difference does it make how much good the church has done in the world if it is overshadowed by such a disregard of the lives of thousands of innocent children and vulnerable adults? It took the pope months to finally publish this letter…is that because deep down even he knew it is not enough? The only solace I have is that someday he, too, will meet his Maker, and although God is a merciful God, God is also just.
Gabe - a survivor
20 Mar 10 at 1:38 pm
Well For Cryin’ Out Loud!!! I Could Have Told You That What That Letter Would Consist Of!!!
Besides, Ratzinger didn’t personally write this letter. It was written for him by the Congregation For the Doctring of Faith. Ratzinger merely “Rubber Stamped” it.
As I’ve said so many times before, “HOW MANY TIME CAN ONE SAY, “SORRY” AND STILL EXPECT TO BE BELIEVED!!!”
And the Roman Catholic Church NEVER Says, “SORRY”, Until AFTER They’ve Been Caught.
victoriag
20 Mar 10 at 1:53 pm
TO SISTER mAUREEN PAUL TURLISH:
You’re An Angel Maureen. Thanks For All You Do For Us.
victoriag
20 Mar 10 at 1:55 pm
Because the Pope’s letter to the Irish people is proving so controversial, maybe, he should have just sent them this website, instead:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiGPQVUJqq0
TedK
20 Mar 10 at 3:40 pm
In 1977-79 when I was a social worker, members of that profession KNEW that you kept pedophiles away from children. I think that the reference in the letter to “conflicting expert advice” is really about a conflict between clerical wishful thinking and professional perspectives on risks presented by someone who had already offended. The bishops were not seeking truth in those days and they haven’t begun that journey as of this date.
Molly Roach
20 Mar 10 at 3:43 pm
This starts and ends with the Pope.
It is symtomatic of the way the catholic church is run.
the atmosphere of secrey and submission that the church espouses is to blame.
Pedophilia may or may not be a psychiatric disorder, but I care more about the millions of innocent children who through no fault of their own were or continue to be abused by individuals who are supposed to represent Jesus Christ and God.
would anyone leave their children in the company of adult strangers, yet we do this everyday by leaving them in the company of priests and nuns and church clergy because we believe and trust them to be inherently good and god fearing.
they have broken such a valuable and simple trust. they must be held to a higher standard than normal lay pedophiles because they not only abused minors but also abused the trust and covenant between themselves and congregation.
Unless the church reforms, accepts responsibility and takes action against it’s criminal members, It will fade away as an institution
John DSouza
26 Mar 10 at 10:34 am
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Carl Bower
17 Apr 10 at 5:42 pm