Pope Benedict XVI continues to apologize for the abuse of minors by Catholic clergy, saying Friday: "We too insistently beg forgiveness from God and from the persons involved, while promising to do everything possible to ensure that such abuse will never occur again." As The Times has noted, the Vatican -- after initially trying to blame the scandal on the media, secularism and post-Vatican II changes in the church -- has shifted to contrition mode. It also has made it clear that accusations of abuse by priests be reported to civil authorities.
But if the pope really wants to do everything possible to prevent future abuse -- and episcopal cover-ups -- he should make a clean record on this subject a requirement for advancement in the church. Before the end of this year, Benedict is expected to name at least 12 new members of the College of Cardinals. It would be a dramatic gesture if he excluded from consideration any bishop who has been credibly shown to have turned a blind eye to abuse.
Even better, the pope could elevate to the college clergymen -- and even laymen, who could be ordained as deacons -- who have spoken out against the hierarchy's complicity in hushing up or sugarcoating clerical abuse. Bringing critics into the ecclesiastical inner circle wouldn't guarantee that the church would live up to its new-found commitment to accountability, but it would be a dramatic gesture.
-- Michael McGough
COMMENT:
Members of any religion at whatever level have innate human nature that all mankind share. So the basic Lessons of Life still apply and are a measure of the quality of the journey any individual, who wants to join the Unity (#10) of the Catholic Church or any other religion, must demonstrate. For a review because, these lessons have been forgotten in the hurry-up and be social without fighting-noncompetitive world of public education where value depends on which way the political wind (as in voices of decision-makers with or without a belief in "Universal Truth") blows, many generations never learned the relation of their unique, individual, personal journeys to the lessons:
Lesson 1: The Purpose of Adversity, #2 Duty, #3 In God We Trust, #6 Gifts, #7 Law: The Laws of Nature and of Nature's God, #8 Sacrifice, #9 Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, #11 Accountability (Not Transparency!), #12 Service. #4 America is Blessed is true, but Catholic's are the world over and they, as individuals, have to find how Blessed is defined for their part of the world or in the part of the world where they plan to work. #5 Independence is also referring to the sovereign nature of the Colonies. For priests and missionaries, the same is true for other parts of the world; but the flux and flow depends on specific laws of governing and being governed which are not shared, often threatened with extinction, or plowed under the despotism and usurpation of leaders (so-called leaders). The 12 lessons derived from specific principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence and relate American Characteristics which founded our Nation so you might not, at first glance, see the relevance. Relevance comes from the lives of the Founders and many other Colonists who established this country with religion and ethics based on The Bible, "Common Law", their past, present, and future history which defines the rights of an individual because God Is our Creator.
Simply living causes each individual on the globe to run into these lessons several times at several different ages from kindergarten to CEO of the largest corporation in the world, elected to office or not.....No-Individual Shall Be Missed because this is how God helps each of us develop our unique, personal soul. Only God can move the journeys of each soul with or without their knowledge which is one of the most important journeys: How to see, listen, smell, feel, touch God - Jesus. The Bible is the passage way, along with the histories of others who have traveled and are gone but not forgotten. Notice 'not forgotten' includes the bad as well as the good and great men.
So if there is a part of an individual which has not settled his sexual concerns, that must be part of selection process for priests or nuns. Problem is 'like religion and politics never discussed at the dinner table', sex also is an even rarer discussion, and often buried.
The Catholic way of not allowing per se, but making room for an individual to change his position in relation to personal strengths and weakness, sex, or lying, or whatever the bad is about, is a helpful way for individuals to continue their journeys. For example, my education is Catholic in Nursing. It was noticed that I had skill with words. I had no idea. When the psychologist told me a score on a test, I said "Oh, I thought it was an easier test because we couldn't get into regular college!". What the school did was put me in position to use my skill - I still didn't know I had! I took it to a Statewide Meeting where the leaders said they did not want to go along with a national plan regarding dues, but they guessed they would have to just because.. . I was a non-voting member of the State Board - Resolution Chairman! Still not knowing what I was doing, I said "What!? If you don't want to do it, then you don't have to, but I guess, you have to tell why you don't want to go along." They liked that and started identifying the whats and whys, got stuck again saying "What do we do with the opposition?". I said, using some elimination logic -" I guess that's my job. Write an Resolution!". I did, I presented it to so many people in the auditorium, I decided I would just say the words and ignore them! It passed and I was very pleased. Everyone was very happy! I knew I had created something, but not how, when or why I would use it again...!? I Know Now!
One of Catholic's strengths is to allow the person who is good and bad in human nature to be worked-out; as Jesus did with The Disciples. Tragically, the sexual aspect was so uncomfortable to bring into the open, it was shut away or moved far away, before dealt with - that's human nature also, especially over the years involved in Ireland and probably through the 60's here in the USA. It is not clear what the Catholic practice was after the 60's beyond not letting anyone know about the priest involved.
To displace the importance of the Catholic Religion in all parts of the world because of the tragedy of mishandling the sexual issues of human nature is an example of #1: The Purpose of Adversity, this word is illustrative - not the severity of the tragedies, is to look at the 5W's and How of the problem of sex in each and every aspect of a religion which requires a male and a female to view their personal views of intimate relationships be directed to God; and their work, as Disciples to God, to represent all of His Teachings to every age, race, sex, person-hood existing everywhere in the world; then be able to correct and forgive the person-hood of Priest and Nun as individuals who have and know intimate as well as deviant sexual relations.
In order for our Pope to continue on and re-grow 'God's Disciples in Jesus', sexual issues must be studied in the whole - so that the individual priest or nun can find their place in the Catholic World which has and will continue to help millions live their journey's through life understanding the Teachings of Jesus and The Bible with the 12 Lessons of Principle from The Declaration of Independence.
The Catholic way of not allowing per se, but making room for an individual to change his position in relation to personal strengths and weakness, sex, or lying, or whatever the bad is about, is a helpful way for individuals to continue their journeys. For example, my education is Catholic in Nursing. It was noticed that I had skill with words. I had no idea. When the psychologist told me a score on a test, I said "Oh, I thought it was an easier test because we couldn't get into regular college!". What the school did was put me in position to use my skill - I still didn't know I had! I took it to a Statewide Meeting where the leaders said they did not want to go along with a national plan regarding dues, but they guessed they would have to just because.. . I was a non-voting member of the State Board - Resolution Chairman! Still not knowing what I was doing, I said "What!? If you don't want to do it, then you don't have to, but I guess, you have to tell why you don't want to go along." They liked that and started identifying the whats and whys, got stuck again saying "What do we do with the opposition?". I said, using some elimination logic -" I guess that's my job. Write an Resolution!". I did, I presented it to so many people in the auditorium, I decided I would just say the words and ignore them! It passed and I was very pleased. Everyone was very happy! I knew I had created something, but not how, when or why I would use it again...!? I Know Now!
One of Catholic's strengths is to allow the person who is good and bad in human nature to be worked-out; as Jesus did with The Disciples. Tragically, the sexual aspect was so uncomfortable to bring into the open, it was shut away or moved far away, before dealt with - that's human nature also, especially over the years involved in Ireland and probably through the 60's here in the USA. It is not clear what the Catholic practice was after the 60's beyond not letting anyone know about the priest involved.
To displace the importance of the Catholic Religion in all parts of the world because of the tragedy of mishandling the sexual issues of human nature is an example of #1: The Purpose of Adversity, this word is illustrative - not the severity of the tragedies, is to look at the 5W's and How of the problem of sex in each and every aspect of a religion which requires a male and a female to view their personal views of intimate relationships be directed to God; and their work, as Disciples to God, to represent all of His Teachings to every age, race, sex, person-hood existing everywhere in the world; then be able to correct and forgive the person-hood of Priest and Nun as individuals who have and know intimate as well as deviant sexual relations.
In order for our Pope to continue on and re-grow 'God's Disciples in Jesus', sexual issues must be studied in the whole - so that the individual priest or nun can find their place in the Catholic World which has and will continue to help millions live their journey's through life understanding the Teachings of Jesus and The Bible with the 12 Lessons of Principle from The Declaration of Independence.
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