The Pope is completely innocent and is doing everything in his power to weed out those priests guilty of sexual abuse and to justly compensate victims for their suffering. In fact he is the one above all else in society who has tackled these things head on.
Contrary to his critics the most comprehensive statistics to date indicate: 1) Priestly celibacy is not the issue — married men are more likely to abuse children than unmarried. 2) Child abuse is prevalent in all areas of society.
Most child abuse takes place within the home. 3) All religious groups have pedophile scandals, and the Catholics (while the largest religious group) are at the bottom of the list statistically. 4) Catholic cases of pedophilia make more headlines because of anti Catholic prejudice and because the Catholic Church is bigger and more lucrative to sue. When lawsuits are looming people smell money. We must be wary of false accusations 5) Most cases branded pedophilia are actually homosexual in nature, however the politically correct do not want this problem to be associated with homosexuality. 6) What we now call “cover up” was often done in a different cultural context, when the problem was not fully understood and when all establishment organizations hushed scandals. They did so for what seemed good reasons at the time: protection of the victims and their families, opportunity for rehabilitation of the offender, the avoidance of scandal to others. It is unfair to judge events thirty years ago by today’s standards.
I am in no way wishing to be soft of pedophiles and those who covered for them; however, justice and truth demand an objective analysis of the facts.
I am, moreover, appalled that Jewish groups around the world have reacted with shock after Pope Benedict’s personal preacher compared attacks on the Church and pope over a sexual abuse scandal to “collective violence” against Jews.
The Holocaust was not exclusively Jewish. Although many of the victims of the Holocaust were indeed Jews, many Poles, Italians and Catholics also died at the Nazi concentration camps. Jews, however, have monopolized it and used it as a weapon of propaganda in order to gain support for Israel and obtain benefits which are often unjustified such the unconditional support for Israel by the U.S. They are also using it today to blindly and unjustly condemn Pope Pius XII, Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic Church as well as to treat the Palestinians like animals.
As a matter of history the Jews were the first to invoke God in battle when they took the “promised land” by brutal force. So Israel may very well be the instigators in their war with Islam. They are certainly the precursors of terrorism. Catholics, in contrast, know that God is not a real-estate agent. In condemning others, Jews should take the advice of Jesus, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”
I likewise find it rich that the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, would attempt to discredit the Catholic Church over its dealing with pedophile priests in Ireland. Where the Catholic church is trying to weed out vice among the clergy the Anglican denomination is accepting it in spades as part of their teaching.
In fact, the Anglican denomination of Christianity is over. Like Judas they have sold out to modernity by including openly homosexual bishops among their ranks. Studies prove that there is a close link between pedophilia and homosexual erotic development. Indeed their severance from truth first began at their inception when they decided to break with the Catholic Church and go off on their own. Their foreseen downfall is now coming to fruition as an increasing number of orthodox Anglicans are retracing their spiritual steps and returning to Rome.
Unlike the Pope who has supreme power over the Catholic Church, Rowan Williams is nothing more than a figurehead for Anglicans. He will not be able stem the tide of spiritual poison that has infected the Anglican Hierarchy.
I encourage Anglican traditionalists and others — including atheists and dissenting Catholics — tossed about by the waves of false doctrines to climb aboard the barque of Peter for it will be their only safe haven in these troubling times.
PAUL KOKOSKI
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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