Brian, Thank you for posting this. Here is a Wikipedia page about this and there are several footnotes to backup the information provided. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_sexual_abuse_cases Personally, I don't think that it is fair to place the bulk of the blame on Pope Benedict XVI and/or Pope Saint John Paul II the way that Kieran Tapsell appears to have done. "Pope Benedict laicized 400 priests for abuses in two years of his papacy.[4]" and still there are many more cases, "On May 13, 2017, Pope Francis acknowledged that the Vatican had a 2,000 case backlog of sex abuse cases.[47]". "In July 2014, Pope Francis was quoted as having said in an interview that about 8,000 Catholic clergy (2% of the total), including bishops and cardinals, were pedophiles.[290]". Also from Wikipedia, ... 1983 The Vatican promulgated a revised Code of Canon Law which included a canon (1395, §2) which explicitly named sex with a minor by clerics as a canonical crime "to be punished with just penalties, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state if the case so warrants."[183] According to De delictis gravioribus, the letter sent in May 2001 by then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (who later became Pope Benedict XVI) – Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and according to Father Thomas Patrick Doyle, who has served as an expert witness on Pontifical Canon Law, Crimen Sollicitationis was in force until May 2001. [184][185][186][187] 2001 In April, Pope John Paul II issued a letter stating that "a sin against the Sixth Commandment of the Decalogue by a cleric with a minor under 18 years of age is to be considered a grave sin, or 'delictum gravius.'"[163] In the letter, Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela (Safeguarding the Sanctity of the Sacraments), "§1 Reservation to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) is also extended to a delict against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue committed by a cleric with a minor below the age of eighteen years. §2 One who has perpetrated the delict mentioned in §1 is to be punished according to the gravity of the offense, not excluding dismissal or deposition."[188] In other words, the CDF was given a broader mandate to address the sex abuse cases only from 2001[189] – prior to that date, the 1917 Code of Canon Law permitted sexual abuse cases by the clergy to be handled by the Congregation, for the Congregation to open cases itself, or for the Ordinary to handle judgement.[190] All priestly sex crimes cases were placed under the CDF which, in the majority of cases, then recommended immediate action.[191] The "Guide to Understanding Basic CDF Procedures concerning Sexual Abuse Allegations" explain briefly the procedures which have been derived from the 1983 Code of Canon Law and put in place since 30 April (the same day).[192][193] Among the points made: Every allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a priest is investigated by the local diocese and, if there is even a "semblance of truth" the case is referred to the Vatican CDF. "The local bishop always retains power to protect children by restricting the activities of any priest in his diocese." Civil law concerning reporting of crimes to the appropriate authorities should always be followed. The CDF may authorise the local bishop to try the case. If a priest (who has the right of appeal to the CDF) is found guilty, a number of canonical penalties are possible, including dismissal from the clerical state. "The question of damages can also be treated directly during these procedures." Some cases can be referred directly to the Pope, who can issue a decree of dismissal from the priesthood ex officio. Other disciplinary measures short of dismissal are available where the priest has undertaken to live a life of prayer and penance, but he can be dismissed if he breaks the conditions imposed. The CDF continues to update the 2001 law (Motu Proprio Sacramentorum Sanctitatis tutela) in the light of special faculties granted to the CDF by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. In May, in line with the 1983 Code of Canon Law and the 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, a letter from the CDF was sent to the Catholic bishops.[194] ... For lack of transparency in Vatican proceedings To place the cases under the competence of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has been criticized by some as making the process more secretive and lengthening the time required to address the allegations. For example, in his biography of John Paul II, David Yallop asserts that the backlog of referrals to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for action against sexually abusive priests is so large that it takes 18 months to merely get a reply.[258] Vatican officials have expressed concern that the church's insistence on confidentiality in its treatment of priestly sexual abuse cases was seen as a ban on reporting serious accusations to the civil authorities. Early in 2010 Cardinal Claudio Hummes, the head of the Congregation for Clergy, finally said that instances of sexual abuse by priests were "criminal facts" as well as serious sins and required co-operation with the civil justice system. ... Some parties have interpreted the Crimen sollicitationis – a 1962 document ("Instruction") of the Holy Office (which is now called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) codifying procedures to be followed in cases of priests or bishops of the Catholic Church accused of having used the sacrament of Penance to make sexual advances to penitents[260][261] – as a directive from the Vatican to keep all allegations of sexual abuse secret, leading to widespread media coverage of its contents.[262] Lawyers for some of those making abuse allegations claimed that the document demonstrated a systematic conspiracy to conceal such crimes.[263] The Vatican responded that the document was not only widely misinterpreted, but moreover had been superseded by more recent guidelines in the 1960s and 1970s, and especially the 1983 Code of Canon Law.[264]
I think we have to give him the benefit of the doubt.... whats it called... there is a word for what i am thinking that is Catholic teaching.... ugh... cannot think of it, it will come to me. But we have to be charitable in thinking he is not doing this with bad intentions. I just am not sure he sees what is actually going on becuase he wants to think the best
There is no charity in dismantling the sound doctrines of the Church that Jesus left. There is no charity in ambiguity, especially when it means heaven or hell in the end. If a person with sound faith cant see what is transpiring within the hierarchy of the Church by now, there is little hope for them as they get sucked into the great apostasy.
Blizzard, Thank you for posting this it is very good. The Church Militant sums up the situation very well, they know that things will get worse if Pope Francis remains silent. In addition, I knew that this Chilean situation was bad when I read the following article which I posted almost a month ago. https://apnews.com/7c342d4f8e264fa7b321f56b63699a03 http://motheofgod.com/threads/the-vatican-has-fallen.10058/page-224#post-197768 post #44471 So much from the article was startling and reminiscent of some Catholic prophecies, imho, like the following, But the pope also faced protests and a level of hostility unheard of in modern times for a papal visit. Anti-pope protests had to be broken up with tear gas, attackers burned at least 11 Roman Catholic Churches and pamphlets were found threatening Francis that the “next bomb would be in your cassock.” Michael Voris mentions a famous line from a 1960's TV show from the States. This line has been playing over in my head for months now and I almost posted the following several times in the past, We need to continue to pray for the Church and for a resolution to the current crisis that we are in the midst of.
Ha! Me too. I've been gone for a while so I have a lot of reading and watching to get up to speed. This is my Catholic lifeline that I don't believe I'm supposed to fast from.
