My prediction (keeping in mind that this and 50 cents will get you a bus ride): Wuerl gone within 2 weeks and Francis by the end of the year. Just a gut feeling.
Catholic bishops at a German Bishops' Conference event in 2010. German Bishops' Conference BlogsCatholic Church, Homosexuality Wed Sep 12, 2018 - 8:28 am EST BREAKING: Leaked sex abuse report rocks German church, 3,677 victims Maike Hickson | https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/breaking-leaked-sex-abuse-report-rocks-german-church-3677-victims catholic, clergy sex abuse scandal, german bishops conference, germany, reinhard marx, sex abuse crisis in catholic church September 12, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Two German major media outlets – Der Spiegel and Die Zeit – leaked today the findings of a sexual abuse commission funded by the German Bishops' Conference and which Cardinal Reinhard Marx had planned to present to the public on 25 September. The report shows that many abusing priests were simply transferred to other parishes and that only one-third of them were ever investigated by the Church. The majority of victims were boys under 14 years of age. There also now arise serious concerns about the lack of academic independence of the official researchers. The leaked information about the so-called “MHG Study” is causing a great stir in Germany, since it finally brings to light the murky history of the German bishops' handling of abuse cases. And, as expected, their conduct is similar to many bishops in the U.S.: cover-ups and moving priests into another parish. As Der Spiegel reports, the study which had been conducted by a team stemming from three German universities (Mannheim, Heidelberg, and Gießen) in the name of the German Bishops' Conference under Cardinal Marx, looked into abuse cases from 1946 until 2014. Importantly, the study states that there were counted “3,677 mostly male minors as victims of sexual abuse.” 1,670 clergymen have been accused of these crimes. As Die Zeit specifies in its own report: “62% of the victims are male, and 35% are female. In some partial investigations, the percentage of male victims even went up to 80%.” More than half of the victims were, at the most, 13 years old, reports Walter Mayr for Der Spiegel. He also points out, quoting from an executive summary of that official report that is to be presented by Cardinal Marx on September 25 that in many cases the archives and files concerning the accused clergymen have been “destroyed or manipulated.” As Mayr also quotes from the report, it is not to be assumed “that the sexual abuse of minors by clergymen of the Catholic Church is a topic that belongs to the past and that has been resolved.” The abuse cases have continued to happen up until the end of the time period under investigation, that is the year 2014. “In a striking amount of cases,” continues Mayr, “the accused clergymen were moved to another location, without the new parish being given 'the pertinent information' about the abuser.” “Only a third of the abusers faced a canonical trial, at which end the sanctions were minimal, if there were any.” As is stated, only 41 accused priests were laicized, 88 were excommunicated. As the leaked report states, about 4% of the active clergy have been accused of sexual abuse. Only 7.8 % of the abusers have been punished with drastic sanctions. The numbers of abusers and victims is likely much higher than what is stated in the report. As the German newspaper Die Zeit comments, “for the first time, the Catholic Church admits what she has covered up for years and then played down.” The given numbers of abuse cases in the report, Evelyn Finger, the reporter, adds, is the lowest possible number. “That is to say,” explains Finger, “behind the most important numbers which have been listed here, there stands the invisible 'at least.'” “The truth is much worse,” she later adds. The research team of seven researchers and additional helpers has investigated – over the course of four and a half years – 38,000 personnel and other files; they also conducted many interviews. The mission as given by the German bishops was to find out the extent of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Germany and to discern which conditions encouraged such misconduct. The 350-page final report which was funded, according to Die Zeit, with 1.2 million euros, now presents the results of research conducted in all 27 German dioceses. As Die Zeit points out, “one fundamental problem remains: the dependency of the results upon the bishops.” That was the original problem of the project, Finger adds, when Professor Christian Pfeiffer, a criminologist of Hannover, who had first started this study, but then found the conditions of research professionally unacceptable. As Finger points out, the German bishops had tried to tighten up the original contract with Pfeiffer, who had reacted against their attempt at having control over the findings of his research. The bishops even tried to gain the right to forbid the publication of the research, should there arise “a serious reason.” Pfeiffer has also criticized the “destruction of files” and the “resistance” on the part of the Church against an “independent analysis of the files by former judges and attorneys.” As Finger stresses, these complaints on the part of Professor Pfeiffer have now been confirmed, since the final report as published by another research team states that “in some cases, there were to be found clear indications that files had been manipulated.” The researchers also found “explicit information” from two dioceses “that files or parts of files pertaining to sexual abuse of minors had been destroyed at an earlier time.” Importantly, the research team states: “The study project did not have access to the original files of the Catholic Church. All archives and files of the dioceses had been investigated only by diocesan personnel or by law firms hired by the dioceses.” That is to say, these diocesan employees first went through the files and filled out a questionnaire developed by the research team. As Finger points out, “none of the scientists ever had in their hands files from the Church's archives. That is why this study is not really independent. The institution that had to be investigated controlled the investigation.” She points out that this is a difference to the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report, as well as the Royal Commission's report in Australia. Finger makes it clear that the Church, if she at all took sanctions against the abusing priests, “chose rather soft punishments such as early retirement, interdiction to celebrate Mass, therapy, leave of absence, reprimand, low fees, or just simply retreats.” These punishments, Finger comments, were “less than fitting.” In only about 7 % of the cases, the bishops even called upon the state to investigate the committed crimes. The journalist also says that “up to 8% of the whole clergy” was found to be abusers. As the report states, “the majority of the abusers did not show signs of repentance.” Finger finds it “improbable” that, with regard to the lack of punishments, there was a “lack of knowledge” on the part of those with responsibility. The research team – a secular group of scientists – at the end of their abuse report makes some general recommendations. The “strict sexual morality” and the “obligatory celibacy” are seen as problems. Clericalism is also mentioned. “The rejection of the ordination of homosexual men should urgently be reconsidered,” the report states. Mandatory celibacy “could be a risk factor.” Related story: Maike's Recent Posts Priest describes ‘cesspool’ of homosexual immorality in German dioceses one hour ago
Look, Our Lord commanded us to render unto Caesar that which belongs to Caesar. If a priest or bishop abuses a young boy, this is a crime, just as for everyone else. Any cleric guilty of such a crime should be reported to the relevant civil authorities, just like anyone else would. Forget about therapy, reprimands and retreats-such softness is only clericalism. If this had been done from the beginning, the abuse would have soon become negligible, the Church would not have been corrupted and, peculiarly enough, far fewer homosexuals would have endeavoured to join the priesthood.
So the answer in their esteemed collective opinions is to become Protestants. Typical. Nein! Not only are these men secular humanists they confirm this fact with their recommendations. How were men who place their faith in science and secular humanism chosen to investigate such a matter I wonder.
At this point, I'd be delighted to discover that some of these characters were Protestants! Regretably, and incoherently, they're atheists, as you say, gleefully doing the work of a devil the notion of whose existence they would deem only worthy of unsophisticated simpletons. Diabolic narcissism is the sin here.
How can 'strict sexual morality' be the cause of none of it? That's just incoherence and evasion. The same applies to 'obligatory celibacy'. That's the deal going in and nobody is forced to join. Nor does this nonsense explain why the very vast majority of priests were able to observe sexual morality and remain celibate.
I think the main root cause was homosexuality. The Bishops saw nothing too much wrong in priests or other Bishops being homosexual. There is no sign of this changing. A terrible, terrible mistake. ..and of course where you get sexual perverions there you get heresy and the diabolical. Effectively the German Church is no longer Catholic.
Because men today are placed next to the animals and are held to no higher standard than that of a poo flinging monkey at the zoo by secular humanists. Celibacy is firstly a discipline which is expected to be practiced before being considered for the priesthood and so if this is the "standard" (and yes it is a high one which it rightly ought be after all we are men created in God's image) then who is relaxing this standard and who is sending effeminate men off to Seminary that are not able to master this discipline over the flesh? We all have the flesh to deal with and scores of men are able to master this both inside the priesthood and outside it in the laity. Once a man is chosen and is sent to Seminary he will then undergo attack by Satan specifically in this regard and probably repeatedly if he has weakness in this area, it is inevitable and given the days we are in it will be severe. Those who hold to the secular humanist heresy believe that this is nature "taking its course" and will fall to the delight of other heretics and apostates. I can see the need for Mercy so long as one is truly penitent and redoubles their efforts toward maintaining the goal. Otherwise, vocation crisis or no they should be expunged from the ranks of the clergy without a second thought. This IMO is Charity. Both to the candidate as well as to the laity.
I've read in several places that homosexuals tend to suffer 'Narcissistic Personality Disorder' much more frequently than the general population. Among the symptoms are; an inflated sense of importance, lack of empathy, a marked fear of criticism or rejection and an exaggerated reaction to it, a craving for approval, a desire to be the centre of attention, a wish to be associated with others who are in some perceived way 'special', a sense of entitlement to advancement and special treatment, envy and spite. These personality traits will be readily evident to peers and to any superior who takes the time to observe those under his/her care. But when the superior is a narcissist, he will look for others because they will be much readier to feed his own cravings for attention. A vicious circle in the Church's case.
Apparently, according to Ann Barnhardt, another trait is to believe that their behaviour is actually superior to that of the heterosexual and not in fact a sin at all, in contrast to heterosexual transgressions. Ann Barnardt is exceptionally strong on this subject. I've always thought that, despite great intentions, she has tended to go too far in her criticisms of Pope Francis (and I still disagree with her deeming him an 'anti-pope'), but recent events suggest that she might have simply been ahead of the rest of the chasing pack.
In case of confusion, I mean by my first sentence to question how 'strict sexual morality' can be the cause of no sexual morality, or a lesser form of it. One might surely expect that a strict sense of morality might be far more likely to lead to...a stricter morality. Of course, what these secular 'experts' really wish to say is that strict morality is too difficult-the same thing as the 'mercy' faction of the Church who try and persuade us that people can't help falling into adultery, simultaneously denying the grace of God.
DeGaulle, This article from LifeSiteNews agrees with your assessment. Shutterstock.com Opinion Anyone who blames abuse crisis on ‘clericalism’ is part of the abuse crisis cover-up: Psychiatrist Rick Fitzgibbons, MD | https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinio...-on-clericalism-is-part-of-the-abuse-crisis-c catholic, clergy sex abuse scandal, clericalism, homosexuality, pope francis, sex abuse crisis in catholic church September 12, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – The present severe crisis of sexual abuse by bishops and priests in the Church worldwide has resulted in a number of opinions regarding its origins. The recent Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report identified the homosexual predation of males; the Holy Father and Cardinal Cupich blame “clericalism”; the John Jay Causes and Context study (2011) postulated "availability." My professional opinion as a psychiatrist with forty years of clinical experience is that the cause of the abuse crisis is rooted in psychological and spiritual conflicts in bishops and in priests, specifically a narcissism and a profound weakness in male confidence which inclines them to homosexual predation. Homosexual predation The recent Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report helps to clarify the origins of the sexual harassment of youth. It identifies 73% of the victims as being subjected to homosexual predation. This finding is also consistent with the reports of the sexual harassment by Archbishop McCarrick of children, teenagers, young adults and adults. Again, this finding is consistent with my clinical experience as a psychiatrist over the past forty years in treating priest abusers. In every case I knew of sexual involvement with children or adolescents, the perpetrator had previously been involved in adult homosexual relationships. Summary of Pennsylvania Predator Priest Activity Heterosexual Predation – 23% child - 6% female teenage victims- 16% female adult victims -1 % Homosexual Predation – 73% child victims 11% male teenage victims – 60% male adult victims -2% Child Porn Gender Non-Specific - 4% (Source: 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury REPORT 1 / Interim – Redacted. 2018.) The Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report notably identifies the sexual harassment of children, teenagers and adults as “homosexual predation of children, teenagers and adults by an adult male.” It specifically did not use the terms of the John Jay report of pedophilia for child abuse or of ephebophilia for adolescent-abusive acts. Instead, the Pennsylvania Report clarified that a male’s engaging in sexually abusive behaviors toward another male is homosexual predation regardless of the age of the victim. Clericalism Pope Francis on August 20, 2018, stated that “clericalism” was the root cause of the sex abuse crisis in Pennsylvania. He stated: “Clericalism, whether fostered by priests themselves or by lay persons, leads to an excision in the ecclesial body that supports and helps to perpetuate many of the evils that we are condemning today. To say ‘no’ to abuse is to say an emphatic ‘no’ to all forms of clericalism.” Clericalism has been described elsewhere as a “disordered attitude” toward clergy which often results in an “excessive deference and an assumption of their moral superiority.” Pope Francis has noted that such an attitude can be “fostered by priests themselves or by lay persons.” Clericalism, however, does not result in a psychological need in a priest for a sexual encounter with another male, especially an adolescent. The Holy Father did not acknowledge the role of homosexual predation among clergy in the Pennsylvania crisis. Cardinal Cupich also identified clericalism, not homosexual priests, as the cause of the sexual abuse crisis. Recently, the arrest of two priests of the Archdiocese of Chicago for public lewdness erodes the tag of clericalism. In my professional opinion, in an effort to deny the role of homosexuality in the sexual abuse crisis, clericalism and availability (the John Jay Report) have been incorrectly identified as major causes. There is no psychological relationship between clericalism, availability and the sexual abuse of youth. Both these terms manifest an attempt to cover-up the true origins of the abuse crisis. Availability - John Jay Report In the John Jay first report of The Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse of Minors (2004), 4,392 clerics were accused of childhood sexual abuse, which represented about 4 percent of clerics in active ministry during the study period. It found that incidents of clergy sexual abuse of youth increased in the 1960s, peaked around 1980, and have been declining since then. This time period coincided with a major rebellion by bishops, priests, Catholic universities and educators, and the laity against the Church’s teaching on sexual morality, which was reasserted by Pope Paul VI in Humanae Vitae. Table 1 Alleged victims of sexual abuse incidents, grouped by gender and age Age in years 1–7 8–10 11–14 15–17 Male Number 203 992 4,282 2,892 Female Number 284 398 734 502 (Source: John Jay College, The Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse of Minors, 53, table 3.54.) The John Jay Report found that 81% of the alleged victims were males. The Causes and Context study (2011) by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice concluded that the childhood and adolescent sexual abuse committed by clergy was unrelated to homosexuality. Instead, they identified the predation and abuse of adolescent males, the primary victims in the crisis, as a crime of opportunity or availability. While criminologists may describe homosexual predation in imprisoned men as arising from availability, this theory is not applicable to the general public or to priests. The John Jay second study ignored the severe psychological conflicts and grooming behaviors in priests and bishops, such as Archbishop McCarrick who sexually abused minors, seminarians and adults. continued...
continued from above... Psychological and spiritual conflicts The major psychological conflicts that contribute to the homosexual predation of children, adolescents and seminarians in my clinical experience over the past 40 years are narcissism and a profound weakness in male confidence. I have described the role of narcissism in the epidemic of sexually aggressive behaviors in the media, as well as in singles and adolescents of both sexes. Narcissism can lead a man to act against his natural role as protector of youth and to think and feel that he is entitled to use others as sexual objects. If a priest fails to teach and live the Church’s truth about sexual morality and chastity as contained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Humanae Vitae, he does not configure himself to Jesus Christ and fails to surrender his sexuality to the Lord. This weakness in sacrificial self-giving weakens his confidence and makes him vulnerable to situational ethics and to act-out sexually. Also, Archbishop Joseph Naumann has written an excellent letter in response to the sexual abuse crisis in which he challenges priests to preach on the Church’s truth about sexual morality and chastity. “The priest needs to be able to articulate, in a convincing and compelling way, why heterosexual intimacy outside of the marital covenant is gravely immoral, as well as why homosexual activity is also always seriously sinful,” he wrote. Responses to the causes of the crisis The trust in the hierarchy and in the Holy Father himself has been profoundly damaged by the sexual abuse crisis, the response to it and the accusations by Archbishop Viganò of a cover-up of Archbishop McCarrick’s predatory homosexual behavior by top leaders in the Church. Robert George has identified the documents that are essential to review in response to the allegations of a cover-up of Archbishop McCarrick’s evil behaviors by the Vatican authorities. He suggested that the only way to arrive at the truth would be for the Pope to order church officials to release all pertinent documents in any and all Vatican and Washington offices. Archbishop Chaput’s recommendation to the Holy Father that he cancel the Synod on Youth seems prudent. He said, “Right now, the bishops would have absolutely no credibility in addressing this topic.” Instead, he recommends that a Synod of Bishops be held to address the sexual abuse crisis in the Church. In my professional opinion, Archbishop Chaput is correct. The mistrust in the laity is so severe at this time, because of the predatory homosexual abuse of youth and seminarians and its continued cover-up by bishops, that they would not trust the views of bishops in the proceedings or conclusions of a Synod on Youth. The Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report that identifies homosexual predation in 73% of the cases victims of alleged abuse cannot be ignored, denied or rationalized. A commitment should be made to follow the 2002 recommendation of Pope John Paul II in response to the crisis in the United States, which was to teach the fullness of the Church’s truth on sexual morality. It would also mean ending the inexplicable and culpable silence on sexual morality and marriage as found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Humanae Vitae. This also would mean learning or relearning moral theology that already proved itself capable of converting an over-sexualized pagan world. Cardinal Francis George, the late Archbishop of Chicago, spoke of this truth at the annual meeting of the National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries in Chicago in 1999. He said: “It is possible, with God's grace, for everyone to live a chaste life, including persons experiencing same-sex attraction. To deny that the power of God's grace enables those with homosexual attractions to live chastely is to deny, effectively, that Jesus has risen from the dead.” Once authentic Catholic moral theology has been learned and communicated, then mandatory conferences on homosexuality should be required for priests and bishops in every diocese and seminary given by Courage, the only international program in the Church for those with same-sex attraction that is loyal to the Church’s teaching. Such conferences should also be required of the cardinals, bishops and priests serving in the Vatican. Since the John Jay Report failed to identify the psychological and spiritual causes of the sexual abuse crisis, the programs developed to protect youth and priests from further abuse are seriously deficient and must be corrected. The USCCB should consult with mental health professionals who support the Church’s teaching on sexual morality, such as in the Catholic Medical Association, and who understand the role of narcissism and psychological conflicts in the origins of same-sex attraction and homosexual predation of males of all ages. These professionals should then develop their aspect of a comprehensive program to protect priests from sexual acting-out with youth, primarily adolescent males, and with their own peers. The laity also has a responsibility to be active in protecting the truths in the Church as it did in the Arian heresy. They must demand that bishops and priests be spiritual fathers who are loyal to the Church by preaching the truth. It is time to face the truth about the origins of the sexual abuse crisis so that the Church remains faithful to Jesus Christ and does not participate in the de-Christianization of the culture. Editor's note: Rick Fitzgibbons, M.D. coedited an August 2011 issue of the Catholic Medical Association’s Linacre Quarterly on the crisis in the Church in which he co-authored several articles, is a member of the John Paul II Academy for Human Life and Family, has taught at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at Catholic University of America and has served as a consultant to the Congregation for Clergy at the Vatican. His forthcoming book on strengthening Catholic marriages will be published in 2019 by Ignatius Press.
I think the very marked sign of all sins of impurity is how deceptive they are. We tend to think , 'There is nothing so wrong in this'. Our Lady at Fatima warned that sins of impurity lead most souls to hell. I can see how this is so. Impurity twists notions of Love and Mercy. We think Lust is Love and Tolerance of sin is Mercy. Such a huge deceit.
You may not have noticed but the Orthodox are having very, very severe problems at the moment themselves. Even worse than Catholics. This too is the work of the devil, I suspect and a Sign of the Times. The Bishops are turning against each other and tearing each other to bits. A Great Schism.
