Good will to all men? Not from the grumpy atheists! (Thank God not all atheists are grumpy but there sure seems to be a lot of them)
Why is it that so many in the atheist community cannot bring themselves to get past their anger whenever they engage in discussions? The language of many of their contributions in public debate is laced with invective and dripping with sarcasm and bile. There are exceptions of course, but they tend to fall more into the category of being the 'exception that proves the rule' when compared to the hostility of many of today's atheist posters. Comment offered by the theists in the public square is often depicted as being 'malicious' or 'venomous' and intended to enslave the 'feeble minded and weak' by those who post. Nothing could be further from the truth. Venom is something that is oriented to death. Christians are oriented in a 180 degree different direction. We speak not to the culture of death that grips our world but rather for the culture of life and light which ends with the gift of eternal life. For example, the Catholic Church in its hum...
I just read this long red-herring ! Yes the Bishop has the final say- but, he also has the first say on how the accusation is to be handled.
ReplyDeleteIf you wish to see how that works, just check out the current situation in the Diocese of Milwaukee-St. Paul, Minnesota . The Archbishop has been playing so many games on the issue there, he has tied himself into a knot, and no one is going to untie it for him.
Brian: I don't really see this as a red herring. The priests have been left hung out to dry by the Bishops. BUT... and it is a BIG but... they have not done enough to rid us all of these predators from among our numbers. It's almost as if they have their morality completely reversed for some strange reason where they protected the guilty and failed to help the innocent. I don't know what has transpired in Milwaukee-St. Paul but I think my assessment holds in this part of the world.
DeleteThe great tragedy is (IMHO) that the true victims - the children who have been abused seem to take 2nd place in all these affairs whereas I believe that they should have first claim on the care and pastoral concern of the men tasked with leading the Church. Please don't think that I am arguing that falsely accused priests should take priority over them. I simply believe that the current way that bishops are handling these scandals is literally throwing the baby (ie: any innocent party) out with the bathwater because they are being guided by lawyers and insurance accountants rather than following the tenets of justice and putting the needs of the baby first and foremost in their minds.
Fr. Tim
Father, it is my observation that many, many of the Bishops around the World are silently in schism, too gutless to admit it. They enjoy the perks such as unlimited travel, being the head honcho at far too many big celebrations, and believing they are held in high esteem. That should never have been their goal if they were to be successors to the Apostles. This awful phase of the Catholic Church is quickly coming to a close- thank GOD !
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