LA's Roger Cardinal Mahony is going to cough $660 million of the faithful's money to settle sex abuse suits against his archdiocese. Oh, he's sorry:
Cardinal Roger M. Mahony today apologized to victims of sexual abuse by priests in the Los Angeles Archdiocese, saying he wished he could do more to erase the pain they had suffered since they were molested as children."Once again I apologize to anyone who has been offended and to anyone who has been abused in the Catholic Church. It should not have happened, and it should not ever happen again," Mahony said during a news conference at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels in downtown Los Angeles.
If this brings the victims closer to closure, then good. But I am sorry that Mahony will not have to take the stand. Mahony is, in my view, a profoundly banal but evil man (see here for the tiniest taste of his character; the Bishop Accountability site has much, much more, if you can stomach it). He is probably the greatest episcopal villain in a scandal that has no lack of them. And unlike Cardinal Law, he has slipped the noose entirely. Roger has overcome.
In this life, that is.
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Beliefnetfan / Rod/others;
I have an idea; since we should all be sturdy adults with some fortitude perhaps we can all take "Roger the Dodger", "Big fat Liar" and "Squirmin Herman". And I suspect these nicknames are quite accurate.
However, name calling is not really civil.
I find it truly disheartening when one religious group tries to ameliorate its own sins by pointing to the sins of another religious group. "Hey, if you think the Catholics are bad, take a look at the Orthodox."
I thought the standard was Jesus, not each other. Maybe that is how this problem got so bad in the first place. The Catholics figured that a little pedophilia here and there wasn't too bad, after all the Orthodox were doing it as well. And don't forget the Baptists, the Assembly of God, and all the other churches that have had their own scandals of sexual immorality.
Until groups quit saying "we are no worse than..." and start saying "we are wrong," it is nothing but meaningless drivel.
Well, Rod, that post is still on this thread, calling PBXVI "Sieg Heil Ratzinger". Just so you know, it is about #24, and posted by "hrh". Seriously, just [edit], [find in this page] "sieg". Shouldn't take long.
"Et tu, Mary?" Well, yes, until you enforce the rules on those sort of ad hominem attacks against a man who TOOK ACTION against Fr. Maciel, and, I believe, was also instrumental in removing the truly horrible Bishop in Austria (name slips my mind, thank you, mind).
Believe me, Rod, I truly wish you and your family all the best in the OCA. I do not think that the answer to the Catholic scandal is "well, it happens in your churches and communities just as much, or more". This is simply not an adequate answer. As I have said before, Cardinal Mahony should resign and be invited to live out the rest of his life in fasting, prayer, and penance for the horror that he has allowed. I do not believe his repeated statements that he doesn't remember, or, it's not "MY FAULT". I also think that this would be best for all priests who have committed this egregious sin against the innocent (they could do this in prison, if the burden of criminal proof is met, and I also welcome that).
Frankly, I was afraid to return to this thread, for fear that there would be nasty comments that would break my heart. Thankfully, that has not happened. Go With God, Rod. (And you needn't remove that post-- actually, I would rather that you responded to it, and explained why it is not appropriate.)
I do think it is somewhat ironic to see this as a "homosexual problem" within the clergy. Since the priesthood is entirely male, why would one assume that these "homosexuals" would need young males as a sexual outlet? The priesthood is full of adult males that would be sufficient for any sexual outlet. Get real folks and stop blaming the problem of "homosexuality" or "homosexuals" within the priesthood. Homosexuals have become a convenient scapegoat for the problems. Burn a few at the stake again. It has worked in the past for giving the illusion of "fixing the problem".
No Lindas;
No one is going to be "burnt at the stake".
However, sexually active homosexuals, and possibly even chaste homosexuals will be having a more difficult time becoming Catholic priests from now on. In fact that started in quite a few places in the past 10 years or so.
That is alright; there are many other jobs that pay better.
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