Any Catholics on this board?

[Rooster]

Ok, right up front, I am not looking to bash the Catholic Church. I have no interest in making jokes about pedophilia or homosexuality, particularly when it comes to that faith. But I have a few questions about the straits the clergy has found themselves in again, this time from Pennsylvania.

First and foremost, why does the Catholic Church have a problem with homosexual and pedophile priests? Is there not a screening process that takes place to weed these individuals out? And if there is, why does it not keep these men from engaging in or interacting with parishioners?

Second, I read of a seminarian who claims that it was common knowledge that “99% of those studying to become priests were gay.” If this is true, why is that? Is it because they recognize that homosexuality is wrong and they are looking for an institution that might be able to help them overcome their desires? Or is there some underground network or extended loose affiliation of gay men and pedophiles who have organized in some fashion and carved out a niche where they can as a group engage in this behavior?

Why hasn’t the Church just expelled these individuals from their ranks once and for all rather than letting it fester for decades?

How has the hierarchy evolved to allow for this mess to happen? Was there a purposeful and intentional choice made to corrupt the priesthood so as to make it a playground for these men?

Finally, I reject the idea that if only the Catholic Church allowed priests to marry that this problem would either disappear or shrink. Part of it has to be the closed system it has in place with no outside oversight, but we see this problem in Protestant churches, Buddhist temples, Mormon tabernacles, Hindu enclaves, etc., so it is not a particularly Catholic issue. It’s not even a religious issue based on what we’ve seen in Hollywood.

Anyhow, as a guy who is not Catholic it mystifies me that there aren’t far greater and stringent controls in place to fix this awful problem.

[Rooster]

Some of the reading I have been doing on this topic has suggested that it is the product of the sexual revolution of the ‘60s and ‘70s that is manifesting itself in the priesthood and the hierarchy of the Church at large. Apparently there are a number of priests who take the vow of celibacy but view it only in the context of marriage, not sexual relationships in general. How they manage those mental gymnastics is beyond me, but that explains some of the behavior. Another aspect of this is that the illicit behavior as these priests move up in the organization of the Church makes it become institutional by being practiced by those in higher office, thus even though it is officially a sin, it becomes one of those unwritten rules where what is publicly railed against is actually nurtured in private, then bringing the behavior full circle back to a lackadaisical attitude in the new priests entering the Church.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

E. Michael Jones

Check out some of his stuff on YouTube. He addresses all the points you've brought up in excruciating detail.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

I read of a seminarian who claims that it was common knowledge that “99% of those studying to become priests were gay.”

That number seems low.

[Softball Bat]

I am not an expert on the Catholic Church, but I suspect the whole "celibacy" thing is a bit of a problem.
That kind of a vow is certainly not to be taken lightly.


Celibacy does not match well with basic human nature.

- Marcus

[BSmack]

First and foremost, why does the Catholic Church have a problem with homosexual and pedophile priests?

The RCC has a problem with institutional pederasty. This is not news to anybody who has been paying attention. Google the atrocities in Ireland and Chile.

[Rooster]

From my reading on this there are various branches of the Catholic Church that allow for priests to be married, unlike the RCC. It became part of the doctrine of the RCC in the 3rd century and has been viewed as a discipline rather than an ordinance in terms of theology.

What seems to be the larger problem with what we have just learned from the Pennsylvania attorney general is something called “ephebophilia” or older men preying on teenage boys, otherwise known as grooming. The gay culture was introduced into the Catholic Church as society at large became more accepting of homosexuality as a result of the sexual revolution. This provided institutional cover and concealment for what would otherwise be exposed and expunged from the ranks of the priesthood. But a reluctance to possibly further reduce the number of men entering the profession which was already low may have further contributed to this mess.

I’m still baffled as to why the RCC doesn’t just clean house once and for all rather than pulling this bandage off incrementally, this extending the pain and financial exposure. The only reason that I can see is homosexuals have risen so far up into the organization that it has become institutionalized as a shadow doctrine. Pope Francis’ continuing softening on traditional stances leads me to believe that this is correct.

[smackaholic]

Is it really that difficult to understand the problem?

I mean, we are talking about a club where membership requires that you will never marry and have a family of your own.

Why would a religious heterosexual ever agree to those terms?

The Priesthood has been the place where fags went before they could openly be a fag. It also allowed mothers to tell their friends, my Steven is a priest, because it sounds more respectable than my Steve takes it in the ass.

I think eventually the RCC is going to have to change it’s ridiculous celibacy rules. I suspect this will happen concurrently with admitting women to the priesthood.

I suspect it will be during the current Pontiff’s reign, prolly within the next decade.


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[Joe in PB]

The Vatican is about as corrupt as an organization can be. From laundering mafia money, to helping Nazi's flee Europe at the end of WW2, to harboring pedophiles. It certainly doesn't seem to be anything but dark and evil at its core.

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[Rooster]

Is it really that difficult to understand the problem?

I mean, we are talking about a club where membership requires that you will never marry and have a family of your own.

Why would a religious heterosexual ever agree to those terms?

The Priesthood has been the place where fags went before they could openly be a fag. It also allowed mothers to tell their friends, my Steven is a priest, because it sounds more respectable than my Steve takes it in the ass.

I think eventually the RCC is going to have to change it’s ridiculous celibacy rules. I suspect this will happen concurrently with admitting women to the priesthood.

I suspect it will be during the current Pontiff’s reign, prolly within the next decade.


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See, I’m not buying what you’re selling. Entering the priesthood isn’t compulsory, and even it was there are branches of Catholicism where marriage is allowed, possibly encouraged. Priests and nuns know what they are getting into long before they take the vows, from what I understand it takes up to seven years to make the final step.

I’m reading that part of the problem is an emphasis on administration rather than shepherding the flock. The focus on efficiency and admin has drawn a person who is less... spiritually attuned than a bean counter who has an interest in religion. The result has been a secularization of the RCC with an attendant HR corporate atmosphere. However, as a guy who is not Catholic I cannot say if this claim has any veracity.

[smackaholic]

Tell us more about these “branches of Catholicism” where priests marry.

I think it’s called Protestant.


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[Rooster]

Tell us more about these “branches of Catholicism” where priests marry.

I think it’s called Protestant.

There are, as we speak, Catholic priests who are married, because clerical celibacy applies only for the Catholics of the Latin Rite: there are Catholics of Oriental Rites (Maronites and Armenians for instance) for which the rules are different for historical reasons (it may come as a surprise to some but not all the Greek Churches separated from Rome). And for the simple minded PC idiots out there, no, "Oriental" is not an insult.

[Goober McTuber]

And for the simple minded PC idiots out there, no, "Oriental" is not an insult.

Huh?

[Rooster]

Haven't you heard? It's not polite to describe someone of Asian descent as an "Oriental." For some reason not explained to me, it's akin to calling a black a negro. Don't ask me--I don't make the rules. There's all sorts of descriptors that we aren't allowed to use anymore which aptly and succinctly labeled people for what or who they are.

[Goober McTuber]

Really? Have not heard about that at all.

Hey Melty, sorry that everything seems to be going over your fat head lately.

[Goober McTuber]

There's all sorts of descriptors that we aren't allowed to use anymore which aptly and succinctly labeled people for what or who they are.

We can still call Meltspray a FAT fucking RETARD, right?

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

...a FAT fucking RETARD cognitively impaired, right?

[BSmack]

Tell us more about these “branches of Catholicism” where priests marry.

I think it’s called Protestant.

There are, as we speak, Catholic priests who are married, because clerical celibacy applies only for the Catholics of the Latin Rite: there are Catholics of Oriental Rites (Maronites and Armenians for instance) for which the rules are different for historical reasons (it may come as a surprise to some but not all the Greek Churches separated from Rome). And for the simple minded PC idiots out there, no, "Oriental" is not an insult.

And of course the most populous non Latin rite of them all, the Byzantine Rite, which has churches in communion with both Rome and not in communion with Rome.

[Rooster]

...a FAT fucking RETARD cognitively impaired, right?

To be on the right side of history or bending the arc of history to social justice or whatever the term is these days, we'd have to describe him as a dietarilly and cognitively challenged individual. :grin:

[Goober McTuber]

Speaking of fat fucking retards, our local bishop is one.

https://www.channel3000.com/news/madiso ... /783851785

[Goober McTuber]

A quick google...

https://www.halseynews.com/2017/06/16/r ... -progress/

http://theredelephants.com/outlaw-morga ... hild-rape/