Pope prays with victims of clergy sex abuse scandal
- added April 18, 2008
- 15 responses
-
-
-
- critter
- added this
-
-
- related topics
-
- Religion (1882)
- Child Abuse (160)
- Scandal (150)
- Catholicism (79)
- Pope (72)
- Prayer (45)
The Pope prayed with tearful victims of clergy sex abuse in a chapel Thursday, an extraordinary gesture from a pontiff who has made atoning for the great shame of the U.S. church the cornerstone of his first papal trip to America.
The Pope met with a group of five or six abuse victims for about 25 minutes, offering them encouragement and hope. The were all adults, men and women, who had been molested when they were minors. Each spoke privately with the pope and the whole group prayed together.
Well over 4,000 priests have been accused of molesting minors in the U.S. since 1950. The church has paid out more than $2 billion, much of it in just the last six years, after the case of a serial molester in Boston gained national attention and inspired many victims to step forward. Six dioceses have been forced into bankruptcy because of abuse costs.
The Pope met with a group of five or six abuse victims for about 25 minutes, offering them encouragement and hope. The were all adults, men and women, who had been molested when they were minors. Each spoke privately with the pope and the whole group prayed together.
Well over 4,000 priests have been accused of molesting minors in the U.S. since 1950. The church has paid out more than $2 billion, much of it in just the last six years, after the case of a serial molester in Boston gained national attention and inspired many victims to step forward. Six dioceses have been forced into bankruptcy because of abuse costs.
-
I am really encouraged by the pope's decision to meet with the abuse victims. I expect that meant a lot to the victims and could go a long way toward healing the pain I am sure so many of them still feel. And especially after the years that the church spent ignoring the issue, and reassigning the priests to another location...to have the pope meet with victims finally seems like a real acknowledgment of the severity of the issue from the church, even though of course they will continue to fight ongoing cases in the courts for obvious financial reasons.
-
Good job Pope.
-
-
-
-
- joshuaheller
- 5 months ago
-
-
By the way I'm going to take a quick second to dicuss how freaky this pope looks. I'm suprised kids dont run screaming from His Freakiness... -
I agree Tori... I'm not a practicing Catholic but my family is. A large part of why I left the Church is because of the sex scandals but mainly because of the church's reaction. Their coverups and protection of the offending priests was the last straw for me...
-
-
-
-
- jessicajane
- 5 months ago
-
-
I would be scared to talk to the pope. If i had gotten molested by a priest I would AVOID them, not go to the motherload of priests for hope.
-
PUH-LEASE, the catholic church has advocated the servicing of gross old priests by young boys since the church's inception over 1500 years ago. That church is based on evil and wont change. They are biggots, homophobes, pedophiles, and last but not least, the wealthiest land-owning organization in the world. The era of the Catholic church's reign of terror and manipulation is drawing to a close, and hopefully all of christianity will go with it. I'd like to think that people these days have more sense than to be roped into christian non-sense, even if they were born into it (as I was).
-
The catholic church is a disgrace to mankind...and to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So ratzinger thinks that him coming to the US and praying will cure the evil that has been fostered for centuries? How about all the ones who have not spoken out...when does he intend to give them peace? Oh the hypocricy that reaks the stench of the ages. Just at the political scene, the catholic church puts on a face for the media in an attempt to win over more unsuspecting and/or systematic robtlike people who have been brainwashed over generations.
Yes, Babylon shall reap that which she sews and she shall lament and mourn her children scattered in the streets...her husband estranged and she gnaws the soles of her feet...
Lest we forget? Lest we forget...a tidal wave washing up those who come to see and be a part of the great dillusion.-
-
-
-
- AngelBeastPan
- 5 months ago
-
-
My response to Ratzinger's seven "new" sins...what a joke!
-
-
-
-
- AngelBeastPan
- 5 months ago
-
-
So I guess the Pope got head-of-state immunity...he was afraid to enter the country because he participated in the coverup conspiracy...at least according to the guys who sued the catholic church...
Pope Wants Head-of-State Immunity From Texas Suit
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1126083917974
Texas Men Sue Pope Benedict Over Sex Abuse Letter
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/4422285/detail.htm... -
It is no surprise that Ratziinger came to the US to be greeted by his counterpart Bush and treated to a royal indulgence of his 7th new sin...how dare he come up with such pompous directives to the people when he himself along with the rest of the closet cases live in the murk of what they preach...like the catholic church does not have millions with which it can feed the little ones...for shame...for shame...
-
-
-
-
- AngelBeastPan
- 5 months ago
-
-
wwell he can get all the immunity in Texas or anywhere else in this world, but there will be no such thing where he will be visiting later in his journeys...
-
-
-
-
- AngelBeastPan
- 5 months ago
-
-
i wish he would come look me in the eyes as I told him my stories of the priests who crossed the line and took advantage of me when i was serious about my faith....yes thanks to them I now see and know wll the evils that the catholic church really stands for...
-
-
-
-
- AngelBeastPan
- 5 months ago
-
-
Missing Angels of Babylon!
Heaven is truly missing a few Angels,
But they will not be gone for long....
Thank you dear insightful ones,
Some are not so inclined nor seek..
Some "choose" to look the other way in life in general
And in politics...in life, it is true what he said
They bite their lips...he speaks that truth...
The problem is that even in accepting..
An eye patch is worn does not see things,
(The way they really are) "inner truth", a mist,
As something that has lost it's place in the heart,
Therein lies the answer to the multitudes,
Who cling to the dragon's venom to solve the mystery,
Of the quagmired existence that the hand which
Has created for many years now...and now that is,
Man must wallow in the molten gold...swimming, sleeping,
And eating in the murk of their own desires and lust....
Yes...Babylon does indeed mourn her children,
Has become estranged from her husband and
Gnaws the soles of her feet...
...Welcome...to Oblivion!
NoMan Pan Hernandez
Copyright ©2008 NoMan Pan Hernandez
(Welcome To Oblivion - Pan Poetry)-
-
-
-
- AngelBeastPan
- 5 months ago
-
-
4000 priests was accused for molesting minors in the U.S. since 1950?? wow. i always wonder where South Park get the idea from.... good thing i am a spiritualist.
-
-
-
-
- iamchinese
- 5 months ago
-
-
geez like 2 billion really makes a difference to the poor kids who got molested! im sorry i dont mean to put down the church but i think there ways are so idiotic. dang praying doesnt solve anything to me thats why i dnt believe in such a religion why put faith in otheres when in this day and time we really need to put faith in ourselves
-
-
-
-
- XricerebelsX
- 5 months ago
-
Login/Registration is required to add a response.
