The problem with this survey is that it assumes that the respondents "have faith", presumably of some Christian variety. There really should have been a fifth option. Some thing like "No, I don't believe in a divinity so while the dismal behavior of the Catholic church is a pathetic thing to watch, I have no religious faith to affect."
Dave - 14 years ago
I agree for the most part with Sue - men in general are responsible for these situations. But, I would have to disagree with Jo's proposed solution to these problems - firstly, I don't think that marriage is a solution by any means. It seems to me that the perverts interested in young boys aren't going to be interested in women, except to perpetuate children that they can abuse. Also, seeing as there is a lot of this going on in Protestant Communities - in which ministers are allowed to marry, I don't think that letting priests marry will help the issue. School systems are also dealing with these problems worldwide. There is no doubt in my mind that marriage is absolutely irrelevant and is a ridiculous proposal to stop sexual abuse. If someone is going to betray their vows in the priesthood, what makes you think they'll comply with their marriage vows? What I'm really trying to say here is that it's not the Church creating pedophiles, it's the pedophiles that are drawn to any position of authority, respect, and trust - be it in a parish, a school, or an orphanage.
I think that in order to solve this problem in the Church there needs to be more stress on seminaries thoroughly investigating incoming priests, same in the dioceses before ordination.
People who think that there should be female priests in the Catholic Church are terribly misguided. The fact of the matter is that if the Catholic Church were to ordain woman priests, it would no longer be the Catholic Church - as that would be a doctrinal change, because the Church's doctrine is that the tradition of having male priests was instituted by Christ and unquestioned for 2,000 years- so let's not consider impossibilities as problem-solvers.
I think the poll is totally unfair... I was going to select "no, my beliefs don't depend on the people who run the Church" but then I thought - the answers are somewhat irrelevant and the question is stupid. Have the recent questions about the abuse cases affected my faith? No, but my beliefs are affected - because I now believe there should be stricter policies in ordaining priests - my faith remains.
A better question would be "The media is asking YOU questions about the abuse cases in the Church in poles like this one, instead of gathering statistics from scholarly resources. Is this causing you to lose your faith?"
Sue Hickey - 14 years ago
My sentiments, exactly. I sorrow at the abuse, the result of a male-dominated organization. I also get mad at the yahoos whose postings are so hateful and say anyone who follows a faith is stupid (takes one to know one!). These self-styled armchair critics do little in the ways of true humanitarian work and probably have their own God, that of materialism. They are culturally illiterate and don't appreciate the transcendental nature of questing faith which is the handmaiden of science (Einstein himself said "religion without science is lame, science without religion is blind). These people obviously aren't capable of the fine art and music of the millennia in various culture where celebrating faith in various religions is paramount (Creator songs in Africa, Asia, the great works of Western classical music, etc.) Also drives me nuts is that these people fail to offer real solutions and forget the real problem is a horrible crime, pedophilia, which is a male sexual disorder. The problems of the church have their roots in male behaviour and domination, not exclusive of any church! Maybe men in general need to realize they're to blame for crimes of sexual violence!
Jo - 14 years ago
Its insulting to imply that ALL Roman Catholic priests are sexual predators. Its like saying that all middle easters are terroists . The media always focuses on the negative. What about all the wonderful missionaries that are doing humanitarian work in many under developed countries? Why doesn't the media cover stories about them? I have an Uncle that is a Roman Catholic priest and it's sad to see how these stories affect him and all the other truly devote priests.
On the contrary, I have my own battles with the Catholicism after taking a few history courses and understanding the corruption and sexism behind organized religion. I am a strong believer in allowing priests to marry and have families. My thought is that, how can a priest preach about having a healthy relationship with your families, when they don't have one? I think that would clear up a lot of skepticism and un-trust towards priests.
The problem with this survey is that it assumes that the respondents "have faith", presumably of some Christian variety. There really should have been a fifth option. Some thing like "No, I don't believe in a divinity so while the dismal behavior of the Catholic church is a pathetic thing to watch, I have no religious faith to affect."
I agree for the most part with Sue - men in general are responsible for these situations. But, I would have to disagree with Jo's proposed solution to these problems - firstly, I don't think that marriage is a solution by any means. It seems to me that the perverts interested in young boys aren't going to be interested in women, except to perpetuate children that they can abuse. Also, seeing as there is a lot of this going on in Protestant Communities - in which ministers are allowed to marry, I don't think that letting priests marry will help the issue. School systems are also dealing with these problems worldwide. There is no doubt in my mind that marriage is absolutely irrelevant and is a ridiculous proposal to stop sexual abuse. If someone is going to betray their vows in the priesthood, what makes you think they'll comply with their marriage vows? What I'm really trying to say here is that it's not the Church creating pedophiles, it's the pedophiles that are drawn to any position of authority, respect, and trust - be it in a parish, a school, or an orphanage.
I think that in order to solve this problem in the Church there needs to be more stress on seminaries thoroughly investigating incoming priests, same in the dioceses before ordination.
People who think that there should be female priests in the Catholic Church are terribly misguided. The fact of the matter is that if the Catholic Church were to ordain woman priests, it would no longer be the Catholic Church - as that would be a doctrinal change, because the Church's doctrine is that the tradition of having male priests was instituted by Christ and unquestioned for 2,000 years- so let's not consider impossibilities as problem-solvers.
I think the poll is totally unfair... I was going to select "no, my beliefs don't depend on the people who run the Church" but then I thought - the answers are somewhat irrelevant and the question is stupid. Have the recent questions about the abuse cases affected my faith? No, but my beliefs are affected - because I now believe there should be stricter policies in ordaining priests - my faith remains.
A better question would be "The media is asking YOU questions about the abuse cases in the Church in poles like this one, instead of gathering statistics from scholarly resources. Is this causing you to lose your faith?"
My sentiments, exactly. I sorrow at the abuse, the result of a male-dominated organization. I also get mad at the yahoos whose postings are so hateful and say anyone who follows a faith is stupid (takes one to know one!). These self-styled armchair critics do little in the ways of true humanitarian work and probably have their own God, that of materialism. They are culturally illiterate and don't appreciate the transcendental nature of questing faith which is the handmaiden of science (Einstein himself said "religion without science is lame, science without religion is blind). These people obviously aren't capable of the fine art and music of the millennia in various culture where celebrating faith in various religions is paramount (Creator songs in Africa, Asia, the great works of Western classical music, etc.) Also drives me nuts is that these people fail to offer real solutions and forget the real problem is a horrible crime, pedophilia, which is a male sexual disorder. The problems of the church have their roots in male behaviour and domination, not exclusive of any church! Maybe men in general need to realize they're to blame for crimes of sexual violence!
Its insulting to imply that ALL Roman Catholic priests are sexual predators. Its like saying that all middle easters are terroists . The media always focuses on the negative. What about all the wonderful missionaries that are doing humanitarian work in many under developed countries? Why doesn't the media cover stories about them? I have an Uncle that is a Roman Catholic priest and it's sad to see how these stories affect him and all the other truly devote priests.
On the contrary, I have my own battles with the Catholicism after taking a few history courses and understanding the corruption and sexism behind organized religion. I am a strong believer in allowing priests to marry and have families. My thought is that, how can a priest preach about having a healthy relationship with your families, when they don't have one? I think that would clear up a lot of skepticism and un-trust towards priests.