Vatican disciplines Mexican priest after abuse case

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"The Vatican said on Friday it had disciplined an aging Mexican founder of an influential Catholic religious order who has been accused of sexual abuse, instructing him to retire to a life of "prayer and penitence."

The move against Father Marcial Maciel, 86-year-old founder of the Legionaries of Christ, is significant because he and his conservative order had found favor under the late Pope John Paul, making the decision by Pope Benedict even bolder.

The instruction was the new Pope's first major decision involving sexual abuse charges since his election last year. Before he was elected, Benedict decried the "filth" in the Church.

The sanctions against Maciel made him one of the most prominent persons to be disciplined for alleged sexual abuse and could be devastating for the order and its lay branch Regnum Christi, which claims tens of thousands of members."


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[xchrom]

1. more from the article...

''The Vatican decision was welcomed by groups whose members claim they were victims of widespread sexual abuse by priests, a scandal that rocked the U.S. Church in 2002.

"We are very gratified that Vatican officials have taken this wise and compassionate step," aid David Clohessy, national director of the U.S..-based Survivors Network of those abused by Priests.

"Today's news vindicates the courageous, long suffering and heroic men who have lived for decades with deep pain caused by Maciel's crimes," he said.''

hmmmm-- so he gets to retire to contemplation, prayer and penitance and NOT drummed out in disgrace and this is a comfort to those molested?

sounds like SOMEBODY got some money.

[Kagemusha]

2. So this bold move is to make an 86 year old man retire.

Wow. I'm stunned. What a brave Pope this is.

[meow2u3]

3. Has anyone noticed a pattern here?

Has anyone noticed that almost all of the child molesters caught are right-wing authoritarians? Be it Repukes in the US, or ultraconservatives in other countries, right wingnuts must feel entitled to take illegal sex, whether it be from unwilling adults, teens, or even little kids....oops, I forgot to mention dogs, Santorum.

[TlalocW]

4. Until the Pope starts encouraging the local police to arrest

These child-abusers, I will laugh in the face of every priest and nun who thinks because he's part of the Catholic faith, he has some sort of moral authority he can impart to the rest of the world.

TlalocW

[Bridget Burke]

6. Why should police need to be "encouraged" to arrest criminals?

Looking at it another way--would you like the Pope to tell police in your town whom to arrest?

Parents of the abused should go straight to the police in the first place.

[PATRICK]

5. That's one

One has to wonder if this and other high profile old cases will suffice to be the message and the full enforcement policy. At this stage it would be catastrophic in more ways than one to go after the known offenders. I'd like them try to sentence a young man to a lifetime of penitence and exile and see how that works. The bishops are probably not being called to task enough for accountability in these cases so cover up and containment has to be at least as present as positive measures to stop and deal with the gross criminality.

They are far beyond the point where any remedy is easy except sweeping changes to the priesthood itself. And it is in retrenchment disciplines there that the current Pope likely has all the wrong answers.

[lakercub]

7. Unbelievable

Pope: You have sexually assaulted and ruined the lives of members of your flock lo these many years. Do you realize the seriousness of your actions?
Pedo: Yes, Father.
Pope: I must bring down punishment for this egregious act. The world has seen enough of this from the priesthood. I must also punish you vigorously. Moving offenders around does not appear to work.
Pedo: I will bear any cross to atone for my sins, Father.
Pope: Alright then...let us see....ah yes. Forced retirement. That will teach you the error of your ways. I expect this retirement will be penitent.
Pedo: You ask much Father *snicker*. But thankfully Christ will allow me to suffer in him.
Pope: Go in peace my son.

I guess the Pope forgot the part about turning the pedophile into the authorities. Disgraceful.

[BayCityProgressive]

8. The Catholic Church

literally makes me want to vomit! I cannot stand the hierarchy of this church and it is beyond me how anyone can even justify supporting them. Now, to take the distraction off their child raping priests they are focusing on Da Vinci Code and Gay marriage to take the heat off their own misdeeds. There is no redeeming quality to them whatsoever. Supposedly the last Pope was against the Iraq war. Yeah Right. If he was sooo against it he could have plopped his ass down in a church in Iraq and no one would have touched that country. It was all lip service to woo Europeans who were angry about the war and disenfranchised from the Church.

[saigon68]

9. I wonder if the Dirt Bag enjoyed this Photo?

In its March edition, the Insurgent, an "alternative" student paper on the Eugene, Ore., campus printed 12 hand-drawn cartoons of Jesus as a response to rival paper the Commentator having published the controversial cartoons of Muhammad originally published in Europe that sparked Muslim riots worldwide. The Insurgent claimed it published the drawings to "provoke dialogue."

William Donohue, president of the Catholic League, said the university's president, Dave Frohnmayer, had been unresponsive to complaints about the drawings, so he had written to the governor, every state legislators and the chancellor of the Oregon University System, among others.

"The March edition of the Insurgent ... was one of the most obscene assaults on Christianity I have ever seen," Donohue said in a statement. "To make sure that the persons I wrote to understand how vile this attack was, I sent a photocopy of the two most offensive graphics: one was a depiction of a naked Jesus on the cross with an erection; the other, titled 'Resurrection,' showed a naked Jesus kissing another naked man, both sporting erections."

[Emendator]

10. You are clueless

The Church has survived worse crises, will survive this, and will survive the fact that you don't like it. Boo hoo.

You are a bigot and there is nothing that the Church can do to please people like you. The Church is imperfect because it is run by human beings.

There was nothing "supposed" about John Paul II's opposition to the war. Benedict XVI, as Cardinal Ratzinger, also opposed the war. Yet you have all the geopolitics of the situation and their real motivations figured out. Why don't you sit your ass down in a church in Iraq?