Harrisburg Diocese Releases Names of Over 70 Priests Accused of Abuse

Date: 
Sunday, August 12, 2018 - 21:15
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      This has nothing to do with this article, except perhaps obliquely, but I just wanted to thank the One Peter Five apostalate. Over the past five years, I have been banned from almost every Catholic site except One Peter Five, the Remnant, Church Militant, Crisis and EWTN. Every single one - for being too trad-y. And I have the emails to prove it. I am an anonymous, married, quiet, ordinary Catholic guy. They've been plotting this takeover for a while, getting rid of even modest voices for the tradition of the faith.

      Our bishop didn't respond to any letters. He hasn't during the past decade over anything and he didn't over this. He issued no statements. I'm an upper-middle-class guy, in the doctor/lawyer club. A few of us got together for the petition. We are probably the biggest private donors in the laity - the people who give say $20-50,000 per year. Multiplied by many people, that means several million dollars that could have been saved with a facile, diplomatic response - ignored. I really don't think they care. I just cut off my donations today, both the diocese, the church and Catholic charities. All of it. I'm pretty sure the USCCB is intent to become a wing of the democratic party. For my part, I will be recentering to the Eastern Church.

      Good news - more money for traditional apostolates like One Peter Five. I was going to give to SSPX Seminary St Thomas and others, but quick Google searches reveal pending, credible charges at that seminary, and most other FSSP and SSPX places. This corruption seems total in the West, even the "conservatives". Only laity apostolates like One Peter Five appear to preserve and defend the faith, and can be trusted to meaningfully root out sexual harrassment and abuse in their organzations.

      I do believe this marks the end of the Western Institutional Roman Catholic Church. While the faith may be practiced as it is in Orthodox or Eastern communities, the Latin Church based on the hierarchy and the Pope in Rome is over. Middle American guys like me, regular working people who pay the bills, have had it. Just like when we elected Trump. They, the hierarchy, have no idea what they've just done. I think few in Catholic media do either. This isn't the 80s and this isn't going away. We were barely holding on, we were kicked again, and in a very crucial windows, the hierarchy has reiterated their absolute disregard for the sheep and the faith, despite being warned directly man-to-man about the immediate consequences by small groups like us in parishes across the US. This denomination is deceased.

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      The Eastern Church has its fare share of scandal as well. I do agree with your assessment though, the Western Institutional Church is falling apart. I live close to Allentown and if enough lay people can get together to form more apostolates, we can keep the light shining in the current institutional darkness. I for one would be willing to meet like minded people, only, how do we break through the anonymity? Pray and think it over. Then look for those who have the fire and the funds to get it started. The FIRE & FUNDS Campaign!!!

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      The Eastern Church still doesn’t have married bishops, and the key is the episcopacy, as that’s where you need the most tested men with the highest qualifications. Many are uncomfortable with the idea, but maybe it's time to admit that Jesus knew what he was doing picking a married St. Peter as the first pope, and St. Paul was divinely inspired when he repeatedly made it clear that church leaders should be married men with proven patriarchal character (http://www.vatican.va/archi..., also similarly to Titus).

      Marriage alone doesn't guarantee anything of course, but the qualifications St. Paul outlined do provide a good filter for several problems and perversions. Chief among these is homosexuality amongst priests and bishops. Somebody will object with “I know a married Protestant pastor... “ which is no doubt true, there will always be bad apples, but you won’t get the deeply ingrained homosexual leadership network if bishops must be married men.

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      I come from a long line of Protestant pastors and I have posted here extensive problems with the married priesthood based on my personal experience of having grown up with a father who was a Methodist minister and who was also an administrator. I don't have them all at hand but suffice it to say what seems to be a clear solution to so many understandably fed up Catholics today is in fact the classic case of "grass is greener". There are MANY problematic issues that arise with the supposed solution, problems that would require as much discipline from Catholic leadership as is demanded in purifying the celibate clergy. If we cannot discipline the celibate clergy there is literally no hope for appropriately managing the married clergy which brings with it many very serious concerns. Married clergy is a can of worms the Church has not had to deal with overall {excepting small numbers} for millenia.

      Also, spend some time googling sex abuse and other faiths. It is SWEEPING and pollutes ALL of them. I posted a list on an article comment a couple days ago.

      Billy Graham's own grandson, an attorney sex abuse investigator has said the problem is worse among Protestants.

      There is no easy out on this. The sexual revolution is pervasive in our culture and has not zeroed in on the Catholic Church where there is absolutely no monopoly on perversion.

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      “Pastor kid syndrome” alcoholic pastor wives. I’ve seen that among evangelical friends growing up. The marriage crowd are utterly naive.

      No way anyone should be supporting a priest, his family, and then his ex-spouse, plus newly annul-approved second wife in Laetitia-land Catholicism, which is what they are gunning for. Think of all the priest divorces coming.

      I know a married Byzantine priest.....not all butterflies and rainbows,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Own comment: 

I do not see much value in releasing a list of accused priests, a large number of whom are dead and therefore cannot defend themselves. The release of the list seems insincere and not something done out of charity.

As for the comments themselves, it's hard to tell sometimes whether some of the people commenting are trolls or simply deluded. Very often in these discussions we end up with the notion that Catholic priests should be married. Quite apart from whether men who have no sex breaking their vows of celibacy would find it even more problematic to break their marriage vows, we have the fact that celibacy is of Apostolic origin, and one cannot serve 2 masters. Then we have the practical side as well which is that NOChurch can hardly provide for celibate priests, so it is hard to see how it will provide for married priests, and theologically speaking, a sexually-active priest is problematic, given that even in the Old Testament priests gave up their conjugal duties before their sacrifices.

The solution is as theologically untenable as it is economically unfeasiable. Furthermore, most of the people accused of these crimes do not particularly seem interested in women, so it is difficult to see why allowing them to use women for their sexual gratification would solve the fact that most of them are homosexuals who seem opposed to chastity as much as they are to doctrine.