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Hi, James —
You said:
I understand
the distinction between infallibility
and impeccability and understand
that none other than Christ himself
is exempt from sin.
Not quite: The Church teaches:
- Christ, a divine person, was
obviously sinless and
- Mary, a human person, was sinless.
You said:
It seems to me
that the God's decision not to make
His representatives impeccable in
their relationships with children
and HIS decision not to provide better
guidance to His bishops undercuts
and perhaps destroys the Church's
claim to a special relationship with
God and to its claim that each priest
received his calling directly from
God. Why is my reasoning and conclusion
erroneous?
There is no denying that the Church’s
handling of cases of sexual abuse
and pederast priests was for years
more than deplorable. The acts of
these priests have been criminal.
Changes in the manner of handling
these tragedies have come far too
late. I disagree with rationale that
defends Cardinal Law and the like
along the lines you have suggested.
Objectivity and intellectual honesty
require us to insist, however, that
those changes have nonetheless come.
Pope Benedict has spear-headed this
campaign, despite what you hear in
the main stream media about his possible
mistakes as a Cardinal. ("Let
he who is without sin cast the first
stone.") The United States Conference
of Catholic Bishops has put out their
own document on the issue of
protecting children.
Your reasoning and conclusion are
erroneous because you make the premise
that because priests, by God's will,
are not impeccable (sinless, like
Our Lady), it undercuts and perhaps
destroys the Church's claim to a
special relationship with God.
It doesn't!
- Does it hurt the secular world's
view of the moral authority of
the Church?
Of course it does. I'd be an idiot
to say otherwise.
Nevertheless History is history and
BELIEVERS, have to remember that
Our Blessed Lord built
HIS CHURCH on St. Peter and his successors
and said the gates of Hell would
not prevail against it [on issues
of official faith and morals]. (Matthew
16:13-20).
- with bad, scandalous, embarrassing
behavior, Yes!
- with false Teachings, No!
Unbelievers, or cafeteria (pick
and choose) catholics just go through
the motions for convenience; they
have to except the WHOLE faith and
defend it; even in rough times.
You said:
But in the sex
abuse scandal it has no rationales,
not even one which resembles Pope
John II's apologies where he blamed
members of the Church rather than
the Church itself for past misdeeds.
That's because grievous, horrific
behavior against children cannot
be defended. When Our Blessed Lord
created man and woman, he gave them
free will. This included free will
to do stupid, sinful things; outside
the Church as well as inside.
If Catholic seminaries are not places
of holiness: 24/7, the Catholic spirituality
of the United States will plummet.
In my humble opinion, the two vocations
that will have the hardest particular
judgment are:
- Catholic seminary teachers and
- Journalism professors from academia.
These two vocations can either make
the world a much better place
or far worst. Everyone should
pray for this two special vocations.
Hope this answers your question.
Mike
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