At the beginning of this year I heard somewhere that astrologically this is the year of Libra and therefore there will be exposition and justice in the world. I am not sure if this is purely; hear say or something like that is really happening astrologically. This is an area that I do not know much about. However I must admit that things that could not be questioned decades ago are being exposed. The Catholic Church is one of the institutions that are under the microscope these days. For centuries no one would dare question this institution for fear of eternal condemnation.
This unquestionable status unfortunately seems to have created the right environment to freely do wrong. Adults all over Europe are speaking up about the abuse that they endured when they were children. The beating although sounds harsh, somehow is understood as it was considered a regular method of disciplining children by families, schools and all other institutes until recent years. As long as it was not to the bone breaking, bleeding kind of beating, spanking a child was accepted. Of course one would hope that the church would have had more loving ways of disciplining children but apparently some did not. It is understandable, how it is difficult for them to respond to those accusations with today’s norms. This would be like accusing members of the old kingdoms of pedophilia as they married really young.
The sexual abuse that has clearly been going on at the Catholic Church has no excuse though. An institution that praises innocence and purity, harming immaculate children is not acceptable. The worst is that no one could even complain of it.
*“Reports surfaced last month that Catholic priests had sexually abused more than 170 children at Jesuit schools in Germany.
Those have been followed by fresh allegations of abuse at three Catholic schools in Bavaria, and within a boys’ choir that was directed for 30 years by Monsignor Georg Ratzinger.”
Monsignor Ratzinger happens to be the brother of the Pope himself. That is not very reassuring. This took place around the brother of the highest ranking person among the Catholic Church. **The Pope himself was registered in the Hitler youth. That also always seemed a bit weird to me.
Of course we are not supposed to judge anyone with their past but then again Hitler Youth! Really? The words Pope and Hitler within the same sentence just do not sound right. Conversely Divine operates in mysterious ways and nothing is as it seems.
**“The controversy over Benedict’s self-confessed membership of the Hitler Youth has suggested that the steps of the 82-year-old Pope appear to be more sure-footed than those around him.”
So he seems to have better values than those around him therefore probably deserves his place more than the others would have. I can see why he confessed as he is a Holly man. The part I question is why would others around him succumb to lying? Is that not against the core of many spiritual values?
The meaning of Holly has changed a lot. One would assume that Holly people are those who are loving, forgiving, unifying, compassionate…..
Members of one of the most influential Holly institutes in the world took advantage of little children by sexually abusing them to satisfy their perverted needs, and this went on, in more than one region and happened to many kids over time. What is exposed is so bad that it does not leave much room to isolate the incident and clear the institution’s name.
I personally went to a Catholic primary school. I loved it. Everyone was loving and nice. No one did beat anyone; it was a very sweet environment. All my memories are filled with love. I cannot recall any incident where harshness occurred. I guess it was religious in the true sense. So clearly not all Catholic Schools were hurtfully strict, or abusive.
It is terribly disappointing given that Jesus Christ left a message of love behind him. His legacy was for the world to become a more loving and tolerant place. It is hard to accept that human kind is so eroded that there is no place for pure love. The Catholic Church fears the outcome of secularism and people drifting away from religious institutes. As a child I have received a lot of love from members of this institution and it is with me for life. I strongly believe, in love and tolerance and surely some of who I am today was formulated in those days. So when love is advertised more than fear I am sure more would be drawn towards the Church again.
I do not know if some stars and planets are really shifting and astrologically a new era has really started; but I would love to see that whether it is the Catholic Church, Jewish or Islamic institutes, any spiritual path focusing on attracting followers, by love and comfort as opposed to fear and condemnation. The move towards secularism and religious institutes loosing power seems to force them in the direction of love, which is not so bad after all. Although the negative sides of the Catholic Church are highlighted right now, love is there. I know it as I have received lot’s of it first and as a child.
Sources:
*http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8559514.stm
**http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8046483.stm
You need to explore and understand the issue.
First off, I am not approving or in any way accepting what those priests did. That said, the problem is miniscule in comparison to the same problem in other big institutions. Public schools in the US experience many more incidents of abuse of children than the Catholic Church does. Baptist preachers also have more incidents of abusing children as well.
Is it right? No. Should those priests/teachers/pastors be punished? Certainly. But don’t blame the institution. By the way, since the time that the abuse scandal came out in the US, there have been very few reported cases of child abuse or homosexual activity with underage people. (Saying that the problem is probably not so much the church as the society which produced the men involved-they became priests for the wrong reason). By the way, they could and did complain about it. At the time, the suggested remedy by secular doctors was to have them undergo psychological therapy, and then put them back-obviously they were wrong. We now know that priests who have this problem are best not put in situations where the temptation exists. Better to put them in a monastery than to expose them.
Regarding corporal punishment, as long as we’re not talking about extreme punishment like using an instrument to paddle the child, I have no problem with someone who’s in charge of my child using it, but there’s a fine line between use and abuse. Please remember that love does not always mean being nice to someone. Love can also mean grabbing someone’s attention in any way possible to avoid letting them do something hurtful to themselves. For example if you’re walking into the street and a car is coming, I might just have to tackle you to the ground to keep you from getting killed. What Msgr. Ratzinger has said might sound harsh now, but we’re not given any details. Also, remember that sometimes God sends us through fire to refine ours, just the way we heat iron to make steel.
Dear David
Thank you for the interest in my article. It sounds like we agree on most points. I am not clear what you mean by “What Msgr. Ratzinger has said might sound harsh.” He admitted to not having realized the sexual abuse happening under his supervision, that does not sound harsh but sad really.
Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize it was a different article (I think). It’s always sad when those with no power are abused by those with power. Especially in an institution where the great are supposed to be the least, and the least the greatest. Thanks for the correction, I thought you were talking about the corporal punishment thing…
I’m not sure I buy into the fashionable assumption, which you seem to share, that the great religions pretty much come down to love and tolerance.
Jesus Christ does of course exhort us to love our neighbour. But he also says that ‘wide is the gate and broad the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it’. (Matthew 7:13)
In other words, Christ’s sacrifice does not provide a blank cheque for people to do what they like in the certain knowledge that the Resurrection provides you with a Get out of Jail Free card. It’s more of a tightrope which one can all too easily fall off.
You don’t have to believe in Christianity to hold the world view that human beings are innately sinful and capable of doing egregious things. In that context, the sexual abuse of children by adults with authority over them is part of a continuum of human wrongdoing that dates back to the origin of our species.
It’s precisely because humans have the capacity to err that they need to be taught the difference between right and wrong at an early age.
And this is where I part company with you. Showering children with love and tolerance is no way of equipping them for the harsh realities of the world in which we live. Bad things cannot just be wished away.
Far better to teach them that good and evil are omnipresent and that right and wrong behaviour will be rewarded or punished accordingly. Some children will happily accept this. Others will not and need to be told. Perhaps often.
I’m pleased that you have warm memories of your Catholic school and it is of course true that the Christian churches have helped to educate more people than any other institution in history. A point worth bearing in mind when the appalling actions of a relatively small number of priests besmirch the good name of one of the greatest forces for good in today’s world.
Dear Londoner
Thank you for the interest in my article. Please note that raising a child in an environment filled with love and teaching the kid right from wrong are not mutually exclusive ideas….both should be done at the same time. It would be very sad to asume that a child can be brought up right only by denying it love…