Excerpts of an article written by non-Catholic Sam Miller - a prominent Cleveland Jewish businessman:
"Why would newspapers carry on a vendetta on one of the most
important institutions that we have today in the United States, namely the Catholic Church?
Do you know - the Catholic Church educates 2.6 million students everyday at the cost to that Church of
10 billion dollars, and a savings on the other hand to the American
taxpayer of 18 billion dollars. The graduates go on to graduate studies at the rate of 92%.
The Church has 230 colleges and universities in the U.S. with an enrollment of 700,000 students.
The Catholic Church has a non-profit hospital system of 637 hospitals,
which account for hospital treatment of 1 out of every 5 people - not just Catholics - in the United States today.
But the press is vindictive and trying to totally denigrate in every way the Catholic Church in this country.
They have blamed the disease of pedophilia on the Catholic Church, which is as irresponsible as blaming
adultery on the institution of marriage.
Let me give you some figures that Catholics should know and remember. For example, 12% of the 300 Protestant
clergy surveyed admitted to sexual intercourse with a parishioner; 38% acknowledged other inappropriate sexual
contact in a study by the United Methodist Church, 41.8% of clergy women reported unwanted sexual behavior;
17% of laywomen have been sexually harassed. Not to mention coaches, teachers and Boy Scout leaders. Even our
own Jewish rabbis. Meanwhile, 1.7% of the Catholic clergy has been found guilty of pedophilia. 10% of the
Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia. This is not a Catholic Problem.
A study of American priests showed that most are happy in the priesthood and find it even better than they had
expected, and that most, if given the choice, would choose to be priests again in face of all this obnoxious PR the
church has been receiving. The Church. You have been hurt by a small number of wayward priests that have probably
been totally weeded out by now.
Walk with your shoulders high and you head higher. Be a proud member of the most important non-governmental
agency in the United States . Then remember what Jeremiah said: 'Stand by the roads, and look and ask for the ancient
paths, where the good way is and walk in it, and find rest for your souls'. Be proud to speak up for your faith with pride
and reverence and learn what your Church does for all other religions.
Be proud that you're a Catholic."
God bless you and keep you and your family safe today.
father kelly
Father Brian F. Kelly, Ph.D.
Chaplain
Cathedral Catholic High School
San Diego, CA 92130
Cell Phone: 858-353-7325
Office Phone: 858-523-4000x1106
Fax: 858-523-4087
Fwd: FW: Thought For The Day - April 20, 2010
5/04/2010 06:42:00 AM
|
Key Words:
CATHOLIC CHURCH
|
This entry was posted on 5/04/2010 06:42:00 AM
and is filed under
CATHOLIC CHURCH
.
You can follow any responses to this entry through
the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response,
or trackback from your own site.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
11 comments:
The issue isn't that the press has a vendetta
against the Catholic church. The issue is that
the church was aware of the abuses and tried
to sweep it under the rug.
Me, I think the pope is a complete disgrace.
And this line:
"You have been hurt by a small number of wayward priests that have probably been totally weeded out
by now."
Talk about whistling in the dark. Why don't you demand accountability instead of just hoping the
problem magically disappeared?
Ohmigawd! You don't want me to get started... but here goes.
Yeah, rightards, let's just victimize the poor poor poor Catholic Church and the poor poor poor Catholic priests and bishops who had institutionalized RAPING kiddies. Let's not mince words here. You can choose to live in whatever cloud cuckoo land you wish, but all over the damn planet, the RC Church institutionalised and endorsed and by SINS of omission and commission encouraged Priests and Bishops to RAPE kids.
If you want to believe something else: fine. But go do it somewhere that doesn't harm children.
Honestly, how people can read unadulterated CRAP like this and actually live with themselves is beyond my imagination.
The Roman Catholic church - with all due respect to those of faith - has turned out to be an even bigger fraud than in the days of Martin Luther.
I'll stop now, but I find THIS particular piece of PROPOGANDA to be insidious, ugly, brutal, nasty and beyond disgusting.
Talk about: Wake Up Sheeples.
Kids have been RAPED for years by disgusting PEDERASTS, and you demand that we "believe" these criminals? Sheesh. Unbelievable.
Yeah, the media is so "liberal", and so "anti-Catholic".
I guess that's why the NY Times printed this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/opinion/02kristof.htm
As I live in a city with large numbers of Catholics. I have read an endless stream of anti-gay editorials in the local paper (written by zealots I should think) explaining why the Catholic church is justified in their rejection of homosexuals and why they regard homosexuality to be a grave and mortal sin. As a non-Catholic I have come to understand the situation to be thus: They have a list of grave, mortal sins which the church has taught through the centuries and this is the only list of grave and mortal sins-- and pedophelia is not on it.
And that is the end of that problem (for them).
I don't intend to disrespect Catholics by the above--it is just what I have read and understood that the zealots are saying. I do think they do a grave and mortal sin against their faith by holding to such illogical beliefs. If there is an attack against Christianity going on, it is coming from the stupidity within these ancient faiths that can't and won't be changed by the world they live in.
As I live in a city with large numbers of Catholics. I have read an endless stream of anti-gay editorials in the local paper (written by zealots I should think) explaining why the Catholic church is justified in their rejection of homosexuals and why they regard homosexuality to be a grave and mortal sin. As a non-Catholic I have come to understand the situation to be thus: They have a list of grave, mortal sins which the church has taught through the centuries and this is the only list of grave and mortal sins-- and pedophelia is not on it.
And that is the end of that problem (for them).
I don't intend to disrespect Catholics by the above--it is just what I have read and understood that the zealots are saying. I do think they do a grave and mortal sin against their faith by holding to such illogical beliefs. If there is an attack against Christianity going on, it is coming from the stupidity within these ancient faiths that can't and won't be changed by the world they live in.
"For example, 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy surveyed admitted to sexual intercourse with a parishioner; 38% acknowledged other inappropriate sexual contact in a study by the United Methodist Church, 41.8% of clergy women reported unwanted sexual behavior; 17% of laywomen have been sexually harassed. Not to mention coaches, teachers and Boy Scout leaders. Even our
own Jewish rabbis. Meanwhile, 1.7% of the Catholic clergy has been found guilty of pedophilia. 10% of the Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia. This is not a Catholic Problem."
Links or it didn't happen.
Response to Marc: agree that links are needed, but let's just give the benefit of the doubt and say those stats are true (I really doubt it). What does that mean, really? Just bc the pedophilia is purported "lower" in the RC Church, THEN there's NO problem?
Huh? When does the RC Church propose to take responsibility both for breaking the law and for abusing children? Do they only have a "problem" IF and only IF their abuse record is HIGHER than some other ogranization??
If it looks like b.s., smells like b.s., then it is b.s.
A church that takes this stand is not to be trusted, imo. And nothing that I've seen the RC Church do about this very serious problem, to date, has generated any trust or respect in me. Until they stand up, take full responsibility, and really clean house (probably including ousting the current Pope), they're an unethical organization engaging in criminal behavior apparently with impunity.
Hooray4US, the argument in defense seems to be, "Our abuse level is normal for an organization of our size." One could argue that a religion should aim for higher standards, though.
Found this article regarding the accuracy of that speech.
Not to mention coaches, teachers and Boy Scout leaders.
I guess he forgot that the Catholic Church provides all of these in their schools and affiliated troops. But it's okay for moral leaders to molest kids; everyone else is doing it!
So now we're just supposed to accept a certain level of pedophilia abuse in ANY organization, and hey: it's ok!! That's "just the way it is."
WTF? I doubt the statistics in this article, and how anyone could actually send this out as some kind of "justification" for any organizations' abuse of children is beyond my comprehension.
WHAT is WRONG with such people that they'd "agree" with something like this article and forward it to their friends???? amazing.
Just goes to show how vitally untrustworthy the conservative mind appears to be these days. If they can be brought to the point of "agreeing" with pedophilia, then what else is "ok" with them? Seriously.
Finally, a place for the "Sam Miller" piece to feel at home!
For what it is worth... the statement “10% of the Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia” has no basis in fact! Phew! We Protestant pastors may be bad. But we’re not THAT bad!
Mr. Miller cites a July/August 2002 Sojourners article by Rose Marie Berger in which she misinterprets statements from Penn. State Prof. Philip Jenkins regarding sexual abuse by Protestant ministers.
In the original article Berger writes…
“Philip Jenkins concludes in his book “Pedophiles and Priests” that while 1.7 percent of Catholic clergy have been found guilty of pedophilia (specifically of boys), 10 percent of Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia.” (This quote is used in Miller’s speech)
To which Philip Jenkins responds (Sept/Oct 2002)…
“I regret to say that the statement is baloney. I never said it, and it’s not true!… Every time this ten percent statement appears attributed to me, I try to debunk it, but these things have a life of their own. I have no idea what the actual proportion of pedophile protestant clergy is, but I would be amazed if it was more than a fraction of one percent.”
See for yourself… http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0207&article=020741d
Sojourners apologized to its readers for passing on erroneous information and revised the article, removing the incorrect and defamatory information. But not before Sam Miller got a hold of it!
Miller may not have intended his original piece as propaganda, but it has certainly become such.
Rob Pollock
Vancouver, BC
CANADA
Thank you, Mr. Pollock, for providing us with the FACTs, which is a breath of fresh air these days. It's too bad that so much junk gets breathlessly sent around as if, because it's in digital format, it must be true.
I've never seen stats like this quoted before, and given the lack of facual basis of nearly ALL of these rightwing forwards, I figured this was yet more bunkum. Guess I'm right, but it's good to have the link for backing.
A tip of the hat to you.
Post a Comment