Church accused of ignoring Magdalene Laundry survivors

Like the pedophelia rampant in the RCC, the Magdelene Laundries will be denied, covered up, and go unrecognized until any survivors are long gone. How sad that nuns abused children (young women) just as badly as priests abused children. Hypocrisy is the hallmark of the Catholic Church, it seems, all over the world.

One final comment. I saw a '70's based movie, set in a Catholic High School. During a dance, a brother instructed boys & girls, who were slow dancing, to "leave some room for Jesus"!! Now, if Jesus has to get between a boy/man & girl/woman dancing, he has a serious problem! He could then straighten himself out, by seeing a good earthly psychologist!

JuneAnnette, I don't mind reading the writings of Thomas Patrick Doyle, and agree with many of his sentiments. You may be interested to know that I went to Confession this past Saturday, and spoke to the priest, face to face. I admitted my conflicts with my brother, who now accepts Fundamentalism, over Catholicism. I also shared with him my sentiments expressed here, about rejecting Jesus, if he feels a violation of Matthew 5:28 is a "damnable offense". I further explained that when any authority, be it Civil to Deity, considers a non transgression/slight transgression to be a "grave offense", that authority increases its control over its subjects! As a thinking human being, I will resist that! When I last went to Confession, in January, I had similar discussions, with the pastor, concerning Fundamentalism. The monsignor pointed out a teaching in the Acts of the Aposles, which differentiates between serious and non serious sins. "It is right in the Bible", he said! The problem with Fundamentalists is similar to fanatical Muslims. I have learned that the prophet Mohammed instructed his people to attempt to persuade those of other faiths, including Christians, to accept Islam. However, he also stressed that, under no circumstances, were non Muslims to be harassed, or persecuted, if they stuck to their own faiths. Yet, radical Muslims consider all "non believers" to be "infidels", subject to Jihad-Holy War! Similarly, Fundamentalist Christians interpret the Bible to suit their own narrow perceptions. I don't believe any kind & just deity, be he Allah, Brahman, Yaweh, or Jesus would keep a "scorecard" on every person's thoughts and sexual feelings, so long as that person didn't abuse anybody. The priest explained that we all should accept Jesus as a loving & caring God, regardless of our points of view. He didn't condemn my views that sexual thoughts, or even pre marital intimacy, in spite of the Church's traditional teaching against those things.

My apologies to the readers for replicating the timely words of Thomas Patrick Doyle. Doyle's bold pronouncement against the bishops of Rome reminded me of a number of occasions in the ministry of Peter and John, as recorded in the book of Acts, on which they confronted the religious rulers of their day, whom they sternly rebuked by saying: “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.” (Acts 4:19), and again . . “we ought to obey God, rather than men.” ( Acts 5:29-33 )There is a higher authority to which “Peter and the other apostles” deferred and acted upon. One can only admire the courageous stand Doyle took as well, who embarked on a path that invariably put him on a collision course with his spiritual rulers . . the bishops of Rome. The conviction Doyle was under to do that which was right in the sight of God and that which was consistent with the teaching of his Lord and Master Jesus Christ, regardless of the cost, is an inspiration to all who would be regarded in truth by Christ as his disciples.***John 8:31: “If ye continue in my word then are ye my disciples indeed.”

SingleDonald, by way of a personal witness, I was born and raised Catholic but approximately 20 years ago a Christian woman placed a Bible in my hands. Like most Catholics I was woefully ignorant of the Scriptures. She knew I was a Roman Catholic but knew as well I did not know the Lord. I began to read and study God's Word from that day on. Over time, the Holy Spirit, whose peculiar work is to guide men into truth (John 16:13) brought me under conviction of my sin and led me to true repentance . . a godly sorrow over my sin and a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. God' describes His Word as a living word . . the word of power . . the word of life . . the word of faith . . the word of truth . . the word of grace and it is that living Word that has imparted spiritual life unto me. By God's grace, I have been “born again” of the Spirit (John 3:3-6) . . “not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever.” (1 Pet. 1:23) I have found e that “peace and joy in believing” the gospel spoken of in Rom. 15:13, and rest by faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone who has saved my soul to His praise and glory! I am no more in bondage to sin, nor in bondage to Rome, but have been set at liberty by Christ Jesus my Lord. (Gal. 5) “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36) This is in truth gospel liberty and what is means to “know the Lord, whom to know is eternal life. (John 17:3; Gal. 5:1)

Correction: It was St. Augustine, not St. Thomas Aquinas, whose teachings set the Catholic Church on its anti sexual crusade.

Just another "blot on the Church's history" of the not so holy RCC***the “Holy Inquisition” *** "Anyone who attempts to construe a personal view of God which conflicts with Church dogma must be burned without pity." - Pope Innocent III***The Roman Catholic Inquisition was one of the greatest disasters ever to befall mankind. In the name of Jesus Christ, Catholic priests mounted an enormous effort to kill all "heretics" in Europe and Britain. The Inquisitions function was principally assembled to repress all heretics of rights, depriving them of their estate and assets which became subject to the ownership of the Catholic treasury, with each relentlessly sought to destroy anyone who spoke, or even thought differently to the Catholic Church. Many of the devices were inscribed with the motto "Glory be only to God." George Ryley Scott describes how the inquisitors, gorged with their inhumanity, and developed a degree of callousness rarely rivaled in the annals of civilization, with the ecclesiastical authorities condemning every faith outside of Christianity as demonic. Few people know specific details of this murderous campaign that lasted over 1,200 years, killing 75 million people.

May I respectfully remind JuneAnnette that the Comment Box is for just that - comments. Not for posting huge extracts from books by Church bashers. Also, pls allow time for yr posts to appear and save us reading triple posts. I have no doubt that people may want to blacken the RCC, justified or not, but this is just harping on and on and on about a blot on the Church's history. It's not the only one and it won't be the last. I choose by my own choice to live by and with the overall clean holiness of the Roman Catholic Church and its Sacraments as handed down by our Christ to it.

SingleDonald . . More of the thoughts and doubts raised by Thomas Patrick Doyle, a Dominican priest and Victim's Advocate – Pt 4**My serious questioning started when I found myself on the inside looking out as the clergy sex abuse scandal started to unfold back in 1984. As I saw first-hand the duplicity and institutionalized lying of the self-proclaimed "successors of the Apostles" I slowly began to wonder if the apostles weren't actually a cabal of anti-Christian dolts or on the other hand, I wondered if the infallible connection between the popes, bishops and church monarchy was neither infallible nor divinely willed. It was not exactly a pleasant or secure feeling as my not-quite-paralyzed brain began to ask the inevitable question: "If they can easily lie about raping innocent little children, can they just as easily lie about everything else?" The next stop on the journey was actually the first stop: taking the risk of asking myself what was and was not true and viable about everything else I had been told to believe. I finally paused long enough to let soak in the reality of this deeply embedded dynamic: I (all of us actually) had been consistently told what I must believe. I had never been asked to believe or offered the option of figuring the basics out for myself. " This no longer worked for me.**Source: RichardSipe.com / Article: CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE BIBLIOGRAPHY / by Thomas P. Doyle / Revised May 20, 2010

SingleDonald . . More of the thoughts and doubts raised by Thomas Patrick Doyle, a Dominican priest and Victim's Advocate – Pt 3**“Over the course of my years of involvement with the clergy sexual abuse "happening" I have learned that the damage done to the spirituality of the victims has been considerable and in many ways, more difficult to deal with than either the emotional or psychological damage. The victims are not alone in suffering grave spiritual damage. Many of those directly or even indirectly involved with this whole complex phenomenon have found themselves in a growing quandary with their belief systems. I am one of them. For years my belief system and the objects of my faith were gradually shifting, often in ways I did not even notice. Most of what I had been taught about Faith, about Beliefs, about Trust in the human or earthly dimensions of the community of believers, the institutional Church, came under assault. I had believed what the official church had told me without much questioning. I accepted that the Church was what it was and I bought into all of the standard explanations for the historical departures of the institutional Church and its leaders from basic Christian decency and certainly from honesty...like the inquisition, the crusades, the approval of slavery, the colonization of the new world and the Vatican's diplomatic ties to Hitler and Mussolini.**Source: RichardSipe.com / Article: CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE BIBLIOGRAPHY / by Thomas P. Doyle / Revised May 20, 2010

SingleDonald . . More of the thoughts and doubts raised by Thomas Patrick Doyle, a Dominican priest and Victim's Advocate – Pt 2 . . If all of these things were true! The problem is that there is no authentic historical evidence that any of it is true. The various titles, roles and offices attributed to popes, bishops and priests are not products of divine revelation but of human invention, often as a response and reaction to serious external threats to the power and wealth of the clerical aristocracy. For example, and it’s a good example, Papal Infallibility was literally invented by Pope Pius IX and forced through the First Vatican Council...for political reasons. The pope’s kingdom, the Papal States, was threatened with dissolution by the Italian social upheaval at the time. Likewise the title “Vicar of Christ” was part of a conscious program of a medieval pope to fortify papal power. This title has had a long and complex and by no means consistent history. It was not applied to the Papacy until the 13th century when Pope Innocent III took it to enhance his overall program of actively concentrating just about all power in the Church in the papacy. Consequently this massive institution seeks above all to preserve itself. Sexual abuse of children or anyone by members of the sacred elite is potentially disastrous for the image, credibility and hence the power of the Church.**Source: RichardSipe.com / Article: CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE BIBLIOGRAPHY / by Thomas P. Doyle / Revised May 20, 2010

SingleDonald . . I share with you the thoughts and doubts raised by Thomas Patrick Doyle, a Dominican priest and Victim's Advocate - Pt. 1 “ . . the Church teaches that priests are fundamentally different than other humans. They are, in the words of John Paul II, uniquely configured to Christ. Catholics are taught to believe that priests are special. They represent Jesus Christ. They have very special spiritual powers. Their intercession is essential for anyone who wishes to make it to heaven in the next life. This teaching is the foundation for the clerical culture that runs the Church. Clericalism is the belief that clerics (deacons, priests and bishops) are superior to lay persons and are rightfully entitled to deference, unquestioned respect and exemption from many of the obligations born by most lay people. This clerical world is the home of the men who make up the Church power structure. The Church teaches that this structure is the church. To be a Catholic, one must believe totally in the teachings about the nature of the church strictures and the sacredness of the Church’s clerical ministers. If all of these teachings were true, would there be a need for all of the secrecy? If these teachings were true, especially about the “Christ-like” nature of priests and bishops, would there be such widespread corruption, dishonesty and abuse found among clerics at every level?” Source: RichardSipe.com / Article: CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE BIBLIOGRAPHY / by Thomas P. Doyle / Revised May 20, 2010

JuneAnnette, You may quote the Bible all you want. I believe that Devine Tradition, as well as a non literal interpretation of the Bible, is what comprises "the true church of Jesus Christ". Sure, mistakes have been made, but fundamentalist faiths also make grave mistakes, in their literal interpretations! Remember the classic movie, "Inherit the Wind"? "He who divides his house will inherit the wind"-a passage in the Bible. Clarence Darrow was played excellently by Spencer Tracy, in that movie.

SingleDonald . . . I don't need the props and pretense of Rome to worship my God nor to sustain my faith, nor do you! I am now in the company of those who “worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth” . those whom Christ has called “the true worshippers of God.”(John 4:23; Eph. 1:12-14)I was born a sinner, and brought up a Roman Catholic, but by God's grace, I was made a Christian.(Eph 2:8-10) It is the peculiar work of the Holy Spirit to bring men under conviction of sin, lead them to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This I know by personal experience. I now belong to the “true church of Jesus Christ”, comprised only of those “born of the Spirit”, (John 3:3-8; 1 Peter 1:23-25) They are those of whom God speaks of particularly in Eph. 2:21: “In whom the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”**It is a spiritual temple that is in view, and it is the Lord himself that “adds to HIS church such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:47)**This is that church to which Christ speaks that the “gates of hell will not prevail against” and of which Christ is the Head! May God be pleased to lead you into TRUTH by His Spirit (Jo. 16:13) and bring you into a saving knowledge of our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ. (1 Jo. 5:19-20)**Rom.1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth . . “

JuneAnnette, I appreciate your sentiments expressed over several posts. I started having second thoughts about the Catholic Church at age 10. It was over, you guessed it, impure thoughts being "mortal sins". I understand that St. Thomas Aquinas(?) was at least partially responsible for this belief. He was a notorious womanizer, and did other things, as well. When he became celibate, he renounced his past ways. Interestingly, in his youth, he once said, "Lord, grant me celibacy, but not just yet"!! The Catholic Church took his anti-sexual rhetoric to such an extent, that it demonized anything outside of marriage, even "impure thoughts", as being "serious sins". How sad! The Catholic Church, as well as the interpreters of the Bible, should realize that the misuse of sex: rape, sexual abuse of minors, etc. should be considered sins, not such things as sexual fantasies, masturbation, or the consensual intimacy of unmarried partners. Most modern men & women wish to lead decent lives, but don't want to be beholden to either the Catholic Church, or to an ancient tome, on how to lead their private lives. For me, I am still Catholic, and do attend Mass. However, I have long since abandoned guilt feelings regarding the things described.