Bill Donohue: Catholic Church the real victim
Posted on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 12:08 PM
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The Church is being unfairly attacked and demonized by the media, the survivors of abuse groups, victims rights groups, and of course the gays, Donohue says.
In fact, Donohue claims, the Church hasn't had a pedophilia problem at all - they have a homosexual one.
Really? How does Donohue reconcile that claim to the fact that half of the victims of sexual abuse in the Church are female, according to the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests?
Doesn't Donohue realize that gaining access to boys and winning their parents trust was an easier proposition when the child was male? Does that mean that it was a matter of orientation or opportunity?
By refusing to examine these difficult questions Donohue reminds us that the top levels of the hierarchy are looking for scapegoats not solutions.
And lets not forget that not only did a truly staggering number of Catholic priests sexually abused children (male and female), the Church then attempted to cover it up and avoid all responsibility (a crime almost as bad in many people's view).
Attempting to whitewash a clear scandal in the Catholic Church in this manner is self-defeating, wrong headed and indefinsible at this point.
Rather than stand up for the abused, Donohue has decided his real job is to prevent the Church from suffering any further embarrassment. But he's too late. When the Church decided, time and time again, to cover up what happened they lost the moral authority and the right to accuse anyone of anything, frankly.
135 comments
JuneAnnette | Apr 21, 2011, 11:44 AM EDT
McNamara31 and others interested in the TRUTH***Blowing whistle on sex abuse means new career for priest.' - Pt. 3 / Source: National Catholic Reporter / Sep 15, 1995*** Doyle said no committee or entity of the bishops' conference studied the issue seriously. One bishop, Doyle said, dismissed the crisis proposal as calling for a "SWAT" team. Doyle said another bishop referred to him as an "agent of Satan."The bishops' response to the report over the years "was consistently very condemnatory of what we had done," Doyle said. He said "the bishops' conference did not use the power and information it had to take a leadership position on the issue. They took a defensive position. They tried to cover up and control." Doyle said his frank approach to the clergy sex abuse issue was probably what prompted higher-ups at the Vatican Embassy to edge him out of his canon law post. He said he also believes his outspokenness may have discouraged Catholic University from hiring him as a teacher in 1987. Now, 25 years after his ordination, Doyle works as a military chaplain. He will soon be posted at Lodges Field Air Force Base in the Azores -- smack in the middle " of the Atlantic Ocean."After I get out of the military, I won't be able to get a job in the Catholic church even as a librarian at a convent for retired nuns," he quipped.*** I'll leave it up to the readers to decide who the real “agents of Satan” are!
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JuneAnnette | Apr 21, 2011, 11:00 AM EDT
McNamara31 and others interested in the TRUTH***'Blowing whistle on sex abuse means new career for priest.' - Pt. 2 / Source: National Catholic Reporter / Sep 15, 1995*** Their report on the issue was a "freewill offering" to the bishops, Doyle said. "I had talked to a number of bishops and asked how we could help. They suggested this particular format," Doyle said. "At that time, a lot of the bishops were just baffled by this whole thing because, very quickly, a lot of cases were popping up." Doyle said that in the mid-1980s, he and his colleagues wanted to see a national-level committee within the bishops' conference that would "hire the best lawyers, psychologists and pastoral care people to get a state-of-the-art analysis on the problem and ... how to handle it."The authors' primary goal, Doyle said, was "making sure the response to the victims and their families was total compassion." Doyle said the bishops initially favored the proposal, but "something happened" in the conference."All of a sudden, (the initiative) just flopped and fell through," Doyle said. "I never found out exactly why. The steps we had taken to get them interested in a special ad hoc committee all of a sudden were shut down. They didn't want to deal with it on that level."**Men like DOYLE with a conscience are a dying breed and whistleblowers are generally ostracized, marginalized and undermined by those who have the most to lose if they tell all! Not surprised to learn from edmicca that the Vatican has now put Doyle in the dock .
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JuneAnnette | Apr 21, 2011, 09:59 AM EDT
McNamara31 . . With respect to edmicca's comments below re: Patrick Doyle . . I would invite you and others interested in the TRUTH to GOOGLE the following article *** 'Blowing whistle on sex abuse means new career for priest.' / Source: National Catholic Reporter / Sep 15, 1995***Excerpt:
A decade ago, Doyle, at the time a canon lawyer at the Vatican Embassy in Washington, became aware of the problems of sex abuse among Catholic clergy. He had been monitoring correspondence for what was perhaps the first highly publicized case of clerical abuse in the United States -- a lawsuit in the Lafayette, La., diocese. Joining ranks with attorney Ray Mouton, the lawyer defending the Lafayette priest, and the late psychiatrist and Catholic cleric Michael Peterson, who was acting as a referral person for the Lafayette diocese, Doyle helped produce an extensive report about the clergy sex abuse problem. That document may have been the begining of the end of Doyle's standing in the official Catholic circles.The idea for the report jelled after Mouton "found out the diocese was covering up for other pedophiles and began blowing the whistle," Doyle said. Alarmed that the Lafayette scenario was occurring "a lot" elsewhere, Doyle said the three professionals were compelled to do something about it.
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JuneAnnette | Apr 21, 2011, 09:58 AM EDT
McNamara31 . . with respect to your remark: "I did not leave my church, the church leadership left the teachings of Jesus Christ when they took the corporate route rather than the Christian one in dealing with little children who have had their lives ruined."*****Your assessment of the RCC goes to the heart of the very heart of the matter!
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edmicca | Apr 21, 2011, 09:45 AM EDT
McN31...the Church has done a great deal about your concerns, clearly more than you realize and are willing to see. I speak as someone on the inside.
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McNamara31 | Apr 21, 2011, 09:39 AM EDT
Emicca… You are totally wrong. I have not one drop of hatred for the Catholic Church, It was the church I was raised in, married in , baptized my children in, and held it's doctrines as my moral compass, as I still do at this moment. It’s because of those doctrines that I feel the way I do. I did not leave my church, the church leadership left the teachings of Jesus Christ when they took the corporate route rather than the Christian one in dealing with little children who have had their lives ruined. I still believe the only way this church “leadership” can regain faith from its people is to remove those who knowingly took part in abuse or the even the bigger issue of cover up because that allowed more children to be victimized. Calling me a hater is a simplistic reaction to a problem you know I have grounds to feel the way I do. I choose to say rid the church of this leadership who has so adversely hurt our church, our people, and the Catholic faith, and you choose to stand in part supporting the hierarchy that are still in place. That’s the difference between us; it has nothing to do with hate.
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edmicca | Apr 20, 2011, 11:53 PM EDT
ever notice those who don't like the church always cite FORMER priests like patrick wall? As for controlling the conversation, mzzz mcnamara, discussing bill donohue's nytimes post is what the conversation was all about, not that you read it. the john jay report doesn't support your pre-existing hatred of the church so you ignore it. you and mzzz juneannette remind me of thomas huxley - grandpa of aldous - and bertrand russell, two atheists. they weren't interested in proofs for God's existence - they simply didn't want there to be a God. you two are so locked into hating the catholic church that you don't care when the truth hits you in the face. you simply don't want a church you can't despise. how pathetic. your hatred is a poison you take in the hope the church will die. fyi, the usccb was NOT the only source of data for the j.j. report. your hissy fits are no longer amusing.
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JuneAnnette | Apr 20, 2011, 07:53 PM EDT
McNamara31 . . With respect to edmicca's comments below re: Patrick Doyle . . I would invite you and others interested in the TRUTH to read the following articles ***Article: 'Blowing whistle on sex abuse means new career for priest.' / Source: National Catholic Reporter / Sep 15, 1995***Article: 'Catholic Priest Who Aids Church Sexual Abuse Victims Loses Job' / Source: The New York Times / April 29, 2004***Article: 'Thomas P. Doyle: Fighting to Prevent Clergy Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church' / Source: BishopAccountability.org / July 8, 2009 ***edmicca wrote: “For what it's worth, Fr. Doyle, canon lawyer that he is, has been banned in the Archdiocese of St. Louis from offering legal representation. Not to mention that he himself, canon lawyer that he is, is accused of the canonical crimes of abuse of ecclesiastical functions, and of the culpably negligent and illegitimate placing of an act of ecclesiastical function with harm to another.” **** Perhaps edmicca might be persuaded to elaborate on the charges brought against P.Doyle in layman's language!****I wonder if those charges have anything to do with the expert witness testimony Mr. Doyle has given in a court of law . . testimony he felt obliged to give, both in his conscience and in the sight of God, the Judge over all! (Ps. 96:13) God's law trumps canon law!
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JuneAnnette | Apr 20, 2011, 07:17 PM EDT
McNamara31 . . edmicca contends “there's nothing contrived about statistics reported in studies conducted by outside agencies such as the John Jay Report from John Jay College.” . . but Patrick Wall, a world-renowned expert on the Catholic Clergy Abuse Crisis who has been working on behalf of victims of clergy sexual abuse since 2002 does not share his assessment.***Article: 'Secular Blessing of a Cover-Up' / Source:PatrickWallwordpress.com / April 12, 2011 ***EXCERPT: “In 2002, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops rolled out a plan: they were going to reach out to survivors, remove abusive priests, allow independent lay people to review abuse, and miraculously transform the church into a safe haven for children and vulnerable people. They were going to do it all through self-reporting, self-auditing and transparency.** The John Jay Study . . In another crafty tactic by the Bishops, they hired the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York to conduct a “study.” Competent and world renown as the college is, John Jay was utterly dependent upon the information each Bishop decided to give them. You can review the 2004 study here.
The study was nothing more than a third-party rehash of only the information that the USCCB wanted to be publicly disseminated. Confused? Think of it this way: imagine a police detective is investigating a murder. Then, imagine that theonly evidence the detective can examine is the evidence that the murderer himself freely turns over. Now you understand how the Bishops work.” ***Patrick Wall is a former Roman Catholic Priest and Benedictine Monk
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JuneAnnette | Apr 20, 2011, 07:01 PM EDT
McNamara31 . . As you have said "I believe its God’s plan for all of this to be uncovered and all those who looked the other way to be brought to justice."***Here's an observation made by AB Diarmuid Martin that should cause wholesale OUTRAGE amongst the R.C. community.***Source: America Magazine online / Article: 'Diarmuid Martin's Admission: No Remorse on Part of Most Abusers' / April 06, 2011 / by: James Martin, S.J.*** EXCERPT: In a blunt lecture on Monday at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin made what to my mind is a stunning admission about the sexual abuse crisis in the church: With perhaps "two exceptions" he has "not encountered a real and unconditional admission of guilt and responsibility on the part of priest offenders" in his diocese. That is, the abusive priests in his diocese, with only a few exceptions, do not seem remorseful."
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edmicca | Apr 20, 2011, 05:46 PM EDT
JuneAnnette, there's nothing contrived about statistics reported in studies conducted by outside agencies such as the John Jay Report from John Jay College. If you don't want to believe the data or refute them with reliable counter-arguments, then don't, but as they say, you're entitled to your own opinions, JA, but not your own facts. If you think I'm unaware of the nature and extent of the abuses and of the continuing news of allegations (some true, some not, none recent), and if you think I'm not deeply disturbed by what's taken place, then, ma'am, you don't know your elbow from the bottom of your spine. Someone coming forward after 20, 30, 40 years is not proof of guilt, as any blockhead should know. The cases have to be examined. Some past allegations have been proven phony. You play the sympathy card as if Mr. Donohue and myself have none. No one here is defending abusive priests, but listening to your mouth you'd think all it takes is pointing a finger to prove every priest guilty, making you no better than the gossipy finger pointers of the Salem witch trials. What also disturbs me are liars who ignore what has actually happened and who bleat like bagpipes the same anti-Church rant as if a mindless appeal to hatred and not reason will ever win the day.
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McNamara31 | Apr 20, 2011, 04:55 PM EDT
JuneAnnette …Sadly, edmicca does not seem very interested in truth or empathy for those who have suffered so much. He repeatedly attempts to “control and return the conversation” back to the contrived slice of an argument placed in the New York Times by Bill Donohue. He fails miserably to understand that abuse cases are still being uncovered, and victims are still coming forward, and that this is not something that is in the past tense and cannot be analyzed as so. The stories of rape and abuse recently released from the Philadelphia grand jury report are just coming to view. One story of an abused and raped 10 ten year old altar boy who was passed from priest to priest, then on to a catholic school teacher who also raped him, makes a parent’s heart sink; yet people like Bill Donohue would rather play their game of deflection than stand for the victims.*** Just what category would Mr. Donohue and his John Jay Study, that he loves to quote, place this little altar boy whose life was ruined, and later went on to become a drug addict?***Last night "Frontline" aired a documentary about a village of Native Americans in Alaska where in 1970 hundreds were abused continually by the priest and his assistant. In this isolated village, in the Alaskan wilderness, it was stated almost every boy had been molested. I believe its God’s plan for all of this to be uncovered and all those who looked the other way to be brought to justice. Lent is the perfect time for reflection. Reflection on the living hell these little children suffered at the hands of those who should have protected them. Finally, I also believe Mr. Donohue would sing a very different tune if he were the father of one of these children.
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edmicca | Apr 20, 2011, 02:21 PM EDT
JuneAnnette...m'dear, you have one odd take on forgiveness. It's certainly not in accord with Jesus' own examples of it - the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, the thief on the cross. Then again, this is no surprise since you seem to kneel at the feet of one Thomas Doyle, O.P., a man who could take a ham and egg sandwich and turn it into a victim situation of the egg abusing the ham. For what it's worth, Fr. Doyle, canon lawyer that he is, has been banned in the Archdiocese of St. Louis from offering legal representation. Not to mention that he himself, canon lawyer that he is, is accused of the canonical crimes of abuse of ecclesiastical functions, and of the culpably negligent and illegitimate placing of an act of ecclesiastical function with harm to another. Seems your canon lawyer may have violated a canon law or two himself. But until the matter is settled, let's give the beleaguered Fr. Doyle the same benefit of doubt all accused of high crimes and misdemeanors should be afforded. (e.g., priests). I bet you're a good dancer...your fancy footwork has kept you from giving any meaningful response to the issue at hand - Bill Donohue's NY Times piece. Remember Bill and his ad? A man robs a bank. He's overcome with remorse and hands back the money. The bank president forgives him. He goes away for 5 years. Forgiveness, mercy, justice. How's your comments on Bill Donohue's article coming along?
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JuneAnnette | Apr 20, 2011, 12:59 PM EDT
edmicca . . Forgiveness in context . . in the words of Thomas P. Doyle, R.C. Dominican priest & Clergy Abuse Victim's Advocate: ***EXCERPT: ***The doctrine of forgiveness forms the basis for yet another belief that becomes toxic when merged with the Church's response to sexual abuse. Most people misunderstand the theological concept and believe it means leaving the offense behind and essentially forgetting about it while forgoing any expectation of justice or punishment for the offender. How often have victims cringed at the words arrogantly uttered by a bishop or high ranking cleric that "we are a forgiving Church?" This attitude imposes misplaced guilt on the victims for their justifiably angry feelings against their perpetrators. There is a significant degree of confusion about the meaning of forgiveness. When Church officials speak of it and ask victims to dutifully forgive their abusers, this easily translates into re-victimization. It is a conscious attempt to misuse a theological concept to avoid responsibility and accountability for the crime of abuse. To the victim, forgiveness may translate to acting and thinking as if the event did not happen and to the offender it translates into deliverance from taking responsibility for the abuse. Churchmen or others who urge forgiveness intentionally misinterpret the doctrine of forgiveness for their own selfish benefit. They also do not comprehend the depth of pain that comes from sexual abuse nor do they understand what re-victimization means.”***Article: The understanding of forgiveness…by Thomas P. Doyle
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