Author Topic: America=liberal culture?  (Read 1100 times)

telewinz

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America=liberal culture?
« on: May 29, 2005, 08:39:49 AM »
I was watching an excellent movie about priests and child molesting.  A comment was made that the vatican didn't really take the "American problem" serious because of our "liberal culture".  If we are liberal compared to western Europe then why do so many conservative Americans complain that we have an oppressive government.  Is it possible for both points of view to be correct?  I can't think of any oppressive government that had a liberal society/culture.
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roo_ster

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America=liberal culture?
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2005, 09:31:18 AM »
I think there were a several reasons the child molestation problem was mishandled (IMO):

1. JPII was in decline & his minders wanted to spare him from having to deal with this particular problem.  JPII, in the past, had dealt effectively with subversive elements, such as the marxist liberation theology adherents.  If he had been on his game, I suspect that more effective action would have been taken.

2. Earlier in his pontificate, JPII had done much to reign in the incubators of priestly child moelstors/molestation by loweing the boom on the American seminaries that had become twisted and alienated from RC doctrine.  Many of those seminaries acquired nicknames like, "Our Flaming Lady of" such-and-such.  To NOT articipate in homosexual activity was to endanger a candidate's standing at such a seminary.

3. I do suspect that many American bishops were covering, big-time, for priests under their authority.  If the information does not get to Rome, Rome has less to act on.  Why the bishops' cover-ups?  Blackmail.  Bishops who had earlier been though the aforementioned whacked-out seminaries had skeletons of their own in their closets.  When one of their younger priests took advantage of a young boy and was found out by a bishop who did not indulge in pedophilia, but did indulge in adult homosexual activity, what is that bisop to do if Father NAMBLA theatens to expose Bishop Negligent?  Rather than risk their own position, Father NAMBLA gets switched to another parish or duty and their victims are sacrificed for their ecclesiastical careers.

4. The anti-Catholocism of many of those beating the drum on this issue.  When determining a response to criticism, the source of the criticism must be considered.  The record of many early critics was one of anti-Catholicism and their criticism was dismissed.  Put another way, who really cares if Kim Jong Il says one more nasty thing abut the USA?  This was a BIG mistake on the part of the RC church. (A broken clock is right twice a day. )  Such claims of egregious abuse of clerical authority and position ought to be investigated, pronto, to find out if the abuse occured and to clear the priest's name if it is bogus.

5. American "Cafeteria Catholicism."  Yes, many of the W european countries are more politically liberal.  I think the problem that Rome had/has with American Catholicism is the theological liberalism of so much of it, which is distinct from political liberalism.  W europe has become mostly atheist in nature.  The proportion of the population that is churchgoing is miniscule compared to the USA.  Most folks who would have been RC are now no longer members of the church in europe.  America, however, still has a sizeable proportion of its "potential" RCs in the church, though many do not adhere to RC doctrine.

6. Institutional damage control.  The thought here is that the RC Church in total is bigger than any one of its members...some of whom were shafted in the name of preserving the RC church.  I think this tactic came about to bite the RC church in the behind when it began to lose millions in court-ordered damage awards to the boys who got the shafting.

I think these are some of the reasons.  I bet there are some other valid reasons some folks could come up with.

FWIW, I am not a Roman Catholic, though I do have an interest in the RC church.
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roo_ster

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brimic

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America=liberal culture?
« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2005, 03:00:59 PM »
JFruser- I think you are spot on with your analysis.

Quote
. I do suspect that many American bishops were covering, big-time, for priests under their authority.  If the information does not get to Rome, Rome has less to act on.  Why the bishops' cover-ups?  Blackmail.  Bishops who had earlier been though the aforementioned whacked-out seminaries had skeletons of their own in their closets.  When one of their younger priests took advantage of a young boy and was found out by a bishop who did not indulge in pedophilia, but did indulge in adult homosexual activity, what is that bisop to do if Father NAMBLA theatens to expose Bishop Negligent?  Rather than risk their own position, Father NAMBLA gets switched to another parish or duty and their victims are sacrificed for their ecclesiastical careers.
The Milwaukee Diocees had a former Bishop that was forced to resign after if was found out that he was taking hundreds of thousands of $$$s from his diocees and using it as hush money to pay off another man he had a fling with in the seminary. This Bishop was corrupt on many other levels, most of which he was defiantly at odds with the Pope.

http://www.culturewars.com/2002/Weakland.html

http://www.seattlecatholic.com/article_20020607_Archbishop_Weaklands_Legacy.html
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