Bishop says media 'unfair and unjust' on RCC handling of clerical child abuse

[SilverLining]

CATHOLIC BISHOP of Elphin Christopher Jones has accused the media of being “unfair and unjust” to the Catholic Church through a concentration on the handling by church authorities of the clerical child sex-abuse issue.

“Could I just say with all this emphasis on cover-up, the cover-up has gone on for centuries, not just in the church… It’s going on today in families, in communities, in societies. Why are you singling out the church?” he asked.

The Irish Times - Thursday, March 11, 2010
Bishop says media 'unfair and unjust'

The media are bugging them ? I don't think so. If anything the media are going easy on the RCC. If the pressure was really being brought on the RCC officials would be screaming.

This latest spin is that we were not the only group abusing children. Yes, but the RCC was in a very unusual position of trust within society and took advantage of this. These cult leaders cannot be christians by any way. How is this behaviour in any way following christian teachings ? They are acting like political or corporate leaders with damage limitation to save their own skins above all else.

First they ask their followers to bale them out and now they are trying to shift blame to anybody but the RCC. They are having a laugh or what ?

Meanwhile the victims/survivors of RCC crimes against humanity are having to live with the knowledge that their attackers/abusers were mostly not brought to justice.

[Toland]

The Irish Times - Thursday, March 11, 2010
Bishop says media 'unfair and unjust'

The media are bugging them ? I don't think so. If anything the media are going easy on the RCC. If the pressure was really being brought on the RCC officials would be screaming.

This latest spin is that we were not the only group abusing children. Yes, but the RCC was in a very unusual position of trust within society and took advantage of this. These cult leaders cannot be christians by any way. How is this behaviour in any way following christian teachings ? They are acting like political or corporate leaders with damage limitation to save their own skins above all else.

First they ask their followers to bale them out and now they are trying to shift blame to anybody but the RCC. They are having a laugh or what ?

Meanwhile the victims/survivors of RCC crimes against humanity are having to live with the knowledge that their attackers/abusers were mostly not brought to justice.

Christopher complains that not only were the Church not the only ones engaging in abuse, they were not the only ones engaging in cover up.

The moral turpitude of this attitude is breathtaking!

[edor]

I don't know of other groups who preached on no sex before marriage, gay is a sin etc. The bishop really is in an ivory tower. Every time a bishop speaks these days they damage the church more.

This says it all really: 'Bishop Jones also described the Bishop of Galway Martin Drennan, who served as an Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin for seven years during the period investigated by the Murphy Commission, as “a scholar and a holy man” and that any reference to him in the Murphy report had been positive.'

[Mitsui2]

Vinnie B showed the footage of that "press conference" (hard to dignify it with the name) last night. As his panelists agreed, it suggests that their Lordships are currently inhabiting an area somewhere slightly to the west of Lalaland.

[Toland]

Bishop: 95pc of abuse outside Church - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie

It is all cover-up. No one wants to admit in a family that there is a problem of that nature. I am not justifying it. ... Could I just say with all this emphasis on cover-up, the cover-up has gone on for centuries, not just in the church… It’s going on today in families, in communities, in societies. Why are you singling out the church?

Who the bloody hell is Christopher comparing with the institutional church?

With the wives of incestuous fathers who prefer not to know or are bullied into silence? With the communities it controlled? With the society it provided the 'moral compass' for?

Does not the Church claim some competence in the area of ethics?

[Toland]

In the next breath, they are so 'concerned' about same sex unions (between consenting adults) that they are considering challenging its constitutionality.

Have they lost all sense of perspective?

[SilverLining]

If the Irish RCC employees are coming out with this sort of stuff. What nonsense is going to be in the upcoming letter from their boss in Rome ? Let them at it. Surely their "followers" cannot take much more of this and will see the light and go elsewhere ? People continue to attend services and meanwhile this BS is coming back at them. I imagine, though, that most of the congregations are probably mostly over 50. Any time I pass churches on Sunday, this seems to be the case.

[SirHenryGrattan]

Most child abuse occurs outside the Church now because there are very few residential child institutions and those that exist are not run by the RCC. If the RCC had not been on such a mission to "save souls" for most of the last century and had not taken on responsibility for running the industrial schools they would not be in the position they are in now.

Most of the rage directed against the RCC pertains to historical crimes. I for one cannot recall a case of clerical child abuse in an RCC school or institution over the last 20 years. Even the cases in Germany date back to the 50s/60/s70s.

[gaius hippingo]

Its what you would accept from the same organisation that felt it was more important to protect its reputation than to act in the way they themselves allegedly subscribe to, namely, standing by the innocent and denouncing the 'wicked'.

The bare facts are thus; if this was a smaller sect, chances are it would be seriously monitored in future and it certainly wouldnt retain any links to childrens organisations, the fact that they are still involved in the running of schools is deeply disturbing, not least because they are still able to indulge in their desire to fill childrens heads with superstitious junk.

I truly pity anyone who has 'faith' in the Catholic Church after everything that has gone on, anyone can see that they have little interest in the teachings of Jesus Christ and every interest in continuing to wield power throughs its membership. If you truly believe people like Cardinal Connell actually care about their 'flock' need only look to see what his reaction was when he believed he wasnt being observed, namely his treatment of Andrew Madded. He nor the pope care little for the average member of Church and this is born out by their lack of empathy, sympathy or concern for abuse survivors.

[Mitsui2]

Have they lost all sense of perspective?

In order to have lost something, you must at some stage have had it in the first place, AS.

Surely you (of all people, I'm tempted to add) aren't suggesting that a sense of perspective has been one of these people's defining (or even secondary) characteristics?