In a packed sanctuary that held hundreds, Father Mike, as he was known, stood before the congregation he had led for a dozen years. Reading from a statement, he told them that 19 years ago he had “transgressed the personal boundaries of an adolescent.” (Only later would it emerge that the diocese knew he, in fact, had been accused of sexual misconduct with several other children.)
With the diocese’s zero-tolerance policy now in place, he said he was being forced to step down. The tone of his statement made him sound like a martyr—someone who had been kicked out of ministry for a single mistake, a simple boundary violation—nearly two decades ago. As he read his short statement, the parishioners sat in stunned silence. Some women fished in their purses for tissues to wipe away their tears. As Father Mike walked out of the church, the congregation rose and gave him a standing ovation….
When the applause started, my first reaction was disbelief. A standing ovation? Though the language softened the act, I had just heard this priest admit that he had molested a minor. Diocesan officials had kept the information secret from the parishioners of San Francisco Solano, who until now would never have thought twice about leaving their children in the pastor’s charge.
As a parent, my response was outrage and disgust. Imagine that a beloved schoolteacher who had taught your children had admitted to once sexually molesting a child but the school district never called the police, kicked him out or bothered to tell the parents. Would you rally around the teacher? Or would you be angry that a predator was left in a position of great trust with easy access to children—without your knowledge? I’d guess that the school superintendent would be forced to resign under pressure from parents—and face criminal charges for aiding and abetting a criminal.
—William Lobdell, Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America-and Found Unexpected Peace (2009), p. 152-3
Only in a church would a child molesting priest get a standing ovation.
Catholics are weird that way (I can say from personal experience). When molestation charges come out, they will almost universally support the accused priest instead of the victim. It’s disgusting, really.
There is a Catholic church in my area where a priest was arrested on child pornography charges. The charges were just a formality – there was no explaining all the kiddie porn on his computer away. The church still rallied around their pastor and tried to defend him as if it wasn’t a big deal. Sick, sick, sick.
This is what happens when an institution is more important that truth, honesty, and integrity.
As I have blogged previously (here), there doesn’t seem to be anything that people won’t choose to ignore in order to maintain their cherished fantasies. Roman Catholics are hardly the only exemplars of this tendency, but they sure do make this denial of reality easy to spot.
Only in a church would a child molesting priest get a standing ovation.
I’m not so sure. The situation with Roman Polanzki has some similarities, and there seem to be a number of people who would give Polanski such an ovation.
I tend to think it’s the standard “us vs. them” problem. If you’re one of us, we sympathize with you. You made a mistake, and we all make mistakes. It’s time to heal and move on, etc. etc.
It’s a different story if you’re one of “them”. If it’s your kid who gets busted for possession, then the poor child made some bad choices and fell into the wrong crowd and now they need support and therapy. If it’s some other kid, then he’s likely a hooligan and should be shuffled off to prison immediately.
The priest was one of “us”, part of the family or part of the tribe. He gains extra points for giving a (semi) confession. So the response was to close ranks around him, protect and support him.
I agree the tribe mentality is the main reason for this kind of perplexing behavior.
I also think there’s an element of denial in it. The priest’s actions implicates the institution of which the congregation is part, as well as leaving a taint on their religion in general. By showing support for the priest they’re also, more or less consciously, attempting to assuage the niggling voice in the back of their heads that causes them to doubt the morality and values of what they hold sacred.
But. A standing ovation. Fuck!
Excellent point VorJack. It has more to do with group identity. Just look at the way Democrats cover for Charlie Rangel and Republicans cover to John Ensign.
http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/07/why-hasnt-sen-john-ensign-resigned/
http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/08/why-do-house-democrats-still-support-charlie-rangel/
Not exactly a standing ovation, but I’m sure you’ll find that in cases of sexual misconduct, wives stand by their husbands almost all the time.
I’m all for forgiveness. I’m even more for making sure it never happens again.
The problem is that Catholics pretty much cannot say or do anything about it, and remain on a sound doctrinal footing. The hierarchy is right … always right. If the bishop says the sky is red, not blue, Catholics are not permitted say he’s wrong and that it’s still blue. That champion of Catholic orthodoxy, St Ignatius Loyola, laid down this principle in his Spiritual Exercises: “To be right in everything, we ought always to hold that the white which I see, is black, if the Hierarchical Church so decides it” (13th Rule).
This is not to say that some Catholics haven’t balked. The lay organization Voice of the Faithful has spoken out on the issue of priestly pedophilia. But there just aren’t enough Catholics willing to cross their clergy and the Church hierarchy, to coerce any change. So long as enough of them consent to this behavior … and applaud a priest who’s been run out of his job for abusing children (by his own admission) … the rest will fell compelled to go along and will not say anything about it.
You must remember two things….1-The label ‘priest’ carries a special aura about it that cause most to not think bad about it. and 2-The jew-xtian-islamic B.S. DOES NOT CARE ABOUT CHILDREN!!!!! Don’t believe me? Read the BuyBull and that other piece of ass-wipe. They killed kids right and left and not for any real reason either. Look at the crap that has been on the blogs about the Xtian and islamic child killers, they have a slap on the wrist, if that, and people are sorry the healing prayers did not work or their daughter was acting improper. I know what penalty he would get if it was my kid he messed with, and no killing is TOO good for him, but he would not be a man anymore either.
Sorry must have hit the button.
This was a secular government ruled by law. The law says statutory rape is a crime, go to jail.
why is it the priest are not in jail??? Hence the last sentence above.
I find a Priest violating our children a crime and they should be punished.
I also find it a crime, when Catholics bash the entire Catholic church for the acts of some deranged men. Is the church at fault for many things, yes, they are. However, there is not a single religion on this planet that has not had some person take advantage of their young in some way shape or form. Through sex, murder, heresy.
The church has cloister nuns, why not send all of the Priests that commit these acts into a cloistered way of living, never to be seen around a single child ever again? It is also the main reason I do not want Priest to marry, to many chances of problems there with the kids the troubled ones would produce. Instead, of bashing the Catholic church as a whole or their people, one should stand back, and just speak the truth when they see it. I would have been asked to leave during that standing ovation. I would have shouted, “Why are you standing for him, as if he were a martyr? He molested children here.” The problem is we tend to keep silent on things we should say in front of our own congregations for fear of what others might think of us. Even Jesus, shouted at the Temple. If he had done something like that in our generation, he would have been arrested. Just something to think about.
A Catholic standing up for their Church and for their PEOPLE.
I also find it a crime, when Catholics bash the entire Catholic church for the acts of some deranged men.
Ordinarily it is not reasonable to condemn the many for the actions of the few. But the question here is not whether or not there are a “few bad apples” in the bunch. The question is, has the entire bunch actually covered up for and sanctioned the the badness of the few?
I submit that applause for a confessed child abuser does constitute wider institutional approval for said abuser … and that, in turn, means that it is reasonable to condemn the institution — for approving of that behavior, if nothing else.
The church has cloister nuns, why not send all of the Priests that commit these acts into a cloistered way of living, never to be seen around a single child ever again?
Why not indeed? The Church does, as it turns out, have cloisters for men as well as for women. (They’re usually called “monasteries.”) In the Middle Ages, clergy were occasionally disciplined by being placed in forced-cloister (essentially they became prisoners in a monastery). I have no problem with this on its face, however, in our culture, criminal justice is carried out by secular authorities, the Church no longer has exclusive jurisdiction over its clergy. (Yes, I know, they would like it to be otherwise … but it’s still not the case.)
It is also the main reason I do not want Priest to marry, to many chances of problems there with the kids the troubled ones would produce.
Although the association between forced celibacy and abuse like this is often made by the Church’s critics, I’m not sure celibacy is even the problem. The chief problem for the institution is the covering up, not the celibacy.
The problem is we tend to keep silent on things we should say in front of our own congregations for fear of what others might think of us. Even Jesus, shouted at the Temple.
Yes … so why do so few Catholics refuse to follow his example and do the same? You’re essentially saying their own religion requires it of them. I tend to agree. That they don’t, makes these people into hypocrites … professing to hold standards that they refuse to put into action themselves. Jesus explicitly condemned hypocrisy, however.
If he had done something like that in our generation, he would have been arrested. Just something to think about.
If the gospels are to be believed, he was arrested because he dared condemn the authorities of his own time. So if he were to live now, and be arrested now, I don’t see how things would be any different. (Except that under modern systems of law, the chances of his preaching being enough to merit capital punishment are small … and even if it were to come to that, he certainly would not be crucified.)
A Catholic standing up for their Church and for their PEOPLE.
It may not seem fair, but the Catholic Church is nothing without the PEOPLE that make it up. If they rise up against the hierarchy’s behavior, the hierarchy will have no choice but to capitulate. This really is in the hands of all of Catholicism’s laypersons. They either have the courage to do something to stop the abusers … or they’re cowardly and instead applaud them.
Thankfully I’m no longer a Catholic, so that’s not a moral choice I’d have to make. Catholics will have to make it for themselves, and in so doing, show us how much — or how little — character and integrity they have.
The RCC aids and covers for the “deranged” men. It’s a nice notion that the RCC is “nothing without the people that make it up”; but that’s not true, it’s run by an official hierarchy that commits a crime arguably more heinous than the child molesters’: protecting them.
“However, there is not a single religion on this planet that has not had some person take advantage of their young in some way shape or form. Through sex, murder, heresy.”
How can you write that and continue to think that religion is good for the world?
The church has cloister nuns, why not send all of the Priests that commit these acts into a cloistered way of living, never to be seen around a single child ever again?
Or, y’know, prison. I think that would work better.
I also find it a crime, when Catholics bash the entire Catholic church for the acts of some deranged men.
The church engaged in a systematic cover-up of hundreds of thousands of crimes. That’s literally Organized-Crime-with-a-capital-Tony-Soprano territory. On this one, they deserve bashing, and how.
This, but present tense. They are only backing down (a little! so little) because of external pressure.
This is almost always the case. The church stands up for the power structure and against human rights. They (mostly) fought abolition, women’s suffrage, civil rights, rights for children, and now gay rights. It is only when secular pressure causes a paradigm shift that the church “changes” their position – and then tries to tell us they ALWAYS supported the cause of the poor and disenfranchised. They are truly wizards of revisionist history. I love my parents dearly, but they are as guilty of this as any christians.
Or, y’know, prison. I think that would work better.
“Yes, prison would work and I agree. But as you and I know, he would be out with good behavior in no time flat. So get over yourself. He would then return to his Priestly duties…IN A CLOISTERED AREA.
I also find it a crime, when Catholics bash the entire Catholic church for the acts of some deranged men.
The church engaged in a systematic cover-up of hundreds of thousands of crimes. That’s literally Organized-Crime-with-a-capital-Tony-Soprano territory. On this one, they deserve bashing, and how.
Let me guess going back to the religious wars over many centuries ago? I wish people who call themselves CHRISTIAN of any kind could get their own heads up out of their intellectually enlightened egos. It is a wonder why ALL CHURCHES FAIL!
Another lesson Christ showed
Jesus said:
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
I wasn’t talking about history. I have no interest in trying people for the crimes of their ancestors. The crimes we’re talking about happened now, or very recently past.
Do not judge, or you too will be judged
That’s one big pile of BS. I’ll be a judgmental bustard and say that child molesters should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law even if they are priests and I fully accept that if I ever molest a child people can and should judge me. The point behind a modern rule of law type legal system is not to avoid judgment but to ensure that every one is judged according to the same standards.
If you believe that Jesus doesn’t want you to judge anyone, fine. But for everyone else, there’s the legal system which I think has a lot of potential.
Yeah, the old “Judge not, lest ye be judged yourself” is a nice reminder about the danger of hypocrisy, but as a basis for a legal system it’s simplistic nonsense.
Hi Lisa, The problem / strength of the Bible/Talmud/Koran etc is that it (they) say so many (crazy) things that something can be taken out of anywhere to justify anything: ‘an eye for an eye’ vs. ‘turn the other cheek’ etc.
Religion provides a framework for self interested people to do pretty much as they please and then justify it with the right passage of …….. ‘our Holy teachings say’……..
If you buy into those holy teachings its very difficult to condemn someone from your ‘sect’ who has used this justification. After all, wasn’t there incest in a cave with minors earlier in the same darned book? As I recall the guilty party is now a Saint?
How good is that!
Even more proof that they are not worshipping a god but Satan pretending to be a god.
Not really: Catholic doctrine generally states that individuals must inform their own conscience, but in questions of faith and morals they must be “guided” by the Church’s teaching. Not that that has stopped the bishops from giving politicians a belt of the crozier (to use a treasured Irish phrase) when they felt they could get away with it. The last time I saw it done was here in Ireland in the 1980s when they flat-out ordered people to vote No in a referendum on divorce. They got away with it then but lost 6 years later when we straggled into the 20th century.
The Church has lost moral authority and most of its political clout here now. If a priest is accused of assaulting kids or anything like there may be some of the ‘us-v-them’ sort of support, but the litany of admissions and apologies has become so droningly regular that almost nobody gives them the benefit of the doubt.
Not really: Catholic doctrine generally states that individuals must inform their own conscience, but in questions of faith and morals they must be “guided” by the Church’s teaching.
That sounds very nice, but in the “real world” it just does not happen. As I pointed out — using the quotation from Loyola — Catholics are required to obey the hierarchy at all times and accept their word as true, no matter what.
The Church has lost moral authority and most of its political clout here now.
I can only hope that’s true. Not being in Ireland I haven’t heard everything about the recent findings … but what I have heard suggests the Church has been nowhere near as remorseful as it should have been. Even in light of the report … which is staggering … they haven’t done much more than just say, “We’re sorry.” For an organization that claims to be the sole arbiter of morality in the world, that is disgustingly inadequate.
I hate to point it out but here in the ‘States we heard similar talk. “The Church has lost its credibility” and all of that. Far from being discredited, the RC Church here in Connecticut at least has become more militant than it has been in recent memory, and is dabbling in politics as never before. And it’s winning. They’ve engaged in a great deal of push-back in light of the pedophilia scandal, and have largely succeeded.
I expect something similar to happen in Ireland in the next year or two. Expect the RC Church to be more, not less, influential than it had been before the report was released. These people know how to play the game of political activism, and they play to win.
Allow me to amend my 10/12/09 9:47pm comment: A better link to information about the Catholic Church’s political activism in Connecticut, can be found here.
“Jesus said:
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Its amazing how they get this all wrong!!!!!
‘As you judge-…….’ Great!!! I judge the child raper to have his balls cut off!!!
‘you will be judged……….’ Great!!! next time I RAPE A CHILD then cut my balls off!!! as I have judged. When those con artist preachers condemn something remember they are judging as they wish to be judged!!! So the next time one of those JCI (Jew-Christian-Islamic) preaches says gay is bad – stone them and they get caught doing the gay then lets get the stoning started. Whoops- forgot JCIs are cowards.
I started calling them JCIs because fundamentalist jews-christians-islamics are all the same they HATE and FEAR everything – mostly themselves and show me a basic difference between the wholey books?
#
Jude
October 13, 2009 at 11:16 am
“However, there is not a single religion on this planet that has not had some person take advantage of their young in some way shape or form. Through sex, murder, heresy.”
How can you write that and continue to think that religion is good for the world?
The reason I have no problem still calling myself a Catholic, much less attend Mass from time to time, is because I do not base my FAITH on the people. I choose to believe in the Supreme. One of my favorite sayings that I am often quoted saying to fellow Catholics/Christians.
Lord, Save me from your people.
People are human, and as humans we fail daily. I do not base my FAITH in what people do or say. Not to mention… I KNOW TRUTH when I hear it. I also know BS when I hear it.
Do I have problems with people just being Christian and never going to church…not one bit. Why? because for many on this planet a church does not do it for them. I have NO issue with that as long as they continue to seek TRUTH. Instead people try to only hear what they want to hear, and that includes those that wish to never seek a supreme being. Even severe hardcore Atheist have FAITH…There FAITH is the sum of Nothing…They believe in NOTHING and are advocates for others to believe that too. It is rare, but I know that some Atheist have no problem with others believing in whatever they do, but for the most part, they tend to look at those that believe in anything as idiots.
Do I believe that many of our troubles are based on Religion? Yes, I do. I believe MAN as a whole are to be blamed for it. I think to many people read the bible LITERALLY and Not Metaphorically or as a Parable, such as many of them were meant. If we take the bible literal in many of its basic scripture we would all be blind and deaf. Genocide would have taken place many times by now barely leaving any soul on this planet.
Do I believe that people should pay for the crimes that they commit? Yes.
We do not live in a Utopian world, and as my belief, which I do not push on anyone…I believe that Utopia will not happen until Jesus comes back. Again, these are MY beliefs. I did not even realize that this website belonged to a once evangelical christian. I stumbled on it, and gave a fast view….I have no problems with people believing what they believe at all. I just get disheartened that people, IHMO, get sucked into the negativity of religion and can’t see passed it for what I believe the core of it is. Jesus prayed outside, and silently, who am I to question where one may worship or not. Jesus, said (and I am paraphrasing) look under a rock and you will find me.
I look for Christ in every person that I meet. I know where he is and where he is not.
As I stated the priest that was the topic of all of this…he should be punished, and it should not be allowed that the church cover it up…does it happen? Yes. Many cry out against these travesties, and I am one of them. I also know the good that churches can do for many. So, I am not wrong to still believe in my Religion….but more importantly in my FAITH. I do not seek acceptance from man, but from God. Period.
“I KNOW TRUTH when I hear it. I also know BS when I hear it.”
Then you are the first human in history with this amazing power. Why are you wasting your time here when there are so many unsolved crimes?
Go, for the good of the city! Go!