I am sure that you don't know any priests on any meaningful level. I know probably 25, most from my student days, and believe they are all outstanding men, except maybe for one. When the scandals broke, I, and a lot of Catholics, thought about leaving; not that I'm much of an active member anyway. But I thought of them, and the people whose lives they improved, and I knew it was an institution worth saving. I realize that's not good enough for some of you.
Don't worry, those priests will still provide a great education your kids should you need them.
Great. Let's now make this a contest of numbers. You know "probably 25" priests and they are all great but for one. Good for you.
Let's take a look at the recent events in Philadelphia, the Pope's refusal to do anything about the priest in Wisconsin who molested about 200 deaf kids, and this recent article in the NYT magazine.
The Link
Let's put your numbers up against these numbers, shall we?
And as far as the priests providing a "great education", well, let's again take a look at reality, not biased pro-Catholic bluster.
From the well-known novelist Colm Toibin:
The sexual mistreatment and corporal punishment that went along with the code of purity were hidden in plain sight all along. A careful reader of James Joyce’s “Dubliners” knows this is part of Ireland’s cultural past, but violence in church-run schools was tolerated late into the 20th century. The novelist Colm Toibin, who was in a Christian Brothers school until age 15, told me: “At times it didn’t feel like there was a line between sexual abuse and corporal punishment. Every Friday one of the brothers would take a boy in front of the class, and whichever way he hit you he’d always put his hand on your testicles. We would laugh, but in fact you were in a permanent state of fear. I would vomit in the morning before going out to school. They would hit you across the face if you got a sum wrong. I suppose they did teach me to read and write and that I should be grateful, but I’m not.”
Don't worry, those priests will still provide a great education your kids should you need them.
Great. Let's now make this a contest of numbers. You know "probably 25" priests and they are all great but for one. Good for you.
Let's take a look at the recent events in Philadelphia, the Pope's refusal to do anything about the priest in Wisconsin who molested about 200 deaf kids, and this recent article in the NYT magazine.
The Link
Let's put your numbers up against these numbers, shall we?
And as far as the priests providing a "great education", well, let's again take a look at reality, not biased pro-Catholic bluster.
From the well-known novelist Colm Toibin:
The sexual mistreatment and corporal punishment that went along with the code of purity were hidden in plain sight all along. A careful reader of James Joyce’s “Dubliners” knows this is part of Ireland’s cultural past, but violence in church-run schools was tolerated late into the 20th century. The novelist Colm Toibin, who was in a Christian Brothers school until age 15, told me: “At times it didn’t feel like there was a line between sexual abuse and corporal punishment. Every Friday one of the brothers would take a boy in front of the class, and whichever way he hit you he’d always put his hand on your testicles. We would laugh, but in fact you were in a permanent state of fear. I would vomit in the morning before going out to school. They would hit you across the face if you got a sum wrong. I suppose they did teach me to read and write and that I should be grateful, but I’m not.”
