Catholic Church, in Today's News 03.10.10

Catholic Church. The current phase of the sexual abuse charges against the Church is developing very rapidly and, for the Church, in an alarming direction. Precious little time remains for the Church leaders to formulate a response that will prevent extensive damage to the authority of the Church.

The current situation began when charges of sexual abuse were made in Germany, in particular in a choir which the Pope's brother lead. The brother responded by saying that it all occurred before he got there and that he would be willing to testify. Then a day later, he admitted that he had slapped (repeatedly) children in the choir as a punishment.

The Church and Christ-haters who are organizing the international campaign of sexual abuse against the Church could not be happier. And they have jumped on their new opportunity with a zeal.

The forces behind the attack now have the Papacy squarely in their crosshairs. Plus, they have the opening to escalate the sexual assault charges to physical abuse charges. Thus a whole new round of charges, legal suits, and settlements looms in country after country on the physical abuse allegations.

Many forces are being brought into the attack. The Times-on-Line article yesterday referred to the "pervasive culture of violence at Roman Catholic institutions." The article continued by quoting the brother as saying he knew of "a reign of terror" by the headmaster of the choir's school from 1953 to 1992. The brother admitted he had done nothing about it.

The German government has gone so far as to accuse the Vatican of suppressing the truth about the abuse. The Times-on-Line article claims that liberal German Catholics "have questioned how much the Pope knew of sexual abuse in his country's Church when he was professor of theology in Germany in the 1960s -- including a stint in Regensburg -- and Archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1971 to 1982."

More accusations are sure to fly in the next period of time. One can be certain that it is well known now that anyone who can come forward with a credible charge has a large pot of money awaiting him.

The Church leaders have followed a policy of appeasement as the sexual abuse allegations have appeared in country after country. But those who are directing the campaign against the Church are un-appease-able. They take appeasement to be a sign of weakness, a sign that they should escalate their efforts. And now they have the golden opportunity to start their campaign all over again in country after country on the physical abuse charge. Plus they now believe they have a good chance of pinning something on Pope, whether true or not.

The Church leaders had better think and act quickly, because this tsunami is growing and fast-approaching the Vatican. Appeasement hasn't worked and certainly won't work here. Pray that the Church leaders realize the situation they are in and take the appropriate measures to defend the Church.

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BTW, the Pope's brother is quoted "I myself handed out slaps repeatedly, although I always had a bad conscience about it." It is absolutely astounding that a leader of the Church would admit to defying his conscience. It's one thing for a member of the faithful to have a tough time following one's conscience, but a leader of the Church is another matter. Then, to admit it. Oh, my goodness. Pray for the Pope's brother.