Yesterday in a post I indicated that I had boycotted sitting through a Catholic mass with my Mother (she had my sister attending with her) because of my disgust with the Knights of Columbus and their continued ass kissing of those who were deeply implicated in covering up the sexual abuse of children. Now another story of Church cover up and turning a blind eye has hit the press. This New York Times story (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/03/us/03jesuit.html) is sadly all too typical of the institution that brands gays as "inherently disordered" and suggests we have an evil element to us. My response is that the Church (at least under its current hierarchy) - not gays - is inherently disordered, not to mention, corrupt, greedy, and a force for hate and discord in the world in general. Here are some highlights of the Church's dirty linen (note that the Church was on notice of the problem as far back as 1969):A prominent Jesuit priest accused of sexually victimizing teenage boys who were his valets as he traveled the world leading Roman Catholic spiritual retreats was taken into federal custody yesterday in Chicago. The priest, the Rev. Donald J. McGuire, was charged by the federal authorities with traveling to Switzerland and Austria to engage in sexual conduct with a minor. Father McGuire was convicted last year of sexually abusing two high school students on trips to Wisconsin.
If convicted on the new federal charge, he could face up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Father McGuire, 77, has spent much of his career directing retreats for laypeople and members of Mother Teresa’s religious order. Victims’ lawyers released documents this week that showed that as far back as 1969 parents had contacted Jesuit officials to report that Father McGuire was behaving in sexually incorrect ways with their sons.
The order also received complaint letters from parents in 1993, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. In that time, Father McGuire traveled alone with teenagers as young as 13, usually sharing a room and often a bed, according to the affidavit unsealed yesterday.
Investigators in the United States attorney’s office in Chicago interviewed three men who said that as teenagers they traveled with Father McGuire to dozens of states and overseas, often cleaning his laundry, cooking, helping him shower and giving him massages and shots for diabetes.
They said Father McGuire repeatedly showed them pornographic magazines and movies, sexually abused them and intimidated them into remaining silent. Sometimes after the abuse, he would perform the rite of absolution. One of the reported victims said the first time Father McGuire molested him was at confession, when he was 9. The parents had considered it an honor when the prominent priest mentored their sons.
The boy who reportedly traveled with Father McGuire to Switzerland and Austria roomed with him in a Jesuit residence in Evanston, Ill., in 1999, starting at age 13, and stayed until 2003. That was one year after the Catholic bishops of the United States declared that all priests credibly accused of abuse should be removed from ministry service.
Perhaps it is because I am a parent that I find the Church's utter disregard for children and youths so abhorrent. How the Nazi Pope can carry on with his pomp and self-importance with this garbage rampant in the Church is amazing. Yet, no one in high office EVER is punished or removed from office. Ruin lives, cover up the molestation of children, and there are no consequences. Disgusting. This story makes me feel all the better for having refused to attend mass. The hypocrisy of the Catholic Church sickens me.
