Of course the Vatican already knew this, but I suspect they understand the war being waged against the Catholic Church by secularists in politics to be even more grave than thought.
We can thank the United Nations for articulating the Global War on the Catholic Church by those country-members of the United Nations
Here is a brief snippet from AP (You can read the entire story by pressing here):
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican "systematically" adopted policies that allowed priests to rape and molest tens of thousands of children over decades, a U.N. human rights committee said Wednesday, urging the Holy See to open its files on pedophiles and bishops who concealed their crimes.
He gave his reaction to the report to Vatican Radio.
Q. What is the reaction of the Holy See to these harsh criticisms by the UN contained in this report?
The report in the concluding recommendations that the committee of the Convention on the Right of the Child that were released today point out a rather negative approach to what the Holy See has been doing and has already achieved in the area of the protection of children. The first impression is that the report in some ways is not up to date, not taking into account some of the clear and precise explanations that were given to the committee in the in the encounter that the delegation of the Holy See had with the committee three or four weeks ago. Second, I would say that there is a difficultly apparent in understanding the position of the Holy See that cannot certainly give up certain teachings that are part of their deep convictions and also an expression of freedom of religion and these are the values that in the tradition of the Catholic Church sustain the common good of society and therefore cannot be renounced, for example the committee asked for acceptance of abortion and this is a contradiction with the principle of life that the convention itself should support recommending that children be protected before and after birth. If a child is eliminated or killed we can no longer talk about rights for this person, so there is a need to calmly and in detail analyzing the recommendations proposed by the committee and provide an accurate response to the committee itself, so that there will be no misunderstanding on where we stand and the reason why we take certain positions and I would add that the practical remedies for preventing cases of abuse of children in forms of laws or decisions of Episcopal Conferences of directives for the formation of seminarians constitute a package of measures that is very difficult, I think, to find other institutions or even other states that have done so much specifically for the protection of children. So, my sense is that we have to continue to refine, to enact provisions that protect children in all their necessities so that they may grow and become productive adults in society and their dignity be constantly respected. And at the same time we have to keep in mind that even though there are so many millions, forty million cases of abuse a year regarding children and unfortunately some cases affect also Church personnel. We have to keep in mind that, we have to continue to combat this tragedy knowing that even a case of abuse of a child is a case too much.
Q. The United Nations had said that the Holy See had responded better than other countries regarding the safeguarding of children. What’s changed now?
A. The Holy See presented its report as a state like in this 65th session of the activity of the committee. The reports of Germany, the Holy See, Congo, Portugal, Russian Federation and Yemen were examined. The Holy See presented the concrete measures taken both at the level of the State of Vatican City and of the Church at large, taking into account that priests are not employees of the Pope but they are responsible citizens of the countries where they work and therefore accountable to the judicial system of those countries. The effort made was to give an objective picture of the remedies undertaken of the new steps that still are in the making like the commission announced by the Holy Father for the protection of minors and without any comparison with other states we simply say we recognize there has been a small percentage of Church personnel that have committed abuses and these are the steps taken to prevent that such abuses be made again. Maybe not all the observations in the facts have been adequately taken into account in the conclusions, so that for example the principle that the Holy See is accountable directly for the Vatican City State but not for other countries where local jurisdiction in the state authorities a responsibility and should implement and punish whoever including priests may have abused children, so that’s possibly an explanation but we need time to reflect carefully on the conclusions and recommendations of the committee and to prepare an adequate response, so that the objective may really be pursued. The Holy See is a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and intends to be faithfully carrying out all the elements of this Convention for the protection of children and this is the way toward the future and I don’t think that there will be fundamental changes in this task ahead.
Text from page http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/02/05/archbishop_tomasi_reacts_to_un_report_observations/en1-770552
of the Vatican Radio website
30 comments:
…and the Church is doing nothing to help herself...
The UN is a complete waste of time and money. Its only successful military intervention was in Korea, and this is only theoretically true, since it was a predominantly US operation. If anything its ham-fisted interference has exacerbated conflicts. The much-derided League of Nations actually had a better record.
The sad part about this is that the UN is well known for doing exactly these sorts of things. The UN is fortunate to have the Catholic Church to accuse in the eager forum of the world press to divert attention from itself. Another irony is that people, even the people being exploited by the UN, will believe what they are told and not what they see.
That being said, there is also a kernel of truth in it because there are Catholic organizations who were trusted by the Pope(s) that did, and do, this sort of thing. If there is a failing in the Church it is the expectation of humans to do the right thing without supervision or observation.
When I was a kid and we drove to Florida on vacation, there were huge billboards all along US1 and 441 thats said, "Get us out of the United Nations!" We shoulda' listened.
Of course, the UN is itself more of a source rather than a solution to the world's problems.
But it's true that the Church has failed to protect the faithful from abuse, liturgical as well as sexual, in its failure to hold bishops accountable for their failure to curb abuse by their priests.
However, the gay lobby support for this UN attack on the Church is ironic, in that the Church has persistently refused to identify the predominant nature and correct the root source of its sexual abuse problem--gay priests preying on adolescent boys. Indeed, the Church in the U.S. has been gay-friendly in its see-no-gays hear-no-gays charter and norms for protection, the "protecting God's children" sham, etc. which amount to an across-the-board attempt to evade episcopal responsibility and deflect attention from the clerical source of abuse.
Spot on, Henry!
So...President Obama is a Nazi?
The biggest war against the Catholic Church was started by the Church against herself…it was called Vatican Two. It may well have been a death blow…time will tell. The secular war against the church ain't nothin' compared to what she has done to herself.
Preacher.....Matthew 28:20.....Don't you read your Bible? Death Blow?
Anonymous, Look, kid, I have forgotten more Scripture than you'll ever know. When Jesus says, "Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world," he does not say in what form or manner He will be with us. Also, when He said that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church, He did not specify what form the Church might take in the future.
The question must be asked, "is there a point at which the Church becomes no longer the Church?" I believe that there is, theoretically, such a point. We are flirting with it now. Christ will not abandon His Church, but He may lead her into new manifestations, new forms. We need to review the life of Israel with JHWH…a twisted and tortuous path. The question I posed is an important one.
No, Anonymous, Obama is not a Nazi. The Nazi's had the overwhelming support of millions of their people. They built and maintained a military that was the best on earth to that point, an industrial behemoth that was unequaled at the time, and an infrastructure that functioned smoothly and efficiently. The Nazi's were intelligent, clever, and industrious. There was very little crime in Nazi Germany. No, Obama is certainly not a Nazi…LOL!
(Now, before you go calling me a neo-Nazi, I believe that Hitler and his minions were an evil abomination…just like I believe about Obama. He is just an inept one.)
(Former) preacher....I'm not a kid. I'm probably old enough to be (God forbid) your daddy. You have no idea how much Scripture I know. You're babbling. You seem very defensive and insecure...
So, how old are you Anonymous. You sound like a kid…I thought you might be a college sophomore from your comments on here. I'm 63. No, the question I raised is not "babbling." It is a very real theological question. You might want to consider it.
There was s NO point at which the Church will cease to be the Church. For this to come to pass, it would be necessary for Christ who said, "I will be with you always..." to abandon the People of God.
The Church will not be killed. She will continue. We may not be around to see it if we continue as we are. And Her appearance may seem foreign to us because we have strayed.
Obama is not a Nazi but it would be a great step for him to see how much like them he behaves and even better if he would be ashamed of it. He is a Fascist, which is bad enough with foreigners, but is damnable with his own people.
And Anon, if you really were old enough to be Gene's daddy your posts would be in cuneiform.
"There was very little crime in Nazi Germany"....if you don't count Buchenwald...and all of the other death camps. In fact, however, some were in Poland...and other places across the borders. "LOL".
Funny how the UN doesn't lecture Islam, Evangelical Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism or any other religion that they must change their beliefs to suit the UN.
The U.N. report completely ignores recent strides by the Church with regard the protection of children. Neither does it acknowledge current safeguards, now in placed, wherein all individuals who work with children in any capacity (paid and volunteer) must comply with, and certification complete.
Further, it ignores vast areas where no such improvements or safeguards have been made or put in place.
http://www.themediareport.com/fast-facts/
Gene well said, Vatican II and the destruction of The Traditional Latin Mass and sacraments were the beginning of he end. Without The Mass of All Times the Church is defenseless.
And will bishops like Dolan and O'Malley, and Wuerl stand up and defend the Faith, or will their desire for compromise at any cost contribute to this war on Christ and His Church?
You guys don't read too well. The question as to whether there is a point at which the Church is no longer the Church has been posed by many theologians who know far more than you and I. Perhaps I should qualify the question by stating it this way, "Is there a point at which the Church, as she exists today, becomes no longer the Church?" Anyway, the issue has come up before…like back in 1518, with disastrous results. Christ will not abandon the people of God, but He could well discipline the Church by leading the people of God down another road.
Now, it should not require too much imagination to come up with several scenarios in which this question might become rather immediate….look around…Priests like Ignotus are one of the symptoms and signs of a Church that is weak and straying.
The stated purpose of VCII was to increase the Gospel holiness of Catholics and Catholic institutions, and to bring the whole world into communion with the Catholic Church. We evaluate our progress according to these goals, goals which are meant to foster hope, not pessimism.
The stated purpose of the UN is to prevent war, protect human rights, enforce treaties and develop nations. I think the UN has a hard time understanding the nature of the Catholic Church beyond the Vatican City State, but the UN is right to demand more responsible efforts to protect children from abusive priests and religious. The Church can speak more convincingly about abortion, contraception and homosexuality once she is seen to take consistently effective action to protect those vulnerable to priestly abuse.
Pater Ignotus said "there was a NO point at which the Church will cease to be the Church".
Was he referring to the Novus Ordo?
Sorry, Pater, you know that I am well aware of what you are referring to, and I am being jocular. I'm genuinely sorry for those who are so far up their own arses that they have lost all sense of humour. Humour does have a habit of illuminating underlying truths, which Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope knew full well.
Dam, said Tom grandly and cooly......
The Church in (not "of") England is an example of what can happen to the Church under the weight of an aggressive state. It did survive, but largely boosted by 19th and 20th century migration from Ireland and some conversions from Protestant communities. Mexico and Ireland are good examples of successful resistance, with Mexico resisting for seven decades and Ireland for four centuries. God bless them.
What will become of us? I think Southern Catholics will fair better than our Northern brethren, since we have a longer history of survival in an unfriendly, and at times outright hostile, religious culture.
For 2000 years the Catholic Church has weathered all manner of heresies, schisms and persecutions.
In Japan for instance,it was virtually wiped out, yet survived as a hidden underground church
of lay persons for two centuries until it was finally allowed to come out of hiding in the
19th century. Is there any place in the world where the Catholic Church was able to be established that it does not still exist in some form or fashion? I just happen to believe that it will still be here until the end of time.
I like to compare the Church to something we in the South know all too well - Kudzu. So far it has
survived all efforts to wipe it out.
No new posts? What's happened to Fr. McDonald? Did the CIA find out about this post?
Waiting in long line at space mountain, Disney world!
Have you got through the line yet? =)
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