“Dear Catholic Church Are You Kiddin’ Me?” by Tim Whitaker for Philly Mag’s The Philly Post, May 19, 2011
“Those of us who were around remember those crazy swinging ‘60s. Anomie. Revolution. Acid. Hendrix. Joplin. Time has come today. Give peace a chance. Can I have a hit of that?
Oh, so very stressful, all that stoppin’ the war stuff. It fired you up, made you want to go out and, oh, I don’t know, molest some little boys. You know, just to cut the edge.
You sad sons of bitches. Is nothing too shameless for you Church bosses?” – Tim Whitaker
My two-cents:
There is no amount of stress or isolation that would cause me to sexually abuse a minor. There is no amount of explicit pornography or free love thinking that would make me find a child sexually attractive. Pedophilia or sex abuse has and always will be deviant. Criminals in jail kill other inmates who harm children – even in the 60s and 70s. It’s basic human instinct to protect children. What could over ride that? Money and power, perhaps.
“But all that is dwarfed by the arrogance and righteousness of pitiful Church leaders who still refuse to put the blame where it belongs: on their own sorry criminal asses.”
From Philadelphia Magazine article by
Tim Whitaker (twhitaker@mightywriters.org) is the executive director of Mighty Writers, a nonprofit program that inspires city kids to write.
Mr. Whitaker, since you share the same exacting elementary Catholic education as this writer, do you think we might want to “diagram” this sentence of yours above?
I am a child of the sixties. What I remember is some great activism on the part of the clergy like the Jesuit Berrigan brothers’ opposition to the war and Martin Luther King’s inspiring words and actions against racial intolerance and on behalf of civil rights. The John Jay study is just another example of the Catholic Church’s refusal to face reality and deal directly with the clergy sexual abuse problem which no doubt continues to this day. Survivors of sexual abuse don’t need to hear more excuses and self proclaimed statements of “mission accomplished”.
THANK YOU!!! This is pathetic! (The results of the Study).
If the 60’s & 70’s are really to blame…then please tell me why the sexual abuse and molestation of innocent children is overwhelmingly prevalent in the Catholic Church? Every profession, every religion, every walk of life has men that grew up in the 60’s & 70’s…..
The list of crimes and sins continue to grow. Sick and Shameful.
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. right
The ‘rcc’ has fallen into a pit of quicksand and the more they try to escape the enabling and sexual abuse of children the DEEPER they SINK !!!!!!
If this whole thing wasn’t so tragic, that would be a real LOL article.
By the way, just to be clear, I was referring to the original article, from the Inquirer regarding the results of their “study”, that’s the LOL one.
It is a ploy that is as old as life it self – someone else made me do it – it is sombody else’s fault – psychologists call it projection – The Vatican needs to “man up” and take full, unqualified, no excuses, no fault finding responsibility – no blaming the victim.
Those at the top, the man in charge, needs to come clean and say it happened on my watch and on the watch of my predecessors – “We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” “In as much as we have done it unto the least of these, we have done it unto You.”
If God really exists, do those in the Vatican really believe that He accepts this flim-flam of mewling pathetic excuses?
Reid
i think the people in charge,the ones that are supposed to take the place of Jesus,are trying to redirect the cause of the problem.the problem is out in the open,all i am asking is for complete honesty and stop covering it up.if they want to consider independent advisory and psychiatric help that is a good thing as at least they are talking about it even if it seems that talking is all they ever do.im looking for the opening of the records.how can i go to confession when the person on the other side wont be honest.
Members of the Curia tried to get some milage out of “homosexuality as a case,” then, with the help of former PA congressman Rick Santorum, that it was due to the lax morals of those in New England. Then the pope came out with the “devil made them do it” scenario. Now it’s the 60s? When was Woodstock, 1968? So do intend to blame the abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults in the 1950s on “the Red Scare?” Might as well blame the actions of predatory priests in the 1930s on the “Great Depression.”
And just where does the John Jay Report place the blame for the bishops actions in protecting sexual predators, intimidating and harassing victims and their families in the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc., or wasn’t that in what they were supposed to look into seeing as they were being paid by the very organization they were investigating?
Sister Maureen Paul Turlish, SNDdeN
Victims’ Advocate
New Castle, Delaware & Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
maturlishmdsnd@yahoo.com
..chill people.. with each passing day the catholic church becomes more and more irrelevant.. they know it.. you also should know it..
..doubt my words?? speak to most young people, the future of the church, and ask how many faithfully attend church on a weekly basis.. half of them will give you a puzzled look if you ask if they honor Holy Days of Obligation..
..so my friends, that music you’ll soon be hearing will be that of a fat lady singing.
This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. What do acid, rock and roll, and consentual casual sex have to do with child molestation? There are millions of people who have tried acid, enjoy Hendrix and have had casual sex who, no matter how much they dabbled in any or all of these things, have never even thought of harming a child, let alone molesting one. What a strange diatribe.
Either way, child molestation is awful, rotten, and evil.
Jake, the writer is being very sarcastic to prove your very point.
It is my first time I stop by here. I came across so many interesting stuff in your site especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your reports, I guess I’m not the only one having all of the excitement here! Keep up the good work.
The Church created its own problem. Much of the cause can be traced to the permissiveness, liberalism and lack of discipline fostered by Vatican II (1962-1965).