When I was driving to work this morning I switched on the radio to hear the news - as a journalist is want to do on her way to a newsroom - and I heard the following story regarding the Bishop of Derry Seamus Hegarty and and out of court settlement to an abuse victim.
The Catholic Church is in danger of imploding under the weight of these scandals. The thought that any men of God could think it morally, spiritually or legally acceptable to offer a £12,000 pay off to a person whose life has been destroyed through eight years of abuse sickens me to the core.
For fear of being ex-communicated (not that I hold much court with the Catholic Church these days) I'll not say entirely what I feel but such scandals, which seem to be coming out of the woodwork on an almost daily basis, are as far removed from the true meaning of Christianity as they come. These men are sinners - mark my words - and their sins are mortal sins. You know, the really bad ones. Three Haily Marys and a few Our Fathers is not going to cut it and I have no faith - no faith at all - in these people to lead my children in the Faith. Jesus said 'Suffer the little children, come onto me'. How mocking those words seem now.
But the flipside of this is how on earth could any parent accept what amounts ot hush money to cover up the abuse of their child? No amount of cash would stop me from wanting to bring the full force of the law down on anyone who dared abuse my children. No written apology, no promise that it wouldn't happen again - nothing - would stop me from dragging their sorry arses through the justice system and having them shamed for who they are.
This country I live in is seriously messed up. All I can do is shake my head in disbelief.
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2021 Review Thingo
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Belated happy new year, comrades! Here’s the thirteenth
annual instalment of Review Thingo. All previous episodes are here. 1. What
did you do in 2021 th...
2 years ago
3 comments:
I left the church years ago, Claire, when a priest said I should leave my young daughter (alone) up to the Parochial House for religious instruction. She was enrolled in a state school at the time, and therefore not getting the CC doctrine. I said I would come with her but he said I could not. I knew in my heart I couldn't leave my daughter alone with a stranger - even for faith reasons - so I declined the offer, and my daughter did not make Holy Communion, Confession or Confirmation. I've never regretted it and neither has she. My daughter is almost an adult now. We are both considering becoming Protestants - and we will select a branch of the church that ordains women.
I know exactly how you both feel girls. I am sick to the core with wave after wave of horror stories. My daughter is two years away from making her communion and I am wondering if morally I should allow her. I think it is very evident that the two most powerful churches in the world have a blatent disregard for women and their rights. The catalogues of abuse go to show how they have used this power in a perverse way. I think the time has come for people to realise that we can have all the benefits of religion by forming strong community centers and celebrating the rites of passage without so called sacraments! True spirituality is only reached from within and I am noticing a huge amount of women who have come to this realisation - especially over the last ten years or so. Activities like yoga and meditation help us to connect with spirit in the comfort of our own homes or even standing in the queue at the supermarket. It is up to us to make a brave move away from establishments that no longer serve thier people or purpose. And have the audacity to say that they are speaking for god - please! Do they really think that we are all naive little children who believe in the big bad wolf - he was there all along wearing white lacy dresses - as the present pope is so partial to????
The people running the church make Christianity seem like a pathetic religion. In fact, ever since the beginning of the church a myriad scandals have shadowed what the actual message of Christianty is suppose to be. I'm not a Christian, I'm a Muslim. And to me it doesn't seem to make sense that because of what the people of the church do, peoples' faith should be renounced.
And that just because you may hear that Muslim are nutters who have a tendency to blow people up, doesn't mean that there's it exists in Islam a right to blow people up if it's being done with a 'good purpose'.
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