Thursday, August 23, 2018

What They REALLY Mean By Clericalism!

A few days ago, Pope Francis released an open letter regarding the sex abuse scandal perpetrated most infamously by Bishop McCarrick and all too many others.  LifeSiteNews carries the full English text of that letter as well as an excellent analysis.

The pope states, without hesitation, that the culprit behind this squalid mess is...CLERICALISM!  That's right!  Nowhere in his tome is there one mention of the mortal sins of sodomy and other homosexual perversions.  To be clear, girls were victimized too, but the great bulk of the attacks - at least 75% - were carried out against post-pubescent males.  By definition, the attacks were homosexual in nature.  Also notice that while we see the words "clerics" and "priests" mentioned, there is not one instance of the word "bishop" being uttered.

I call notice to this "gem" uttered by the pope: I invite the entire holy faithful People of God to a penitential exercise of prayer and fasting, following the Lord’s command. This can awaken our conscience and arouse our solidarity and commitment to a culture of care that says “never again” to every form of abuse.

If he were directing this statement solely to the bishops and others who engaged in these crimes and/or covered them up, I'd applaud it.  But he isn't and that is one thing that demonstrates why this open letter is just another part of the "damage control".  Quite a goodly portion of the laity are aware at this time and more are opening their eyes with each passing day.  I daresay the chanceries are feeling the effects of our awareness as they see their collection revenues shrinking.  Is this an attempt to shame us into resumption of our donations - so that more lavish lifestyles and/or payouts can be financed?  The ones who need the "awakening of consciences" are those who pretend that "clericalism" is the root cause and not gay perversion.

As an aside, over twenty years ago I left a charismatic cult.  After I left, I did copious amounts of reading on cults and thought reform so that I could understand the dynamics of what happened to me as a young adult.  I learned that there are many varieties of thought-reform, and not all of them occur in the settings of a cult.  One tactic of thought-reform is known as "blaming the victim".  Basically it is used when the "leaders" of the cult abuse the rank-and-file members, and then direct them to blame the resultant pain on their own weakness, sinfulness, etc.  This screed issued by the pope reeks of that tactic.

If the pope tried delicately to shut us up, not all bishops shared his desire for tact.  Cardinal Sergio Obeso Rivera, a retired Mexican Archbishop, said some victims "who accuse men of the Church should be careful because they have long tails that are easily stepped on".  One can only hope that this is merely an attempt to embarrass the victims.  The only other possibility is that he issued a thinly-veiled threat of blackmail to the victims.  As you read that article, please note that he was created a cardinal just recently.  That means this current pope is responsible for his red hat.  One consolation is that he is over the age of 80 so he cannot participate in the next papal conclave.

Over at the Not-At-All Catholic Reporter, we see Michael Sean Winters waxing apoplectic at the "anti-gay agenda".  Of course he's always shilled for sodomy and now he's pitching a hissy-fit at the "diabolical craziness of Church Militant and others" because what we've warned about is now coming to light.  And yes, we do want gay priests out of the priesthood.   The Church, in her wisdom, has always excluded homosexuals from the priesthood, knowing that those so afflicted would be unsuited for the role of "alter Christus".  Over 75% of these assault cases are homosexual in nature, despite the denials that Winters, the pope, etc try to use.

In their rantings against "clericalism". I think the pope et al are drafting a new definition of the word (getting back to thought-reform, that is a tactic known as "loading the language").  Might that definition be "ascribing responsibility of clerical and ecclesial sins to the faithful lay Catholics in the pews"?

IMPORTANT UPDATE - The state of Illinois is following Pennsylvania's lead and launching its own investigation into the Archdiocese of Chicago.  I believe it was Chicago's Cardinal Cupich that concocted the "clericalism" schtick.  The state of Missouri will also be investigating dioceses in that state.  We might well have a RICO investigation upon us.  The bishops might be kissing those federal funds (that is, our tax dollars) goodbye - or, as Cardinal Joseph Tobin might say, "nighty-night, baby bucks!"

7 comments:

  1. Great article, Janet. I did a word count of the pope's letter -- over 2,000 words and not a one that addresses the central issue. But then, how can he? He was on his way to the world meeting of families featuring sodomy-promoting Fr. James Martin who can't wait until gay couples can kiss at the sign of peace. (As if they aren't already in all the "gay-friendly" parishes around the country. These folks want to drown us in words while they play the shell game. It's a diversion and sooooo diverting! Here's what I posted today. https://lesfemmes-thetruth.blogspot.com/2018/08/words-words-words-semantic-gymnastics.html#more

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  2. These folks never liked priests acting like priests (which would exclude them from doing homosexual acts), so they concocted the bogeyman of "clericalism" and smear anybody who demands priests act like priests (and not the poor, "wounded healers" once in vogue) as "rigid." Yep--I want priests to act like priests, not like bathhouse brothers, and I am not about to do penance for the shilling and coverups of the clerics.

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  3. But, but but........what about mercy? And accompanying? And the smell of the sheep? And climate change? And plastic straws? And open borders? And communion for the divorced and remarried? And gay marriage?

    Our Great Banana Republic Pope has given us sooooooo much more than every other Pope in the history of the Church.

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  4. This 'blaming the victim' B.S. is only going to infuriate pew sitting Catholics MORE and with even MORE determination to dig in our heels in demanding accountability and in some cases defrocking. I'm afraid his 'psychology' isn't really working very well, at least on anyone with 2 brain cells that work. It's only adding salt to the wound.

    I wish I had more hopes for the Illinois investigation uncovering 'irregularities' with Cupich, but he and Lisa Madigan are buddies in that they share the same progressive ideology.....she's also been said to be on 'very friendly' terms with the Cardinal, so I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that they have cooked up this investigation together as a 'display' of 'transparency'.....and besides that Cupich has only been a Cardinal in Chicago for about 4 years now (I believe about that long) so he doesn't have much history to go on. Cardinal George would have had more (may he RIP) and God love him, he tried, and not to grant him a complete exoneration of responsibility, but I always got the feeling that he was overwhelmed and felt he could only do so much. After all, he did take the reigns from Bernadin who was probably the worst prelate ever to grace the Church. Cardinal George was heard to have said that if he let go of all of his homosexual priests (which was well over 35%) he wouldn't have any priests LEFT to minister to anyone in Chicago. But he did take on the 'gay mafia' in Chicago, and they used to totally disrupt his Masses often at Holy Name Cathedral, even terrorizing parishioners. He also took on government officials and they would write rebuttals to him in the Chicago Tribune often.....and they were NOT very cordial. And Fr. Pfleger was suspended for his antics almost as much as he was an active Pastor. But somehow, he just wasn't tough enough. Who knows what Lisa Madigan will find but a dollar to donuts it will NOT implicate Cupich. My fear is he is a 'Teflon Don'.

    Now a RICO investigation would be wonderful and I think would cut federal dollars from going into their coffers, in fact from what I am understanding MANY federal dollars. Meanwhile we just keep standing for Christ to anyone that will listen, and keep praying!! Thanks for all you do Janet to help keep us up to date.

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  5. The rot starts with Bergolio. He is probably the last person on Earth with any sincere interest in cleaning up this mess!

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  6. Here would be a great first start to solving this homoCrisis: formally suppress Fr. James Martin, SJ.

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  7. Grand jury investigation in every state.
    Federal investigation into RICO, because this church has clearly become a criminal operation.
    Petition Congress to stop Resettlement Funds from going to the church. They are making MILLIONS and only care about Marxist immigration and climate change.
    Maybe then we'll get some respect around here. As it is they ignore our concerns or sodomized boys then tell us it's our fault.

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