@blewitt, you and I have definitely talked about this, and while I have not regularly talked about being in the seminary in my posts, I know that I have that up on my banner, so it isn't really that much of a secret. So not really on-the-spot, don't sweat that, brother.
So the first thing that I am going to do is talk about the victims of these wolves-in-sheeps-clothing. I am heartbroken that anyone has ever had to suffer such abuse, regardless of the source. I have met victims of sexual abuse and violence, and I see how it can twist someone up and, well, ruin their lives. Healing is a different course for each person, and it can take a lifetime to no longer feel like a victim but a survivor. I'm going through it, although not at the hands of clergy.
I will not waste time or insult anyone with the usual arguments, which include: (1) that was the psychology of the time period, where it was thought that they could be "cured"; (2) that was just the way things were done 30/40/50/60/70 years ago; (3) it is not only isolated to the Catholic Church. Those are not helpful, and this is about what happened with the Catholic clergy; I'm not about to start deflecting anything here. On the other, I will not roll over and play dead on this when it comes to priests and deacons who are truly innocent - painting every Catholic cleric with the same brush as these 188 is a generalization and a stereotype.
I will definitely add that the Catholic Church has taken massive steps to help prevent any of these atrocities from happening in the future. It is not a perfect system, but no system is. I can give a good example of the protection in action: there was a SNAFU with the paperwork for one of my classmates. He had passed all of his background checks in the Fall, and he is a really good guy. Between the semesters, his paperwork was misprocessed. So he was not allowed to go out and do his apostolate (internship) until he went through the documentation and criminal history review process all over again. In short, we (as a Church) are taking no chances. And I, even though I am not a cleric yet, still refuse to put myself in a position in which there can even be a question - not just for myself, but to make certain that no parent ever has to question, wonder, or fear. Good practices now, as a seminarian, mean that I will have good habits as (God willing) a priest - habits that will put the safety and protection of children above all else. Otherwise, I would be failing as a priest.
There is nothing that can justify the behavior of those 188. I offer no explanation, no justification, and no excuse - because there is absolutely none whatsoever. So please, please, please do not think that I am condoning the behavior of these men. Please do not think that I am excusing anything. Whether or not these men are truly remorseful is between them and God.
As this is being discussed often and deeply in the seminary, I can honestly say that my classmates, the classes ahead and behind us, and the priest faculty members are all sick from this. Not sick of it, as in we are sick of talking about it, let's change the subject and I promise that not a single person has said that, because we full well know the gravity of the abuse and that we are going to be looked at as if we are culpable. There is anger towards the perpetrators and profound sadness for the victims. The Catholic Church is not closing the gates after the cows have left the pen; there is a concerted effort to make certain that no one ever has to suffer at the hands of a bad clergyman, especially in so horrible a manner. And that effort is not to protect the institution, but to protect the innocent children.
tl;dr - Seminarians and priests are pissed off at the bad guys, our hearts are breaking for the victims/good guys, and we refuse to allow any more innocent victims to be hurt on our watch.
First off thank for responding brother. I know this is a super serious and touchy (no pun intended) topic. We have had our conversations and debates in the past and while we are for the most part very often full of opposing views on religion as a whole, we both respect one another enough to understand each other.
I think my main problem with it obviously besides it happening in the first place and so frequently, is the lack of any REAL SUBSTANTIAL movement by the church. Publicly they haven’t done a damn thing. Why not come clean. Rip the bandaid off and deal with the immediate pain, knowing that the healing will come later. I think people would respect it a lot more if they literally rounded up EVERYONE who is guilty and 86’d em. Let alone charges pressed and involving the law and all that. But just admit. Public statements. The pope is the head of your organization. Correct?!? Why isn’t he making a call to rid the scum?!? Why aren’t more priests outing the bad seeds ?!? This all still seems like damage control and not a real call to try to fix things. I think that’s my issue with it. I agree it will never be a perfect system but it can be a hell of a lot better than what’s happening right now. The people here are the public and almost everyone’s comment is that the church has and is still handling it. They are not really admitting there’s a problem. Unless I missed it?!? I think that’s the issue.
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I know that back in October, the Bishops in the United States were ready to make a statement, to "pull off the bandaid" as you deftly worded it. Someone stopped them, and I am not 100% certain as to why.
I know that seminarians and priests are required to report anything. I know that my home diocese (which is mapped based on geography of county and state lines) has rules in place for reporting both to the law enforcement and to the diocesan officials (in that order) to make certain that no further damage is done. Even if it turns out to be a false alarm, a miscommunication, or catching part of a conversation - if it is suspect, it is reported. More and more there are priests and seminarians who are opening their mouths when there is the slightest hint of danger to a child or to someone else. We are not hearing about it as much - either because the media ignores it, or because (and I pray to God this is the case) there are far, far less current instances that need reporting.
Granted, that does not address the meat of your question and the events and abuses that have previously transpired. The fact is that I, as a person, a Catholic, would like to see a definitive statement as well. There is a "sort of" admission that there is a problem, but there has been no concrete and definitive "YES THIS IS A PROBLEM AND HERE IS WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO (1) PREVENT IT GOING FORWARD AND (2) HELP THE VICTIMS AND (3) DEAL WITH THE WOLVES." There have been more definitive statements at the diocesan levels (think states in the nation) than from the Vatican itself, as far as I know. We are waiting to see what comes of the meeting that just took place in February (2019).
I get ya. I just think it would ultimately bode better for the Church if they just went head on and admitted, cleaned, and rebuilt.
No argument here whatsoever.