I'm putting this here because of the nature of this topic. Here is a link to an article describing information in documents recently released by the Boston courts, showing that high officials in the diocese, including Cardinal Law, knowingly placed priests accused of sexual abuse in positions where they would be in contact with children. This is such an infuriating and upsetting situation.

http://my.netscape.com/corewidgets/news/story.psp?cat=51180&id=200212040532000197774

If you can't use this link, try going to www.netscape.com and see if the article is on that page.

By Angellew on Wednesday, December 4, 2002 - 09:34 am:

This whole situation is so upsetting for everyone, but has been especially difficult for me and my family. I grew up in Boston, in a large italian family, whose life very much included the church. I remember going to Sunday school every week as a child, receiving all the sacraments, and, even going through the "I want to be a nun" thing after I saw "Song of Bernadette" for the first time. Priests were almost part of the family!

It wasn't until I was in my 20s that I started questioning the church. Not for this particular reason, but others. I stopped going to church and wasn't married in one. Now, with the news filled with all of this, it has only reaffirmed my contempt for organized religion. I believe there is a higher power and I serve him in my own way. I pray, I try to live a good life, and will instill those things into my daughter. I agonized over whether or not to have her christened. In the end, we did. Truthfully, I don't know where I will go from here, with myself or my daughter. The catholic church in Boston has proved themselves to be little more than a ring of sexual predators, covering up and lying for each other and ignoring the suffering they have and continue to cause. They are everything the church is suppose to be against.

By Pammyt on Wednesday, December 4, 2002 - 11:44 am:

I worked for the Archdiocese of Boston for over 7 years. Used to direct the Daily Live TV Mass from the Cardinals residence in Brighton every morning, Monday thru Friday. I knew the man on a personal basis. Would see him just about every morning, sometimes grab some coffee in the kitchen before the Mass started. He even asked for an invitation to my wedding!

On a personal level, Cardinal Law is not a bad guy. But if you think on a business level, I think he has VERY poor judgement. Mind you... I am no way sticking up for the man. I agree what was done, was very, very wrong.

By Palmbchprincess on Wednesday, December 4, 2002 - 12:31 pm:

I have never been fond of the Catholic church and it's ideas. I was raised Methodist and now agree with Angellew on organized religion. My beliefs are beside the point, because what they church did was unforgivable. We wouldn't stand for a molester cover up in our school, but this is ok? The church is supposed to be held to a higher standard. I think what went on to cover it up is criminally negligent and should be treated as so.

By Feona on Wednesday, December 4, 2002 - 05:04 pm:

I am very uneducated about this controvesy. I guess I can't deal with the details of something so horrible.

I don't know what to say...

There was a bishop here in Long Island that spent a million dollars on his home remodel....

Hmmm.. Well I guess you alway have to seperate your personal relationship with God and always infallable people....

I hear that people have stopped giving to the RC Church and would rather give to something like a charity where the money goes to helping improve people's lifes like Covent House.

By Ginnyk on Wednesday, December 4, 2002 - 06:21 pm:

The gist of it, Feona, is that in the Boston Diocese and others, when priests were accused of molesting children, the Diocesan officials (and, it appears, with the knowledge of the Bishop or Cardinal at least part of the time) first moved the priest to another location and then tried to get the family to refrain from filing charges with the police, and often money was paid to the families. Some of these priests molested children in several different parishes and were transferred each time to a new parish. And, no reports were made to civil or police authorities. The Boston church officials resisted releasing documents sought in civil suits (not criminal), but the court ordered the documents turned over to the plaintiffs, and when the diocese tried to have the documents kept under seal so they could not become public knowledge, the court ordered that they be made available to the public.

I am not anti-Catholic, but I strongly believe that these accusations (and proof) of child abuse and official coverups have done and will continue to do great harm to the church in this country. It doesn't help that the Pope and the rule-makers in Rome appear to fail to understand how much the U.S. people hate secret governance and rules which appear to favor those who have been molesters. The church says it is a principal of the church to forgive, but that should not mean that a man is allowed to remain a priest or that he should continue to be in places where he can attempt to molest other children.
Certainly in Boston many of the faithful are not giving to the church as they have in the past, and are sending money directly to charitable programs.
I don't know what the end results will be, but these revelations of coverups and tolerance for child abusers has certainly damaged the church greatly. Which is a shame, because in so many ways the Catholic Church has done so many good things and, I am sure, will continue to do so.

I think it is almost inevitable that men who are potential child abusers will be drawn to places where they can have access and become trusted figures, and ministry is certainly one of those places. Where the church went so badly wrong was in the coverups and transfers of accused priests to other parishes, without serious investigations, and also failing to report to civil or police authorities when accusations were made. I do not believe that persons in authority over someone who is accused should be the persons deciding whether an accusation is well-founded, which is what happened.

By Mechelle on Wednesday, December 4, 2002 - 09:17 pm:

I have read articles so many times in the newspaper about these Catholic Preists doing these sick sexual acts to kids.
It just turns my stomach, you send your kids to chucrch trusting that they will be ok...and then this starts to happen.
I have never really beagain to fully undertstand the Catholic religion. And now, I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend anyone, but since this all has came about, I don't care for the Catholic churches.
It's even happened here, in the small little towns that you would never believe something as this would happen. People started to let *their skeletons* out of the closets and tell, men that are now 40-50 years old, was sexually abused when they were 10 or so, through the Priests.
I serve God the way that I was raised. I try to live right, but it dosne't always happen that way.
I was telling Dh, it's scary to send your kids to church nowdays, not really truly knowing if they are in good hands or not.
Someone that you really think that would not ever betray you, does something as sick as this.
The way I see it, they will go to hell.

By Angellew on Thursday, December 5, 2002 - 09:37 am:

Yesterday, the Boston Archdiocese was granted permission to declare bankruptcy. This still needs to be granted by Vatican, as well. They feel as though this may be the only way to get out from under the more the 450 civil suits they have pending against them!!!

By Kaye on Sunday, December 8, 2002 - 09:51 am:

A little off topic, but our church does a background check on all people who want to teach children. Our children's director and I talked about it and she said that because church is a "safe" environment too many people do thing with their kids that could put them in danger, like leaving them one on one with an adult behind closed doors. So we do the checks and really train our teachers how to keep out of those situations. It is a sad day that our molestors are drawn to churches ( not for the teachings) and then our churches fail to protect the children. I am not catholic, I don't hate the catholic like so many people do though. Unfortuantly people years ago just didn't see how seriously sick pedifiles are. As for paying off the victims, well, I think they did it for what they thought were the right reasons, I don't think it was a complete cover up, but trying to make restitution. I really want to believe that each time they believed this was not going to happen again. Today we know that once someone is inappropriate with a child they will continue to do so if they get the opportunity. It is very sad. I just hope that reform happens soon.