Reply #71: What is important? "The Catholic church" or belief in Christ our Savior? [View All]

[DarbyUSMC]

I apologize if any of these points were made before.

Religion is a man made thing, just as denominations including the Roman Catholic church is man made. The real meaning of "church" in the Holy scriptures is the body of believers in Christ. It isn't speaking of a religion riddled with rituals, beliefs and traditions that have nothing to do with having faith in God. Seriously, haven't you ever asked yourself who in their right mind would join the "priesthood," where celibacy is a requirement? It goes against every instinct within human beings. So, consequently, you not only have gay men seeking out the priesthood but also pedophiles. Gay men who are celibate still have a sex drive and will more than likely give in to temptation just as heterosexual men will. The attraction is living, training and for the most part only dealing with men in their personal lives.

Pedophiles are the ruination of young boys. If you look back in history you will find the popes were the most corrupt men in charge of this church which ruled with an iron hand. People actually paid to have their sins forgiven, to have prayers said for the dead, and other absurd indulgences. They were afraid to go against the priest for fear of hell. Now it is the pedophile scandal. I don't know the percentage, but how can anyone be surprised that this is the kind of man who is attracted to an organization where they are surrounded by possible victims and can appear celibate to the congregation without difficulty until he is found out. When people stop putting the pope, cardinals, bishops and priests on a pedestal they will stop being shocked over what has been going on for centuries. Look also at what nuns have done to children. No, of course not all nuns, just as not all priests, are criminals. So many nuns from centuries and up through modern times have no love of children, as Christ told us to love the children and cherish them. (Paraphrased.) There is so much written about this. Frank McCourt goes into it in his best seller "Angela's Ashes".

Where does it all end? It ends when wannabe priests and nuns are psychologically tested before entering the order. This disgrace also ends when, at the first sign of trouble, the offender is sent to a place apart from everyone and put in mandatory counseling. If nothing is certain after this, he must be kept away from anything to do with children. How awful a thought to think that a child who trusts a priest as he trusts his father or a policeman or fireman is betrayed in the worst possible way and for years keeps these things to himself. No, this doesn't make Catholics some sort of pariahs. Yes, there are offenders in other denominations but it just isn't as prevalent as it is with Catholic priests. Put the blame on the tradition of celibacy that was a made up criteria for the priesthood. The Catholic church would have an abundance of candidates if that requirement was deep sixed. Normal men and women would never agree to this no more than they would agree to hit themselves with a hammer twice a day. To what avail? Check out the church history to see when a pope decided that celibacy was

"But the perversity of celibacy was an idea more easily articulated to than enforced on creatures of flesh and blood. After the 4th century Council of Nicaea refused to adopt the rule, it took until the Lateran Council of 1215 to get the whole Catholic Church to agree on priestly celibacy. Priests commonly married up until the 11th century — they still can and do in the Eastern Orthodox Church — but Gregory VII (Hildebrand) brutally enforced celibacy with help from Patarene thugs. The natural result of legislating against human nature is an abundance of unnatural vice and ultimate disrespect for the Church. The modem problems with priestly child molestation occurred in all ages."

RonaldBruceMeyer.com
Ronald Bruce Meyer is a freelance writer