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Pope Francis was in Ireland over the weekend marking an extraordinary event in Ireland's history.
Unfortunately, the visit was marred by the controversial topic of many Catholic priests molesting children in both Ireland and the United States. In recent weeks, a report has surfaced indicting priests of sexual assault against minors and Catholic Bishops covering up the crimes. A report even brought to light the story on one such priest who was fired for sexually assaulting a kid but was given a recommendation letter which he used to get a job at Disney land.
My question is, "why does the church seek to cover up these crimes and why isn't the holy sea doing more to discourage these horrible crimes?"
I'm Catholic so I have a vested interest in this issue and I think the least the church can do is hand these offenders over to the state for persecution other than covering up their crimes. Even Jesus Christ in his day said to his disciples, "give to God what belongs to God and to Caesar
What belongs to Caesar ".
With that statement, we understand that even Jesus was able to distinguish between the Church and the state. Both entities have different approaches when it comes to dealing with the forgiveness of sin. The Church expects a sinner to make a confessed to a priest and perform an act of contrition in order to attain forgiveness were as the state requires that the accused be prosecuted and if found guilty, should serve a prison sentence and the individuals name be entered into the sex offenders registry. A cover up by the Church amounts to the church impeding the activities of the state and obstructing Justice. This is unfair because the state doesn't impede the activities of the Church. In most countries around the world, the Church doesn't even have to pay taxes.
This idea of priest being celibate isn't helping either. Their needs to be a resolution to that. Sex is natural and as a human being, you need to answer natures call which is why is you do not respond To that craving consciously then your body will respond to it unconsciously. Celibacy isn't natural, the body craves sex. We can't fornicate either because it goes against the teachings of the church which is where the idea of marriage comes in.
For now, Catholic priests aren't allowed to marry wives and have families because it is believed that such a thing will be a distraction from the service. I disagree. Its like saying a doctor shouldn't have a family. If I have a calling to work in God's vineyard, I don't think it should be contingent on whether I'm married or not. We made those rules and we have the authority to change them if we so desire for Jesus said, "Peter, you are the rock and upon you I will build my church, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you curse on earth will be cursed in heaven". This show that God has given us the power to mold the Church as we see fit for nothing is set in stone.
I vote YES, to discarding the vow of celibacy And besides, most of these priest have sex on the regular anyway.
I know of many priests in my country that have girlfriends and keep families outside of marriage. There are many of them that have used the name of the church to accumulate a lot of wealth, died and left a huge inheritance for the children born out of wedlock. So who are we kidding.
In conclusion, I believe its high time the Church starts handing over child sexual molesters to the state for prosecution. There also needs to be an amendment in canon law to allow priests to enter into marriage.
Catholicism isn't Christianity and Catholics aren't Christians. We're saved by faith alone in Christ alone guided by the Bible alone. We're not saved by infant baptism, good works, and obedience to church rules. The pope isn't Christ's representative. He has no special power. No special authority. Saints are false gods that people pray to. Mary isn't a goddess. There's no reason to pray to her. She can't help you. She can't even hear you.
To be saved you need to repent of your sins, accept what Jesus did on the cross to pay for those sins, and accept Jesus as Lord. If you accept Jesus as Lord you should pray everyday. Not reciting the prayers of others but pouring your heart out to God. Use the ACTS model of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Confess your sins to God. Name them. Do your best to do better. Read your Bible everyday. Start in the New Testament. Read a chapter a day. Look for online Bible commentaries to help you interpret what you're reading. Find a Bible believing church where the pastor preaches from the Bible. Join a small group Bible study so you can learn from others.