“The intellectual climate of the 1970s, for which the 1950s had already paved the way, contributed to this. A theory was even finally developed at that time that pedophilia should be viewed as something positive. Above all, however, the thesis was advocated-and this even infiltrated Catholic moral theology-that there was no such thing as something that is bad in itself. There were only things that were “relatively” bad. What was good or bad depended on the consequences.
In such a context, where everything is relative and nothing intrinsically evil exists, but only relative good and relative evil, people who have an inclination to such behavior are left without no solid footing. Of course pedophilia is first rather a sickness of individuals, but the fact that it could become so active and so widespread was linked also to an intellectual climate through which the foundations of moral theology, good and evil, became open to question in the Church. Good and evil became interchangeable; they were no longer absolutely clear opposites.”
― Pope Benedict XVI, Light of the World: The Pope, the Church, and the Sign of the Times – A Conversation with Peter Seewald
“Pope Benedict XVI is a criminal and should be thrown in jail for life. He knew little boys were being abused around the world by priests. He did nothing. He covered up the abuse. He is as guilty as any priest that committed the act.” - Admin
Eddie says:
I don’t buy the Pope’s rather convoluted arguments about the rise of pedophilia. My guess is that it has been pervasive for centuries, that the Vatican has always known about it and chosen to ignore it..and that now that it has become better known and people are making waves about it, the Church’s main thrust has been to establish damage control…and as much as possible, to direct attention away from the root cause.
It isn’t natural or healthy for men or women to be sexually celibate. Men, in particular, when placed under conditions of extreme sexual repression will often resort to deviant behavior. Furthermore, when individuals grow up in societies that do not give them a way to engage in sexual behavior without shame and guilt, then great numbers of repressed individuals grow up without any normal sexual connection at all. Some of these people probably end up in the priesthood because they can’t find any other place where they are accepted. It isn’t surprising to me that they eventually twist off and act out in ways that hurt others.
Why are children their victims? You could make an analogy…it’s not that different than school shooters choosing gun free zones to wreak their destruction…they choose children because they are easy targets and aren’t able to defend themselves,.
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10th February 2013 at 1:45 pm
tom says:
Apostacy in the Church?
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10th February 2013 at 1:46 pm