The Amy Berg film opened today
The Amy Berg documentary film "Deliver Us from Evil," about the Oliver O'Grady case, opened today in Los Angeles, Boston and New York City. Here are links to two reviews:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2006-10-12-evil-review_x.htm
http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/10/13/movies/13evil.html?ref=movies
The New York Times review says, "[Critics of the Church] all point to the hierarchical, secretive, authoritarian nature of the Roman Catholic Church as a central reason for its failure to deal effectively with the likes of Mr. O’Grady."
Sorry, New York Times Old Gray Lady, or whatever cutesy term you like to call yourself, but the fault is not at all in the nature of the Church that Jesus founded.
The problem is the abysmal dereliction of certain members of the hierarchy who have kept molesters in the priesthood instead of firing them immediately to protect the flock and instead of turning them over to the police immediately to protect the general public.
The problem is also the sickening practice in recent decades of certain bishops', vocations directors' and seminaries' turning away, expelling or smearing solid traditional applicants and seminarians on the false claim that they are "rigid," "not pastoral" and psychologically unfit.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2006-10-12-evil-review_x.htm
http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/10/13/movies/13evil.html?ref=movies
The New York Times review says, "[Critics of the Church] all point to the hierarchical, secretive, authoritarian nature of the Roman Catholic Church as a central reason for its failure to deal effectively with the likes of Mr. O’Grady."
Sorry, New York Times Old Gray Lady, or whatever cutesy term you like to call yourself, but the fault is not at all in the nature of the Church that Jesus founded.
The problem is the abysmal dereliction of certain members of the hierarchy who have kept molesters in the priesthood instead of firing them immediately to protect the flock and instead of turning them over to the police immediately to protect the general public.
The problem is also the sickening practice in recent decades of certain bishops', vocations directors' and seminaries' turning away, expelling or smearing solid traditional applicants and seminarians on the false claim that they are "rigid," "not pastoral" and psychologically unfit.
posted by Quintero at 8:42 PM
5 Comments:
It never fails to amaze me how secularists, non-practicing Catholics, the Old Media, et.al., have the solution the the Church's "problem." One example solution I hear trotted out almost always is the ole, "Just let there be a married priesthood," they say. A married priesthood will eliminate the "single" wackos that would otherwise find victims for the taking amongst their congregants. I'm not kidding about this.
People of that type of mindset offer olny a human solution to the Church's problems. They fail to see that a Church that has survived for 2000 years, inspite of persecution and evil deeds committed by both laity and clergy, must be Divine. And that being so, the Spiritual aspect of a "solution" cannot be ignored.
Just saw the Ebert and Roper review of this and they actually played a clip Mahony's 2004 teatimony. Disgusting.
Dear MVH,
Thank you for the excellent insights into the Church's antagonists.
You are right -- they always have "solutions" for the Church they oppose, and those "solutions" are always merely human.
And you are so right about the Church survival proving her divine origin and her protection through the ages and to the end of time.
JOSEPH D'HIPPOLITO SAYS...
Quintero, you forget one important reason for the explosion of this corruption. The church's hierarchical, bureaucratic system -- in fact, any hierarchical, bureaucratic system -- discourages accountability. As a consequence, the members of such a system feel a special sense of entitlement.
Just look at how the bishops intimidated anybody who confronted them about the sexual-abuse problem, kept clerical transfers quiet (even from pastors who would bear the utlimate responsibility for the perverts in their parish) and circled the wagons when the criticism mounted.
If you don't believe that, then look at such a system that represented a diametrically opposed philosophy: the USSR. Despite all the Marxist pieties about the proletariat, members of the Soviet bureaucracy had their own special stores that were off-limits to regular Soviet citizens, as well as other unobtainable privileges -- merely for being members of the Communist Party.
Tod Brown's expensive quarters and personal chef are nothing but a variation of the same theme.
This problem will never be resolved until the hierarchy is accountable in secular affairs (financial management, clerical transfers, diocesan operations, etc.) to the clergy and laity. Really accountable, to the point where the clergy and laity can exercise public mechanisms to redress grievances.
Otherwise, we get a situation where an infirm pope either cannot or will not hold the bishops he appoints accountable for their misfeasance and malfeasance.
Oh, we already had that situation, didn't we?
JOSEPH D'HIPPOLITO, clerical transfers are not secular, and in some cases neither are diocesan operations!
Kenneth M. Fisher
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