After the Archdiocese of San Francisco said a claim against Father Daniel Carter was "unfounded," six new victims have come forward with similar allegations
This is a PR foundation, but it didn’t take me working in PR to understand that it is better for your reputation to acknowledge a mistake and make up for it than it is to hide it. It’s something children learn, for goodness sake. In the thousands of years the RCC has existed (as a moral guide?!? Seriously?) they still haven’t learned this lesson.
The fact that this organization might have folks working for it that aren’t perfect is a given. That there may be folks who are this disgusting, depraved, criminal, might be expected even if it’s not desirable. These people exist and they look for opportunities to do what they are going to do, and the RCC is a place that would make it easier, simply by way of being authoritative. The problem with these revelations is that the church did nothing helpful and found ways to make the situation worse. In every single case. By trying to protect its reputation, the RCC made it worse. They setup more children to be molested. They drew in more rapists to the priesthood. They enabled the priests to do whatever they wanted with no repercussions. Made their reputation worse than if they had addressed the priests at the time they were found to be molesting children.
The RCC could have saved its reputation if they had been weeding out the predator priests as they came across them. Not shuffle them around to hide them, send them to resort like retirement homes, ignore and obscure allegations, and install policies that make it easier for them to groom and molest children.
The church will never police itself. It was born of corruption, it will die corrupt.
"Instead, whether through incompetence or malice, the Church dismissed Danielle’s concerns and let Carter roam free, from church to church, always maintaining his access to children."
Both. It's both. As well as the desire of those in power to maintain the illusion of righteous authority.
They take it very seriously- they seriously love doing it, and they make a serious effort to cover it up so they can 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 doing it. Might as well be listed among the perks and benefits when they hand new clergymen their vestments. "Here's your collar, your cassock, and your rosary, and there's an altarboy waiting for you in the confessional over there. Enjoy the priesthood!"
I've grown so sick of these stories I can barely stand to read them anymore. The herd instinct runs deep in the human species, and I suspect it is part of our survival strategy. It may have served our distant ancestors well, but it can be a millstone around the neck of civilization in the modern age. I have no other explanation for why the Catholic Church continues to exist, apart from the need some people have to belong, coupled with their fear of having to think for themselves.
When the Catholic Church isn't being ridiculous and hilarious, it's being outrageous and infuriating.
Religious people sometimes try to attribute my atheism to the cruel and criminal behavior of clerics and their hierarchies. No, I patiently explain, I'm an atheist because I see no evidence for any kind of supernaturalism. So I'd be an atheist even if clerics and their hierarchies really were the paragons of virtue that they pretend to be.
The cruelty and criminality is why I'm increasingly becoming also an ANTItheist. These institutions are harmful and dangerous to society, and they do nothing about it except to protect their illusion of benevolence. Adherents no longer have any excuse to continue to support them.
So now we can add California to the list, as though we didn't already know that all 50 of the United States were besotted with this brand of priestly perversion. I still say, though, the problem remains that civil suits aren't doing enough here. What is needed are 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗦, and that includes both the priests who abuse their parishioners and their superiors who shuffle offenders around to hide the evidence.
When priests start getting JAILED, it is just possible that the Church as a whole might sit up and take notice. One can hope, at least.
We've seen their track record on protecting actual life. Not just children, but women and LGBTQIA+s. Life is sacred to them? Like any other skeptic, I demand evidence that life is sacred to them. Even their opposition to the death penalty is half-hearted at best.
This is a PR foundation, but it didn’t take me working in PR to understand that it is better for your reputation to acknowledge a mistake and make up for it than it is to hide it. It’s something children learn, for goodness sake. In the thousands of years the RCC has existed (as a moral guide?!? Seriously?) they still haven’t learned this lesson.
The fact that this organization might have folks working for it that aren’t perfect is a given. That there may be folks who are this disgusting, depraved, criminal, might be expected even if it’s not desirable. These people exist and they look for opportunities to do what they are going to do, and the RCC is a place that would make it easier, simply by way of being authoritative. The problem with these revelations is that the church did nothing helpful and found ways to make the situation worse. In every single case. By trying to protect its reputation, the RCC made it worse. They setup more children to be molested. They drew in more rapists to the priesthood. They enabled the priests to do whatever they wanted with no repercussions. Made their reputation worse than if they had addressed the priests at the time they were found to be molesting children.
The RCC could have saved its reputation if they had been weeding out the predator priests as they came across them. Not shuffle them around to hide them, send them to resort like retirement homes, ignore and obscure allegations, and install policies that make it easier for them to groom and molest children.
The church will never police itself. It was born of corruption, it will die corrupt.
"Instead, whether through incompetence or malice, the Church dismissed Danielle’s concerns and let Carter roam free, from church to church, always maintaining his access to children."
Both. It's both. As well as the desire of those in power to maintain the illusion of righteous authority.
"𝘈𝘯 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘦..."
They take it very seriously- they seriously love doing it, and they make a serious effort to cover it up so they can 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 doing it. Might as well be listed among the perks and benefits when they hand new clergymen their vestments. "Here's your collar, your cassock, and your rosary, and there's an altarboy waiting for you in the confessional over there. Enjoy the priesthood!"
I've grown so sick of these stories I can barely stand to read them anymore. The herd instinct runs deep in the human species, and I suspect it is part of our survival strategy. It may have served our distant ancestors well, but it can be a millstone around the neck of civilization in the modern age. I have no other explanation for why the Catholic Church continues to exist, apart from the need some people have to belong, coupled with their fear of having to think for themselves.
When the Catholic Church isn't being ridiculous and hilarious, it's being outrageous and infuriating.
Religious people sometimes try to attribute my atheism to the cruel and criminal behavior of clerics and their hierarchies. No, I patiently explain, I'm an atheist because I see no evidence for any kind of supernaturalism. So I'd be an atheist even if clerics and their hierarchies really were the paragons of virtue that they pretend to be.
The cruelty and criminality is why I'm increasingly becoming also an ANTItheist. These institutions are harmful and dangerous to society, and they do nothing about it except to protect their illusion of benevolence. Adherents no longer have any excuse to continue to support them.
This is why they made a big deal out of the nun's corpse. Deflection. Distraction. Cover up.
I keep making the same suggestion: Ordain only lesbians as priests, monsignors, bishops and cardinals .
Child molestation would drop to near-zero.
In many ways... the Catholic Church is a criminal enterprise. Protecting child abusers is one of those ways. Truly sad.
OT: More reasons to #emptythepews https://www.joemygod.com/2023/05/az-church-gives-heros-welcome-to-qanon-shaman/
and this, too. #NotADragQueen
https://www.joemygod.com/2023/05/evangelical-leader-accused-of-sexual-abuse-video/
And finally hug your dogs and try to control your temper.
https://www.joemygod.com/2023/05/baptist-leader-charged-with-poisoning-dogs-video/
All Catholic clergy should be considered pedophiles until proven otherwise.
This is among the reasons why people leave the pews for good.
Deus vult? However you take that coded phrase, hopefully heads will roll.*
*I cannot hold my breath that long...
I am not shocked by the church hiding rapists and child molesters like that. Just sad and angry. Very angry.
So now we can add California to the list, as though we didn't already know that all 50 of the United States were besotted with this brand of priestly perversion. I still say, though, the problem remains that civil suits aren't doing enough here. What is needed are 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗦, and that includes both the priests who abuse their parishioners and their superiors who shuffle offenders around to hide the evidence.
When priests start getting JAILED, it is just possible that the Church as a whole might sit up and take notice. One can hope, at least.
Yet Catholics still claim to be "pro-life?"
We've seen their track record on protecting actual life. Not just children, but women and LGBTQIA+s. Life is sacred to them? Like any other skeptic, I demand evidence that life is sacred to them. Even their opposition to the death penalty is half-hearted at best.
Revenge against karen. https://scontent-ord5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/349634643_1560570621136291_6046033057226963930_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_p843x403&_nc_cat=1&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=V3d4xJ-1KsEAX_vGL_D&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-1.xx&oh=00_AfA-KmLhm78jJfWjmCjbXvBQWIRjqXurmfij6j63XHi56Q&oe=647A6B13