Everything you say is true of some Catholic families. I am truly 
sorry you suffered so. We are not going to improve as a society until 
we take care of children.
I worked on the historic Spokane Archdiocese case $45.7 million and 
they are in bankruptcy because of the people they victimized. Yes it 
is authoritarian in a sense but there is an avenue for the lay 
Catholics to influence the hierarchy and they have! Mormonism has no 
such avenue. That was my point. And you make the same one - 
widespread lay outrage and the lawsuits woke up the Catholic 
hierarchy however Mormons still do not have that wake up call.

At 03:02 PM 9/7/2006, you wrote:
> >From Linda:
>
>   I work on the civil suits on behalf of the people abused by churches.=20
>There is a huge difference in the Catholic response to this problem and=20
>the Mormon one. The Catholic people have a way to influence their=20
>leaders. It is not an authoritarian church. Catholics have been very=20
>clear that they want something done to stop the abuse of children. The=20
>Catholic leaders in historic settlements with victims have publicly=20
>apologized for the pain and trauma they have caused. They have=20
>instituted programs to stop the abuse. In my opinion the Catholic=20
>response has been a Christian one and they have stepped up to the plate=20
>to solve this problem. I only wish the news media would start=20
>contrasting their loving and responsible response towards victims with=20
>the one the Mormons have given.=C2=A0
>
>---------------
>
>It sounds like you have done a tremendous amount of work to help=20
>polygamy victims in very difficult situations.  That's great.  However,=20
>I respectfully disagree with you about the Catholic Church.  It is=20
>*definitely* an authoritarian church; there is a hierarchy of priests,=20
>bishops, Cardinals, and the Pope.
>
>What got the church to do something was widespread lay outrage and the=20
>$$ they had to pay because it was amply documented that=20
>bishops/Cardinals chose to move known pedophiles from parish to parish=20
>without telling anyone.  They paid a fortune in insurance costs.  Most=20
>of the hierarchy wanted it to go away.  Bernard Cardinal Law, as he is=20
>referred to, was the target of widespread outrage when he fought=20
>bitterly doing anything.  He called down the wrath of God on the Boston=20
>Globe, who broke the priest abuse scandal.
>
>there is a saying among Catholics that the lay people are supposed to=20
>"pay, pray, and obey."  too many people were too angry this time for=20
>this to succeed, but the real problem was the Church paying out so much=20
>from lawsuits.
>
>I grew up in a very devout Catholic home and I was abused over a period=20
>of years by a very devout Catholic and I can tell you that dissent and=20
>even independent thinking were absolutely not allowed.  The same was=20
>true in the Catholic grade school where I went for 8 years.  There was=20
>only one time I can remember, I was a sophomore in Catholic high=20
>school, that a teacher actually required us to express independent=20
>thoughts.  Still, deviations from the theology they taught us were not=20
>allowed.
>
>There is a reason that there are so many bitter ex-Catholics out there.=20
>   I try not to be bitter, but any equanimity I have is because I left=20
>the church over 15 years ago.  I will not set foot in a Catholic church=20
>other than for family events (weddings, baptisms, and funerals) and I=20
>will not take communion.
>
>The Catholic hierarchy refuses to yield on such things as women=20
>priests, artificial birth control, married priests, etc.  There is now=20
>a severe shortage of priests due to this inflexibility, and the average=20
>age of a priest is about 60.  the sexual abuse scandals make it even=20
>less likely that a young man will express a vocation.  Part of the=20
>church's response to sexual abuse is to ban homosexuals from the=20
>seminary !!! as if being gay makes someone an abuser.
>
>Last year, it made national news at Christmastime when a priest left=20
>his parish to celebrate the Mass in an area where there had been no=20
>priests in a while.  He was excommunicated and the hierarchy proclaimed=20
>that anyone who attended the Mass was in a state of mortal sin.  This=20
>was because he disobeyed orders and left his parish after being refused=20
>permission to do so.
>
>I understand that what you are dealing with is horrendous, and I would=20
>say you've got a much harder job ahead of you than the Catholic=20
>situation - that's because there is not the large enough population of=20
>people who've become outraged about polygamy abuse.  But I would not=20
>say that the Catholic church is not authoritarian, nor would I say that=20
>their response to the scandals has been impressive.  I have read=20
>guilt-inducing letters from priests online who state that if lay=20
>Catholics let the sexual abuse interfere with our faith, then we are=20
>going to Hell.
>
>I have very bitter memories of being abused for years in an extremely=20
>religious Catholic household.  This is the same church that preaches=20
>the sainthood of Maria Goretti, who died to preserve her virginity=20
>(circa 1905 Italy),  She was attacked by a neighbor, she fought back,=20
>he stabbed her multiple times, and she died.  Non-Catholics I have=20
>spoken with often do not understand the insult to child rape victims of=20
>her sainthood, but Catholics "get it" immediately.  She was not made a=20
>saint because she died tragically.  She was made a saint because she=20
>died to preserve her chastity.  I think she was 12 or 13.
>
>the only time most Catholics will speak of rape is to state that=20
>victims should not get an abortion if they become pregnant.
>
>I know there are great priests and probably some good programs out=20
>there, but it is nowhere near a real response and repentance, in my=20
>opinion.  any change comes down to the $$ they've lost from lawsuits,=20
>and the corresponding loss in giving from parishioners who don't like=20
>to see their money going toward paying off the Church's mistakes in how=20
>they treated known pedophiles.
>
>btw - I read that a very small % of priests abused, perhaps 2% - the=20
>problem is, they tended to abuse many children/young teens.  and in=20
>many other countries, the issue of priest abuse has yet to be tackled.
>
>Mary Katherine
>________________________________________________________________________
>Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email=20
>and IM. All on demand. Always Free.
>
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