The Catholic Church is right now struggling with a very serious and grave scandal, Sexual Abuse of catholic priests and Paedophilia. Within the last year the Catholic Church has had to dispense over 100 million dollars in sexual abuse settlements*** (find source). However, the crisis became mainstream when two Catholic priests in Boston were accused of abusing over 100 boys and young men. The church worldwide has felt repercussions from this scandal. In fact, it even resulted in the call of all American cardinals who are healthy enough to travel to a summit in the Vatican with Pope John Paul the second.
There are several issues at play as this scandal continues. In this paper I hope to look at the actual scandals involving retired priest Paul Shanley and defrocked priest John Geoghan. These two men served as priests in the Boston community for over 20 years under the leadership of three different Cardinals. Throughout their years of service they had sexual relationships with males ranging from the age of 4 to 26. Only within the past year were legal steps taken against them. John Geoghan was tried and convicted and Paul Shanley’s case is still under investigation.
In the Catholic Church, priests are the moral authority. When one has questions with his faith he is taught that he can go to his priest for informed answers. In this paper I also hope to deal with how these priests failed their flock. They took advantage of men who came to them for help when in trouble and preyed on the little boys who came to the church for guidance. In addition to the tacit feeling that as a priest they will only do what is right, these men told their victims that they would deal with the moral implications.
I also hope to look at the role of the Cardinals in this whole affair. The Catholic Church teaches that these men are responsible for the priests under their care, as well as the people. Fathers Geoghan and Shanley served under three Boston Cardinals and they were still allowed to continue preying on the people in their parish. The people of the church depend on their Cardinals to keep the archdiocese in order, and these men failed the people they are supposed to guide.
The question then arises: how much responsibility should these Cardinals take. In order to answer that question I shall look at Cardinal Bernard Law.
... In the book Holden is hurting himself with his need of contact with people but with his consent pushing of them away. Even though it is happening in a book it is still a valuable life lesson that one shouldn’t push others away just because they are scared. Even so, isolation still occurs, it could be something as simple as a kid not trying out for a group in fear of rejection or not joining a club because they are afraid of embarrassing themselves. In both cases the kid is keeping to themselves, scared that they might get hurt. The Catcher in the Rye shows real issues within its pages that are still applicable today. That is one reason it is considered a classic.
This relates back to “The My Lai Massacre” because Lieutenant William Calley Jr. was found guilty for the criminal offenses and should have been given a life sentence but instead he served three and a half years under house arrest. The Milgram’s experiment, it shows that people are not inclined to question authoritative figures. It is apparent that this is a known occurrence by observing the My Lai Massacre in which the soldiers were not charged for their actions and why Dawson and Downey were not charged with murder. They were simply following orders from the authoritative figure and that they were not supposed to be questioning in the first place. Dawson and Downey may have realized that by not following orders, their punishment may have been more severe than the potential punishment for hazing and ultimately murdering Santiago. When a person in power makes a decision but is not directly involved with the execution, they are still to be held accountable for the
Stanley Milgram, a Yale psychologist, in the “Perils of Obedience,” writes about his experiment on obedience to authority. He explains how the subjects he used were asked, by a mock scientist, to administer shocks to the learner when they answered a question incorrectly. Milgram was shocked to find that a majority of the subjects administered the highest voltage, simply because they were told to by what they assumed was an authority figure. Writing also on the perils of obedience, specifically in the military, Herbert C. Kelman, professor at Harvard University, and V. Lee Hamilton, a Yale professor, write the article “The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience,”. They write about one of the worst atrocities committed by the United
(Image taken from Tranchtenberg, Marvin, Isabelle Hyman. Architecture: From Prehistory to Postmodernity. Second Edition. Prentice Hall, Inc. New Jersey: 2002.)
The church confesses that it has not professed openly and clearly enough its message of the one God… The church confesses its timidity, its deviation, its dangerous concessions… The church was mute when it should have cried out, because the blood of the innocent cried out to heaven… It did not resist to the death the falling away from faith and is guilty of the godlessness of the
This book is about the amazing task of mapping and showing all the sequences of the thousands and thousands of genes in the human body. The book is split up into nine chapters each of which covers a different aspect of this incredible project. The book tells all about almost every aspect of the project. It tells all about the project and what the point is, what has been accomplished so far, and when they expect it to be finished. According to the introduction the project is actually expected to be finished sometime this year.
The Catholic Church has long been a fixture in society. Throughout the ages, it has withstood wars and gone through many changes. It moved through a period of extreme popularity to a time when people regarded the Church with distrust and suspicion. The corrupt people within the church ruined the ideals Catholicism once stood for and the church lost much of its power. In the Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer primarily satirizes the corruptness of the clergy members to show how the Catholic Church was beginning its decline during the Middle Ages.
For numerous years, the world’s most prestigious geneticists have been trying to crack the human genetic code, the intricate puzzle that defines each and every one of us as individuals. With the monumental success of the Human Genome Project, a new and exciting biological frontier is ready for exploration. The ramifications of the knowledge derived from this endeavor will no doubt be staggering for residents of the Rio Grande Valley and the world at large.
The Human Genome Project is essential for the human race to advance. With the ability to decimate human disease and even boost food resources, people will increase life expectancy alongside decreasing the percent of people around the world who go hungry each day. There can even be limits placed on Legal aspects of The Human Genome Project results that appease civil rights activists and will preserve ethics and diversity while still improving mankind. Humans will never have to fear disease or hunger. The future looks bright for all of mankind.
The human genome project is something that I have been very interested with ever since first learning of it. I had heard bits and pieces of what it is about, but my interest was greatly stimulated by Dr. Whited in basic genetics 311 last spring. The discussion that we had regarding the project left me with several ideas and questions about not only the process and ethics involved, but the future of the study of genetics as a whole.
In over a period of years, an increasing amount of attention has been shed to the problem of child sexual abuse in the church. While churches, and other facilities which care for children, have had their experience of this problem, most attention has been brought to the abuse in the Catholic Church. Around the world, case after case has been seen in the press of clergy and members of religious orders being charged with sex offenses against children. Some of these cases go back decades. The issue has certainly brought attention around the world. The reason why, is the question that ponders in everyone mind.
...t if Catholic priests were allowed to get married, there would not be scandals such as these. It is because these priests have been denied marriage that is why they crave for something else even if they know it is wrong.
During the Age of Reformation people were greatly against the abuses that existed in the Roman Catholic Church. A couple of abuses that were greatly stressed were the selling of indulgences, simony, and nepotism. It was some of these same abuses that prompted German reformist Martin Luther to write his 95 Theses. And for the Council of Trent to later address them in a series of meetings.
Why is the Catholic Church so corrupt in its teaching? They have found ways to control the knowledge that their followers contemplate on. The control of knowledge and power is the foundation for every successful religious organization. The Catholic Church have acquired this power through strategic control on the mind of its follower. The Catholic Church propagate their ideals as righteous in order to be accepted; for without this acceptance, they are faced with the task of initiating this power through force. So to beguile their followers, they present themselves in “sheep clothing” (KJV, Matt 7:15). They are accepted as blameless, peaceful, loving and harmless but in actuality, “they are ravening wolves” (KJV, Matt. 7:15).
... the world. The pope is the final arbiter of both administrative and doctrinal issues, the papacy may not rule nations or appoint kings anymore, but with so many followers it still has great influence on world affairs.