Vatican document highlights need for concrete steps for women, 'radical inclusion' of LGBTQ+

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By NICOLE WINFIELD today

VATICAN CITY (AP) — An unprecedented global canvassing of Catholics has called for the church to take concrete steps to promote women to decision-making roles, for a “radical inclusion” of the LGBTQ+ community and for new accountability measures to check how bishops exercise authority.

The Vatican on Tuesday released the synthesis of a two-year consultation process, publishing a working document that will form the basis of discussion for a big meeting of bishops and laypeople in October. The synod, as it is known, is a key priority of Pope Francis, reflecting his vision of a church that is more about the faithful rank-and-file than its priests.

Already Francis has made his mark on the synod, letting lay people and in particular women have a vote alongside bishops. That reform is a concrete step toward what he calls “synodality,” a new way of being a church that envisions more co-responsibility in governance and the key mission of spreading the Catholic faith.

The document highlights key concerns that emerged during the consultation process, which began at the local parish level and concluded with seven continent-wide assemblies. It flagged in particular the devastating impact that clergy sexual abuse crisis has had on the faithful, costing the hierarchy its credibility and sparking calls for structural changes to remove their near-absolute power.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/vatican-synod-women-lgbtq-pope-abuse-63b13399c4cd363a7a086c7b513e6283

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FULL story and video at link.

[LiberalLovinLug]

1. He's not perfect but I love how this pope is making the conservatives catholics heads explode

Soon there will be another Nazi in the Vatican. But I'm loving this pope's exposure of the hypocrisy and sexism in their past policies.

[onetexan]

9. The american catholic church is a rogue one, RW conservative leaning & tolerant of priests abusing

Children. It is more of a cult than a church. One of many reasons why i've become an agnostic.

[whathehell]

14. Do you have any data or links to support that allegation?

I've neither read nor seen anything that backs it up.

[onetexan]

21. Seriously?? Google catholic priests absuing children

Not to mention the tolerance of slavery and other aggregious crimes brought on by the american catholic church over the course of this continent's history. I'm not going to waste my time but you asking such a question is evidence you either turn a blind eye or have lived under a rock.

[whathehell]

22. Are YOU serious?. I've done a lot more than that..

Try reading more than the headlines -- You can start here:

https://www.newsweek.com/priests-commit-no-more-abuse-other-males-70625

Studies find Catholic priests to be not only no more likely to abuse children than clergymen of other religions, they're no more likely to abuse kids than men in general!

Oh, and by the way, the word is egregious, not "aggregious".

[onetexan]

23. roll my eyes. Seems you're trying to make excuses for the abuses committed by catholics

[whathehell]

25. It seems you're trying to avoid new information..

Again, read the article.

[Lonestarblue]

2. Meanwhile, Southern Baptists have decided to go backward to the 1700s by denying women any

role in their churches except perhaps cleaning the church after services or volunteering to clean their male pastor’s home. Perhaps women need to tell the SBC to take a flying leap. Southern Baptists are the largest group of evangelicals and form much of the right-wing MAGA cult that worships Trump. Like the Catholics, though, they’re excellent at hiding rape and sexual abuse by their pastors.

[mahina]

3. Unlike some. Now if they can just stop the priests from messing with kids.

Former Catholic here. I really like this pope. The church is not a part of my life.

[whathehell]

5. It seems you missed the memo..

Studies show that priests are not only no more likely to abuse kids than clerics of other religions, they're no more likely than men in general.

https://www.newsweek.com/priests-commit-no-more-abuse-other-males-70625

[ZZenith]

6. It seems you missed the memo where the Catholic Church was protecting said pedophiles.

Reason enough not to belong to that particular organization, don’t you think?

[mahina]

7. Right?

Jaysus.

[sarisataka]

8. You could ask Joe Biden or.

Nancy Pelosi why they stay.

[ZZenith]

10. No I can't. I don't know them personally and don't think they participate in this forum.

However, mahina was stating a reason for them to no longer participate in the church and whathehell was rudely questioning that reasoning.

[whathehell]

15. Lol

Sorry, but you must be reading a different Mahina post than I, because the one I see doesn't even mention Joe Biden or Nancy Pelosi.

[ZZenith]

18. You don't see the post from sarisataka to which I was responding?

[whathehell]

13. Maybe because Joe and Nancy know more than most and

have, therefore, a different perspective?

You know, like the fact that priests are no more likely to abuse kids than ministers or rabbis or the clergy of other religions, no more likely, in fact, than men in all other professions?

https://www.newsweek.com/priests-commit-no-more-abuse-other-males-70625

[whathehell]

12. Read the article, dear

then you'll be able to talk to me.

[ZZenith]

17. The percentage of priests who molest children is a red herring and has no bearing on the discussion.

It is the institution that shielded them from prosecution and played rapist roulette by shuffling them off to new and unsuspecting parishes that constitutes the problem.

Jaysus.

[whathehell]

19. I'm sorry, but the "discusson" is open..

and the point of my post was to deflate the prevalent, and completely false idea that Catholic priests are the "preeminent" child abusers in society. If you bothered to read the Newswerk article, you'd find, among other things, that the number of pedophile priests is extremely low -- about 4%.

Yes, too many of the church hierarchy tried to avoid scandal by transferring and/or attempting to ""treat" offenders, but they were hardly alone in that.
In instances of child abuse, secular institutions like Penn State, and Michigan State did the very same thing. It's a sad reality that institutions in general tend to "circle the wagons" attempting to protect their institution.

[ZZenith]

20. And guess what?

Last edited Wed Jun 21, 2023, 05:03 AM - Edit history (1)

People are free to have absolutely no association with such institutions, as mahina has done with regards to the Catholic Church because of such disgusting behavior. Your attempt to normalize it is really sad and misguided.

mahina never said that “Catholic priests are the ‘preeminent’ child abusers in society.” I have no idea how you read that into it. Wishing the Catholic Church would do something ABOUT the problem does not mean one thinks they are the only ones WITH the problem.

By your logic nobody should have a problem with the systemic sexual abuse problems at Penn State because, hey, everybody does it! Fuck that. The institution that turns a blind eye to sexual abuse within its ranks DESERVES TO DIE.

[whathehell]

24. I'm not attempting to "normalize" anything

and you, again, have COMPLETELY misread my words and intentions -- I NEVER said, nor would I say, that it's "okay" to molest children for any reason, let alone because "everyone is doing it" Since the thrust of your criticism, beyond the abuse itself, was the attempt to hide it by church leaders, I pointed out how institutions in general tend to shield themselves from accusations -- I never said, nor implied, that it was "okay". I called it a "sad reality"

Don't bother responding -- Communicating with someone so determined to twist words and "misunderstand" what's said, is a waste of my time.

[ZZenith]

26. I will bother to respond because you don't seem to grasp how rude you have been here.

mahina states that she wishes the Catholic Church would do something about priests who sexually abuse children and then you barge in with “Seems you didn’t get the memo…” and post some bullshit article from Newsweek that I must read before I am allowed to speak with you.

From the article: “The only hard data that has been made public by any denomination comes from John Jay College's study of Catholic priests, which was authorized and is being paid for by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops following the public outcry over the 2002 scandals.”

https://fair.org/uncategorized/newsweeks-implausible-defense-of-catholic-priests/

“So a study funded by the Catholic bishops found that there had been “plausible accusations” against 4 percent of priests active between 1950 and 1992. That end date is convenient: Wingert notes later, by way of trying to explain why priests seem to molest more kids than they actually do, that two-thirds of complaints against priests have been made since 1992. So a study that included all “plausible accusations” against priests since 1950 would likely produce a figure closer to 12 percent than 4 percent.”

But all of that is merely distraction from the problem mahina was pointing out, which is the REACTION of the Catholic Church to its pedophile priests, which has been abominable. You then use the phrase “sad reality,” which implies there’s nothing that can be done about it, which is a complete load of bullshit. I know of many - no, I know that MOST organizations would not react the way the Catholic Church has regarding pedophilia. In every organization with which I associate, if it is discovered that you are harming children you will be reported to the police and every effort will be made to see that you receive justice.

Clearly your moral compass is calibrated differently. Alas.

[onetexan]

27. I sparred with this poster on another thread about the same issue ZZenith

Seems he/she is willfully ignorant or in denial so i didn't bother responding after a couple posts. Don't waste yr time. They'll just come back w more idiotic excuses.

[ZZenith]

29. Thanks, onetexan

I admire your desire to ascribe a benign motive to their behavior - my money’s on good old-fashioned mendacity.

[onetexan]

30. mendacity or stubborn denial..it's all the same to me LOL

i have family members in this category so to me it's not worth dealing w the headache. They don't/won't change SMH.

[onetexan]

28. Likewise, a recovered catholic here.

[PlutosHeart]

4. Blessings and keep well Francis.

Left the Roman Catholic Church long long ago but am in admiration and respect for this man.
He had me at the treatise on the Environment.

[SharonAnn]

11. Thank you for posting this. Not just interesting, but very hopeful.

If the Church takes these steps, then I think they will have started on the right path. Finally.

[electric_blue68]

16. Ex Catholic. Not a Christian. Spiritual person. I like this Pope.

he's done good things. This sounds promising. My fingers are crossed.

Read the article. Interesting. They're not ignoring the abusses of priests. One of several reasons was while amount of priests being pedophiles was about the same amount of men in general, and other men in positions of authority around children's, and not just religious organizations, but because The Catholic Church is the second biggest religious group (Islam is first) because all the Protestants are divided up into smaller groups.