Reply #107: I share your disgust at the priests who seduced teens or raped young boys

[DemBones DemBones]

and at the bishops who enabled their crimes. Knowing that this happens in other churches, in schools, and in scouting helps me to deal with it, though I'd certainly like to give a few of those despicable molesters -- and the enablers-- a piece of my mind.

I'm sorry that the scandal drove you away from the Church, as I'm sure it did others. I hope you are happier now.

Many of us chose to stay and people continue to join the Church as they always have (between 700 and 1000 adult converts every year in the Atlanta archdiocese, for example.) We also have enough men studying to be priests for the archdiocese that we face no shortage, largely due to a good vocations program, I suppose. The Church will go on, losing some members, gaining others, changing some but remaining essentially the same -- but never allowing such outrages again, we hope.

I wish that you could read the book on Catholic sexuality that I read about ten years ago. I was just describing it in another post. It was written by a bishop but to my surprise he talked approvingly about oral sex for married couples and about pleasure in the sexual relationship. I'm sure he mentioned being open to the possibility of sex resulting in children but he also discussed NFP, oral sex during the woman's fertile period, etc. And the book had the imprimatur. The times are changing, perhaps. I do hope the next pope "legalizes" contraception.

Peace.