Cardinal Donald Wuerl, mentioned below as Archbishop of Pittsburgh for 18 years and accused of entanglement in two of its sex abuse scandals, but since promoted to Washington and the title of Cardinal, is one of Pope Francis' most trusted confidants.
Cardinal Raymond Burke's take on sex abuse in the Catholic Diocese of Pennsylvania, USA is under dispute on Facebook by Susan Jacobs and Paul Collits.
Cardinal Burke's view is that the facts of this horror story are aggravated by society's culture of contraception and abortion, which often reduces sex to the level of entertainment. Jacobs can't see his point and says denying these allegations - which the Cardinal does not do - is another example of shifting the blame.
Collits points out that allegations are just that: allegations, which remain allegations until proven in a court of law. "Law 101", he says.
Amid the current mass hysteria on sex abuse I've had moments of wondering if I should go after the Greek hairdresser who rubbed himself up against me while giving me a blow-dry in Hastings around 1960. Hmmm.
Why am I laughing? The sheer number of priests said to be involved in the Pennsylvania scandal almost defies belief - on the natural level, that is; at the supernatural level it's credible, considering the power of Satan and his agents.
In 1972 Pope Paul VI warned us that "the smoke of Satan has entered the Church", and we see now that this smoke came from a fire which by then was well ablaze. If only a fraction of these priests were to be proved guilty, it would be truly awful news for the Catholic Church in the US - and in other states and countries around the world where clerical sex abuse is now said to be 'cultural'.
It should also be truly awful news for Cardinal Donald Wuerl, formerly archbishop of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, now of Washington, who's denied allegations of moving predatory priests around his diocese but whom court records show has transferred at least two, the first implicated in the death of a 19 year-old football player and the second, Fr George Zirwas, murdered by a male prostitute in Cuba.
Cardinal Wuerl presided at Zirwas' funeral, praising his priestly service and assuring the congregation that 'Father Zirwas' (having himself stripped Zirwas of the title) was 'in heaven'.
We could reconsider Pope St John Paul II's prophetic statement of 1976:
We must prepare ourselves to suffer great trials before long - such as demand of us a disposition to given up even life, and total dedication to Christ and for Christ. With your prayer and mine it is possible to mitigate this tribulation but it is no longer possible to avert it because only thus can the Church be effectively renewed. We must be strong and prepared, and trust in Christ and His Mother, and be very assiduous in praying the Rosary.
I don't think even John Paul II could have foreseen the nature of the tribulation the Church is now suffering - and this may be only an entrée.
When did you last hear a priest call his people to pray the Rosary? We were asking for it.
Amid the current mass hysteria on sex abuse I've had moments of wondering if I should go after the Greek hairdresser who rubbed himself up against me while giving me a blow-dry in Hastings around 1960. Hmmm.
Why am I laughing? The sheer number of priests said to be involved in the Pennsylvania scandal almost defies belief - on the natural level, that is; at the supernatural level it's credible, considering the power of Satan and his agents.
In 1972 Pope Paul VI warned us that "the smoke of Satan has entered the Church", and we see now that this smoke came from a fire which by then was well ablaze. If only a fraction of these priests were to be proved guilty, it would be truly awful news for the Catholic Church in the US - and in other states and countries around the world where clerical sex abuse is now said to be 'cultural'.
It should also be truly awful news for Cardinal Donald Wuerl, formerly archbishop of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, now of Washington, who's denied allegations of moving predatory priests around his diocese but whom court records show has transferred at least two, the first implicated in the death of a 19 year-old football player and the second, Fr George Zirwas, murdered by a male prostitute in Cuba.
Cardinal Wuerl presided at Zirwas' funeral, praising his priestly service and assuring the congregation that 'Father Zirwas' (having himself stripped Zirwas of the title) was 'in heaven'.
We could reconsider Pope St John Paul II's prophetic statement of 1976:
We must prepare ourselves to suffer great trials before long - such as demand of us a disposition to given up even life, and total dedication to Christ and for Christ. With your prayer and mine it is possible to mitigate this tribulation but it is no longer possible to avert it because only thus can the Church be effectively renewed. We must be strong and prepared, and trust in Christ and His Mother, and be very assiduous in praying the Rosary.
I don't think even John Paul II could have foreseen the nature of the tribulation the Church is now suffering - and this may be only an entrée.
When did you last hear a priest call his people to pray the Rosary? We were asking for it.
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