Bishop says Catholic Church needs to acknowledge 'dark' aspects of history

[Pope George Ringo II]

But, he said, the church also needed to acknowledge the dark aspects of its history that have come to light especially in recent decades.

He pointed to a clericalism that ended up confusing power and ministry; the sexual abuse of minors by clergy and religious that did untold life-long damage to victims; the violent and repressive treatment by church representatives of young people sent to the State’s reformatory institutions; and the dark experience of vulnerable women in places meant to be residences of refuge.

He added that the cover-up, wilful or otherwise, and mismanagement that had been highlighted, had compounded the damage, adding to the church's shame.

"We know that not every bishop or priest or sister or brother or lay person engaged in church circles was bad. And we know that not everyone was good." he said.

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2018/0815/985225-catholic-church/


It's curious that here's a member of the clergy managing to take a step so many mere believers throw screaming hissy fits over.

[Cartoonist]

1. Is that all?

The OP title had me thinking about the Dark Ages and the procession of Papal corruption. The RCC's history is the envy of all wannabe dictators.

[Pope George Ringo II]

2. Baby steps. They've never really even tried to come to terms with their atrocities before.

And look around just here. Even his fairly limited admissions are hopelessly outside their idea of mainstream.

[Mariana]

3. I'm impressed that he didn't try to assert

that the perpetrators and the enablers weren't Christians.

[MineralMan]

4. Mere "acknowledgement" is worthless.

It is not acceptance of guilt nor an attempt to correct wrongs. It is just a cop-out.

Where is the shame? Where is the repentance? Where is the recompense?

That's what I want to see. Show us all the records of offending priests being shuffled off to other parishes. Name names. Report offenders to police immediately.

Don't just tell me that you "acknowledge" wrong-doing. I will just say "Feh!"

[Pope George Ringo II]

5. I don't disagree

But even this is something the organization has been loath to do. And so many of its followers have thrown absolute tantrums about even this much.

[MineralMan]

6. My patience for it is gone. After almost 2000 years of

tainted history, mere acknowledgement seems to be very weak sauce to me.

One needn't look too far into history to learn of many heinous actions that were not only permitted by the RCC, but initiated by it. Once in a while, a Pope will admit that something done was wrong, but rarely, and not with much energy.

As a student of Native American culture on the Pacific coast in California, it's impossible to ignore the horrible impact the RCC had on a culture that was far older than that church. Today, no person who is entirely genetically Chumash exists. The entire people and their genetic legacy was wiped out, thanks to the RCC. Gone. Obliterated. Those people labored to build the Missions in California, grow food for the Spaniards, and do other slave labor. For their assistance, they were wiped off the face of the Earth.

How does a religious organization atone for such horrors? It makes saints of those who did the acts and led the genocide. I have visited the grave of St. Junipero Serra at the Mission in Carmel. Pope Francis canonized him in 2015. That canonization was an abomination.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jun%C3%ADpero_Serra

This is the current Pope, who ignored the horrors and canonized the man, because he was in the United States and thought it would be nice to do so. I doubt the Chumash would approve, but there are none of them left, thanks to Serra and the Spaniards.

No, acknowledgement of "dark times" rings hollow, when the current Pope makes a saint of someone who initiated the genocide of an entire people.

Hollow, indeed.

[Permanut]

7. Ah, yes, the requermiento..

seems we didn't cover that very thoroughly in American History classes.

[MineralMan]

8. Oh, there is much we don't cover.

I doubt that today's children learn about the Japanese internment in WWII.

[MineralMan]

9. As for what you mentioned, not one in 100,000

has ever heard of it.