General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: For those of you who want me to lay off the Pope: "Let Me Show You" [View all]Flying Squirrel
(3,041 posts)I left the church (and organized religion altogether) for reasons which had nothing to do with the abuse scandal, long before it surfaced. However, a young minister who had been very popular at my high school and whom I had personally liked, quite charismatic, by the name of Dennis Kemp (I see no need to hide his identity), was permanently barred from active ministry by the Vatican in 2010 (over 20 years after I graduated.) The fact that I personally knew a member of the clergy who apparently had "seriously inappropriate behavior toward minors" (plural) according to the Seattle Times article, makes me wonder just how widespread the overall abuse problem was and may still be. The knowledge that, had I been abused by him, it would probably have been covered up back then and he would have been free to continue that behavior in the same capacity elsewhere, is galling to me and I strongly support what you are doing.