Anyone leaving the Catholic Church over the terrible abuse information coming out?

, I was very pleased to know about this Jewish man that was speaking out about the Catholic Church being persecuted a lot. He also mentioned studies which showed that there was more abuse from Protestant Churches that Catholic ones.

There are always going to be "black sheeps" in every Church as we have to realize that we are dealing with humans and not angels. Would you leave Jesus because of what Judas did? I strongly doubt it---yet, Jesus who was as fully Divine as human, let Judas be among Him and the ones that were to start His Church (the Church, may I remind you, that was started when Jesus said to our first Pope, St. Peter (who also abandoned Jesus during His Passion), "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18).

No, I would never want to leave the Catholic Church. Once I realized that I was in the true Church when I was 19 or 20, I started becoming a practising Catholic and was astounded at the many treasures that can only be found in the Catholic Church.

<<It is hard to believe that the Catholic Church knew of all the abuse to children and just passed the Priests who did it from parish to parish. >>

That's a loaded statement. First of all the "Catholic Church" of 1 billion + people didn't all know about the abuse. When you say "the Catholic Church" that encompasses a lot of people.

How do you personally know that the Catholic Church knew "of all the abuse to children?" Where did you get that information? From the media no doubt.

Now, let me explain. There was sexual abuse done by some priests to children and teens several decades ago. That is a fact. No one denies that. The handling of the abuse cases, that were known about, was inappropriate to be sure. However, it wasn't just a case of bishops trying to avoid scandal, it was also a product of the times. Society in general handled sex abuse the same way. The laws were few, and the ones we had did not address the scope of the abuse. The legal system was ill-equipped to prosecute, parents did not want to prosecute, and psychiatrists (at that time) were under the impression that sexual predators could be cured with a few counseling sessions. All this came together to facilitate a situation that allowed more chidlren to be abused.

Just recently we learned of Jerry Sandusky abusing children. Just 10 years ago (not decades ago) a man saw him abusing a child in the shower. The man reported the incident to his superior. Nothing was done. Everyone wants it to just go away, because it's embarassing, it's ugly, and in this case he was a high profile man. The school worried about their reputation and did not want a scandal.

My point is, things need to change nationwide. There is no defense for child sexual abuse. There is no defense for not reporting it. We need to do what's right to help protect kids. Laws have been changed, children are educated, victims adovcate groups have been established, etc. all to help find, prosecute and stop child molesters.

The Catholic Church is not immune to what plauges society. Child sexual abuse is rampant in the public school system. A cover up was and still is going on. Teachers are moved from school to school.

We are Catholic because of Christ, not because we think all the Catholic people are perfect. Predators used the Church and the priesthood to futher their own sick perversions. There is no excuse for it. The fault of those in charge who did nothing, are also to blame, just as much. However, the fact remains that as a whole, there are less priests who sexually abuse chidlren than you'll find in other faiths, or the population in general.

If you leave the Church where would you go? The Protestant faiths as a whole have more of a problem than the Catholic Church. So, that would leave you with no place, because everywhere you go you'll find sinners.

The Catholic Church is the Church established by Christ. He did not promise perfect people he promised divine guidence and that the gates of hell would not prevail. Christ does not lie. The Church has and always will have troubled members. We deal with them as we must, yet God never forsakes us. He is why I am Catholic, and He is why I remain. I would not be anywhere else.

I pray for the victims of sexual chidl abuse, and for the men who committed these acts.

I have posted a couple of questions recently on this subject and far from leaving the church,many respondents (despite overwhelming evidence) either choose to ignore orrefuse to believe what's happened.

They also claim that other faiths have more cases (as if that justifies anything) of abuse against children but when pressed never seem able to find evidence to back up these claims.

The cover up that has gone on within the Catholic Church is disgusting to say the least and goes all the way to the top.

This current pope should be prosecuted along with all the others who covered up these terrible crimes.

The Church admitted it's fault in keeping it a secret. The Church is made of humans so they are going to mess up and sin. You can't run away from that being a Catholic, Baptist, Morman, whatever. You need to know that people in the Church will sin but there is only one truth. Keep your faith in tact. Remember the truths of the church and why you converted. Go spend time in adoration or talk to a priest about your disgust of the situation. Know that during all the corruption in the church, the truth and teachings have not changed. They stay strong which is the beauty of our church. I'm awful at internet research but this is a small article I found of Pope Benedict XV http://articles.cnn.com/2010-06-11/world/vatican.p... Unfortunately we all sin and will ALWAYS sin until be go to heaven. Pray for our priests and catechists that they can stay pure in all ways :D God Bless!

I think that you either believe in the Catholic theology and doctrine or you don't. Abusive priests are a disgrace and so is the church hierarchy but the theology and doctrine isn't altered surely?

I know that many catholics in Ireland have just about had all they can take but I don't know how they will deal with their faith.

I dare say that there are thousands all over the world who are rethinking about how they worship.

I was raised a Catholic and have met many kind and decent men who are priests - I believe the abuse went on because, especially in very Catholic countries where the Church holds so much power, no one would challenge such a "holy" institution.

Study the John Jay Report, an official report on the Catholic Sex Abuse.

Tons of the abuse that occurred between the 1950's and 1990's was not discovered until 1996 by the Vatican.

Catholic Priests as a demographic, statistically speaking, have less incidences of abuse than Protestant Ministers, Jewish Rabbis, teachers, and caregivers.

The media has blown it all out of proportion. I pray you will make the right choice.

God bless.

I know of only one instance where this happened and at the time of this occurence their was no knowledge of any child abuse. He like all the others was transferred after psychological treatment and being deemed cured of homosexuality to another parrish. He was accused of creating scandal by having sexual relations with a young male prostitute. To say that they were transferred for child abuse is as far as I can research just sensational reporting making something appear different than it actually was in order to sell newspapers or crate scandal.

Just for you information the Southern Baptist Convention has acknowledged a 30 times greater incidence of this crime among their clergy than among the Catholic Church. God bless!

In Christ

Fr. Joseph

I left the Catholic Church because I don't believe in a god anymore.

PS - Even Baptists (as well as every non-Catholic Christian branch) has had many issues with child abuse.

Probably, but what about all the protestant preachers who molest the children at "bible camp", no one ever talks about that. The Catholic priests are just the ones getting all the press.

Taoist/Atheist (realist)

Honey, all religions are corrupt just in different ways! No gods or devils exist any where outside of any ones properly inculcated mind! The truth, not a pretend belief like any god is!