Sexual abuse of 1 million US catholic children & what you can do?

protect the children from sexual abuse

Where is God?  Where was God during the 70 years that 1,000+  catholic children were abused by 300 priests in Pennsylvania?  No one protected those  children.

What can you do? What can all of us do? Let’s do more than just acknowledge the problem.  That is a start however.

August 14 2018 this was published

Pope Francis  August 20 2018 speaks   strongly:   we must acknowledge the truth and take on the pain. … and fight all forms of corruption he said.     Pope Francis calls for prayer and fasting.   And he calls that we  all fight clericalism.  What ever that means.     Read Pope Francis’s words.

What;s the response?  So what did the  local  catholic priest have to say  last Sunday?

In Aptos, CA  the the homily Sunday August 19 2018   was on the meaning of the Eucharist.   What was said in that homily  8/19/18:

Come to church to receive the true Body and Blood of Christ.  God is truly present in the  Body and Blood of the Eucharist — those  words summarize  the sermon preached Sunday, August 19, 2018   at Resurrection Catholic community.

The priest  emphasized, You need to come once a week to receive the true Body and Blood of Christ.

What was the response? About   1/3 took  the Cup.  Almost all  present came up and received the Bread.  About 5-7 children were present at this 6 pm Sunday  service. About 200 + persons were present (a guess).

Not taking the Cup more often than not — that is the norm in this catholic church.

Aptos Psychologist:  Yes priests prepare sermons ahead of time.  OK  so this evening  the priest spends the entire 10 minutes on the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist  — that God is truly present in Body and Blood.

Take Away

And the TakeAway from the sermon is that only the “real” stuff — the actual presence of God — is there during the Mass.  So do get to church at least once a week.

A church service – whether catholic or episcopal or other — has numerous opportunities for prayers for forgiveness and recognition of issues the church needs to face.

The issue of abuse of 1000 children by 300 priests in Pennsylvania  has been in the news all week.

Not to say anything  — during Prayers of the People, during Announcements and other times — is to fail to recognize the truth and fail to take on the pain that those children and their families experienced.

Yes — acknowledge the problem.  That’s a start.

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