The Catholic Archbishop of Durban, Wilfrid Fox Napier, told BBC Radio 5 live that people who were abused as children and became paedophiles were not criminally responsible for their actions in the same way as somebody 'who chooses to do something like that'. Claimed people abused as youngsters who then become paedophiles 'not criminally responsible' Says paedophilia 'is an illness, not a criminal condition' Says those people do not deserve to be punished because they are damaged It's not often I am left speechless but this is one.Archbishop Fulton Sheen was seldom speechless however and had something to say....
oh my gosh. That has just made me feel sick. I am speechless. And I HATE statements like this... If you don't like it done to you then don't do it to others!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't usually share this particular thing about myself, and I don't particularly want any comments on my experience, but I cannot let the above statement pass with so called people 'understanding' these monsters!!! I was abused in this way. I am not going into detail. But to say that one abuses because they were abused is a cop out! There is NO excuse for this. There are many who were abused in many ways but do not abuse others, they often remain victims, It isn't a sickness either! It is pure evil. Does this cardinal realise what he is saying? So now, every pedophile has an excuse if he holds his/her hands up and says this happened to me? So we don't put them in prison to protect our young, we hug them instead?? Utter nonsense!!
I wonder how many unrepentant pedophiles there are walking around Heaven, when God has promised all his little ones that they will be safe in His kingdom? This is not a judgement. God alone does that.
oh, and it isn't poor old satans fault that the world is in this mess either, he felt unloved and became jealous of God I suppose? Ludicrous!
Smoke coming out ears. MUCH GRINDING OF TEETH. Is this guy protecting priestly chld molesters and publically justifying it?
Unbelievable Padraig, I cannot believe what I am seeing. We will never have peace in our Church and hope of abused victims returning and being restored by Christ with this kind of garbage being spouted.
I have been taught by God that although what has been done to me is important and does matter in His eyes, what is even more important to me is how I treat others. That is what actually counts.. There is never an excuse for this kind of thing. Sin is sin.
I have often heard of different levels in heaven purgatory and hell. I think the one who poisons a little one will suffer greater after judgment than the one who was poisoned. I also think those poisoned souls have a greater chance of mercy from God because he knows their circumstances which still will be judged. We must pray for these souls and their conversion because their suffering in the next life has to be greater than most punishments in hell if they do not repent. God Bless!
I know we have to pray for them Bernadette and I actually do, and I know this pleases God greatly. He knows how much it twists my guts, but I do it anyway for my lovely God. But we have to state this for what it is. Sin is Sin. An evil is an evil. The ones who have been poisoned are not actually judged for this Bernadette, for no crime was committed by them. Sexual abuse/rape victims are all too easily seen on the Cross. They can identify with Christ in a way that many others cannot. You can see rape/sexual abuse from the third fall to the crucifixion. This is one of the reasons why Christ's cruxifixion was so awful, because he had to atone for every sin, and why he says, what you do to the least of my brothers you do unto me. Because he suffered it all on the cross.
I have a question for this Archbishop and would ask him if I got the chance. Should these people be allowed to walk straight up to Holy Communion then within minutes after sexually abusing a child after all, it is not a crime, it is not their fault, it is a condition?
He has no idea how far back that will push the abused on their road to recovery, a road which some haven't even been able to begin yet.
I am concerned that he has felt free to say this so shortly after we have a new Pope. Does he think Pope Francis will give this the nod? I await his resignation asked for by the Vatican almost at once. ..and if that doesn't happen...? Where on Earth is this all coming from. It cannot be an accident relating to the new Pope. Either it is an act of defiance aand Rebellion or he hopes for Vatican complicity... we will see. A resignation or non resignation will tell the tale.
Bottom line. We all know the difference between right and wrong and we all make those decisions every day. We decide whether we are going to be good or evil from the second we awake. A person has a problem with pornography, they tell everyone they are not going to do it again. They are not going to go into the shop again. They get up, they go to work. As they leave their house, to their left is a tube station 10 minute walk away, to their right is a tube station a 10 minute walk away, however they have to pass a shop that sells pornography to get to that tube station. No matter what they say, the minute they leave the house, if they turn left or right, you know their intentions. We all make choices. We have all been hurt one way or the other. We know it hurts. We do not do it to others. This counts for 'damaged' people too. Choices are still made. Only, with the hindsight of just how much it hurts and how much damage it actually does. For me, I watched my children like a hawk, I can count on the one hand the amount of people I entrusted them too when I wasn't around. And if I got a 'feeling' about someone and couldn't put my finger on it, I listened to that hunch and wouldn't allow my children to go to play at that particular house. My experience taught me to let my children know how loved they were/are and to watch them like a hawk! Yes, of course when I saw babies/children I was very aware of their vulnerability in a way that I shouldn't have been because of my experiences. It caused me to be very in tune with their feelings and not to cause them fear or to make them feel intimidated but to know their feelings were valid. Abusers too recognize this vulnerability whether they have been abused or not, and they use this knowledge for evil and because they can! The fact that they control themselves around other adults and don't get caught for so long enables one to see just how much self control they have. A true mental disorder shows itself wherever it is.
i would think that he will be pulled very quickly into line Padraig, even if it is done behind closed doors. This is indeed a very sensitive subject and how it is handled could go the other way and say that there is no forgiveness for repentant pedophiles when in fact there is. I am blown away by the mercy of God.
I'm sorry. When I referred to the little ones who were poisoned and would be shown more mercy I meant the ones who grow up to do the very same horror that was done to them. Not the ones who are left tormented and struggle for the rest of their lives to put things back together. Of course those are totally innocent. I hope that makes sense. Obviously I've never had to deal with such horror and I thank God for that so I comment solely on what I perceive. God Bless!
Yes, that does make sense Bernadette, re the innocent ones. There really is no excuse for abuse. There is help out there. There is counselling, there are support groups, and there are many things for abusers now to get support and help. This is a life choice for them. They are giving into their physical urges and preference for children. Some if they fear getting caught, they murder the child for they are expendable. Personally, I feel relief when I hear a missing child is found dead because I know that they have gone to God and are not living that horror on a daily basis. They are free. There is always mercy for repentant sinners who turn away from what they do and make reparation.
It seems to me that the first claim on our compassion are the abused and their familes. Following this that a large part of this compassion must be the seeking of Justice from the abusers and logically following this that the abusers be brought to justice, ounished and pounished most severely and as part of this process that they be most publically named and shamed. But there is a false compassion that claims to speak on behalf of the abuser . I saw false for on examination may be found that it is many layered and works to its own benefits. It is clear here tha tthe Archbishop is speaking here of priest child molesters. Now why could a Cardinal of Bishop want to show false compassion to a priest child molester? Well in the first place , being an organisation man, he could see the Church rather like a buisness and act to limit scandal. He might be in need of priests and not want to loose one. He may be gulity of an elitist clericalism that sees the clergy as above and beyong the rules of mere mortals, 'One of the boys so to speak' Lets be frank here there is a danger of clergy acting as some kind of Mafia reaching out to silence the truth. If a priest commits a crime of molesting a child, the police should at once be called, they should go to jail at once. AT ONCE.and go to jail for a long time. No if's no but's no maybe's'. Further to this. If a Bishop or Cardianl harbours a child molesting priest from the law he is guilty of a most serious crime and should go to jail, hopefully too for a long time Further again to this, If a Bishop or Cardnal says child molesting priests commit no crime they should resign at once. All this seems so very obvious to be, obvious and trite. But not apparently to the folks at the Vatican or this dreadful Cardinal. Call the police have them arrested. Simple.
