Dismantling the reforms on clerical sexual abuse instituted by Pope Benedict XVI

From Catholic Monitor:

"Pope Francis and Cardinal Seán O’Malley appear to handle the sex abuse crisis in the same way.

It appears that Francis and O’Malley don't receive letters when it's about sex abuse of minors.

Pope Francis's own chief adviser on sexual abuse matters and president of the Commission for the Protection of Minors Cardinal O’Malley personally gave a sex abuse victim letter to Francis that the Pope never acknowledged receiving.

Now, O' Malley received a letter from a priest which revealed that one of the most influential Cardinals in the United States was a sex abuser and he never received it.
[http://m.ncregister.com/blog/joan-desmond/cardinal-omalley-says-more-than-apologies-needed-in-cardinal-mccarrick-scan?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+NCRegisterDailyBlog+National+Catholic+Register#When%3A2018-07-24+22%3A24%3A01]

O' Malley's record as Francis's own chief adviser on sexual abuse matters shows according to
journalist Hilary White that Francis and O' Malley have "all but completely dismantled" the "effective" reforms instituted against clerical sex abuse by Pope Benedict XVI:

"Pope Benedict installed effective procedural reforms on clerical sex abuse; Francis... has all but completely dismantled or reversed those changes... Benedict 'had defrocked or suspended more than 800 priests for past sexual abuse between 2009 and 2012'... His reforms specifically included bishops who refused to act against priest-abusers... 'This Pope has removed two to three bishops per month'... These reforms - and - removals - have ceased entirely under Francis [and O'Malley]." (Remnant, "Pope Francis Accused of Inaction in Notorious Sex Abuse Cases, January 25, 2017)

What is O' Malley's record in his diocese according the Bishop Accountability website (http://www.bishop-accountability.org/OMalley_Fact_Sheet.htm).

__________

We need priests and Bishops who fear God more than they do men.  Cowards will not lead us out of the valley of death.  Neither will homosexual or effeminate clerics who cannot relate to men.

Only shepherds who have the spiritual strength, the Cardinal Gift of Fortitude, to brave the risk of worldly criticism, will be able to lead the Catholic Church out of the valley of the Culture of Death and back on the road to the Civilization of Love which Pope John Paul II spoke of so often.

Why have so many priests succumbed to fear?  Why is it that their preaching no longer points out sin?  Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange provides us with an answer:

"The reason for this is not difficult to find.  A sermon is the result of the combined effort of all the priest's powers; it reveals his entire person; it is his struggle against the vices of the surrounding world."  In other words, if the preaching is unsound, it is because the priest's spiritual life is unsound.  Fr. Lagrange continues, "Everything in the priest cooperates in his preaching - study, reflection, his powers to compose and revise, the activity of his intellect, his imagination, his memory, his feelings, his voice.  Therefore, when he preaches, the priest stands exposed for all to study; some will be attracted, others will not.  Some will accept what he says, others will simply criticize.  So if the priest approaches his task from the human angle, he will say to himself: 'I cannot afford to lose my reputation; people of weight in the parish who take offense easily must be spared their feelings and not provoked; I must proceed warily so as not to incur criticism.'  In that way Christian eloquence is invaded by a profane eloquence in which the preacher looks after his own interests, not the glory of God or the saving of souls." (The Priest In Union With Christ, p. 156).

The Cult of Softness (see here) continues to produce only rot within the Church. 

Oremus.

Devilish Tactics: Father Emile Boutin's Posts Suddenly Vanish

In my last post, I included links to two Blog posts written by Father Emile "Mike" Boutin and posted at the Men in Black Blog. These links are not working because someone has apparently deleted the Blog posts in question. The first post was entitled simply "Sexual Abuse" and was posted on April 8, 2010. This was the post where Father Boutin wrote, "Should priests be celibate today? No. Celibacy should be its own charism in the Church, for those who are called to it."

The second Blog post which appears to have been deleted was entitled "Who's to blame? The Sexual Abuse Scandal, Part 2" and was posted on April 16, 2010. This was the Blog post where Father Boutin wrote, "..contrary to Cardinal Bertone's absolutely outlandish claims, there are no studies that suggest that homosexuality is the cause of this scandal, but there certainly are plenty of studies that loudly proclaim that the attitudes of bishops like Cardinal Bertone certainly contributed to the climate that encouraged it." In the same post, Father Boutin writes, "..one of the 'serial offenders' was my friend and priest mentor. He was the pastor of my home parish, and served as my priest mentor in a number of parishes I worked in during the summer while in the seminary. On the day of my ordination, he was chosen by me to put the priestly vestment, the chasuble, over my head for the first time. He abused countless altar boys, including most of the ones who served at my First Mass as a priest….I don’t look at my own ordination or First Mass pictures any more…Why won’t I name him? Why don’t I just print his name here and destroy his life the way he destroyed so many other lives? Because I can’t….and that’s part of the problem."

I'll say. Most assuredly part of the problem. The Code of Silence.

These Blog posts are disturbing. For not only do they show Father Boutin's opposition to clerical celibacy, but they provide snapshots of the mind of a Catholic priest who seems to believe that homosexuality has not been at the root of most of the clerical abuse cases [even though numerous studies have shown otherwise] and who is willing to cast aspersions on faithful Bishops such as Cardinal Bertone while protecting a "serial offender."

Small wonder these posts have been deleted. The Men in Black campaign is supposed to be a vehicle for promoting vocations to the Diocesan priesthood. But the Men in Black Blog authored by Father Boutin was being used as a vehicle for promoting dissent.

Our sad time.

Oh and by the way, these posts may have been deleted. But I made copies.