Not until the Church releases ALL records and cooperates fully. Not until it defrocks Bernard Law and every other Church official who protected these monsters and makes them available for extradition.

You CANNOT claim to have admitted to the crime and deserve forgiveness while fighting to protect molesters and thwart the legal system.

And what was found out was probably only the tip of a huge iceberg.

So many people willing to get back down on their knees to this obscenity of a church because the new guy seems to be so nice.

The Church is defined by Bernard Law and Uganda. The rest is public relations.

Money can't undo what was done, but it CAN help make lives BETTER - lives which were made miserable by being sexually abused by priests.

but the church isn't there yet. I've kept quiet while people on DU swooned over this pope. Admittedly he's better than what came before, but any pope is committed first and foremost, to defending the church. I don't see that changing. Francis is taking steps to correct the prevailing culture of abuse and that's a good thing, but I predict he will never release records. His primary concern, as is any pope's, is the church's reputation.

And corruption within the RCC's hierarchy.

Yes, I know that is not how the RCC operates, but acknowledging that fact merely serves to underscore how corrupt the organization of the church has become, over the centuries.

but as you say, it's not how RCC operates. The church is dying and fighting for its life so I don't see that changing.

That's all they ever had to do. This shit is not complicated.

I'll be impressed when he starts handing over evidence and priests/nuns to the authorities and fully cooperates with investigations and prosecutions.

Until then it's just more politically posturing.




EDIT: REC.

As a victim of sexual abuse by a priest I have to say that these are only words and words have been the only thing offered us in the past. There are many, many men out there who, as young boys, were molested by these monsters and will never come forward because of their own personal reasons. The swath of destruction is much greater than people realize.

When these words are followed up by actions/changes I'll get on board. Until then, its just some guy saying things in front of people.

Is Francis saying he too harmed children, or is he just acting as advocate for the criminals when he asks for forgiveness? Is it Catholic dogma that one man can confess for another man's sins?
I ask the OP to list actions Francis has taken to protect the children in his charge. He has taken no action, he recently called a committee to discuss what action one takes when one finds men raping kids, because Francis is just not sure if that is wrong or right, this man who condemns LGBT people as Satanic is an accomplice to great evil.
In Uganda, his Bishops dance in the street in celebration of anti gay laws. Francis says nothing about it, but he takes time to ask that child abuse be swept under the rug by a wave of his bigoted old hand.
It gets hard to take the promotion of this man on DU. It is disturbing what some will seek to excuse.

How about jail time...as any one of us would receive under the law.

forgiveness is not for the predator, it is for themselves so that they can heal. It isn't about forgetting. Some victims can get to that point, most can't.

As for the predators, they don't deserve any special treatment. Let them suffer the same consequences that you or I would suffer if we had committed the same crime.

The Roman Catholic Church has still not conceded their loss to the enlightenment. The RCC has been allowed for too long to subvert the rules our modern and civic society.