not only love covers a multitude of sins

Last updated on: May 11, 2013 at 8:13 am by David Hayward

not only love covers a multitude of sins 2013-05-11T08:13:52-04:00 David Hayward

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO SHOP FOR DAVID’S ART

An annual review this last week gave Catholic bishops high marks on their sex abuse prevention policies. That’s good news.

However, there are still serious concerns about some pretty high-profile failings in many dioceses. You can read this report in more detail, with links, in the Religion News post Church Child Safety Officials Voice Concern Over Lapses By Bishops.

In essence, these are the problems:

Some bishops still fail to report incidents of abuse.
Some bishops still shield abusive priests.
Only the pope in Rome can discipline a bishop.
There’s no policy but only trust that bishops will be vigilant and accountable.
There are no mechanisms in place to enforce the vague fraternal policies of the bishops.

Basically, it comes down to the buddy system where bishops can help one another cover up abuses in their dioceses with no one they are accountable to except the pope in Rome.

This not only happens in the Catholic church. This problem is rampant throughout the church. We’ve seen it in all kinds of denominations where abuses and highly inappropriate behavior has been covered up. And if it happens to get exposed those with influence may find ways to “restore” the perpetrator to continue his or her ministry.

I’m for restoration of the person. As for the restoration of the ministry, each case should be dealt with individually. My complaint is the imbalance of concern for the victims, the fraternal self-preservation of those in power, and their obvious lack of accountability.

With the dramatic rise in social media and the proliferation of and accessibility to news, it now seems that the public is the dominant critic of abuses. Public servants, servants of the people, are becoming more and more accountable to… the people! If someone retorts, “I serve the church!” then we can reply, “Who is the church?”

cartoons

teaching

accountability_cartoon

catholic_priests_cartoon

david_hayward

love_covers_sin_cartoon

nakedpastor

priests_abuse_cartoon

Previous Post

May 10, 2013

what does stiff neck mean?

Next Post

May 12, 2013 a pictorial development of our family on Mother's Day

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category art cartoons cartoons 2 freebie music one minute message podcast Sophia teaching technology thought

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 March 2006 February 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the cupbearer to the king who fasted and prayed for Jerusalem?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Ezra Nehemiah Zerubbabel Haggai