I just got done watching "Mea Maxima Culpa", an HBO documentary that debuts at 9pm tonight about the child molestation scandal that rocked the Catholic Church. It concentrates on a few specific cases, especially that of Fr. Murphy in Milwaukee. To say the documentary is one-sided is not even close to doing justice, but seeing as the church is silent by edict, it is somewhat understandable. Keep this in mind when watching the documentary. It is very well made and quite moving.
[A NOTE FOR THIS THREAD--- This thread is about this Documentary and the criminal issues it raises. It is NOT about Religion itself, it is NOT about the validity of faith, religion, philosophy dealing with higher mystical powets, etc.]
I was left with a few questions. [before I continue, I want to make it clear I am not condoning, excusing, indemnifying or saying anything to be construed as defending any of the actions enumerated in this documentary] The film talked about many different sex abuse scandals going back to the 4th century and even had one priest cite an 1800s church document describing how in all-male environments this type of behavior was almost expected. I was asking myself: where is the empirical data showing that priests or clergy in general have more pedophiles than the general population? To me the issue is not that the Church (or any clergy) has pedophiles in their ranks. The larger issue is that of excusing and harboring KNOWN pedophiles and then exposing other potential victims to these known criminals.
The Documentary made it seem as if all priests were potential molesters. I had a serious issue with this.
Still, I think this Doc is worth seeing.
I just saw it via Dish's HBO On Demand on my 622 receiver.
[A NOTE FOR THIS THREAD--- This thread is about this Documentary and the criminal issues it raises. It is NOT about Religion itself, it is NOT about the validity of faith, religion, philosophy dealing with higher mystical powets, etc.]
I was left with a few questions. [before I continue, I want to make it clear I am not condoning, excusing, indemnifying or saying anything to be construed as defending any of the actions enumerated in this documentary] The film talked about many different sex abuse scandals going back to the 4th century and even had one priest cite an 1800s church document describing how in all-male environments this type of behavior was almost expected. I was asking myself: where is the empirical data showing that priests or clergy in general have more pedophiles than the general population? To me the issue is not that the Church (or any clergy) has pedophiles in their ranks. The larger issue is that of excusing and harboring KNOWN pedophiles and then exposing other potential victims to these known criminals.
The Documentary made it seem as if all priests were potential molesters. I had a serious issue with this.
Still, I think this Doc is worth seeing.
I just saw it via Dish's HBO On Demand on my 622 receiver.
