A ‘wee’ wish for you on St. Patrick’s Day
May you see God’s light on the path ahead
When the road you walk is dark.
May you always hear,
Even in your hour of sorrow,
The gentle singing of the lark.
When times are hard may hardness
Never turn your heart to stone,
May you always remember
when the shadows fall—
You do not walk alone.
Sylvia
If anyone is up watching television right now, an interview I did with CBC is airing on CBC The National @ 10:41 Eastern time. I’m just watching it on the CBC news channel now.
Yes, very good, ….I just saw you on line being interviewed. Nice piano playing too! I have lost your story although I’m sure you have expressed it in this site. Was the priest who abused you ever charged? What about that Bishop in that photo. Did he know? Can you refresh your story or direct me again in here. That was certainly brave ofyou to go on the National. They probably filmed a lot more than what we saw.
I too have lost not faith in God but in a Church that cannot deal openly with its sexual molestors. As you are probably aware, the Fr Smiths and Bishop Laheys dealt with my students over a number of years that I taught in the RC system in Nfld. There were others too that have been acussed and found guilty. One (Fr Des McGrath) probably committed suicide. When it’s all that close, you have to question the Church and its coverups. Not hard to lose faith in the Church….but as I said,,,not God. A site like this certainly opens up the issues of sexual abuse…and they are a BIG problem in the RC Church.
Thanks Mike. My story is found on this site under Jack McCann. I went to the police over 2o years ago when I discovered he was starting a youth group on a small island community. He was convicted and sentenced to 10 months. I discovered 2 years ago that he had been Working in an Ottawa parish. I believe he had been in the Ottawa area since his release from prison.
That is Archbishop Carney in the photo. Jack McCann held the position of Archbishop’s representative for schools in the Vancouver archdiocese for awhile. McCann was an oblate. I know the oblates knew, and I’m convinced that’s why they moved him to Fort St. John, a northern B.C. Town. I can’t remember which Bishop I spoke with after McCann’s conviction.
The CBC crew spent 2 1/2 hours at my house. The final edit seems rather vacuous to me. I think I said a few things that would have had more impact. Oh well!
I believe that social media has made the greatest impact on this issue. The fact that we can share our stories through this blog brings the issue out of the secrecy and shame we lived in for so long. It’s important to me that with all of the media attention focused on the church, that the voice of victims is heard loud and clear.
Very well said! I agree! Wow..two and a half hrs…hope they sometime show more of your statement and discussion with CBC. It needs to be said.
Coverups are still happening. Did you see this this morning? And this Cardinal helped elect a new Pope. Please read: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/16/us-safrica-cardinal-idUSBRE92F09A20130316
I’ll have more to say later.
I’ve posted that Mike Mc, along with today’s apology from the Cardinal Archbishop. According to Napier “the wheels came off” during the interview.” He claims he was taken out of context. I see nothing in today’s article to indicate that he has stopped rationalize the criminal and sinful behaviour of the two priests who, in his mind, should be excused for their predatory behaviour because they were sexually abused themselves.
Obviously the Cardinal does NOT know that most males who endured sexual abuse at the hands of a priest do NOT in turn molest other children. What an insult to the majority of victims who does NOT stoop to those depths as an adult, let alone an adult who is a priest.
Here is the link to both articles:
18 March 2013: Cardinal Says Pedophilia Not A Crime: Durban Archbishop Archbishop Wilfrid Fox Napier Apologizes For Saying Pedophiles Should Not Be Punished For ‘Disorder’
Am I right in concluding as I did that since the Cardinal doesn’t think it’s a crime, he also doesn’t think it’s a sin? I can see no other option.
Great logic from a man who studies theology and ethics. If you’re abused then you have an excuse to abuse others
That cardinal (my apologies to the bird and the ball team) is an asshole. I wonder if he minimizes apartheid the way he minimizes pedophiles? That is the problem with the high ranking collars in that church…they minimize the damage at all costs to save their own asses and the church riches.
“The Wheels came off”.
Only one wheel has come off…..the steering wheel!
The Cardinal who is supposed to guide the vehicle properly, has not only lost his direction, but his credibility.
Mike, do you think & believe as i do that there are pedophiles in the higher ranks of the 115 cardinals ? Why do the cardinals who are selected as popes have to be around 80 most times to be selected? Is it because at that age they would no longer have the same sexual desires as a younger one at say 65 yrs of age? Just some of my thoughts. I sit at age 73 & wish it was like when i was 10 or 12 years old a very happy young boy who loved the faith & church. It hurts so much today to hear about all this garbage. As a young boy & teenager i never heard or saw anything that occured in relation to all this abuse that is & has come to light today. It not only hurts all the abused children but also us older adults who try to stay the course & not lose our way. To all you reading this site especially you abused children( mostly now adults) please hang in there & try & believe that GOD loves you & i for one constantly pray for you. I don,t wan,t my heart , soul & mind & body to hate these abusers but it isn,t easy. God bless you SYLVIA & hope your hubby gets better soon
Bob, you raise an interesting point. For myself, I grew up in a catholic parish, my dad was a lay reader,…. I did do the altar boy thing for a while…..but I never saw abuse or heard of anything. The worst we heard of was a priest somewherer else who fell in love and left the priesthood. Imagine that, ….fell in love! And he was a priest!! (lol)
The shock came to me in Nfld about Mt Cashel and Fr Hickey……until then I hadn’t been aware of abuse. Then it seemed after many years, the horrid truth started making waves……and the rocks beneath those waves were indeed ugly. Local priests I knew were accused, then the Bishop (Lahey), then a reveered priest and Nfld fisherman’s advocateDes McGrath was accused and he was found dead the day before trial.
Wow…..this hit us all like a ton of bricks. What the hell was happening? I was a teacher then and had some of these very accused (and found guilty!) priests/bishop in my classroom talking to my students.
Wow, this was hard to accept….and my faith in my Church diminished immensely. Not my faith in God! But my Church.
So you speculate about the Cardinals…in their 80s etc. Yes, I believe some of these men do have pasts that are not so clean as well. A recent Irish Cardinal O’Brien, for example.
But the Church seems to continue to hide behind lawyers, misguided statements (the recent Cardinal saying peodphiles have a disease/not criminal etc.) and the Church won’t accept there is a serious problem in its ranks. The present Pope, God love him, seems more interested in presenting a St Francis Church for the Poor. This is good, but doesn’t address the major disgusting problem that this site -Sylvia’s site…..blogging the sex scandals and betrayal of TRUST in the RC Church – presents.
Yes Bob, and I also say to the victims, seek help and demand justice. The RC must be held accountable for its criminal acts.
Mike and Bob: You both raise excellent points and I agree that there are likely a good number of pedos among the cardinals. I too lost my faith in that church, but not in God. This pope may get his wish for a poor church if they keep fighting the victims with high priced lawyers. They could save probably 50% of what they pay in being sued if they would stop defending the pervert collars so much.
P. J. i,m really disturbed by all this reality that we have so many so called leaders in the rc church who it seems are always preaching forgiveness no matter what saying to forgive like jesus said not seven but seventy seven times. The perverts that are amongst these leaders seem to believe & think that this is their opening to keep on going with their sick ways. I,m sure that we some day will be free of this but never completely. It seems as if my love of our church, has been damaged by all this scandal. I haven,t given up yet as i seem to think where will i go. I believe GOD through JESUS will someday bring an end to this. How in his name can one forgive all this crime aganist especially the young children?