One monk, Fr Piers Grant-Ferris was convicted of 20 counts
of indecent assault against 15 boys
from Ampleforth’s junior school, in 2005.
"Appalling"
Two leading Roman Catholic schools "prioritised monks and their own reputations over the protection of children", a report says.
"Appalling" abuse was inflicted on pupils at Ampleforth in North Yorkshire and Downside in Somerset over 40 years, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) said. - BBC
"Isaac from the Thebaid said to his brothers, 'Do not bring boys here. Boys are the reason why four monasteries in Scetis were deserted.'"
I am curious as to why you call your blog Abbey Roads. I assume it has something to do with the Beatles. I grew up with the Beatles and loved them as much as anyone. But now that I am older I understand that despite some very good music we got from them, they were a terrible influence on the world. They were definitely anti-Christian with such statements from John Lennon as “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I’ll be proved right.“ And of course his song “Imagine” is all about denying belief in God. Remember the original version of the butchered babies album cover that was pulled?
ReplyDeleteAs I said, I at one time loved the Beatles too. But I am really curious as to why you would name your blog after one of their albums. Thank you.
I still love their music and don't agree it was a bad influence. I'm sure I've written on that in the past. Anyway - the album Abbey Road is my favorite - sort of a soundtrack for my life - to be cliche. I listen and experience music much differently from most people - so I am not always on the same page as the composer or musicians. Too much to explain now. I was also in a monastery for a short time which influenced my life forever. When I left I did so to live as a pilgrim, so Abbey Roads works as a diarist's documentation. I also have a painting I did of what it means.
DeleteI do remember all the music and the album cover you mention. There are many Christians misinformed as to what it all meant. To be sure I've been critical of writers such as Taylor Marshall who have denounced their work. To each his own.
Now why do you use Sojourner as a handle rather than your real name? I write using my real name all of the time.
Sigh. I thought your blog might be different.
DeleteI think you are a very well meaning person, but I think in many ways you, like most everyone else, see only what you want to see. If you refuse to admit the truth about a group that was as against Christ as the Beatles were, to the point where you actually honor them with the name of your blog, then you are not interested in finding what is true, good and pure but only seeing only what you want to see.
I do not use my real name for the same reason many others who comment on your blog do not use their real name. But you needn’t worry. I won’t be back here.
Good bye. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteGuess he was unaware that the Vatican newspaper has on its top ten rock album list The Beatles' "Revolver".
Deletehttps://www.beatlesbible.com/tag/pope/
Well, his point has some merit after all. Remember John or Paul saying the Beatles were more popular then Jesus Christ?
Delete"More popular then"
DeleteYeah, maybe back then but John is long dead (RIP), Paul is aging and our God reigns ... music celebs as we all know, have their ego driven opinions that in the grand scheme of things don't amount to much but we can still enjoy the music ... I sure do.
I grew up listening to Black Sabbath, The Doors, Jim Hendrix, Cream, Led Zeppelin ...
Some folks just need to "let it be"... =)
DeleteTwo famous and prestigious British schools now enter the long list of institutions that have a history of abusing children. I find this sad in so many ways. Sad for the victims, the family, the students, the alumni. It got me thinking how one's sins never really go away entirely. The stink lingers for generations. The consequences live on to continue to harm. Do the perpetuators think that no one will ever talk? Do they consider themselves protected and invincible? I just cannot wrap my mind around the thought process.
ReplyDeleteCan you wrap your mind around this one who "acted out his his homosexual impulses with adolescent boys and young men" back in 1960, was discovered to be living a double-life by the Pittsburgh police, who had enough evidence to arrest him but his then bishop stepped in and had the entire sordid affair covered-up?
DeleteThen get a load of this, "Significantly, that very same year, 1969, Rome kicked Bishop Wright “upstairs” and brought him, and his young secretary, Father Donald Wuerl, to Rome. On April 23, 1969, Pope Paul VI appointed Bishop Wright, Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy. Five days later, Wright was made a Cardinal."
http://www.podles.org/dialogue/why-some-suspect-there-is-a-connenction-between-homosexual-priests-and-abuse-7158.htm
I have to give myself a good kick in the pants because I'm thinking, "why get upset over the recent McCarrick scandal as if nothing like this has ever happened before?"
Then I start to think about diversion, distraction, anger, spiritual suicide and on and on ... no thanks, I'm sticking with the Church through thick and then, come what may. I will probably keep reading and wonder and ponder about all of this but at the same time I will pray, hope, cry, unite with my brothers and sisters in the faith to pray for those sons of the Church who are loyal to Christ.
San Maximiliano, ruega por nosotros!
I'll also do my best to pray for those who are not loyal because like the rest of us, they need prayer too. That's the challenge for me but gotta do it.
DeleteTerry, many times over your blog helps clear my cluttered mind. Gracias!
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ReplyDeleteYaya, I have lost faith in the institutional Church. Tonight's Pennsylvania Grand Jury report is my last straw. I have spent my entire life around Priests and Nuns. Still do. Never and I mean never did I see any untoward behavior beyond the usual pulling of ears and walks to the back of the head. I know these monsters who masqueraded as Holy men are a minority but the protection of Bishops and Cardinals is beyond my comprehension. When I wrote the above comment about not being able to wrap my mind around this I was referring to the perpetrators thinking that no one would talk and expose them. Now I think I understand they counted on their Bishops deep sixing it all. Now I cannot wrap my mind around the men of the hierarchy who had so title concern for children but so great concern for the men who did it. This is devastating to all Catholics. One woman reports she found out today the Diocese hired a private detective not to investigate the priest but to discredit her. The DA reported secret archives documenting the coverup attempts. Five sisters reported abused by one priest. A raped boy died after years of medical treatment stemming from the incident. Loyality not an option for me.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to read this wh. I cannot imagine loyalty not being an option for me. I try always to look beyond and to see Christ in his Church despite her being battered from within by her sons and daughters. I know this sin has always existed, persisting to this day.
DeleteThese folks who covered up to protect themselves, their reputations, those who worked for them, blackmailed by them ... none of them will escape God's divine judgement come the Last Day. NOT ONE.
Who knows, maybe some have made their confession and repented, what do I know. It's enough to be reminded by the Lord that I must clean my own house, that personal conversion is required if I want to walk with Him.
Dear wh, be assured of my prayers for you and yours. We have nowhere else to go, remember that.
I understand where you are coming from Yaya. I was once right there with you. Do not get me wrong. I still love the Church, the sacraments, the Mass, the rosary, the saints, our blessed mother. I love the truly good priests I have known and still know. I am grateful to the teachers, both men and woman, who I have known. They were all, as far as I know, good people seeking and showing love. I think that is why I am so angry now. We have all been betrayed. That said, I have not lost my faith. It is a beautiful gift that I treasure. What I am now against is the clerical abuse that yes has always existed, the lifestyle that promotes materialism and apparently hedonism. The challenge is weeding it out. I am glad it is being exposed but so very angry too. Thank you for your prayers. God will never desert us that we know, but men betray us and that is hard to forgive.
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed dear wh and I agree with everything you have said. Much of what has happened and is happening is beyond what we can do and yet, we can do much with our prayers, our love, our hope.
DeleteThe sense of anger and betrayal is good too and for me, I ask our Lady and St. Joseph to help me to put it to good work rather than despair and bitter anger.
Let's remember to unite in prayers for the sake of the CHurch, her faithful sons and daughters who have answered Christ's call. Let's pray for those who entered with an earnest heart only to become lost, abused, corrupted along the way. For them, I am so sorry. For those who corrupted them, woe to them. Everytime I see a picture of a smiling McCarrick, I get angry, cynical. Please pray for me as I will be praying for you.
I will end this subject with this link which helped me. I know Fr Martin is controversial to some but I think he says it well in his prayer for angry Catholics.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2012/06/06/prayer-angry-catholics
May God be with you!
DeleteThanks for the link.