A psychologist who treats priests was not surprised by continuing revelations of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. But there was something that surprised him:
“It was a surprise for me to see how many psychopaths I met in the priesthood,” Dr. Leslie Lothstein said. “Glib, callous, could say anything to you and be charming.”
Read A psychologist steeped in treatment of sexually active priests, on nytimes.com.
Link suggested by a Lovefraud reader.
one_step, usually when I use the terminology “man” or “men”, I am referring to both men and women … as in humans. But, I can understand the confusion, since I did reference women and men in my last statement.
Anyway, just as parents have to guide their children during their growth years (aka potty train (LOL) etc.) so too did Jesus guided us (his children) from acting as wild beasts of the world … Since most man (humans) did not want to be taught how to act civilly among each other (aka heathens, pagans … do what you want, any time you want, with no consequences), women were to insist that men read, comprehend and abide in Jesus’ truth.
It’s difficult to explain scriptures, since you do not practice Jesus’ way of life, you keep referencing back to the Catholic Church and how they had control over the masses through the centuries.
Back to Jesus (sorry about my lack of concentration, I’m taking care of my neighbor’s 6 year old … listening to what she wants versus writing my thoughts clearly) … mea culpa.
Jesus told us that we are all born evil. Born of carnal sin. All hearts of man (meaning women too) are wicked. With that known, He came to save us from our sins, died for us, sent us a letter to read (the Holy Bible) as a blueprint how to live righteously among each other … in peace, harmony, love … compassion, etc.
Instead of reading my writings today, since I can not give this e-mail serious thought (due to my little 6 year old friend standing next to me … yanking my arm to go out) … there is a great pastor who preaches Jesus’ truth. You can down load Pastor Murray’s Bible studies from sheperdschapel.com
Most preachers of today are contacting him to sharpen their knowledge of Jesus’ wisdom.
I’ll write later what my theory is why women are so mistreated today. Basically, it was that most men (meaning humans) didn’t not practice wisdom taught by Jesus.
Peace.
Wini, I don’t think it is JUST “wisdom taught by Jesus” I think in many cases it is ANY WISDOM at all! Even a pack of wolves has an order of how things are to be done so that they can live in harmony with each other inside the pack, and when people live together there must be “rules” under which the interactions are conducted to enable to people to live together—whatever those rules are. The problem is that the psychopaths will not adopt ANY rules other than “I want what I want and I want what I want now and no one else should stop me from having what I want when I want it.”
The “dog eat dog” philosophy of “me first, damn the others” is not a wise way for any people to live together—no matter what the culture. Unfortunately, many cultures have developed a “top dog” (many times a P) gets that they want without any reprocussions, or a “women are not as good as men or have no rights” philosophy.
Some groups of “christians” have adopted this with the “women obey your husbands” without the rest of the story which is “husbands love your wives as yourself” (love in that context really means to TREAT her as you treat yourself).
These scriptures are also used by these same people to get women to submit to abuse by their husbands, which of course we know is not what Jesus intended in any of his teachings.
Instead of being taught by Christianity, the practice of abuse of women which was already incorporated into the culture pre-Christianity, was carried over into the adaption when they embraced “Christianity.”
If the words of the Bible are taken out of context they can be used to “prove” anything, no matter how perverted or bad! Just like that priest in the article saying He didn’t use a CONDOM when he had sex because the church didn’t approve of birth control! LOL ROTFLMAO
OxD, thank you for your comments. They are spot-on. And, “Jesus’ way of life” has been practiced by many cultures and people, even before his birth. Native Americans and many indigenous cultures practiced respect, intetgrity, and strict rules of social conduct LONG before European contact.
Wini,
I think you are onto something- Jesus did teach a great many lessons on respect. Sadly they fall on deaf ears.. But that was another prolific comment: Let them who have ears, hear.
If in Pastor Murray we find a man who has ears and a passion for the way which Jesus taught, we have indeed found a man among men.
Jesus was a great teacher. The organization founded after his death has over history done things which are not of his wisdom.
The conflict between men and women in balance is as old as the story of humanity. I do not think the Christian Church has by any means expanded to a leadership position in the world. There are other larger ones and I believe its view of women is utterly demeaning.
I wish there was an easy answer. I wish. Even following Christ is not always easy even if it is without question a choice to good alternative over what is common.
I’ve been told I’m wrong about my view many times. Here it goes.
I believe that priests should be allowed to marry. This will not help the dysfunctional priests of today. But, could it breed future generations of healthy minded priests? Or, should I say healthier than we have now?
Just pondering.
Jeannie, I have no problem with priests or ministers being married or celebate, the only problem is, the PERVERTS that molest children would not be detered by a sexual relationship with a woman, or even another man, they are attracted to CHILDREN.
OxD, you hit that nail right on the head. How many “married” men and women out there sexually abuse their own children, let alone neighbor children or strangers? It’s not about a “marital” relationship – it’s about CONTROL and ABUSE. It’s about predators hiding behind the veil of religion – ANY religion – just as they will hide behind the veil of social or corporate status. Control and abuse have no boundaries, so marriage wouldn’t be a deterrant, at all.
I know people who practice celibacy that are not abusive, do not have control issues, and aren’t predators.
This drives me crazy. I SAID this would NOT help our current priests. This is what nobody hears.
Ok, lets back step a bit. How many sexual molestations do you hear about in the Baptist religion, or the Lutheran religion, or the Jehovah Witness religion, or the Jewish. Yet how many molestations do you hear about in the Catholic?
What is the difference? One of the religions is not allowed to marry.
I believe it built generations of sick minded men, sick minded Catholic priests who deny their sexuality. Do you get my meaning now?
Or am I the only one in the whole world who has this opinion?
Jeannie812, this type of thing happens in EVERY denomination and EVERY religion and EVERY group where people gather together and are vulnerable to someone who has “power.”
I was a member of a Methodist church in VA. One of the members was a convicted child molestor, and nobody knew about it…..except the Police Department. Nobody was notified and no warnings were ever issued. This person continued molesting little boys until he was finally arrested because one 5 year old boy came home from a function bleeding from his rectum. The pervert made bail and promptly hung himself.
There is no difference – the Catholic Church just happens to be the largest “Christian” organization in the world with hundreds of millions of followers. There’s nothing wrong with celibacy if it is chosen with by the individual for a purpose, rather than being forced to follow a mandate. But, celibacy or not, molesting children isn’t about sexuality. It’s about deliberately inflicting damage THROUGH sexual means. If these perverts were suddenly castrated, they would find other means to inflict pain. Their perversions just BEGIN with sex and never, ever end.
Yes, priests should be allowed to marry. There are so many good reasons for them to be able to have a loving relationship with another person. When they are supposed to supress their desires it seems to lead to more perverted desires. If priests had an emotional connection to a spouse and children, it would make them less likely to be a child molester. Deviant behavior happens when people can’t connect emotionally.