# Suppose the Catholic Church made amends for the scandals. What would you like see them do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 31, 2012, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239 "2012-08-31T09:51:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/21 "2012-08-31T15:58:43Z")
Taking a whack at this one myself: > [@Maastricht](#): > > How much punishment for a bishop who sent a “fishy” priest to another parish? How much if he sent him to a place with children, say a school? I doubt there are any parishes where there are no children. If you acted to keep it quiet, you should be prosecuted. > [@](#): > > How much prison time for the cardinal above that who knew of/signed off those moves, or the practice in general ? I’d let prosecutors figure it out. I don’t know what the laws say and how much responsibility each person can be said to have. I’m not opposed to sentences and jail for anyone who deliberately looked the other way or acted to cover for a child abuser. > [@](#): > > How much prison time for the church officials in the seventies/nineties who heard of these then decade-old crimes, made sure they couldn’t happen again anymore You don’t get to decide all by your lonesome if you’ve adequately dealt with a crime. Dealing with a crime means getting the police and prosecutors involved. You especially cannot be trusted to make that decision if your actions are also part of a coverup because you have a conflict of interest: what if making sure it can’t happen anymore involves something that might result in exposure? At some point you’re going to choose keeping it quiet over preventing future crimes. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/22 "2012-08-31T16:02:02Z")
Maybe a worldwide ban on the Catholic Church running schools, orphanages and youth clubs, or any enterprises involving children. And perhaps they could tell starving people in the Third World that its not a deadly sin using contraception, but having children that you can’t feed and then them starving to death probably is. ---
**Author:** ![Weeping\_Wyvern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@Weeping\_Wyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weeping_Wyvern)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/23 "2012-08-31T16:34:46Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > In addition to the pedophile crimes, there’s their refusal to let women into the preisthood and their war on contraception. These are not crimes per se, but they are things that are WRONG. I am very bemused by non-Catholics who become upset at the Catholic doctrine concerning the exclusively male nature of the priesthood. Catholics do not ordain women because they do not believe women are capable of transforming bread and wine into flesh and blood. The only way to criticize this policy is to say “No, women ARE capable of transforming bread and wine into flesh and blood”. And that is a highly religious argument. It’s pointless to bring modern secular ideas about sexual equality into this debate, because modern secular ideas do not recognize the supernatural. According to modern secular ideas there shouldn’t be such a thing as a Catholic priesthood at all. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/24 "2012-08-31T16:59:14Z")
> [@paul in qatar](#): > > if the vatican was for sale, who would buy it? nambla? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/25 "2012-08-31T17:39:01Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > Okay, the covering the crimes up part is interesting. > > How much punishment for a bishop who sent a “fishy” priest to another parish? How much if he sent him to a place with children, say a school? > How much prison time for the cardinal above that who knew of/signed off those moves, or the practice in general ? > How much prison time for the church officials in the seventies/nineties who heard of these then decade-old crimes, made sure they couldn’t happen again anymore, but felt that widely publishing these crimes would just be “opening old wounds and damaging the Church”? I’m sure there are laws applicable to every instance but personally i would put almost the entire hierarchy of the church in jail for the same amount of time as the molesters. ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/26 "2012-08-31T18:19:17Z")
> [@Weeping\_Wyvern](#): > > It’s pointless to bring modern secular ideas about sexual equality into this debate, because modern secular ideas do not recognize the supernatural. According to modern secular ideas there shouldn’t be such a thing as a Catholic priesthood at all. This is probably why a lot of people are suggesting that the Catholic Church would need to disband. I didn’t know not being sexist and being Catholic were mutually exclusive. There are many churches out there that ordain female priests. So if not ordaining female priests is a fundamental belief that would tear down the entire Catholic doctrine, then I suppose I too would agree it needs to disband to make amends. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/27 "2012-08-31T18:27:07Z")
Tell the church to start allowing priests to date and marry. ---
**Author:** ![Scholar\_Beardpig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Scholar\_Beardpig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scholar_Beardpig)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/28 "2012-09-01T02:06:21Z")
The Pope, the College of Cardinals, and every bishop and archbishop would have to kneel in columns in St. Peter’s Square and shoot themselves, thus castrating their church forever. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/29 "2012-09-01T02:18:38Z")
Give large payouts to the victims. Stop having an exclusively male and celebate priesthood. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/30 "2012-09-01T02:29:36Z")
> [@Weeping\_Wyvern](#): > > I am very bemused by non-Catholics who become upset at the Catholic doctrine concerning the exclusively male nature of the priesthood. > > Catholics do not ordain women because they do not believe women are capable of transforming bread and wine into flesh and blood. The only way to criticize this policy is to say “No, women ARE capable of transforming bread and wine into flesh and blood”. And that is a highly religious argument. > > It’s pointless to bring modern secular ideas about sexual equality into this debate, because modern secular ideas do not recognize the supernatural. According to modern secular ideas there shouldn’t be such a thing as a Catholic priesthood at all. Then the Catholics need to keep clear of the contraception debate, as they seem determined to force women who are not Catholic to follow their beliefs. Let them forbid women who are brainwashed, self-hating and/or dumb enough to be Catholics to use contraception, but they have to STFU about what women who are not Catholics do or don’t do. Marrying preists or not may be more problematical, since women who are not Catholics probably do not often find themselves wanting to marry preists. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/31 "2012-09-01T03:04:56Z")
Engage in one of the ceremonies of the faith: confess. Simply admit, out right and up front, that they did wrong, and in detail. When prosecutors make use of that, continue: admit what was done in formal legal deposition, and again before a judge. Confess, and do so willingly. ---
**Author:** ![WhyWhyWhy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whywhywhy/32/7539_2.png) [@WhyWhyWhy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyWhyWhy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/32 "2012-09-01T03:36:30Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > Sale of the Vatican and use of the money raised to ensure that every man, woman and child on the planet had access to potable water, sanitation and vaccination for all vaccine-preventable diseases would be a start. > > They could run the Vatican’s functions from a couple of modestly sized buildings in any of the world’s major cities and they don’t need the massive art collections or historic buildings. Bam! A winner in the first reply! Not just fighting ignorance but doing it in the first post! There should be a prize for this! ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/33 "2012-09-01T03:41:40Z")
Without reading any replies yet and speaking as a former Catholic. 1. Purge the leadership from the Pope on down and turn them over to civil authorities if they were in any way part of the coverup of the sex abuse scandal 2. Open up the Vatican archives. The treasures they have (ie stolen) belongs to the world, not to a bunch of old sex perverts. 3. Get out of politics and only concern themselves with matters of faith 4. End the Vatican city-state status 5. Actually help people without trying to get them to convert or join the church ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/34 "2012-09-01T07:54:26Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I’m assuming the OP is talking about the sex/abuse scandals, but frankly, the way the OP is worded, it could be anything from giving a stomachache to a lion to accepting a released murderer into a convent. I get the “released murderer into a convent” reference, but not the lion’s stomachache. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/35 "2012-09-01T08:08:38Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Exactly. Followed by mass seppuku. I was going to say “a traditional, ancient form of torture springs to mind” but what the hell, if they want to be weeaboos about it… ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/36 "2012-09-01T11:06:02Z")
What would I like to see them do? Pay property/income taxes. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/37 "2012-09-01T12:23:00Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I get the “released murderer into a convent” reference, but not the lion’s stomachache. Roman circuses? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/38 "2012-09-01T14:53:53Z")
Just as Penn State now has to reform the institutional culture that permitted protection and encouragement of child rape, so does the RCC has to reform its own. I don’t see how to do that short of eliminating the encrusted institutional practices that have created a leadership culture that includes perversion and abuse - the medieval doctrines of celibacy and men-only priesthood. It all stems from that. But it won’t change as long as its leadership must be submissive to a leader who is selected only from its ranks, one who epitomizes that diseased culture. IOW, its adherents who are disgusted by all that, but sill want to feel part of all the good stuff, can check out the Episcopalians. That’s probably the only option in this generation. ---
**Author:** ![Weeping\_Wyvern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@Weeping\_Wyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weeping_Wyvern)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/39 "2012-09-01T23:22:08Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Give large payouts to the victims. > > Stop having an exclusively male and celebate priesthood. The Catholic Church does NOT have an exclusively celibate priesthood, however. There are currently thousands of married priests in the Eastern Rite, and hundreds of married priests (mostly former Protestant ministers) in the Western Rite, all with the full blessing of the Vatican. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239/40 "2012-09-02T07:20:00Z")
While you’re fantasizing about bloody, painful retribution, please keep in mind that pedophiles exist in all religions and professions, including yours, in surprisingly comparable numbers as they do in the Catholic priesthood. And they’re good at gaming the system there, too. You may now return to chumming the waters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-catholic-church-made-amends-for-the-scandals-what-would-you-like-see-them-do/633239.md?page=3)