The Final Authority of Scripture

[DHK]

So tell me, which sexual sins are worse? Homosexuality, fornication, adultery? Come on, surely you realize that members of your Christian sects routinely take part in all of the above.

No one is winking at anything, it all is out in the open and great strides have been made to lesson the problem.

So tell me, which sexual sins are worse? Homosexuality, fornication, adultery? Come on, surely you realize that members of your Christian sects routinely take part in all of the above.

No one is winking at anything, it all is out in the open and great strides have been made to lesson the problem.

You tell me what is the worst one!

From Pope Francis himself
Pope Francis has revealed that around one in every 50 Catholic priests is a paedophile.

Condemning the issue as a ‘leprosy’ which infects the Church, the Pontiff was yesterday reported as claiming that even bishops and cardinals are among the ‘2 per cent’ carrying out child abuse.

He also said that many more in the Church are guilty of covering it up, adding: ‘This state of affairs is intolerable.’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-paedophiles-interview-Italian-newspaper.html

That, IMO, is the worst of the sexual sins.
But there is a sin far worse than that. It is one that even you commit. It leads to eternal damnation. Here is what Jesus said:

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
--Have you been born again? Without the new birth you cannot see heaven. You will never see Jesus.
The new birth is not baptism as the heretical RCC Catechism teaches. It has nothing to do with baptism. If you believe that it does you will be separated from God for all eternity. Jesus said three times in this one chapter "You must be born again."
How is a person born again?
If you ever were, how, when and where were you born again?
To neglect this command is the most serious of the Bible.

By neglecting this command you may find yourself here:
Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
--Pedophilia can be forgiven; rejection of Christ via the new birth can never be forgiven.

 

[Adonia]

I've yet to hear about an Adultery Pride Parade, how about you?

What does that question have to do with what we are talking about? No Catholic is proud of any sin that others of their faith tradition commits, least of all Pope Francis as DHK has pointed out.

I am a sinner, you are a sinner, your Pastor is a sinner, my Priest is a sinner, the Biblicist is a sinner, we are all sinners trying to achieve holiness as taught to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

[Smyth]

What does that question have to do with what we are talking about? No Catholic is proud of any sin that others of their faith tradition commits, least of all Pope Francis as DHK has pointed out.

Pope Francis refuses to call homosexuality a sin. His church has a history of allowing homosexuals to prey on boys, which is more serious than most other sins.

 

[utilyan]

Pope Francis refuses to call homosexuality a sin. His church has a history of allowing homosexuals to prey on boys, which is more serious than most other sins.

Homosexuality is not a sin. Someone can be a homosexual and never have sex.

I have never in my life been so angry, so lustful, so greedy that I was all the sudden attracted to guys.

If You are saying that happened to you, brother I hate to break it to you.


The Church's position that NNE is allowed to have sex the only exception is Married people AND EVEN THEN not allowed for sexual gratification. And if you read 1 Corinthians 7 that was real reluctant, Because the attitude is you need to prioritize on God first and get that straightened out.


I'm attracted to women.......High school could have been so much easier if your telling me we actually have a switch to turn that off. Cause then I would chosen to be attracted to books.

 

[Smyth]

Homosexuality is not a sin. Someone can be a homosexual and never have sex.

Sinful thoughts are sinful, remember what Jesus said about lusting. And, unrepentant sin cannot be forgiven.

The Church's position that NNE is allowed to have sex the only exception is Married people AND EVEN THEN not allowed for sexual gratification.

Sexual gratification within marriage is not a sin. Paul instructed people to merry as a way to deal with their lusts.

I'm attracted to women.......High school could have been so much easier if your telling me we actually have a switch to turn that off. Cause then I would chosen to be attracted to books.

We're slaves to the flesh, but over time the flesh weakens.

 

[Gerhard Ebersoehn]

I love scriptures. My favorite chapters is 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 john 4. Love, Kindness and Compassion are the paramount highest priority of mine.

If your looking for my flaw I think it lies in the battle between my sense of trust in God vs. my trust in God.

Any prayers you have for me is certainly welcomed from anyone. I feel though I don't trust God as I ought to and through this God has taught me plenty about mercy for others.

God understand I don't want to rely on a sense, sensation, proof, acknowledgement or validation for me to trust God. I want it from a pure place and sometimes that means against frightening odds where the whole world even your own life curses God, abhors love, spits on kindness, throws away compassion........but I still believe.

Read 1 Corinthians 13 "Christ" in place of "love". It worked miracles for me. God bless

 

[Gerhard Ebersoehn]

I say YOU are in league with the devil. He has total control of you and is leading you to spiritual destruction. God will deal with you for rejecting His Holy Church.

<Holy Church>!? Scarlet harlot mass murderer THIS VERY MOMENT across the world ---satan devil on the throne of God and Christ!!
<Holy Church> of God!? Father of lies Islam her first born harlot daughter's god absolutely!!

 

[The Biblicist]

Your continuing desire to harp on the sins of the Catholic Church is nothing new. You are the folks who keep saying all sins are the same and there is nothing different in the Catholic Church regarding this against all other denominations or sects. Sin is sin - no matter where it originates.

God has forgiven us because we asked for forgiveness as a whole. If Jesus could forgive the unforgivable with Peter denying him not once, but three times, the offer of forgiveness and mercy still stands for the Catholic Church.

Now go find another dead horse to beat.

Yes, God forgives those who truly repent. However, hiding sins until being forced by public outcry does not indicate true confession or repentance. I am sure those within Catholicism that were truly offended by the church tolerating such sins for years and hiding them until they were publicly shamed are sorry. But as Paul says "a little leaven leaventh the WHOLE lump" and so until they are "PURGED OUT" the sin remains and repentance is futile. We are not talking about "members" in general or just how bad one sin versus another sin is, but we are talking about 40% of your ordained leadership which is a staggering number.

 

[utilyan]

Yes, God forgives those who truly repent. However, hiding sins until being forced by public outcry does not indicate true confession or repentance. I am sure those within Catholicism that were truly offended by the church tolerating such sins for years and hiding them until they were publicly shamed are sorry. But as Paul says "a little leaven leaventh the WHOLE lump" and so until they are "PURGED OUT" the sin remains and repentance is futile. We are not talking about "members" in general or just how bad one sin versus another sin is, but we are talking about 40% of your ordained leadership which is a staggering number.

Last I heard 90% of our ordained leaders are child molesters.

Then I heard being a "white male", have a higher rate of molesting children then priests do.

So we should "PURGE OUT" white males?

How about rather then slander and accuse. Lets actually get a hold of real statistics from credible sources.

Using your logic we should be Hindu.

 

[DHK]

Last I heard 90% of our ordained leaders are child molesters.

Then I heard being a "white male", have a higher rate of molesting children then priests do.

So we should "PURGE OUT" white males?

How about rather then slander and accuse. Lets actually get a hold of real statistics from credible sources.

Using your logic we should be Hindu.

Why not? It is not "we," but rather "You" that should be Hindu.
Hinduism has much in common with Catholicism.

1. You both believe that it is water (i.e., baptism that washes away your sins.
2. You both pray to more than one god, and therefore both are polytheistic.
3. You both pray to the dead.
4. You both leave your offerings before the dead.
5. You both believe that salvation is by works.
6. You both have more than just one source of inspiration, or inspired source.

There are probably some other similarities that I have missed. In fact it seems you have more in common with the Hindus than with Christianity. But that is OK, because I have never considered Catholicism a Christian religion anyway.

Even here your comparison is invalid. You are simply posting the percentage of the various denominations currently residing in the prisons. That gives no evidence of anything except what you posted. It does not prove anything discussed in this thread.
When an immoral, pedophiliac and homosexual priest, having committed such crimes and is found guilty, he is not sent to jail. He is simply moved to another parish. His sins are covered by the parish, hidden by the clergy, even by the Pope himself in some cases. Thus the numbers are skewed in your example.
But the RCC is not a Christian religion anyway. Like you suggest, it should hold hands with the Hindus. Good thought.

 

[Adonia]

Why not? It is not "we," but rather "You" that should be Hindu.
Hinduism has much in common with Catholicism.

1. You both believe that it is water (i.e., baptism that washes away your sins.
2. You both pray to more than one god, and therefore both are polytheistic.
3. You both pray to the dead.
4. You both leave your offerings before the dead.
5. You both believe that salvation is by works.
6. You both have more than just one source of inspiration, or inspired source.

There are probably some other similarities that I have missed. In fact it seems you have more in common with the Hindus than with Christianity. But that is OK, because I have never considered Catholicism a Christian religion anyway.

Even here your comparison is invalid. You are simply posting the percentage of the various denominations currently residing in the prisons. That gives no evidence of anything except what you posted. It does not prove anything discussed in this thread.
When an immoral, pedophiliac and homosexual priest, having committed such crimes and is found guilty, he is not sent to jail. He is simply moved to another parish. His sins are covered by the parish, hidden by the clergy, even by the Pope himself in some cases. Thus the numbers are skewed in your example.
But the RCC is not a Christian religion anyway. Like you suggest, it should hold hands with the Hindus. Good thought.

You wrongly confuse what has happened in the past with what happens now. When any type of sexual abuse is discovered, the secular authorities are now called immediately. There is no hiding or transferring of accused priests anymore. So as usual, YOU ARE WRONG!

.

 

[DHK]

You wrongly confuse what has happened in the past with what happens now. When any type of sexual abuse is discovered, the secular authorities are now called immediately. There is no hiding or transferring of accused priests anymore. So as usual, YOU ARE WRONG!

.

No, I am not wrong. You are ill informed.

Read:
Why does the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic
Church never seem to go away? Why is it still a story? It has been 31 years since
National Catholic Reporter, an independent Catholic publication, broke the first
story, about a serial abuser in Louisiana. It has been 22 years since I reported my
first article about abusive priests (out on an Indian pueblo in New Mexico, for The
Washington Post). Why is the news media still covering this?

The answer lies with the victims. Many, like Mr. Rozzi, are resilient and
accomplished. (He is a businessman, a husband and a father, as well as a legislator.)
Some are utterly destroyed, unable to hold down a job or romantic relationship. But
no matter where they are on this spectrum, the abuse they suffered is often so
searing that it is the formative experience of their lives. Even if they have supportive
family and friends, a financial cushion and plenty of time in therapy — all big “ifs” —
they never entirely leave it behind.

I have met survivors who would prefer never to speak of it. But many more find
salvation in telling their stories. This is not simply catharsis. They want to be assured
that their abusers are known to the world and can never hurt another child. They
want to know if their abusers had other victims. They want other victims to know
that they were not alone, and that it was not their fault. They want to put their
trauma to some use. Only then can they rest.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/20/i...olic-church-why-is-it-still-a-story.html?_r=0

The victims are still alive. Their abusers still roam the streets without any judgment or punishment ever meted out to them. The lives of the victims are shattered. After 22 years these sex offenders still roam the streets.
You are uninformed. Sadly!
Read the entire article.

 

[utilyan]

Why not? It is not "we," but rather "You" that should be Hindu.
Hinduism has much in common with Catholicism.

1. You both believe that it is water (i.e., baptism that washes away your sins.
2. You both pray to more than one god, and therefore both are polytheistic.
3. You both pray to the dead.
4. You both leave your offerings before the dead.
5. You both believe that salvation is by works.
6. You both have more than just one source of inspiration, or inspired source.

There are probably some other similarities that I have missed. In fact it seems you have more in common with the Hindus than with Christianity. But that is OK, because I have never considered Catholicism a Christian religion anyway.

Even here your comparison is invalid. You are simply posting the percentage of the various denominations currently residing in the prisons. That gives no evidence of anything except what you posted. It does not prove anything discussed in this thread.
When an immoral, pedophiliac and homosexual priest, having committed such crimes and is found guilty, he is not sent to jail. He is simply moved to another parish. His sins are covered by the parish, hidden by the clergy, even by the Pope himself in some cases. Thus the numbers are skewed in your example.
But the RCC is not a Christian religion anyway. Like you suggest, it should hold hands with the Hindus. Good thought.

I'm just saying if your accuse Catholics back it up with actual proof.

Name one Baptist who lived in the year 1000ad. ACTUAL PROOF Zero. Baptist got made up by a Anglican priest who later dumped it.

When a Catholic Priest molests a child its headline news. That's good ratings.

When one of your pastors molest a child, Its not news at all.


Baptist Church Was Led By Sex Offender For Years
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-new-haven-baptist-pastor-sex-offender-20160312-story.html

I can find 100s of stories like that I have I ever heard of a Baptist child predator? Nope. but apparently there is website dedicated.


Do I then judge well I guess its Baptist teaching to be a pedophile? No, same goes for Baptist who murder, steal, and whatever crime.

I look at the teachings and for the validity of the teachings.

 

[Adonia]

I'm just saying if your accuse Catholics back it up with actual proof.

Name one Baptist who lived in the year 1000ad. ACTUAL PROOF Zero. Baptist got made up by a Anglican priest who later dumped it.

When a Catholic Priest molests a child its headline news. That's good ratings.

When one of your pastors molest a child, Its not news at all.


Baptist Church Was Led By Sex Offender For Years
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-new-haven-baptist-pastor-sex-offender-20160312-story.html

I can find 100s of stories like that I have I ever heard of a Baptist child predator? Nope. but apparently there is website dedicated.


Do I then judge well I guess its Baptist teaching to be a pedophile? No, same goes for Baptist who murder, steal, and whatever crime.

I look at the teachings and for the validity of the teachings.

All one has to do is to type "Baptists and sexual crimes" into the search bar and that will give you plenty of reading about the sexual crimes of Baptist ministers from around the country, and believe me there is plenty to read.

Sexual molestation of minors, homosexual dalliances, adultery and fornication - it's all there in black and white and none of it can be denied. A mark of shame on the Body of Christ if there ever was one.

There are reasons why we get singled out. Baptists by and large are made up of small and independent congregations so they don't draw the bad press as it is much easier to highlight the crimes of the clergy of the big boy on the block, the much hated and maligned Catholic Church. But make no mistake, we are not the only one's who have to deal with this serious issue.

 

[DHK]

I'm just saying if your accuse Catholics back it up with actual proof.

I did. Did you not read what I documented? Do you want more?

Name one Baptist who lived in the year 1000ad. ACTUAL PROOF Zero. Baptist got made up by a Anglican priest who later dumped it.

1. Have you heard of John the Baptist
2. The Book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John ca. 98 A.D. But John simply didn't write the book and then drop dead. He lived some years after that. He died after 100 A.D., and we (Baptists) believe as John believed. The church in Jerusalem was "The First Baptist Church of Jerusalem." You knew that didn't you??
Anglicans? No, That was the RCC who tangled with King Henry VIII.
Even the Catholics admit (check Cardinal Hosius of the 16th century) that (the Baptists coming through) "the Waldenses existed from the time of the Apostles."

When a Catholic Priest molests a child its headline news. That's good ratings.

It is truth.

When one of your pastors molest a child, Its not news at all.

When you find such stories obviously you find them in news articles and thus they are news to someone

Baptist Church Was Led By Sex Offender For Years
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-new-haven-baptist-pastor-sex-offender-20160312-story.html

I can find 100s of stories like that I have I ever heard of a Baptist child predator? Nope. but apparently there is website dedicated.

Obviously you found it; it was news to someone. But note a couple of things about the case you quoted.
1. The so-called Baptists involved are the "American Baptist Convention," the most liberal baptist you will find.
2. The guilty pastor was put on the sex-offenders list and did his time.
3. He was in a liberal denomination. Remember that. If this happened among the churches I associate with, he would never be allowed to pastor again. He would be out of the ministry completely--and that would have been at the first offence so the one you are alluding to would not have happened.

Do I then judge well I guess its Baptist teaching to be a pedophile? No, same goes for Baptist who murder, steal, and whatever crime.

I look at the teachings and for the validity of the teachings.

Do you?
Let me quote once again from the same source as I previously quoted from:

Of course, child sexual abuse is an issue everywhere, not just in the Catholic Church. The Times has written about it in schools, scouting organizations, camps, United Nations missions and other faiths. My colleagues on the Metro desk wrote a disturbing series on the coverup of child abusers in the Orthodox Jewish community in New York. I have covered cases of sexual abuse in such a wide variety of religions that I have trouble keeping track: Protestant, Jewish, Hindu, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the most bizarre story of all — an international Christian cult called the Children of God. But the scandal in the Catholic Church has proved far more extensive, and experts I have spoken with over the years have had a few theories why. One is sheer numbers — Catholics make up about a quarter of the American population and are the largest single religious denomination. The Catholic Church is also a hierarchical organization that keeps extensive records, so abuse usually leaves a paper trail (there was a long document trail leading to the pope in an article I wrote about a Wisconsin priest who abused as many as 200 deaf boys). Another factor, too, is the exalted position of priests, acting “in persona Christi” — in the person of Christ. Many Catholics, survivors included, have told me they had found it unthinkable that a priest could be capable of crimes against children.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/20/i...olic-church-why-is-it-still-a-story.html?_r=0

 

[DHK]

There are reasons why we get singled out. Baptists by and large are made up of small and independent congregations so they don't draw the bad press as it is much easier to highlight the crimes of the clergy of the big boy on the block, the much hated and maligned Catholic Church. But make no mistake, we are not the only one's who have to deal with this serious issue.

The reason:
One who is guilty from a Baptist congregation would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
He will get his just due. Justice WILL be served. He will never be a pastor again.
In the RCC the priest hides under the skirts of the Pope and is simply transferred from one parish to another, as can be easily documented. There is no justice. The victims suffer intolerable injustices.

 

[The Biblicist]

Last I heard 90% of our ordained leaders are child molesters.

Then I heard being a "white male", have a higher rate of molesting children then priests do.

So we should "PURGE OUT" white males?

How about rather then slander and accuse. Lets actually get a hold of real statistics from credible sources.

Using your logic we should be Hindu.

By The Numbers: The Catholic Church’s Sex Abuse Scandals
On the last day of his trip to the U.S. Pope Francis finally met with victims of clergy sexual abuse
By Sarah Kaufman
Sep 27, 2015 at 2:44 PM ET


It took visits across 15 countries and the last day of his trip to the U.S. before a traveling Pope Francis met with survivors of sexual abuse by the clergy, calling them “true heralds of mercy.”

“God weeps for the sexual abuse of children,” Francis said in Philadelphia, after meeting with hundreds of bishops and seminarians as well as privately with victims of clergy sexual abuse. “I am overwhelmed by the shame that people who were in charge of caring for those young ones raped them and caused them great damages.”

“Humbly, we owe each of them our gratitude for their value as they have had to suffer terrible abuse,” Francis said. He had previously met with victims 15 months into his papacy at the Vatican, but has largely avoided the issue, to the consternation and unhappiness of survivors. In remarks to bishops and clergy in the U.S. that fueled the indignation, he told them they had “suffered greatly in the not distant past by having to bear the shame of some of your brothers who harmed and scandalized the Church in the most vulnerable of her members.”

Prison Is A Great Place For The Pope To Proselytize
The Catholic Church has come under severe scrutiny and criticism as the scandal of sexual abuse by members of the clergy continues to roil the institution. Only this year, Pope Francis has already had to accept the resignations of three American bishops while a Pennsylvania priest was found guilty last week of sexually abusing three boys at a Honduran orphanage.

The numbers behind the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal are only climbing as more victims come forward.

3,400 sexual abuse cases
That’s how many credible cases of abuse had been referred to the Vatican from 2004 to 2014, according to the Vatican’s U.N. ambassador in Geneva, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi. There were an estimated 410,000 Catholic priests around the world in 2014, the Catholic News Service reported.

2,572 priests sentenced to a lifetime of penance
Another 848 over the last decade had been defrocked, according to Tomasi. The others were sentenced to penance and other mild religious sentences.

Pope Benedict XVI defrocked 384 priests in 2 years
The former Pope, who resigned in 2013, essentially fired 384 of those priests in the last two years of his pontificate.

Majority of priests’ victims were male
American Catholic priests were shown to have a distinct pattern of sexual abuse, with 64 percent of all allegations of abuse made against a priest by a male only, according to a detailed report by the John Jay Institute investigating child abuse in the Catholic Church from 1950 to 2002. Those males were young: more than 85 percent of them were 8 to 10 years old.

$150,747,387
That’s how much the Catholic Church in the U.S. spent between July 2013 and June 2014 on costs “related to child protection efforts and to allegations of clergy sexual abuse of minors…” according to an annual survey by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).

 

[The Biblicist]

The Catholic Church Coverup CONTINUES

Francis and the Catholic Church have conveniently taken the numbers offered by the John Jay Report. In 2004, the John Jay report tabulated a total of 4,392 priests and deacons in the U.S. against whom allegations of sexual abuse had been made. Based on the figure of approximately 110,000 total priests worldwide the report concluded only about 2% of priests were involved in sexual scandal. However, the John Jay report did not take into consideration any violations beyond the year 2002. Over 75% of the scandals occurred AFTER 1992. When the number between 2002 to the present is included the percentage increases from 2% to 12%. However, 12% is merely a low estimate as almost two thirds of such cases go unreported among the general public, much less among a religious denomination that is vested in self-preservation.

However, the 12% only include those cases actually reported. Pope Francis openly admitted that beyond that number which considered only priests and deacons, there were also a percentage among bishops and cardinals that had not been calculated.

Francis declared the church had been complicit in covering this sin within the church for decades. Francis seemed to offer sincere remorse over this sin. However, that cannot be said for a great number of Roman Catholic defenders. Instead of showing remorse they are more concerned about defending the honor of Rome. They take the same approach as our Catholics on this forum.

 

[Adonia]

The reason:
One who is guilty from a Baptist congregation would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
He will get his just due. Justice WILL be served. He will never be a pastor again.
In the RCC the priest hides under the skirts of the Pope and is simply transferred from one parish to another, as can be easily documented. There is no justice. The victims suffer intolerable injustices.

I told you that the Catholic Church does not do that stuff anymore. Yes, at one point what you are saying was true but all that was changed. The Church HAS repented and ASKED forgiveness from those wronged, it OFFERS counseling and has PAID compensation to the victims.

But of course because of your hatred of the Catholic Church none of that matters, you continue to stick to a wrong assessment of the situation. Your continued repeating of such lies does not make your viewpoint correct or negates what actually happens.

If you continue to spread these false assertions after being told the truth, you will be bearing false witness against us, a serious violation of a command from God.

 

[Adonia]

By The Numbers: The Catholic Church’s Sex Abuse Scandals
On the last day of his trip to the U.S. Pope Francis finally met with victims of clergy sexual abuse
By Sarah Kaufman
Sep 27, 2015 at 2:44 PM ET


It took visits across 15 countries and the last day of his trip to the U.S. before a traveling Pope Francis met with survivors of sexual abuse by the clergy, calling them “true heralds of mercy.”

“God weeps for the sexual abuse of children,” Francis said in Philadelphia, after meeting with hundreds of bishops and seminarians as well as privately with victims of clergy sexual abuse. “I am overwhelmed by the shame that people who were in charge of caring for those young ones raped them and caused them great damages.”

“Humbly, we owe each of them our gratitude for their value as they have had to suffer terrible abuse,” Francis said. He had previously met with victims 15 months into his papacy at the Vatican, but has largely avoided the issue, to the consternation and unhappiness of survivors. In remarks to bishops and clergy in the U.S. that fueled the indignation, he told them they had “suffered greatly in the not distant past by having to bear the shame of some of your brothers who harmed and scandalized the Church in the most vulnerable of her members.”

Prison Is A Great Place For The Pope To Proselytize
The Catholic Church has come under severe scrutiny and criticism as the scandal of sexual abuse by members of the clergy continues to roil the institution. Only this year, Pope Francis has already had to accept the resignations of three American bishops while a Pennsylvania priest was found guilty last week of sexually abusing three boys at a Honduran orphanage.

The numbers behind the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal are only climbing as more victims come forward.

3,400 sexual abuse cases
That’s how many credible cases of abuse had been referred to the Vatican from 2004 to 2014, according to the Vatican’s U.N. ambassador in Geneva, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi. There were an estimated 410,000 Catholic priests around the world in 2014, the Catholic News Service reported.

2,572 priests sentenced to a lifetime of penance
Another 848 over the last decade had been defrocked, according to Tomasi. The others were sentenced to penance and other mild religious sentences.

Pope Benedict XVI defrocked 384 priests in 2 years
The former Pope, who resigned in 2013, essentially fired 384 of those priests in the last two years of his pontificate.

Majority of priests’ victims were male
American Catholic priests were shown to have a distinct pattern of sexual abuse, with 64 percent of all allegations of abuse made against a priest by a male only, according to a detailed report by the John Jay Institute investigating child abuse in the Catholic Church from 1950 to 2002. Those males were young: more than 85 percent of them were 8 to 10 years old.

$150,747,387
That’s how much the Catholic Church in the U.S. spent between July 2013 and June 2014 on costs “related to child protection efforts and to allegations of clergy sexual abuse of minors…” according to an annual survey by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).

None of that exonerates all your fellow Baptists who commit sexual crimes. We have owned up to our sins, perhaps you folks should do the same. We are not so much defending the honor of Rome by our defense here, but making sure the truth is told - about ourselves and you folks. You are liable to sinful behavior, as are we.