Be Proud To Be Catholic
"Be Proud to be Catholic," ironically, written by a Jewish man!
Sam Miller, prominent Cleveland Jewish businessman (NOT a Catholic) in a speech March 6, 2008 said:Why would newspapers carry on a vendetta on one of the most important institutions that we have today in the United States, namely the Catholic Church? Do you know - the Catholic Church educates 2.6 million students everyday at the cost to your Church of 10 billion dollars, and a savings on the other hand to the American taxpayer of 18 billion dollars. Your graduates go on to graduate studies at the rate of 92%, all at a cost to you. To the rest of the Americans it's free.
The Church has 230 colleges and universities in the U.S. with an enrollment of 700,000 students. The Catholic Church has a non-profit hospital system of 637 hospitals, which account for hospital treatment of 1 out of every 5 people - not just Catholics - in the United States today.
But the press is vindictive and trying to totally denigrate in every way the Catholic Church in this country. They have blamed the disease of pedophilia on the Catholic Church, which is as irresponsible as blaming adultery on the institution of marriage.
Let me give you some figures that you as Catholics should know and remember. For example, 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy surveyed admitted to sexual intercourse with a parishioner; 38% acknowledged other inappropriate sexual contact in a study by the United Methodist Church , 41.8 % of clergywomen reported unwanted sexual behavior; 17% of laywomen have been sexually harassed. Meanwhile, 1.7% of the Catholic clergy has been found guilty of pedophilia. {10% of the Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia.}* This is not a Catholic Problem.
A study of American priests showed that most are happy in the priesthood and find it even better than they had expected, and that most, if given the choice, would choose to be priests again in face of all this obnoxious PR the church has been receiving.
The Catholic Church is bleeding from self-inflicted wounds. The agony that Catholics have felt and suffered is not necessarily the fault of the Church. You have been hurt by a small number of wayward priests that have probably been totally weeded out by now.
Walk with your shoulders high and you head higher. Be a proud member of the most important non-governmental agency in the United States. Then remember what Jeremiah said: 'Stand by the roads, and look and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is and walk in it, and find rest for your souls'. Be proud to speak up for your faith with pride and reverence and learn what your Church does for all other religions. Be proud that you're a Catholic.
Reprinted excerpts with permission of the Buckeye Bulletin - courtesy of Brookside Council #3297, Cleveland Diocese.
Update 4/30/10 *Please Note: Sam Miller's statement of 10% of protestant ministers being guilty of pedophilia has not been substantiated and Philip Jenkins research does not support this number. I apologize to all my readers for passing on this incorrect information. Thanks to Rob Pollak in the combox for bringing this to my attention.
posted by Russ Rentler, M.D. | 10:49 AM
4 Comments:
Nobody is stopping Catholics from being Catholic. Nobody is stopping priests from being priests.
The problems within the Catholic Church are Catholic on Catholic problems.
Few young Catholic men decide to become priests and virtually no young American women are deciding to become nuns. There are undoubtedly reasons within the church as to why this is true.
The only problem most Americans have with Catholicism is when it seeks to impose restrictions on the rest of us, under the guise of 'natural law". In the end, this only decreases the stature within the larger community, of Catholicism and it's practitioners.
Most of us embrace the local Catholic community as the good neighbors, friends and co workers that they are and realize that it is only a small percentage of Catholics who are the trouble makers, unfortunately many who make up this small minority hold powerful positions within the church hierarchy.
"10% of the Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia."
This information has no basis in fact.
In the original speech Mr. Miller reads from a July/August 2002 Sojourners article by Rose Marie Berger in which she misinterprets statements from Penn. State Prof. Philip Jenkins regarding sexual abuse by Protestant ministers.
In the original article Berger writes...
"Philip Jenkins concludes in his book "Pedophiles and Priests" that while 1.7 percent of Catholic clergy have been found guilty of pedophilia (specifically of boys), 10 percent of Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia." (This quote is used in Miller's speech)
To which Philip Jenkins responds (Sept/Oct 2002)...
"I regret to say that the statement is baloney. I never said it, and it's not true!... Every time this ten percent statement appears attributed to me, I try to debunk it, but these things have a life of their own. I have no idea what the actual proportion of pedophile protestant clergy is, but I would be amazed if it was more than a fraction of one percent."
Sojourners apologized to its readers for passing on erroneous information and revised the article, removing the incorrect and defamatory information. But not before Sam Miller got a hold of it!
Be proud to be Catholic, there are plenty of faithful reasons to be. But bear not false witness!
Your Brother in Christ...(I hope!)
Rev. Rob Pollock
A Protestant Minister
"We may be bad! But we're not THAT bad!"
Thanks Rob! I appended the blog post. I visited Rob's world and enjoyed my time there!
God bless
Sam Miller said:
«Let me give you some figures that you as Catholics should know and remember. For example, 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy»
Why should we as Catholics know and remember such figures? It would be a honesty proof if Sam Miller in stead of Protestant sins give us such figures about rabbis.
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