Pope Rejects Resignations of Irish Bishops Accused in Sex Abuse Crisis

I am 61 and feeling very discouraged by the direction of the Church. This further supports my theory. But really upset me was equating the sins of the pedophilic priests with that of the priests who have ordained women in the Church. I think Pope Benedict is a sexist, out of touch old man.

this silly old man, how can he receive respect. to abuse children and live the rest of your life like royalty is sick. you might drive a good number of us from attending mass and financially supporting the local churches who send much $$$$ to rome, but God bless the little old nuns who taught us the love of Jesus. wait until you die and find out He is for real.

We were just at Masses in Dublin and Galway. The number of attendees was about 50 at each Church. Our family tells us this is the new norm. Very few people attending that are under 60 years old. Pathetic. My Mom always told us, the two groups on Earth you don't mess with...children and the elderly. The pedophile priests have messed with children, and they don't seem the least bit sorry. It's very difficult to not be cynical when you're sitting in a pew, and they're chastising for sins, and begging for dollars. Perhaps if they allow married priests and sell a few trinkets people will start to take them more seriously.

Is he trying to drive us out of the Church? Cardinal Law's treatment was bad enough, but this really adds to the sorrow and confusion most of us feel about what appears to be the Vatican's care for reputation and protection of the hierarchy as opposed to its minimal understanding of the terrible damage done to so many innocent children. I guess we have to wait for the mill stone Jesus promised to anyone who hurt one of His little ones.

It's not a Cardinal sin if it's a Bishop.They make the Priest swear they will NOT BE WITH WOMAN. That there Vow......

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)

I haven't been able to sleep since I read those awful stories of physical torture of priests against children. On what planet does the Pope live? His actions, or inactions, shows me that the church has no interest in justice. I continue to be a Catholic only because I belive in Jesus Christ, not the Catholic Church.

I wonder if there's some connection between the alleged influence of Jansenism on Irish (and Irish-American, etc.) Catholicism and the sex abuse problem. (The more a thing is forbidden the more it will become a temptation.)

Here's an interesting documentary on the "Third Secret" of Fatima:
http://fatimaondemand.org/en/index.php/special-productions/the-secret-still-silenced

To all you non-Catholics and CINO's ( Catholic in Name Only ) who know nothing about the Church, let him/her who is without sin cast the first stone. Are you all so pure that you can bash the Church? Look deeply in your own closet ( Church ) and then tell me that it's clean, WITHOUT LYING!! Just because there are corrupt sinners in the Catholic Church does not mean that the Church itself is, or that all believers are. The Pope is the CEO and as such I'm sure he knows what he is doing. I doubt if any of you attackers or complainers can do likewise or better!