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Nick,
I hate to tell you this, but all
Christian denominations, including
the Orthodox, have trouble with abusive
priests and ministers and covering
things up. This is not a problem
that only the Catholic Church has.
It's just that the Catholic Church
has deep pockets, so people are going
after it.
The Church is also centralized, which
makes it easy to track things down
and easy to pin blame.
If something bad happens at Good
Book Bible Church, nobody can be
blamed but Good Book Bible Church,
and no one knows about it except
locally; but if something happens
in a Catholic parish or school, all
of a sudden, the Pope himself is guilty.
That said, we have a lot more exposure.
Also, the Church is a witness in
our culture to the truth, a truth
that people in the media don't want
to acknowledge; and she is a big
target, a sign of authority, so they
delight in taking her down.
- Where did you see that the pope
was a Nazi?
This is a scurrilous lie. It is true
he was compelled, against his will,
to join Hitler Youth, as were all
the boys of his age, but his family
had a history of anti-Nazism and
if I am not mistaken, the pope eventually
escaped the Hitler Youth. There is
no evidence that he harbored any
Nazi sympathies.
You are barking up the wrong tree
if you are looking for a church that
hasn't committed grave wrongs. You
can read at <pokrov.org> examples
of abuse and cover ups committed
by Orthodox clergy. They are not
immune, so joining the Antiochene
Orthodox church is not a solution.
Besides, if you know the Catholic
Church was founded by Christ as necessary
for salvation, you could not be saved
if you did not remain in it. (Lumen
Gentium 14) Members of the Orthodox
Church, while in close communion
with the Catholic Church, are not
in full communion with Her, and one
cannot be fully Catholic as a member
of that church.
Finally, don't leave Peter because
of Judas. The biggest scandal in
the Church happened Holy Thursday
when one of the first bishops betrayed
Our Savior to his death, and another
denied him publicly.
The moral misbehavior
of a cleric is never a justification
for leaving the Church.
Eric
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