Q. 1. I am wondering if the position of the Catholic Church has changed regarding forgiveness. It used to be that everyone, without exception, were forgiven of their sins, no matter the sin, if they were repentent. During the last few years, it has become apparent that the Catholic Church will forgive any sins except the sins of those accused of sexual offenses, these being treated differently.
I am disturbed by the fact that the Church is laicizing hundreds of priests for alleges sins of impurity, which in many cases were committed decades ago. While I do not approve of this kind of sinful behaviour of impurity involving minors, not only among the priest, but also among the public, I do not believe throwing the priest out of the Church is the answer. Once he is out of the Church, no one knows where he resides and he is left unmonitored.
The Church can easily take one of its closed properties in the countryside and turn it into a secluded/cloistured residence where priests are banished to a life of prayer, repentence and reflection. While the priests would be permitted visitors, they would not be allowed to leave the property. Escorted passes would be granted for medical reasons.
What I am saying is that there are ways of dealing with offenses that are considered the worst kind of sins to ensure that forgiveness continues to have its place in the life of the Church. As it stands at present, the Catholic Church has become a "people pleaser" and it has forgotten the teachings of Jesus Christ on the matter of forgiveness.
A. 1. First of all, I want to thank you for your wonderful question that addresses a matter that many refuse to talk about in fear of being persecuted if they do so. Not only have you brought up your concern that it appears the Catholic Church is no longer implementing forgiveness, but you have also provided a good solution on how to deal with the sin of impurity within the Catholic institution.
Regarding how many times one should forgive, Jesus said “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." [Mt. 18:22] According to 1 Corinthians 13:5, "love keeps no records of wrongs." If you have no love, you are nothing. [1 Cor. 13:2] I repeat these words, if you have no love, you are nothing. You are not a Catholic, nor a Christian. For one to be a true Catholic, because of its christian nature, he must practice forgiveness without exception.
Jesus said, "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." [Mt. 7:2] If you cannot forgive those who are guilty of the sins of impurity, then you will not be forgiven for your sins on Judgment Day.
We live in an era that is embracing an hysterical attitude. Back in the 1960's, adults who were drawn towards children as peeping toms or flashers, they were viewed as being "sick." Yes, the word "sick" was used, nothing else. And that is what they were then and what they still are today, mentally sick. The difference between now and then is that today, people have uncontrolled emotions, irrational fears. They imagine kidnappers and murderers of children around every corner of their neighbourhood. Realistically, their creative imagination has been amplified one hundredfold.
Society, the enemies of the true faith, especially the media, has embrased a Catholic witch-hunt. People are told to no longer trust Catholic priests because of a few bad ones. But these same anti-Catholic individual, including the media, close their eyes to the pedophiles that are active among non-Catholic ministers/preachers, teachers, gym instructors, leaders of national youth organizations, daycares, hospital staff, and the list goes on.
Non-Catholics who commit sins of lust are never punished as severe as the punishment that is imposed upon the Catholic cleric. The non-Catholics who commit sins of the flesh are never banished from their congregation. The Protestant still practice "forgiveness," a word that is fading away from all levels of the Catholic Church.
Society is in denial! Sins of the flesh are no different than the sins of alcohol or drug addictions. Sins of the flesh are an addiction. The more you entertain it, the more you want it. To stop a person from getting drunk, you have to take the bottle away. To stop a person from molesting a child, you have to remove that person from all environments that have children. And contrary to the much publicized belief that pedophiles cannot be healed, sex offenders do heal in time. The longer they are kept away from children and related stimuli (as pornography/internet), the less attraction they have towards children. Such is the treatment that is applied for addictions, be it sex, alcohol or drugs.
Why is society in denial? It is because it has implemented a transferance relationship. The tremendous hate that society has towards those who abuse and murder children, they are transferring those feelings towards the Catholic priests and the pedophiles in general. Have you ever noticed that when it comes to forgiving the abusers and murderers of children, there are far more women than men who refuse to forgive? Have you ever wondered why? It is because a large number of those women have murdered one or more of their children through abortion. Experiencing tremendous guilt and hatred towards their past behaviour, they are transferring that hatred and behaviour towards Catholic priests. While on the outside it appears that there is a tremendous hatred towards Catholic priests, on the inside (in the heart), in reality, that hatred is towards oneself. People who participate in abortion, they hate themselves for their crimes!
Has the Catholic Church changed its teachings regarding forgiveness? What we are seeing at many levels of the Catholic Church, some clergy members are no longer practicing what they preach. And the condemning actions of many lay people no longer reflect their alleged words of being forgiving persons.
As sad as it is to say, the number of hypocrites within the Catholic Church has grown at a tremendous rate within the clergy and among the laypersons. The Catholic Church needs to evaluate its position and change what is necessary in order to embrace a true forgiving attitude.
Note: This response is not intended to approve the actions of those who commits sins of the flesh. When the actions of such persons, cleric or not, are criminal in nature within a certain country, such actions should be reported to the authorities. And the guilty party should be punished according to the law of that country. During the entire judicial process and afterwards (when the sentence has been served if applicable), the sinner is entitled to be forgiven for his actions. If you cannot forgive seventy-seven time, you have no love in you!