Tyson Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Source He's gone, sex debate lingers By RICH SCHAPIRO and BILL HUTCHINSON DAILY NEWS WRITERS As news of a scandalous resignation circulated about St. Patrick's Cathedral yesterday, Msgr. Eugene Clark's presence still loomed large. Visitors entering the famed cathedral saw that Clark's name still graced two welcome boards in the foyer - a visceral reminder of the latest scandal to rock the Catholic Church. "Before you cast stones you better be damn sure you're doing the right thing," parishioner Dorothy Clune, 50, of the Bronx, said of the silver-haired Clark, who has railed against the immorality of "liberal America." But visitors to the landmark church suggested the litany of libido-driven scandals in the Catholic Church would end if priests were given the green light to have sex and marry. "I think something's going to have to change and until that time I think this nonsense is going to keep happening," said Clune. Investment banker Dominique Bodevin, 65, of Manhattan, stopped by St. Pat's to pray and contemplated the wisdom of priestly celibacy. "They're human beings. They have needs like everybody else," Bodevin said. "I don't agree with what he [Clark] did, if he did it, but in my mind they should change all of those policies involving priests." While most members of St. Patrick's flock believed Clark, 79, did the honorable thing by stepping down, others were stunned and saddened. "Oh my God!" a twenty-something parishioner, who insisted on anonymity, exclaimed as she heard the news after her morning prayer. "I love him. His homilies are by far the best." But Hudson Taylor, 35, of Manhattan said he hoped Clark's resignation also means he's off the church's payroll. "That's what I want to know," Taylor said as he left St. Pat's yesterday. "People resign from things all the time, but they end up still getting paid." Jessica Guica, 32, of Bellemead, N.J., ripped Clark for not practicing what he preached. "I think it's just one more embarrassment for Catholicism," Guica said. "I think the hypocrisy of it all is sickening. By resigning, he's admitting to the fallibility of being a human." Darnell D'Amato, 40, a visiting Catholic from Boston, said she was pleased to hear Edward Cardinal Egan immediately accepted Clark's resignation. "With everything that happened in Boston, I think the Church is taking these allegations more seriously," said D'Amato, referring to years of pedophile priest complaints and coverups that rocked the Boston Archdiocese. Sorting it all out The Archdiocese of New York accepted Msgr. Eugene Clark's resignation yesterday. But there are still questions left unanswered for both sides. Here are a dozen: SIX QUESTIONS FOR MSGR. CLARK You've been stripped of your priestly duties and have been suspended from the Eternal Word Television Network. What now? Why would you stay at an Amagansett motel when you have a $2 million house nearby? Were there any other women who have helped you with your “paperwork?” You've railed against homosexuality in sermons. Where do you rank infidelity among sins? How can a priest afford a pad in the Hamptons and trips to St. Bart's? What would you say to Philip DeFilippo and his children? SIX QUESTIONS FOR THE ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK Who from the archdiocese interviewed Msgr. Clark? Was the monsignor evasive or forthcoming? How will the investigation proceed now? In quickly accepting Clark's resignation, isn't the church signaling its dissatisfaction with him? Did the archdiocese ask for his resignation? What is the church policy on clerics spending time alone with women? Originally published on August 12, 2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Rhino Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Another question: Was sodomy ever practiced during the affair? relevant no ... intriguing Yes PR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 On a side note, anyone else catch this? "Oh my God!" a twenty-something parishioner, who insisted on anonymity, exclaimed as she heard the news after her morning prayer. "I love him. His homilies are by far the best." Bold added by me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythra Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 That's funny. Nothing like going on the record as having taken the lord's name in vain. Here is the equation relative to this discussion: Extreme sexual repression = Extreme sexual obsession Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Here is the equation relative to this discussion: Extreme sexual repression = Extreme sexual obsession <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That's always been true in my case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythra Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Me too. Seems like if you try and make the denial of your sexuality into an issue, it can become a really big issue. I read "Every Man's Battle" when I was a thumper. What a joke. It teaches you to "bounce" your eyes off of anything sexual. It equates glancing at a pretty woman with stealing. This issue turned me into a complete freak of nature, until I realized it was all nonsense. Now a sense of normalcy has returned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aexapo Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 What ever happened to "vows of poverty"? Apparently the only ones who have poverty imposed on them are the nuns, typical patriarchal bullshit. The preists are rich, rich, rich. I wish every catholic in the world would stand up right now and tell these moldy, sexually perverted, myth imposing bastards to f*ck off, and then tear the Vatican down brick by brick, and take all the wealth found within and use it to feed the whole continent of Africa. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The protestant mega-churches aren't any better. Instead of old-world mansions for their priests, they have pimped up suburban villas with tricked-out rides in the 4 car garage for those "called of God." I tell you what -- after the fall of the Vatican, hows about we take over the mega-churches here and use their coliseum-style "sanctuaries" to house the homeless? We can turn their 10 bed/10 bath "parsonages" into soup-kitchens or for foster homes, providing the walled-in neighborhood committees allow us to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aexapo Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 You left out the "state-of-the-art" sound systems and updated cafe' areas that many have. And don't forget all of the "40 Days of Purpose" books that could be used to start and keep a fire going to freaking milleniums by themselves! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I was watching the news report on this tonight, and I was thinking as all the people were talking about the need for change in their celibacy laws, "Okay, these guys have convinced the rest of us that there's a big magical genie in the clouds -- and we're sad that they don't get to have sex?" Celibacy is the LEAST thing wrong with the RCC, or with Christianity for that matter . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixentrox Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 Have I ever mentioned the depths of my hatred for the Catholic church? And I have never even been catholic. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Take a visit to Rome and the depth of your hatred for the Catholic church will just fall to deeper levels. It did for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Red Snyper Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 These crusty old bastards have the best of everything. My MIL works as a cook in a parish. They have expensive foods, fine wines, expensive furnishings, lots of money. And the old bastards are stuck up jerks too. What ever happened to "vows of poverty"? Apparently the only ones who have poverty imposed on them are the nuns, typical patriarchal bullshit. The preists are rich, rich, rich. I wish every catholic in the world would stand up right now and tell these moldy, sexually perverted, myth imposing bastards to f*ck off, and then tear the Vatican down brick by brick, and take all the wealth found within and use it to feed the whole continent of Africa. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ah, Madame M, you put things so well. My brother and his wife made a trip to Europe one year and visited Rome and the Vatican. He said basically the same thing. The poor, who were starving and probably without work, were outside of the gates of Vatican City while the buildings were ornate and decorated with carvings. It is ashame. RS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nirrti Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 The protestant mega-churches aren't any better. Instead of old-world mansions for their priests, they have pimped up suburban villas with tricked-out rides in the 4 car garage for those "called of God." <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm just waiting for the day when some big time pastor of a mega mall....er, um.....church will get up one Sunday, flipping the switch by saying, "God told me to give all of my church members a Rolls Royce." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 But visitors to the landmark church suggested the litany of libido-driven scandals in the Catholic Church would end if priests were given the green light to have sex and marry. NO! That is a misrepresentation of the problem. Pedophiles are degenerates who have a liking for children. They want to sexually abuse children - it's what turns them on. Allowing pedophilic priests to marry isn't going to cure them of their lust for children. This is NOT an issue of celibacy, and to view it as so is reprehensibly irresponsible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Checkmate Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 The catholics really chap my hyde because of the Inquisition. Actually, it wasn't ONLY Catholics. Once the Protestants, Puritans and Calvinists got their collective feet underneath themselves, they imprisoned, tortured and murdered "heretics" as well. And it wasn't "atheists", as we understand the term, who were murdered. (People were wrongly labeled "atheists" for not believing in "God" in the proper fashion.) Victims were merely "enemies" of the church, i.e. "heretics". Anyone who defied church control. Anyone who had money and land that the church coveted were arrested, charged, killed and the proceeds given as rewards for powerful people. Catholics killed Protestants and Anabaptists. Protestants, Puritans and Calvinists killed Catholics and Anabaptists. Anabaptists ran for their lives and shunned one another. What a lovely religion. I don't know WHY the whole world doesn't embrace this "fine" faith of "peace and love". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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