Publisher's Synopsis
The DNA of the Catholic Church and its belief in its own infallibility didn't make the Holocaust inevitable, it just made it possible. That same DNA didn't just make the cover-up of clergy abuse possible, it made it inevitable. With sex abuse accusations against major celebrities and public figures, such as Harvey Weinstein, Charlie Rose and Matt Lauer, let's not forget victims abused by Catholic priests. They paved the way for the #MeToo movement. Victims of Catholic clergy are no longer willing to live with and keep secret the abuse they suffered, sometimes decades ago. The typical victim has taken nearly 30 years to make an accusation. The Catholic Church, including the sex abuse crisis, cannot be understood without a comprehensive understanding of the Church's history. The Church believes it is never wrong because it has been guided by the Holy Spirit for nearly 2,000 years ago. The cover-up of sex abuse was inevitable because of the Church's belief. Its popes are infallible. The Holy Spirit would not allow the Church to make errors. The real villains in the Church's sex abuse scandals globally are not the offenders. Many of them were mentally disordered. It is the mentally competent supervisors, bishops and cardinals, who did not stop the abuse in the name of protecting the reputation of Mother Church. In trying to save the Church's reputation, they are destroying it. Perverts and homosexuals are the image of a paradoxically homophobic Church in the 21st century. The Church's rejection of modernity is clearly seen in its views about birth control, abortion, divorce, and females in the priesthood. A nun was excommunicated for allowing an abortion to be performed in a Catholic hospital. Three doctors determined that this first trimester woman would die without an abortion. Her bishop wanted to leave it to God's will. Women are marginalized when they are expected to die for fetuses that under any circumstances will not survive. The Church's view of its infallibility means it can't change its mind. It was widely believed that Pope Paul VI would allow women to use birth control after "The Pill" was approved by the FDA in 1960. Instead, Paul VI limited birth control to the "rhythm method" or abstinence in his encyclical Humanae vitae ( Of Human Life). In 1968, Paul VI chose to sustain the precedent set about birth control in the encyclical Casti connubii, issued by Pius XI in 1930. Casti connubii was the response to the Church of England's new policy of permitting women to use contraception. The Church is still living in the Middle Ages, still engaged in a Counter-Reformation that began less than two decades after the Protestant and Anglican Reformations of the early 16th century. This is why, in many countries, where the Catholic Church has presence, Catholics are leaving for other churches, primarily Pentecostal and evangelical denominations. This book will explore the history of the Church from the first century until modern times. It will describe how the marriage of Christian Church and state in the fourth century changed the course of Western history. This will help the reader understand why the cover-up of clergy abuse of children and vulnerable adults became a worldwide phenomenon, where victims were seen as nothing more than collateral damage. Without new legislation and better law enforcement in the developed countries, kids would likely still be abused in large numbers by Catholic clergy. They still are in less developed countries where the Church has broad influence. Volume I describes the history of the Church. Volume II provides detailed statistical data on abuse in 50 countries including the United States. It characterizes the abuse based on the testimony of the victims. Volume II also provides composite data for each individual offender, using available data from most, if not all, of the known victims.
