Christian Priests Rape Children - WHY POPE BENEDICT IS LIKE A TOYOTA
and/or www.mantra.com/jai
By Father Tim
Irish Central
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
My friends:
As everybody knows by now, Toyota and their sticky gas pedals has
become an even stickier mess for the giant automaker.
The company -- at first -- tried to manage their recall nightmare
through the press, which, of course, was a complete disaster. They
were eaten alive. A one-minute TV interview with some poor soul whose
accelerator had stuck made a bigger impression on the public than
their forest of press releases.
That the problem existed at all was bad enough. Their attempts to
manage the intertwined, massive publicity problem made it look like
their brains were stuck, too.
Finally, whatever public relations or advertising company Toyota uses
grabbed the wheel before the whole company accelerated off a cliff.
They unleashed a barrage of ads and commercials that, while a bit
late in this game, will probably rescue the Toyota name.
It's happened before. A day or two after news reports about tampered
Tylenol hit the airwaves, the company slickly went on the offensive.
The message was the same:
1) You have always trusted us, and we have worked for decades to earn
your trust.
2) There's a problem. Here's exactly what we're doing about it. We
are not making any excuses, and we will not make any. This is our
problem.
3) There is nothing we will not do to solve the problem, and to again
make you a believer in us.
It worked for Tylenol. It worked when the great Irish-American
business visionary, Don Keough, took over Coca-Cola in the midst of
their mind-numbing replacement of Coke with "New Coke." It will
probably work for Toyota, too.
The Pope has a major problem, too: the Irish Catholic Church, which
is enmeshed in a child sex-abuse scandal and coverup that is a
monstrous nightmare -- and one entirely of its own making. And with
the recent but unsurprising news that "problem priests" may have been
transferred a step ahead of the law from Ireland to the United
States, the problem is growing. Fast.
The Pope and the Vatican have tried -- and sincerely tried -- to
manage the problem after years of hoping it would "just go away."
Benedict has repeatedly apologized for this terrible crime. He has
publicly addressed the issue with humility and empathy for the
abused. He has been contrite, and is not attempting to avoid the
problem. He has given the Dublin Archdiocese considerable authority
to rid itself of bishops named in government reports on the abuse. He
has met on many occasions, face-to-face, with abuse victims, who
have, almost to a one, found him to be sincere and deeply remorseful.
He knows the buck stops with him. Around Easter, we will hear his
words on the crisis and plans to deal with it in a specific pastoral
letter to the people of Ireland.
And what has been the general public reaction so far?
Well, let's be charitable and just say it has been negative, ranging
from the somewhat benign "too little, too late" to "rearranging the
deck chairs on the Titanic" to "nothing will ever make up for the
harm that has been done."
Like the customers of Toyota, Tylenol and Coke, many people's
judgments about the Church scandal and its repair are formed by what
they see in the media. Sadly, these sound bytes are usually created -
- almost manufactured -- by those who live more by ratings than the
often-cumbersome explanation that the truth deserves and requires.
I recall a recent interview with a high-ranking Vatican official that
received a great deal of coverage. Probably 95% of what was said
expressed shame for the scandal and compassion for its victims. But
then the poor Churchman gave the sharks what they wanted: He told the
interviewer that "most priests are good, decent people who faithfully
follow and live the Gospel."
Bullseye! The beast had been fed. "Despite child sex scandal, Vatican
claims 'priests are good'" roared the headlines repeated around the
world.
What will it take to get the message -- or any message -- across? We
can only hope that Divine Help will be enough. Otherwise, the next
"American Idol" may have to "brought to you by the good people of the
Catholic Church."
God bless you all!
- Father Tim
More at:
http://www.irishcentral.com/story/news/father_tim/why-is-pope-benedict-like-a-toyota-84038037.html
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
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ranjit_...@yahoo.com
Jai Maharaj) wrote:
> Why is Pope Benedict like a Toyota?
>
> By Father Tim
> Irish Central
> Wednesday, February 10, 2010
> I recall a recent interview with a high-ranking Vatican official that
> received a great deal of coverage. Probably 95% of what was said
> expressed shame for the scandal and compassion for its victims. But
> then the poor Churchman gave the sharks what they wanted: He told the
> interviewer that "most priests are good, decent people who faithfully
> follow and live the Gospel."
>
> Bullseye! The beast had been fed.
The sensationalist rumor mill has been fed its grist?
> "Despite child sex scandal, Vatican claims 'priests are good'"
> roared the headlines repeated around the world.
This might give the erroneous impression that the Vatican claimed that
priests involved in child abuse are good. What was actually claimed,
however, was that priests who follow and live the gospel are good.
So, the headlines, if they wanted to be truthful about what the
Vatican actually claimed, should have roared "Vatican claims that
priests are good, despite following and living the gospel".