Oh Darn

[sparrow803]

Molesting priest beaten to death
Sunday, December 7, 2003 Posted: 9:29 AM EST (1429 GMT)

LEXINGTON, Kentucky (AP) -- A retired Roman Catholic priest who admitted molesting three altar boys in 1995 was found beaten to death at his home, police said Saturday.

Joseph Pilger, 78, was found dead in his home Friday night. An autopsy Saturday found the cause of death to be multiple blunt force injuries, according to the Fayette County coroner. The death is being investigated as a homicide.

Pilger lived alone until the past month, when a young man began staying with him, said his neighbor, Karen Owens. Owens said Pilger's car, which had been at his home earlier in the day, was missing Friday night.

Pilger pleaded guilty to sexual abuse in 1995 for abusing three altar boys in 1968 and 1969, when he was their pastor in Morganfield in western Kentucky. He was sentenced to five years' probation beginning in January 1995.

Earlier this year, Pilger was named in a sex-abuse lawsuit against the dioceses of Lexington and Covington. Pilger declined to comment on the allegation.

[Oldbillplod]

Poor man, I hope he didn't suffer too much :D

[metallicat]

The one thing that I don't like about this, is that this just gives the Catholic Church even more bad press. Being Catholic doesn't mean you are going to be a pedophile, but that is the way these Priests are being looked at now. A child molester is a child molester.

[yahcanmicrowave]

As a Catholic, I am disturbed by the Church's inactions towards its wayward members. While I believe in forgiveness, I do beleive in punishment and banishment from the Church. Cops, Teachers, and the clergy have an utilimate responsiblity and trust to the people. To break that trust ought to result in severe punishment.

[metallicat]

Yeah, but what is going on here is that all Catholic priests are now thought of as child molesters, which is totally unfair to them, and to the Church. I agree that they should be banished if they are convicted or even if they just admit to it, but to stereotype every single member of the Church as a molester is stupid.

[Oldbillplod]

I know I shouldnt generalise and I am treading on thin ice saying this, however my only knowledge of the catholic faith is from news TV etc. It appears to me that the catholic faith is all about forgiveness, if this is the case then those who do things wrong like catholic priests can take communion and say forgive me because I have just had unlawful sex with a minor and will be forgiven unless of course they are found out and dealt with criminally.
This is the same with the IRA in Northern Ireland, they killed protestants or organisations sympathetic to their cause and then thought it was ok to ask for forgiveness. They then get on with their lives with a clear conscience.
Is this right, surely the catholic church have a duty to report these matters to the appropriate authorities?

[metallicat]

No, they cannot just receive forgiveness. If you do something wrong, you are to ask for forgiveness and then not do it again.

[yahcanmicrowave]

Originally posted by Oldbillplod
I know I shouldnt generalise and I am treading on thin ice saying this, however my only knowledge of the catholic faith is from news TV etc. It appears to me that the catholic faith is all about forgiveness, if this is the case then those who do things wrong like catholic priests can take communion and say forgive me because I have just had unlawful sex with a minor and will be forgiven unless of course they are found out and dealt with criminally.
This is the same with the IRA in Northern Ireland, they killed protestants or organisations sympathetic to their cause and then thought it was ok to ask for forgiveness. They then get on with their lives with a clear conscience.
Is this right, surely the catholic church have a duty to report these matters to the appropriate authorities?

Never confuse forgiveness with punishment. I can forgive someone but that doesn't mean that that person will not be punished for their misdeeds. Aren't all christian faiths about forgiveness?

[Oldbillplod]

I'm sorry, will you forgive me?

[yahcanmicrowave]

Originally posted by Oldbillplod
I'm sorry, will you forgive me?

You are forgiving my son. Say 1200 hail mary's, drop a grand or two in the poor box, and dammit man, keep your hand off that thing, you will go blind that way!

:p

[Stump]

Yah, I can agree with you on those points. I don't think it was good that he was beaten to death. God will judge him when he stands before Him.

[Jynkxxie]

I held off, as I thought I would be the only one to say this, but now that stump has said it, I will just agree. Two wrongs don't make a right. What this priest did was unGodly, and he cannot just be forgiven. But that is for God to decide. Being a Catholic myself, these crimes, which are highly taught in the catholic church as mortal sins, but then commited by some ordained authorities does bother me greatly. It kinda makes the whole "infallibility of faith and morals" less accepted by others as the truth. And hurts the Catholic Church. But nothing and no one can destroy the good that God has created, not even these priests. I feel so sorry for any victim of sexual abuse, I really do. And I can understand the vengence. But death? That is for God to decide. Just my 2.

Ducking Now.

[Scruit]

He shouldn't have been beaten to death - he should have been processed by the legal system in the same way as everyone else who breaks the law. If they catch the killer than he shoiuld be processed through the legal system in the same way.

[Oldbillplod]

Peehaps it was a bit harsh but if it was your child he had molested maybe you wouldnt feel quite the same way, I know I wouldn't.

[Scruit]

That is what seperates law from the common man. You cannot make rational decisions when your are emotionally involved.

Like a case on Cops the other day... A Pitbull escapes from it's yard and kills a neighbor's dog. The police are called and the pitbull is secured by animal control. When interviewing two ladies as the victim dog's residence one lady spent half the time telling the officer how painful and bereaved she was - and the other half demanding the officer go kill the offending dog.

The officer did not go and shoot the offending dog. Why? Because the officer was making levelheaded decisions out of a lack of emotional attachment.

Had the victim dog owner take a gun and shopt the pitbull then SHE would be in trouble. There are laws and due process that must be followed to ensure that any action taken is fair and just.

If it was my child that was molested I probably would think differently - which is why I would consider my opinons to be biased, and not to be relied upon for the purposes of due process and judicial review of this actions.

Someone died here - that is never to be taken lightly. And out there is a killer who needs to be brought to justice. We,as a society, determine the ways in which we deal with crimes in order to ensure that as close a semblance of justice is done wherever possible. Sometime that works, sometimes that fails. No one person can short-circuit the system - even if they are only topping some codgy old kiddie-fiddler.

(It's that kind of knee-jerk reaction that got guns banned in the UK in '97. Look where you are now. I still don't understand why defensive weapons are not allowed, even though your chances of being mugged in London are 6x that of New York. You can easily determine whether a screwdriver is being carried passively by someone who is going to use it as a legitimate tool or by some scroat as a burglary tool - so why can't you just as easily tell if a can of mace or a taser is being carried defensive or as a criminal tool?)