Comments for Sex and the Catholic Church at http://www.rivierareporter.com , comment 1 to 12 out of 12 comments http://www.rivierareporter.com Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:58:19 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.rivierareporter.com/content/view/841/132/#comment-758 Recently published boo: THY WILL BE DONE by A M Clarke The ordained priest has to repress or deny his innate sexuality. In other words he is required to surrender totally an essential and important part of his basic humanity. This is a story of the Catholic Religion and how it can exert extreme pressure in peoples’ personal lives and life choices. It is the story of three people affected by it. Father Daniel Masters is a newly ordained priest who comes to the Parish of St Hilda’s to start his ministry. Early on in his ministry he befriends Luke Dennison, one of the altar boys, who is an observer in this particular priest’s drama. Luke is caught in the middle; he loves his faith but is acutely aware of the restraints his religion exerts on his life and his friendship with Daniel. Father Anders, the Parish Priest, persuades Bernadette who has fallen in love with Daniel, that she should leave the Parish for Daniel’s sake. Luke has relocated to London after being offered a job promotion and with Bernadette also gone Daniel transfers to a run-down inner city parish. There he meets the amusing Father Murray and Daniel begins to enjoy his ministry. However, fate has decreed that Luke, Bernadette and Daniel all end up living in London within less than ten miles of each other. Daniel finally feels he must leave the priesthood and decides to approach Bernadette with a proposal of marriage. Bernadette has already made her mind up to accept Daniel’s proposal. Then two unforeseen traumatic events in Daniel’s life bring about changes that will affect his life forever. ISBN: 978-1-60911-299-8 - Ann Clarke Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:13:11 +0100 http://www.rivierareporter.com/content/view/841/132/#comment-757 I was interested to read your comments on the issue of celibacy within the Catholic faith. I was researching for a book at the time and found yours and other people's comments interesting and provided insight and information for my book - especially some of the attitudes and feelings towards this issue. I, did of course, need to get the other side of the story for balance and as much objectivity as possible. I feel I have struck a balance of sorts and my book Thy Will Be Done is soon to be released. I attach for your information the synopsis and also chapter 14 where Daniel has an interview with the bishop. I hope you will support my new book, as I feel it deals with an important issue which many people ignore and pass my email onto other people who may be interested in Thy Will Be Done. A M Clarke - Ann Clarke Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:09:21 +0100 http://www.rivierareporter.com/content/view/841/132/#comment-214 Baron, there are aspects of some people's religious beliefs that cannot be respected. Amongst them are child abuse, female genital mutilation and mass murder (like 9/11, for example). Respect for religion, yes. Respect for criminal acts in the name of religion, no. - Nigel H Sat, 24 May 2008 20:10:39 +0100 http://www.rivierareporter.com/content/view/841/132/#comment-212 Hello again Nigel H and BaronMuchausen, 'Poor sods' was a comparision with the clergy. The average non-religious pedophile is often a screwed up loser with an emotionally deformed background. The clergy have 'love' from their religion and usually a good education ...Which makes any abuse seem even worse. As for BaronMuchausen's remark 'a cheap dig at the Catholic Church' I'm sorry but I don't think I've made any criticism without an explanation and/or a solution based on common sense...But then I guess religion these days is a haven from common sense...just not my world... And I wouldn't 'poke into' Islam, I don't know enough about it... apart from the plight of many Muslim women.. but don't get me started on that - I'd be typing all night !!! Thank you for reading the article anyway. - Valda Lynen Sat, 24 May 2008 17:21:27 +0100 http://www.rivierareporter.com/content/view/841/132/#comment-207 There is additional information regarding Crimen Sollicitationis at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimen_Sollicitationis - Dick Kimball Fri, 23 May 2008 18:44:37 +0100 http://www.rivierareporter.com/content/view/841/132/#comment-192 and also, Nigel, your point on sexual crimes committed by women. you should ask the question, why are so little reported? - BaronMuchausen Sun, 18 May 2008 16:40:01 +0100 http://www.rivierareporter.com/content/view/841/132/#comment-191 okay Nigel...you asked for it! Personally, I believe that religion is something that should be kept to yourself and anyones religious beliefs should be respected by others. I don't like the article as it seems like a cheap dig at the catholic religion. No, I'm not a catholic. I'm probably agnostic. Why do some people feel the need to highlight a certain religions view on the mentioned sunjects? Lets poke into Islamic views on the above...or is that being racist these days? - BaronMuchausen Sun, 18 May 2008 16:38:24 +0100 http://www.rivierareporter.com/content/view/841/132/#comment-185 BaronMuchausen, I for one would be interested in knowing which thoughts this article provokes in other readers. Care to elaborate on "hmmmmm"? - Nigel H Sat, 17 May 2008 06:28:58 +0100 http://www.rivierareporter.com/content/view/841/132/#comment-184 thought provoking.... hmmmmmm - BaronMuchausen Fri, 16 May 2008 20:26:57 +0100 http://www.rivierareporter.com/content/view/841/132/#comment-174 Hello Valda. How nice to read you. By "poor sods" do you mean members of the clergy? If so I don't think they necessarily have not loved or been loved. They might well have felt such emotions but are condemned to abstinence by their vows. - Nigel H Tue, 06 May 2008 13:52:22 +0100 http://www.rivierareporter.com/content/view/841/132/#comment-171 Thanks for your comments Nigel H, your arguments of cause and effect of sexual abuse lean towards the medical mystery, rather than the religious. As for subject being more highlighted in the clergy, the moral chasm between feeling the love of 'God' and acts of paedophilia makes me far more enraged than some poor sod who has never assumed to love or be loved. Yes it was commonplace in centuries past...but then so was burning witches at the stake... lets hope the scientists can come up with some rational answers one of these days... V.L. - Valda Lynen Mon, 05 May 2008 15:51:26 +0100 http://www.rivierareporter.com/content/view/841/132/#comment-130 Very thought provoking. I do take issue with the link between celibacy and sexual practice. I believe that paedophilia (and rape) are not sexual comportments - they are violent ones. After all, one does not need an involuntary second party to get sexual release. In the absence of a consenting partner, masturbation does the job very nicely. If forced sexual abstinence increases the liklihood of sexual abuse against children, is it not also arguable that forced behavioural abstinence (ie: keeping calm and peaceful at all times) also increases the liklihood of violent behaviour as a release? So if rape and paedophilia are violent crimes rather than sexual ones is it not the forced evenness of temper incumbent upon priests that leads to their sometimes atrocious behaviour? Also, are priests more prone to sexual deviance than any other male population? When a priest gets caught it makes the papers and shocks us. But do we pay as much attention when it happens in other predominently male environments like the military or on oil platforms? A couple of centuries ago rape and paedophilia were not only a "normal" part of daily life, they were surprisingly common. Men have a lot to answer for. How many sexual crimes are commited by women? very few. - Nigel H Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:48:35 +0100