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German priest causes church walkout: Preaches for predator priest forgiveness - Printable Version

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German priest causes church walkout: Preaches for predator priest forgiveness - C C - Jul 6, 2019

https://www.dw.com/en/german-priest-causes-church-walkout-as-preaches-for-predator-priest-forgiveness/a-49479695

EXCERPT: . . . Retired priest Ulrich Zurkuhlen caused consternation in the city of Münster, northwest Germany, when he dedicated his sermon to the concept of forgiving priests who had sexually abused minors. Zurkuhlen's remarks come at a difficult time for the Roman Catholic Church, as it grapples with continued allegations, from various parts of the world, of priests' predatory conduct and church attempts to cover it up.

[...] In an interview with Kirche-und-Leben.de, Zurkuhlen griped about the fact that even bishops refer to predator priests as "criminals," despite the fact that these men were also good clerics in their communities. "Nobody is just profoundly evil," the priest said. "Goodness and guilt are often combined with each other or stand side by side without touching," he added. Zurkuhlen insisted that it was "time for the church hierarchy to say a word of forgiveness after a long time."

When asked about the reaction his sermon caused among worshippers, Zurkuhlen said that it was "a real shock." He lamented that he was unable to get his point across, especially the biblically important meaning of forgiveness, to what he called "the screaming mob." (MORE)


RE: German priest causes church walkout: Preaches for predator priest forgiveness - Leigha - Jul 6, 2019

Good grief, why won't the governments within these individual countries (including the US) shut this institution down, already?

I applaud the people who walked out. While I believe in forgiveness, the RCC has a lot to learn about it before preaching it on Sundays.


RE: German priest causes church walkout: Preaches for predator priest forgiveness - Zinjanthropos - Jul 6, 2019

Gods way of telling the old priest it’s time to retire. Imagine being 79 and out of touch with reality. When I hear about people questioning a sermon taking place and then walking out, I go into shock. But it’s about time, so maybe there’s hope as religion erodes a little more. Inexcusable conduct doesn’t need forgiveness to make things better. Goes without saying, these kids never deserved any of this.


RE: German priest causes church walkout: Preaches for predator priest forgiveness - Leigha - Jul 6, 2019

Exactly, Z. To me, the RCC has been operating like a cult for some time, and cults have secrets that protect the cult. Not the members of the cult, just the cult's elite.

I have a feeling he's not out of touch with reality -he's just doing damage control, in my opinion. Glad that the congregation sees through it.