I am embarrassed to be have been part of clergy in the Catholic Church

Here we go again, “sex orgies, prostitution and porn videos shake Catholic Church in Italy.”

Accusations of priests involved in sex orgies, porn videos and prostitution have gone public in several parishes in Italy, sending shock waves all the way to the Vatican and challenging the high standards that Pope Francis has demanded of clergy.  Do the clergy even care what the Pope says anymore?

In Naples a priest was suspended from the parish of Santa Maria degli Angeli over claims he held gay orgies and used internet sites to recruit potential partners whom he paid for sex.

The allegations concerning the Rev. Mario D’Orlando were brought to the attention of the diocese when an anonymous letter was sent to a Naples bishop. D’Orlando denied the charges when he was summoned by the city’s archbishop, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, but is now facing a formal inquiry conducted by local church officials. He has been removed from his position while the investigation is underway.

In Padua, a 48-year-old priest, the Rev. Andrea Contin, is facing defrocking as well as judicial proceedings amid accusations he had up to 30 lovers, some of whom he took to a swingers’ resort in France.

Contin was removed from his parish of San Lazzaro after three women came forward with complaints against him last December. Bishop Claudio Cipolla of Padua cut short a visit to Latin America to deal with the scandal.

Bishop Claudio Cipolla of Padua said, “This is unacceptable behavior for a priest, a Christian and even for a man.”  OH REALLY!

One woman, who claims to have been Contin’s lover for more than three years, claimed the priest carried sex toys and bondage equipment, prostituted his lovers on wife-swapping websites and also invited other priests from the area to sex parties.  Is this a scandal or a CRIME?

Pope Francis had telephoned him personally at the end of January to offer his support and urge him to stay “strong.”  Why would the pope do that if he really took sex abuse seriously?  Did he contact the abused in the case and tell them to stay strong and prosecute the creep and offer his support?

The pope says he has taken a tough line on ethical behavior in the church, but he  also recognizes the reality of human imperfection and personal flaws.  The has spoken out many times against “temptation,” and last week he told a gathering of clergy at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome that faith could not progress without the challenge of temptation.  It sounds to me like the pope makes a lot of excuses for the clergy.

Alberto Melloni,  a professor of church history at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, said there is nothing unusual about scandals in the priesthood. IT SHOULD BE!    More excuses.  He went on to say, “There is no sin that a cleric doesn’t commit. Scandals to me seem quite normal, “That is the problem the hierarchy of the Catholic Church really believes it is normal.”

in the Italian diocese of Albenga-Imperia in late 2014, clerics posted nude photos of themselves on gay websites, sexually harassed the faithful and stole church funds.  I guess that is normal to!

The pope says, “He distinguishes between sinfulness and corruption and was intent on “rooting out” corruption inside the church.”  I guess that means he is more concerned with clergy stealing church funds than sex abuse.  I see them both as crimes against humanity.

“The problem is when priests turn their backs on the people, lead hidden lives and end up justifying their conduct. That’s corruption.”  I am glad he explained the difference.  It seems to me the hierarchy of the church do all they can to excuse or justify clergy abuse so why shouldn’t the clergy.