On the Priest Sex Scandal in the Catholic Church

Much has been written of late about the priest sex scandal in the Catholic Church. There is no need for me to try to explain why this happened. Anyone who is interested can access the many videos on YouTube. I would recommend beginning with Bishop Robert Barron. I would just like to make a few brief comments about what I have learned.
  The first is that it has been determined that this was not due to the vow of celibacy taken by priests when they are ordained. It also was not mainly a problem of pedophilia, although there were cases of sexual abuse of minors. The majority of the cases were due to homosexuality and older men preying on younger men.
  One fact that is proving that it was not a problem of celibacy is the large numbers of sexual abuse cases that are being reported in other denominations as well as in many secular organizations. In most of these cases the predator was married.
  Another contributing factor is our highly sexualized culture - the exploding pornography industry; the easy access for anyone to online pornography; graphic sexual material, both hetero and homosexual; the exposure to sexual information of children at very young ages before they are mature enough to process the information, or even determine whether it's true or not. All these things give people a distorted image of sexuality which results in distorted practices.
  One last thing I would like to mention is the absence of fathers in the lives of many children either through divorce, single motherhood or neglect. This affects the sexual development of both males and females. God knew what He was doing when He fashioned procreation to include both a male and a female. In order to grow and develop into healthy, well-adjusted adults a child needs both a mother and a father.

On Suffering

Because God brings good out of suffering does not mean that suffering is good. God does not cause suffering; it's part of our fallen world. The problem of suffering has plagued men since they learned that God was all-loving. God often protects His people from suffering or heals those who are sick or disabled. We know that is true because of God's revelation to us in the New Testament of the Bible. The apostles and disciples were often miraculously protected from harm or death until the appointed time for them to pass on. Jesus himself was protected from harm or death until the appointed time for His crucifixion and death. There is no passage in the New Testament where someone came in faith asking to be healed and Jesus said, "No; go home and carry your cross."  He healed all who asked and even raised the dead.
  My particular prayer for myself and my loved ones is that God will protect us from all suffering except that which is necessary to accomplish His Will in ourselves or others. We must always pray that God will protect us from unnecessary suffering and then trust that God will protect us or bring good out of any suffering we are called to endure. (Romans 8:28)

On Psychics vs. God's Word

Today I passed the office of one of the local psychics.  The sign outside said “Readings, half price”.

  Reading God’s Word in the Bible is free and most of all shows the way to eternal life. Sounds like a much better deal to me.

  Psychics are either fakes or controlled by a demon. If they are fakes, it is truly a waste of money. If they are real, then you are listening to a demon who has your eternal damnation as a goal. Even if you visit a psychic for "fun", you are opening yourself to the evil one; and no good ever comes from that.