/lit/ - Literature

Is it not breathtakingly obvious? Do you really have any argument against this?

>>9688670
>Looking for best defenses of Catholicism in general

Since you're on /lit/, Thomas Merton's autobiography, The Seven-Story Mountain, makes a decent general case for Catholicism, although it's not an apologetic, strictly speaking. It's a classic memoir which I suspect will still be read 100 years from now.

An actual book-length apologetic that's well-written and readily available is The Spirit of Catholicism by Karl Adam, written in the 1940s, I believe, but still relevant in its general claims.

In terms of what you would find best or most helpful, it really depends on where you're coming from. Atheist? Agnostic? Bible Christian? Protestant? If so, what denomination?

A very good overview of Catholic scriptural and historical bonafides is set out in this short essay:

https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth

>and responses to the sex abuse scandal in particular.

See the John Jay Criminal College Report, an independent study:

http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/child-and-youth-protection/upload/The-Nature-and-Scope-of-Sexual-Abuse-of-Minors-by-Catholic-Priests-and-Deacons-in-the-United-States-1950-2002.pdf

See also 1: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/do-the-right-thing/201003/six-important-points-you-dont-hear-about-regarding-clergy-sexual

See also 2:
http://www.newsweek.com/priests-commit-no-more-abuse-other-males-70625

Executive summary: Over the past 50 years, about four percent of Catholic clergy have sexually victimized minors, although incidents of abuse in the past 20 years are significantly lower. In the United States, according to insurance payouts, Protestant clergy abusers are just as numerous as Catholic clergy abusers. And abuse in secular institutions is 8 times worse than Catholics and Protestants combined.

The whole idea that a priest is MORE likely to abuse a child is a meme. Priests are actually statistically LESS likely to be molesters than the general male population (= 1 in 5 or 1 in 10, depending on who you ask). And the vast majority of the cases of clergy sex offenders (about 80%) involve abuse of post-pubescent teens, not pre-pubescent children. So the phrase "pedophile priest" is a misnomer. Of course, any such cases are too many.

Why then does the Catholic Church get all the attention for sex abuse when other orgs have a much worse problem? Because of the element of "scandal": it makes for a good story, and good stories sell papers and magazines, and generate clicks. Perhaps more important is the legal structure of Catholic parishes in relation to the larger Church, and a legal doctrine called repondeat superior. A Catholic priest who abuses a kid means the chance of a bigger payout because you can sue his diocese/order as well. And that means big bucks. And lawyers want to get a slice of that pie. Seeing the Church's deep pockets, they make a rational decision to sue the Church. This is not to excuse the problem, merely to put it into perspective.

>>9310705

If it's just a symbol, to hell with it.