catholic abuse row is like anti-semitism!

[orpheus]

Thought this would be a good place for these:

[JimC]

Thought this would be a good place for these:

At least frilled lizards have a useful place in the ecosystem...

[colubridae]

Hey diddle-diddle, a catholic fiddle
gets wrapped in a secret cocoon
Quick words from this pope
guarantee without hope
that the truth will be buried by noon.

[Ele]

They're digging the hole deeper.

It's funny... you'd think that an organisation with almost 2000 years experience of lying and cover-ups could handle this sort of thing so much more smoothly...

Yes, the hole keeps being dug ... perpetrators of child sexual abuse typically react to charges with denial, then when the charges result in convictions, they act like they are the ones who are the victims

It is criminally revealing of Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa's position on child sexual abuse for him to be casting the Church(ie. clergy) as the victims.
He's outing the lot of them.

[Epictetus]

Anti-Semitism is undoubtedly a problem, but the Catholic Church at this point should really be focused on eliminating the pedophiles within its ranks. I can't help but think that by invoking anti-Semitism, as it recently did, the Catholic Church is merely trying to deflect attention away from the problem at hand.

Of course in hindsight it doesn't really surprise me (it sickens me but doesn't really surprise me) to learn that a number of its priests are pedophiles. For what better cover for a pederast than to join the priesthood? The fact that they are never in the company of women doesn't arouse suspicion, because they have taken a "vow of celibacy." And they have access to a legion of young boys throughout their careers.

[Horwood Beer-Master]

Mind you, they could have got the current poop on the cover. Looks like the last twat on there to me.

They all look the same to me

[Trolldor]

the Catholic Church is merely trying to deflect attention away from the problem at hand.

OMG, like no wai!

[maiforpeace]

It's the children's fault!!!

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/pu ... z0kSq3zICP

[Pappa]

I didn't think I could be more disgusted with each and every story I hear over this horrific scandal, but I have to hand it to the church, they have not failed to disappoint in this regard.

Same here. I keep thinking, they have every chance to fix it... tell everyone they're bringing in new policies to deal with this terrible shit, etc. But they just keep digging a deeper more putrid hole.

[Mung Bean]

[maiforpeace]

Catholics outraged over German cartoon
Priest caricature a commentary on recent sex abuse scandal

By Scott Roxborough
April 9, 2010, 12:49 PM ET

COLOGNE, Germany -- A German cartoon mocking the Catholic Church has sparked holy outrage among believers here who say it incites hatred against the Pope and the Catholic faith.

The caricature, published in the Good Friday edition of satire magazine Titanic, shows a priest apparently having oral sex with a crucifix of Jesus on the cross.

The crucifix cartoon is a barbed commentary on recent revelations that 250 people in Germany were sexual abused at Church-run schools in the past decades. The scandal has shaken the German Church. A recent poll said Germans' trust in the Catholic Church had fallen to 17% from 29% in late January and approval ratings for Pope Benedict have dropped from 38% to 24%.

The German Press Council reported that some 100 formal complaints have been filed since the magazine came out, a level of protest not seen since 2006, when German newspaper Die Welt reprinted the infamous Danish Mohammed cartoons.

Two criminal complaints have also been filed against the cartoonist and the editors of Titanic, claiming the picture slanders their religion. The state prosecutors office in Frankfurt, where Titanic is based, said it would decide next week whether to begin an investigation against the magazine.

"We were shocked -- shocked! -- By the reaction to the cartoon," Titanic editor-in-chief Leo Fischer told THR, his tongue firmly in cheek. "It shows a priest cleaning the crucifix. ... I find it strange that Catholics immediately think of sex when they see it."

Fischer added that since the German Catholic Church had not formally complained about the cartoon, he assumed they shared his views on the matter.

A spokesman for the German Catholic Church could not be reached for comment Friday.

[charlou]

COLOGNE, Germany -- A German cartoon mocking the Catholic Church has sparked holy outrage among believers here who say it incites hatred against the Pope and the Catholic faith.

No, its their own behaviour that is 'inciting hatred'. They just don't fucking get it, do they.

[Trolldor]

The Editor is a champion!

"We were shocked -- shocked! -- By the reaction to the cartoon," Titanic editor-in-chief Leo Fischer told THR, his tongue firmly in cheek. "It shows a priest cleaning the crucifix. ... I find it strange that Catholics immediately think of sex when they see it."

[JimC]

The Editor is a champion!

"We were shocked -- shocked! -- By the reaction to the cartoon," Titanic editor-in-chief Leo Fischer told THR, his tongue firmly in cheek. "It shows a priest cleaning the crucifix. ... I find it strange that Catholics immediately think of sex when they see it."

But I suspect the priets in question generally prefer to be on the other end of that sort of exchange of vital bodily fluids...

[Hermit]

It's the children's fault!!!

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/pu ... z0kSq3zICP

Fuck!

Bishop of Tenerife blames child abuse on the children
Dec 27, 2007 - 5:25 PM

Bernando Álvarez said that there are 13 year olds who are wanting to be abused, and 'if you are careless they will provoke you'

There is outrage in parts of Spanish society following declarations made over Christmas from the Bishop of Tenerife, Bernardo Álvarez.

His comments were that there are youngsters who want to be abused, and he compared that abuse to homosexuality, describing them both as prejudicial to society. He said that on occasions the abuse happened because the there are children who consent to it.
‘There are 13 year old adolescents who are under age and who are perfectly in agreement with, and what’s more wanting it, and if you are careless they will even provoke you’, he said.

The Onion thought it was publishing a satire about this eight years ago. Looks like the roman catholic church is beyond satirisation.

Pope Forgives Molested Children
May 22, 2002 | ISSUE 38•19

VATICAN CITY—Calling forgiveness "one of the highest virtues taught to us by Jesus," Pope John Paul II issued a papal decree Monday absolving priest-molested children of all sin.

"Though grave and terrible sins have been committed, our Lord teaches us to turn the other cheek and forgive those who sin against us," said the pope, reading a prepared statement from a balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square. "That is why, despite the terrible wrongs they have committed, the church must move on and forgive these children for their misdeeds."

"As Jesus said, 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,'" the pope continued. "We must send a clear message to these hundreds—perhaps thousands—of children whose sinful ways have tempted so many of the church's servants into lustful violation of their holy vows of celibacy. The church forgives them for their transgressions and looks upon them not with intolerance, but compassion."

The papal announcement arrives in response to public outcry over the sex scandal sweeping the Catholic church in the U.S. Though official church doctrine condemns such transgressions, the pope's decision, observers say, is intended to demonstrate the church's willingness to put the scandal behind it and restore the public trust.

"By forgiving these children, primarily churchgoing boys between the ages of 5 and 15, the pope has shown true Christian kindness," said Father Thomas O'Malley, a member of the New York archdiocese and one of the many priests implicated in charges of sexual activity with minors. "The pope is saying that, in their own way, these sinful youths are victims, too. Through their absolution, he sends the important message that empathy, contrary to what naysayers and critics in the secular media would have us believe, does have a place in modern Catholicism."

For Catholics waiting for the pope to break his long silence on the scandal, the sweeping, decisive nature of his response has come as welcome relief.

"The pope has shown great love and compassion, much as Jesus did when he ministered to tax collectors and whores," said Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston. "Despite all they have done to jeopardize the careers of so many priests—to say nothing of imperiling the priests' immortal souls—the church embraces these underaged seducers and tempters with open arms. The pope's words and actions prove that the church is willing to put an end to the suffering and let the healing begin."

The mass absolution is being hailed by church scholars as one of the Vatican's most progressive acts since the Second Vatican Council in 1962.

"One cannot overstate the break from tradition this represents," said lay administrator Bruce McConnachie of the Los Angeles archdiocese. "After all, under church doctrine, the act of seducing a priest is considered a grave sin against the laws of God, punishable by condemnation to Hell for all eternity. But the pope has put all of that aside. He has let bygones be bygones. For this, all of those misbehaving, sexy little guys should feel grateful. By showing such willingness to forgive and forget, the pope has sent a clear message: Even though these boys have done much to undermine and subvert the priestly vows of celibacy, they are still deserving of God's love."

Margaret Leahy, 39, a Somerville, MA, homemaker and mother of one of the alleged seducers, expressed relief over the pope's announcement.

"For months, I feared that my boy—and the dozens of others who committed sinful acts with Father Halloran before he was moved to the safety of another parish to protect him from further temptation at their pre-pubescent hands—was going to Hell for what he'd done," Leahy said. "It's the worst feeling a mother can know. But thanks to the forgiveness of the pope, my long nightmare is finally over. He was just a boy of 8 at the time. He didn't know any better. Thank you, your Holiness, for giving my poor little Timothy a second chance at redemption."

However, not everyone within the Catholic church is so supportive of the pope's actions.

"What kind of a message is the pope sending today's children? That it's okay to seduce priests?" said one concerned Baltimore priest who asked to remain anonymous due to a pending court case. "With the pope's announcement, the church is essentially telling its youngest members, 'Go ahead and let Father So-And-So reach into your swim trunks at the church-youth-group pool party. It's okay, the pope will forgive you in the end.' Without fear of eternal damnation, how are these provocative young lotharios ever going to learn?"

"As the creep of secular humanism continues to chip away at our most sacred institutions, the Vatican has established a dangerous precedent," the priest continued. "We look to the church's authority for justice and righteousness, not politically convenient solutions that maintain the status quo. These nubile sinners should be held accountable for the damage they've done."