The New Catholic Church Scandal

[Soxy]

The Catholic Church is slooooooooooow to change. And its slowly destroying them. Oh, and, given the reason its happening, I have no sympathy whatsoever for the people who run the church. It really sucks though, for practicing Catholics, and the good priests.

 

Wake the f*** up, dudes. Abusers get defrocked and turned over to the police without exception, priests should be allowed to marry, and allow women to be priests. Its just so obvious, but they are just so blinded by their weird little world in Rome.

At this point, they would just be Anglicans then. (Minus the gays, I suppose. . .)

[Rex Kickass]

The Milwaukee priest was reassigned to the Diocese I now work in--so this has dominated local news for a while. It's notable because, essentially, Cardinal Ratzinger was aware of the coverup or abuse or something.

 

Here's a link to the story: Latest update

 

It's my understanding that by the time the Diocese notified Rome in this case, the priest was 2 years from death, and literally hundreds of children were molested by him. So although there's plenty of blame to go around, a big part of it should go to the Diocese in Wisconsin who apparently had known about this kid toucher for literally decades before deciding to do something about it.

 

What's inexcusable, however, is that at some point in the 1990s the Archdiocese did want to kick the old man out of the priesthood (40+ years too late, but still) and then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's office decided not to provide a church trial and instead just reassigned him again.

 

Not everyone in the college of cardinals deserves the guilt that the Vatican has over this matter, but unfortunately its current leader does. And its reflected in the way that Joey Ratz has decided to handle the situation at large. 0 Tolerance policies in Ireland and the US. Germany, nothing (probably because he has something to hide in how he handled these allegations in Germany.) The rest of the world, nothing.

 

Child abuse is wrong, no matter the country, and I always thought that the catechism in the church was clear on that.

 

I think I know how the church can take steps to address this problem, but they aren't particularly popular ones. Beyond holding child molesters to account to God and the law of the country in which the abuse takes place which is a given, I think the church needs to have an honest review of the way it views sexuality and stop demonizing a whole section of its flock who want to be partners in this community of faith but are taught to be ashamed of their sexuality and hide it for fear of reprisal from the church. If the Catholic Church spent as much time on actually making sure that its children weren't being abused by men and women of the cloth as it did trying to stop civil marriage for same sex couples and birth control options for the developing world, I think the Church might not be dealing with a new pedophile explosion every three months.

[BigSqwert]

[Texsox]

And while the Catholic Church gathers all the headlines, as a world, we did a poor job of protecting children and still do in many places. Well actually we thought we were protecting children by not making their abuse public because of the potential for taunting and teasing by other children, the embarrassment (wrongly) the parents might feel, etc. All sexual crimes of violence were treated that way. Look at the shabby treatment female rape victims received in the 50s and 60s and arguably on into today.So while it is easy to attack the Catholic Church, sports teams, schools, day cares, all Churches, had done the same thing. But without a large and visible world structure to link them all together, those get a pass on current scrutiny.

 

And allowing Priests to marry will not stop most of this. Pedophilia is not linked to straight or gay, married or not. Look at the teachers that have molested children. Many were married women.

 

And I don't give a rip if he was two years or two minutes form his death bed, fire and prosecute the guy immediately.

[Balta1701]

Taibbi with a catholic church scandal rant.

[StrangeSox]

NSFW

Louis CK learns about the Catholic Church

 

[Balta1701]

The 82-year-old pontiff led tens of thousands of people in a sunny St. Peter’s Square in a Palm Sunday service at the start of Holy Week events commemorating the last days in the life of Jesus.

 

While he did not directly mention the scandal involving sexual abuse of children by priests, parts of his sermon could be applicable to the crisis.

 

The pontiff said faith in God helps lead one “towards the courage of not allowing oneself to be intimidated by the petty gossip of dominant opinion.”

 

He also spoke of how man can sometimes “fall to the lowest, vulgar levels” and “sink into the swamp of sin and dishonesty.”

 

One prayer asked God to help “the young and those who work to educate and protect them,” which Vatican Radio said was intended to “sum up the feelings of the Church at this difficult time when it confronts the plague of pedophilia.”

NYT

[jasonxctf]

"Catholics Come Home"

[bmags]

Good to know the catholic church doesn't believe in personal responsibility.

[Texsox]

Good to know the catholic church doesn't believe in personal responsibility.

 

 

They would love personal responsibility, but they really should be accountable not just the person who committed the act.

[bmags]

They'd rather just blame the media.

[Balta1701]

They'd rather just blame the media.

Works for everyone else.

[HuskyCaucasian]

They'd rather just blame the media.

If a priest molests a child in the forest, and no one is around to see or hear it.... did he molest the child?

 

If a priest molests a child in the forest, and a reporter is around.... did he molest the child? It's the reporter's fault.

[Balta1701]

Fox headline:

Is the Media Out to Get the Pope?

[Balta1701]

Link

The child abuse scandal rocking the Catholic Church widened yesterday as a leading German bishop personally appointed by Pope Benedict was accused of ritually beating and punching children at a church-run home during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

 

Five former residents of the St Josef's home in Bavaria submitted written statements to Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper claiming the Bishop of Augsburg, Walter Mixa, a controversial conservative churchman appointed by the Pope in 2005, used to hit and degrade them during punishment sessions at the home.

 

Bishop Mixa's diocese yesterday rejected the allegations as "absurd, untrue and obviously invented in order to defame the bishop".

[Balta1701]

I can't figure out a single reason why this would be a bad idea.

While the Roman Catholic sexual abuse scandal unfolds in Europe, the Catholic Church in the U.S. is under renewed scrutiny.

 

In the wake of its own scandal almost a decade ago, the U.S. church says it has reformed its policies for handling sexual abuse allegations and will remove from ministry every priest who is credibly accused of abuse.

 

But some of those priests are now being quietly reinstated.

[NorthSideSox72]

I can't figure out a single reason why this would be a bad idea.

The Catholic Church has spent the past couple decades doing everything they can to make themselves extinct. Its amazing how stupidly they have handled this whole thing, and how insulting vulgar their approach has been.

 

[Texsox]

I believe in rehabilitation for almost everything. Abusing a child is not one of them. Especially sexual abuse. No way they should ever be allowed around youth again.

[Balta1701]

Really, you went here, on Good Friday, with the Pope in the background? This is your official position?

A senior Vatican priest, speaking before Pope Benedict XVI at a Good Friday service, compared the world’s outrage at sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church to the persecution of the Jews, prompting angry responses from victims’ advocates and consternation from Jewish groups.

 

...

Speaking in St. Peter’s Basilica, the priest, the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, took note that Easter and Passover fell during the same week this year, and said he was led to think of the Jews.

 

“They know from experience what it means to be victims of collective violence, and also because of this they are quick to recognize the recurring symptoms,” said Father Cantalamessa, who serves under the title of preacher of the papal household. Then he quoted from what he said was a letter from a Jewish friend he did not identify.

 

“I am following the violent and concentric attacks against the church, the pope and all the faithful by the whole world,” he said the friend wrote. “The use of stereotypes, the passing from personal responsibility and guilt to a collective guilt, remind me of the more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism.”

Seriously, these guys need to hire Ari Fleischer.

[Balta1701]

The AP has another one with Ratzinger's name on it.

The future Pope Benedict XVI resisted pleas to defrock a California priest with a record of sexually molesting children, citing concerns including "the good of the universal church," according to a 1985 letter bearing his signature.

 

The correspondence, obtained by The Associated Press, is the strongest challenge yet to the Vatican's insistence that Benedict played no role in blocking the removal of pedophile priests during his years as head of the Catholic Church's doctrinal watchdog office.

 

The letter, signed by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was typed in Latin and is part of years of correspondence between the Diocese of Oakland and the Vatican about the proposed defrocking of the Rev. Stephen Kiesle.

 

The Vatican refused to comment on the contents of the letter Friday, but a spokesman confirmed it bore Ratzinger's signature.

[HuskyCaucasian]

The AP has another one with Ratzinger's name on it.

Maybe someone can enlighten me on Catholisism. I seem to remember that once you are named Pope you are considered infallible. Am I correct?

[CrimsonWeltall]

Maybe someone can enlighten me on Catholisism. I seem to remember that once you are named Pope you are considered infallible. Am I correct?

 

On matters of Church doctrine, yes

[Balta1701]

Link

A furious transatlantic row has erupted over quotes that were attributed to a retired Italian bishop, which suggested that Jews were behind the current criticism of the Catholic church's record on tackling clerical sex abuse.

 

A website quoted Giacomo Babini, the emeritus bishop of Grosseto, as saying he believed a "Zionist attack" was behind the criticism, considering how "powerful and refined" the criticism is.

 

The comments, which have been denied by the bishop, follow a series of statements from Catholic churchmen alleging the existence of plots to weaken the church and Pope Benedict XVI.

 

Allegedly speaking to the Catholic website Pontifex, Babini, 81, was quoted as saying: "They do not want the church, they are its natural enemies. Deep down, historically speaking, the Jews are God killers."

[Balta1701]

There's something amazing about the fact that we now live in a world where the legislature in CT is debating a bill that would extend the statue of limitations for child sexual abuse cases...and it is facing heated opposition from NAMBLA the Catholic Church.

[StrangeSox]

There's something amazing about the fact that we now live in a world where the legislature in CT is debating a bill that would extend the statue of limitations for child sexual abuse cases...and it is facing heated opposition from NAMBLA the Catholic Church.

 

The "legislation would undermine the mission of the Catholic Church in Connecticut, threatening our parishes, our schools, and our Catholic Charities," the letter says.

 

Jesus H. Christ.