Damned Catholics

[Cavebear]

The only reason I'm not wishing a magnitude 9.9 earthquake and an F5 tornado on Vatican City is that it would also damage Rome and harm people there.

WELL MAYBE it could be limited in scope. LOL! I'd go for that.

[SYZ]

"The work of the devil" is how Pope Francis described the child sexual abuse scandal engulfing
the Catholic Church that led to the "summit" held in Rome between the Pope and 200 of his
bishops in 2019. Much was expected of this extraordinary meeting—perhaps finally the world
would see strong decisive action to match church rhetoric. Responsibility, accountability and
transparency were promised by the Pope.

Instead there were more words, more expressions of sorrow and regret for past failings and
more promises that in future the needs of children would be put before the desires of the church.

Yet Francis could not resist the urge to say that "there is no explanation for abuses involving
children... and the church stands face to face with the mystery of evil". Nor could he resist the
temptation to share blame with "journalistic practices that exploit tragedy", with "ideological
disputes", and "the extremes of a hasty concept of justice provoked by guilt of past errors and
pressure from the media".

What the he didn’t say is that while the church believes the devil is involved, this tragedy is the
work and crime of men. Men whose sexual desires trump their sense of propriety and morality.
Men who knew about the paedophiles in their midst and protected them rather than the vulnerable
children in their care. Men who have for decades involved themselves in the systematic cover-up
of child sexual abuse by what the Pope called "deceitful consecrated persons".

As the supreme leader of the Catholic Church, as a man to whom every priest, bishop, archbishop
and cardinal owes obedience, the Pope should have said that zero tolerance means just that.
Every offence against a child, every attempt at cover-up means expulsion from the church and
automatic reporting to civil authorities.

—Excerpted from The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 February, 2019.



I for one certainly wouldn't be letting this filthy old bastard and effective condoner
of kiddie-fiddler priests go any where near my young sons or daughters. I find this
image particularly disturbing.     

[Cavebear]

"The work of the devil" is how Pope Francis described the child sexual abuse scandal engulfing
the Catholic Church that led to the "summit" held in Rome between the Pope and 200 of his
bishops in 2019. Much was expected of this extraordinary meeting—perhaps finally the world
would see strong decisive action to match church rhetoric. Responsibility, accountability and
transparency were promised by the Pope.

Instead there were more words, more expressions of sorrow and regret for past failings and
more promises that in future the needs of children would be put before the desires of the church.

Yet Francis could not resist the urge to say that "there is no explanation for abuses involving
children... and the church stands face to face with the mystery of evil". Nor could he resist the
temptation to share blame with "journalistic practices that exploit tragedy", with "ideological
disputes", and "the extremes of a hasty concept of justice provoked by guilt of past errors and
pressure from the media".

What the he didn’t say is that while the church believes the devil is involved, this tragedy is the
work and crime of men. Men whose sexual desires trump their sense of propriety and morality.
Men who knew about the paedophiles in their midst and protected them rather than the vulnerable
children in their care. Men who have for decades involved themselves in the systematic cover-up
of child sexual abuse by what the Pope called "deceitful consecrated persons".

As the supreme leader of the Catholic Church, as a man to whom every priest, bishop, archbishop
and cardinal owes obedience, the Pope should have said that zero tolerance means just that.
Every offence against a child, every attempt at cover-up means expulsion from the church and
automatic reporting to civil authorities.

—Excerpted from The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 February, 2019.



I for one certainly wouldn't be letting this filthy old bastard and effective condoner
of kiddie-fiddler priests go any where near my young sons or daughters. I find this
image particularly disturbing.     

Apologetic words fail in the face of actions...

[Minimalist]

Indeed they do.  Take a look at this action.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/19/nyreg...ement.html

New Jersey Diocese Agrees to Settle Sex Abuse Claims for $87.5 Million

The settlement with the Camden diocese is among the largest such agreements involving the Catholic Church in the United States.

The Diocese of Camden, N.J., said on Tuesday that it had agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle claims made by hundreds of people who accused clergy members of sexually abusing them, one of the largest such settlements involving the Catholic Church in the United States.
In what may be a first for such litigation, the ultimate payout to the plaintiffs could be substantially higher, lawyers representing them said, because the settlement allows for further litigation against insurance companies for the diocese and related entities like parishes and schools.
“This is a triumph of courage, with all credit to the survivors for staying unified and strong,” Jeff Anderson, a lawyer for about a quarter of the roughly 300 plaintiffs, said.
In a statement announcing the settlement, Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan, the leader of the diocese, said, “I want to express my sincere apology to all those who have been affected by sexual abuse in our diocese.


“My prayers go out to all survivors of abuse,” Bishop Sullivan added, “and I pledge my continuing commitment to ensure that this terrible chapter in the history of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, never happens again.”

Fuck you and your prayers, you pious scumbag.

[SYZ]

So Bishop Dennis Sullivan of the Diocese of Camden said,  “My prayers go out to all survivors of abuse".

What does that actually mean in practical, real-world terms?  Does this senile old god-botherer
seriously believe that praying (whatever that means) will in reality assuage the pain, fear, and
self-loathing that his church's victims are suffering from?



And why would anybody heed anything he says—a grown man dressing
up like this in the 21st century.  He's repugnant to even look at.       

[Minimalist]

What does that actually mean in practical, real-world terms?

It means nothing.  Just like "thoughts and prayers" when a school gets shot up.

[Bucky Ball]

I swear I heard 200 million last night on the BBC.
They must have gotten the number wrong.

Bishops are now "appointed" by Rome, instead of being elected by their congregations which is what the early church did,
That is what the Christian tradition is. Rome is afraid of the Holy Spirit working (from the bottom up), democratically.

LOL

[SYZ]

A Catholic order made the “unthinkable” decision to appoint a known paedophile
as the principal of one of its Melbourne schools, allowing him to molest boys in
his office unchecked on a “regular basis” a court has heard.

The Marist Brothers are being sued over the abuse of a series of boys at the
Immaculate Heart College in a Melbourne suburb the 1980s by Gregory Coffey,
the school’s then principal and a former Catholic brother.

The Marist Brothers are defending the case, disputing the extent of the order’s
knowledge about Coffey prior to his appointment, although the court heard
allegations about the extent of the order’s knowledge of Coffey’s abuse of children
before employing him, first as a teacher in the early 1970s and then as principal
in 1980.

Coffey, now dead, began working at Immaculate Heart in 1972, arriving just
weeks after pleading guilty to abusing a boy as a Catholic brother at a school in
South Australia, and which resulted in a conviction and a two-year suspended
prison sentence.

The Marist Brothers also knew “enough about him to know he was a risk around
young children” when they first employed Coffey as a teacher in 1972, the court
heard.

—I wonder if any of these old, celibate Marist Brothers have ever abused young boys?


(Marist is a noun or adjective derived from the name Mary, the  Mother of Jesus Christ.)

[Minimalist]

Odd.


I wonder if any haven't.

[Minimalist]

Now this should turn out to be an interesting book!


https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/27/world...rtzer.html

Deep in Vatican Archives, Scholar Discovers ‘Flabbergasting’ Secrets

David Kertzer has spent decades excavating the Vatican’s hidden history, with his work winning a Pulitzer and capturing Hollywood’s attention. A new book examines Pope Pius XII’s role in the Holocaust.

Mr. Kertzer makes the case that Pius XII’s overriding dread of Communism, his belief that the Axis powers would win the war, and his desire to protect the church’s interests all motivated him to avoid offending Hitler and Mussolini, whose ambassadors had worked to put him on the throne. The pope was also worried, the book shows, that opposing the Führer would alienate millions of German Catholics.

[SYZ]

Reminds me of the Catholics' Hitler Youth pope...

[Minimalist]

Uh-oh.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opin...d-n1297752

A Catholic leader is visiting America right now. Where is the church's apology?

Jesuit institutions in America enslaved and sold people to stay afloat. It’s time for the church to make true amends.

Rev. Arturo Sosa, superior general of the Jesuits, on a trip to the states. He is currently attending the International Association of Jesuit Universities at Boston College and will meet afterward with other Jesuits.

There won't be an altar boy in Boston whose asshole is safe with this pervert party going on!

[Minimalist]

Scumbags.  This time in France but it is safe to assume it was everywhere these pervert priests gathered.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63...gn=KARANGA

Cardinal Ricard among 11 French bishops accused of abuse

French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard has been named by the Church as one of 11 serving or former bishops accused of sexual violence.
In a statement, the cardinal said he had abused a 14-year-old girl when he was a parish priest 35 years ago and would now withdraw from his functions.
A year ago, a panel found evidence of thousands of paedophiles operating in the French Catholic Church for decades.
All 11 accused face either prosecution or disciplinary action in the Church.

I wonder what that "disciplinary action" might be?  Five "Hail Mary's?"

[Bucky Ball]

Now this should turn out to be an interesting book!


https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/27/world...rtzer.html

Deep in Vatican Archives, Scholar Discovers ‘Flabbergasting’ Secrets

David Kertzer has spent decades excavating the Vatican’s hidden history, with his work winning a Pulitzer and capturing Hollywood’s attention. A new book examines Pope Pius XII’s role in the Holocaust.

Mr. Kertzer makes the case that Pius XII’s overriding dread of Communism, his belief that the Axis powers would win the war, and his desire to protect the church’s interests all motivated him to avoid offending Hitler and Mussolini, whose ambassadors had worked to put him on the throne. The pope was also worried, the book shows, that opposing the Führer would alienate millions of German Catholics.

This isn't really anything new, but great to be reminded of.
Pius the XII was well known to have been in bed with the Nazis, and it was discussed during his life-time.
But of course we needed to be reminded of this ... you may remember this, many of us only heard of it .
There are photos of his running around to the various embassies from the time.
I might say that it is possible he actually thought he was doing the right thing ... as crazy as that looks in retrospect.
If that is true, it's a testament to how insane that culture might have been, perhaps still is.

The people actually involved, the priests, bishops and cardinals ... who EACH personally actually gave up a (normal) life, a partner, children, family,
for what ? ... an unholy inauthentic life, ... devoid of what they knew, deeply, personally, to be "right" ... for an institution which was totally corrupt.
For each of them, personally, ... that must have been, and is ... very sad and disappointing, ... and depressing. They could have chosen otherwise.

[Minimalist]

I still say that if Hitler had won the war the church would have made him a saint.  His miracle was making the jews disappear!

Fuck the church.

[Minimalist]

Maryland was initially founded as a home for catholicks.  The pervert priests must have been running rampant even then!

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/18/us/ba...abuse.html

Maryland Finds That for Hundreds of Clergy Abuse Victims, ‘No Parish Was Safe’

The state attorney general investigated more than 80 years of sexual and physical abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

I put in a longer quote than usual in case some people can't access The Times.

The attorney general of Maryland has identified more than 600 young victims of clergy sexual abuse over the course of 80 years in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, according to a court document filed Thursday.
The filing, which broadly outlines the attorney general’s findings, requests that a judge allow the release of the full report: a 456-page document detailing decades of clergy sex abuse in Maryland.
The new report marks a symbolic milestone in the long-running international abuse scandal that has shaken faith in the Catholic Church and led to some reforms and billions of dollars in settlements. The Baltimore report is one of the first major investigations completed by a state attorney general on sexual abuse in the Church since a scathing report on six dioceses in Pennsylvania shocked Catholics across the nation in 2018. Colorado investigators issued their own report in 2019 on church abuse.
More than 20 state attorneys general have initiated investigations, most of which are still underway.


Baltimore is the first Catholic diocese established in the United States and is led by an influential archbishop, William E. Lori, who was elected this week as vice president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The scale of the abuse outlined is on par with other large abuse cases uncovered in lawsuits and other investigations in dioceses in Boston, Los Angeles, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
The Maryland report found that “no parish was safe,” according to the filing from the office of Attorney General Brian Frosh. Both boys and girls were abused, ranging in age from preschool to “young adulthood,” which a spokeswoman for the attorney general said reached to age 18.
The filing says the Archdiocese failed to report many allegations of “sexual abuse and physical torture” and neglected to remove accused priests from active ministry or even restrict their access to children. Some congregations and schools had more than one abusive priest there at the same time. “The sexual abuse was so pervasive that victims were sometimes reporting sexual abuse to priests who were perpetrators themselves,” the filing states. One congregation was assigned 11 abusers over 40 years.

[Fireball]

"The Church" has way too much unearned gravitas.

[Minimalist]

I just don't understand how anyone can remain a member of such a crooked and perverse organization.  WTF is wrong with those people?

[Fireball]

I just don't understand how anyone can remain a member of such a crooked and perverse organization.  WTF is wrong with those people?

Same thing that's wrong with people who follow the chump like he's the Pied Piper.

[Szuchow]

I just don't understand how anyone can remain a member of such a crooked and perverse organization.  WTF is wrong with those people?

They don't have morals. Simple as that.

[mordant]

I just don't understand how anyone can remain a member of such a crooked and perverse organization.  WTF is wrong with those people?

There's a "trad" (traditional or conservative) Catholic on another forum I frequent who actually is an apologist for the Spanish Inquiisition and the divine right of (Catholic) kings. In his dreams, he would want the US to become a Catholic monarchy. About the only thing you can say in his favor is that he at least realizes this is highly unlikely; the only theocracy we're going to get here is the fundagelical variety.

Today he posted a link to a Twitter thread claiming that WW1 was started by a cabal of Jews and that the degeneracy of post-WW1 German society was also orchestrated by Jews. So by extension the Jews caused WW2 as well.

He also has a tendency to prattle about Masonic conspiracies and to rant against the Enlightenment (he said the other day that naturalism is science's great error -- I didn't even know where to BEGIN in responding to that, it's so many kinds of wrong).

So as bad as "normal" Catholics are, there are worse things simmering beneath the surface.

[Minimalist]

Yeah.... there are a few of them on the supreme court.

[Minimalist]

Another catholick pervert caught in Kansas.  This scumbag must have dreamed of being a priest.


https://fox4kc.com/news/former-st-thomas...ds-guilty/

Former St. Thomas Aquinas teacher accused of recording students pleads guilty

OLATHE, Kan. — A former St. Thomas Aquinas choir teacher accused of recording female students with a hidden camera has pleaded guilty to over 25 charges.
Joseph Heidesch plead guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and 25 counts of breach of privacy Monday during a virtual court hearing.
Multiple charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
The plea agreement also calls for Heidesch to serve 68 months, or 5 years and eight months, in a Kansas prison. His sentencing hearing is set for April 17.

[Minimalist]

Too bad there is no hell for this bastard to burn in!

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia...gn=KARANGA

Cardinal George Pell dies aged 81

[Minimalist]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-64...gn=KARANGA

Pope in DR Congo: 'Hands off Africa'

Now if only you phony phucks could keep your hands off the children we might have something here!