Clerical abuse!

[Lawrence of Knockbride]

Maybe if he got 25 years he'd be even more unlikely to reoffend. He could still pray and repent in jail which would surely be his priority.

[muppet]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/10/wikileaks-vatican-child-sex-abuse-investigation

WikiLeaks cables: Vatican refused to engage with child sex abuse inquiry
Leaked cable lays bare how Irish government was forced to grant Vatican officials immunity from testifying to Murphy commission

[Main Street]

A room full of eunuchs would have more cohones than this government.

[mylestheslasher]

Just when you thought they had reached the bottom you are shocked that they can keep going lower.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/pope-stirs-up-victim-fury-with-child-sex-comments-2468163.html


Pope stirs up victim fury with child sex comments


By John Cooney Religion Correspondent
Tuesday December 21 2010
VICTIMS of clerical sex abuse have reacted furiously to Pope Benedict's claim yesterday that paedophilia wasn't considered an 'absolute evil' as recently as the 1970s.

In his traditional Christmas address yesterday to cardinals and officials working in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI also claimed that child pornography was increasingly considered "normal" by society.

"In the 1970s, paedophilia was theorised as something fully in conformity with man and even with children," the Pope said. "It was maintained -- even within the realm of Catholic theology -- that there is no such thing as evil in itself or good in itself. There is only a 'better than' and a 'worse than'. Nothing is good or bad in itself."

The Pope said abuse revelations in 2010 reached "an unimaginable dimension" which required the Catholic Church to accept the "humiliation" as a call for renewal.

Asking how sexual abuse exploded within the Church, the German Pontiff called on senior clerics "to repair as much as possible the injustices that occurred" and to help victims heal their hurts through a better presentation of the Christian message.

"We cannot remain silent about the context of these times in which these events have come to light," he said, citing the growth of child pornography "that seems in some way to be considered more and more normal by society," he said.

Outraged

But outraged Dublin victim Andrew Madden accused the Pope of not knowing that child pornography was actually the viewing of images of children being sexually abused, and should be named as such.

He said: "That is not normal. I don't know what company the Pope has been keeping for the past 50 years."

Pope Benedict also said sexual tourism in the third world was "threatening an entire generation". Angry abuse victims in America last night said that while some church officials have blamed the liberalism of the 1960s for the church's sex abuse scandals and cover-up catastrophes, Pope Benedict had come up with a new theory of blaming the 1970s. "Catholics should be embarrassed to hear their Pope talk again and again about abuse while doing little or nothing to stop it and to mischaracterise this heinous crisis," said Barbara Blaine, the head of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

"It is fundamentally disturbing to watch a brilliant man so conveniently misdiagnose a horrific scandal," she added.

"The Pope insists on talking about a vague 'broader context' he can't control, while ignoring the clear 'broader context' he can influence -- the long-standing and unhealthy culture of a rigid, secretive, all-male church hierarchy fixated on self-preservation at all costs. This is the 'context' that matters."

The latest controversy comes as the German magazine 'Der Spiegel' continues to investigate the Pope's role in allowing a paedophile priest to work with children in the 1980s when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Archbishop of Munich.

Anger

It also come only days after Irish abuse victims vented their anger and dismay at the Murphy Commission's disclosure that the Vatican initially rejected a verdict by a Dublin church tribunal to defrock the now jailed Fr Tony Walsh in 1993.

The Vatican proposed a 10-year confinement for Walsh in a monastery, even though he had been diagnosed by psychiatrists as a serial abuser.

It was only when Walsh was imprisoned shortly afterwards that Cardinal Desmond Connell begged the late Pope John Paul II to remove Walsh from the priesthood which was belatedly facilitated by Cardinal Ratzinger, by now the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith dealing with abuse cases.

In his address, Pope Benedict specifically insisted that the church needed to train prospective priests better so that abusers were not ordained, and he committed the church to help heal victims of paedophile priests.

- John Cooney Religion Correspondent

[Main Street]

Der Spiegel is continuing some level of investigation into Ratzinger's time in Munich.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,731683,00.html
The archbishop of Munich, who rallied to  defend the Pope in spring of this year, has been promoted to Cardinal at the age of 57. In cardinal years, 57 is a mere baby. 

Ratzinger had claimed to not know about the activities of a paedophile priest in his charge and some lower clerk took the rap. Der Spiegel is persisting, they claim they have more indisputable evidence of Ratzinger being fully au fait with the paedophile/abuser  priest and had assigned him to pastoral duties, some 2 weeks after the priest had commenced therapy to help with his paedophilia..

[Pangurban]

This latest statement from the Pope, is embarrassing. Its pure sociological waffle and gobbledook. Like most rational catholics that lived through the sixties and seventies, i knew that child abuse and child pornography were evil.  As did all popes,priests and bishops since the time of the apostles. When a Pope stoops to portraying the culture of the times, rather than the word of God  and right reason, to explain or excuse heinous criminal behaviour by members of his clergy, his Church is seriously disordered and in trouble. Doubtless further clarification of this statement will be forthcoming, but in my view the damage has been done. We can only pray that the wiser counsels in the Church outside of the Vatican will prevail, and give authentic witness to our faith

[Evil Genius]

Can anyone explain to me how Cardinal Brady sleeps at night?

http://www.u.tv/utvplayer/video/134183

I know a lot of the above is a reprise of previous revelations, but to sit and watch a clear outline of just what has been going on day after day, week after week, for years, decades even, whilst people like Brady knew exactly what was happening, but stood by and did nothing under the pretext that it was "someone elses responsibility", even when nothing was happening, is truly shocking.

And he calls himself a "Man of God"...

[mylestheslasher]

Can anyone explain to me how Cardinal Brady sleeps at night?

http://www.u.tv/utvplayer/video/134183

I know a lot of the above is a reprise of previous revelations, but to sit and watch a clear outline of just what has been going on day after day, week after week, for years, decades even, whilst people like Brady knew exactly what was happening, but stood by and did nothing under the pretext that it was "someone elses responsibility", even when nothing was happening, is truly shocking.

And he calls himself a "Man of God"...

Maybe, like the pope, self preservation is the only thing he is truly concerned about. I hope he is praying hard because the Jesus that is in the bible that I read will send him straight to hell along with the current pope.

[BarryBreensBandage]

Can anyone explain to me how Cardinal Brady sleeps at night?

http://www.u.tv/utvplayer/video/134183

I know a lot of the above is a reprise of previous revelations, but to sit and watch a clear outline of just what has been going on day after day, week after week, for years, decades even, whilst people like Brady knew exactly what was happening, but stood by and did nothing under the pretext that it was "someone elses responsibility", even when nothing was happening, is truly shocking.

And he calls himself a "Man of God"...

Maybe, like the pope, self preservation is the only thing he is truly concerned about. I hope he is praying hard because the Jesus that is in the bible that I read will send him straight to hell along with the current pope.

Let's not forget the previous pope whom people are calling to be made a saint -

The pope who presided over a time when all these revelations, especially in America, were occuring;

and the vatican did not issue one word of apology during his reign/term.

Correction - they issued one apology, when they were forced to by an American court of law, as part of the settlement to the

victim.

[mylestheslasher]

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/religious-still-owe-state-euro500m-for-survivors-2474886.html

Religious still owe State €500m for survivors
Thousands wait despite abuse deals


By Katherine Donnelly
Monday December 27 2010
RELIGIOUS orders still owe the State more than €500m arising from the deal to compensate the thousands of children who were abused while living in their care.

The 18 congregations involved pledged a total of €680m in cash and property to cover half the cost of the settlement with the victims.

But so far, only €123m has actually been paid over, according to a new breakdown of figures. There were two separate deals between the State and the religious -- one in 2002 for €128m and another, in 2009, for €552m.

There was much criticism in 2002 that the religious orders were getting away too lightly, but the Government insisted that the €128m would cover half the cost of compensating victims. In the event, the final cost between legal fees and payments to victims has amounted to around €1.2bn.

Following the shocking revelations last year of the Ryan Report into child abuse in religious-run residential institutions, the Government renegotiated the settlement.

The 2009 deal involved an additional contribution of €349m in cash and property, as well as €203m for the new children's hospital, currently at the early stages of the planning process. But only €20m has been handed over and no property has been transferred.

According to recent figures, the religious have still to hand over:

€26m worth of property from the 2002 deal.
€236m in property and €92m in cash from the 2009 deal.
€203m for the new National Children's Hospital.
Labour education spokesman Ruairi Quinn said the public would be disappointed and angered at the slow pace of the payments.

"I hope that this does not represent an attempt by the religious congregations to renege on the agreement.

"The Government must now insist the pace of payments and transfers is accelerated, particularly given the horrendous economic problems we are facing."

He said the 2009 deal included €110m for a Statutory Fund for Survivors of Abuse to support their needs, but only €20m of that had been handed over.

Mr Quinn also said that failure to pay the €203m for the children's hospital ran the risk of further delaying the project.

Education Minister Mary Coughlan told Mr Quinn that the €26m outstanding from the 2002 deal related to properties that had physically transferred to the State, although the legal arrangements had not been completed.

Fear

She said many of the properties were held in complex legal structures, including trusts, which had resulted in a time-consuming transfer process.

She said she would be reporting to Government soon in relation to the €236m worth of property offers made in 2009.

Of the €92m cash outstanding from 2009, some orders are awaiting sight of the details of the fund, while others are awaiting confirmation of the charitable status of their contributions to the fund before handing over the money.

The Ryan Report uncovered details of sexual abuse and beatings by priests and nuns of thousands of children living in the institutions over almost four decades. It found children lived in "a climate of fear" and that sexual abuse was "endemic" in boys' institutions.

The abuse was compounded by a culture of cover-up, with offenders transferred to other locations where they were free to abuse again.

The Government set up the Residential Institutions Redress Board to deal with claims for compensation from victims. It has processed more than 14,000 cases.

- Katherine Donnelly

[Main Street]

A Muslim cleric has been jailed by a Nottingham Court for 16 years for the sex abuse/rape of a young boy.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/cleric-jailed-for-raping-young-boy-15118577.html

Appropriate or not, this sentence is extremely harsh when compared to other examples of 5 years jail time for christian clerics who faced the courts on equally and more serious charges of rape against a multitude of children.

[mylestheslasher]

A Muslim cleric has been jailed by a Nottingham Court for 16 years for the sex abuse/rape of a young boy.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/cleric-jailed-for-raping-young-boy-15118577.html

Appropriate or not, this sentence is extremely harsh when compared to other examples of 5 years jail time for christian clerics who faced the courts on equally and more serious charges of rape against a multitude of children.

Absolutely appropriate punishment, if only the same level of punishment was brought against the christian clerics

[Main Street]

Rape is serious crime and child rape is the most serious of rape crimes, so I'd have no argument against 16 years, which effectively means at least 8 years.

It is just unfortunate that all the white, fat and ugly christian cleric multiple rapists were meted such leniency and did not have face the judicious Justice Linda Dobbs.

[orangeman]

Are the pennies finally dropping ? And a few days of fasting as well. That will help a lot !!

Irish bishops promise more support to abuse victims 

A document was given to mass-goers in NI on Saturday evening.

It updated them on what the bishops are doing to help victims and the ways they are improving child protection in the church.

Last March, Pope Benedict took the unprecedented step of writing a pastoral letter apologising to victims of Catholic Institutional Abuse.

Senior church officials were then sent to look at clerical abuse within the church in Ireland.

It was part of an apostolic visitation, announced by Pope Benedict in his pastoral letter.

To mark the first anniversary of the Pope's pastoral letter, Irish bishops have issued a "progress report" into what they are doing called 'Towards Healing and Renewal'.

A counselling service for victims and families will get an extra £9m in funding.

The church said it would provide more child protection training and would continue work closely with the police and social services over allegation of abuse.

Bishops will also set-a-side the first Friday of every month for prayer and fasting, to make amends for abuse and for the failure of leadership to respond to it effectively. [/size]

[orangeman]

STOP PRESS - NOT PENNIES BUT £/ € s


The country's 26 Catholic dioceses are to fund half the cost of the Church's annual counselling bill for those abused as children by its personnel.


The hierarchy have promised to increase their contribution to an enhanced service by approximately €1.5 million over the next five years.

Until now, the service 'Faoiseamh', has been supported primarily by religious orders and congregations, some of which ran industrial schools.

The commitment to the new service, called 'Towards Healing', is contained in a statement by Cardinal Seán Brady which accompanied the bishops' Pastoral letter on abuse released this evening.