Clerical abuse!

[Nally Stand]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-foyle-west-18606466

Thought I'd throw this in here - Fr Eugene Boland, brother of Strabane parish priest Declan, found not guilty of all charges of indecent assault.

Delighted for him.

This man went through hell and back.

Hope he's back prompto.

+1.

He's an absolute gentleman.

[Applesisapples]

I have tos say as a practicing Catholic, I have lost faith in all but a couple of Church Leaders, Bishops Martin, Treanor and McAreavy being exceptions. This Mea Culpa act of Brady's might fool the usual alter lickers but cuts no ice with the majority. Time for a root and branch overhaul. We need young married priests both male and female. Time also to go back to our Celtic roots and ditch the Furher in Rome.

So you are going to be a practicing catholic who aspires to return to their Celtic roots (i.e. paganism) and wants to ditch the pope. You are a strange fellow!

As for Brady. Weasel words at this stage mean nothing and frankly I can't believe anyone would consider them genuine. This is a man that made abused children sign an NDA and up to very recently was portraying himself as no more than a note taker - which was another lie was it not.

Obviously not up on church history, the Celtic Christian Church predated Roman interference.

I know that's why I said ditch the poe and return to our roots!

[omagh_gael]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-foyle-west-18606466

Thought I'd throw this in here - Fr Eugene Boland, brother of Strabane parish priest Declan, found not guilty of all charges of indecent assault.

Delighted for him.

This man went through hell and back.

Hope he's back prompto.

+1.

He's an absolute gentleman.

+2

[Orior]

Despite all that has happened, Pope is not for moving...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21120754

[From the Bunker]

We've had a few weeks of The Magdalene Laundries apologies from the Government saga! I was just wondering did our good old Catholic Church wade in at some time in the past with an apology and talk of compensation, or are they just hiding and keeping stum. They know these were our Concentration camps for the vulnerable. People go on about the Taliban and other fundamentalist groupings.  But Catholicism in Ireland to me was one of the most dangerous religious movements that has ever existed. It actually disgusts me to call myself Catholic or to have any relationship with it at the moment.

[Itchy]

They haven't paid what they agreed to pay in compensation to date so what they say is meaningless. What amazes me is that anyone gives them a penny or passes any heed to any 'moral' position they take on subjects like abortion. I'd ask the auld dog outside his opinion before I'd listen to a bishop or pope.

[From the Bunker]

Seen on TG4 documentary on Wednesday night that In 1993 at High Park Magdalene Laundry, Drumcondra, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity applied for an exhumation licence for the remains of 133 women who had been enslaved in their laundry. The nuns were selling the land to make money. During the exhumation the remains of a further 22 women were discovered. Death certificates were provided for only 75 of the 133 women on the original application. Unbelievably, the Department of the Environment, without asking any questions, put through an additional licence. All but one of the women's bodies were then cremated and reburied in Glasnevin Cemetery in a mass grave. One of the Crane workers interviewed said many of the exhumed remains had plaster paris on them.


A Report done by the IHRC came to the conclusion:
That the burial, exhumation and cremation of known and unknown women and girls who resided in Magdalene Laundries in 1993 at High Park, Drumcondra, raises serious questions for the State in the absence of detailed legislation governing the area and any requirement that all bodies be identified and accounted for in such communal plots. Questions arise as to whether there are death certificates for all those buried in those locations, and whether their remains were properly preserved and reinterred. Similar questions may arise in relation to other communal plots.

[omagh_gael]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21563345

[give her dixie]

The plot thickens Omagh Gael. Where does it stop, and is there any Cardinal heading out to vote who isn't involved in child abuse or cover ups?

I see Dolan was well grilled this week by investigators on behalf of victims in Wisconsin.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/dolan-deposed-article-1.1269202

[Itchy]

I'm surprised that anyone is surprised and even more surprised that some people hold this organisation in high esteem. Its a steaming dung heap of an organisation run by gross hypocrites and propped up at grass roots by priests with their heads buried in the sand, priests with no principles what so ever. If they were men of God they would have left this church long ago.

[theskull1]

They stay for the edible paper disc that IS the body of christ

Without that these people (the stupid flock) are nothing.

[give her dixie]

I know I have posted this link before, but if anyone has the time, this documentary is a must see. Plus, you will see video from interviews of Cardinal Mahony where he refuses to answer questions regarding his involvement in the cover up and how he moved O'Grady from parish to parish.

Mahony was stripped of his titles just recently after it was revealed how he knew all along what was going on, and how he covered it up. However, he is still allowed to travel to Rome to pick the next Pope.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/deliver-us-from-evil/


Filmmaker Amy Berg recounts a harrowing story of child abuse and how a serial child molester went free for the better part of two decades in this documentary. Oliver O'Grady was a Catholic priest who served in a number of parishes in Southern California during the 1970s and '80s. O'Grady was also a habitual child molester who abused dozens of youngsters who were entrusted to his care, and while his superiors in the church were aware of O'Grady's crimes as early as 1973, they opted to simply move him from one congregation to another rather than turn him in to authorities or strip him of his ordination.

In Deliver Us From Evil, a number of O'Grady's victims and their families discuss his crimes and the repercussions they feel to this day. O'Grady himself also appears in the film, speaking candidly about his career as a sexual predator and recounting his misdeeds in detail. (After finally being convicted of child sexual abuse, O'Grady served time in prison and now lives in Ireland, where he is still looked after by Catholic clergy.)

Berg also offers a look into the history of the Catholic Church and how its leadership has often protected those within the hierarchy at the expense of their worshipers. Deliver Us From Evil was named Best Documentary Feature at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival.

[theskull1]

Cardinal Keith O'Brien

[Eamonnca1]

They stay for the edible paper disc that IS the body of christ

Without that these people (the stupid flock) are nothing.

Cannibalism, eh?

[brokencrossbar1]

Cardinal Keith O'Brien

He has resigned

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21572724

Britain's most senior Roman Catholic cleric, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, is stepping down as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh.

It follows allegations - which he contests - of inappropriate behaviour towards priests dating from the 1980s.

In a statement, he apologised to those he had offended during his ministry.

The cardinal confirmed he would not take part in the election for a successor to the Pope - leaving Britain unrepresented in the election.

The Scottish Catholic Church says Pope Benedict has accepted his resignation.

Cardinal O'Brien said in a statement he had already tendered his resignation, due to take effect when he turned 75 next month, but that Pope Benedict "has now decided that my resignation will take effect today".

He said the pontiff would appoint an apostolic administrator to govern the archdiocese in his place until his successor is appointed.

The cardinal also said: "I have valued the opportunity of serving the people of Scotland and overseas in various ways since becoming a priest.

"Looking back over my years of ministry: For any good I have been able to do, I thank God. For any failures, I apologise to all whom I have offended.

"I do not wish media attention in Rome to be focussed on me - but rather on Pope Benedict XVI and on his successor.

"However, I will pray with them and for them that, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, they will make the correct choice for the future good of the Church."

The resignation of Britain's most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the wake of allegations of improper behaviour creates a crisis for the Church in Scotland, and represents a heavy blow to the wider Church as it battles to shore up its reputation ahead of the papal election or "conclave".

The conclave is already expected to be difficult in the circumstances created by Pope Benedict's unprecedented resignation.

The Vatican is also struggling to deal with reports of internal corruption and mismanagement.

Cardinal O'Brien's resignation is also a personal tragedy for himself.

Allegations made
His role as Britain's only representative in the papal election next month would have been one of his last acts before he retired.

He said in a BBC interview on Friday that he found the responsibility of helping to choose a successor to Pope Benedict "almost frightening".

The Observer reported that the three priests and one former priest - from the diocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh - complained to the Pope's representative to Britain, nuncio Antonio Mennini, in the week before 11 February, when Pope Benedict announced his resignation, of what they claimed was the cardinal's inappropriate behaviour towards them in the 1980s.

The former priest claims Cardinal O'Brien made an inappropriate approach to him in 1980, after night prayers, when he was a seminarian at St Andrew's College, Drygrange.

The complainant says he resigned as a priest when Cardinal O'Brien was first made a bishop.

He reportedly says in his statement: "I knew then he would always have power over me. It was assumed I left the priesthood to get married. I did not. I left to preserve my integrity."

A second statement from another complainant says he was living in a parish when he was visited by O'Brien, and inappropriate contact took place between them.

A third complainant alleges dealing with what he describes as "unwanted behaviour" by the cardinal in the 1980s after some late-night drinking.

And the fourth complainant claims the cardinal used night prayers as an excuse for inappropriate contact.

Cardinal O'Brien missed celebrating Sunday Mass in St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh, which marked Pope Benedict's eight years in office, ahead of the pontiff stepping down this week.

Outspoken views
In resigning his post at the head of the Scottish Catholic Church, Cardinal O'Brien blights the end of an illustrious career only a few weeks before he was due to retire.

The development is understood to have been prompted by a concern to protect the Church from further destabilizing speculation during the papal election.

That process is already overshadowed by allegations against a number of the cardinals who are taking part, over their connection with their handling of the Church's sex abuse scandal.

Cardinal O'Brien will be remembered in particular as a forthright defender - occasionally in outspoken and colourful terms - of Catholic teaching on abortion, euthanasia and homosexuality.

Last week Cardinal O'Brien said he believed priests should be able to marry if they wished to do so.

He said the new Pope could consider whether the Roman Catholic Church should change its stance on some issues, not of divine origin.

"For example the celibacy of the clergy, whether priests should marry - Jesus didn't say that," he said.

The cardinal was named Bigot of the Year last year by gay rights charity Stonewall for his stance on gay marriage.