Papal Letter To The Catholics of Ireland (priest abuse)

[Julie Marie]

1. Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Church in Ireland, it is with great concern that I write to you as Pastor of the universal Church. Like yourselves, I have been deeply disturbed by the information which has come to light regarding the abuse of children and vulnerable young people by members of the Church in Ireland, particularly by priests and religious. I can only share in the dismay and the sense of betrayal that so many of you have experienced on learning of these sinful and criminal acts and the way Church authorities in Ireland dealt with them.

See complete letter on Vatican site

I didn't read it all.  Too much fluff.  While it does admit Catholic priests abused young children, the Pope fails to admit complicity at the highest levels.  No surprise there.

The message is forgive and repent, victims should forgive, because that's what Christ would do, and pedophile priests should repent, because that's what Christ would do.

I wonder what Christ would say about the Pope judging and condemning the LGBT people God created?

[tekla]

Sue.

Sue.

Sue.

The San Francisco Archdiocese has had to sell several churches to pay off the lawsuits for similar crimes.  They have been purchased by the Art Institution and are used for teaching and gallery space.  That's a real win-win.

[juliekins]

Just compare, like Julie said, the bravado of condemnation against those of us who "defile our body"*, and those of us who just want the right to love who we want. (gay marriage) versus admission of guilt for their cover up of pedophilia. You would think that WE were the ones who had done something immoral and illegal like RAPE CHILDREN. I think the Pope (who as Bishop of Munich also did his share of covering for pedo priests in his Diocese), needs to say that they will 1. Call the police in when accusations are made against a priest 2. Launch an investigation against the priest once an allegation is made 3. Let go a priest after even two unsubstantiated claims 4. Defrock and fire any Bishop who ever moved a pedo priest or covered his tracks, even if it happened 20 years ago. 5. Step down as Pope as a show of goodwill towards victims. 6. Stop paying for a pedo priests retirement and health care. The priest will have plenty of care in prison!

While acting as the Papal spokesperson a few years ago, Pope Benedict put out a paper which talked about trans people sinning grievously, defiling their bodies, and acting upon their impulses including homosexuality. The Church's position is that we are our DNA, as god had made us, none of which will be changed through hormone therapy, psychotherapy or  SRS.I wouldn't be surprised if he quoted Blanchard and Michael Bailey!

[Julie Marie]

The Pope has to keep this scandal as far from himself as possible.  Before becoming Pope he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.  In May 2001, he sent a letter to every Catholic bishop regarding the pedophile priest problem. 

Pope 'obstructed' sex abuse inquiry

"It asserted the church's right to hold its inquiries behind closed doors and keep the evidence confidential for up to 10 years after the victims reached adulthood.

The letter, 'concerning very grave sins', was sent from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office that once presided over the Inquisition and was overseen by Ratzinger.

It spells out to bishops the church's position on a number of matters ranging from celebrating the eucharist with a non-Catholic to sexual abuse by a cleric 'with a minor below the age of 18 years'. Ratzinger's letter states that the church can claim jurisdiction in cases where abuse has been 'perpetrated with a minor by a cleric'."

Now, nine years later, the same man who previously demanded any claims of abuse be sent directly to him and who threatened excommunication for anyone who "breached the pontifical secret" is trying to distance himself from having any responsibility when in fact he was the go-to-guy for any abuse claims. 

This guy was fully aware of what was going on at least a decade ago.  All he had to do was take action and thousands of kids could have been saved the horrors of abuse, but he played CYA instead.  The RCC thrived while these poor kids paid a heavy price just to the RCC could save face and keep the cash flowing.

It's estimated a million or more kids were abused at the hands of priests.  That has to rank pretty high in all time horrors carried out on humankind by people in power.

[Flan]

translation, "we're really sorry, we'll never get caught again"

Sue.

Sue.

Sue.

The San Francisco Archdiocese has had to sell several churches to pay off the lawsuits for similar crimes.  They have been purchased by the Art Institution and are used for teaching and gallery space.  That's a real win-win.

an alt is removal of statehood for "holy see" (aka Vatican)

[tekla]

Oh I think that it does truly horrify those who were not doing it (and perhaps even those who were) a more sexually repressed institution would be hard to find.  What got them in trouble (as is so often the case, ask Dick Nixon) was not the original actions, but the institutional cover-up of the crimes.

[Julie Marie]

Honestly, I'm shaking my head, wondering why so many "followers of the Catholic Church" aren't demanding a thorough investigation, by outside agencies, preferably law enforcement agencies.

"NOT long after a portly, jovial priest in the German industrial city of Essen was accused of sexually abusing three boys in 1979, he was offered a new home in Munich by Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI."  Article

So the pope, the big cheese of the catholic church, was complicit not only in the cover-up but also in the relocation of the pedophile priests, so they could continue to operate and find new, unsuspecting victims. 

CYA

CYA

CYA

But as Kat said,

SUE

SUE

SUE

Money is the root of all evil and the RCC is loaded.  Break them!

[gennee]

And he says that GLBT people are a threat to society? He ought to look in the mirror.

Gennee