Updated March 4, 2014
Read our new blog: Pope Francis the CON Christ. Pretender & Impostor of Jesus. Merlin hoax CANNOT CLONE JESUS or dogs http://pope-francis-con-christ.blogspot.ca/
Our latest related article about New Jersey "Bling" Bishop Myers http://pope-francis-con-christ.blogspot.ca/2014/02/new-jersey-bling-bishop-myers-wants-100.html
Updated June 30, 2013
A “gay lobby” group and its website have been discovered inside theVatican and within the holy Vatican website, read news below. Venerablis, a website run out of the Vatican Vatican Rome to pray with the Pope at the Vatican with his weekly Angelus at St. Peter’s Square because behind him the Vatican
This gay ring within theVatican Scotland Vatican will speak louder than all those Jesuitical papal speeches Pope Francis is hollering from the Vatican
Catholics should think twice before treating those "Prince of the Church" as royalty becuase they are ruled by greed to feed the fat Vatican Mammon of money just like the Bishop of Italy was caught money laundering 26 million dollars for wealthy family friends in Italy, read news below.
Updated May 16, 2013 more added articles
Pope Francis is proving himself as the perfect clone of his two gay Holy Fathers John Paul II and Benedict XVI-Ratzinger by getting gay adulterer Cardinal Keith O'Brien to go and lodge in the Vatican Titanic deep in the ocean of moral bankruptcy. Pope Francis recently excommunicated a relatively young Brazilian priest for SUPPORTING gay rights (see news updates below) but he is welcoming with open arms Cardinal O'Brien who was a PRACTISING ACTIVE GAY Cardinal who committed adultery with multiple priests to satisfy his gay bestial lust -- he is worse than King Henry and The Borgias. Cardinal Bernard Law was also welcomed with open arms by John Paul II hence he is his Achilles Heel and can never be a (hypocritical) saint, read more here -Heil Satanas JP2 Patron Saint of Pedophiles, Pederasts Rapists-Priests! John Paul II is the same yesterday and today-- he cannot protect children http://jp2m.blogspot.ca/2011/05/heil-satanas-jp2-patron-saint-of.html. Pope Francis is just like his Holy Father Pope Ratzinger whose final despotic actr was to excommunicate an old Jesuit for questioning his book Jesus of Nazareth and the virginity of Mary, read more here - Benedict XVI the Vatican Last Tsar: Final despotic acts. Vatican jails worldwide locations http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/12/benedict-xvi-vatican-last-tsar-final.html .
With all theVatican hypocrisy hollering anti-gay marriages and anti-gay adoptions and all that millions of dollars spent by Catholic dioceses worldwide to lobby against gay marriages, here is the Vatican Vatican owned gay apartment 23 million euros apartment in Rome Europe, see the Vatican gay apartment here in our related article -Pope Francis Top 10 Vatican Deceits. Francis cloned @3.13.13 inside Vatican Titanic as Jesuit Mask of Vatican Evils. “Bergoglio. Basura. Vos sos la dictadura.” http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/03/pope-francis-top-10-vatican-deceits_30.html
The Vatican Press released a statement with "“His Eminence Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, archbishop emeritus of St. Andrews and Edinburgh..." What "Eminence"? that GAY BASTARD Cardinal should be excommunicated and banished and erased and excommunicated from the face of Christianity - like those innocent priests Pope Ratzinger unjustly excommunicated, read more here - Hypocrite Benedict silenced Fr. Tony Flannery, Brian D'Arcy – A compilation… but he does not silence Cardinal Bernard Law and JP2 Army – John Paul II Pedophile Priests http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/04/hypocrite-benedict-silenced-outspoken.html
Poor Jesus Christ is now being used as an “excuse” to forgive and forget the most hypocritical gay sins of priests and gay Cardinals like O’Brien. Friends of O'Brien are defending him that he should be allowed to retire in peace in Scotland, but now the Vatican is welcoming him with open arms in the Vatican for "penance" which proves that the Vatican is a haven for criminals like Pope Ratzinger and his crimes against humanity, read more here - The Hague is above Pope, Vatican, Religion. The Hague must prosecute Benedict XVI now to prove secular International Justice reigns over ALL Religions and Despots http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-hague-is-above-pope-vatican.html
Why are priests who work hard and labor out there in the field amidst the people so easily excommunicated just because they expose the hypocrisies of theVatican Africa . Pope Francis is the last pope - because Jesus has had enough of being abused and used as mask of Vatican Deceits and Vatican Mammon, read our related article - Synod of Bishops & New Evangelization...or New Marketing of Old Vatican Deceits. Why Vatican must end as a “country” . Christ the Vatican Slave! Australia JP2 Army! http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/07/why-vatican-must-end-as-country-vatican.html
The Holy See in reality is the Holy Sex obsessed with sex with aVatican leash on women and gays controlling them from masturbation to impure thoughts while using the virginity of Mary as its mask of hypocrisy. That is why Our Lady of Fatima has condemned the Vatican Temple of Solomon
Sacrament of Confession protects criminals and persecutes their victims http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/11/sacrament-of-confession-protects.html
Updated May 4, 2013
A 47-year-old priest in Brazil, who studied theology in Germany, who is popular in the southeastern city of Bauru, where he has been a priest since 2001, was excommunicated for supporting gay rights. But way across the other side of the globe, the Vatican has closed its investigation on active gay Cardinal Keith O'Brien and is allowing him to retain his title as Cardinal - after he admitted in public that he has had many gay relations - as a priest , as a Bishop and as a Cardinal, that's about 50 years of his life until his sudden retirement before the papal conclave. O'Brien in now retiring in Scotland , see news updates below. Vatican hypocrisy is at its all time high and Catholics in the world should be appalled at the Vatican Titanic ruling the 1.2 billion Catholics with double standards of morality. Actually the Vatican has lost its moral voice on children, women and the poor who are its acutal victims. Read our latest articles: Pope Francis Top 10 Vatican Deceits. Francis cloned @3.13.13 inside Vatican Titanic as Jesuit Mask of Vatican Evils. “Bergoglio. Basura. Vos sos la dictadura.” http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/03/pope-francis-top-10-vatican-deceits_30.html and Dreamworks movie on Boston Pedophile Priests: Its moral message and mission in Boston, in the USA and in the world http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/04/dreamworks-movie-on-boston-pedophile.html
The FACE & EYES of Vatican Hypocrisy
England Vatican brags about its power over King Henry VIII and its stance against divorce and anti-gay marriage, it should first look and pray before the image of Vatican Prince O’Brien, its most famous Vatican Prince of Hypocrisy.
The Catholic flag in Scotland
Priests and nuns are not holier than us and not better than us
The black belt means she is pregnant
![[30.jpg]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4DxeIokv0wYjRUZU6DvfDQWD7aQjJrp8LZXnK-gMlwObOfVsfTY4Huq49fFEMdUzd8cYFoUYi1GmkwOXxM3NtZc7OK12skj2f-Sqn07rxgPojGTZFghK3WXS0q-X8UXILcz6kXg53ww/s1600/30.jpg)
READ more here about the pregnancy of Our Lady http://stella0maris.blogspot.ca/2010/01/magisterium-benedict-versus-holy-mary.html
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News articles about Cardinal O'Brien
Formerly Britain's most senior Catholic cleric O'Brien is renowned for railing against homosexuality
Drunken parties at the seminary, crushes on young 'pups' and a gay mafia accused of bringing down
UNITED KINGDOM
UNITED STATES
UNITED KINGDOM
UNITED STATES
UNITED KINGDOM
Judy Courtin
Illustration: John Spooner.
FACING the Truth is the title of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne's submission to State Parliament's inquiry into the handling of child abuse by churches and others. The title also becomes the leitmotif of a church press release on the submission - that the church of today has been ''open about the horrific abuse that has occurred in
What is designed to look like a confession and a genuine mea maxima culpa, is nothing but unholy PR spin.
First, consider the numbers. Archbishop Denis Hart claims about 620 cases of child abuse relating to crimes committed over the past 80 years have been upheld by the church in
Second, the church claims that by ''facing the truth'' it is being open about the horrific abuse. If this were so, the church would, today, hand to police all its secret archives holding thousands of documents relating to decades of clergy sex offences and their cover-ups. On this latter point the press release is silent. The church instead hides this evidence.
If the church were serious about ''facing the truth'' and putting victims first, it would not put them through the trauma of a formal inquiry. For victims, the writing of a submission is a daunting task. A group submission to the parliamentary inquiry from about 32 people in the Ballarat region was lodged last week, yet only 11 of them contributed to the submission's content. The rest were not able to discuss or write down the horrors of their past. But they wanted to be involved and so supported the submission, which they said reflected their own experiences. Giving oral evidence to the committee will be another highly stressful experience for the victims.
The church claims to have learnt from past failures and changed the way it deals with victims and offenders.
In 1996 it developed its internal complaints procedures, the Melbourne Response and Towards Healing. It argues these processes help victims, yet evidence overwhelmingly shows that the processes are abusive and traumatic for victims.
Some have committed suicide after going through them and many others developed post-traumatic stress disorder. Some say the processes are worse than the original abuse.
In relation to the offenders, the church argues that these internal processes ''take action against abusers''. Surely the best action would be for the church to report these offenders to the police. But since the Melbourne Archdiocese has not reported a single case to the police, the community can only assume these paedophiles have been shielded by the hierarchy.
The press release aims to convince the public that the church is now doing the right thing by putting preventive measures in place to protect children and vulnerable adults. There is nothing virtuous or saintly about this. Such measures are a legal requirement that secular schools and other organisations have abided by for decades.
The Victorian church's submission is to include the details of the structure and governance of the church and its many layers of authority and responsibility. This part of the submission will outline the same defence or excuse used by Cardinal George Pell, which argues that the leader of each archdiocese, diocese or religious order is not responsible for anything that happens outside his or her own plot. But what of their moral and ethical obligations? An artificial canonical boundary should not prevent a church leader from doing the right thing by all victims of the one Catholic Church, regardless of geography.
It has taken the threat of a parliamentary inquiry to force the church to act. But alas, this ecclesiastical acting is of the thespian variety only. The church is not ''facing the truth'' and ''putting victims first''. It is trying hard to be what it is not. If the regular secular leopard cannot change its spots, then neither can the offending Catholic variety.
UNITED KINGDOM
By Sam Webb and Alex Gor
Britain
Cardinal Keith O'Brien made the statement in response to allegations of 'inappropriate' behaviour levelled against him by three priests and a former priest.
He apologised, asked for forgiveness and said he will play no further part in the Catholic Church.
'To those I have offended, I apologise and ask forgiveness. To the Catholic Church and people ofScotland
'I will now spend the rest of my life in retirement. I will play no further part in the public life of the Catholic Church inScotland
The 74-year-old, who had been taking legal advice, tendered his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI in November, citing age and 'indifferent health'.
He had been widely expected to step down next month when he turns 75.
His resignation was accepted by the pope on February 18 and it was announced on Monday that it was taking place with immediate effect.
In the Observer, which first reported the story last week, the former priest who made the accusations and remains anonymous, today said he had been 'disappointed' by the church's reaction.
He said: 'There have been two sensations for me this week. One is feeling the hot breath of the media on the back of my neck and the other is sensing the cold disapproval of the church hierarchy for daring to break ranks.
'I feel like if they could crush me, they would.
'The vacuum the church has created has allowed whimsy and speculation to distort the truth, and the only support I have been offered is a cursory email with a couple of telephone numbers of counsellors hundreds of miles away from me.'
The former clergyman claimed that when he was a seminarian at St Andrew's College, Drygrange, in 1980, Cardinal O'Brien made an inappropriate approach to him after night prayers.
Another priest said the Cardinal visited him at his parish and that inappropriate contact took place between them, while a third complainant alleged that he was subjected to 'unwanted behaviour' from the cleric in the 1980s after some late-night drinking.
The cardinal has also been accused by another member of the clergy of using night prayers as an excuse for inappropriate contact.
Resignation: The 74-year-old Cardinal pictured with Pope Benedict XVI and the Duke of Edinburgh
Position: The Archbishop was the head of the Roman Catholic Church inScotland UK
He has not travelled to Rome Britain
He said: 'The timing is very unfortunate and it does appear as if one has followed the other, which in terms of chronology one has followed the other, but that's not the same as saying one caused the other.
'When it comes to responding to the allegations I think what he will do is act on his legal advice, and the legal advice at the moment would be to not publicly engage with the detail as it stands of the allegations.'
Another priest has called for the Catholic Church inScotland
Father John Robinson said: 'If the Catholic Church inScotland
'We need to learn lessons from the mistakes we have made in the past and move on to become a more loving and understanding church which does not condemn victims or even abusers.'
Cardinal O’Brien had previously said sorry as it was revealed that he must resign now rather than wait until his 75th birthday later this month.
In a statement, he said: ‘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.'
Cardinal O’Brien’s apology follows growing controversy over his leadership in recent weeks. The vehemence of his public stand against same-sex marriage led to condemnation by the gay lobby.
However, in a surprise move just a day before the sex scandal broke, he upset traditionalists by calling for priests to be given the right to marry.
Vatican
‘The Holy Father has now decided that my resignation will take effect today, 25 February 2013, and that he will appoint an Apostolic Administrator to govern the Archdiocese in my place until my successor is appointed,’ Cardinal O’Brien said.
The Cardinal said in his statement: ‘I thank Pope Benedict XVI for his kindness and courtesy to me and…I wish him a long and happy retirement.
‘I also ask God’s blessing on my brother Cardinals who will soon gather inRome Rome
==============================================
News updates for May 4, 2013
* Priest defends homosexuality, open marriages
* Excommunication follows warnings to toe Church line
By Paulo Prada
RIO DE JANEIRO, April 30 (Reuters) - The Catholic Church has excommunicated a Brazilian priest after he defended homosexuality, open marriage and other practices counter to Church teaching in online videos.
In a statement released late on Monday, the priest's diocese said Father Roberto Francisco Daniel, known to local parishioners as Padre Beto, had "in the name of 'freedom of expression' betrayed the promise of fealty to the Church."
The priest "injured the Church with grave statements counter to the dogma of Catholic faith and morality." The actions amount to "heresy and schism," the statement said, the penalty for which is excommunication, or expulsion from the Church.
The rare punishment follows what Daniel's bishop and the priest himself said were repeated rebukes about the videos and other public activities, such as a radio broadcast and local newspaper column, in which he challenged Church doctrine.
The 47-year-old cleric, who studied theology in Germany, is popular in the southeastern city of Bauru, where he has been a priest since 2001. He is known for his rock T-shirts, a silver stud pierced through his right ear and his habit of posing, as on his official Facebook page, with a glass of beer.
On Facebook and Twitter, Daniel posted a brief statement about the excommunication: "I feel honored to belong to the long list of people who have been murdered and burned alive for thinking and searching for knowledge."
SPREAD OF MODERATE VIEWS
Daniel's excommunication, which prompted headlines across Brazil and protests in social media, illustrates the rising influence of more moderate social views in Brazil, Latin America's biggest country, and much of the rest of the region.
Progressive stances on sexuality, birth control, scientific research and other delicate topics for the Church are increasingly common in Latin America, home to 42 percent of the world's Catholics, more than any other region worldwide.
The shifting views are among the many challenges faced by Pope Francis, an Argentine who ascended in March to become the first Latin American pope in history.
The excommunication comes just two months before Francis is scheduled to attend World Youth Day, expected to attract as many as 2 million young Catholics to Rio de Janeiro.
Though Francis is known to be a traditionalist on social issues and Church doctrine, his appointment raised hopes that the first non-European pope in 13 centuries would do more than his predecessors to modernize Catholicism.
But Daniel's beliefs clearly went too far for church leaders.
In one of the recent videos he posted on YouTube.com and his own Website, the priest said a married person who chose to have an affair, heterosexual or otherwise, would not be unfaithful as long as that person's spouse allowed it. "If someone is in an extramarital relationship and that relationship is accepted by the spouse, then faithfulness still exists there," he said.
A "REBEL SON"
In a telephone interview, Daniel said his statements "are personal reflections that should be considered and discussed in the dialogue of the church." The excommunication, he said, is "the sad act of a lukewarm and disengaged church that is out of touch with today's society."
The diocese retained a church expert in canonical law to oversee the excommunication process. The diocese also initiated a separate process at the Vatican through which Daniel will be stripped of clerical authority.
Last Tuesday, Bishop Caetano Ferrari gave Daniel a letter asking him to take the videos offline and publicly retract his statements. In an interview posted on the diocese Web site shortly afterward, Ferrari called Daniel "brilliant," but characterized him as a "rebel son" who "crosses the line."
On Monday, Daniel said he went to the diocese headquarters planning to renounce his clerical duties rather than retract any of his comments. But before he had a chance, the bishop and canonical expert made him face a committee of Church officials.
"It was a trial," Daniel said. "I told them I was not there to be tried, that I had not been indicted."
Shortly afterward, the Church issued the statement announcing his excommunication. (Editing by Todd Benson and Cynthia Osterman)
News updates for May 15, 2013 -- these related news illustrate the Vatican Deceits and Vatican hypocrisy at its all time high
ITALY
Deutsche Welle
ITALY
Wall Street MILAN —Italian financial police Friday arrested a senior prelate, a financial broker and a member of Italy ’s secret service in an investigation into a failed attempt to bring about €20 million ($26.1 million) in cash into Italy from Switzerland
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If you live in Los Angeles, or elsewhere in the USA or in the world, and are planning a “pilgrimage” to the Oratory of St. Joseph or flying to the Vatican, DON'T GO and instead DONATE that pilgrimage money to the Red Cross or your local charity - or sponsor a poor student and pay for his or her school supplies and school lunch for a year, or feed a homeless person for a year at McDonald's, instead of flying to Montreal to see the Oratory or the Vatican Mammon Beast - and God will listen more to your prayers in your act of mercy rather feeding the Vatican Mammon Beast or St. Joseph Oratory Mammon Beast copying the Vatican Titanic sinking in moral bankruptcy. http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/12/oratory-of-st-joseph-copy-vatican.html
It’s more important and more relevant for children to know the story of Eleuterio Ramos and all JP2 Army Vatican sex maniac rapists priests of the 20th century - than the ancient Bible stories irrelevant mythical figures like Jonah being swallowed by a whale, read here the Los Angeles Files http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/01/los-angeles-files-mahony-must-be-jailed.html
http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2011/03/vatican-billions-holy-mass-tourism-for.html
Read our new blog: Pope Francis the CON Christ. Pretender & Impostor of Jesus. Merlin hoax CANNOT CLONE JESUS or dogs http://pope-francis-con-christ.blogspot.ca/
Our latest related article about New Jersey "Bling" Bishop Myers http://pope-francis-con-christ.blogspot.ca/2014/02/new-jersey-bling-bishop-myers-wants-100.html
Updated June 30, 2013
A “gay lobby” group and its website have been discovered inside the
This gay ring within the
Updated May 16, 2013 more added articles
Pope Francis is proving himself as the perfect clone of his two gay Holy Fathers John Paul II and Benedict XVI-Ratzinger by getting gay adulterer Cardinal Keith O'Brien to go and lodge in the Vatican Titanic deep in the ocean of moral bankruptcy. Pope Francis recently excommunicated a relatively young Brazilian priest for SUPPORTING gay rights (see news updates below) but he is welcoming with open arms Cardinal O'Brien who was a PRACTISING ACTIVE GAY Cardinal who committed adultery with multiple priests to satisfy his gay bestial lust -- he is worse than King Henry and The Borgias. Cardinal Bernard Law was also welcomed with open arms by John Paul II hence he is his Achilles Heel and can never be a (hypocritical) saint, read more here -Heil Satanas JP2 Patron Saint of Pedophiles, Pederasts Rapists-Priests! John Paul II is the same yesterday and today-- he cannot protect children http://jp2m.blogspot.ca/2011/05/heil-satanas-jp2-patron-saint-of.html. Pope Francis is just like his Holy Father Pope Ratzinger whose final despotic actr was to excommunicate an old Jesuit for questioning his book Jesus of Nazareth and the virginity of Mary, read more here - Benedict XVI the Vatican Last Tsar: Final despotic acts. Vatican jails worldwide locations http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/12/benedict-xvi-vatican-last-tsar-final.html .
With all the
The Vatican Press released a statement with "“His Eminence Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, archbishop emeritus of St. Andrews and Edinburgh..." What "Eminence"? that GAY BASTARD Cardinal should be excommunicated and banished and erased and excommunicated from the face of Christianity - like those innocent priests Pope Ratzinger unjustly excommunicated, read more here - Hypocrite Benedict silenced Fr. Tony Flannery, Brian D'Arcy – A compilation… but he does not silence Cardinal Bernard Law and JP2 Army – John Paul II Pedophile Priests http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/04/hypocrite-benedict-silenced-outspoken.html
Poor Jesus Christ is now being used as an “excuse” to forgive and forget the most hypocritical gay sins of priests and gay Cardinals like O’Brien. Friends of O'Brien are defending him that he should be allowed to retire in peace in Scotland, but now the Vatican is welcoming him with open arms in the Vatican for "penance" which proves that the Vatican is a haven for criminals like Pope Ratzinger and his crimes against humanity, read more here - The Hague is above Pope, Vatican, Religion. The Hague must prosecute Benedict XVI now to prove secular International Justice reigns over ALL Religions and Despots http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-hague-is-above-pope-vatican.html
Why are priests who work hard and labor out there in the field amidst the people so easily excommunicated just because they expose the hypocrisies of the
The Holy See in reality is the Holy Sex obsessed with sex with a
Sacrament of Confession protects criminals and persecutes their victims http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/11/sacrament-of-confession-protects.html
Updated May 4, 2013
A 47-year-old priest in Brazil, who studied theology in Germany, who is popular in the southeastern city of Bauru, where he has been a priest since 2001, was excommunicated for supporting gay rights. But way across the other side of the globe, the Vatican has closed its investigation on active gay Cardinal Keith O'Brien and is allowing him to retain his title as Cardinal - after he admitted in public that he has had many gay relations - as a priest , as a Bishop and as a Cardinal, that's about 50 years of his life until his sudden retirement before the papal conclave. O'Brien in now retiring in Scotland , see news updates below. Vatican hypocrisy is at its all time high and Catholics in the world should be appalled at the Vatican Titanic ruling the 1.2 billion Catholics with double standards of morality. Actually the Vatican has lost its moral voice on children, women and the poor who are its acutal victims. Read our latest articles: Pope Francis Top 10 Vatican Deceits. Francis cloned @3.13.13 inside Vatican Titanic as Jesuit Mask of Vatican Evils. “Bergoglio. Basura. Vos sos la dictadura.” http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/03/pope-francis-top-10-vatican-deceits_30.html and Dreamworks movie on Boston Pedophile Priests: Its moral message and mission in Boston, in the USA and in the world http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/04/dreamworks-movie-on-boston-pedophile.html
Cardinal O’Brien should be excommunicated like King Henry VIII was excommunicated by the Pope. For more than 50 years as an “evil gay” adulterer, Cardinal O’Brien had multiple gay sexes with many priests and gay men, therefore, he is worse than King Henry who slept with 8 wives. At least, King Henry had the decency to marry his wife in public but Cardinal O’Brien hid all his “evil gay” adultery trysts inside his holy Cardinal Palace paid for by the holy Vatican Billions, read here the wealth of the Vatican in England http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2011/03/vatican-billions-holy-mass-tourism-for.html.
Jesus the poor itinerant preacher in the New Testament said, “Whoever believes in me shall never die but shall have life everlasting” (John 11:26). But the Vatican has hijacked the identity of Jesus and enslaved him beneath the Pope dressed in white. Vatican Deceits have distorted and deformed Jesus into the VICAR of Christ TYRANT saying, “Whoever does not believe in the Pope and his Cardinals (no matter what papal sins and papal crimes he has committed like Ratzinger and the Borgias, and now gay adulterers Cardinal O’Brien and Cardinal Dias) shall die and burn in the eternal fires of Hell and shall be excommunicated on Earth and condemned and ridiculed by Vatican Catholics (it’s not Roman Catholic anymore, read more here Vatican Last Tsar Benedict XVI resigns as Vatican Pontiff of Vatican Catholic Church. It’s deceitful to say “Roman Pontiff” of “Roman Catholic Church” http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/02/vatican-last-tsar-benedict-xvi-resigns_13.html
Humpty Dumpty Cardinal O’Brien sat on a Vatican Billion Red Throne
Humpty Dumpty Cardinal O’Brien had a great fall as a gay adulterer sexing Catholic priests
All Vatican Billion Popes & Cardinals - Apostles in Red - and all Vatican gay priests
Cannot put Humpty Dumpty Cardinal O’Brien back together again as Vatican Prince
Read our related article, Benedict XVI is Papal Humpty Dumpty http://pope-ratz.blogspot.ca/2010/03/benedict-xvi-is-papal-humpty-dumpty.html
Read our latest article
Pope Francis Top 10 Vatican Deceits. Francis cloned @3.13.13 inside Vatican Titanic as Jesuit Mask of Vatican Evils. “Bergoglio. Basura. Vos sos la dictadura.”
http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/03/pope-francis-top-10-vatican-deceits_30.html
KING HENRY VIII
The Vatican Titanic has sunk deep in the ocean of moral bankruptcy as thousands of pedophile priests in its JP2 Army - John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army are being caught from Boston to Ireland to Australia and now its gay Vatican Princes are also being caught with their pants down right on time for the Papal Conclave. To make things more thrilling than a James Bond movie, a gay Italian Cardinal was exposed the same time as England’s gay Cardinal O’Brien. Cardinal Dias lives in a Vatican owned 23 million Euros apartment exclusively for gays in Rome. Holy Vatican Shit! No layman could surpass the hedonistic lifestyle of Vatican Prince Dias as he frolics and resides right above the largest gay sauna of Europe, see photos here - Pope Francis Top 10 Vatican Deceits. Francis cloned @3.13.13 inside Vatican Titanic as Jesuit Mask of Vatican Evils. “Bergoglio. Basura. Vos sos la dictadura.” http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/03/pope-francis-top-10-vatican-deceits_30.html
As the Vatican Prince of Hypocrisy Cardinal O'Brien is England's highest Catholic gay adulterer and he is one of the best proofs of Vatican Deceits.
As an APOSTLE IN RED Cardinal O'Brien is the shame and scandal of the Vatican Royal family made up of Vatican “Princes of the Church” Cardinals. It’s deceitful to say “Roman Catholic Cardinal or Roman Pontiff” of “Roman Catholic Church”. The true way and correct way is “Vatican Catholic Cardinals” of the “Vatican Catholic Church” read more here http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/02/vatican-last-tsar-benedict-xvi-resigns_13.html
England’s Vatican Prince gay adulterer Cardinal O’Brien makes Henry VIII an honest straight guy.
The fall of England
RISE AND FALL: Keith O'Brien in Rome on the day he was made a cardinal. Hours later he is alleged to have targeted a young priest. Picture: Gordon Terris
O'Brien 'groped' priest the day he became a cardinal
Cardinal O’Brien’s sudden downfall from his British throne as ‘Prince of the Vatican Catholic Church’ (it’s no longer Roman Catholic Church) - together with Benedict XVI sudden abdication as Supreme Pontiff - prove that the Vatican Titanic has finally sank into the depth of moral bankruptcy and there is no way for it to be salvaged or to resurrect it or to reform it, read more here Billion Dollar Christ & Apostles in Red now playing in Vatican
Because of Cardinal O’Brien’s sudden resignation (so that he can go back to hide inside the gay closet) England had no voice or vote at the Papal Conclave in the Vatican
It’s ironic that England had the most actions for Women’s International Day, United Kingdom (428 events), United States of America (249 events) Australia (185 events) Canada (158 events) India (92 events) more countries ...
Those gay Apostles in Red Cardinals cannot tolerate the presence of women because their Vatican Gay Ring would be threatened and exposed which is one of the reasons why Benedict resigned, read here Vatican Last Tsar Benedict XVI resigns as Vatican Pontiff of Vatican Catholic Church. http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/02/vatican-last-tsar-benedict-xvi-resigns_13.html
The secular media and SNAP will no longer play along to the tune of Vatican Pied Pipers especially John L. Allen Jr.’s Vatican Deceits. So SNAP came up with its “Dirty Dozen” list of worst papal candidates, read it in Billion Dollar Christ http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/02/billion-dollar-christ-apostles-in-red.html. SNAP’s Dirty Dozen is contrary to John Allen daily Popebili kissing the cardinals' asses. Remember, the Devil’s Bowels smell like roses in the Vatican
The secular media and SNAP is exposing papal hypocrisy faster than Twitter. The fall of England’s GAY Cardinal O’Brien took less than two days, within 36 hours from the time the media revealed his past sins as a gay priest when he made “inappropriate behaviors” towards three priests and an ex-priest three decades ago (a fifth priest has come out with more claims). It took 12 months for Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston Rome
The fall of England
The Pope should excommunicate GAY Cardinal O'Brien for having committed adultery with 5 priests (or more) and recant King Henry’s excommunication because Cardinal O’Brien fits the Pope’s very condemnation about GAYS: Cardinal O’Brien is “morally intrinsic evil” man.
Benedict XVI should be ashamed of himself for condemning two good old Jesuit priests as his last despotic acts as God’s Rottweiler last Christmas, read here http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/12/benedict-xvi-vatican-last-tsar-final.html Benedict XVI should have silenced Cardinal O’Brien instead because his crimes against his vow of celibacy as a gay adulterer Cardinal are infinitely worse than the Jesuits’ misdemeanour. The hypocrisy of Benedict XVI and Cardinal O’Brien proves the Vatican
Cardinal O’Brien and Benedict XVI are cut from the same cloth: they publicly condemned gays and gay marriages with every power they had - yet in real life they were both gays and condoned and covered-up gay priests around them. One of the reasons Benedict XVI resigned as Forbes 5th Most Powerful Person in the World is the imminent exposure of the Vatican Gay Ring inside the Vatican by gay male prostitutes in Rome
Cardinal O’Brien hid his multiple gay liaisons in secret, heaven knows how many more priests or gay men he has had sex with. At least England England
The Catholic flag in Scotland
The Vatican Catholic Empire is one of the last dynasties that require only-male heir to the Throne of St. Peter. The Vatican Catholic Church is turning fast into a Catholic Mythology…
The Vatican is the smallest theocratic, autocracy, ‘it is not a democracy’ country while Rome is the secular city of the democratic state of Italy, read more here http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/07/why-vatican-must-end-as-country-vatican.html
It's not Roman Catholic, Stupid!
The Vatican and Rome are no longer synonymous.
The Vatican Catholics, not Roman Catholics
The Vatican and Rome are no longer synonymous.
The Pope has no authority in Rome.
But the Vatican cling-on to Rome and use its Roman Coliseum to latch-on to the fame of the gladiators and the Hail Caesars as the Pope copy-cat the powers of Caesars which Forbes described Benedict XVI as the 5th Most Powerful Person in the world, read here Forbes delusion of Vatican Last Tsar Benedict XVI powers http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/12/forbes-delusion-of-vatican-last-tsar.html.
The allegiance of Catholics is to the Pope and the Vatican or the Magisterium… The allegiance of Catholics is NOT to Rome; therefore, it is fallacious to call them “Roman Catholics”.
Vatican Last Tsar Benedict XVI has no papal authority over Rome; therefore, Catholics are not Roman.
The Vatican must start paying taxes for its staggering business properties in Rome starting in 2013. To keep calling them as “Roman Catholics” is to keep feeding the voracious Vatican Mammon, read here http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2011/03/vatican-billions-holy-mass-tourism-for.html. .
The Pope and the Vatican have no political authority and no influence in Rome or in Italian Parliament.
The false (old) statement is, Catholics are “Roman Catholics” of the “Roman Catholic Church”.
The true (new) statement is, Catholics are “Vatican Catholics” of the “Vatican Catholic Church”.
Christ said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” and “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”. It’s time the world sets itself free with the truth. It’s time the world sets itself free from the Vatican. It’s time the world sets itself free from Pope Benedict XVI Ratzinger whose crimes against humanity are pending at The Hague. It’s time the world sets itself free from John Paul II the false “blessed” and false “saint” of children because he never bothered to protect one child from his thousands of bestial sodomy priests of the JP2 Army – John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army during his 27 years papacy… for best example and greatest papal proof, John Paul II didn’t protect or bother to meet with the children of Boston raped by the 80 pedophile priests Cardinal Bernard Law transferred from one parish to another during his last World Youth Day in Toronto, an hour flight away, read here http://jp2m.blogspot.ca/2011/05/911-victims-5000-jp2-army-100000s-may.html. In the U.S. alone, there are more than 6,100 Vatican sex maniac rapists priests all protected by the Popes, Cardinals, Bishops and Vicars. Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston and Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles are the most famous enablers of the JP2 Army, read more here NCAA & Penn State more moral than Vatican. Sports is more moral than John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Vatican Titanic sinking in moral bankruptcy http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/07/ncaa-penn-state-more-moral-than-vatican.html
The biggest Vatican Deceits strategy will be to present the new pope on Easter Sunday, the culmination of the 40 days of Lent, to launch him on with the notoriety of Christ’s Resurrection – and with Hollywood production, the Vatican will brainwash Catholics and the world that the new Pope has supernatural powers just like the Resurrected Christ because he is the “Vicar of Christ”… just like the Mayan Kings were descendants of the Sun-God and therefore, his every word was law including his insane whims.
The world must not forget that Benedict XVI’s Last Tsar despotic act and last papal whim was to silence an old Jesuit priest, 92 years old, who was a good and faithful priest for more than 50 years and forbid him to say Mass. http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/12/benedict-xvi-vatican-last-tsar-final.html While Benedict XVI will go to retire in glory at Castel Gandolfo, this good old Jesuit priest will die in disgrace as a non-Catholic, read here Vatican Terror on Galileo, priests and the poor, women and children http://popecrimes.blogspot.fr/2013/01/vatican-terrorism-on-galileo-women-and.html
Benedict XVI as the Vicar of Christ is as cruel as those Mayan Kings who killed babies and threw them from the tip of the Mayan Pyramid Temple to satisfy the appetite of their false gods. Well, Vatican Last Tsar Benedict XVI-Ratzinger also killed many children, all those hundreds of thousands of children bestially sodomized by the JP2 Army – John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army of the 20th century, read here his crimes against humanity pending at The Hague http://popecrimes.blogspot.com/2011/05/full-text-of-criminal-charges-against.html, and all the billions of souls he condemned to roast in the fires of Hell worse than the Nazis burned Jews in Auschwitz, read here our related article he Nazis of Hitler and the Roman Catholic Church of Benedict XVI are similar: They both burn human beings in Auschwitz and in Hell http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2011/02/nazis-of-hitler-and-roman-catholic.html
The narcissism and grandiosity of John Paul II, Cardinal Bernard Law, Benedict XVI, and Bishop Roger Vangheluwe are nauseating and despicable http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2011/04/narcissism-and-grandiosity-of-john-paul.html
It's not Roman Catholic, Stupid!
The Vatican and Rome are no longer synonymous.
The Vatican Catholics, not Roman Catholics
The Vatican and Rome are no longer synonymous.
The Pope has no authority in Rome.
But the Vatican cling-on to Rome and use its Roman Coliseum to latch-on to the fame of the gladiators and the Hail Caesars as the Pope copy-cat the powers of Caesars which Forbes described Benedict XVI as the 5th Most Powerful Person in the world, read here Forbes delusion of Vatican Last Tsar Benedict XVI powers http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/12/forbes-delusion-of-vatican-last-tsar.html.
The Pope is not Roman. Catholics are not Roman.
The Pope has no power in Rome.
The Vatican is not part of Rome.
The Pope is not a citizen of Rome.
The allegiance of Catholics is to the Pope and the Vatican or the Magisterium… The allegiance of Catholics is NOT to Rome; therefore, it is fallacious to call them “Roman Catholics”.
Vatican Last Tsar Benedict XVI has no papal authority over Rome; therefore, Catholics are not Roman.
The Vatican must start paying taxes for its staggering business properties in Rome starting in 2013. To keep calling them as “Roman Catholics” is to keep feeding the voracious Vatican Mammon, read here http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2011/03/vatican-billions-holy-mass-tourism-for.html. .
The Pope and the Vatican have no political authority and no influence in Rome or in Italian Parliament.
The false (old) statement is, Catholics are “Roman Catholics” of the “Roman Catholic Church”.
The true (new) statement is, Catholics are “Vatican Catholics” of the “Vatican Catholic Church”.
Christ said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” and “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”. It’s time the world sets itself free with the truth. It’s time the world sets itself free from the Vatican. It’s time the world sets itself free from Pope Benedict XVI Ratzinger whose crimes against humanity are pending at The Hague. It’s time the world sets itself free from John Paul II the false “blessed” and false “saint” of children because he never bothered to protect one child from his thousands of bestial sodomy priests of the JP2 Army – John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army during his 27 years papacy… for best example and greatest papal proof, John Paul II didn’t protect or bother to meet with the children of Boston raped by the 80 pedophile priests Cardinal Bernard Law transferred from one parish to another during his last World Youth Day in Toronto, an hour flight away, read here http://jp2m.blogspot.ca/2011/05/911-victims-5000-jp2-army-100000s-may.html. In the U.S. alone, there are more than 6,100 Vatican sex maniac rapists priests all protected by the Popes, Cardinals, Bishops and Vicars. Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston and Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles are the most famous enablers of the JP2 Army, read more here NCAA & Penn State more moral than Vatican. Sports is more moral than John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Vatican Titanic sinking in moral bankruptcy http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/07/ncaa-penn-state-more-moral-than-vatican.html
The biggest Vatican Deceits strategy will be to present the new pope on Easter Sunday, the culmination of the 40 days of Lent, to launch him on with the notoriety of Christ’s Resurrection – and with Hollywood production, the Vatican will brainwash Catholics and the world that the new Pope has supernatural powers just like the Resurrected Christ because he is the “Vicar of Christ”… just like the Mayan Kings were descendants of the Sun-God and therefore, his every word was law including his insane whims.
The world must not forget that Benedict XVI’s Last Tsar despotic act and last papal whim was to silence an old Jesuit priest, 92 years old, who was a good and faithful priest for more than 50 years and forbid him to say Mass. http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/12/benedict-xvi-vatican-last-tsar-final.html While Benedict XVI will go to retire in glory at Castel Gandolfo, this good old Jesuit priest will die in disgrace as a non-Catholic, read here Vatican Terror on Galileo, priests and the poor, women and children http://popecrimes.blogspot.fr/2013/01/vatican-terrorism-on-galileo-women-and.html
Benedict XVI as the Vicar of Christ is as cruel as those Mayan Kings who killed babies and threw them from the tip of the Mayan Pyramid Temple to satisfy the appetite of their false gods. Well, Vatican Last Tsar Benedict XVI-Ratzinger also killed many children, all those hundreds of thousands of children bestially sodomized by the JP2 Army – John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army of the 20th century, read here his crimes against humanity pending at The Hague http://popecrimes.blogspot.com/2011/05/full-text-of-criminal-charges-against.html, and all the billions of souls he condemned to roast in the fires of Hell worse than the Nazis burned Jews in Auschwitz, read here our related article he Nazis of Hitler and the Roman Catholic Church of Benedict XVI are similar: They both burn human beings in Auschwitz and in Hell http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2011/02/nazis-of-hitler-and-roman-catholic.html
The narcissism and grandiosity of John Paul II, Cardinal Bernard Law, Benedict XVI, and Bishop Roger Vangheluwe are nauseating and despicable http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2011/04/narcissism-and-grandiosity-of-john-paul.html
The times they are a’changin! This is the fastest ever admission of GAY ADULTERY among the Catholic Priests Sex Scandal of Biblical Proportions in the JP2 Army – John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army -- within one week of sexual allegations. Cardinal O’Brien admitted and apologised for his “sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal”. Again, the Vatican Deceit is at play here as the Cardinal plays with words and makes his sexual escapades like a walk in the park. Benedict XVI was voted Person of the Year when he was first elected Pope because of his condemnations of gays, but gay Cardinal O’Brien is exempt from this papal condemnation. The hypocrisy of the Vicar of Christ makes the papacy morally bankrupt and it has irreversibly lost all his papal moral authority in the world, read more here Pope Francis Top 10 Vatican Deceits. Francis cloned @3.13.13 inside Vatican Titanic as Jesuit Mask of Vatican Evils. “Bergoglio. Basura. Vos sos la dictadura.” http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/03/pope-francis-top-10-vatican-deceits_30.html
.
Benedict XVI’s farewell speech to the Cardinals is his final Vatican Deceits speech as he rattles on Christ’s words as if he was the reincarnation of Christ himself. Imagine his arrogance for saying: “In these 8 years we have experienced in faith beautiful moments of radiant light in the Churches’ journey along with times when clouds have darkened the sky. We have tried to serve Christ and his Church with deep and total love which is the soul of our ministry. We have gifted hope that comes from Christ alone, and which alone can illuminate our path”.
Christ condemned High Priests as Pharisees, and he condemned the Temple of Solomon Vatican
The Vatican Catholic Reign of Terror is fast disappearing at the John Paul II and Benedict XVI’s own doing. The Vatican lavender Gay Mafia now rules the Vatican. Even Benedict XVI talks like an old woman and his handsome secretary, Gorgeous Georg is gay according to Italian gays, read here Benedict XVI and Georg his GAY Private Secretary are GAYS.!. http://pope-ratz.blogspot.ca/2007/06/benedict-xvis-handsome-private.html
The RED DEVIL
APOSTLE IN RED
THE POSTER BOY OF THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS
the "slimy bastard" Cardinal Bernard Law, those thousands of little boys and little girls who had the grave misfortune of loving and revering this human piece of filth...I’m ashamed to be of the same faith as this evil, malicious creep."
But to prove that he is "the Great" John Paul II PAPAL FARTed at us Bostonians and took Cardinal Law to Rome to be the High Priest of the Mother of all Basilicas, that is why Cardinal Law is the Achilles Heel of John Paul II
But to prove that he is "the Great" John Paul II PAPAL FARTed at us Bostonians and took Cardinal Law to Rome to be the High Priest of the Mother of all Basilicas, that is why Cardinal Law is the Achilles Heel of John Paul II
http://jp2m.blogspot.ca/2009/12/john-paul-iis-partner-saint-st.html
Well, the black magic holy words of a team of “holy priests” cannot clone Christ the Son God either, read about the Divine Trinity http://pope-ratz.blogspot.ca/2010/12/gay-trinity-of-father-son-and-holy
The hypocrisy of the Benedict XVI has made the papacy morally bankrupt and it has irreversibly lost all moral authority in the world.
TheVatican
The Vatican has lost its moral authority on the poor by silencing or excommunicating Liberation Theology priests, read more here : Hypocrite Benedict silenced Fr. Tony Flannery, Brian D'Arcy – A compilation… but he does not silence Cardinal Bernard Law and JP2 Army – John Paul II Pedophile Priests http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/04/hypocrite-benedict-silenced-outspoken.html
The
The Vatican
Priests and nuns are not holier than us and not better than us
Priests and nuns are not holier-than-you and not better-than-you. Priests and nuns are not holier or better simply because they recite a formula of holy prayers and have (hypocritical) vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to the Pope, Cardinals and Bishops especially who aided and abetted half a century of JP2 Army – John Paul II Pedophile Priests heinous crimes http://jp2m.blogspot.ca/2011_04_01_archive.html).
Priests and nuns are not holier or better than lay teachers, nurses, social workers, doctors, lab technicians, the police, firefighters, workers at McDonalds and restaurants, janitors, all professions and laborers.
No matter what good deeds the priests and nuns are doing, they are not holier-than nor better than -- the Red Cross workers and Doctors without Borders who are instantly everywhere in war zone or disaster areas regardless of race and creed – while those Popes, Cardinals and Bishops sit in the lap of luxury in the Vatican Palace and Bishops’ Palaces counting the Vatican Billions, and priests and nuns live in their comfy rectories and hushed million dollars convents, read here - The fantastic wealth of Irish Catholic religious orders revealed http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2011/07/fantastic-wealth-of-irish-catholic.html,
And Opus Dei million dollar houses of their priests and “numeraries” equivalent to nuns and religious brothers http://www.odan.org/foundations.htm
“Holiness” is not measured by the holy prayers a person recites because Christ condemned those Holy Priests Pharisees precisely because they recited the most holy prayers from the Bible and He called them white washed sepulchres, read here http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2011/10/boston-to-host-former-swiss-guards.html
“It is acts of mercy” that I desire, God said in the Bible, and “not material or animal holocaust”. Christ got angry at those merchants selling those holy lambs for sacrifice in the Temple of Solomon
Read about the impotent Zeus statue of St. Joseph who overlooked 50 years of sodomy in College Notre Dame here, BOYCOTT Oratory of St.Joseph http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/01/boycott-oratory-of-saint-joseph-candles.html
The “Holy Father“ Pope and his copy-cat “holy fathers” Catholic priests cannot clone Dolly the sheep and therefore they cannot clone Christ either, read our related article, OC Diocese buys Crystal Cathedral as flesh-factory of Christ... for wealthy God-flesh-eating Catholics http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2011/11/oc-diocese-buys-crystal-cathedral-as.html
Well, the black magic holy words of a team of “holy priests” cannot clone Christ the Son God either, read about the Divine Trinity http://pope-ratz.blogspot.ca/2010/12/gay-trinity-of-father-son-and-holy
Please take a look at the worse Roman Catholic Church pedophile priests attacks against more than 15,500 Americans … compared to the September 11, 2001 attacks against 3,000 Americans at the Twin Towers in New York
Victims in USA - Attackers - Responsible Leaders Pearl Harbor - 3,000 victims - 170 planes - Admiral Yamamoto
WTC & 9/11 attacks - 3,000 victims - 19 Muslims - Osama bin Laden
Priest pedophilia - 15,736 victims - 6,000 pedophile priests covered-up by John Paul II, Benedict XVI Ratzinger, Opus Dei = the new Vatican Trinity, with Cardinals, Bishops, vicars, worldwide...
WTC & 9/11 attacks - 3,000 victims - 19 Muslims - Osama bin Laden
Priest pedophilia - 15,736 victims - 6,000 pedophile priests covered-up by John Paul II, Benedict XVI Ratzinger, Opus Dei = the new Vatican Trinity, with Cardinals, Bishops, vicars, worldwide...
9/11 victims 3,000. JP2 Army 100,000s. May Day: both Hitler and bin Laden Announced Dead on May 1 on John Paul II Beatification Day B-Day http://jp2m.blogspot.ca/2011/05/911-victims-5000-jp2-army-100000s-may.html.
9/11 victims 3,000. JP2 Army 100,000s. May Day: both Hitler and bin Laden Announced Dead on May 1 on John Paul II Beatification Day B-Day http://jp2m.blogspot.ca/2011/05/911-victims-5000-jp2-army-100000s-may.html.
Look deeply into this image of Our Lady of Guadalupe defending and protecting children from the Serpent ... compared to Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Cardinals, Bishops who coverd-up pedophile priests
http://jp2m.blogspot.ca/2008/07/letter-to-opus-dei-pope-john-paul-ii.html The names of the transferring or covering up Bishops and Cardinals are: Roll Call Please!
Pope
The Hague: Full text Criminal Charges against Dr. Joseph Ratzinger, Pope of the Roman Catholic Church http://popecrimes.blogspot.com/2011/05/full-text-of-criminal-charges-against.html The black belt means she is pregnant
\.
The womb of the Immaculate Conception of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe carried Jesus this way
9-months gestation of Jesus the Son of God
READ more here about the pregnancy of Our Lady http://stella0maris.blogspot.ca/2010/01/magisterium-benedict-versus-holy-mary.html
DOLLY THE CLONED SHEEP
The cloning process that produced Dolly
http://www.youtube.com/embed/39BbcZVCx8I
BLACK MAGIC OF EUCHARIST
1-MINUTE black magic of the cloning of Christ by sinful Vatican pope and priests
http://www.youtube.com/embed/39BbcZVCx8I
BLACK MAGIC OF EUCHARIST
1-MINUTE black magic of the cloning of Christ by sinful Vatican pope and priests
Our comment: Transubstantiation or the Mass is a recent development . St. Peter and St. Paul and the Apostles never celebrated Mass and never “transubstantiation” the bread into the flesh of Christ, what they did was to preach about Christ. The Mass was a slow development from the 12th century through various liturgical reforms until the 20th century. It was only in 1215 at the Fourth Council of the Lateran that the Mass began to take form and in 1551 at the Council of Trent that transubstantiation became what it is today. The Vatican has come to use it as its main crux of power on earth deceiving Catholics and peoples of all faiths that only Popes and men-priests have the exclusive power to transubstantiate God’s flesh. Because of the Mass, the Vatican has gotten away with all kinds of heinous crimes, e.g. the Crusades, the Inquisition, the burning of women and witches http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2006/11/john-paul-ii-revived-inquisition.html “For the sake of the Eucharist” and because of the shortage of priests, John Paul II, Cardinal Ratzinger-Benedict XVI, the Opus Dei who controls the Vatican, the Cardinals and Bishops shuffled pedophile priests from one parish to another. The rest is history: the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army committed Holy ES Eucharist-and-Sodomy of Biblical proportions see the John Paul II Millstone http://jp2m.blogspot.com/.
In the name of Hail Mary, we dare challenge and defy the Magisterium: No words pronounced by any finite-man can create an infinite-God! No words of the Pope and priests can re-create or re-incarnate Christ’s flesh. The words of sinful popes and priests are powerless and can never create God! Only Mary the Immaculate Conception deserved to bear God in her womb. No evil pope and evil priests is worthy to touch and hold God in their evil hands. The words of popes and Cardinals, Bishops and priests are mere clashing-cymbals of St. Paul see John Paul II the Great clashing cymbal of St. Paul http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2009/11/john-paul-ii-great-clashing-cymbal-of.html.
See Benedict XVI to beatify John Paul II is “brought to nothing” by St. Paul http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2009/11/benedict-xvi-to-beatify-john-paul-ii-is.html
See Benedict XVI to beatify John Paul II is “brought to nothing” by St. Paul http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2009/11/benedict-xvi-to-beatify-john-paul-ii-is.html
No matter how we look at it, finite-man cannot create an infinite-God. Man can never create God’s flesh. Not in in-vitro fertilization of the scientific laboratories. Not in the sacred altars of holy Roman Catholic churches which by the way were the same pedophile altars of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army See the John Paul II Millstone http://jp2m.blogspot.com/
Rome, call us heretics and we don’t care because in Boston and in America, we have freedom of speech. It was our freedom of speech that got rid of criminal-Cardinal Bernard Law and sent him packing out of our sight and out of our land. But only you, Rome, you the Roman Catholic Church a.k.a. Magisterium would glorify criminals like Cardinal Bernard Law and John Paul II. No other American state has been able to replicate our courage as Bostonians who got rid of the first Cardinal caught guilty of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army in America. Yes, we caught the first SS officer of the Third Reich of the Roman Catholic Church … but he went into glorious exile in Rome because only in the Catholic Church are criminals glorified See The John Paul II Millstone John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army expands into Ireland &John Paul is elevated as "Venerable"... only in the Catholic Church are criminals glorified http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2009/12/john-paul-ii-pedophile-priests-army.html
Benedict XVI, from the Chair of Peter, thinks his papal letter will heal the victims and solve the problem of clergy abuse in Ireland. The fact is, Benedict XVI’s words are powerless. NO POPE has ever healed anyone. As this picture shows,
They came sick and they left sick.
There is NO "Apostolic" authority or succession here,
for NO Pope has EVER been able to heal like Peter or Paul did.
Opus Dei Goliath-bully Bill want to propagate Catholic Medieval Doctrine that all crimes of JP2 Army of pedophile priests are already forgiven and forgotten under the Sacrament of Confession that protects criminals and persecutes their victims, read here http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/11/sacrament-of-confession-protects.html
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THE TUDORS -- King Henry TV series
The series, named after the Tudor dynasty, is loosely based upon the reign of King Henry VIII of England
Season 2
Henry will do whatever it requires to marry Anne Boleyn, even by defying Pope Paul III. He prepares to take Anne on a royal visit to France, having demanded loyalty from the English clergy. The papacy in Rome organises an assassination plot against Anne but the assassins' attempts fail. In Episode 3 the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury annuls Henry's marriage, clearing the way for Henry to marry a by now pregnant Anne, which also increases the growing rift between England and Rome. Bishop Fisher refuses to recognise the validity of Henry's marriage - after Henry issues a decree ordering all his subjects to recognise their new Queen - and is finally joined by Sir Thomas More, who is granted permission by Henry to retire from his public office. In Episode 5, Fisher and More's refusal to sign an oath of allegiance recognising Henry's supreme authority as head of the English church eventually leads to their executions.====================
News articles about Cardinal O'Brien
Formerly Britain's most senior Catholic cleric O'Brien is renowned for railing against homosexuality
Cardinal Keith O'Brien had a long-term physical relationship with one of the priests whose complaints against him led to his sacking as Scotland's most senior Roman Catholic, church sources claim.
Officials in the Scottish Catholic church claim that the priest, who is alleged to be the first man to complain to the Vatican about O'Brien, left the priesthood in the mid-2000s but has since returned to the church. These officials have told the Herald they believe that the man complained to the Vatican last winter in revenge for O'Brien's outspoken attacks on homosexuality and gay marriage, just as his career was coming to an end. He described homosexuality as a "moral degradation" and gay marriage as "harmful".
Immediately after the priest, who had known O'Brien for decades, submitted his accusations to the Vatican in late 2012, the cardinal was summoned to Rome and in effect sacked. O'Brien, the then archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh who was regarded as the de facto leader of Scotland's 750,000 Catholics, was told privately by Vatican officials that he would be expected to retire on his 75th birthday, which fell on 17 March.
However, O'Brien was forced to resign suddenly and publicly in late February by the then pope, Benedict XVI, two days after the Observer disclosed that four men, including three serving priests, had made formal, written complaints about inappropriate sexual conduct by O'Brien to the papal nuncio, the Pope's representative in the UK
The cardinal appeared to admit that he had been sexually active throughout his time in the church, stating in early March that "there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal".
The priest said to have had a long-term affair with O'Brien has not yet spoken publicly or confirmed this version of events. But in what appears to be a damage limitation exercise by Catholic officials, church sources said that he is now living in a church post on the continent, thanks to O'Brien's help and patronage.
The men had known each other for more than 30 years, and been in a long-standing relationship. He had continued to be in close contact with the cardinal, they claimed, phoning and visiting his former official residence in Edinburgh, before turning against him last year.
The Herald quoted one church source saying: "These guys, we now know, were part of an inner circle. In the 30 years since these allegations took place there's been ample time to complain. The cardinal has had a huge profile for the past decade. But the door wasn't just shut on them, it was bolted in the past 18 months.
"I believe they wanted to silence O'Brien – as he's about to do another conclave, and make a huge deal of it. As he's retiring, a decision's been taken to go public and take him down."
The man left the priesthood in the middle of the last decade but rejoined and is living on the continent in a post the cardinal helped him secure.
The complainant is known to have been in regular telephone contact with Cardinal O'Brien until recently and was a frequent visitor to St Benets, his official residence in Edinburgh's Morningside.
The Herald
It is understood the cardinal confessed to the relationship after it was recently revealed there had been several complaints to the Vatican
It also emerged the dramatic downfall of Britain's leading Catholic cleric was spurred by gay priests angry at his rhetoric and hypocrisy about same-sex marriages.
All those who complained about Cardinal O'Brien and alleged they had been abused by him were known to him for decades. At least two are known to have been in same-sex relationships and had become exasperated at double standards in his statements about gay marriage.
In the six months building up to him being forced to stand down last month, the cardinal had been under some pressure from priests to tone down the rhetoric.
However, his statements, such as describing homosexuality as a "moral degradation", were a tipping point for those previously close to him.
The first complainant alleged an assault in the Vatican
This complaint, made in September 2012 and known among some members of the Catholic clergy in Scotland beforehand and immediately afterwards, led to the four others lodging their own complaints with the Vatican.
The man was due to speak to The Herald but is understood to have taken advice not to do so by his bishop.
A spokesman for the Catholic Church said: "The priest concerned is a priest of the diocese of Aberdeen
Another source said: "These guys, we now know, were part of an inner circle. In the 30 years since these allegations took place there's been ample time to complain. The Cardinal has had a huge profile for the past decade. But the door wasn't just shut on them, it was bolted in the past 18 months.
"I believe they wanted to silence O'Brien - as he's about to do another conclave, and make a huge deal of it. As he's retiring, a decision's been taken to go public and take him down."
Another said: "If you're asking me to describe what this is about in one word, it's revenge. I've no doubt the allegations did take place in the 1980s but they've come out to - destroy O'Brien."
One clerical source said: "I can't answer for those who have complained and it could well be that their reaction [to the anti-gay rhetoric] was at the heart of this. I thought his words were very harsh and I'm not alone in that. There certainly were those who were close to the Cardinal, an inner circle.
"One particular priest was a very close friend of the Cardinal. It seemed to some to be a very unusual friendship."
A Catholic Church spokesman said: "Some clergy were not in favour of Church efforts to persuade the Scottish Government against same-sex marriage.
"It is also the case that objections were raised to Cardinal O'Brien's robust rhetoric.
"A number of complaints about Cardinal O'Brien were passed directly to the Vatican.
Whether they were precipitated by his comments on homosexuality is not known, since the detail and nature of the complaints were not shared with the Bishops' Conference of Scotland."
===
O'Brien 'groped' priest the day he became a cardinal
The cardinal is alleged to have assaulted a priest at the Scots College in Rome in October 2003, hours after being awarded the red mitre by Pope John Paul II.
The priest, who is Scottish but now based in London, made a formal complaint to the Vatican's Congregation of Bishops last September, after which Cardinal O'Brien was summoned immediately to Rome.
The complaint, which was dealt with by Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec, who was one of the early front-runners this week to become Pope, was the first which eventually led to the cleric's downfall and is not from one of the four complainers whose allegations were made public last month.
It is understood the complaint involved an attempt to grope the priest, who was known to Cardinal O'Brien. Alcohol had been consumed at an event in the Scots College attended by many priests who had travelled to Rome especially for his elevation. Scots based at the Vatican also attended.
The complaint has been erroneously reported in the media as having taken place in 2001.
The Herald understands the complaint has been taken seriously. Within a few weeks of the claims being made, the cardinal had cancelled all public engagements and stood down as president of the bishops' conference, the decision-making body for the Catholic Church in Scotland. It also coincided with a bout of ill health which led to him being hospitalised for nine days in October 2012.
Senior sources within the Catholic Church have said allegations of sexual misconduct within the Vatican, more so than any other claims he is facing, could lead to the former Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh becoming only the fourth cardinal in 200 years to be stripped of the position. One source said: "If Pope Francis wasn't familiar with the problems faced by the Church in Scotland, he certainly is now."
The accusation comes just a day after another former trainee priest alleged he was abused by Cardinal O'Brien while at a seminary as a teenager.
The man, who is now in his 50s and who had known the churchman since childhood, has claimed the cardinal kissed and groped him at the unnamed seminary in the early 1980s while the pair were alone.
Now, the ex-seminarian has told how Cardinal O'Brien warned him about the repercussions for his career of revealing the incident and how over the years he has fought back the urge to confront the cardinal over the incident.
He has also told of his difficulties in the time since the revelations were made and the pain of the past 30 years when even close relatives, who remain unaware of the allegations, celebrated Cardinal O'Brien's rise through the Church ranks.
Cardinal O'Brien has retreated into privacy following claims nearly three weeks ago he "behaved inappropriately" towards three priests and a now former priest in the 1980s.
Following the revelations, he was relieved of his post as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh and subsequently admitted his sexual conduct had "fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal".
It is understood the reference to his time as cardinal refers, in part, to the allegations from Rome to which Cardinal O'Brien is believed to have confessed in the aftermath of the revelations.
He became cardinal on October 21, 2003, the same day as an outside contender for the papacy, Australia's George Pell.
A spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland said: "A number of complaints have been passed directly to the Vatican.
"The detail and nature of them is not known to the Bishops' Conference of Scotland."
No-one from the Papal Nuncio's office in London or the Vatican press office was available for comment.
===
Catherine Deveney
The Observer, Saturday 2 March 2013
They have given sworn, signed statements to the papal nuncio. The unnerving thing about the hunt to "out" these men (my phone has not stopped ringing with offers to "make it worth my while") is that it suggests people who have suffered traumatic events have no rights over how to tell their story, or how much information is made public. We demand not just that the appropriate authorities know names – we, the public, should know them, too.
In purely human terms, the story of Cardinal O'Brien's resignation is tragic. He had spent a lifetime reaching the upper echelons of his church, but after allegations of inappropriate behaviour made in the Observer last Sunday his fall from grace took just 36 hours. Not one of the four complainants takes any satisfaction from that. This is not about the exposure of one man's alleged foibles. It is about the exposure of a church official who publicly issues a moral blueprint for others' lives that he is not prepared to live out himself. Homosexuality is not the issue; hypocrisy is. The cardinal consistently condemned homosexuality during his reign, vociferously opposing gay adoption and same-sex marriage. The church cannot face in two directions like a grotesque two-headed monster: one face for public, the other for private.
UK
Three priests and former priest report Cardinal Keith O'Brien to Vatican
The Observer
Saturday 23 February 2013
Three priests and a former priest in Scotland have reported the most senior Catholic clergyman in Britain , Cardinal Keith O'Brien, to the Vatican over allegations of inappropriate behaviour stretching back 30 years.
The four, from the diocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh , have complained to nuncio Antonio Mennini, the Vatican 's ambassador to Britain
O'Brien, who is due to retire next month, has been an outspoken opponent of gay rights, condemning homosexuality as immoral, opposing gay adoption, and most recently arguing that same-sex marriages would be "harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of those involved". Last year he was named "bigot of the year" by the gay rights charity Stonewall.
One of the complainants, it is understood, alleges that the cardinal developed an inappropriate relationship with him, resulting in a need for long-term psychological counselling.
The four submitted statements containing their claims to the nuncio's office the week before Pope Benedict's resignation on 11 February. They fear that, if O'Brien travels to the forthcoming papal conclave to elect a new pope, the church will not fully address their complaints.
"It tends to cover up and protect the system at all costs," said one of the complainants. "The church is beautiful, but it has a dark side and that has to do with accountability. If the system is to be improved, maybe it needs to be dismantled a bit."
The revelation of the priests' complaints will be met with consternation in the Vatican Rome
The four priests asked a senior figure in the diocese to act as their representative to the nuncio's office. Through this representative, the nuncio replied, in emails seen by the Observer, that he appreciated their courage.
It is understood that the first allegation against the cardinal dates back to 1980. The complainant, who is now married, was then a 20-year-old seminarian at St Andrew's College, Drygrange, where O'Brien was his "spiritual director". The Observer understands that the statement claims O'Brien made an inappropriate approach after night prayers.
The seminarian says he was too frightened to report the incident, but says his personality changed afterwards, and his teachers regularly noted that he seemed depressed. He was ordained, but he told the nuncio in his statement that he resigned when O'Brien was promoted to bishop. "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."
In a second statement, "Priest A" describes being happily settled in a parish when he claims he was visited by O'Brien and inappropriate contact between the two took place.
In a third statement, "Priest B" claims that he was starting his ministry in the 1980s when he was invited to spend a week "getting to know" O'Brien at the archbishop's residence. His statement alleges that he found himself dealing with what he describes as unwanted behaviour by the cardinal after a late-night drinking session.
"Priest C" was a young priest the cardinal was counselling over personal problems. Priest C's statement claims that O'Brien used night prayers as an excuse for inappropriate contact.
The cardinal maintained contact with Priest C over a period of time, and the statement to the nuncio's office alleges that he engineered at least one other intimate situation. O'Brien is, says Priest C, very charismatic, and being sought out by the superior who was supposed to be guiding him was both troubling and flattering.
Those involved believe the cardinal abused his position. "You have to understand," explains the ex-priest, "the relationship between a bishop and a priest. At your ordination, you take a vow to be obedient to him.
"He's more than your boss, more than the CEO of your company. He has immense power over you. He can move you, freeze you out, bring you into the fold … he controls every aspect of your life. You can't just kick him in the balls."
All four have been reluctant to raise their concerns. They are, though, concerned that the church will ignore their complaints, and want the conclave electing the new pope to be "clean". According to canon law, no cardinal who is eligible to vote can be prevented from doing so.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/23/cardinal-keith-o-brien-accused-inappropriate
===
Breaking News and Media Advisory: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 Accused Criminal becomes first Jesuit Pope – Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, tainted with Dirty War allegations, new Pontiff of Rome A Statement of the ITCCS Central Office -
The priest, who is Scottish but now based in London, made a formal complaint to the Vatican's Congregation of Bishops last September, after which Cardinal O'Brien was summoned immediately to Rome.
The complaint, which was dealt with by Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec, who was one of the early front-runners this week to become Pope, was the first which eventually led to the cleric's downfall and is not from one of the four complainers whose allegations were made public last month.
It is understood the complaint involved an attempt to grope the priest, who was known to Cardinal O'Brien. Alcohol had been consumed at an event in the Scots College attended by many priests who had travelled to Rome especially for his elevation. Scots based at the Vatican also attended.
The complaint has been erroneously reported in the media as having taken place in 2001.
The Herald understands the complaint has been taken seriously. Within a few weeks of the claims being made, the cardinal had cancelled all public engagements and stood down as president of the bishops' conference, the decision-making body for the Catholic Church in Scotland. It also coincided with a bout of ill health which led to him being hospitalised for nine days in October 2012.
Senior sources within the Catholic Church have said allegations of sexual misconduct within the Vatican, more so than any other claims he is facing, could lead to the former Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh becoming only the fourth cardinal in 200 years to be stripped of the position. One source said: "If Pope Francis wasn't familiar with the problems faced by the Church in Scotland, he certainly is now."
The accusation comes just a day after another former trainee priest alleged he was abused by Cardinal O'Brien while at a seminary as a teenager.
The man, who is now in his 50s and who had known the churchman since childhood, has claimed the cardinal kissed and groped him at the unnamed seminary in the early 1980s while the pair were alone.
Now, the ex-seminarian has told how Cardinal O'Brien warned him about the repercussions for his career of revealing the incident and how over the years he has fought back the urge to confront the cardinal over the incident.
He has also told of his difficulties in the time since the revelations were made and the pain of the past 30 years when even close relatives, who remain unaware of the allegations, celebrated Cardinal O'Brien's rise through the Church ranks.
Cardinal O'Brien has retreated into privacy following claims nearly three weeks ago he "behaved inappropriately" towards three priests and a now former priest in the 1980s.
Following the revelations, he was relieved of his post as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh and subsequently admitted his sexual conduct had "fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal".
It is understood the reference to his time as cardinal refers, in part, to the allegations from Rome to which Cardinal O'Brien is believed to have confessed in the aftermath of the revelations.
He became cardinal on October 21, 2003, the same day as an outside contender for the papacy, Australia's George Pell.
A spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland said: "A number of complaints have been passed directly to the Vatican.
"The detail and nature of them is not known to the Bishops' Conference of Scotland."
No-one from the Papal Nuncio's office in London or the Vatican press office was available for comment.
===
The complaint has been erroneously reported in the media as having taken place in 2001.
The Herald understands the complaint has been taken seriously. Within a few weeks of the claims being made, the cardinal had cancelled all public engagements and stood down as president of the bishops' conference, the decision-making body for the Catholic Church in Scotland. It also coincided with a bout of ill health which led to him being hospitalised for nine days in October 2012.
Senior sources within the Catholic Church have said allegations of sexual misconduct within the Vatican, more so than any other claims he is facing, could lead to the former Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh becoming only the fourth cardinal in 200 years to be stripped of the position. One source said: "If Pope Francis wasn't familiar with the problems faced by the Church in Scotland, he certainly is now."
The accusation comes just a day after another former trainee priest alleged he was abused by Cardinal O'Brien while at a seminary as a teenager.
The man, who is now in his 50s and who had known the churchman since childhood, has claimed the cardinal kissed and groped him at the unnamed seminary in the early 1980s while the pair were alone.
Now, the ex-seminarian has told how Cardinal O'Brien warned him about the repercussions for his career of revealing the incident and how over the years he has fought back the urge to confront the cardinal over the incident.
He has also told of his difficulties in the time since the revelations were made and the pain of the past 30 years when even close relatives, who remain unaware of the allegations, celebrated Cardinal O'Brien's rise through the Church ranks.
Cardinal O'Brien has retreated into privacy following claims nearly three weeks ago he "behaved inappropriately" towards three priests and a now former priest in the 1980s.
Following the revelations, he was relieved of his post as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh and subsequently admitted his sexual conduct had "fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal".
It is understood the reference to his time as cardinal refers, in part, to the allegations from Rome to which Cardinal O'Brien is believed to have confessed in the aftermath of the revelations.
He became cardinal on October 21, 2003, the same day as an outside contender for the papacy, Australia's George Pell.
A spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland said: "A number of complaints have been passed directly to the Vatican.
"The detail and nature of them is not known to the Bishops' Conference of Scotland."
No-one from the Papal Nuncio's office in London or the Vatican press office was available for comment.
===
Catherine Deveney
The Observer, Saturday 2 March 2013
The Observer, Saturday 2 March 2013
What is it about a gold mitre, a flowing robe, a flash of cardinal red that so clouds our judgment? It is as if we believe these things hold a kind of magic. Don them and the wearer becomes pure and invincible. No human urges, no troublesome sexuality. Some people are naively enthralled by hierarchy. Priest, good. Bishop, better. Cardinal, best of all. The four complainants in the Cardinal O'Brien affair, who have accused him of inappropriate behaviour, haven't rated much sympathy within this strange moral hierarchy. "Who are they?" I have been asked all week. "Where are they?" has been another frequent question. But I have rarely been asked: "How are they?"
A narrative has begun to be embroidered on the cardinal's magic mitre. A fairytale. He is named but his accusers are not, and therefore the accusations are invalid. Let us be clear about one thing: the three priests, and one former priest, who have made complaints are not anonymous.
They have given sworn, signed statements to the papal nuncio. The unnerving thing about the hunt to "out" these men (my phone has not stopped ringing with offers to "make it worth my while") is that it suggests people who have suffered traumatic events have no rights over how to tell their story, or how much information is made public. We demand not just that the appropriate authorities know names – we, the public, should know them, too.
They have given sworn, signed statements to the papal nuncio. The unnerving thing about the hunt to "out" these men (my phone has not stopped ringing with offers to "make it worth my while") is that it suggests people who have suffered traumatic events have no rights over how to tell their story, or how much information is made public. We demand not just that the appropriate authorities know names – we, the public, should know them, too.
In purely human terms, the story of Cardinal O'Brien's resignation is tragic. He had spent a lifetime reaching the upper echelons of his church, but after allegations of inappropriate behaviour made in the Observer last Sunday his fall from grace took just 36 hours. Not one of the four complainants takes any satisfaction from that. This is not about the exposure of one man's alleged foibles. It is about the exposure of a church official who publicly issues a moral blueprint for others' lives that he is not prepared to live out himself. Homosexuality is not the issue; hypocrisy is. The cardinal consistently condemned homosexuality during his reign, vociferously opposing gay adoption and same-sex marriage. The church cannot face in two directions like a grotesque two-headed monster: one face for public, the other for private.
UK
Three priests and former priest report Cardinal Keith O'Brien to Vatican
Catherine Deveney
The Observer
The Observer
Saturday 23 February 2013
Three priests and a former priest in Scotland have reported the most senior Catholic clergyman in Britain , Cardinal Keith O'Brien, to the Vatican over allegations of inappropriate behaviour stretching back 30 years.
The four, from the diocese of St Andrews and
O'Brien, who is due to retire next month, has been an outspoken opponent of gay rights, condemning homosexuality as immoral, opposing gay adoption, and most recently arguing that same-sex marriages would be "harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of those involved". Last year he was named "bigot of the year" by the gay rights charity Stonewall.
One of the complainants, it is understood, alleges that the cardinal developed an inappropriate relationship with him, resulting in a need for long-term psychological counselling.
The four submitted statements containing their claims to the nuncio's office the week before Pope Benedict's resignation on 11 February. They fear that, if O'Brien travels to the forthcoming papal conclave to elect a new pope, the church will not fully address their complaints.
"It tends to cover up and protect the system at all costs," said one of the complainants. "The church is beautiful, but it has a dark side and that has to do with accountability. If the system is to be improved, maybe it needs to be dismantled a bit."
The revelation of the priests' complaints will be met with consternation in the
The four priests asked a senior figure in the diocese to act as their representative to the nuncio's office. Through this representative, the nuncio replied, in emails seen by the Observer, that he appreciated their courage.
It is understood that the first allegation against the cardinal dates back to 1980. The complainant, who is now married, was then a 20-year-old seminarian at St Andrew's College, Drygrange, where O'Brien was his "spiritual director". The Observer understands that the statement claims O'Brien made an inappropriate approach after night prayers.
The seminarian says he was too frightened to report the incident, but says his personality changed afterwards, and his teachers regularly noted that he seemed depressed. He was ordained, but he told the nuncio in his statement that he resigned when O'Brien was promoted to bishop. "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."
In a second statement, "Priest A" describes being happily settled in a parish when he claims he was visited by O'Brien and inappropriate contact between the two took place.
In a third statement, "Priest B" claims that he was starting his ministry in the 1980s when he was invited to spend a week "getting to know" O'Brien at the archbishop's residence. His statement alleges that he found himself dealing with what he describes as unwanted behaviour by the cardinal after a late-night drinking session.
"Priest C" was a young priest the cardinal was counselling over personal problems. Priest C's statement claims that O'Brien used night prayers as an excuse for inappropriate contact.
The cardinal maintained contact with Priest C over a period of time, and the statement to the nuncio's office alleges that he engineered at least one other intimate situation. O'Brien is, says Priest C, very charismatic, and being sought out by the superior who was supposed to be guiding him was both troubling and flattering.
Those involved believe the cardinal abused his position. "You have to understand," explains the ex-priest, "the relationship between a bishop and a priest. At your ordination, you take a vow to be obedient to him.
"He's more than your boss, more than the CEO of your company. He has immense power over you. He can move you, freeze you out, bring you into the fold … he controls every aspect of your life. You can't just kick him in the balls."
All four have been reluctant to raise their concerns. They are, though, concerned that the church will ignore their complaints, and want the conclave electing the new pope to be "clean". According to canon law, no cardinal who is eligible to vote can be prevented from doing so.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/23/cardinal-keith-o-brien-accused-inappropriate
===
Brussels March 13, 2013 A suspected criminal has been rapidly elected as the new Pontiff of the Church of Rome in a record two day conclave, being the first Jesuit in history to head the papacy. Former Cardinal and Pope-elect “Francis I”, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is accused of helping kidnap opponents of Argentina’s military junta during the 1970′s “Dirty War”, and of baby trafficking, by lawyers and members of the Plaza de Mayo human rights group. (Los Angeles Times, April 17, 2005, “Argentine Cardinal Named in Kidnapping Lawsuit”,
http://articles.latimes.com/2005/apr/17/world/fg-cardinal17
Besides his personal alleged criminality, Bergoglio – as a Jesuit – represents the group most responsible for the centuries-old Crimes against Humanity and Genocide for which the Jesuit Superior General was found guilty on February 25, along with Joseph Ratzinger and other Vatican officials. The Jesuit Order established the murderous Indian residential school system in North America during the mid 19th century, and has led the destruction and killing of millions of non-Catholics around the world since its inception in the mid 16th century. Under a secret oath administered to every member, the Jesuits are authorized and encouraged to kill, torture or overthrow any opponent of the Vatican and the Pope.
http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/jesuits.htm
These facts, the Argentine allegations, and his complicity in the global conspiracy against children enunciated in the canon law Crimen Sollicitationas, makes the new Pope particularly liable for immediate arrest and sentencing under international law and the Common Law Court verdict of February 25, 2013. The ITCCS understands that Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s election was a quick and uncontested arrangement, as evident in its rapidity: in less than two days, a record for papal elections. Bergoglio’s election makes the guilt of the Vatican and its highest officials for Crimes against Humanity all that more severe. The new Pope, as the head fiduciary officer of the Vatican, Inc., assumes that guilt and liability. Bergoglio is therefore subject to immediate arrest under the terms of the Common Law Court ORDER of March 5, 2013, issued by the International Common Law Court of Justice under the authority of jus gentium, the Law of Nations, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Accordingly, an application has been made by our Tribunal to these courts for an International Citizens Arrest Warrant, to be issued against the new Roman Pontiff, Jorge Mario Bergoglio – Pope Francis I, for Crimes against Humanity and involvement in a global criminal conspiracy based in Rome. The ITCCS will soon be issuing more background evidence on the genocidal purpose and actions of the Jesuit Order in relation to the ongoing crimes we have documented; and of the evidence of Bergoglio’s suspected crimes in Argentina.
Issued 13 March, 2013 ITCCS Central, Brussels Links:
http://www.eldia.com.ar/edis/20110502/acusan-cardenal-bergoglio-robo-bebes-durante-dictadura-20110502214006.htm.
O'Brien 'groped' priest the day he became a cardinal
SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland
Saturday 16 March 2013
CARDINAL Keith O'Brien is being investigated for sexual misconduct in the Vatican
The cardinal is alleged to have assaulted a priest at the Scots College in Rome
The priest, who is Scottish but now based in London , made a formal complaint to the Vatican 's Congregation of Bishops last September, after which Cardinal O'Brien was summoned immediately to Rome
The complaint, which was dealt with by Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec, who was one of the early front-runners this week to become Pope, was the first which eventually led to the cleric's downfall and is not from one of the four complainers whose allegations were made public last month.
It is understood the complaint involved an attempt to grope the priest, who was known to Cardinal O'Brien. Alcohol had been consumed at an event in the Scots College attended by many priests who had travelled to Rome Vatican
Rome confronted O'Brien with allegations months ago
SCOTLAND
The Tablet
8 March 2013
Cardinal Keith O'Brien was summoned to Rome
However, The Tablet can report that after a priest lodged an allegation with the Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal O'Brien was asked to travel to Rome
The disclosure of the earlier complaint about Cardinal O'Brien's sexual conduct also casts a new light on the acceptance of his resignation last November.
Catholic Church in Scotland faces fresh abuse cover-up allegations
SCOTLAND
Ekklesia
By staff writers
9 Mar 2013
The BBC says it has seen evidence that Scottish Catholic bishops knew about 20 allegations of child sex abuse by priests between 1985 and 1995.
The academic who compiled a report for the Catholic Church in Scotland
In a separate development, the respected Catholic newspaper The Tablet said on 8 March 2013 that Rome
The magazine declared: "Cardinal Keith O'Brien was summoned to Rome
The Vatican’s Gay Priests
ROME
The Daily Beast
Jul 27, 2010
For residents of Rome
In the basement dining room of Le Mani In Pasta, a trattoria in central Rome
For residents of Rome
Drunken parties at the seminary, crushes on young 'pups' and a gay mafia accused of bringing down Britain
Pressure mounts on Cardinal Keith O'Brien after more details of allegations emerge
SCOTLAND
Daily Record
THE claims are centred on Cardinal Keith O'Brien's time as spiritual director of St Andrew's College in Drygrange, in the Borders.
A STATEMENT from Cardinal O’Brien is expected within days after more details of the allegations against him emerged last night.
The cleric – who was Britain
He said the allegations are “contested” and that he is taking legal advice. However, Monday’s statement did not refer to them.
He did apologise to anyone he had offended during his career.
But he is coming under growing pressure as more information about the claims emerges.
A fall from grace
SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland
Sunday 3 March 2013
WHEN people turned up for mass a week past Saturday evening at Our Lady of the Waves Church in Dunbar they knew that it would be conducted by Cardinal Keith O'Brien.
What they did not suspect, however, was that it would be his last as Britain
The Cardinal, who was due to retire next month on his 75th birthday, had previously intimated that he was keen to move from Edinburgh to the East Lothian seaside town where he is a familiar figure.
Herbert Coutts, vice-chair of the church's parish council, told the local paper: "The intention was that he would do masses in Dunbar as he could, so to speak, because there is a shortage of priests and our priest covers both Dunbar and North Berwick, so that would be of assistance to him."
Whether that will now happen is anyone's guess. Hours after telling one member of the congregation to "keep carrying the flag" for the Catholic Church, O'Brien was accused by three priests and one former priest, who is now married, of "inappropriate behaviour".
What seems likely is that O'Brien would have known this was in the pipeline as he preached at Our Lady of the Waves. His four accusers, none of whom has yet been identified, circumvented the hierarchy of the Scottish Catholic church, and took their grievances directly to nuncio Antonio Mennini, the Vatican 's ambassador to Britain
Cardinal Keith O'Brien's accuser 'warned of damage to Church'
UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News
[with video]
3 March 2013
One of four men who made claims against Cardinal Keith O'Brien in the days before he resigned said he went public despite being warned he could damage the Catholic Church's reputation.
The former priest and three current priests complained to the Pope's representative to Britain
Cardinal O'Brien contests the claims against him.
Catherine Deveney is the journalist who reported allegations of inappropriate behaviour against Cardinal Keith O'Brien.
NEWSFLASH: Cardinal O’Malley named to Vatican Reform Committee
BOSTON (MA)
Boston
Today, the Vatican
The Holy Father Francis, taking up a suggestion that emerged during the General Congregations preceding the Conclave, has established a group of cardinals to advise him in the government of the universal Church and to study a plan for revising the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia, ‘Pastor Bonus’. ...
News reports say that the committee will advise Pope Benedict on how to reform the Catholic Church’s “troubled central administration.” Reports say, “The basic failings of the Curia were aired, sometimes passionately, at closed-door meetings of cardinals before they retired into the conclave that elected Francis.”
BCI finds it ironic that Cardinal O’Malley has been appointed to a committee to reform the Roman Curia, when his own central administration is troubled and he has failed to effectively govern and reform it for the past decade. Someone just suggested to BCI that Cardinal O’Malley serving on a committee to help reform the Roman Curia would be kind of like Hillary Clinton serving on a committee to help reform international embassy security.
In Boston
o Nearly $4M annually in excessive six-figure salaries paid to lay executives
o Moving around of funds from originally designated purposes to someplace else
o Skyrocketing administrative expenses
o Cronyism in hiring
The new pope needs to rid us of these aberrant priests
UNITED KINGDOM
The Observer
Editorial
The Observer, Saturday 2 March 2013
Two venerable national institutions have been engulfed in recent weeks by allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour by senior officers. One of them is trying to reassure victims that it is taking their concerns seriously. The other is the Catholic church in Scotland
The Observer last week revealed that three priests from the archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh and one ex-priest had made an official complaint to the Vatican stating that they had been subjected to "inappropriate" advances by their boss, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the most senior Catholic churchman in Britain Scotland
Rather than offer help and spiritual guidance to the four men, there has been barely concealed hostility and calls for the men to "out" themselves.
Nor can these incidents be examined in isolation. The frequency with which stories of aberrant sexual behaviour within the Catholic clergy throughout the last 40 years have occurred suggests that the church has a systemic problem.
Cardinal Keith O'Brien faces new abuse allegation from a former priest dating back to the 1980s
SCOTLAND
Daily Record
CARDINAL Keith O'Brien is facing legal action over a new allegation of abuse dating back to the 1980s.
A former seminarian, who has not been named, has spoken out after the recent spate of allegations.
Solicitor Cameron Fyfe confirmed that he has been instructed by the man to make a claim for compensation against Cardinal O'Brien.
Earlier this month, Cardinal O'Brien issued a sweeping apology and admitted his sexual conduct had at times "fallen below the standards expected of me".
The cardinal, who was Britain's most senior Catholic cleric, stepped down from his post as archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh a day after three priests and a former priest made allegations of "inappropriate" behaviour against him.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien faces new abuse claims
SCOTLAND
Scotsman
Published on Friday 15 March 2013
Cardinal Keith O’Brien is facing legal action over new allegations of sexual misconduct from a former trainee priest, who claims he was abused by him as a teenager.
The former seminarian, who had known the cardinal since childhood, is staying anonymous, but said he had decided to come forward after the allegations of inappropriate behaviour which forced Cardinal O’Brien to quit as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh last month.
The latest allegations relate to a period in the 1980s when the man, now in his 50s, attended a senior seminary college, following four years at Aberdeen ’s Blairs College
He left the priesthood several months after Cardinal O’Brien, who was then rector of Blairs, allegedly groped and kissed him during a visit to the unnamed seminary.
Cardinal Keith O'Brien: a victim speaks of sex abuse he suffered as trainee priest
SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland
Friday 15 March 2013
EXCLUSIVE: Cardinal Keith O'Brien is facing legal action stemming from new allegations of sexual misconduct, with a former trainee priest claiming he was abused by the disgraced cleric as a teenager.
The former seminarian, who had known the cardinal since childhood and is the first to speak publicly of his experience, said he had only broken a 30-year silence after recent revelations about the former archbishop's sexual behaviour made it clear his ordeal was not an isolated episode.
The allegation relates to a period in the 1980s when the man attended a senior seminary college, following four years at Aberdeen 's Blairs College
He left the priesthood several months after Cardinal O'Brien, who was then rector of Blairs, allegedly groped and kissed him during a visit to the unnamed seminary.
Speaking exclusively to The Herald, the former seminarian, who is now in his 50s and has asked to remain anonymous, said he had instigated legal proceedings against both the cardinal and the Catholic Church.
Roman Catholic priests in Scotland were ‘out of control sexually’, claims former advisor
SCOTLAND
Truthdive
London , Mar. 9 (ANI): A former Roman Catholic Church’s adviser on child abuse has claimed that the church’s priests in Scotland
Alan Draper has accused the Church leadership, of being ‘unwilling’ to expose supposedly celibate priests who were leading ‘double lives’ in the 1980s and 1990s.
Draper, a lecturer in ethics from Dundee University
According to the report, he has disclosed that bishops were aware of 20 separate cases in the Church between 1985 and 1995.
New Pope must learn lessons from sorry past
SCOTLAND
The Scottish Sun
By AAMER ANWAR
THE Pope, before stepping down, said the Catholic Church “had faced stormy weather” and “at times it felt like the Lord was sleeping”.
For victims of sexual abuse this was a sickening distortion of the truth.
The Church, which claims to support family values, has turned a blind eye to the abuse of children in their care for generations.
The institutional response was not to hand over priests to the police, but to relocate abusers thus allowing them to simply carry on. When victims, usually practising Catholics, have spoken out they are described as being “motivated by greed”, whilst their abusers receive plaudits for past good deeds.
Before becoming Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, Joseph Ratzinger was the second most powerful priest in the Vatican
Shadow of shame: The conflict facing gay priests
SCOTLAND
Scotsman
DANI Garavelli talks to a gay priest about living in the shadow of shame cast by the conflict of his vocation and his sexuality
LOOKING back from a distance of more than 20 years, Fr Joe can see that his decision to join the priesthood was motivated in part by his homosexuality. Coming of age in the 1970s, when there was still a huge stigma attached to coming out as gay, it provided an alternative to getting married and having children.
“I was hugely idealistic and genuinely believed in the priesthood, but I think it was also the only respectable way to be Catholic and single,” he says. “I wouldn’t have recognised it at the time, but I think I was trying to escape having to tell my family about my sexuality or even having to face up to it properly myself.”
Once ordained, however, he realised being gay in a church which considers homosexuality to be intrinsically disordered brings problems of its own. Prey to the same temptations as everyone else, but unable to talk openly about them, many homosexual priests find themselves feeling undervalued and isolated. Trying to navigate their way in a highly sexualised society, with little or no pastoral support, it’s hardly surprising if they sometimes find it difficult to keep their vows.
Reformation 2.0: Will Next Pope Get It ?
UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism
Jerry Slevin
Some conservative Catholics like to dismiss almost any change in current Catholicism as “Protestant” and then point to the difficulties mainline Protestant denominations have faced trying to make the Gospels relevant to the real world of everyday Christians. Difficult yes, but clearly necessary and doable. These traditionalist Catholics then usually point to growth statistics in countries where Catholic bishops have, in effect, helped pump up birth rates by preventing accessible family planning and increased priests’ ordinations among impoverished young men with few other professional opportunities.
The criticism of Protestant reforms is mainly premised on an ignorance about what really happened and didn’t happen as a result of the Reformation, a subject few Catholics are taught. The artificially pumped statistics will deflate as family planning and educational choices are increasingly made available. This will continue to occur steadily in countries like the Philippines Asia and has already started to happen.
For almost five centuries amidst European monarchical wars and rivalries, the Vatican
As Cardinals retreat behind Vatican walls, while Protestants, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Barack Obama, appear increasingly as Luther’s and Calvin’s potential successors in helping to reform medieval Catholicism? The 2005 papal election Conclave followed the myopic media madness about Pope John Paul II’s funeral. The 2013 Conclave follows the pathetic Vatican escape of Joseph Ratzinger, now the first Shadow Pope, with Georgeous Georg, and the continuing media shock at the magnitude of the Vatican
Gay sex rings, 'The Filth' corrupting the Vatican...and why the Pope REALLY quit
UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail
2 March 2013
By John Cornwell
The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrung his hands above his head in triumph as he emerged as Pope on to the balcony of St Peter’s eight years ago. He had won!
He had longed to be Pope. He has loved being Pope. He expected to die as Pope.
Two weeks ago he announced in Latin he wasn’t up to it any more. Up to what? He spent most of his time writing and took time off to tinkle on the piano and stroke his cat.
He’s been waited on hand and foot. He has his handsome secretary Georg Ganswein to do his every bidding.
There’s been talk of frailty, encroaching dementia, mortal illness. There’s been pious spin about a holy act of ‘humility’.
But one of his predecessors, sprightly Leo XIII, who died 110 years ago, went on until he was 93. Benedict knew from the start, aged 76, that he would grow old in office.
We’ve heard about the so-called papal ‘resignation’ almost 600 years ago. But there wasn’t one. There were three rival Popes back then, and one of them was a psychopath.
They were sacked by a council of all the bishops and cardinals to get back to one Pope at a time. Since then, every Pope has died in office.
Resignation isn’t in Benedict’s vocabulary. The real reason he has quit is far more spectacular.
It is to save the Catholic Church from ignominy: he has voluntarily delivered himself up as a sacrificial lamb to purge the Church of what he calls ‘The Filth’. And it must have taken courage.
Here is the remarkable thing you are seldom told about a papal death or resignation: every one of the senior office-holders in the Vatican
A report Benedict himself commissioned into the state of the Curia landed on his desk in January. It revealed that ‘The Filth’ – or more specifically, the paedophile priest scandal – had entered the bureaucracy.
Unfit for purpose and in denial: a church that has lost all authority
UNITED KINGDOM
The Observer
Kevin McKenna
The Observer, Saturday 2 March 2013
Of all the theories advanced explaining why the Catholic priesthood attracts so many young gay men, this is the most valid: it is a direct consequence of the church's official attitude to homosexuality and the way that this has insinuated itself into the fabric of what we might call a traditional Catholic family with its roots in Ireland
In such an upbringing homosexuality is still treated as the sum of all sins. Catholic families long ago found a way of dealing with abortion, extramarital sex and divorce, the other three horsemen of the Catholic apocalypse, whenever they occurred close to home, but not homosexuality.
The others could all be processed and interpreted as very human failings stemming from the powerful instinct of physical desire and our need for affection and love. The Christian virtues of understanding, compassion and forgiveness are built to outlast initial shock and hurt in these "acceptable" moral failings. Not so homosexuality.
For how many Catholic parents have secretly prayed that their son "does not turn out gay" or obsess about their response if the eldest boy shows no interest in football and insists on taking a shower every day and buying all his own clothes? The church's pastoral care and guidance for its own gay community is nonexistent. Catholic gays are non-people in my church; they are "los desaparecidos" and one day many of us will be called to account for how we have treated them.
Catholic church in UK faces child sex abuse quiz
UNITED KINGDOM
Mirror
A bishop is believed to be under investigation by officers from Operation Fernbridge – set up by the Metropolitan Police to look into historical cases of paedophilia
Cops are probing an alleged widespread child abuse cover-up in the Catholic Church in the UK
A bishop is believed to be under investigation by officers from Operation Fernbridge – set up by the Metropolitan Police to look into historical cases of paedophilia.
The detectives are examining claims that the prelate protected priests who were sexually abusing youngsters, investigative website Exaro and the Sunday People can reveal today.
Officers are also thought to be probing other areas of the Catholic church that may have been involved in a large-scale cover-up of paedophilia.
The Hague is above Pope, Vatican, Religion.
UNITED STATES
Pope Crimes & Vatican Evils...
Paris
The Hague is above Pope , Vatican The Hague
This is the FINAL CALL for The Hague
The Hague must not forfeit its - final moral voice - over the Pope and the Vatican
O'Brien priest fears that church wants to 'crush' him
UNITED KINGDOM
The Observer
Catherine Deveney
The Observer, Saturday 2 March 2013
A key figure behind allegations of inappropriate behaviour by Cardinal Keith O'Brien has launched a powerful attack on the Catholic church's response to the complaints, saying he fears the church hierarchy would "crush" him if they could.
Last Sunday the Observer revealed that the former priest, along with three serving priests, had reported O'Brien's behaviour to the Vatican , prompting the UK
He is "disappointed" by the "lack of integrity" shown by the Catholic church. "There have been two sensations for me this week. One is feeling the hot breath of the media on the back of my neck and the other is sensing the cold disapproval of the church hierarchy for daring to break ranks. I feel like if they could crush me, they would," he told the Observer.
He added that he was shocked when Peter Kearney, director of communications for the church in Scotland
"The vacuum the church has created has allowed whimsy and speculation to distort the truth," the priest said. "And the only support I have been offered is a cursory email with a couple of telephone numbers of counsellors hundreds of miles away from me. Anyway, I don't need counselling about Keith O'Brien's unwanted behaviour to me as a young man. But I may need counselling about the trauma of speaking truth to power."
=======================
The unholiest of PR spin
September 27, 2012
Judy Courtin
The Catholic Church's sincerity must be challenged when it says it is putting abuse victims first.
Illustration: John Spooner.
FACING the Truth is the title of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne's submission to State Parliament's inquiry into the handling of child abuse by churches and others. The title also becomes the leitmotif of a church press release on the submission - that the church of today has been ''open about the horrific abuse that has occurred in Victoria
What is designed to look like a confession and a genuine mea maxima culpa, is nothing but unholy PR spin.
First, consider the numbers. Archbishop Denis Hart claims about 620 cases of child abuse relating to crimes committed over the past 80 years have been upheld by the church in Victoria
Second, the church claims that by ''facing the truth'' it is being open about the horrific abuse. If this were so, the church would, today, hand to police all its secret archives holding thousands of documents relating to decades of clergy sex offences and their cover-ups. On this latter point the press release is silent. The church instead hides this evidence.
If the church were serious about ''facing the truth'' and putting victims first, it would not put them through the trauma of a formal inquiry. For victims, the writing of a submission is a daunting task. A group submission to the parliamentary inquiry from about 32 people in the Ballarat region was lodged last week, yet only 11 of them contributed to the submission's content. The rest were not able to discuss or write down the horrors of their past. But they wanted to be involved and so supported the submission, which they said reflected their own experiences. Giving oral evidence to the committee will be another highly stressful experience for the victims.
If the church divulged and confronted the crimes, victims and their families would not have to be put through hell again. The sincerity of the church must be challenged when it says it is putting victims first. It vehemently continues to stand by the Ellis defence - a legal defence that disallows victims suing the church for compensation. If it is being ''open about the horrific abuse'', why spend millions of dollars defending the criminal cases of known and convicted clergy paedophiles? This money would be better spent as compensation for victims.
The church claims to have learnt from past failures and changed the way it deals with victims and offenders.
In 1996 it developed its internal complaints procedures, the Melbourne Response and Towards Healing. It argues these processes help victims, yet evidence overwhelmingly shows that the processes are abusive and traumatic for victims.
Some have committed suicide after going through them and many others developed post-traumatic stress disorder. Some say the processes are worse than the original abuse.
In relation to the offenders, the church argues that these internal processes ''take action against abusers''. Surely the best action would be for the church to report these offenders to the police. But since the Melbourne Archdiocese has not reported a single case to the police, the community can only assume these paedophiles have been shielded by the hierarchy.
The press release aims to convince the public that the church is now doing the right thing by putting preventive measures in place to protect children and vulnerable adults. There is nothing virtuous or saintly about this. Such measures are a legal requirement that secular schools and other organisations have abided by for decades.
The Victorian church's submission is to include the details of the structure and governance of the church and its many layers of authority and responsibility. This part of the submission will outline the same defence or excuse used by Cardinal George Pell, which argues that the leader of each archdiocese, diocese or religious order is not responsible for anything that happens outside his or her own plot. But what of their moral and ethical obligations? An artificial canonical boundary should not prevent a church leader from doing the right thing by all victims of the one Catholic Church, regardless of geography.
It has taken the threat of a parliamentary inquiry to force the church to act. But alas, this ecclesiastical acting is of the thespian variety only. The church is not ''facing the truth'' and ''putting victims first''. It is trying hard to be what it is not. If the regular secular leopard cannot change its spots, then neither can the offending Catholic variety.
March 3, 2013
Keith O'Brien, British Cardinal, Admits To Sexual Misbehavior
SCOTLAND
Huffington Post
By RAPHAEL SATTER 03/03/13
LONDON -- The cardinal who until recently served as Britain's highest-ranking Catholic leader on Sunday acknowledged having engaged in unspecified sexual misbehavior and promised to play "no further part" in the public life of the church, a statement that comes at an awkward time for the Vatican.
Cardinal Keith O'Brien resigned Monday from his position as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh
O'Brien initially rejected the claims, saying he was resigning because he did not want to distract from the upcoming conclave of cardinals that is due to pick a successor to Benedict XVI, who resigned the papacy Thursday. O'Brien also said he would not attend the conclave.
But on Sunday, the Catholic church in Scotland
Hypocrite Cardinal O'Brien admits sex acts...
UNITED KINGDOM
The Telegraph
Hypocrite Cardinal O'Brien admits sex acts – in a vague apology that will make things worse
By Damian Thompson
I'm deeply unimpressed by Cardinal Keith O'Brien's vague and guarded admission that "there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal". Does he really think he can leave it at that? After raging against gay marriage with a ferocity that was – I suspect – intended to make the English bishops look wimpish and therefore butter up the Vatican
Scottish Catholics in particular have the right to ask: What the hell do you mean by "sexual conduct"?
And what are we supposed to make of this? "In recent days certain allegations which have been made against me have become public. Initially, their anonymous and non-specific nature led me to contest them."
Sorry, I don't follow the logic. The Cardinal must have had a good idea who was making the claims, and what behaviour was involved. You can't contest allegations, as he did, just because public ignorance of the charges leaves you a certain amount of breathing space.
Cardinal Keith O'Brien admits and apologises for sexual misconduct
SCOTLAND
The Guardian
Severin Carrell , Scotland
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 3 March 2013
Cardinal Keith O'Brien, forced to resign by the pope last week, has admitted to sexual misconduct and issued a sweeping apology to individuals he has "offended" as well as to the Catholic church and Scottish people.
In a short statement issued soon after 5pm on Sunday, O'Brien admitted "there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal".
The former archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh
Barely a week after O'Brien insisted he was contesting allegations published in the Observer of misconduct against fellow priests, he effectively admitted he had been guilty of sexual misbehaviour since he was a priest and during his 10 years as a cardinal.
Disgraced cardinal Keith O'Brien apologises for conduct after sexual allegations
SCOTLAND
Daily Telegraph
A BRITISH cardinal has admitted his behavior fell "below the standards expected of me" after allegations of sexual misconduct.
Keith O'Brien resigned last week after claims of sexual impropriety. In a statement, Cardinal O'Brien has also apologised "to those I have offended ... to the Catholic Church and people of Scotland
Cardinal O'Brien resigned as head of the Catholic Church in Scotland
"In recent days certain allegations which have been made against me have become public," said the cleric. "Initially, their anonymous and non-specific nature led me to contest them.
Embattled Cardinal O'Brien apologizes for 'my sexual conduct'
SCOTLAND
CNN
(CNN) -- A cardinal at the center of an international scandal over alleged sexual abuse reversed course Sunday, acknowledging wrongdoing.
"I wish to take this opportunity to admit that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal," Cardinal Keith O'Brien said in a statement.
Until days ago, O'Brien was the archbishop of Scotland
O'Brien has been dogged by allegations he abused four men studying to be priests in the 1980s.
Cardinal: Sexual Conduct 'Fell Below Standards'
SCOTLAND
Sky News
Cardinal Keith O'Brien has admitted that there have been times when his sexual conduct "fell beneath expected standards".
The 74-year resigned as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh last week over allegations of improper behaviour up to 30 years ago.
In a statement issued by the Catholic Church in Scotland
"However, I wish to take this opportunity to admit that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal.
Britain's top Catholic Cardinal O'Brien ...
SCOTLAND
Daily Mail
Britain
By Sam Webb and Alex Gore
Britain
Cardinal Keith O'Brien made the statement in response to allegations of 'inappropriate' behaviour levelled against him by three priests and a former priest.
He apologised, asked for forgiveness and said he will play no further part in the Catholic Church.
The cleric resigned as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh a day after the allegations stretching back 30 years were published last Sunday.
He said today: 'In recent days certain allegations which have been made against me have become public. Initially, their anonymous and non-specific nature led me to contest them.
'However, I wish to take this opportunity to admit that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal.
retreat.
Cardinal in sex conduct admission
SCOTLAND
Paisley Daily Express
Cardinal Keith O'Brien has admitted that his sexual conduct had at times "fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal".
The cardinal, who was Britain's most senior Catholic cleric, stepped down from his post as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh last week, a day after three priests and a former priest made allegations of "inappropriate" behaviour against him.
In a statement issued by the Catholic Church in Scotland
"I wish to take this opportunity to admit that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal," the statement said.
Statement from Cardinal O'Brien
SCOTLAND
Scottish Catholic Media Office
3 March 2013
Statement from Cardinal O'Brien
"In recent days certain allegations which have been made against me have become public. Initially, their anonymous and non-specific nature led me to contest them.
However, I wish to take this opportunity to admit that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal.
To those I have offended, I apologise and ask forgiveness.
To the Catholic Church and people of Scotland
I will now spend the rest of my life in retirement. I will play no further part in the public life of the Catholic Church in Scotland
ENDS
Peter Kearney
Director
Catholic Media Office
5 St. Vincent Place
Glasgow
G1 2DH
0141 221 1168
07968 122291
pk@scmo.org
www.scmo.org
Notes to editors:
1. This is the only statement, which Cardinal O'Brien will be issuing.
2. Cardinal O'Brien will not attend the Conclave to elect the new Pope.
3. Cardinal O'Brien is now out of the country and will not be available for interview.
British cardinal apologizes over sexual conduct
SCOTLAND
Portage
ESTELLE SHIRBON, Retuers
Sunday, March 3, 2013
LONDON Scotland
Cardinal Keith O’Brien was Britain
“I wish to take this opportunity to admit that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal,” he said in a statement posted on the Scottish Catholic media office website on Sunday.
“To those I have offended, I apologise and ask forgiveness. To the Catholic Church and people of Scotland Scotland
Cardinal Keith O'Brien sorry for sexual misconduct
SCOTLAND
BBC News
Cardinal Keith O'Brien has admitted that his sexual conduct has at times "fallen beneath the standards expected of me".
In a statement, he apologised and asked forgiveness from those he had "offended".
He also apologised to the Catholic Church, and to the people of Scotland
The cardinal resigned last Monday after three priests and a former priest made allegations of improper behaviour against him.
Cardinal O'Brien had been Britain St Andrews and Edinburgh
Britain
- The cleric apologised to those he has 'offended' and asked for forgiveness
- He said he is retiring and will play 'no further part' in the Catholic Church
- Cardinal O'Brien is accused of 'inappropriate' behaviour by four men
- The 74-year-old had resigned as Archbishop of
St Andrews and Edinburgh
- One of the men, a former priest, says the church has not acted ethically
By Sam Webb and Alex Gor
PUBLISHED:
Cardinal Keith O'Brien made the statement in response to allegations of 'inappropriate' behaviour levelled against him by three priests and a former priest.
He apologised, asked for forgiveness and said he will play no further part in the Catholic Church.
Apology: Keith O'Brien has admitted his 'sexual conduct fell well below the standards expected of a priest'
The cleric resigned as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh a day after the allegations stretching back 30 years were published last Sunday. More...
- 'They would crush me if they could': Former priest who accused Cardinal Keith O'Brien claims Catholic Church are out to get him
- Gay sex rings, 'The Filth' corrupting the Vatican...and why the Pope REALLY quit
Admission: Cardinal O'Brien in the office at his official residence on in Edinburgh
'However, I wish to take this opportunity to admit that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal.'To those I have offended, I apologise and ask forgiveness. To the Catholic Church and people of
'I will now spend the rest of my life in retirement. I will play no further part in the public life of the Catholic Church in
The 74-year-old, who had been taking legal advice, tendered his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI in November, citing age and 'indifferent health'.
He had been widely expected to step down next month when he turns 75.
His resignation was accepted by the pope on February 18 and it was announced on Monday that it was taking place with immediate effect.
In the Observer, which first reported the story last week, the former priest who made the accusations and remains anonymous, today said he had been 'disappointed' by the church's reaction.
He said: 'There have been two sensations for me this week. One is feeling the hot breath of the media on the back of my neck and the other is sensing the cold disapproval of the church hierarchy for daring to break ranks.
'I feel like if they could crush me, they would.
The former clergyman claimed that when he was a seminarian at St Andrew's College, Drygrange, in 1980, Cardinal O'Brien made an inappropriate approach to him after night prayers.
Another priest said the Cardinal visited him at his parish and that inappropriate contact took place between them, while a third complainant alleged that he was subjected to 'unwanted behaviour' from the cleric in the 1980s after some late-night drinking.
The cardinal has also been accused by another member of the clergy of using night prayers as an excuse for inappropriate contact.
Position: The Archbishop was the head of the Roman Catholic Church in
Accused: The allegations of 'inappropriate' behaviour have been made by three priests and a former priest
The Scottish Catholic Media Office made no comment today, but last week its director Peter Kearney said the Cardinal's resignation had not been accelerated because of the allegations.He said: 'The timing is very unfortunate and it does appear as if one has followed the other, which in terms of chronology one has followed the other, but that's not the same as saying one caused the other.
'When it comes to responding to the allegations I think what he will do is act on his legal advice, and the legal advice at the moment would be to not publicly engage with the detail as it stands of the allegations.'
Another priest has called for the Catholic Church in
Father John Robinson said: 'If the Catholic Church in
'We need to learn lessons from the mistakes we have made in the past and move on to become a more loving and understanding church which does not condemn victims or even abusers.'
Cardinal O’Brien had previously said sorry as it was revealed that he must resign now rather than wait until his 75th birthday later this month.
In a statement, he said: ‘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.'
Cardinal O’Brien’s apology follows growing controversy over his leadership in recent weeks. The vehemence of his public stand against same-sex marriage led to condemnation by the gay lobby.
However, in a surprise move just a day before the sex scandal broke, he upset traditionalists by calling for priests to be given the right to marry.
In Rome Vatican
HOW EFFEMINATE THE WAY HE WALKS
Senior church figures are expected to go at 75, but the HOW EFFEMINATE THE WAY HE WALKS
‘The Holy Father has now decided that my resignation will take effect today, 25 February 2013, and that he will appoint an Apostolic Administrator to govern the Archdiocese in my place until my successor is appointed,’ Cardinal O’Brien said.
The Cardinal said in his statement: ‘I thank Pope Benedict XVI for his kindness and courtesy to me and…I wish him a long and happy retirement.
‘I also ask God’s blessing on my brother Cardinals who will soon gather in
Anti-gay Cardinal Keith O’Brien to be forced into exile by Vatican
SCOTLAND
Gay Star News
04 MAY 2013 | BY DAN LITTAUER
Friends of the disgraced Cardinal Keith O’Brien say he’s been ordered by the Vatican into exile and ditch his plans for retirement in Scotland.
The Herald commented that: ‘It is the clearest indication yet of the Vatican's unwillingness to let the matter drift’ of the Cardinal’s sexual assault on male priests when he run seminaries in the 1980s and during a drinks party in Rome.
According to the The Herald, O'Brien was given the news yesterday (3 May) after starting to move his belongings from his Edinburgh residence to his retirement home in Dunbar, East Lothain, three days ago.
The Herald revealed on Thursday that Philip Tartaglia Archbishop of Glasgow and likely to become O’Brien’s successor, was behind an appeal to the Vatican to intervene after Cardinal O'Brien's re-emergence in Scotland this week.
Gay Star News
04 MAY 2013 | BY DAN LITTAUER
Friends of the disgraced Cardinal Keith O’Brien say he’s been ordered by the Vatican into exile and ditch his plans for retirement in Scotland.
The Herald commented that: ‘It is the clearest indication yet of the Vatican's unwillingness to let the matter drift’ of the Cardinal’s sexual assault on male priests when he run seminaries in the 1980s and during a drinks party in Rome.
According to the The Herald, O'Brien was given the news yesterday (3 May) after starting to move his belongings from his Edinburgh residence to his retirement home in Dunbar, East Lothain, three days ago.
The Herald revealed on Thursday that Philip Tartaglia Archbishop of Glasgow and likely to become O’Brien’s successor, was behind an appeal to the Vatican to intervene after Cardinal O'Brien's re-emergence in Scotland this week.
Shamed church leader Cardinal Keith O’Brien: ‘I didn’t always go on the right path’
SCOTLAND
The Independent
KEVIN RAWLINSON FRIDAY 03 MAY 2013
The disgraced former leader of the Catholic church in Britain, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, has broken his silence to speak of the “difficult time” he has faced since his “humbling” admission of inappropriate behaviour with four priests and a seminarian.
Cardinal O’Brien, who has now returned to his homeland of Scotland after some time away from the media spotlight in Ireland, said he has received plenty of support and “forgiveness” from within the community after it emerged that he had been in a longstanding relationship with a man despite being an outspoken critic of homosexuality.
Not everyone has been able to forgive him, however, with one of his alleged victims saying he needs to do more to deal with his concerns before indulging in his “nice little retirement plan”.
The man who still technically remains Britain’s most senior Catholic was forced to retire by Pope Benedict XVI earlier this year after admitting he was guilty of sexual misconduct.
The Independent
KEVIN RAWLINSON FRIDAY 03 MAY 2013
The disgraced former leader of the Catholic church in Britain, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, has broken his silence to speak of the “difficult time” he has faced since his “humbling” admission of inappropriate behaviour with four priests and a seminarian.
Cardinal O’Brien, who has now returned to his homeland of Scotland after some time away from the media spotlight in Ireland, said he has received plenty of support and “forgiveness” from within the community after it emerged that he had been in a longstanding relationship with a man despite being an outspoken critic of homosexuality.
Not everyone has been able to forgive him, however, with one of his alleged victims saying he needs to do more to deal with his concerns before indulging in his “nice little retirement plan”.
The man who still technically remains Britain’s most senior Catholic was forced to retire by Pope Benedict XVI earlier this year after admitting he was guilty of sexual misconduct.
Cardinal is compared to Fred Goodwin as he seeks to put scandal behind him
SCOTLAND
The Times
Mike Wade
Last updated at 12:01AM, May 3 2013
Cardinal Keith O’Brien was last night compared to Fred Goodwin, the disgraced banker, by Catholic critics after he appeared to shrug off the scandal surrounding him and seek a return to a normal life.
Shock has turned to disbelief and anger within the Church hierarchy after the cardinal confirmed his intention to move to a church property in Dunbar, where he apparently hopes to live out a quiet retirement.
The Times
Mike Wade
Last updated at 12:01AM, May 3 2013
Cardinal Keith O’Brien was last night compared to Fred Goodwin, the disgraced banker, by Catholic critics after he appeared to shrug off the scandal surrounding him and seek a return to a normal life.
Shock has turned to disbelief and anger within the Church hierarchy after the cardinal confirmed his intention to move to a church property in Dunbar, where he apparently hopes to live out a quiet retirement.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien: Fall from grace ‘humbling’
SCOTLAND
Scotsman
By STEPHEN MCGINTY
Published on 03/05/2013
CARDINAL Keith O’Brien has admitted the scandal that saw him driven from office has been a “difficult” and “humbling experience”.
The former Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, who was forced by Pope Benedict XVI to retire after admitting “inappropriate behaviour” with four priests and a seminarian, said in his first interview since returning to Scotland that he was now trying to live a “good Christian life”.
O’Brien, who as a cardinal remains the most senior Catholic in Britain, has moved his belongings from his former official residence in Edinburgh to a church-owned property in Dunbar in East Lothian where he had always planned to retire. The surprise move is said to have angered the hierarchy of the Catholic Church who would have preferred him to remain outside Scotland.
It is understood that Philip Tartaglia, the Archbishop of Glasgow, acting as President of the Bishop’s Conference of Scotland, has now written to the Papal Nuncio in London informing him of the cardinal’s return and the subsequent publicity.
Scotsman
By STEPHEN MCGINTY
Published on 03/05/2013
CARDINAL Keith O’Brien has admitted the scandal that saw him driven from office has been a “difficult” and “humbling experience”.
The former Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, who was forced by Pope Benedict XVI to retire after admitting “inappropriate behaviour” with four priests and a seminarian, said in his first interview since returning to Scotland that he was now trying to live a “good Christian life”.
O’Brien, who as a cardinal remains the most senior Catholic in Britain, has moved his belongings from his former official residence in Edinburgh to a church-owned property in Dunbar in East Lothian where he had always planned to retire. The surprise move is said to have angered the hierarchy of the Catholic Church who would have preferred him to remain outside Scotland.
It is understood that Philip Tartaglia, the Archbishop of Glasgow, acting as President of the Bishop’s Conference of Scotland, has now written to the Papal Nuncio in London informing him of the cardinal’s return and the subsequent publicity.
Shamed cleric starts new life in Dunbar
SCOTLAND
The Times
Tom Farmery
May 2 2013
The cleric who until recently was the best known in Scotland has started a new life in the town of Dunbar, near Edinburgh.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who resigned after admitting sexual misconduct, has returned from France and Portugal to prepare for retirement to the small East Lothian fishing port.
He was seen moving possessions from his home in Edinburgh into a red sandstone property next to Our Lady of the Waves Catholic Church.
The Times
Tom Farmery
May 2 2013
The cleric who until recently was the best known in Scotland has started a new life in the town of Dunbar, near Edinburgh.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who resigned after admitting sexual misconduct, has returned from France and Portugal to prepare for retirement to the small East Lothian fishing port.
He was seen moving possessions from his home in Edinburgh into a red sandstone property next to Our Lady of the Waves Catholic Church.
SCOTLAND
The Scottish Sun
Cardinal Keith O'Brien: I've said sorry... now I'm trying to live best Christian life I can
By KEVIN DUGUID and DOUGLAS WALKER
CARDINAL Keith O’Brien vowed to be a “good Christian” as he begged forgiveness over his gay sex scandal.
The disgraced churchman — who emerged from hiding this week — confessed to The Scottish Sun he has failed to live his life according to his OWN religious teachings.
But he claimed he has been swamped by messages of support despite lurid revelations that saw him axed as the country’s top Catholic cleric after plunging the Church into crisis.
O’Brien, 75, said: “I’m just trying to do my best to live a good Christian life myself now. Many people have been helping me to go back on the right path and that’s what I have to do.
“But I haven’t always managed to live that in my own life.”
The Scottish Sun
Cardinal Keith O'Brien: I've said sorry... now I'm trying to live best Christian life I can
By KEVIN DUGUID and DOUGLAS WALKER
CARDINAL Keith O’Brien vowed to be a “good Christian” as he begged forgiveness over his gay sex scandal.
The disgraced churchman — who emerged from hiding this week — confessed to The Scottish Sun he has failed to live his life according to his OWN religious teachings.
But he claimed he has been swamped by messages of support despite lurid revelations that saw him axed as the country’s top Catholic cleric after plunging the Church into crisis.
O’Brien, 75, said: “I’m just trying to do my best to live a good Christian life myself now. Many people have been helping me to go back on the right path and that’s what I have to do.
“But I haven’t always managed to live that in my own life.”
SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland
Thursday 2 May 2013
Scotland's Catholic leadership has appealed to the Vatican to take action on Cardinal Keith O’Brien after it emerged the disgraced cleric had returned to live in Scotland.
Within hours of revelations that the Cardinal had been seen publicly for the first time since the scandal surrounding his gay relationships and abuse allegations broke, senior figures in the Church called on Rome to initiate moves to keep him away from public life.
The return has also angered one former trainee priest who claims to have been abused by the Cardinal, telling The Herald of his determination to unsettle the 75-year-old churchman’s “nice little retirement plans” with legal action.
The Church fears Cardinal O’Brien’s re-emergence in Scotland could deepen the crisis brought on by the revelations, with no cleric having the authority to instruct him to either remain silent, retire to a monastery or move from Scotland.
Herald Scotland
Thursday 2 May 2013
Scotland's Catholic leadership has appealed to the Vatican to take action on Cardinal Keith O’Brien after it emerged the disgraced cleric had returned to live in Scotland.
Within hours of revelations that the Cardinal had been seen publicly for the first time since the scandal surrounding his gay relationships and abuse allegations broke, senior figures in the Church called on Rome to initiate moves to keep him away from public life.
The return has also angered one former trainee priest who claims to have been abused by the Cardinal, telling The Herald of his determination to unsettle the 75-year-old churchman’s “nice little retirement plans” with legal action.
The Church fears Cardinal O’Brien’s re-emergence in Scotland could deepen the crisis brought on by the revelations, with no cleric having the authority to instruct him to either remain silent, retire to a monastery or move from Scotland.
Catholic Church 'asks Vatican to step in' over O'Brien concerns
SCOTLAND
STV
The Catholic Church in Scotland has appealed to the Vatican amid concerns that Cardinal Keith O'Brien's high profile is damaging the church.
A source in the church told STV News there was "frustration and disquiet" that the Cardinal was back in the public eye after he was photographed moving into the parish house in Dunbar.
Cardinal O'Brien always intended to move to the East Lothian town when he retired as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, but the plan was cast into doubt after several former priests made allegations of "inappropriate behaviour" against him.
The cardinal resigned the following day and later admitted his sexual conduct had "fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal."
STV
The Catholic Church in Scotland has appealed to the Vatican amid concerns that Cardinal Keith O'Brien's high profile is damaging the church.
A source in the church told STV News there was "frustration and disquiet" that the Cardinal was back in the public eye after he was photographed moving into the parish house in Dunbar.
Cardinal O'Brien always intended to move to the East Lothian town when he retired as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, but the plan was cast into doubt after several former priests made allegations of "inappropriate behaviour" against him.
The cardinal resigned the following day and later admitted his sexual conduct had "fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal."
Vatican Not Looking Into Cardinal O’Brien’s Affairs With Other Priests
SCOTLAND
Lez Get Real
Posted by: Bridgette P. LaVictoire on May 2, 2013.
It is not expected that the Vatican will take any further action to punish Cardinal Keith O’Brien following his admission of sexual relationships with four priests and a seminarian. The Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh was forced to resign from his post early by Pope Benedict XVI after admitting that his “sexual conduct [had fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, an archbishop and a cardinal.”
The Vatican is only keeping a loose “watching brief” on O’Brien’s case, and that he is not likely to be asked to give up his rank unless Pope Francis I hands over the rank to a new cleric. The senior clerics in the Vatican no longer believe that there is any need for any further investigation given that O’Brien has admitted his behavior and apologized.
Once source close to the Roman Curia stated anonymously that “When an investigation takes place people expect some kind of public result of the investigation, but there is just no way there is going to be some kind of public examination and a published report on this matter. The Church doesn’t work that way.”
Lez Get Real
Posted by: Bridgette P. LaVictoire on May 2, 2013.
It is not expected that the Vatican will take any further action to punish Cardinal Keith O’Brien following his admission of sexual relationships with four priests and a seminarian. The Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh was forced to resign from his post early by Pope Benedict XVI after admitting that his “sexual conduct [had fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, an archbishop and a cardinal.”
The Vatican is only keeping a loose “watching brief” on O’Brien’s case, and that he is not likely to be asked to give up his rank unless Pope Francis I hands over the rank to a new cleric. The senior clerics in the Vatican no longer believe that there is any need for any further investigation given that O’Brien has admitted his behavior and apologized.
Once source close to the Roman Curia stated anonymously that “When an investigation takes place people expect some kind of public result of the investigation, but there is just no way there is going to be some kind of public examination and a published report on this matter. The Church doesn’t work that way.”
Cardinal Keith O'Brien snubbed the victim at the centre of the Carfin Grotto sex abuse probe
SCOTLAND
Daily Record
THE victim at the centre of the Carfin Grotto sex abuse probe yesterday revealed he was snubbed by Cardinal Keith O’Brien after begging him to investigate his tormentors.
Devout Catholic Pat McEwan sent a hand-written letter to O’Brien, then Scotland’s most senior churchman, in 2010 after undergoing years of counselling about his experiences.
The 63-year-old described in harrowing detail how he was raped by two priests and asked the then-Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh to help him.
But O’Brien washed his hands of the matter and sent it back to Bishop Joseph Devine of Motherwell, who Pat claims had previously asked him to forgive the alleged abusers.
A church spokesman denied O’Brien had turned a blind eye to Pat’s complaints.
Daily Record
THE victim at the centre of the Carfin Grotto sex abuse probe yesterday revealed he was snubbed by Cardinal Keith O’Brien after begging him to investigate his tormentors.
Devout Catholic Pat McEwan sent a hand-written letter to O’Brien, then Scotland’s most senior churchman, in 2010 after undergoing years of counselling about his experiences.
The 63-year-old described in harrowing detail how he was raped by two priests and asked the then-Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh to help him.
But O’Brien washed his hands of the matter and sent it back to Bishop Joseph Devine of Motherwell, who Pat claims had previously asked him to forgive the alleged abusers.
A church spokesman denied O’Brien had turned a blind eye to Pat’s complaints.
Church not told of Cardinal O’Brien’s return
SCOTLAND
Scotsman
By STEPHEN MCGINTY
Published on 02/05/2013
THE bishops of the Catholic Church were not warned of Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s return to Scotland, with sources saying they are angry at his decision to continue with his retirement plan to move to East Lothian.
The former Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, who scandalised the Church by admitting to having inappropriate relations with four priests and a seminarian, was photographed moving into a Church property in Dunbar.
Cardinal O’Brien was quoted as saying: “I’ve had a busy life as a priest, a bishop and a cardinal and it’s a nice place to relax. My own home is in the north of Ireland at the present time.
“All my friends are here in Scotland. I’ve been coming down here for weekends for some years as a retreat. It’s a nice little place. My plan is to move here ultimately to relax and enjoy my retirement.”
Scotsman
By STEPHEN MCGINTY
Published on 02/05/2013
THE bishops of the Catholic Church were not warned of Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s return to Scotland, with sources saying they are angry at his decision to continue with his retirement plan to move to East Lothian.
The former Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, who scandalised the Church by admitting to having inappropriate relations with four priests and a seminarian, was photographed moving into a Church property in Dunbar.
Cardinal O’Brien was quoted as saying: “I’ve had a busy life as a priest, a bishop and a cardinal and it’s a nice place to relax. My own home is in the north of Ireland at the present time.
“All my friends are here in Scotland. I’ve been coming down here for weekends for some years as a retreat. It’s a nice little place. My plan is to move here ultimately to relax and enjoy my retirement.”
Brazil Priest Excommunicated For Defending Gay Rights
Reuters | Posted: 04/30/2013 3:48 pm EDT | Updated: 05/01/2013 8:44 am EDT
* Excommunication follows warnings to toe Church line
By Paulo Prada
RIO DE JANEIRO, April 30 (Reuters) - The Catholic Church has excommunicated a Brazilian priest after he defended homosexuality, open marriage and other practices counter to Church teaching in online videos.
In a statement released late on Monday, the priest's diocese said Father Roberto Francisco Daniel, known to local parishioners as Padre Beto, had "in the name of 'freedom of expression' betrayed the promise of fealty to the Church."
The priest "injured the Church with grave statements counter to the dogma of Catholic faith and morality." The actions amount to "heresy and schism," the statement said, the penalty for which is excommunication, or expulsion from the Church.
The rare punishment follows what Daniel's bishop and the priest himself said were repeated rebukes about the videos and other public activities, such as a radio broadcast and local newspaper column, in which he challenged Church doctrine.
The 47-year-old cleric, who studied theology in Germany, is popular in the southeastern city of Bauru, where he has been a priest since 2001. He is known for his rock T-shirts, a silver stud pierced through his right ear and his habit of posing, as on his official Facebook page, with a glass of beer.
On Facebook and Twitter, Daniel posted a brief statement about the excommunication: "I feel honored to belong to the long list of people who have been murdered and burned alive for thinking and searching for knowledge."
SPREAD OF MODERATE VIEWS
Daniel's excommunication, which prompted headlines across Brazil and protests in social media, illustrates the rising influence of more moderate social views in Brazil, Latin America's biggest country, and much of the rest of the region.
Progressive stances on sexuality, birth control, scientific research and other delicate topics for the Church are increasingly common in Latin America, home to 42 percent of the world's Catholics, more than any other region worldwide.
The shifting views are among the many challenges faced by Pope Francis, an Argentine who ascended in March to become the first Latin American pope in history.
The excommunication comes just two months before Francis is scheduled to attend World Youth Day, expected to attract as many as 2 million young Catholics to Rio de Janeiro.
Though Francis is known to be a traditionalist on social issues and Church doctrine, his appointment raised hopes that the first non-European pope in 13 centuries would do more than his predecessors to modernize Catholicism.
But Daniel's beliefs clearly went too far for church leaders.
In one of the recent videos he posted on YouTube.com and his own Website, the priest said a married person who chose to have an affair, heterosexual or otherwise, would not be unfaithful as long as that person's spouse allowed it. "If someone is in an extramarital relationship and that relationship is accepted by the spouse, then faithfulness still exists there," he said.
A "REBEL SON"
In a telephone interview, Daniel said his statements "are personal reflections that should be considered and discussed in the dialogue of the church." The excommunication, he said, is "the sad act of a lukewarm and disengaged church that is out of touch with today's society."
The diocese retained a church expert in canonical law to oversee the excommunication process. The diocese also initiated a separate process at the Vatican through which Daniel will be stripped of clerical authority.
Last Tuesday, Bishop Caetano Ferrari gave Daniel a letter asking him to take the videos offline and publicly retract his statements. In an interview posted on the diocese Web site shortly afterward, Ferrari called Daniel "brilliant," but characterized him as a "rebel son" who "crosses the line."
On Monday, Daniel said he went to the diocese headquarters planning to renounce his clerical duties rather than retract any of his comments. But before he had a chance, the bishop and canonical expert made him face a committee of Church officials.
"It was a trial," Daniel said. "I told them I was not there to be tried, that I had not been indicted."
Shortly afterward, the Church issued the statement announcing his excommunication. (Editing by Todd Benson and Cynthia Osterman)
News updates for May 15, 2013 -- these related news illustrate the Vatican Deceits and Vatican hypocrisy at its all time high
Vatican sends Cardinal O’Brien into monastic exile
SCOTLAND
The Times
Mike Wade
Cardinal Keith O’Brien faces months in exile after he was ordered by Pope Francis to pay penance in a monastery after his admission of sexual advances towards young priests.
Cardinal O’Brien would be leaving “for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance”, according to a Vatican statement that was written “in agreement with the Holy Father”.
The Times
Mike Wade
Cardinal Keith O’Brien faces months in exile after he was ordered by Pope Francis to pay penance in a monastery after his admission of sexual advances towards young priests.
Cardinal O’Brien would be leaving “for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance”, according to a Vatican statement that was written “in agreement with the Holy Father”.
UK- Disgraced bishop will move; SNAP responds
SCOTLAND
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
POSTED BY BARBARA DORRIS ON MAY 15, 2013
Physically moving Cardinal O’Brien is a paltry, belated, grudging step that may bring temporary relief or comfort to his victims and his flock. It’s a half-hearted response to a wrongdoing that warrants a serious response.
O’Brien should be harshly disciplined. An investigation – a real one by independent sources – should be done. Those who ignored or concealed or minimized O’Brien’s sexual misdeeds should also be harshly disciplined. That’s what will bring change – severe consequences for severe wrongdoing.
For years, bishops who are caught exploiting the vulnerable have voluntarily stepped down and moved elsewhere when the media firestorm gets too hot. Still, clergy sexual misdeeds and cover-ups are rampant in the church. So, this approach is clearly not working.
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
POSTED BY BARBARA DORRIS ON MAY 15, 2013
Physically moving Cardinal O’Brien is a paltry, belated, grudging step that may bring temporary relief or comfort to his victims and his flock. It’s a half-hearted response to a wrongdoing that warrants a serious response.
O’Brien should be harshly disciplined. An investigation – a real one by independent sources – should be done. Those who ignored or concealed or minimized O’Brien’s sexual misdeeds should also be harshly disciplined. That’s what will bring change – severe consequences for severe wrongdoing.
For years, bishops who are caught exploiting the vulnerable have voluntarily stepped down and moved elsewhere when the media firestorm gets too hot. Still, clergy sexual misdeeds and cover-ups are rampant in the church. So, this approach is clearly not working.
VATICAN CITY
LGBT Nation
NICOLE WINFIELD | Associated Press
VATICAN CITY — The Scottish cardinal who resigned as archbishop after admitting to sexual misconduct will leave Scotland for months of prayer and atonement, the Vatican said Wednesday in a rare sanction.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien recused himself from the March conclave that elected Pope Francis after a newspaper reported unnamed priests’ allegations that he acted inappropriately toward them. There have been no indications the priests were minors at the time. ...
O’Brien subsequently acknowledged he had engaged in unspecified sexual misbehavior. He resigned as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, apologized and promised to stay out of the church’s public life.
The distinction is significant because victims of clerical abuse have long denounced the lack of accountability among the church hierarchy for having covered up the crimes of pedophile priests. In the church, bishops and cardinals have long been virtually untouchable.
Take American Cardinal Bernard Law, whose cover-up of pedophile priests in Boston was at the root of the U.S. church’s sex abuse crisis: Law resigned as archbishop of Boston in 2002, but he was given a plum job as archpriest of one of the Vatican’s prime basilicas in Rome.
Even though O’Brien is not accused of abusing minors, his case had been watched to see if Pope Francis would ta ke any action against a cardinal who had strayed. The Vatican, for example, has refused to even confirm whether it was investigating the allegations against O’Brien, even though the Scottish Catholic Church’s media office said the complaints had been forwarded to Rome and that it expected an investigation.
LGBT Nation
NICOLE WINFIELD | Associated Press
VATICAN CITY — The Scottish cardinal who resigned as archbishop after admitting to sexual misconduct will leave Scotland for months of prayer and atonement, the Vatican said Wednesday in a rare sanction.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien recused himself from the March conclave that elected Pope Francis after a newspaper reported unnamed priests’ allegations that he acted inappropriately toward them. There have been no indications the priests were minors at the time. ...
O’Brien subsequently acknowledged he had engaged in unspecified sexual misbehavior. He resigned as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, apologized and promised to stay out of the church’s public life.
The distinction is significant because victims of clerical abuse have long denounced the lack of accountability among the church hierarchy for having covered up the crimes of pedophile priests. In the church, bishops and cardinals have long been virtually untouchable.
Take American Cardinal Bernard Law, whose cover-up of pedophile priests in Boston was at the root of the U.S. church’s sex abuse crisis: Law resigned as archbishop of Boston in 2002, but he was given a plum job as archpriest of one of the Vatican’s prime basilicas in Rome.
Even though O’Brien is not accused of abusing minors, his case had been watched to see if Pope Francis would ta ke any action against a cardinal who had strayed. The Vatican, for example, has refused to even confirm whether it was investigating the allegations against O’Brien, even though the Scottish Catholic Church’s media office said the complaints had been forwarded to Rome and that it expected an investigation.
Irish-born Cardinal to leave Scotland amid sex scandal
SCOTLAND
Irish Examiner
Cardinal Keith O'Brien, originally from Ballycastle, Co Antrim, is to leave Scotland for several months after admitting inappropriate sexual conduct during his church career, the Vatican has said.
Britain's most senior Catholic cleric stepped down from his post as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh earlier this year after priests made allegations against him.
A Vatican statement said: "His Eminence Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien... will be leaving Scotland for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance.
"Any decision regarding future arrangements for his eminence shall be agreed with the Holy See."
Irish Examiner
Cardinal Keith O'Brien, originally from Ballycastle, Co Antrim, is to leave Scotland for several months after admitting inappropriate sexual conduct during his church career, the Vatican has said.
Britain's most senior Catholic cleric stepped down from his post as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh earlier this year after priests made allegations against him.
A Vatican statement said: "His Eminence Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien... will be leaving Scotland for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance.
"Any decision regarding future arrangements for his eminence shall be agreed with the Holy See."
SCOTLAND
Daily Record
THE disgraced clergyman, formerly the most senior Catholic in Britain, will leave Scotland for "spiritual renewal, prayer and penance", according to a Vatican statement.
CARDINAL Keith O'Brien is to leave Scotland for several months after admitting inappropriate sexual conduct during his church career, the Vatican has said.
Britain's most senior Catholic cleric stepped down from his post as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh earlier this year after priests made allegations against him.
A Vatican statement said: "His Eminence Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien... will be leaving Scotland for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance. Any decision regarding future arrangements for his eminence shall be agreed with the Holy See."
The cardinal stepped down as leader of the Scottish Catholic Church at the end of February after admitting that his sexual conduct "had fallen beneath the standards" expected of him during his almost 50-year career.
Daily Record
THE disgraced clergyman, formerly the most senior Catholic in Britain, will leave Scotland for "spiritual renewal, prayer and penance", according to a Vatican statement.
CARDINAL Keith O'Brien is to leave Scotland for several months after admitting inappropriate sexual conduct during his church career, the Vatican has said.
Britain's most senior Catholic cleric stepped down from his post as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh earlier this year after priests made allegations against him.
A Vatican statement said: "His Eminence Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien... will be leaving Scotland for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance. Any decision regarding future arrangements for his eminence shall be agreed with the Holy See."
The cardinal stepped down as leader of the Scottish Catholic Church at the end of February after admitting that his sexual conduct "had fallen beneath the standards" expected of him during his almost 50-year career.
Cardinal O'Brien to leave Scotland for 'spiritual renewal and penance'
SCOTLAND
The Guardian
Lizzy Davies in Rome
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 15 May 2013
Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the disgraced former archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, will leave Scotland for a period of "spiritual renewal, prayer and penance" after he admitted inappropriate sexual conduct with priests, the Vatican has said.
In a statement, the Vatican said the 75-year-old cardinal would be leaving the country for several months, without specifying where he would go.
"His eminence cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien, archbishop emeritus of St Andrews and Edinburgh, for the same reasons he decided not to participate in the last conclave, and in agreement with the Holy Father, will be leaving Scotland for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance," it said.
Indicating that O'Brien's long-term future would remain firmly in the Vatican's hands, the statement added: "Any decision regarding future arrangements for His Eminence shall be agreed with the Holy See."
Reports earlier this month claimed that O'Brien, who stepped down as head of the Scottish Catholic church in February after the Observer disclosed allegations against him by three priests and one former priest, had been advised by Rome against moving to a house in Dunbar, East Lothian.
The Guardian
Lizzy Davies in Rome
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 15 May 2013
Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the disgraced former archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, will leave Scotland for a period of "spiritual renewal, prayer and penance" after he admitted inappropriate sexual conduct with priests, the Vatican has said.
In a statement, the Vatican said the 75-year-old cardinal would be leaving the country for several months, without specifying where he would go.
"His eminence cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien, archbishop emeritus of St Andrews and Edinburgh, for the same reasons he decided not to participate in the last conclave, and in agreement with the Holy Father, will be leaving Scotland for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance," it said.
Indicating that O'Brien's long-term future would remain firmly in the Vatican's hands, the statement added: "Any decision regarding future arrangements for His Eminence shall be agreed with the Holy See."
Reports earlier this month claimed that O'Brien, who stepped down as head of the Scottish Catholic church in February after the Observer disclosed allegations against him by three priests and one former priest, had been advised by Rome against moving to a house in Dunbar, East Lothian.
Cardinal Keith O'Brien pays penance at Vatican
SCOTLAND
Channel 4
Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien, who resigned as head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland after admitting sexual misconduct, is heading to the Vatican for months of "prayer and penance".
Cardinal O'Brien was Britain's most senior Catholic cleric until his resignation in February.
He originally denied allegations made against him by four men, but said in March that his actions had fallen below the standards expected of him as a priest.
He stepped down after allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards three priests and a former priest dating back to the 1980s were printed in a national newspaper.
In a statement issued by the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland on 4 March, the cardinal said he had initially contested what he called the "anonymous and non-specific" allegations made against him.
Channel 4
Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien, who resigned as head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland after admitting sexual misconduct, is heading to the Vatican for months of "prayer and penance".
Cardinal O'Brien was Britain's most senior Catholic cleric until his resignation in February.
He originally denied allegations made against him by four men, but said in March that his actions had fallen below the standards expected of him as a priest.
He stepped down after allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards three priests and a former priest dating back to the 1980s were printed in a national newspaper.
In a statement issued by the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland on 4 March, the cardinal said he had initially contested what he called the "anonymous and non-specific" allegations made against him.
SCOTLAND
Daily Mail
Disgraced former Catholic leader Keith O'Brien to leave Scotland 'for spiritual renewal' after admitting sexual misconduct with male priests
By ROB COOPER
Disgraced former Cardinal Keith O’Brien is to leave Scotland for several months after admitting inappropriate sexual conduct during his church career, the Vatican has said.
Britain’s most senior Catholic cleric resigned earlier this year amid allegations that he made homosexual approaches to young trainee priests.
The Vatican confirmed today that O'Brien will leave Scotland 'for spiritual renewal'.
The cardinal stepped down as leader of the Scottish Catholic Church at the end of February after admitting that his sexual conduct 'had fallen beneath the standards' expected of him during his almost 50-year career.
He indicated that he would not contest claims by three priests and a former priest of inappropriate behaviour dating back to the 1980s, and intended to retire permanently from the public life of the church.
Daily Mail
Disgraced former Catholic leader Keith O'Brien to leave Scotland 'for spiritual renewal' after admitting sexual misconduct with male priests
By ROB COOPER
Disgraced former Cardinal Keith O’Brien is to leave Scotland for several months after admitting inappropriate sexual conduct during his church career, the Vatican has said.
Britain’s most senior Catholic cleric resigned earlier this year amid allegations that he made homosexual approaches to young trainee priests.
The Vatican confirmed today that O'Brien will leave Scotland 'for spiritual renewal'.
The cardinal stepped down as leader of the Scottish Catholic Church at the end of February after admitting that his sexual conduct 'had fallen beneath the standards' expected of him during his almost 50-year career.
He indicated that he would not contest claims by three priests and a former priest of inappropriate behaviour dating back to the 1980s, and intended to retire permanently from the public life of the church.
Police asked to search Pell's office
AUSTRALIA
ABC - Lateline
The inquiry into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in the Hunter region has heard that police were asked to search the office of the Catholic Archbishop Of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell.
Transcript
TONY JONES, PRESENTER: The former head of a police strikeforce has told a NSW inquiry into child sexual abuse that he was made aware of crucial Church documents in the office of the Archdiocese of Sydney, headed by Cardinal George Pell.
The Special Commission of Inquiry is investigating alleged cover-ups of clerical abuse by police and the Catholic Church in the Hunter region north of Sydney.
And in another development, it's been revealed that police were concerned about a settlement agreement between an abuse victim and the Catholic Church. Lateline has now obtained the agreement documents, which show a victim was required to repay his compensation payment plus 10 per cent per annum if he decided to take the matter to the police for criminal action.
Suzie Smith reports from Newcastle.
SUZANNE SMITH, REPORTER: This is Gresford Catholic Church and the inquiry has heard that its priest, Father Guy Hartcher, was under investigation for allegedly being part of a paedophile network. The two others involved were Father James Fletcher, who is now dead, and Father Vincent Ryan.
Father Hartcher was charged in the mid-1990s with 22 offences involving young boys in the Bathurst area in western NSW. He was subsequently moved to the Gresford Church in 1999 by the then Bishop of Maitland Newcastle, Michael Malone.
A police intelligence report, which included information about Father Hartcher was tendered as evidence. The report says police were concerned about a compensation agreement between a victim of Father Hartcher and the Catholic Church. It says:
ABC - Lateline
The inquiry into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in the Hunter region has heard that police were asked to search the office of the Catholic Archbishop Of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell.
Transcript
TONY JONES, PRESENTER: The former head of a police strikeforce has told a NSW inquiry into child sexual abuse that he was made aware of crucial Church documents in the office of the Archdiocese of Sydney, headed by Cardinal George Pell.
The Special Commission of Inquiry is investigating alleged cover-ups of clerical abuse by police and the Catholic Church in the Hunter region north of Sydney.
And in another development, it's been revealed that police were concerned about a settlement agreement between an abuse victim and the Catholic Church. Lateline has now obtained the agreement documents, which show a victim was required to repay his compensation payment plus 10 per cent per annum if he decided to take the matter to the police for criminal action.
Suzie Smith reports from Newcastle.
SUZANNE SMITH, REPORTER: This is Gresford Catholic Church and the inquiry has heard that its priest, Father Guy Hartcher, was under investigation for allegedly being part of a paedophile network. The two others involved were Father James Fletcher, who is now dead, and Father Vincent Ryan.
Father Hartcher was charged in the mid-1990s with 22 offences involving young boys in the Bathurst area in western NSW. He was subsequently moved to the Gresford Church in 1999 by the then Bishop of Maitland Newcastle, Michael Malone.
A police intelligence report, which included information about Father Hartcher was tendered as evidence. The report says police were concerned about a compensation agreement between a victim of Father Hartcher and the Catholic Church. It says:
Disgraced Cardinal Keith O'Brien to leave Scotland
SCOTLAND
BBC News
Cardinal Keith O'Brien is to leave Scotland for several months after admitting improper sexual conduct, the Vatican has confirmed.
He resigned in March after three priests and a former priest alleged improper conduct back in the 1980s.
The Vatican said that with the Pope's approval Cardinal O'Brien would leave Scotland "for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance".
BBC News
Cardinal Keith O'Brien is to leave Scotland for several months after admitting improper sexual conduct, the Vatican has confirmed.
He resigned in March after three priests and a former priest alleged improper conduct back in the 1980s.
The Vatican said that with the Pope's approval Cardinal O'Brien would leave Scotland "for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance".
Disgraced Cardinal O'Brien to leave Scotland for penance -Vatican
VATICAN CITY
The Star
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien, who resigned as head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland after acknowledging sexual misconduct, will leave Scotland for months of "prayer and penance", the Vatican said on Wednesday.
A statement said O'Brien, who was Britain's most senior Catholic cleric until his resignation in February, would be leaving his country "for the same reasons" that he decided not to participate in the conclave that elected Pope Francis.
The Star
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien, who resigned as head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland after acknowledging sexual misconduct, will leave Scotland for months of "prayer and penance", the Vatican said on Wednesday.
A statement said O'Brien, who was Britain's most senior Catholic cleric until his resignation in February, would be leaving his country "for the same reasons" that he decided not to participate in the conclave that elected Pope Francis.
Vatican: Cardinal O'Brien leaves Scotland to pray, atone after admitting to sexual misconduct
VATICAN CITY
Times-Colonist
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MAY 15, 2013
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican says the Scottish cardinal who resigned as archbishop after admitting to sexual misconduct will leave Scotland for several months of prayer and atonement.
Cardinal Keith O'Brien recused himself from the March conclave that elected Pope Francis pontiff after a newspaper reported unnamed priests' allegations that he acted inappropriately toward them.
O'Brien subsequently acknowledged he had engaged in unspecified sexual misbehaviour. He resigned as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, apologized and promised to stay out of the church's public life.
Times-Colonist
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MAY 15, 2013
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican says the Scottish cardinal who resigned as archbishop after admitting to sexual misconduct will leave Scotland for several months of prayer and atonement.
Cardinal Keith O'Brien recused himself from the March conclave that elected Pope Francis pontiff after a newspaper reported unnamed priests' allegations that he acted inappropriately toward them.
O'Brien subsequently acknowledged he had engaged in unspecified sexual misbehaviour. He resigned as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, apologized and promised to stay out of the church's public life.
Catholic Priest Who Blew Whistle on Sex Abuse Suspended and Considers Fleeing Africa
UNITED STATES
Michael-in-Norfolk
Speaking of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, a story out of Africa underscores that absolutely nothing has changed under Pope Francis. Cover ups and sanctions against those who seek to expose the institutional Church's utter moral bankruptcy continue to be the norm. Fr. Anthony Musaala (pictured above) has been suspended indefinitely for shining a light on what he calls an open secret: Sex abuse by Catholic clergy is a problem in Africa too. Just like all over the rest of the world. The problem is systemic and, in my view, is the direct result of the Church's celibacy policy and its bizarre obsession with all things sexual. Here are highlights from the Los Angeles Times:
.
Michael-in-Norfolk
Speaking of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, a story out of Africa underscores that absolutely nothing has changed under Pope Francis. Cover ups and sanctions against those who seek to expose the institutional Church's utter moral bankruptcy continue to be the norm. Fr. Anthony Musaala (pictured above) has been suspended indefinitely for shining a light on what he calls an open secret: Sex abuse by Catholic clergy is a problem in Africa too. Just like all over the rest of the world. The problem is systemic and, in my view, is the direct result of the Church's celibacy policy and its bizarre obsession with all things sexual. Here are highlights from the Los Angeles Times:
.
KAMPALA, Uganda — He is a celebrity across eastern and central Africa, a gospel music star known to many as the "Dancing Priest." But for years he also was a keeper of painful secrets — his own and many others'.
In going public, Anthony Musaala has forced the Roman Catholic Church in Uganda to confront a problem it had insisted didn't exist. And he may stir a debate far beyond Africa's most Catholic of countries.
The Ugandan priest has been suspended indefinitely by the archbishop of Kampala for exposing what he calls an open secret: Sex abuse in the Catholic Church is a problem in Africa as well as in Western Europe and North America.
The African Catholic Church is fast-growing, pious and traditional. As the church elsewhere forks out billions of dollars to compensate the child sex abuse victims of priests, few African Catholics have questioned the assumption, voiced recently by Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson, that the African church is purer than its counterpart in the West, which is regarded as secular and permissive.
It's not more pure, says Musaala. He says he has the evidence to prove it.
"The Vatican turns a blind eye because it doesn't want to be embarrassed about this blooming church. But I think it's time we had the truth," Musaala says.
In March, he wrote to the archbishop of Kampala, Cyprian Lwanga, about priests who fathered children, kept secret wives or abused girls or boys, and called for a debate on marriage for priests. . . . . People know. Nothing is ever done," said Musaala in an interview.
The letter was leaked to the news media. And in response, Lwanga suspended Musaala, saying his statements stirred up contempt for the Catholic Church and damaged the morale of believers.
For African Catholics, the revelations of child sex abuse in Western churches are shocking enough. But the idea that African priests might be sexually abusing boys had been unthinkable. Paradoxically, many believers in Africa are aware that some priests break their vows and father children, but talking about it is taboo.
When he suggested to church colleagues that victims of child sex abuse should be compensated, they were horrified, suggesting that hundreds of people would file fraudulent claims.
"There are real victims who need to be compensated and who need psycho-social help. I think the church needs to set up a fund to deal with these cases," Musaala said.
At times, he fears for his safety and worries about the possibility of a mob attack. He's considering leaving Uganda, even though he loves his country.
I hate to say it, but I think in some ways the Mafia has more scruples and morality than the Catholic hierarchy. At least in the Mafia, the sexual abuse of children isn't tolerated. Not so when it come to the "princes of the Church." As I have said many times, change will come to the Church only when huge numbers of the Catholic laity open their eyes and walk away, taking their financial support with them. Meanwhile, the criminal prosecution of bishops and cardinals would be a good interim measure.
Newark Archbishop Is Criticized for His Handling of an Abuse Case
NEW JERSEY
The New York Times
By RUSS BUETTNER
Published: May 12, 2013
COLTS NECK, N.J. — With 10 children knelt around the altar for their first communion and the pews at St. Mary’s Church packed with families gathered for Mother’s Day, there was little sign on Sunday of the turmoil that has struck the parish, and threatens the Archdiocese of Newark.
Just two weeks earlier, the parishioners learned that a priest working with their church’s youth groups had been barred from being around children unsupervised — a restriction that he accepted to avoid retrial on a sexual abuse charge.
“I think everyone was just shocked; there’s no other way to put it,” said Darren Barreiro, a father of three girls, as he left Mass on Sunday.
The priest, Michael Fugee, was convicted in 2003 of criminal sexual conduct stemming from allegations that he had groped a boy’s crotch during several wrestling horseplay encounters when he was associate pastor at St. Elizabeth Church in Wyckoff, N.J.
The New York Times
By RUSS BUETTNER
Published: May 12, 2013
COLTS NECK, N.J. — With 10 children knelt around the altar for their first communion and the pews at St. Mary’s Church packed with families gathered for Mother’s Day, there was little sign on Sunday of the turmoil that has struck the parish, and threatens the Archdiocese of Newark.
Just two weeks earlier, the parishioners learned that a priest working with their church’s youth groups had been barred from being around children unsupervised — a restriction that he accepted to avoid retrial on a sexual abuse charge.
“I think everyone was just shocked; there’s no other way to put it,” said Darren Barreiro, a father of three girls, as he left Mass on Sunday.
The priest, Michael Fugee, was convicted in 2003 of criminal sexual conduct stemming from allegations that he had groped a boy’s crotch during several wrestling horseplay encounters when he was associate pastor at St. Elizabeth Church in Wyckoff, N.J.
BBC NI's Catholic Church exposé beats Jimmy Savile documentary to BAFTA
NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph
BY CLAIRE CROMIE – 12 MAY 2013
BBC Northern Ireland has won a BAFTA for its powerful film investigating sex abuse priests in Ireland - beating ITV's controversial Jimmy Savile documentary.
The Shame of the Catholic Church - part of BBC Two’s This World strand - won the Current Affairs category at the prestigious annual TV awards ceremony.
Directed by Alison Millar, the documentary saw Darragh MacIntyre reveal new evidence about the role of the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, in the failure to protect children from child abuse.
MacIntyre tracked down the children and revealed Cardinal Sean Brady, the Primate of All Ireland, had the names and addresses of children who were being abused or were at risk of being abused by Ireland’s most notorious paedophile Fr Brendan Smyth, but failed to ensure that they were protected.
The documentary beat the controversial ITV Exposure programme The Other Side of Jimmy Savile, Panorama's Britain's Hidden Housing Crisis and Al Jazeera's What killed Arafat? to the BAFTA award.
Belfast Telegraph
BY CLAIRE CROMIE – 12 MAY 2013
BBC Northern Ireland has won a BAFTA for its powerful film investigating sex abuse priests in Ireland - beating ITV's controversial Jimmy Savile documentary.
The Shame of the Catholic Church - part of BBC Two’s This World strand - won the Current Affairs category at the prestigious annual TV awards ceremony.
Directed by Alison Millar, the documentary saw Darragh MacIntyre reveal new evidence about the role of the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, in the failure to protect children from child abuse.
MacIntyre tracked down the children and revealed Cardinal Sean Brady, the Primate of All Ireland, had the names and addresses of children who were being abused or were at risk of being abused by Ireland’s most notorious paedophile Fr Brendan Smyth, but failed to ensure that they were protected.
The documentary beat the controversial ITV Exposure programme The Other Side of Jimmy Savile, Panorama's Britain's Hidden Housing Crisis and Al Jazeera's What killed Arafat? to the BAFTA award.
The Shame of the Catholic Church (This World) - Current Affairs Winner
IRELAND
YouTube
The team behind The Shame of the Catholic Church (This World) talk with Jenni Falconer backstage at the Arqiva British Academy Television Awards in 2013 after winning the Current Affairs BAFTA award.
YouTube
The team behind The Shame of the Catholic Church (This World) talk with Jenni Falconer backstage at the Arqiva British Academy Television Awards in 2013 after winning the Current Affairs BAFTA award.
Rape and Rank -- The Problem With All-Powerful Men
UNITED STATES
Huffington Post
Michael D'Antonio
Criticized for years for their handling of rape in the services, top officials in the United States military were ordered to increase their efforts after the secretary of defense viewed the landmark documentary Invisible War in April 2012. Now, a year later, a new report shows the problem is getting worse. The data comes just days after Jeffrey Krusinski, the officer in charge of preventing sex crimes in the Air Force was, himself, arrested for sexual battery.
Officials frustrated by the persistent problem of rape in the military and outraged by the spectacle of Krusinski's arrest have focused mainly on the need for better training and policies. Senator Kirstin Gillibrand of New York recently suggested soldiers and officers don't understand "what sexual assault is, and how corrosive and damaging it is to good order and discipline."
Education is good, but the spike in reported crimes occurred even as the services changed their training programs to increase awareness across the services. What hasn't changed is the system of military justice, which still invests all the real power over investigations, trials, sentencing, and clemency in the chain of command. Rank still rules, even in the military justice system. And this fact explains why the Department of Defense can't seem to get control of this problem.
For a true understanding of how a sexual assault crisis can resist resolution, it helps to consider how another huge, rank-based institution has suffered through an almost identical, slow-motion disaster. For decades the Catholic Church has tried and failed to end the worldwide scandal caused by priests who rape and molest minors. After more than 6,000 cases involving tens of thousands of victims -- in the United States alone -- the problem still defies the all-male hierachy who promise "zero tolerance" and implement new policies and education programs.
In both the church and the military, policies and programs fail because they do not address the root issue of male-only, hierachical power. The leaders of official Catholicism maintain and practice the belief that at the moment a man is ordained he becomes ontologically superior to laypeople. From this first on the ladder above the masses he may then climb to monsignor, bishop, archbishop, cardinal and even pope. With each step he gains both authority and respect as a higher order being whose judgment and moral standing are assumed to be simply better.
Huffington Post
Michael D'Antonio
Criticized for years for their handling of rape in the services, top officials in the United States military were ordered to increase their efforts after the secretary of defense viewed the landmark documentary Invisible War in April 2012. Now, a year later, a new report shows the problem is getting worse. The data comes just days after Jeffrey Krusinski, the officer in charge of preventing sex crimes in the Air Force was, himself, arrested for sexual battery.
Officials frustrated by the persistent problem of rape in the military and outraged by the spectacle of Krusinski's arrest have focused mainly on the need for better training and policies. Senator Kirstin Gillibrand of New York recently suggested soldiers and officers don't understand "what sexual assault is, and how corrosive and damaging it is to good order and discipline."
Education is good, but the spike in reported crimes occurred even as the services changed their training programs to increase awareness across the services. What hasn't changed is the system of military justice, which still invests all the real power over investigations, trials, sentencing, and clemency in the chain of command. Rank still rules, even in the military justice system. And this fact explains why the Department of Defense can't seem to get control of this problem.
For a true understanding of how a sexual assault crisis can resist resolution, it helps to consider how another huge, rank-based institution has suffered through an almost identical, slow-motion disaster. For decades the Catholic Church has tried and failed to end the worldwide scandal caused by priests who rape and molest minors. After more than 6,000 cases involving tens of thousands of victims -- in the United States alone -- the problem still defies the all-male hierachy who promise "zero tolerance" and implement new policies and education programs.
In both the church and the military, policies and programs fail because they do not address the root issue of male-only, hierachical power. The leaders of official Catholicism maintain and practice the belief that at the moment a man is ordained he becomes ontologically superior to laypeople. From this first on the ladder above the masses he may then climb to monsignor, bishop, archbishop, cardinal and even pope. With each step he gains both authority and respect as a higher order being whose judgment and moral standing are assumed to be simply better.
IRELAND
National Catholic Reporter
Michael Sean Winters | May. 13, 2013 Distinctly Catholic
Of course, Cardinal Sean O’Malley is not going to attend Boston College’s graduation ceremony and share the stage with – and provide a photo-op to – the Taoiseach of Ireland, Enda Kenny.
Kenny’s government, when faced with a horrible tragedy in the death of Savita Halappanavar, not only failed to stick to the facts – Irish law permitted inducing pregnancy in such cases – it used the tragedy to re-visit Ireland’s abortion laws. As Charles Camosy observed, “[Ireland] is a great example of a developed country which refuses to choose between women and their prenatal children. They are not only on the right side of justice, they are on the right side of history.” The government in Ireland wishes to turn its back on that proud history and make direct abortion licit when the life of the mother is threatened. The proposed law could also require Catholic hospitals to perform direct abortions.
To be clear, this new law does not only allow procedures that have the unintended effect of losing the child. It permits direct abortion, in which one life is chosen over another. The issue is not merely abstract for me. When my mother was pregnant with me, she had intended to go to a public hospital. But, weeks before the due date, the maternity wing at that hospital burned. Back then, at a Catholic hospital, if the doctors had a choice of saving the life of the child or the mother, they saved the child. Conscious of the fact that she had a five year old daughter at home, my mother chose to go to Mt. Sinai hospital where, thankfully, I was born without complications for either of us. I understand my mother’s reasoning. I understand, too, that few choices could be more wrenching. But, I also understand that the direct killing of a child is always wrong, and that if it had come to it, my mother’s understandable choice to preserve her own life, taken for entirely unselfish reasons, would nonetheless have been a wrong choice.
The Kenny government has also recalled its ambassador to the Vatican and missed no opportunity to take a whack at the Catholic Church. Obviously, the reprehensible behavior of many Catholic clergy invited skepticism and hostility, and the attempts to cover-up that behavior by the hierarchy deprived the Church of its historic high esteem in the eyes of the people of Ireland. You did not need the government to achieve this last regrettable outcome. The hierarchs did it all on their own.
National Catholic Reporter
Michael Sean Winters | May. 13, 2013 Distinctly Catholic
Of course, Cardinal Sean O’Malley is not going to attend Boston College’s graduation ceremony and share the stage with – and provide a photo-op to – the Taoiseach of Ireland, Enda Kenny.
Kenny’s government, when faced with a horrible tragedy in the death of Savita Halappanavar, not only failed to stick to the facts – Irish law permitted inducing pregnancy in such cases – it used the tragedy to re-visit Ireland’s abortion laws. As Charles Camosy observed, “[Ireland] is a great example of a developed country which refuses to choose between women and their prenatal children. They are not only on the right side of justice, they are on the right side of history.” The government in Ireland wishes to turn its back on that proud history and make direct abortion licit when the life of the mother is threatened. The proposed law could also require Catholic hospitals to perform direct abortions.
To be clear, this new law does not only allow procedures that have the unintended effect of losing the child. It permits direct abortion, in which one life is chosen over another. The issue is not merely abstract for me. When my mother was pregnant with me, she had intended to go to a public hospital. But, weeks before the due date, the maternity wing at that hospital burned. Back then, at a Catholic hospital, if the doctors had a choice of saving the life of the child or the mother, they saved the child. Conscious of the fact that she had a five year old daughter at home, my mother chose to go to Mt. Sinai hospital where, thankfully, I was born without complications for either of us. I understand my mother’s reasoning. I understand, too, that few choices could be more wrenching. But, I also understand that the direct killing of a child is always wrong, and that if it had come to it, my mother’s understandable choice to preserve her own life, taken for entirely unselfish reasons, would nonetheless have been a wrong choice.
The Kenny government has also recalled its ambassador to the Vatican and missed no opportunity to take a whack at the Catholic Church. Obviously, the reprehensible behavior of many Catholic clergy invited skepticism and hostility, and the attempts to cover-up that behavior by the hierarchy deprived the Church of its historic high esteem in the eyes of the people of Ireland. You did not need the government to achieve this last regrettable outcome. The hierarchs did it all on their own.
Pedofilia, una class action in Italia le vittime chiedono i danni alla Chiesa
ITALIA
La Repubblica
Per la prima volta nel nostro Paese si farà appello ai tribunali ecclesiastici. Negli Stati Uniti nel 2007 l'arcidiocesi di Los Angeles venne condannata a versare 660 milioni di dollari. Tutto parte dalla diocesi di Savona dove Francesco Zanardi, vittima e fondatore di Rete L'Abuso, aveva portato alla scoperto una catena di scandaliÈ in arrivo un terremoto per le diocesi italiane: le vittime di pedofilia chiederanno un indennizzo ai vescovi per gli abusi subiti dai preti passando attraverso i tribunali ecclesiastici diocesani. A riferirlo è Francesco Zanardi, fondatore di Rete l'Abuso che, molestato da ragazzo, ha portato allo scoperto la catena di scandali che ha coinvolto la diocesi di Savona
LA NOSTRA INCHIESTA, IL DIAVOLO A SAVONA
Il codice canonico inserisce la pedofilia nei delicta graviora (i delitti più gravi), riconoscendo procedure di risarcimento delle vittime. È tutto scritto nel codice, ma in Italia nessuno ancora l'aveva fatto. Gli abusati, rappresentati da avvocati specializzati in diritto canonico, possono chiedere i danni ai vescovi delle diocesi competenti, che sono quindi obbligati a procedere istituendo un processo canonico civile. Secondo Rete l'Abuso sarebbero almeno 400 le vittime dei preti pedofili in Italia che possono dare il via alla procedura canonica di risarcimento danni, rischiando di mettere le finanze delle diocesi in seria difficoltà.
La Repubblica
Per la prima volta nel nostro Paese si farà appello ai tribunali ecclesiastici. Negli Stati Uniti nel 2007 l'arcidiocesi di Los Angeles venne condannata a versare 660 milioni di dollari. Tutto parte dalla diocesi di Savona dove Francesco Zanardi, vittima e fondatore di Rete L'Abuso, aveva portato alla scoperto una catena di scandaliÈ in arrivo un terremoto per le diocesi italiane: le vittime di pedofilia chiederanno un indennizzo ai vescovi per gli abusi subiti dai preti passando attraverso i tribunali ecclesiastici diocesani. A riferirlo è Francesco Zanardi, fondatore di Rete l'Abuso che, molestato da ragazzo, ha portato allo scoperto la catena di scandali che ha coinvolto la diocesi di Savona
LA NOSTRA INCHIESTA, IL DIAVOLO A SAVONA
Il codice canonico inserisce la pedofilia nei delicta graviora (i delitti più gravi), riconoscendo procedure di risarcimento delle vittime. È tutto scritto nel codice, ma in Italia nessuno ancora l'aveva fatto. Gli abusati, rappresentati da avvocati specializzati in diritto canonico, possono chiedere i danni ai vescovi delle diocesi competenti, che sono quindi obbligati a procedere istituendo un processo canonico civile. Secondo Rete l'Abuso sarebbero almeno 400 le vittime dei preti pedofili in Italia che possono dare il via alla procedura canonica di risarcimento danni, rischiando di mettere le finanze delle diocesi in seria difficoltà.
TheExcommunicationFactor
IRELAND
Irish Independent
JOHN MEAGHER – 11 MAY 2013
The notion of excommunication holds a special place in the imagination of Irish people. It used to be threatened to those Catholics who considered studying at Trinity College Dublin and to anyone who engaged in paramilitary activity.
This week, it has returned to the public consciousness after Cardinal Seán Brady refused to rule out the possibility that TDs voting in favour of abortion legislation would be excommunicated from the Catholic Church.
"That is down the line at the moment, as far as we are concerned," Brady told media at an anti-abortion vigil held at Knock, Co Mayo, last week. ...
Brady – who has been heavily criticised for his failure to take leadership in the clerical abuse scandals – was dismissed as out-of-touch by some, especially those who questioned why the cardinal hadn't broached the topic of excommunication when it came to paedophile priests.
"There's a lot of misinformation out there about excommunication," says Michael Kelly, editor of The Irish Catholic. "It's almost never imposed – especially in an Irish context. It's much more about people choosing to excommunicate themselves or automatically applied when a law is contravened rather than following a specific inquiry.
Irish Independent
JOHN MEAGHER – 11 MAY 2013
The notion of excommunication holds a special place in the imagination of Irish people. It used to be threatened to those Catholics who considered studying at Trinity College Dublin and to anyone who engaged in paramilitary activity.
This week, it has returned to the public consciousness after Cardinal Seán Brady refused to rule out the possibility that TDs voting in favour of abortion legislation would be excommunicated from the Catholic Church.
"That is down the line at the moment, as far as we are concerned," Brady told media at an anti-abortion vigil held at Knock, Co Mayo, last week. ...
Brady – who has been heavily criticised for his failure to take leadership in the clerical abuse scandals – was dismissed as out-of-touch by some, especially those who questioned why the cardinal hadn't broached the topic of excommunication when it came to paedophile priests.
"There's a lot of misinformation out there about excommunication," says Michael Kelly, editor of The Irish Catholic. "It's almost never imposed – especially in an Irish context. It's much more about people choosing to excommunicate themselves or automatically applied when a law is contravened rather than following a specific inquiry.
A force in society, politics and entertainment
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
[photos of old newspaper clippings]
Msgr. Benjamin Hawkes held the purse strings of an institution with status and influence difficult to imagine today. Politicians and Hollywood stars lined up to have their pictures taken with Cardinal Francis McIntyre. The press chronicled his every public appearance. When McIntyre got a new dog -- a Kerry terrier Hawkes bought for him -- the Times published a story. When he traveled to Rome -- with Hawkes at his side -- reporters followed him to the boarding gate.
Read the full report: An L.A. church leader's posthumous fall from grace
Los Angeles Times
[photos of old newspaper clippings]
Msgr. Benjamin Hawkes held the purse strings of an institution with status and influence difficult to imagine today. Politicians and Hollywood stars lined up to have their pictures taken with Cardinal Francis McIntyre. The press chronicled his every public appearance. When McIntyre got a new dog -- a Kerry terrier Hawkes bought for him -- the Times published a story. When he traveled to Rome -- with Hawkes at his side -- reporters followed him to the boarding gate.
Read the full report: An L.A. church leader's posthumous fall from grace
A church leader's posthumous fall from grace
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
[A force in society, politics and entertainment]
Starting in the 1950s, Msgr. Benjamin Hawkes got L.A. churches built, hobnobbed with the rich and helped the poor. Ten years after his death, he was accused of sexual abuse.
BY HARRIET RYAN
May 12, 2013
By the time the letter arrived, the grass on Benjamin Hawkes' grave had grown thick. Historians had chronicled how he transformed the Los Angeles archdiocese into a billion-dollar institution. His portrait had been etched into a metal plaque and bolted to the wall of a sprawling church on Wilshire Boulevard.
The archbishop, Roger Mahony, who had presided at the dedication of that plaque, had become a cardinal with thinning hair and deep wrinkles.
The letter came to rest on his desk.
"It's my turn to stand up and set the record straight," the shaky cursive read. "Msgr. Hawkes was not a great priest, he was a sick man who used his status to abuse many."
In the postwar boom that created modern Southern California, Msgr. Benjamin Hawkes was a power broker. The second-in-command to two cardinals, he ran the Los Angeles church for three decades, a span during which it grew into the largest, most diverse and by some counts wealthiest archdiocese in the nation.
His knack for money and real estate gave him influence from Rome to Hollywood. He socialized with real estate titans, advised Vatican officials and even taught actor Robert DeNiro how to play a priest for a film role inspired by Hawkes' life.
Los Angeles Times
[A force in society, politics and entertainment]
Starting in the 1950s, Msgr. Benjamin Hawkes got L.A. churches built, hobnobbed with the rich and helped the poor. Ten years after his death, he was accused of sexual abuse.
BY HARRIET RYAN
May 12, 2013
By the time the letter arrived, the grass on Benjamin Hawkes' grave had grown thick. Historians had chronicled how he transformed the Los Angeles archdiocese into a billion-dollar institution. His portrait had been etched into a metal plaque and bolted to the wall of a sprawling church on Wilshire Boulevard.
The archbishop, Roger Mahony, who had presided at the dedication of that plaque, had become a cardinal with thinning hair and deep wrinkles.
The letter came to rest on his desk.
"It's my turn to stand up and set the record straight," the shaky cursive read. "Msgr. Hawkes was not a great priest, he was a sick man who used his status to abuse many."
In the postwar boom that created modern Southern California, Msgr. Benjamin Hawkes was a power broker. The second-in-command to two cardinals, he ran the Los Angeles church for three decades, a span during which it grew into the largest, most diverse and by some counts wealthiest archdiocese in the nation.
His knack for money and real estate gave him influence from Rome to Hollywood. He socialized with real estate titans, advised Vatican officials and even taught actor Robert DeNiro how to play a priest for a film role inspired by Hawkes' life.
O'Brien told to return red hat
SCOTLAND
The Times
Jason Allardyce Published: 12 May 2013
CARDINAL Keith O’Brien is coming under pressure to return his red hat to the Vatican and resign from the College of Cardinals.
According to some senior Catholics, O’Brien’s retention of the title and his determination to stay in Scotland after admitting to sexually inappropriate behaviour with priests is damaging the church.
Michael Kelly, a former Celtic director and lord provost of Glasgow, said O’Brien had let down his parishioners and that, by remaining as a cardinal and retiring in Scotland, he was making it difficult for the church to move on.
Confirming his intention to retire quietly in Dunbar, East Lothian, O’Brien, who resigned as archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh earlier this year, said that he had received support from people who accepted he was sorry for the offence he had caused.
The Times
Jason Allardyce Published: 12 May 2013
CARDINAL Keith O’Brien is coming under pressure to return his red hat to the Vatican and resign from the College of Cardinals.
According to some senior Catholics, O’Brien’s retention of the title and his determination to stay in Scotland after admitting to sexually inappropriate behaviour with priests is damaging the church.
Michael Kelly, a former Celtic director and lord provost of Glasgow, said O’Brien had let down his parishioners and that, by remaining as a cardinal and retiring in Scotland, he was making it difficult for the church to move on.
Confirming his intention to retire quietly in Dunbar, East Lothian, O’Brien, who resigned as archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh earlier this year, said that he had received support from people who accepted he was sorry for the offence he had caused.
Whistleblower cop has no regrets
AUSTRALIA
ABC News
Posted Sat May 11, 2013
The policeman who blew the whistle on an alleged cover-up of child sexual abuse in the Hunter Valley's Catholic Church says he is mentally exhausted after five days in the witness box.
Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox says he was directed to stop investigating allegations of child sexual abuse by two Maitland-Newcastle Catholic priests.
His claims sparked a New South Wales Special Commission, with the public hearings getting underway this week.
Peter Fox finished giving evidence late yesterday and says the inquiry is taking its toll.
"I feel very drained," he said.
"I think I'd be lying if I said that I felt any other way.
"It's been a difficult process - five days in the witness box answering questions is mentally exhausting.
ABC News
Posted Sat May 11, 2013
The policeman who blew the whistle on an alleged cover-up of child sexual abuse in the Hunter Valley's Catholic Church says he is mentally exhausted after five days in the witness box.
Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox says he was directed to stop investigating allegations of child sexual abuse by two Maitland-Newcastle Catholic priests.
His claims sparked a New South Wales Special Commission, with the public hearings getting underway this week.
Peter Fox finished giving evidence late yesterday and says the inquiry is taking its toll.
"I feel very drained," he said.
"I think I'd be lying if I said that I felt any other way.
"It's been a difficult process - five days in the witness box answering questions is mentally exhausting.
“It’s about justice for the victims”
AUSTRALIA
Dubbo Photo News
Troy Grant – former police officer and now Member for Dubbo – has long campaigned for justice for the victims of sexual abuse at the hands of the Catholic clergy. As a young rookie detective when he spearheaded an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests in the Hunter region of NSW. This week, Troy Grant gave evidence at the Special Commission of Inquiry, established by the NSW State Government to investigate allegations of police and clerical interference into the investigation of child sex abuse in the Catholic Church. He spoke with JEN COWLEY following his appearance before the enquiry.
The Commission of Inquiry before which you appeared this week is different from the Royal Commission set down to open later in the year, isn’t it?
Yes. This is the Special Commission of Inquiry established by Premier O’Farrell after Detective Chief Inspector (Peter) Fox made specific and serious allegations about potential (police) interference in investigations he was undertaking in the Hunter region involving two Catholic priests accused of being paedophiles. Those investigations related to Father Denis McAlinden and Father James Fletcher.
Dubbo Photo News
Troy Grant – former police officer and now Member for Dubbo – has long campaigned for justice for the victims of sexual abuse at the hands of the Catholic clergy. As a young rookie detective when he spearheaded an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests in the Hunter region of NSW. This week, Troy Grant gave evidence at the Special Commission of Inquiry, established by the NSW State Government to investigate allegations of police and clerical interference into the investigation of child sex abuse in the Catholic Church. He spoke with JEN COWLEY following his appearance before the enquiry.
The Commission of Inquiry before which you appeared this week is different from the Royal Commission set down to open later in the year, isn’t it?
Yes. This is the Special Commission of Inquiry established by Premier O’Farrell after Detective Chief Inspector (Peter) Fox made specific and serious allegations about potential (police) interference in investigations he was undertaking in the Hunter region involving two Catholic priests accused of being paedophiles. Those investigations related to Father Denis McAlinden and Father James Fletcher.
Sexual Assault, a concern in the U.S. that is not taken seriously
UNITED STATES
Pravda
By: Rasul Gudarzi
U.S. , A country that claims to defend human rights and even criticizes others in this regard, not only has failed to control violence, but it has spread and deepened, both in society and in the U.S. Army, which contradicts international principles and rules.
The first article of the declaration on ending violence against women defines the following:
"For the purposes of this Declaration, the term 'violence against women' means any act of violence based on gender, or is likely to result in harm, physical, sexual or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."
The issue of sexual assault in the U.S. keeps repeating. A new report has revealed an increase of about 35% of sexual assault cases in the military. The U.S. Defense Department reported that last year there were 26,000 cases of sexual crimes in the United States Armed Forces. Report data accounts for almost 70 attacks a day, and also notes that one in five female soldiers in the U.S. has been the victim of unwanted sexual contact by their colleagues. ...
The acts and perverse behavior are being developed in a remarkable way in the U.S., among them we can mention the sex scandals in Catholic churches in the country and the legalization of gay marriage in several states. The root of the scandals that emerged in the Catholic Church is in the prohibition of marriage of priests, which has involved even the bishops themselves in various child abuse scandals and pedophilia.
Pravda
By: Rasul Gudarzi
U.S. , A country that claims to defend human rights and even criticizes others in this regard, not only has failed to control violence, but it has spread and deepened, both in society and in the U.S. Army, which contradicts international principles and rules.
The first article of the declaration on ending violence against women defines the following:
"For the purposes of this Declaration, the term 'violence against women' means any act of violence based on gender, or is likely to result in harm, physical, sexual or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."
The issue of sexual assault in the U.S. keeps repeating. A new report has revealed an increase of about 35% of sexual assault cases in the military. The U.S. Defense Department reported that last year there were 26,000 cases of sexual crimes in the United States Armed Forces. Report data accounts for almost 70 attacks a day, and also notes that one in five female soldiers in the U.S. has been the victim of unwanted sexual contact by their colleagues. ...
The acts and perverse behavior are being developed in a remarkable way in the U.S., among them we can mention the sex scandals in Catholic churches in the country and the legalization of gay marriage in several states. The root of the scandals that emerged in the Catholic Church is in the prohibition of marriage of priests, which has involved even the bishops themselves in various child abuse scandals and pedophilia.
Moves to get cardinal to leave UK
SCOTLAND
Scottish Catholic Observer
Suggestions made that it may be best if Cardinal O’Brien retires outside the country
Cardinal Keith O’Brien has been advised to leave the UK after stepping down from public life and in light of his recent admissions over his conduct that have caused great difficulty for the Church.
Last week the retired Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh began moving into the Church-owned home in East Lothian that he had been planning to retire to for a number of years prior to his recent statement that his behaviour had fallen short of what was required of his office.
Sources close to the developments told the SCO that—in spite of recently getting approval from the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, to retire as planned to Our Lady of the Waves parish in Dunbar—there had been a late push for the cardinal to leave the UK ‘for the good of the Church.’
Scottish Catholic Observer
Suggestions made that it may be best if Cardinal O’Brien retires outside the country
Cardinal Keith O’Brien has been advised to leave the UK after stepping down from public life and in light of his recent admissions over his conduct that have caused great difficulty for the Church.
Last week the retired Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh began moving into the Church-owned home in East Lothian that he had been planning to retire to for a number of years prior to his recent statement that his behaviour had fallen short of what was required of his office.
Sources close to the developments told the SCO that—in spite of recently getting approval from the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, to retire as planned to Our Lady of the Waves parish in Dunbar—there had been a late push for the cardinal to leave the UK ‘for the good of the Church.’
Catholic archbishop defends letting confessed pedophile priest near kids (Contribution)
NEW JERSEY
Clerical Whispers
The Catholic archbishop of Newark, John Myers, on finding out that a confessed pedophile priest in his diocese was still palling around with kids, first denied the charge, then defended the fraternization.
And we wonder why children continue to be raped by Catholic leaders.
Because Catholic archbishops don’t care about the rape of children nearly as much as they care about bashing loving gay adults in immigration reform, or bashing women.
Rev. Michael Fugee confessed to fondling the genitals of a 13 (or 14, depending on the account) year old boy.
He was convicted of criminal sexual contact, but an appeals court through out the verdict based on the jury incorrectly hearing a part of the priest’s confession – but the overall confession remains in tact. He did it.
Clerical Whispers
The Catholic archbishop of Newark, John Myers, on finding out that a confessed pedophile priest in his diocese was still palling around with kids, first denied the charge, then defended the fraternization.
And we wonder why children continue to be raped by Catholic leaders.
Because Catholic archbishops don’t care about the rape of children nearly as much as they care about bashing loving gay adults in immigration reform, or bashing women.
Rev. Michael Fugee confessed to fondling the genitals of a 13 (or 14, depending on the account) year old boy.
He was convicted of criminal sexual contact, but an appeals court through out the verdict based on the jury incorrectly hearing a part of the priest’s confession – but the overall confession remains in tact. He did it.
Any plans to exile O’Brien will be challenged, says ally
SCOTLAND
The Tablet
10 May 2013
A lifelong friend of Cardinal Keith O'Brien says that he will challenge any attempt to force the prelate out of Scotland.
Fr John Creanor, parish priest of Our Lady of the Waves, Dunbar, the parish where Cardinal O'Brien is currently living, was responding to rumours that the church hierarchy intended to block the cardinal's plan to retire to a church-owned house in the East Lothian town.
He told The Tablet: "I'm prepared, if the rumour is more than just a rumour, to instruct my legal team to challenge the Vatican directly. I'm 72 years old. I have nothing to lose. But I do not accept that the Vatican has the power to exile a retired priest, effectively banish him from the country, or deny him access to a house of which I am the landowner."
He said a petition in the parish had been started urging the cardinal to stay. The cardinal's resignation of Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh was accepted in February following allegations of sexual impropriety.
The Tablet
10 May 2013
A lifelong friend of Cardinal Keith O'Brien says that he will challenge any attempt to force the prelate out of Scotland.
Fr John Creanor, parish priest of Our Lady of the Waves, Dunbar, the parish where Cardinal O'Brien is currently living, was responding to rumours that the church hierarchy intended to block the cardinal's plan to retire to a church-owned house in the East Lothian town.
He told The Tablet: "I'm prepared, if the rumour is more than just a rumour, to instruct my legal team to challenge the Vatican directly. I'm 72 years old. I have nothing to lose. But I do not accept that the Vatican has the power to exile a retired priest, effectively banish him from the country, or deny him access to a house of which I am the landowner."
He said a petition in the parish had been started urging the cardinal to stay. The cardinal's resignation of Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh was accepted in February following allegations of sexual impropriety.
Does Cardinal O’Brien deserve banishment or pardon? He at least owes us an explanation
SCOTLAND
The Tablet (UK)
Elena Curti, Deputy Editor
10 May 2013
The return of Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien to Scotland has for many Catholics rubbed salt into the wound, two months after his admission of sexual misdemeanours and abrupt departure from office weeks before reaching the official retirement age of 75.
According to this narrative, the cardinal heaped scandal on the Scottish Church and the best thing he could do now is to disappear without trace. After all the hurt and embarrassment he has caused, it is easy to understand why some might resent the cardinal continuing with his plans to retire quietly to a church-owned house in the East Lothian seaside town of Dunbar.
It has been reported that the Vatican itself has told the cardinal to leave Scotland and that 'church leaders' want him to stay out of public life. However, Bishop Stephen Robson, an auxiliary of St Andrews and Edinburgh, has told The Tablet that the Church has a duty of care to Cardinal O'Brien and that he will be treated in the same way as all other retired priests.
The Tablet (UK)
Elena Curti, Deputy Editor
10 May 2013
The return of Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien to Scotland has for many Catholics rubbed salt into the wound, two months after his admission of sexual misdemeanours and abrupt departure from office weeks before reaching the official retirement age of 75.
According to this narrative, the cardinal heaped scandal on the Scottish Church and the best thing he could do now is to disappear without trace. After all the hurt and embarrassment he has caused, it is easy to understand why some might resent the cardinal continuing with his plans to retire quietly to a church-owned house in the East Lothian seaside town of Dunbar.
It has been reported that the Vatican itself has told the cardinal to leave Scotland and that 'church leaders' want him to stay out of public life. However, Bishop Stephen Robson, an auxiliary of St Andrews and Edinburgh, has told The Tablet that the Church has a duty of care to Cardinal O'Brien and that he will be treated in the same way as all other retired priests.
Abuse scandal’s total cost: $2.62 billion since 2004
UNITED STATES
Catholic Culture
[the report]
CWN - May 10, 2013
The clerical abuse scandal cost American dioceses $112,966,427 in 2012, according to a report released on May 9 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
Only 56% of those funds were allotted to settlements ($50.4 million) and therapy for abuse victims ($7.2 million). The remaining funds were spent on attorneys’ fees ($35.3 million), support for offenders ($11.8 million), and other costs ($2.6 million), according to the 2012 “Report on the Implementation of the Charter for Protection of Children and Young People.”
The clerical abuse scandal cost religious institutes an additional $20,139,384 in 2012. These expenses brought the total cost of the clerical abuse scandal to American dioceses and religious institutes between 2004 and 2012 to $2,621,516,566: $2,242,949,048 for dioceses and eparchies, and $378,567,518 for religious institutes.
During the 2012 audit period, 34 minors alleged they were abused by a priest or deacon. The report found that six allegations “were considered credible by law enforcement,” while 12 “were determined to be unfounded or unable to be proven.” One was determined to be a “boundary violation,” and 15 were still under investigation.
Catholic Culture
[the report]
CWN - May 10, 2013
The clerical abuse scandal cost American dioceses $112,966,427 in 2012, according to a report released on May 9 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
Only 56% of those funds were allotted to settlements ($50.4 million) and therapy for abuse victims ($7.2 million). The remaining funds were spent on attorneys’ fees ($35.3 million), support for offenders ($11.8 million), and other costs ($2.6 million), according to the 2012 “Report on the Implementation of the Charter for Protection of Children and Young People.”
The clerical abuse scandal cost religious institutes an additional $20,139,384 in 2012. These expenses brought the total cost of the clerical abuse scandal to American dioceses and religious institutes between 2004 and 2012 to $2,621,516,566: $2,242,949,048 for dioceses and eparchies, and $378,567,518 for religious institutes.
During the 2012 audit period, 34 minors alleged they were abused by a priest or deacon. The report found that six allegations “were considered credible by law enforcement,” while 12 “were determined to be unfounded or unable to be proven.” One was determined to be a “boundary violation,” and 15 were still under investigation.
Pope Faces First Crisis as Archbishop Resists Pressure to Quit
PUERTO RICO
Newsmax
Thursday, 09 May 2013
By Edward Pentin
Edward Pentin reporting from Rome — Pope Francis is facing what is being described as the first crisis of his papacy: a Puerto Rican archbishop who is refusing to obey numerous Vatican requests that he resign.
Archbishop of San Juan, Roberto Octavio Gonzalez Nieves, has been accused by the Vatican of an array of alleged serious offenses: protecting pedophile priests, abusing his power, promoting Puerto Rican independence from the U.S., and supporting a law that could grant same-sex couples living together hereditary rights and health benefits.
According to La Stampa, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, head of the Vatican’s department for bishops, visited Gonzalez Nieves on December 15, when the archbishop denied the allegations. In a "tense meeting," Ouellet asked him to step down and to ask the Church for a new position elsewhere.
But Gonzalez Nieves says the accusations are politically motivated and has accused a cardinal and a former Puerto Rican governor of being behind the allegations. He has also put up a vigorous defense, writing an angry letter to Ouellet two months after their meeting that was leaked to the Puerto Rican press.
Newsmax
Thursday, 09 May 2013
By Edward Pentin
Edward Pentin reporting from Rome — Pope Francis is facing what is being described as the first crisis of his papacy: a Puerto Rican archbishop who is refusing to obey numerous Vatican requests that he resign.
Archbishop of San Juan, Roberto Octavio Gonzalez Nieves, has been accused by the Vatican of an array of alleged serious offenses: protecting pedophile priests, abusing his power, promoting Puerto Rican independence from the U.S., and supporting a law that could grant same-sex couples living together hereditary rights and health benefits.
According to La Stampa, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, head of the Vatican’s department for bishops, visited Gonzalez Nieves on December 15, when the archbishop denied the allegations. In a "tense meeting," Ouellet asked him to step down and to ask the Church for a new position elsewhere.
But Gonzalez Nieves says the accusations are politically motivated and has accused a cardinal and a former Puerto Rican governor of being behind the allegations. He has also put up a vigorous defense, writing an angry letter to Ouellet two months after their meeting that was leaked to the Puerto Rican press.
NJ- Newark archbishop hires another lawyer
NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
POSTED BY MARK CRAWFORD ON MAY 09, 2013
Newark's archbishop is hiring yet another defense lawyer. That's about protecting Myers and his reputation, not about protecting kids.
Newark predator priests haven't had more access to vulnerable youngsters because the archdiocese has too few lawyers on the payroll. These pedophiles have been around kids because of callousness and recklessness by Myers, not because of inadequate legal representation for the church hierarchy.
Motion isn't necessarily progress. Just doing things isn't proof of reform. If innocent Newark kids are to be safer and Newark predator priests are to be removed, it will take real leadership by Catholic officials, not more defense lawyers for Catholic officials.
Myers needs to stop hiding behind expensive professional lawyers and PR staffers. He needs to address this crisis directly and with meaningful reforms not empty promises.
In the seaside town of Dunbar, where he wished to retire, over 90 percent of mass-goers signified that he would be welcome in their midst. Many people were ready to accord him the forgiving treatment that John F. Kennedy had received when news of his promiscuity, while American President, posthumously became public knowledge.
Leading a compassionate church had become the cardinal’s trademark role. He had pursued various causes, often secular ones. The most controversial had been his backing for the 2009 release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, whom a Scottish court had found guilty of the1987 bombing of a Pan-Am jet over Lockerbie.
The celebrity prelate was neglecting the mounting problems in his own archdiocese where he faced priests unwilling to obey him. His rejection of the role of spiritual authority only mirrored a wider shift in politics across Britain.
Politics has evolved from a sometimes stern defence of core values to the championing of sentimental causes by politicians who often have no other way of showing that they are still in touch with the voters. This has often been seen as fake sincerity on their part, which only creates future difficulties.
O’Brien left the country for a while only to reappear a few weeks ago. He stated that, 'If Christianity is about anything at all, it's about forgiveness’ and expressed the hope that his Church would help him to put the scandal behind him. But in a deputy editor’s blog at The Tablet, a Catholic weekly, there was this rejoinder from a reader:
‘Forgiveness is a gift of God to those WHO REPENT. In order to repent, you first need to examine and fully understand the sin. His sin is an abuse of power over many years, and a sin of pride, as displayed in the comment above’.
A man with more self-knowledge than Keith O’Brien appears to possess would have realised that he could not expect his very worldly behaviour to be overlooked, especially at the start of a new papacy involved with house-cleaning.
Pope Francis duly declared on 8 May:
‘We think of the harm inflicted on the People of God by men and women of the Church who are careerists, social climbers, who “use” the people, the Church, brothers and sisters -- those they should serve -- as trampolines for their own personal interests and ambitions. But these do great harm to the Church’.
Exactly a week later, it was announced that Cardinal O’Brien was leaving Scotland to undertake a period of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance and that any return would have to be agreed with the Vatican.
The sorry affair has been a gift for politicians who wish to be left alone to devise a public morality that will make half-baked and sometimes profoundly harmful plans easier to accomplish.
While attending the funeral of Margaret Thatcher on April 17, Scotland’s assertive First Minister, Alex Salmond, brushed aside the problems of the Catholic Church and expressed his conviction that in Scotland it had a bright role ahead of it.
These euphemistic remarks bore no relation to the institutional crisis it faced as well as a number of potentially embarrassing court cases. They unwittingly expose the SNP leader’s keenness to paint a country with alarming social problems in the most positive of colours in the hope that the masses will fall for the independence tooth fairy.
The O’Brien saga highlights the church’s failure to make Christian ethics a guide for living for a generation of Scottish Catholics. Ironically, its failure to project its values within society enables it to stand alongside its radical secular foes. Arguably, their failings have been far more spectacular.
They have been unable to ensure that their liberal approach to sexuality, marriage and child-rearing has been followed by beneficial social results. It remains to be seen if a battered church still has enough energy to defend its vision for a society where duty and commitment take their place alongside rights.
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
POSTED BY MARK CRAWFORD ON MAY 09, 2013
Newark's archbishop is hiring yet another defense lawyer. That's about protecting Myers and his reputation, not about protecting kids.
Newark predator priests haven't had more access to vulnerable youngsters because the archdiocese has too few lawyers on the payroll. These pedophiles have been around kids because of callousness and recklessness by Myers, not because of inadequate legal representation for the church hierarchy.
Motion isn't necessarily progress. Just doing things isn't proof of reform. If innocent Newark kids are to be safer and Newark predator priests are to be removed, it will take real leadership by Catholic officials, not more defense lawyers for Catholic officials.
Myers needs to stop hiding behind expensive professional lawyers and PR staffers. He needs to address this crisis directly and with meaningful reforms not empty promises.
Updated May 16, 2013
The Cuckoo In Pope Francis’s Nest
SCOTLAND
The Commentator
Tom Gallagher
GK Chesterton once remarked that the Catholic Church was ‘an institution run with such slavish imbecility that if it were not the work of God, it wouldn’t last a fortnight’.
Given the personal and institutional crisis rocking the Catholic Church in Scotland, Chesterton, if here now, might have concluded that God had given up on this northern outpost of faith.
For the past decade the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, had busied himself with secular causes, often fashionable with Edinburgh’s left-leaning political elite, as a decline of faith has set in. His New Year’s Eve party for them had become a fixture on the Edinburgh social scene.
But to the surprise of not a few who knew the inner man, O’Brien claimed a starring role in the Scottish wing of the campaign opposing same-sex marriage. He inveighed against it using not theological arguments but lurid words that could have been borrowed from the front page of a tabloid.
His own world came crashing down when he quit as archbishop on February 26, after he had been reported to the Vatican for allegedly inappropriate acts with three priests and one ex-priest in his archdiocese. Legal action was briefly threatened. On March 3, he issued a statement admitting that ‘there had been times that his sexual conduct had fallen below what is expected of a priest, archbishop and cardinal’ .
Church leaders braced themselves for a wave of anti-clericalism or for an abandonment of the church by Catholics appalled by the hypocrisy of their spiritual pastor. But, instead, the very opposite problem arose. Waves of sympathy for O’Brien emanated from churchgoers who recalled an approachable and kindly pastor.
The Commentator
Tom Gallagher
GK Chesterton once remarked that the Catholic Church was ‘an institution run with such slavish imbecility that if it were not the work of God, it wouldn’t last a fortnight’.
Given the personal and institutional crisis rocking the Catholic Church in Scotland, Chesterton, if here now, might have concluded that God had given up on this northern outpost of faith.
For the past decade the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, had busied himself with secular causes, often fashionable with Edinburgh’s left-leaning political elite, as a decline of faith has set in. His New Year’s Eve party for them had become a fixture on the Edinburgh social scene.
But to the surprise of not a few who knew the inner man, O’Brien claimed a starring role in the Scottish wing of the campaign opposing same-sex marriage. He inveighed against it using not theological arguments but lurid words that could have been borrowed from the front page of a tabloid.
His own world came crashing down when he quit as archbishop on February 26, after he had been reported to the Vatican for allegedly inappropriate acts with three priests and one ex-priest in his archdiocese. Legal action was briefly threatened. On March 3, he issued a statement admitting that ‘there had been times that his sexual conduct had fallen below what is expected of a priest, archbishop and cardinal’ .
Church leaders braced themselves for a wave of anti-clericalism or for an abandonment of the church by Catholics appalled by the hypocrisy of their spiritual pastor. But, instead, the very opposite problem arose. Waves of sympathy for O’Brien emanated from churchgoers who recalled an approachable and kindly pastor.
In the seaside town of Dunbar, where he wished to retire, over 90 percent of mass-goers signified that he would be welcome in their midst. Many people were ready to accord him the forgiving treatment that John F. Kennedy had received when news of his promiscuity, while American President, posthumously became public knowledge.
Leading a compassionate church had become the cardinal’s trademark role. He had pursued various causes, often secular ones. The most controversial had been his backing for the 2009 release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, whom a Scottish court had found guilty of the1987 bombing of a Pan-Am jet over Lockerbie.
Megrahi lived for three more years and O’Brien joined the SNP government in lambasting the US authorities for their alleged inability to see the grounds for such compassion.
The celebrity prelate was neglecting the mounting problems in his own archdiocese where he faced priests unwilling to obey him. His rejection of the role of spiritual authority only mirrored a wider shift in politics across Britain.
Politics has evolved from a sometimes stern defence of core values to the championing of sentimental causes by politicians who often have no other way of showing that they are still in touch with the voters. This has often been seen as fake sincerity on their part, which only creates future difficulties.
O’Brien left the country for a while only to reappear a few weeks ago. He stated that, 'If Christianity is about anything at all, it's about forgiveness’ and expressed the hope that his Church would help him to put the scandal behind him. But in a deputy editor’s blog at The Tablet, a Catholic weekly, there was this rejoinder from a reader:
‘Forgiveness is a gift of God to those WHO REPENT. In order to repent, you first need to examine and fully understand the sin. His sin is an abuse of power over many years, and a sin of pride, as displayed in the comment above’.
A man with more self-knowledge than Keith O’Brien appears to possess would have realised that he could not expect his very worldly behaviour to be overlooked, especially at the start of a new papacy involved with house-cleaning.
Pope Francis duly declared on 8 May:
‘We think of the harm inflicted on the People of God by men and women of the Church who are careerists, social climbers, who “use” the people, the Church, brothers and sisters -- those they should serve -- as trampolines for their own personal interests and ambitions. But these do great harm to the Church’.
Exactly a week later, it was announced that Cardinal O’Brien was leaving Scotland to undertake a period of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance and that any return would have to be agreed with the Vatican.
The sorry affair has been a gift for politicians who wish to be left alone to devise a public morality that will make half-baked and sometimes profoundly harmful plans easier to accomplish.
While attending the funeral of Margaret Thatcher on April 17, Scotland’s assertive First Minister, Alex Salmond, brushed aside the problems of the Catholic Church and expressed his conviction that in Scotland it had a bright role ahead of it.
These euphemistic remarks bore no relation to the institutional crisis it faced as well as a number of potentially embarrassing court cases. They unwittingly expose the SNP leader’s keenness to paint a country with alarming social problems in the most positive of colours in the hope that the masses will fall for the independence tooth fairy.
The O’Brien saga highlights the church’s failure to make Christian ethics a guide for living for a generation of Scottish Catholics. Ironically, its failure to project its values within society enables it to stand alongside its radical secular foes. Arguably, their failings have been far more spectacular.
They have been unable to ensure that their liberal approach to sexuality, marriage and child-rearing has been followed by beneficial social results. It remains to be seen if a battered church still has enough energy to defend its vision for a society where duty and commitment take their place alongside rights.
Priest vows to fight Vatican over Cardinal's residency
SCOTLAND
East Lothian Courier
Mairi Gordon • Published 16 May 2013
THE parish priest for Dunbar and North Berwick says he is willing to take on the Vatican in a legal fight to ensure that Cardinal Keith O'Brien is able to retire in the county.
The cardinal was forced to leave his role as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, the UK's highest ranking Roman Catholic, in February after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him - which he later admitted.
Recent reports have suggested that the Vatican had ordered Mr O'Brien not to follow through with his plan to retire to Dunbar, and instead leave Scotland and live elsewhere.
On Wednesday, the Vatican said in a statement that Mr O'Brien would be leaving Scotland for "several months" with his future to be decided by the Holy See.
East Lothian Courier
Mairi Gordon • Published 16 May 2013
THE parish priest for Dunbar and North Berwick says he is willing to take on the Vatican in a legal fight to ensure that Cardinal Keith O'Brien is able to retire in the county.
The cardinal was forced to leave his role as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, the UK's highest ranking Roman Catholic, in February after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him - which he later admitted.
Recent reports have suggested that the Vatican had ordered Mr O'Brien not to follow through with his plan to retire to Dunbar, and instead leave Scotland and live elsewhere.
On Wednesday, the Vatican said in a statement that Mr O'Brien would be leaving Scotland for "several months" with his future to be decided by the Holy See.
Vatican tells O'Brien to quit Scotland
SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland
Gerry Braiden
Senior reporter
Thursday 16 May 2013
THE Vatican has ordered Cardinal Keith O'Brien to leave Scotland in its first public move over the sex scandal surrounding him.
Britain's most senior Catholic cleric stepped down from his post as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh earlier this year after several priests made allegations against him. He later admitted inappropriate sexual conduct during his church career.
In a short statement – its first in the three months since the revelations broke – the Vatican said the cardinal "will be leaving Scotland for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance". The Church hopes this will bring a degree of closure to the scandal, with accusers said to be content with the action taken.
Despite its brevity, the statement clearly states the role of Pope Francis, claiming that "any decision regarding future arrangements for His Eminence shall be agreed with the Holy See".
However, questions remain over Cardinal O'Brien's future and what further action, if any, the Vatican intends to take over his admissions of gay sexual encounters over decades and allegations of abuse by a number of serving priests and former seminarians.
Herald Scotland
Gerry Braiden
Senior reporter
Thursday 16 May 2013
THE Vatican has ordered Cardinal Keith O'Brien to leave Scotland in its first public move over the sex scandal surrounding him.
Britain's most senior Catholic cleric stepped down from his post as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh earlier this year after several priests made allegations against him. He later admitted inappropriate sexual conduct during his church career.
In a short statement – its first in the three months since the revelations broke – the Vatican said the cardinal "will be leaving Scotland for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance". The Church hopes this will bring a degree of closure to the scandal, with accusers said to be content with the action taken.
Despite its brevity, the statement clearly states the role of Pope Francis, claiming that "any decision regarding future arrangements for His Eminence shall be agreed with the Holy See".
However, questions remain over Cardinal O'Brien's future and what further action, if any, the Vatican intends to take over his admissions of gay sexual encounters over decades and allegations of abuse by a number of serving priests and former seminarians.
Cardinal O'Brien plays the compassion card and loses
SCOTLAND
Telegraph
This is a guest post by Tom Gallagher, professor emeritus of politics at Bradford University and an expert on Scottish Catholicism. Like an earlier post by Prof Gallagher, it will make painful reading for Cardinal Keith O'Brien.
On 8 May Pope Francis took to task worldly figures in the Catholic Church who exploited the authority held by their offices for personal advantage. His words are worth pondering in light of the pit which the Catholic Church in Scotland has fallen into:
"We think of the harm inflicted on the People of God by men and women of the Church who are careerists, social climbers, who 'use' the people, the Church, brothers and sisters—those they should serve—as trampolines for their own personal interests and ambitions. But these do great harm to the Church."
A week before, Keith O’Brien, for a decade a member of the college of cardinals, had shown up in Scotland as if life could continue for him as normal. He had quit as archbishop on 26 February after he had been reported to the Vatican for allegedly inappropriate acts with three priests and one ex-priest in his archdiocese. Legal action was briefly threatened by him and then dropped. Instead, on 3 March he issued a statement admitting that "there had been times that his sexual conduct had fallen below what is expected of a priest, archbishop and cardinal".
The 75-year-old then left the country for what many expected to be a lengthy exile. After it emerged that he had fathered a child and maintained a clandestine family, Bishop of Casey of Galway had shown penitence by spending 13 years in Ecuador doing aid work from 1993 to 2006. But Keith O’Brien lacked the same humility and appeared to think that, in hopefully new times, his aura of kindliness would enable him to ride out this storm.
In the seaside town of Dunbar, where he wished to retire, a survey among Mass-goers was organized by some of his allies and over 90 per cent signified that he would be welcome in their midst. The bench of bishops were horrified as O’Brien’s mindset became increasingly apparent. He had returned without notifying them and had made it known, via the media, that he expected the Church to help him put the scandal behind him: "If Christianity is about anything at all, it's about forgiveness."
He did not appear to share the view, expressed by the Archbishop of Glasgow, Philip Tartaglia, on 4 March that "the credibility and moral authority of the Catholic Church in Scotland had been dealt a serious blow". It is quite likely that an ageing leadership expected an upsurge of anti-clericalism in a land that might no longer be Protestant but had not ceased to be anti-Catholic; and/or a boycott of church services (or more likely the collection plate) by irate Catholics who felt badly let down. They exist and may even be the silent majority, but instead the bishops faced an unexpected denouement.
It emerged that many Catholics still stood by their fallen archbishop. They were ready to accord him the forgiving treatment that John F Kennedy had received when news of his promiscuity, while American president, posthumously became public knowledge. Prof Tom Devine, the distinguished historian, whose increasingly pro-Nationalist outlook matches the wider shift in Scottish Catholic thinking, urged that he be left to live his life in peace. Baroness Kennedy, one of the pillars of the human rights industry, weighed in on his behalf as did Margo McDonald, the Nationalist whose main preoccupation has been to legalise assisted dying in Scotland.
O’Brien came out in favour of the independence cause as soon as he became cardinal. He lambasted the USA for its lack of understanding after the Scottish government released in 2009 the man whom a Scottish court had found guilty of the1987 bombing of a Pan-Am jet over Lockerbie .
Britain’s highest-ranking Catholic churchman turned his gaze away from mounting problems in his own archdiocese to pursue the celebrity path. By becoming entangled with niche issues at the expense of his pastoral and spiritual role, he was reflecting a deepening irresponsibility that was particularly marked in the world of British politics.
Politics has evolved from a sometimes stern defence of core values to the championing of sentimental and gimmicky causes by politicians who often have no other way of showing that they are still in touch with the voters. This has often correctly been seen as fake sincerity on their part which only creates future difficulties. Social crises often stemming from a huge demand on limited welfare resources is one example of the abandonment of the most elementary prudence by those at the helm of the state’s affairs.
In Scotland, the culture of compassion has been a bonanza for Alex Salmond and the SNP who hope that a romantic cause laden with grievances will be seductive enough for Scots to take leave of their economic senses in the 2014 referendum on Scotland’s political future.
While attending the funeral of Margaret Thatcher on 17 April, Salmond pronounced himself impressed by the continuing strength of O’Brien’s Church and expressed his conviction that in Scotland it had a bright future.
But yesterday it was announced that the Cardinal was leaving Scotland to undertake a period of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance and that any return would have to be agreed with the Vatican. Having arguably performed some of his key duties in a negligent and irresponsible way, he appears now to lack the nerve to leave the priesthood, perhaps seeing out his remaining years living in Dunbar or, if too inhibiting, occupying a flat in Edinburgh’s New Town. Perhaps his ultimate timorousness after flirting with secular delights is a defining trait for the restless but confused Scots who in many cases, muttering under their breath, will back the Union in 2014.
No doubt naively, when this crisis broke, I had hoped that it might re-energise the church and ultimately lead to a time of renewal. But unless Rome sees the need for a radical departure in choosing O’Brien’s successor in Edinburgh, there are growing signs that a defensive clerical establishment will seek to ride out the crisis with minimum change. A secular order will, in turn, be able to entrench its influence, facing only feeble competition in the realm of ideas about the direction Scotland should be taken in. This is highly regrettable.
Clearly what Scotland needs is voices offering renewal for a society that has few spiritual resources of the kind needed to withstand a twin economic and spiritual crisis gnawing away at the vitals of its national life.
Tom Gallagher’s book, Scotland Divided: Ethnic Friction and Christian Crisis will appear in July.
Tags: Alex Salmond, archbishop philip tartaglia, Cardinal Keith O'Brien
===========================================
News updates June 30, 2013
GAY DATING WEBSITE FOR PRIESTS UNCOVERED IN VATICAN
VATICAN CITY
Gay News Network
[Venerabilis]
Venerablis, a website run out of the Vatican, has been reported as being a gay dating site for Catholic priests.
The site, whose credo is emblazoned on the homepage as a ‘website for “homosensible Roman Catholic priests’, features chatrooms in five different languages.
Catholic writer Vittorio Messori aka Eponymous Flower, stumbled upon the site recently and discovered sexual encounters in process in the Venerablis’ chatrooms and face-to-face hook-ups being arranged between members.
Examples in the Italian chatroom include:
My name is Luca from Milan and would like to meet a priest with serious intentions to associate with him.
Anonymous wrote: Good day, I am 67 years old, I had friendships with priests who were important for my spiritual, personal and sexual life... I would like to be contacted by priests in Rome again and to experience these feelings, PS: I am a teacher and guarantee discretion for me and for everyone who answers me.
Telegraph
This is a guest post by Tom Gallagher, professor emeritus of politics at Bradford University and an expert on Scottish Catholicism. Like an earlier post by Prof Gallagher, it will make painful reading for Cardinal Keith O'Brien.
On 8 May Pope Francis took to task worldly figures in the Catholic Church who exploited the authority held by their offices for personal advantage. His words are worth pondering in light of the pit which the Catholic Church in Scotland has fallen into:
"We think of the harm inflicted on the People of God by men and women of the Church who are careerists, social climbers, who 'use' the people, the Church, brothers and sisters—those they should serve—as trampolines for their own personal interests and ambitions. But these do great harm to the Church."
A week before, Keith O’Brien, for a decade a member of the college of cardinals, had shown up in Scotland as if life could continue for him as normal. He had quit as archbishop on 26 February after he had been reported to the Vatican for allegedly inappropriate acts with three priests and one ex-priest in his archdiocese. Legal action was briefly threatened by him and then dropped. Instead, on 3 March he issued a statement admitting that "there had been times that his sexual conduct had fallen below what is expected of a priest, archbishop and cardinal".
The 75-year-old then left the country for what many expected to be a lengthy exile. After it emerged that he had fathered a child and maintained a clandestine family, Bishop of Casey of Galway had shown penitence by spending 13 years in Ecuador doing aid work from 1993 to 2006. But Keith O’Brien lacked the same humility and appeared to think that, in hopefully new times, his aura of kindliness would enable him to ride out this storm.
In the seaside town of Dunbar, where he wished to retire, a survey among Mass-goers was organized by some of his allies and over 90 per cent signified that he would be welcome in their midst. The bench of bishops were horrified as O’Brien’s mindset became increasingly apparent. He had returned without notifying them and had made it known, via the media, that he expected the Church to help him put the scandal behind him: "If Christianity is about anything at all, it's about forgiveness."
He did not appear to share the view, expressed by the Archbishop of Glasgow, Philip Tartaglia, on 4 March that "the credibility and moral authority of the Catholic Church in Scotland had been dealt a serious blow". It is quite likely that an ageing leadership expected an upsurge of anti-clericalism in a land that might no longer be Protestant but had not ceased to be anti-Catholic; and/or a boycott of church services (or more likely the collection plate) by irate Catholics who felt badly let down. They exist and may even be the silent majority, but instead the bishops faced an unexpected denouement.
It emerged that many Catholics still stood by their fallen archbishop. They were ready to accord him the forgiving treatment that John F Kennedy had received when news of his promiscuity, while American president, posthumously became public knowledge. Prof Tom Devine, the distinguished historian, whose increasingly pro-Nationalist outlook matches the wider shift in Scottish Catholic thinking, urged that he be left to live his life in peace. Baroness Kennedy, one of the pillars of the human rights industry, weighed in on his behalf as did Margo McDonald, the Nationalist whose main preoccupation has been to legalise assisted dying in Scotland.
O’Brien came out in favour of the independence cause as soon as he became cardinal. He lambasted the USA for its lack of understanding after the Scottish government released in 2009 the man whom a Scottish court had found guilty of the1987 bombing of a Pan-Am jet over Lockerbie .
Britain’s highest-ranking Catholic churchman turned his gaze away from mounting problems in his own archdiocese to pursue the celebrity path. By becoming entangled with niche issues at the expense of his pastoral and spiritual role, he was reflecting a deepening irresponsibility that was particularly marked in the world of British politics.
Politics has evolved from a sometimes stern defence of core values to the championing of sentimental and gimmicky causes by politicians who often have no other way of showing that they are still in touch with the voters. This has often correctly been seen as fake sincerity on their part which only creates future difficulties. Social crises often stemming from a huge demand on limited welfare resources is one example of the abandonment of the most elementary prudence by those at the helm of the state’s affairs.
In Scotland, the culture of compassion has been a bonanza for Alex Salmond and the SNP who hope that a romantic cause laden with grievances will be seductive enough for Scots to take leave of their economic senses in the 2014 referendum on Scotland’s political future.
While attending the funeral of Margaret Thatcher on 17 April, Salmond pronounced himself impressed by the continuing strength of O’Brien’s Church and expressed his conviction that in Scotland it had a bright future.
But yesterday it was announced that the Cardinal was leaving Scotland to undertake a period of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance and that any return would have to be agreed with the Vatican. Having arguably performed some of his key duties in a negligent and irresponsible way, he appears now to lack the nerve to leave the priesthood, perhaps seeing out his remaining years living in Dunbar or, if too inhibiting, occupying a flat in Edinburgh’s New Town. Perhaps his ultimate timorousness after flirting with secular delights is a defining trait for the restless but confused Scots who in many cases, muttering under their breath, will back the Union in 2014.
No doubt naively, when this crisis broke, I had hoped that it might re-energise the church and ultimately lead to a time of renewal. But unless Rome sees the need for a radical departure in choosing O’Brien’s successor in Edinburgh, there are growing signs that a defensive clerical establishment will seek to ride out the crisis with minimum change. A secular order will, in turn, be able to entrench its influence, facing only feeble competition in the realm of ideas about the direction Scotland should be taken in. This is highly regrettable.
Clearly what Scotland needs is voices offering renewal for a society that has few spiritual resources of the kind needed to withstand a twin economic and spiritual crisis gnawing away at the vitals of its national life.
Tom Gallagher’s book, Scotland Divided: Ethnic Friction and Christian Crisis will appear in July.
Tags: Alex Salmond, archbishop philip tartaglia, Cardinal Keith O'Brien
===========================================
News updates June 30, 2013
GAY DATING WEBSITE FOR PRIESTS UNCOVERED IN VATICAN
VATICAN CITY
Gay News Network
[Venerabilis]
Venerablis, a website run out of the Vatican, has been reported as being a gay dating site for Catholic priests.
The site, whose credo is emblazoned on the homepage as a ‘website for “homosensible Roman Catholic priests’, features chatrooms in five different languages.
Catholic writer Vittorio Messori aka Eponymous Flower, stumbled upon the site recently and discovered sexual encounters in process in the Venerablis’ chatrooms and face-to-face hook-ups being arranged between members.
Examples in the Italian chatroom include:
My name is Luca from Milan and would like to meet a priest with serious intentions to associate with him.
Anonymous wrote: Good day, I am 67 years old, I had friendships with priests who were important for my spiritual, personal and sexual life... I would like to be contacted by priests in Rome again and to experience these feelings, PS: I am a teacher and guarantee discretion for me and for everyone who answers me.
THE POPE AND THE “GAY LOBBY”
VATICAN CITY
The New Yorker
POSTED BY JOAN ACOCELLA
Why did the Roman Catholic cardinals choose, as their Pope, a man who liked to ride the bus and cook his own dinner? Didn’t they guess that such a person might not be a good advertisement of the Church’s magnificence? And when Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi, probably the most self-abnegating man ever to direct a religious order—and one whose name, tellingly, had never before been selected by a Pope—didn’t they worry a little bit? They should have. El Mundo says that “several Vaticanists” have commented that “the Pontiff is capable of speaking without restraint on any matter, as delicate as it may be.” Recently, he gave a good example. He spoke about homosexuality in the Vatican.
On June 6th, in a meeting at the Vatican with a group named CLAR (the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious Men and Women—that is, nuns and priests), he acknowledged that there were serious problems in the Roman Curia. The organization, he said, included many holy people. “But there also is a stream of corruption, there is that as well, it is true…. The ‘gay lobby’ is mentioned, and it is true, it is there…. We need to see what we can do.” Transparency has been a constant theme of Francis’s administration so far. “Open the doors … Open the doors!” he said at the beginning of his address to CLAR. “Don’t be afraid to denounce!” Since when have we heard that from a Pope?
Francis’s remarks were not taped, though at least one person in the small audience was observed to have a notebook. After the meeting, what was said to be a summary of his remarks was leaked to the press, without his consent. This is poor evidence for the accuracy of the document, as representatives of CLAR later pointed out. They said they deeply regretted the leak, since “the singular expressions contained in the text cannot be attributed to the Holy Father with certainty.”
The New Yorker
POSTED BY JOAN ACOCELLA
Why did the Roman Catholic cardinals choose, as their Pope, a man who liked to ride the bus and cook his own dinner? Didn’t they guess that such a person might not be a good advertisement of the Church’s magnificence? And when Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi, probably the most self-abnegating man ever to direct a religious order—and one whose name, tellingly, had never before been selected by a Pope—didn’t they worry a little bit? They should have. El Mundo says that “several Vaticanists” have commented that “the Pontiff is capable of speaking without restraint on any matter, as delicate as it may be.” Recently, he gave a good example. He spoke about homosexuality in the Vatican.
On June 6th, in a meeting at the Vatican with a group named CLAR (the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious Men and Women—that is, nuns and priests), he acknowledged that there were serious problems in the Roman Curia. The organization, he said, included many holy people. “But there also is a stream of corruption, there is that as well, it is true…. The ‘gay lobby’ is mentioned, and it is true, it is there…. We need to see what we can do.” Transparency has been a constant theme of Francis’s administration so far. “Open the doors … Open the doors!” he said at the beginning of his address to CLAR. “Don’t be afraid to denounce!” Since when have we heard that from a Pope?
Francis’s remarks were not taped, though at least one person in the small audience was observed to have a notebook. After the meeting, what was said to be a summary of his remarks was leaked to the press, without his consent. This is poor evidence for the accuracy of the document, as representatives of CLAR later pointed out. They said they deeply regretted the leak, since “the singular expressions contained in the text cannot be attributed to the Holy Father with certainty.”
Venerabilis, le site internet pour prêtres homosexuels
VILLE DU VATICAN
Le Matin
EGLISE CATHOLIQUE — Les prêtres homosexuels vivent parfois une situation pénible mais il existe un site internet où ils peuvent en parler, parfois de manière ingénue mais pleine d'espoir.
C'est l'histoire d'un site discret qui existe depuis plusieurs années et aurait bien voulu garder son anonymat mais les propos que l'on prête au pape François sur un «lobby gay» l'ont mis sous les feux de la rampe. Venerabilis regroupe en effet les annonces des prêtres homosexuels qui recherchent de la compagnie dans un milieu qui exclut les femmes.
«Bonjour, je suis un prêtre (35), recherche l'amitié de prêtres ou de séminaristes homosexuels. Je suis très ouvert», écrit un homme dans la chatroom en italien. Car le site propose des espaces en cinq langues. Ou encore: «Je suis un prêtre italien (45) avec une préférence pour les hommes noirs. Je serai très heureux si un prêtre à la peau sombre pouvait me contacter.»
Le Matin
EGLISE CATHOLIQUE — Les prêtres homosexuels vivent parfois une situation pénible mais il existe un site internet où ils peuvent en parler, parfois de manière ingénue mais pleine d'espoir.
C'est l'histoire d'un site discret qui existe depuis plusieurs années et aurait bien voulu garder son anonymat mais les propos que l'on prête au pape François sur un «lobby gay» l'ont mis sous les feux de la rampe. Venerabilis regroupe en effet les annonces des prêtres homosexuels qui recherchent de la compagnie dans un milieu qui exclut les femmes.
«Bonjour, je suis un prêtre (35), recherche l'amitié de prêtres ou de séminaristes homosexuels. Je suis très ouvert», écrit un homme dans la chatroom en italien. Car le site propose des espaces en cinq langues. Ou encore: «Je suis un prêtre italien (45) avec une préférence pour les hommes noirs. Je serai très heureux si un prêtre à la peau sombre pouvait me contacter.»
‘Venerabilis’ il sito che favorisce gli incontri dei preti gay
ITALIA
Articolo Tre
-R.P.- 13 giugno 2013- Vittorio Messori, illustre vaticanista, afferma che il problema non è l'omosessualità dei preti, ma il "rischio ricatto".
E' statisticamente provato che i seminari, come i conventi, le caserme, attraggono un numero di omosessuali superiore alla media, chi dice addirittura che un terzo dei preti evrebbe questa tendenza. Il fenomeno esiste ed è di notevoli proporzioni, il problema è quello della doppia vita, una doppiezza favorita dall'anonimato, che purtroppo favorisce appunto il ricatto.
Si racconta di un prelato tenuto sotto scacco da un gruppo interessato ad ottenere qualche paragrafafo favorevole ai propri interessi nelle scritture e nei documenti ufficiali della Santa Sede. Per tacere di alcuni giovani laici entrati nelle grazie di monsignori organici alle più alte sfere vaticane,e impegnati in inconfessabili giri di affari e di sesso.
Articolo Tre
-R.P.- 13 giugno 2013- Vittorio Messori, illustre vaticanista, afferma che il problema non è l'omosessualità dei preti, ma il "rischio ricatto".
E' statisticamente provato che i seminari, come i conventi, le caserme, attraggono un numero di omosessuali superiore alla media, chi dice addirittura che un terzo dei preti evrebbe questa tendenza. Il fenomeno esiste ed è di notevoli proporzioni, il problema è quello della doppia vita, una doppiezza favorita dall'anonimato, che purtroppo favorisce appunto il ricatto.
Si racconta di un prelato tenuto sotto scacco da un gruppo interessato ad ottenere qualche paragrafafo favorevole ai propri interessi nelle scritture e nei documenti ufficiali della Santa Sede. Per tacere di alcuni giovani laici entrati nelle grazie di monsignori organici alle più alte sfere vaticane,e impegnati in inconfessabili giri di affari e di sesso.
Vaticano/ Lobby gay, le bastonate di Venerabilis...
ITALIA
Affar Italiani
Vaticano/ Lobby gay, le bastonate di Venerabilis: manovra per affondare la Curia. In Liguria il 5% dei preti è omosessuale
di Antonino D'Anna
La homepage di Venerabilis
Continua la telenovela della lobby gay vaticana. Dopo le ammissioni di Papa Francesco sulla sua esistenza, esternate il 6 giugno scorso e pubblicate in seguito su un sito cileno nell'imbarazzo del CLAR (i religiosi e religiose latinoamericani), adesso è il momento delle liste nere. Con nomi e cognomi di personaggi vari ed eventuali, tra promossi/rimossi e non solo, che iniziano ad essere sussurrati più o meno a voce alta.
LE BASTONATE DI VENERABILIS- Ma questo non conta. Conta semmai osservare che l'ondata mediatica suscitata in merito alla lobby gay ha causato varie reazioni, dal divertito all'irritato. I più puntuti, per il momento, sono quelli di Venerabilis. Venerabilis si definisce sul suo sito come “Homosensible Roman Catholic Priests Fraternity” (Fraternità omosensibile di sacerdoti cattolici romani). Niente di ufficiale, ovviamente. Ma di informato, e molto, questo sì. Basta leggere i tweet di @vNEWS, l'account Twitter di Venerabilis, che già il 12 giugno scrive: “Si riparla della #LobbyGay in Vaticano e sembra che a parlarne sia Papa Francesco e fuori del Vaticano non c'è ?”. Poco dopo chiede: “Come mai si vuole tanto parlare di 1 Lobby Gay in Vaticano e non si dice nulla della potentissima Lobby Gay fuori del Vaticano ? PRUDENZA ?”.
Affar Italiani
Vaticano/ Lobby gay, le bastonate di Venerabilis: manovra per affondare la Curia. In Liguria il 5% dei preti è omosessuale
di Antonino D'Anna
La homepage di Venerabilis
Continua la telenovela della lobby gay vaticana. Dopo le ammissioni di Papa Francesco sulla sua esistenza, esternate il 6 giugno scorso e pubblicate in seguito su un sito cileno nell'imbarazzo del CLAR (i religiosi e religiose latinoamericani), adesso è il momento delle liste nere. Con nomi e cognomi di personaggi vari ed eventuali, tra promossi/rimossi e non solo, che iniziano ad essere sussurrati più o meno a voce alta.
LE BASTONATE DI VENERABILIS- Ma questo non conta. Conta semmai osservare che l'ondata mediatica suscitata in merito alla lobby gay ha causato varie reazioni, dal divertito all'irritato. I più puntuti, per il momento, sono quelli di Venerabilis. Venerabilis si definisce sul suo sito come “Homosensible Roman Catholic Priests Fraternity” (Fraternità omosensibile di sacerdoti cattolici romani). Niente di ufficiale, ovviamente. Ma di informato, e molto, questo sì. Basta leggere i tweet di @vNEWS, l'account Twitter di Venerabilis, che già il 12 giugno scrive: “Si riparla della #LobbyGay in Vaticano e sembra che a parlarne sia Papa Francesco e fuori del Vaticano non c'è ?”. Poco dopo chiede: “Come mai si vuole tanto parlare di 1 Lobby Gay in Vaticano e non si dice nulla della potentissima Lobby Gay fuori del Vaticano ? PRUDENZA ?”.
Gay Hookup Site For “Homo-Sensitive Priests” Discovered Operating Out Of The Vatican
VATICAN CITY
Queerty
[Venerabilis]
Great news for the sexually deviant seeking romantic encounters with God’s army in the Vatican.
According to reports, the world’s most unlikely place to find NSA hookups has become a den of iniquity with the uncovering of “Venerabilis,” a gay hookup site targeted for gay priests looking to get busy in the holiest place on Earth.
Though not explicitly pornographic, the site is said to be run “by a fraternity of Homo-Sensitive Roman Catholic Priests” looking to find “like-minded priests” via chatrooms and “missed connections” posts.
Venerabilis offers chatrooms in five different languages where sleuths have already discovered a number of sexual encounters in progress. From “the cafeteria” to a university bookshop, virtually no meeting place is off limits for members looking to meet face-to-face (or face-to-well…you get it)
Queerty
[Venerabilis]
Great news for the sexually deviant seeking romantic encounters with God’s army in the Vatican.
According to reports, the world’s most unlikely place to find NSA hookups has become a den of iniquity with the uncovering of “Venerabilis,” a gay hookup site targeted for gay priests looking to get busy in the holiest place on Earth.
Though not explicitly pornographic, the site is said to be run “by a fraternity of Homo-Sensitive Roman Catholic Priests” looking to find “like-minded priests” via chatrooms and “missed connections” posts.
Venerabilis offers chatrooms in five different languages where sleuths have already discovered a number of sexual encounters in progress. From “the cafeteria” to a university bookshop, virtually no meeting place is off limits for members looking to meet face-to-face (or face-to-well…you get it)
Vaticano/ Lobby gay...
ITALIA
Affar Italiani
Vaticano/ Lobby gay, Venerabilis rincara la dose e attacca Bertone. Viaggio nel forum della "fraternità": tra chi cerca sesso e chi fede
di Antonino D'Anna
Venerabilis torna all'attacco, e stavolta spara a zero su tutti. Dopo le dure prese di posizione dei giorni scorsi raccontate da Affaritaliani, che hanno visto la “fraternità omosensibile” dire la sua a proposito della lobby gay in Vaticano denunciata da Papa Francesco, ora i fratres aggiustano il tiro. E cominciano a far trapelare altre indiscrezioni (ricordiamo ai lettori che alcuni tra i Venerabilis sarebbero sacerdoti di Curia). E lo fanno attraverso Twitter. Vediamo come.
E BERTONE?- Mattina del 15 giugno, i fratres alzano la voce contro un personaggio molto potente e molto importante: il cardinale Segretario di Stato Tarcisio Bertone: “Come mai nessuna parola sulla Lobby SDB (Società Don Bosco, ossia i salesiani, N.d.R.) del Card Bertone ? Sembra che fa comodo a certi parlare della Curai Romana come di una Lobby Gay !!!”. Poi poco dopo pubblicano una foto tratta da un Gay Pride e si chiedono: “Nessuno sembra essere interessato a parlare di LOBBY GAY fuori il Vaticano - Come mai ? Forse non esiste ?”. La mattina romana, con la sua aria frizzantina, stimola ulteriormente la voglia di indiscrezioni dei fratres. Che lanciano un'accusa pesante.
Affar Italiani
Vaticano/ Lobby gay, Venerabilis rincara la dose e attacca Bertone. Viaggio nel forum della "fraternità": tra chi cerca sesso e chi fede
di Antonino D'Anna
Venerabilis torna all'attacco, e stavolta spara a zero su tutti. Dopo le dure prese di posizione dei giorni scorsi raccontate da Affaritaliani, che hanno visto la “fraternità omosensibile” dire la sua a proposito della lobby gay in Vaticano denunciata da Papa Francesco, ora i fratres aggiustano il tiro. E cominciano a far trapelare altre indiscrezioni (ricordiamo ai lettori che alcuni tra i Venerabilis sarebbero sacerdoti di Curia). E lo fanno attraverso Twitter. Vediamo come.
E BERTONE?- Mattina del 15 giugno, i fratres alzano la voce contro un personaggio molto potente e molto importante: il cardinale Segretario di Stato Tarcisio Bertone: “Come mai nessuna parola sulla Lobby SDB (Società Don Bosco, ossia i salesiani, N.d.R.) del Card Bertone ? Sembra che fa comodo a certi parlare della Curai Romana come di una Lobby Gay !!!”. Poi poco dopo pubblicano una foto tratta da un Gay Pride e si chiedono: “Nessuno sembra essere interessato a parlare di LOBBY GAY fuori il Vaticano - Come mai ? Forse non esiste ?”. La mattina romana, con la sua aria frizzantina, stimola ulteriormente la voglia di indiscrezioni dei fratres. Che lanciano un'accusa pesante.
Deutsche Welle
The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on its website that the arrested cleric was Nunzio Scarano, the bishop of Salerno in southern Italy
The former intelligence officer Giovanni Mario Zito and the finance broker Giovanni Carinzo were also arrested on the charges of corruption, fraud and slander, according to the German news agency dpa, quoting Italian authorities.
Earlier this week the AP news agency had reported that Scarano had withdrawn more than half a million euros in charitable donations without any flags being raised, walked out of Vatican City with the cash, and then used it to pay off a personal mortgage.
On Friday, dpa quoted Italian prosecutors as saying Bishop Scarano had paid Zito 400,000 euros ($520,000) to transport 20 million euros in cash from Switzerland to Italy
Wall Street
By Gilles Castonguay
According to the spokesman, the investigation was opened by the public prosecutor’s office in Rome while it was pursuing a separate probe into the Vatican ’s bank, the Institute of Religious Works
The investigation didn’t concern the bank, known by its Italian abbreviation, IOR, the spokesman said.
“It is an offshoot,” he said.
The suspects, including Msgr. Nunzio Scarano, are being investigated for crimes such as fraud and corruption, he added.
Msgr. Scarano’s lawyer, Silverio Sica, confirmed the arrest.
Msgr. Scarano had already suspended himself from his duties with the church after coming under investigation in a separate money-laundering case, Mr. Sica added.
CSC Holy Cross Congregation delay $18 million compensation payout. Brother Andre & Saint JOSEPH giant GOLDEN COW STATUES could not help victims of CSC pedophiles http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/01/csc-holy-cross-congregation-delay-18.html
People, please STOP DONATING to the ORATORY and STOP LIGHTING CANDLES to St. Joseph and instead donate your money to Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, your local charities, and the homeless shelters of Montreal. God will listen more to your prayers in your acts of charity because they are better than material candles and money you give to the wealthy billionaire CSC religious Holy Cross family of Saint Brother Andre. If you were to face Christ on Judgement Day today, He will not ask you how many candles you have lit at the Oratory of St. Joseph, but how many poor people you have helped, as He has said, “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, that you have also done to Me.”
ZEUS GIANT SAINT JOSEPH
did NOTHING to stop pedophile priests of the Congregation de Sainte-Croix happening right before his very eyes for 50 years
People, please STOP DONATING to the ORATORY and STOP LIGHTING CANDLES to St. Joseph and instead donate your money to Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, your local charities, and the homeless shelters of Montreal. God will listen more to your prayers in your acts of charity because they are better than material candles and money you give to the wealthy billionaire CSC religious Holy Cross family of Saint Brother Andre. If you were to face Christ on Judgement Day today, He will not ask you how many candles you have lit at the Oratory of St. Joseph, but how many poor people you have helped, as He has said, “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, that you have also done to Me.”
ZEUS GIANT SAINT JOSEPH
did NOTHING to stop pedophile priests of the Congregation de Sainte-Croix happening right before his very eyes for 50 years
If you live in Los Angeles, or elsewhere in the USA or in the world, and are planning a “pilgrimage” to the Oratory of St. Joseph or flying to the Vatican, DON'T GO and instead DONATE that pilgrimage money to the Red Cross or your local charity - or sponsor a poor student and pay for his or her school supplies and school lunch for a year, or feed a homeless person for a year at McDonald's, instead of flying to Montreal to see the Oratory or the Vatican Mammon Beast - and God will listen more to your prayers in your act of mercy rather feeding the Vatican Mammon Beast or St. Joseph Oratory Mammon Beast copying the Vatican Titanic sinking in moral bankruptcy. http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/12/oratory-of-st-joseph-copy-vatican.html
Children are better sex educated reading the Los Angles files rather than wasting their time to attend the wizardry of the Mass where priests ceaselessly reiterate those old horrid stories of extinct people in the Bible, read here the Immoral Bible http://pope-ratz.blogspot.ca/2010_12_01_archive.html.
BOYCOTT Oratory of Saint Joseph! CANDLES to giant Zeus statues of St. Joseph and Brother Andre cannot protect children from CSC pedophiles
http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/01/boycott-oratory-of-saint-joseph-candles.html
Wealth of Vatican Billions: its history, sources, and assets today worldwide. BOYCOTT the Vatican Museum and boycott ALL donations to the Vatican Catholic Church Reign of Terror
Wealth of Vatican Billions: its history, sources, and assets today worldwide. BOYCOTT the Vatican Museum and boycott ALL donations to the Vatican Catholic Church Reign of Terror