...the Most Rev Vincent Nichols called for a greater respect of religious belief
Hell yeah, respect and all that because after all, doesn't the church display endless respect toward those of opposing views?
"Let us be a society in which we genuinely listen to each other, in which sincere disagreement is not made out to be insult or harassment, in which reasoned principles are not construed as prejudice and in which we are prepared to attribute to each other the best and not the worst of motives."
Golly gosh! That sounds pretty reasonable almost, dare I say, tolerant.
The archbishop played a leading role in fighting the introduction of gay rights laws in 2006, which now make it illegal to discriminate against gay couples when placing children for adoption.
Um, never mind then... moving on. The Archbishop prattled on about community and faith and respect and conscience and all sorts of fine sounding stuff that his sort forget to practice as they campaign to control the contents of your britches and ovaries and such. But the bag won't hold the cat when it comes to what theatre folk call the reveal.
Earlier, the new Archbishop risked controversy on his first day in office when he said a report exposing decades of systematic child abuse by Catholic priests and nuns in Ireland would "overshadow" the good they had done.
He said it took "courage" for Catholic church members who abused children to face up to their actions.
Yes. It would simply be wrong to allow a mere three generations of serial sexual assault, physical, mental and emotional abuse against children to overshadow the rousing success of the mighty Catholic Church and the parish bingo. Why, those selfish little brats should be thankful for the opportunity to be enslaved, beaten and raped in the name of the father, the son and spooky the ethereal something or other. Don't those spoiled shits know how much courage it took for the dozens, perhaps hundreds, of criminally violent pedophiles and cassocked villains to sue to maintain their anonymity, avoid exposure and prosecution under the protection of the church?
Why those poor, poor men and women of faith have to live out the rest of their days free and at large in the community, knowing the sweet taste of innocent flesh. Recalling the tender cries of the children suffering under their hands and knowing that they aren't supposed to indulge anymore. Why, having avoided exposure, justice and accountability, haven't they suffered enough?
They had to face up to their actions. Heck, I'm sure they even had to promise not to rape any more kids, no more tormenting, beating, humiliating and abusing the little ones. Got that Father Tom? And you Sister Mary Margaret? Good. Now six Hail Mary and a Lord's Prayer and we're all done here. Courage, there it is. You'd never recognize it if it didn't make you sick to the pit of your stomach. But how is it that this leader of the flock can be so fucking ignorant, blind and horrible? I really think it is kind of built in to the faith. Here's what another church leader has to say in his memoirs, this time in the Americas.
Enjoy the disconnect...
Today we learn that a retired Catholic Archbishop in the US is claiming in a soon-to-be-published memoir that he did not comprehend the potential harm to young victims or understand that the priests had committed a crime. We all considered sexual abuse of minors as a moral evil, but had no understanding of its criminal nature.
Because really, while we knew it was wrong to rape those innocents left in our charge it was delicious. Had we known there was a possibility of actual punishment involved, why, we'd have maybe had a second thought before defiling those kids. But here is the nub, the root of the crooked tree that the seeds of Catholicism has planted...
Accepted naively the common view that it was not necessary to worry about the effects on the youngsters: either they would not remember or they would ‘grow out of it'.
What the sweet screaming hell is in this creepy old bastard's head, the common view? Maybe that's the common view down at the NAMBLA picnic but that view doesn't seem to be too common anywhere else but inside the Catholic hierarchy. And what's the harm of a little good natured child rape when you figure they'll just forget or grow out of their trauma? The common view within the church seems to be that if you rape kids, you get a new job, your tracks are covered and if you get caught they'll do what they can to protect your sick ass, skirt responsibility and keep on keeping on. It appears that the men in black have fostered a culture of corruption that feeds on the young and vulnerable but let's not let that cast a shadow on the good works.
Weakland, who retired in 2002 after it became known that he paid $450,000 in 1998 to a man who had accused him of date rape years earlier.
So let's be perfectly clear here. This sick old prick had sexually assaulted someone, hid his crimes beneath his robes for years, when confronted with real world sanction he came up with almost half a million dollars (so much for vows of poverty) and tried to buy his way out of responsibility. Now surely the local Archbishop can't be getting away with that sort of maneuvering without the church's knowledge yet his "retirement" came four fucking years after the pay off and only when that pay off was exposed. The church was content to let a known rapist sit in authority over the spiritual well being of an entire region. But really, let's think about the good works, priorities people.
Weakland’s critics allege that, when he was Archbishop of Milwaukee, he had tried to cover up some of the widespread abuse that had taken place in the diocese – in particular by overseeing an evaluation in 1993 of Father Lawrence Murphy, one of those prosecuted for abuse.
A 2003 report on the sexual abuse of minors by clergy in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee revealed that allegations of sexual assaults on minors had been made against 58 ordained men, who were under the direct supervision of the Archbishop of Milwaukee.
By early 2009, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee had spent approximately $26.5 million in attorney fees and settlements to victims.
Why, if it wasn't for a few bad apples... $26.5 million dollars out of the parish coffers, tithe that suckers. Would have been a damn sight cheaper to just get some hookers, at least that's honest. Since it appears that the Catholic Church is a haven for pedophiles, rapists and child abusers, when will we see the devout rise up against the villains in their midst? It is high time that the church paid for the bizarre sexual repression and deviant culture that underpins these crimes.
I'm surprised there's a Catholic church left standing in Milwaukee, let's chalk that up to the courage and forbearance of the men, women and children that were victimized there. Theirs is the true courage as they have to live out the rest of their lives bearing the scars and damage caused by the people to whom they trusted their spiritual well being. Their courage was forced upon them by violence and betrayal and against their will. The sick people who perpetrated these heinous crimes lack the self awareness to even recognize that they were indeed committing crimes or that they even needed to worry about the damage being caused to the youngsters in their charge. With each sordid revelation, this becomes the face of the church revealed. My sympathies to honest men and women and to the victims of the faith, you are betrayed.
6 comments:
Pretty raw. It's shocking that so many people still take this bunch seriously.
Well said.
wv= "dertee." Indeed.
It still baffles me that people would remain associated with that corrupt organization that is the catholic church. I remember talking to a catholic friend about the child abuse issue and she is satisfied that the perps have paid for their crimes. I argued that they most definitely had not and asked her if that if her child had been abused by one of these heinous pricks, she quickly changed her tune. Why do people insist on supporting this thing?
I am shocked by this statement " We all considered sexual abuse of minors as a moral evil, but had no understanding of its criminal nature."
Seriously, wtf? First of all, isn't a moral evil way the fuck worse than a criminal offense, at least in the minds of the church?
Churches are people. People, very often, suck.
I have no problem with religious faith, per se, but I have fairly intense problems with organized religion as it often manifests itself.
Bravo psa, excellent piece.
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