Welcome to H&C,,, where I aggregate news of interest. Primary topics include abuse with "the church", LGBTQI+ issues, cults - including anti-vaxxers, and the Dominionist and Theocratic movements. Also of concern is the anti-science movement with interest in those that promote garbage like homeopathy, chiropractic and the like. I am an atheist and anti-theist who believes religious mythos must be die and a strong supporter of SOCAS.
“Now,
I understand we could walk down the street, something could happen.
We could be at church, something can happen. One-hundred percent
understand that,” Lori Ferguson told WCSC. “My kids asked me
where the police were to protect them. They didn’t want to take a
shower, in our own home, because now they’re traumatized by what
happened tonight.”
What
fascinates me, they are so predictable with their hate.
He
went from the claim that teachers are showing pornographic images to
kids (which is a lie), to saying they must be pedophiles (a lie), to
saying they should be executed with a gun to the head (WTF…), to
saying we should publicly behead
those teachers on live television (WTF²).
So
my introduction to “furries” was the 2003 episode of CSI called
Fur and Loathing. Love or hate the episode it was a
stereotypical presentation according to critics. But I became
intrigued and did a bit more digging. For brevity, yes there can be
a sexual aspect but generally there is not. It is cos-play costume
play.
Flash
forward 15ish years and I have about 10 individuals on friends list
that would be considered part of the furry culture. Needless to say
the reality presented does not reflect the reality that exists.
Hence reading about this shit does not surprise me.
https://www.rawstory.com/furries-at-school-2657218947/
The
Austin Independent School District this week fell victim to a
harassment campaign after right-wing activist Chaya Raichik falsely
accused them of teaching second-graders about furries.
,,,
Shortly
after Raichik lobbed false accusations against the Austin Independent
School District, it was flooded with angry calls and messages from
her followers, who accused the schools of teaching "sexual
fetishes" to children.
The
school district, for its part, did a review of its curriculum and
found no "furry worksheets" created for second-graders.
Furries
are an internet subculture whose members often create an
anthropomorphized animal version of themselves and identify and act
as that animal character. Furries are not explicitly sexual in
nature; however, furry fetish tropes have pigeonholed the community
into being identified as such by the mainstream.
Also,
according to Binder, Raichik previously spread BS about schools
leaving out litter boxes for students that were choosing to "identify
as cats."
No
one has been held accountable because after 60+ court cases no proof
was brought forth. And you can bet that if Dr Fauci, for some odd
reason, did jack-shit the Reich would still be calling for his head.
While
Catholic Charities receives funding, as do MANY non-profits, they
undertake tasks that would otherwise fall to the government; they
fulfill a need as well as holding a particular area of expertise.
Catholic Charities has a long history of assisting migrants and
refugees, and in the long run it saves the gov't money.
In
the end it boils down to this. Instead of using a FOX “news”
talking point (s) Marjorie, try reading your fucking bible.
"When
an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The
stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the
native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you
lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God."
~Leviticus 19:33-34
It
should be noted that Greene did not specify a specific part of
Catholic teaching she believes church leaders are violating by aiding
immigrants.
So,
the other day I was asked why I include some of the clips I do. Easy
answer, because of the outrageous nature of what is being said.
Also, an easy answer, because many of these individuals ARE running
for public office. IOWs “we” are responsible for the idiots in
office.
“That
in turn has led to scrutiny of his radio rants, one of which in
particular where he complained about how mixed families in
commercials upset him.“
https://www.rawstory.com/trucker-2657205337/
With
that I bring this episode to an end, although I may be adding another
installment.
This
week I bring to you Mr Mythos. https://www.youtube.com/c/MrMythos
An “occult researcher, mythweaver, truth seeker.” What I find
interesting, Mr Mythos delves into the Hollow Earth mythos which not
many do. For me just something different to watch/listen too.
A Roman Catholic priest was charged
Tuesday with groping a 17-year-old girl and sending her nude images of
himself, just a week after a Pennsylvania grand jury reported the church
had covered up decades of priests' child molestation across the state.
The
charges of felony corruption of minors and misdemeanor indecent assault
against the Rev. Kevin Lonergan, 30, a Pottstown, Pennsylvania, native
who most recently served as pastor at the Cathedral of St. Catherine of
Siena in Allentown, were not a result of the landmark grand jury
investigation but stemmed from a complaint filed in June after the grand
jury had finished its work, authorities said.
This is but one of many current abuse related cases that pepper this blog. So yes Bill, this is an ongoing problem and not one from a century ago.
These are cases were the victims are, for the most part, still alive; some of the perps are not. You make it sound as if nobody should be accountable for an institutional problem.
As a reminder the issue of child sexual abuse is not only a RCC problem nor is it a religious one!
2] According to Bill we are to ignore all the abuse cases that have occurred in the last 70 years,like this one,
A former priest implicated in the explosive Pennsylvania child sex
abuse report served at multiple Colorado churches in the early 1980s,
just a few years after allegedly engaging in repeated sexual assault of
three brothers in Pennsylvania.
Stephen Edward Jeselnick, 67, was among hundreds of clergymen accused
of child sexual abuse by a Pennsylvania grand jury last month. The
two-year investigation revealed that leaders within six Catholic
dioceses worked to hide the sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children
over 70 years.
Jeselnick, who currently lives in Colorado Springs, served in the
Archdiocese of Denver for nearly seven months from December 1982 to June
1983 on a trial assignment, according to the Archdiocese. Just a few
years prior, in the late 1970s, he allegedly engaged in repeated sexual
assault of three brothers in Meadeville, Pa., according to the grand
jury report. The Pennsylvania brothers, now adults, told the grand jury
that Jeselnick’s abuse included genital fondling, oral sex and anal sex,
the report states. Jeselnick allegedly abused them in their home and at
church, where their mother worked, the report continues.
Initially assigned to St. Mary’s Church in Littleton, Jeselnick was
reassigned to the Shrine of St. Anne Church in Arvada in the spring of
1983.
He then served at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Colorado
Springs as assistant pastor from 1983 to 1985. He requested, but was
denied, formal acceptance into the Colorado Springs diocese in 1985, the
grand jury report states, before joining the Air Force as a chaplain.
To borrow from Hitch, you Mr Donohue - your church - has institutionalized the rape and torture of children.
And for the record Bill, your lobbying and the church's lobbying in reality show the Church's guilt. You have admitted that the child abuse problem and its potential cost to the Church are bigger than we know. Despite promises Pope Francis has no plans for justice or compensation for victims
My question to you Mr. Donohue is why? Why are you so against legal justice? Why spend over $2 million on lobbying from 2007 through the end of 2015, want to prevent this bill from passage? Why would you not want to end many legal roadblocks for victims of childhood sexual abuse?
Answer:: you dont want your money cow being "raped".
You are content to play the "what-aboutism" game. Forgetting that people who are guilty can find comfort in finding others to be as bad or worse. As I noted above about your lobbying, you have admitted to the child abuse problem. You discredit yourself as a critic. Rhetorical devices prevent discussion of issues at hand; it is a strategy of false moral equivalences.
Neither Hollywood nor public schools hold themselves to a higher moral standard. Nor do they expect gov't or individuals to cow-tow to your special needs.
It must be
acknowledged what was done to us so we can forgive and be free. If
the truth remains hidden then the brutality under which I grew up
will continue for thousands of Irish children. And I must by any
means necessary WITHOUT the use of violence prevent that happening
because I am a Christian.
The Catholic
Church have controlled us by controlling education. Through their
teachings on sexuality, marriage, birth control and abortion. And
most spectacularly through the lies they taught us with their history
books.
That was penned by Sinead O'Connor back in Oct of 92 concerning her appearance on SNL in which she tore a
picture of JPII. As I noted in the show description, she took much
flack. Since, O’Connor has endured her fair share of ups and downs.
She has struggled with her mental health, often very publicly, and
has had every facet of her life closely scrutinized.
She has also been dismissed time and
time again as a “crazy bitch”.
When asked about
Father Crowley at the church this past week, parishioner after
parishioner struggled to respond. A man leaned on the railing of the
church steps and cried as he remembered how Father Crowley had
baptized his children. Women confided that they had been tossing and
turning every night, unable to sleep. After long silences, many
insisted the allegations just had to be false.
So the other day I posted concerning
California's move to declare conversion therapy fraudulent. A
comment then brought to my attention a recent Liberty Counsel (Matt
Staver) press release concerning "new" research that shows
CT to be effective and not harmful. As I noted to RH's comment, the
so-called report is from the Catholic Medical Association which isn't
saying much as they hold to the teachings of the RCC above everything
else. Hemant notes one of the authors worked for Joseph Nicolosi, the
father of gay conversion therapy AND (I just saw this) not a random
survey but current/former clients,,, Just from a brief skim of
Hemant's write-up he hit all the "good" points as far as
criticism.
So I did a bit of digging and perused
the comments and found this little nugget.
"If gay
conversion therapy works and is not harmful to anyone then I am sure
the Catholic Medical Association would like to put all of the
catholic priests through it so that no child stands a chance of being
molested ever again. They could do this and guarantee it just to
prove how right they are to the world."
Further discussion, when I found this,
'Servants of the Holy Paraclete' which was founded in 1948. It was basically an organization, within
the Church proper, created for the sole purpose of 'curing' pedophile
priests. At one point it was intent on purchasing an island so as to
isolate them from the general population.
The founder of
this organization, a father Gerald Fitzgerald, suggested keeping
these priests in monasteries as he soon realized they could not be
'cured'. In fact, he even wrote the Vatican saying as such. I suggest
the documentary 'Mea Maxima Culpa', it was through it I came to know about this.
(Documentary is available)
This goes to a point made clear by my
partner in crime,
We've known that
the Catholic Church is the largest and oldest organized child sex
ring known to history for some time now. The events of Spotlight,
which exposed the problem both nationally and globally, happened 17
years ago.
Anyone giving
money to them in the last decade (being generous here) is directly
supporting the sexual abuse of children. There's just no way around
it.
Oh and if you
think equivocating on terminology like "pedophile vs hebephile"
and such is a valid response to such criticism, you're probably part
of the problem.
The Church has had
centuries of chances to clean their shit up. The time for patience
and mercy has long since passed. It's time to take responsibility for
their actions and pay for their crimes.
There is much to unpack concerning the
debacle in PA as I foresee other states following suit. But
a "report" does not solve the
issue. Now throw in the issue of CT and that complicates things.
So with this in mind I decided to check
out this information concerning Congregation of the Servants of the
Paraclete as well as the mentioned documentary Mea Maxima Culpa:
Silence in the House of God.
I don't want to go too deep as I also want to get to the Donohue,
Marshall, and Burke statements as well.
The Congregation
of the Servants of the Paraclete is a Latin Rite, Catholic
religious congregation of men dedicated to ministry to priests and
Brothers with personal difficulties. The congregation was founded in
1947 by Father Gerald Fitzgerald in New Mexico; they are named for
the Paraclete - a representation of the Holy Spirit interpreted as an
advocate or helper.
Although Fitzgerald started the
Servants of the Paraclete to assist priests who were struggling with
alcohol and substance abuse problems, he soon began receiving priests
who had sexually abused minors. Initially, Fitzgerald attempted to
treat such priests using the same spiritual methods that he used with
others. By 1948, Fitzgerald had set a policy whereby he refused to
take priests who were sexually attracted to young people.
Over the next two decades, Fitzgerald
wrote regularly to bishops in the United States and to Vatican
officials, including the pope, of his opinion that many sexual
abusers in the priesthood could not be cured and should be laicized
immediately.
“This is my
thesis and I am going to hold to it because I think it has proved out
— the problem is at the top. If you have people at the top who are
sexually active and they are in charge of people who are acting out,
you can’t afford to expose that, lest you be exposed.”
So to my surprise
this Congregation of the Servants of the Paraclete did actually exist
and there was controversy surrounding such. Being that I
generally do not follow the Pedo Priest issue within the RCC (too big
for one person in regards to civil actions), I was really taken aback
by this information. Not surprised, but the enormity and the length
of time involved is huge.
And I will state
this again as I have before the diddling priest issue is not just a
RCC problem. From my perspective I believe that due to the RCCs
physical size, the number of parishioners, and money is what makes
this a headline grabber. The fact that so many of the hierarchy is
involved adds to that. While the actions are beyond appalling it
happens in EVERY religion, (Mormons and JWs currently are facing
their own scandals.)
As I have also noted pedophilia is also
not just a problem within religion. It occurs in the secular world,
and BTTP is well aware of that point. What makes this so egregious
goes back to a point Deb made in her posting,
Anyone giving money to them in the last decade (being generous here)
is directly supporting the sexual abuse of children. There's just no
way around it.
That's ignoring
the whole higher standard of morality crap. And we will come back to
that point as Deb is have an interesting discussion on her wall
ATM.
Fitzgerald's convictions appear to significantly contradict the
claims of contemporary bishops that the hierarchy was unaware until
recent years of the danger in shuffling priests from one parish to
another and in concealing the priests' problems from those they
served.
It is clear, too, in letters between Fitzgerald and a range of
bishops, among bishops themselves, and between Fitzgerald and the
Vatican, that the hierarchy was aware of the problem and its
implications well before the problem surfaced as a national story in
the mid-1980s.
That
brings us to Mea Maxima Culpa, 2012 documentary film directed by Alex Gibney. The film
details the first known protest against clerical sex abuse in the
United States by four deaf men.
Gibney examines the abuse of power in
the Catholic Church system through the story of four deaf men —
Terry Kohut, Gary Smith, Pat Kuehn and Arthur Budzinski — who set
out to expose the priest who abused them during the mid-1960s at St.
John's School for the Deaf. Each of the men brought forth the first
known case of public protest against clerical sex abuse, which later
led to the sex scandal case known as the Lawrence
Murphy case. Through their case the film follows a cover-up that
winds its way from the row houses of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, through
Ireland's churches, all the way to the highest office of the Vatican.
The documentary also serves as a detailed and wide-ranging look at systemic clericalabuse, examining cases in the US, Ireland and Italy. It narrates the
Church’s knowledge and handling of child abuse throughout the 20th
century, the explosion of attention following the Boston Globe
stories in 2002, and the ramifications of the scandal over the next
ten years.
Milwaukee priest
named Lawrence Murphy who abused 200 deaf children,,, It also
happened to be the patient-zero case of modern clerical sexual abuse:
so far as we have been able to determine, the leafletting of the
Milwaukee Cathedral by three young deaf men in 1974 is the first
public protest over clerical sex abuse in the United States.
So, at minimum - ignoring
the Servants of the Paraclete - this shit has been known for
44 yrs. One man abused 200 children but yet nothing was done to
change a damn thing.
One thing that needs to be mentioned,
we are only touching the surface here on BTTP. It would be a massive
understatement to say this issue is huge. What complicates it
further for a lay person to track, The Catholic Church responds to
these scandals at three levels: the diocesan level, the episcopal
conference level and the Vatican. Responses to the scandal proceeded
at all three levels in parallel with the higher levels becoming
progressively more involved as the gravity of the problem became more
apparent. So while individual diocese may deal
with each individual accusation, it's not until the accusations have
gotten out of hand until the real hierarchy gets involved. Their
response have not been so good.
In
his post titled “Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report Debunked,” Donohue desperately tries to minimize the findings and in so doing
reveals the profound poverty of both his intellect and his character.
Here are 3 examples.
1] Myth: The priests “raped” their victims.
Attempting
to justify his assertion that the claim that “the priests raped
their victims” is a “myth,” Donohue writes:
Fact: This is an obscene lie. Most of the alleged victims were not
raped: they were groped or otherwise abused, but not penetrated,
which is what the word “rape”
means.
2]
Myth: The report was warranted because of the on-going crisis
in the Catholic Church.
Fact:
There is no on-going crisis—it's a total myth. In fact, there is no
institution, private or public, that has less of a problem with the
sexual abuse of minors today than the Catholic Church.
As
already discussed, this has been an ongoing issue since at least the
late 1940s. An issue the RCC was well aware of
3]
Myth: The abusive priests were pedophiles.
Fact:
This is the greatest lie of them all, repeated non-stop by the media,
and late-night talk TV hosts.
There
have been two scandals related to the sexual abuse of minors in the
Catholic Church. Scandal I involves the enabling bishops who covered
it up. Scandal II involves the media cover-up of the role played by
gay molesters.
Donohue goes on to denounce the media for
using the term “pedophilia” to describe the incidents when,
Donohue claims, most of the victims were “postpubescent.”
And,
as he always does, Donohue rants that the media is providing cover
for the LGBT movement by not describing the assailants as “gay
priests” and by sensationalizing the “minority” of cases
involving preteen girls.
If these are the excuses given a smart
Catholic, the Church is so screwed. Point one is so absurd
nothing needs to be said. Point two, homosexuality is not
pedophilia; it’s not about sexual orientation, it’s about power
and access. Point three, abuse also occurs in smaller churches where
victims have no one in a position of authority to talk to or trust.
So it seems Cardinal Burke has added his appalling two-cents stating,
It was clear after the
studies following the 2002 sexual abuse crisis that most of the acts of
abuse were in fact homosexual acts committed with adolescent young men.
There was a studied attempt to either overlook or to deny this. Now it
seems clear in light of these recent terrible scandals that indeed there
is a homosexual culture, not only among the clergy but even within the
hierarchy, which needs to be purified at the root. It is of course a
tendency that is disordered.
Sound familiar?
What's worse, Burke thinks that the RCC has done more than enough to address the issue,
There is no need to develop new procedures. All of the procedures exist
in the Church’s discipline, and they have existed throughout the
centuries. What is needed is an honest investigation into the alleged
situations of grave immorality followed by effective action to sanction
those responsible and to be vigilant to prevent that similar situations
arise again.
This
morning, in a letter directed to Catholics around the world, Pope
Francis said the Church must “condemn these atrocities.”
He acknowledged how the Church “showed no care for the little ones;
we abandoned them.”
That’s all well and good — he
expressed deep remorse for the victims — but the real questions are
what the Vatican plans to do to prevent future crimes and how they’ll
punish those responsible for committing and covering up the abuse.
Instead of actually offering any
solutions, though, the pope called for fasting and prayer.
… penance
and prayer will help us to open our eyes and our hearts to other
people’s sufferings and to overcome the thirst for power
and possessions that are so often the root of those evils. May
fasting and prayer open our ears to the hushed pain felt by children,
young people and the disabled. A fasting that can make us
hunger and thirst for justice and impel us to walk in the truth,
supporting all the judicial measures that may be necessary. A fasting
that shakes us up and leads us to be committed in truth and charity
with all men and women of good will, and with society in general, to
combatting all forms of the abuse of power, sexual abuse and the
abuse of conscience.
Pope Francis said
there were efforts underway to do something but they haven’t
been implemented just yet.
I am conscious of the effort
and work being carried out in various parts of the world to come up
with the necessary means to ensure the safety and protection of the
integrity of children and of vulnerable adults, as well as
implementing zero tolerance and ways of making all those who
perpetrate or cover up these crimes accountable. We have delayed in
applying these actions and sanctions that are so necessary,
yet I am confident that they will help to guarantee a greater culture
of care in the present and future.
The RCC has had 70+ years to
implement something, anything but have done nothing. As Hemant
notes, “The pope’s letter is a distraction. A way to pretend the
Vatican cares without detailing how they will actually protect
victims over priests. It’s another victory for the PR Pope but
there’s absolutely nothing in here that should encourage doubting
Catholics that everything will work out.”
And this brings me to a recent
discussion the Deb was involved in, I will be making a separate
posting concerning said discussion but it is too good not to mention.
This past Thursday deb posted,
We've known that
the Catholic Church is the largest and oldest organized child sex
ring known to history for some time now. The events of Spotlight,
which exposed the problem both nationally and globally, happened 17
years ago.
Anyone giving money to them in the
last decade (being generous here) is directly supporting the sexual
abuse of children. There's just no way around it.
Oh and if you think equivocating on
terminology like "pedophile vs hebephile" and such is a
valid response to such criticism, you're probably part of the
problem.
The Church has had centuries of
chances to clean their shit up. The time for patience and mercy has
long since passed. It's time to take responsibility for their
actions and pay for their crimes.
Well Deb knows how to attract the crazy
and she got a dousey with this,
Stop blaming bad
apples on the tree assholes. 99% of Catholic clergy have nothing to
do with pedophilia. Your stupid statements go to show your only
interested in degrading religious belief.
It devolves from there, to which Deb
makes this response,
Catholics KNOW
that the church uses their money to cover up and thus perpetuate
abuse. So YES they are complicit. What I find offensive is the sexual
abuse of children, full stop. If Catholics are truly mostly good
people as you say, then they wouldn't still be Catholics.
Instead,
they have put the institution and its reputation ahead of the safety
of thousands of children. THAT is unacceptable and BEYOND offensive.
To which TW responds,
Bullshit. Every
organized religion has pedaphiles stop blaming the CHURCH itself. It
has a higher authority than man and it teaches that the wolves in
sheep clothing are completely evil.
Deb re-iterates, as TW doesn't seem to
get it,
I don't think you
seem to grasp the difference between an institution that HAS sex
abusers in it and one that PROTECTS the sex abusers in it. You're the
one making excuses for the church and what it's been doing.
The clincher for me is TWs response,
,,,your so full of
crap it's alarming. The Church is not just an organized group of
humans it is an infallible authority instituted by God. Who the fuck
are you to judge every Catholic as if they are partaking in
pedophilia. Many Catholics were killed by the Nazis dumbass and
they willing became martyrs for the sake of their Jewish brethren.
Respecting life at all it's stages and encouraging strength
through suffering is not a bad thing. What doesn't kill you makes you
stronger. Medical miracles happen all the time. Giving up on life or
your baby because you think your in control of your life is just
hypocritical stupidity. Catholicism changed the world for the
better. We could all be nazis or muslins now if it wasn't for
Catholics and Catholic soldiers.
That last bit, if you have been
following the apologia spewing forth from the hierarchy, tells me he
has absorbed everything the church tells him.
After long
silences, many insisted the allegations just had to be false.
One thing that should be said, there is
going to be an over abundance of information coming forth. Part of
the reason I was hesitant to even broach the topic on a personal
level but things just sorts came together into a blog posting and
diverged from there. I urge you to read the AGs report. It's long,
1400 pages long. I urge you to read every nugget and listen to every
media report you can get your hands on. If you're not convinced that
this is real, nothing I say nor what Deb has said will make a damn
bit of difference.
It will not change the fact that you
are complicit in the sexual abuse of children.
So it seems Cardinal Burke has added his appalling two-cents stating,
It was clear after the
studies following the 2002 sexual abuse crisis that most of the acts of
abuse were in fact homosexual acts committed with adolescent young men.
There was a studied attempt to either overlook or to deny this. Now it
seems clear in light of these recent terrible scandals that indeed there
is a homosexual culture, not only among the clergy but even within the
hierarchy, which needs to be purified at the root. It is of course a
tendency that is disordered.
Sound familiar?
What's worse, Burke thinks that the RCC has done more than enough to address the issue,
There is no need to develop new procedures. All of the procedures exist
in the Church’s discipline, and they have existed throughout the
centuries. What is needed is an honest investigation into the alleged
situations of grave immorality followed by effective action to sanction
those responsible and to be vigilant to prevent that similar situations
arise again.
So IOWS the RCC is going to do nothing!!
I don't know how much I will cover the pedophile debacle within the Pennsylvania RCCs. It's huge and I am only one person, I dont feel I would be able to do a proper presentation it deserves. TBH there will be much coverage by media and media personalities which much better resources than I. Obviously if actual criminal charge come forth I will note those individual cases.
With that said there will be bits and pieces that catch my eye. Two such are included here:: Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League who defends predatory priests by claiming it’s not rape if the child isn’t penetrated; and, Dr. Taylor Marshall, a Catholic theologian, who haas presented a list of three reasons sex scandals occur in the Church:
First Donohue,,,
In his post titled “Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report Debunked,”
Donohue desperately tries to minimize the findings and in so doing Donohue reveals the profound poverty of
both his intellect and his character.
Myth: The priests “raped” their victims.
Attempting to justify his assertion that the claim that “the priests raped their victims” is a “myth,” Donohue writes:
Fact: This is an obscene lie. Most of the alleged victims were not raped: they were groped or otherwise abused, but not penetrated, which is what the word “rape” means.
Donohue goes on to denounce the media
for using the term “pedophilia” to describe the incidents when, Donohue
claims, most of the victims were “postpubescent.”
And, as he always does, Donohue rants
that the media is providing cover for the LGBT movement by not
describing the assailants as “gay priests” and by sensationalizing the
“minority” of cases involving preteen girls.
I knew before reading bloviating Bill's eleven pages of garbage it would be bad; I am appalled at his response. There is no justification, for the actions of the religionists involved nor the hierarchy of the RCC, it is disgusting.
If these are the excuses given a smart Catholic, the Church is so screwed. Point one is so absurd nothing needs to be said. Point two, homosexuality is not pedophilia; it’s not about sexual orientation, it’s about power and access. Point three, abuse also occurs in smaller churches where victims have no
one in a position of authority to talk to or trust.
Any who tries to justify the actions of the RCC church are explicitly supporting the harming of children. That includes the PR Pope!
If my vague recollection serves me correctly, both Pennsylvania and New York were both seeking an extension of the statute of limitations in regards to church sex abuse against children. Due to my self imposed exile, I am not familiar with the arguments from either side. What I did find telling was this part of Donohoe's statement noted by NY Daily News:
“If the statute of limitations were lifted on offenses involving the
sexual abuse of minors, the only winners would be greedy and bigoted
lawyers out to line their pockets in a rash of settlements,” Donohue
railed. “The big losers would be the poor, about whom the attorneys and
activists care little: When money is funneled from parishioners to
lawyers, services to the needy suffer. “
Well Mr Donohoe, maybe if your church didn't have a 50+ year history of cover-up that has finally hit the light of day, you wouldn't feel as if your money cow was being "raped".
Let's remove the denominational bias for the moment, as we all know this is not just a Catholic problem, and the fact that the Catholic League is independent organization that does not speak authoritatively for the Church. I have this question to ask of Mr Donohoe: Are you fucking human?
This is from Bill Donohue, the bloviating wind bag of American Catholicism. While I do not focus much on his antics because he is such an ass, this is a perfect example why religionists get harsher penalties Beside denial (notice his use of the phrase "homosexual abuse"which has been debunked), that it is an issue within the whole of the church and not just Catholicism. It shows that he does not understand the position of power (I would go so far as to say'special' power) that men and women of the clothe hold over our most vulnerable.
If these people were sincere, they would focus on all abusers, not just
priests. For example, the following recent cases elicited no protests,,,
And Bill, child pornography and possession of such, is a child sex crime! Just because Shawn ",,,never abused anyone,,," isn't an excuse. WTF man, are you that obtuse?
Donohue’s appalling beliefs are a bigger threat to freedom than any satirical cartoon. First, he entirely misses the point of free speech, thinking it a right meant only for “political discourse.” As I pointed out yesterday, the purpose of freedom of speech is to protect the freedom of thought. It’s understandable that Donohue has no conception of that most basic and important freedom because he thinks that “Narcissistic artists who associate obscenity with creativity would do us all a favor if they converted to Catholicism.” He thinks that “Catholicism is the answer.”
Second, Donohue wants self-censorship. Like the shooters, he want's the people he disagrees with to shut up. His and their goals are the same. Their methods are different. Donohue doesn't resort to violence, but he wants people to give in to their fear—see his parting quip to Ms. Kelly—and cower under the threat of religiously motivated violence. He thinks trembling under Islam’s blade is moral. He thinks giving in to a bully’s demand is ethical. In short, Bill Donohue is a coward.
,,,
Special treatment for religion and the religious is society’s biggest stumbling block to true freedom. Religion is an idea or set of ideas that cannot be free from criticism on any level, legal or moral. Of course, Donohue must know deep down that he wants this special treatment because religious ideas—blasphemy, vicarious redemption, heaven and hell, original sin, etc.—cannot withstand criticism. Without that protection, religion crumbles. That’s why Donohue wants to be a sacred cow.
Fox News host Megyn Kelly called Catholic League president Bill Donohue out on Thursday over his remarks concerning the mass shooting attack against the satirists at Charlie Hebdo.
“I understand you didn’t like the message,” Kelly said, before asking him, “Did you really think they were not courageous in the face of death threats to be publishing what they did?”
“No. I think, first of all, they’re pornographers disguised as satirists,” Donohue replied. “We’re not talking about Mel Brooks. We’re talking about the functional equivalent of Larry Flynt going to print.”
While Donohue compared the French satirists to the Hustler publisher in a derisive manner, Kelly argued that the Supreme Court’s 1988 decision affirming Flynt’s right to mock public figures protected even “scatological” satire, calling it “the bedrock of the First Amendment.”
“The political cartoon is a weapon of attack, of scorn and ridicule and satire; it is least effective when it tries to pat some politician on the back,” she said, quoting from Chief Justice William Rehnquist’s decision. “It is usually as welcome as a bee sting and is always controversial in some quarters.”
In the aftermath of the deadly assault on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical newspaper, much of the world has rallied in solidarity with the publication, its irreverent cartoonists and their right to free speech.
But not everyone is so supportive. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, a U.S. organization that "defends the rights of Catholics," issued a statement titled "Muslims are right to be angry." In it, Donohue criticized the publication's history of offending the world's religiously devout, including non-Muslims. The murdered Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier "didn’t understand the role he played in his [own] tragic death," the statement reads.
"Had [Charbonnier] not been so narcissistic, he may still be alive," Donohue says, in what must be one of the more offensive and insensitive comments made on this tragic day.
"Killing in response to insult, no matter how gross, must be unequivocally condemned. That is why what happened in Paris cannot be tolerated," says Donohue. "But neither should we tolerate the kind of intolerance that provoked this violent reaction."
So, when I initially posted this article, I had a few things running in the back of my mind. Especially in regards to Donahue's statement that his forthcoming book would have the stats to back up his claims. That aside, these two studies came to mind, both of which caused quite a stir among those in the religious right:
"Despite the ample statistical analysis, the study hits a few stumbling blocks. Firstly it only takes into account analytical intelligence, disregarding creative and emotional intelligence.,,,"
Furthermore, this post exposes such prejudice by examining that study. Secular prejudice is exposed by such examples of twisting research. In fact, the research showed that nonreligious children had to be taught to be anti-religious and anti-God to not believe in God. The fact that so many secularists are jumping on to this story shows their gullible bias against God and Christians.
So yea we are going to be a bit fucked off when people tell us we are insane and need therapy.
I really like Hemant Mehta's break-down of Donohue's bullshit. Although, I am curious as to the book he says is in the works.
In all of these cases, though, Donohue purposely ignores the elephant in the room: None of these things happen because people are atheists. It has everything to do with the social aspects of it.
Atheism correlates with all those awful things because religious people tend to have things like stronger communities and more hope (albeit false hope) and people to turn to when they’re depressed. Atheists have to essentially fend for themselves or create alternatives that are nowhere near the scope or size of what religions provide.
Similarly, when atheists speak about their beliefs publicly, it’s usually in response to events that make us upset or angry — so we come off as more defensive (i.e. unhappy). Christians, on the other hand, tend to talk about their relationship with God when they’re writing blog posts or books. (These are huge generalizations, of course, but you get the idea.)
So back to the point: Donohue is doing what he does best: Lying to make himself look better. He takes general pieces of information, siphons off all the necessary nuance, and pretends that the evidence suggests atheists are inherently immoral, unhappy, and insane.
The nation was shocked when Minneapolis/St. Paul Archbishop John Nienstedt was accused of having inappropriate contact with a young boy. Nienstedt was cleared of those charges but soon after it was revealed that the 67-year old virulently anti-gay Roman Catholic leader was being investigated -- by his own parish -- for sexual relations with men.
Nienstedt has repeatedly denied the charges, though he was quick to respond to them, touting that the "allegations do not involve minors or lay members of the faithful, and they do not implicate any kind of illegal or criminal behavior."
Now, the Catholic League's Bill Donohue is riding to Nienstedt's rescue -- which he desperately needs in light of all the calls for his resignation -- but with lies.
"It's all about homosexuality," Donohue insists in a press release yesterday. "Ever since Archbishop Nienstedt criticized the pro-gay film, 'Brokeback Mountain,' he has been targeted by homosexual activists all over the nation. So it is hardly surprising to read a story on him in today's New York Times that cites his take on the movie. Had he liked it, and had he been silent on the subject of gay marriage, no one would be calling for his resignation."
Donohue did not point to any particular "homosexual activist," and in fact, all the calls for Nienstedt to resign have come not from any LGBT organization or gay activist but from lay Catholics, the Archdiocese's own chancellor for canonical affairs, and major donors to the Church. And the calls for resignation are not because of the charges of inappropriate sexual activity, but for Archbishop Nienstedt's gross mishandling of sexual abuse cases that were covered up, and his refusal to force priests to step down.
