Vatican recalls priest from US as child porn investigation opens | Angelus

The Vatican announced Friday that after being informed by U.S. officials of a possible breach of child pornography laws on the part of a Holy See diplomat, it has recalled the priest in question and an investigation has been opened. According to a Sept. 15 Vatican communique, on Aug. 21 the U.S. State Department notified the Vatican Secretariat of State, “through diplomatic channels, of a possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images by a member of the diplomatic corps of the Holy See accredited to Washington.”

The priest was recalled and is currently in Vatican City. Information regarding the findings of the U.S. State Department was passed along to the Vatican's Promoter of Justice, who opened an investigation “and has already commenced international collaboration to obtain elements relative to the case.”

The Vatican declined to identify the diplomat, or confirm his nationality. CNA contacted the apostolic nunciature in Washington D.C. for further details, but they declined to comment. According to the Associated Press, the U.S. State Department had asked the Vatican to lift the priest's diplomatic immunity, but the request was denied.

Michael Stone over at Progressive Secular Humanist, I believe sums it up well:

Let’s face it: Pope Francis is a marvelous showman – a genius at public relations and media manipulation who has successfully hustled the media, and the public at large. He says nice things like all animals go to heaven; he chastises creationists and other science deniers by noting that God is not a magician; and in a good natured gesture he asks atheists for good vibrations.

Yet despite the friendly facade, the occasional superficial liberal rhetoric, and a humorous joke now and then, Pope Francis is guilty of perpetuating the institutional immorality of the Catholic Church.

In short, despite pledges from Pope Francis to clean up the church, the horror continues, and the Catholic Church continues to protect and enable clergy members who rape and sexually abuse children.

It is no secret that Catholic priests have been sexually abusing children for decades, if not centuries. This most recent report only serves to confirm what many already suspected: nothing has changed – the Catholic Church continues to protect and enable pedophile priests.

Vatican recalls priest from US as child porn investigation opens | Angelus

UPDATED::As a psychiatrist, I diagnose mental illness. Also, I help spot demonic possession. - The Washington Post

So Gallagher is in the news again drumming up business and feeding the delusions of the delusional. 

UPDATE:: When exorcists need help, they call him

He also insists that he's on the side of science.

He says he's a stickler for the scientific method, that it teaches people to follow the facts wherever they may lead.

Growing up in a large Irish Catholic family in Long Island, he didn't think much about stories of possession. But when he kept seeing cases like Julia's as a professional, he says, his views had to evolve.

"I don't believe in this stuff because I'm Catholic," he says. "I try to follow the evidence."

Being Catholic, though, may help.

Gallagher grew up in a home where faith was taken seriously. His younger brother, Mark, says Gallagher was an academic prodigy with a photographic memory who wanted to use his faith to help people. 

_
Wow!!  This makes me embarrassed to admit I at one time I was studying to enter the field of psychiatry. What Gallagher seems to miss and I find egregious, he is victimizing the people he is supposed to be helping.  Belief is a dangerous thing and Gallagher proves this point. 

I am really at a loss with this one,,,

Is it possible to be a sophisticated psychiatrist and believe that evil spirits are, however seldom, assailing humans? Most of my scientific colleagues and friends say no, because of their frequent contact with patients who are deluded about demons, their general skepticism of the supernatural, and their commitment to employ only standard, peer-reviewed treatments that do not potentially mislead (a definite risk) or harm vulnerable patients. But careful observation of the evidence presented to me in my career has led me to believe that certain extremely uncommon cases can be explained no other way.,,,

But I believe I’ve seen the real thing. Assaults upon individuals are classified either as “demonic possessions” or as the slightly more common but less intense attacks usually called “oppressions.” A possessed individual may suddenly, in a type of trance, voice statements of astonishing venom and contempt for religion, while understanding and speaking various foreign languages previously unknown to them. The subject might also exhibit enormous strength or even the extraordinarily rare phenomenon of levitation. (I have not witnessed a levitation myself, but half a dozen people I work with vow that they’ve seen it in the course of their exorcisms.) He or she might demonstrate “hidden knowledge” of all sorts of things — like how a stranger’s loved ones died, what secret sins she has committed, even where people are at a given moment. These are skills that cannot be explained except by special psychic or preternatural ability.

As a psychiatrist, I diagnose mental illness. Also, I help spot demonic possession. - The Washington Post

ADDENDUM::Sexual abuse is not just a Catholic problem | Catholic Globe

I have mentioned my issues with Tchivividjian before and find it odd that references is being made to his review as the RCC can "end this all" if one man spoke up. Now granted the author does have a point, not just Catholics, but to hide behind that premise is bogus.  Take a look at the 2000 year-old book that condones children as chattel and a doctrine that represses sexuality and expression first as the commonalities.  It is not just the silence that kills youthful spirit, but the dogma you hold dear.  "One may ask, finally, why the Catholic situation has not received fair treatment in the print and electronic media. The answer: the media themselves, which often seem rather less interested in exposing child abuse at all levels of society than in Catholic-bashing."

The movie “Spotlight” (which I saw last week, and thought remarkably fair – not at all expressive of the familiar media attacks on the Catholic Church) has again opened up discussion about the issue of child abuse in the Catholic Church. The movie portrays the disastrous handling of sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston over a number of decades.

“Boz” Tchivividjian (don’t ask me how to pronounce the name) offered an insightful commentary, titled “Spotlight: It’s Not Just a Catholic Problem,” in a Religion News Service blog last week. Tchivividjian, a former child abuse prosecutor, the founder and executive director of ABUSE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment), and a professor of law at Liberty University (and I would guess a Baptist) argued that child sex abuse is just as prevalent in the Protestant churches as it is in the Catholic Church.

Regarding the movie “Spotlight,” Tchivividjian writes: “Some may be tempted to watch this film with disgust at the Catholic Church and a sigh of relief for Protestants.

Sexual abuse is not just a Catholic problem | Catholic Globe

Advocacy group calls for Youngstown Diocese investigation | WKBN.com

It seems that the Diocese of Youngstown (OH) and the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown (PA) debacles, specifically Brother Stephen Baker's involvement, are connected.  What appears to have brought about Hoatson's call to arms is this:

Youngstown Catholic Bishop George Murry is being called on to settle 28 cases of child sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated Brother Stephen Baker, who was a coach at Warren John F. Kennedy High School in the 1980's and 1990's.
,,,
The recently completed Pennsylvania investigation revealed decades of alleged systematic protection of sexual predators within the community of priests and religious leaders in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona Johnstown, including Brother Stephen Baker.

Both articles concerning Diocese of Youngstown also cite this narrative, Poland mother who says her son’s suicide resulted from being sexually abused by a priest at JFK demands transparency, as possible impetus.   The Diocese response as reported through March 7, 2016:

In 2013, the Youngstown Diocese announced abuse settlements with 11 former students of Baker’s. Road to Recovery says 28 more students are still waiting for Bishop George Murry to settle their claims.

Monsignor John Zuraw, chancellor of the Diocese of Youngstown, said the diocese does not have a secret archive, nor does it have secret files. He said the situation is completely different from one that was reported at the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese.

“This is the second wave of individuals who have come forward,” he said.

Zuraw said the diocese is working with its legal counsel and the victims’ legal counsel. While he said the diocese had no idea of Brother Baker’s inappropriate behavior, the Youngstown Diocese did reach out to staff and teachers who were at JFK.

He said the staff that was contacted said they weren’t aware of the alleged abuse.

The Catholic Church is in deep trouble as I feel this story, including both Ohio and Pennsylvania, are going to get much worse.

The leader of a national support group for victims of sexual abuse by priests and other Catholic Church clergy today called upon county prosecutors in Mahoning and Trumbull counties to urge Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine to launch an aggressive investigation into sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown.

At a press conference this morning outside the headquarters of the diocese, Robert Hoatson, president of the New Jersey-based Road to Recovery, “We want the same type of investigation as was done in Altoona {Pa.].”[sic]
,,,

About 50 cases of abuse at JFK and St. Mary’s Middle School in Warren have been reported, and the dioceses has settled about 11 of those claims, Hoatson said.

All speakers also criticized Youngstown Bishop George Murry and diocesan leaders for their handling of the cases.

Advocacy group calls for Youngstown Diocese investigation | WKBN.com

JoAnn Wypijewski from Counterpunch SHREDS the Boston Globe, Spotlight, and more

We all know the accolades the movie Spotlight has received.  According to this website and author JoAnn Wypijewski it may not be deserved.  As I have yet to watch the movie I have no opinions to this article in regards to fact or otherwise.

We at TheMediaReport.com are not the only ones angered that Hollywood awarded the factually challenged movie Spotlight its Best Picture prize at the Oscars Sunday night.

Veteran left-wing journalist JoAnn Wypijewski – who herself was in Boston during the spring of 2002 reporting on the Catholic sex abuse story – has just unleashed a stinging attack on the Boston Globe, the makers of Spotlight, the media, Church-suing contingency lawyers, and so-called "survivors" in a new piece in the left-wing blog, CounterPunch. This is truly a must-read piece,,,

JoAnn Wypijewski from Counterpunch SHREDS the Boston Globe, Spotlight, and more

FEIGNED OUTRAGE OVER SEXUAL ABUSE : Catholic League

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?

FEIGNED OUTRAGE OVER SEXUAL ABUSE : Catholic League

Catholic Church linked to child labor in Uganda. | Occupy The Vatican

During his November visit to Africa, the continent which now counts nearly 200m Roman Catholics, Pope Francis said that children were some of the greatest victims of Africa’s historical exploitation by other powers. He also urged young Africans to resist corruption. But should the Vatican be doing more to put its own house in order? A BBC investigation has uncovered evidence that church land in Uganda is being used for child labour.
,,,
Now, aged 32, Mr Turyaritunga’s view on the Catholic Church has changed.

Earlier this year, Mr Turyaritunga made allegations to the BBC about child labour taking place on Church-owned land in Kabale.

He alleged that children as young as 10 were working on a tea plantation on the land, and that the Catholic Church was profiting.

Catholic Church linked to child labor in Uganda. | Occupy The Vatican

Catholic bishops not obliged to report clerical child abuse, Vatican says | World news | The Guardian

They haven't learn a thing!!

The Catholic church is telling newly appointed bishops that it is “not necessarily” their duty to report accusations of clerical child abuse and that only victims or their families should make the decision to report abuse to police.

A document that spells out how senior clergy members ought to deal with allegations of abuse, which was recently released by the Vatican, emphasised that, though they must be aware of local laws, bishops’ only duty was to address such allegations internally.

“According to the state of civil laws of each country where reporting is obligatory, it is not necessarily the duty of the bishop to report suspects to authorities, the police or state prosecutors in the moment when they are made aware of crimes or sinful deeds,” the training document states.

The training guidelines were written by a controversial French monsignor and psychotherapist, Tony Anatrella, who serves as a consultant to the Pontifical Council for the Family. The Vatican released the guidelines – which are part of a broader training programme for newly named bishops – at a press conference earlier this month and is now seeking feedback.

Details of the Catholic church’s policy were first reported in a column by a veteran Vatican journalist, John Allen, associate editor of the Catholic news site, Cruxnow.com.

Allen noted that a special commission created by Pope Francis, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, had appeared to play no role in the training programme, even though it is supposed to be developing “best practices” to prevent and deal with clerical abuse.
,,,
The guidelines reflect Anatrella’s views on homosexuality. They also downplay the seriousness of the Catholic church’s legacy of systemic child abuse, which some victims’ right groups say continues to be a problem today.

While acknowledging that “the church has been particularly affected by sexual crimes committed against children”, the training guide emphasises statistics that show the vast majority of sexual assaults against children are committed within the family and by friends and neighbours, not other authority figures.

Catholic bishops not obliged to report clerical child abuse, Vatican says | World news | The Guardian

H/T::   In the Name Of god - The Podcast

Irish priest punished by Florida bishop for informing on pedophile colleague - IrishCentral.com

I have been watching this situation from afar, not sure whether to post it or not.  This article courtesy of In the Name of god - The Podcast lays out the situation quite well.

A priest, originally from County Tyrone and now based in the United States, claims he has been “frozen out” of the Catholic Church after calling the police to investigate a fellow clergyman who had shown child-porn images to 14-year-old parishioner.

Fr John A Gallagher (48), from Strabane, Co Tyrone, is now living in a holiday home belonging to one of his friends and parishioners. He says the locks on his parochial house were changed and he was placed on medical leave by his bishop in the Diocese of Palm Beach, FL. Gallagher says he was told by the Catholic Church to put a pedophile priest on a plane back to India rather than cooperate with the police.

Gallagher has been living in the United States since 2000. Prior to this he served in the Long Tower parish in Derry. He is well-known in the Catholic community in the US and has made several religious music records and TV appearances. In 2012 he received a personal note from Pope Benedict XVI thanking him for his work, but Gallagher said this was little comfort as he felt “the wrath" of the Church in the past year.

Irish priest punished by Florida bishop for informing on pedophile colleague - IrishCentral.com

Priest convicted of sexual assault on teenage girl has suspension lifted by church | Americas | News | The Independent

An Indian priest convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in the United States more than 10 years ago has had his suspension lifted by the Roman Catholic church.

Rev Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul, 61, had the suspension lifted by the bishop of the Ootacamund Diocese in India’s southern Tamil Nadu state after he was instructed to do so by authorities at the Vatican, spokesman for the diocese Rev Sebastian Selvanathan told CBS News.

"After Jeyapaul's release from the United States and his return to India, this matter was referred to Rome, and according to the guidelines of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the suspension against Jeyapaul was removed," Rev Selvanathan said.

Priest convicted of sexual assault on teenage girl has suspension lifted by church | Americas | News | The Independent

See also::   Catholic Church lifts ban on priest convicted of sexually assaulting teen

UPDATED::Missouri Bishop Robert Finn Under Vatican Investigation For Failing To Report Alleged Abuse

UPDATE::   Rally against local Bishop

"Bishop Finn needs to be defrocked, demoted and disciplined," said Judy Jones with the group SNAP, which stands for Survivor’s Network of those Abused by Priests.

Some want a bishop in Lincoln to be removed from the church.

In 2012, Bishop Robert Finn was found guilty of failing to report suspected child abuse.

And now that he's relocated to minister here in Lincoln, some residents want him out of the church, completely.

Jones adds, "we are here today to hand–deliver a letter to Bishop Conley, begging him to reverse his decision to have Bishop Finn minister in the diocese."

Bishop Robert Finn has been ministering with the School Sisters of Christ the King here in Lincoln since December.

And protestors say he should not be allowed to hold any job within the Catholic church.

__

Finn is the highest-ranking U.S. church leader to be convicted for failing to take action in response to sex abuse allegations. He was charged in the case of the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, whose computer contained hundreds of lewd photos of young girls taken in and around churches where he work ed. Diocesan officials waited six months before they notified civil authorities of the photos. Ratigan pleaded guilty to child pornography charges and was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison.

Finn was sentenced in 2012 to two years' probation for the misdemeanor, and ever since has faced pressure from local Roman Catholics to step down. Some parishioners petitioned Pope Francis to remove the bishop from the diocese.

Francis has promised he would hold bishops accountable for how they responded when confronted with cases of abusive priests. No U.S. bishop has been removed for covering up for guilty clergy.

Missouri Bishop Robert Finn Under Vatican Investigation For Failing To Report Alleged Abuse

In Hearing Tomorrow, Diocese of New Ulm Seeks to Dismiss Sexual Abuse Lawsuit from Court

Tomorrow at 3:00 PM [There hearing should have taken place 9/22/2015] in Brown County District Court, the Diocese of New Ulm will ask the Court to dismiss a lawsuit filed on behalf of a sexual abuse survivor, Doe 7, who was sexually abused as a young girl by Fr. David Roney at St. Mary’s Church in Willmar, MN.

The diocese continues to fight sexual abuse survivors and their advocates by keeping secret the full list of credibly accused clerics and the documents pertaining to the clerics and child sexual abuse by clergy. Until this information is released to the public, children remain at risk.

In March 2015, the Diocese of New Ulm quietly released the names of four clerics with allegations of sexual abuse of minors. These clerics included Fr. David Roney, Fr. John Murphy, Fr. Michael Skoblik, and Fr. Dennis Becker whose names was publicly released for the first time.

 For more information surrounding Roney:

“I just felt so dirty all of those years,” Lori Stoltz said as she and Kim Schmit went public with allegations that the Rev. David Roney sexually abused them in the late 1960s and early 1970s when he was a priest at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Willmar.

“It was the church that was hiding him,” said Jan Hazen, Schmit’s mother.

“It is a seed that grows and grows...” Schmit said of the problems abuse causes. “Somebody shouldn’t have to go through that.”

Schmit and Stoltz are two of about a half-dozen women who have filed lawsuits against the Catholic Diocese of New Ulm claiming that the Rev. David Roney sexually abused them when he was a priest in southern and western Minnesota.

And this from the BishopAccountability.org citing a 2007 article by Jonathan Kaminsky of City Pages "Unforgiven:  The Diocese of New Ulm Knew Father David Roney Was a Pedophile When It Sent Him to Live Among Orphan Schoolchildren in Guatemala": 

The mountain of documents constituting Roney's personnel file paints a deeply disturbing picture of a pedophile priest whose taste for young children went unchecked and unpunished for decades. And it doesn't end in Minnesota. According to a sworn affidavit secured by the women's lawyer, Roney spent his retirement years at the diocese's mission in Guatemala, where he took up with a prepubescent orphan girl whom he planned to adopt.

"Their attitude was, 'It's okay for him to abuse kids in Guatemala, because they probably won't say anything,'" Kathleen Stafford, an attorney representing the women in the suit, says of the church leadership. "The whole thing makes me sick."  <--More to come on that issue - a “pipeline” of rape and abuse cases between the U.S and Latin America by The Catholic Church
,,,
 Lucker quietly shipped Roney off to Foundation House, a remote facility alongside a dusty two-lane road in the high desert of New Mexico. For nearly 20 years, between 1976 and 1995, Foundation House was the place where the Catholic Church sent its wayward clergymen. All told, some 500 priests and monks underwent the "program," which mingled psychotherapy, medication, and various tests that purported to both diagnose and treat sexually troubled men of the cloth. Among the tools reportedly in use was a plethysmograph, a contraption that hooks on to the penis and gauges its responses to various erotic images and sounds in order to diagnose sexual preferences.

Roney spent a week at the center. While there, he completed a "personal history" form. It paints a picture of a man who, despite his chosen vocation, never felt spiritually satisfied. "I really want to feel a closeness to God and I have not so far experienced it," he wrote. "I enjoy presiding at baptisms and, strangely, funerals. I would be happy if I never had to preside at a wedding again. I feel old."

In Hearing Tomorrow, Diocese of New Ulm Seeks to Dismiss Sexual Abuse Lawsuit from Court

How the Vatican investigates miracles | New York Post

In “The Vatican Prophecies: Investigating Supernatural Signs, Apparitions, and Miracles in the Modern Age” (Viking), John Thavis, former Rome bureau chief for the Catholic News Service, describes this 1982 secret exorcism.

The new book shares how the Vatican deals with supernatural — or supposedly supernatural — events, from holy relics to instances of possession.

Thavis makes it clear that events of this sort put the Vatican in a difficult spot. On one hand, they cannot reject such supernatural phenomena outright, as to do so would reject many elements of the religion’s history.

At the same time, every claim of a supernatural or otherworldly presence must be handled with extreme skepticism, to prevent the Church from being taken in by charlatans, any one of whom could deal a blow to the Church’s credibility.

[,,,]

The Church has dealt with fake relics since the Middle Ages, when the “brain of Saint Peter,” which had been “venerated for centuries in the cathedral of Geneva was investigated and found to be a pumice stone,” and the “arm of Saint Anthony,” long “kissed by the faithful on festive occasions, turned out to be part of a stag.”

These days, rather than spend time and money exposing forgeries, the Church sometimes turns a blind eye to relics whose authenticity is in question. In 2011, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster angered many Catholics when he stated, “If that connection is made through an object which maybe forensically won’t stand up to the test, that’s of secondary importance to the spiritual and emotive power that the object can contain.”

How the Vatican investigates miracles | New York Post

Catholic School Officially Changes Policy After Fired Lesbian Rejects Hush Money, Goes Public | ThinkProgress

The policy change is highly unusual for a Catholic institution, as instances of Catholic schools firing LGBT employees for being “public” about their sexuality are increasingly common. Several LGBT Catholic workers and teachers have lost their jobs over the past few years simply for being “out” about who they are, with administrators often justifying the terminations by citing the Catholic Church’s historic opposition to homosexual acts. Catholic officials also often claim protection under the “ministerial exception” — a legal concept expanded in 2012 that allows faith-based organizations to discriminate when hiring for jobs they classify as “ministerial.”

According to New Ways Ministry, a LGBT-affirming Catholic organization, the reversal marks the first instance of a school changing its hiring policy to be more inclusive in “more than 50 public incidents since 2008 where church workers have lost their job in LGBT-related employment disputes.” 

David Renshaw, communications director for the Archdiocese of Portland, spoke with ThinkProgress shortly before entering a meeting to discuss the school’s decision. He said Portland Archbishop Alexander Sample does not yet have a statement on the matter, but confirmed that “Canon law does say that the bishop does have oversight or jurisdiction” over St. Mary’s. Earlier this year, Sample published a statement saying that he was “saddened” by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide.

“We don’t know what the thought process was during the reversal,” Renshaw said, adding that Church officials would like enter into talks with school administrators soon.

But while the new policy is out of step with the position of the Catholic hierarchy, it is far more in line with the deeply progressive bent of American Catholicism: Over 60 percent of U.S. Catholics support marriage equality.

It remains to be seen whether St. Mary’s officials will extend another offer to Brown, or whether she would accept such an invitation if they did.

Catholic School Officially Changes Policy After Fired Lesbian Rejects Hush Money, Goes Public | ThinkProgress

Fort Wayne woman marries God | WANE

So, prior to Sheila Ryan's wedding in June, this ritual rite of becoming a consecrated virgin was foreign.  Now we have a second one.  From Sarah Rasher, 

To hear Hayes talk about her marriage to Christ — which differs from becoming a nun because Hayes remains a layperson — her decision is in line with contemporary ideas about sexual diversity and acceptance of differences.

“I think that in some sense, we’re all called to be married. It’s just a matter of discerning how. So, my marriage is to Christ and someone else’s marriage is to their spouse. A priest’s marriage is to the church. That’s a good desire that’s planted in us by God. The real question is how, how is this lived most joyfully in me,” Hayes said. “I do think that not everybody has the same path. To be able to look at all of these different ways of life and to see people living them out joyfully is an invitation to consider a little bit more deeply what those things mean.”

That’s perfectly fine, but when Hayes talks about her goal of convincing more girls to marry Jesus, she’s probably going to want a more convincing argument than the pure joy of perpetual abstinence:

“I think, especially with the young women I’ve worked with in my teaching so far, the religious life isn’t something that many of them consider because we don’t have women religious teaching with us in our schools like we used to years ago. So, many of them don’t consider that as an option anymore because they don’t see young women their own age considering it and joining it. That’s really something I try to expose my female students a little bit more to,” Hayes said.

It’s hard to imagine many American teenagers finding this option appealing.

Fort Wayne woman marries God | WANE

Help Wanted: The Philippines Needs More Exorcists : Goats and Soda : NPR

Alvin Bailon and his wife were at their wits' end last September. Their 12-year-old son, an honors student, had begun having anxiety attacks, mostly about school. "And then all of a sudden he would slowly lose consciousness," Bailon recalls. "We term it as doze off. He would doze off and he would fall down slowly."

They brought him to three doctors, had his brain scanned (no irregularities were found), tried all sorts of anxiety pills prescribed by doctors. They even went to healers who use crystals for therapy.

Then they tried a beach retreat that the healers had recommended. Their son did well, but Bailon says on the car ride home the child "dozed off" and whispered in a totally unfamiliar voice, "Shhh, you might wake him up."

That's when the Bailons did what many in the overwhelmingly Catholic country do when facing a family crisis: They turned to the church — and its Office of Exorcism, opened in 2006 to address a growing number of cases and run by Father Jose Francisco Syquia.

Dressed in a short-sleeve button-down shirt, the Rome-trained exorcist says he has been driving demonic spirits out of people and houses for more than a dozen years. He has seen a steady increase in cases in the past decade, with 200 so far this year.

"At any given time we have at the minimum 30 cases," says the 48-year-old. "And we're only five exorcists."

Help Wanted: The Philippines Needs More Exorcists : Goats and Soda : NPR

UPDATE:Criminal complaint filed against bishop who called for gays to be killed · PinkNews

Swiss LGBT organisation the Pink Cross has since filed a criminal complaint about the comments, after saying it was “shocked” by them.

However Huonder was quick to distance himself from the comments, claiming on Monday that he was misunderstood.

“That wasn’t my intention,” he said.

However the bishop has made similar comments since his appointment in 2007.

Earlier this year he called for a priest in Switzerland to be sacked after he blessed a lesbian couple.

Jean Ann Esselink offers a bit more context:

Pink Cross, the Swiss Gay Federation, took notice of the bishop's remarks. Worried that at this time in history, when so many countries are adopting anti-gay laws, Bishop Huonder's sermon was dangerous hate speech, the group filed a criminal complaint against him. They insist his words could be taken by followers to mean they should do harm to homosexuals.

"As a figure of authority within the church, Vitus Huonder accepts that his demand will meet with approval among Christians and other fundamentalists and could be followed obediently," Bastian Baumann, the director of Pink Cross told reporters. (translated)

Bishop Huonder released a statement claiming his comments have been "misunderstood" and that he did not mean to sound "contemptuous" towards gay people. "That wasn’t my intention," he said.

Criminal complaint filed against bishop who called for gays to be killed · PinkNews

See also:

Oh look, our very own Bill Donohue, president of The Catholic League has even chimed in:

In the U.S., New Ways Ministry, an anti-Catholic organization, is accusing Bishop Huonder of “preaching dangerous words.” It charges him with “providing cover for those prejudiced against LGBT people who may enact discrimination and violence as a result.” Though this fraudulent group has been denounced by many bishops, it is nonetheless treated as a legitimate Catholic voice by the mainstream media, as well as by the National Catholic Reporter (the dissident newspaper has also been slammed by many bishops).

These same activists would like to arrest Pope Francis, if they could. After all, the Holy Father has quite openly condemned homosexuality and gender theory. Explicitly, he has labeled proposals to legalize gay marriage “the envy of the Devil,” and has said, “Gender ideology is demonic!”

Gay fascists are on the rise in North America and Europe. Their goal is to criminalize the Bible, and to destroy freedom of speech and religion.

Catholic Bishops In Kenya Call For A Boycott Of Polio Vaccines : Goats and Soda : NPR

Africa will mark one year without polio on Tuesday. The last case was in Somalia in 2014.

But last week, a polio vaccination campaign in Kenya faced an unlikely opponent: The country's Conference of Catholic Bishops declared a boycott of the World Health Organization's vaccination campaign, saying they needed to "test" whether ingredients contain a derivative of estrogen. Dr. Wahome Ngare of the Kenyan Catholic Doctor's Association alleged that the presence of the female hormone could sterilize children.

Ngare is a practicing gynecologist with no infectious disease experience.

He raises the specter of eugenics — sterilizing segments of human populations. He put forth other objections as well: "There are all sorts of stories out there," he told me. "Vaccines can cause autism. Vaccines have been used for spread of HIV. There are some cancer-causing viruses that you'd find in vaccines. So there are lot of stories. Some of them we don't know whether they're true or not true."

I pointed out to him that research has shown that claims of vaccines being linked to autism and HIV and cancer are in fact not true.

His response: "We could debate this forever."

Catholic Bishops In Kenya Call For A Boycott Of Polio Vaccines : Goats and Soda : NPR

Catholic bishop in ‘death to gays’ storm - SWI swissinfo.ch

In his 50-minute address on Friday, titled “Marriage – a gift, sacrament and order”, Huonder quoted various passages backing up his views. He also slammed gender theory, divorce, sex education and gay marriage.

Regarding homosexuality, the 73-year-old bishop quoted two verses from the book of Leviticus, including Leviticus 20:13: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”

In response to applause, he continued: “Both of these passages alone suffice to clarify unambiguously the church’s position on homosexuality”.

In his opinion, the passages also had implications for the definition of marriage and the family. “There is no diversity when it comes to marriage and family models, although a book has just come out in my bishopric called ‘Family Diversity’,” he said.

“Even speaking of family diversity is an attack on the Creator.”

The book he is referring to is “Family Diversity in the Catholic Church” by Hanspeter Schmitt, a professor at the Chur University of Theology, and Arnd Bünker from the socio-pastoral institute in St Gallen. The book addresses church teachings on the issue of family. 

As Michael Stone over at Progressive Secular Humanist points out, "Bishop Huonder is not the only high placed catholic leader spewing anti-gay bigotry."

Catholic bishop in ‘death to gays’ storm - SWI swissinfo.ch

Catholic Church leaves Antarctica | Radio New Zealand News

The National Science Foundation (NSF), which over-sees the US Antarctic Programme said the decline in people attending services at McMurdo Station meant there was no longer the need for a Catholic Priest.

A military chaplaincy will remain at the base providing inter-denominational religious services and personal support to the population.

Co-ordinator of the Catholic Church in Antarctica Father Dan Doyle has spent 14 summers on the ice since his first trip in 1984.

"There is a gradual decrease in religiosity, there is also a decrease in the number of people working at McMurdo Station and the South Pole and budget cuts so all of these factors have led to the decision that only one chaplain is necessary."

Father Doyle said he has been working with the NSF on the transition that would bring an end to a 57-year relationship between the Diocese and the Programme.


Catholic Church leaves Antarctica | Radio New Zealand News