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Vatican 'indignant' over Belgium police raids
BBC ^
| June 25th 2010
| Staff
Posted on 06/25/2010 8:20:08 AM PDT by Cardhu
The Vatican has expressed "shock" at raids, including a "violation" of a cathedral crypt, by Belgian police investigating alleged child sex abuse.
As well as searching a couple of main Church offices and a cardinal's home, police had drilled holes in two archbishops' tombs, said the Church.
Prosecutors said the raids were over alleged "abuse of minors committed by a certain number of Church figures".
Belgium is one of many countries where the Church has been hit by sex scandal.
In April, the Bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe, resigned after admitting he had sexually abused a boy more than 20 years ago.
Computer seized
On Thursday, police in Leuven seized nearly 500 files and a computer from the offices of a Church commission investigating allegations of sex abuse
They also searched the Church's headquarters, the Brussels archdiocese in Mechelen, north of the Belgian capital.
Bishops holding a meeting there were barred from leaving the premises for several hours and had their mobile phones confiscated, said Church officials.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: abuse; belguim; catholic; police
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Investigators also made holes in the tombs of two former Belgian primates at Mechelen cathedral, and sent down cameras in search of hidden documents, without success, said a Church spokesman.
1
posted on
06/25/2010 8:20:14 AM PDT
by
Cardhu
To: Cardhu
Maybe they should start expressing more “shock” at the violation of children by the hands of their clergy.
This is a good start and should happen elsewhere.
2
posted on
06/25/2010 8:28:57 AM PDT
by
TSgt
(We will always be prepared, so we may always be free. - Ronald Reagan)
To: Cardhu
I don’t know what to say.
IS this secualrism gone mad in a war against Christianity, or legitimate efforts to expose corrupt and deviant individuals??
3
posted on
06/25/2010 8:29:21 AM PDT
by
ZULU
To: ZULU
IS this secualrism gone mad in a war against Christianity, or legitimate efforts to expose corrupt and deviant individuals??
They were not informing authorities about their "discoveries" so the authorities decided to help.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2540785/posts
The channel said that the documents held by the independent commission were supposed to have been passed over "discreetly" to justice officials, but that clearly that had not yet been done as expected.
4
posted on
06/25/2010 8:34:57 AM PDT
by
TSgt
(We will always be prepared, so we may always be free. - Ronald Reagan)
To: ZULU
“IS this secualrism gone mad in a war against Christianity,”
I think that there is some of that but Catholicism has become Christianity’s worst nightmare. Protecting child molesters because they are priests is a PR disaster and makes one wonder if the church leaders aren’t more like our politicians than they are God. The love of power is a quick route to hell.
5
posted on
06/25/2010 8:40:48 AM PDT
by
A Strict Constructionist
(We are an Oligarchy now and worse if we fail. TeaParty On...)
To: ZULU; TSgt
IS this secualrism gone mad in a war against Christianit No, this is a really stupid move on the part of the Catholic Church - The Police are investigating the "Church Commission investigating allegations of sex abuse."
They are covering up the investigation of the cover up.
The Church is used to dealing with the faithful who believe anything they are told. The hierarchy haven't got into their heads that such criminal behaviour as hiding evidence and lying about it will just get them deeper into trouble with the real world.
6
posted on
06/25/2010 8:45:17 AM PDT
by
Cardhu
To: A Strict Constructionist
Please keep in mind that you are tarring all with a brush that only belongs to the guilty. The last reputable figures I saw indicated an estimated .01% of priests involved. One tenth of one percent does not constitute a majority. Accusing the leaders of the Church in toto is inaccurate and uncalled for. Likewise, secularism IS in a war with Christianity. At least, some elements of secularism most certainly are, and have been since the forties. While I understand your frustration, and do in fact share it, please try to maintain an even keel.
To: ZULU
IS this secualrism gone mad in a war against Christianity, or legitimate efforts to expose corrupt and deviant individuals??
Think about it this way. When the Soviets wanted to destroy the Catholic Church in the eastern block countries in the 1940s and 1950s, they accused bishops and priests of exactly the same kinds of things.
Were some of the accusations legit? Sure. Priests are human and sinners just like the rest of us. Most of the accusations were completely bogus, however, and meant to demean the Church in the eyes of the public.
This is all about destroying the Church which is seen as the last major bulwark against Culture of Death secular socialism. Those ignorant Protestants who cheer it on are actually cheering their own eventual destruction as well.
The way you can tell the phonies on this issue is that they don't give a fig about sex abuse in any institution other than the Catholic Church. Such as these may be found all over threads like this spouting their false indignation. They also will never reveal what sect they happen to belong to, lest the accusation of hypocrisy be made even more obvious.
8
posted on
06/25/2010 8:54:47 AM PDT
by
Antoninus
(It's a degenerate society where dogs have more legal rights than unborn babies.)
To: Cardhu
Those “Special Victims Unit” cops were just violating the tombs normal citizens won’t.
Might they be Messicans hired for the job?
9
posted on
06/25/2010 9:00:00 AM PDT
by
GladesGuru
(In a society predicated upon freedom, it is essential to examine principles,)
To: sayuncledave
It has gone on too long to continue to allow it to happen. A little cooperation instead of indignation would go a long way in stopping this. Indignation can occur behind closed doors while cooperation occurs publicly and privately.
They are playing into the hands of the secularist. Remember the buck stops at the top.
To: Cardhu
"The Police are investigating...." The Belgian police! Any other story involving the competency or objectivity of any Belgian or EU civil institution would be met with derision by the hallelujah posse if it didn't involve the greater evil if the Catholic Church.
11
posted on
06/25/2010 9:01:38 AM PDT
by
Natural Law
(Catholiphobia is a mental illness.)
Comment #12 Removed by Moderator
To: Natural Law
would be met with derision by the hallelujah posse
No we deride all pedophiles regardless of their faith or non-faith. It's disturbing that you don't feel the same way...
13
posted on
06/25/2010 9:03:49 AM PDT
by
TSgt
(We will always be prepared, so we may always be free. - Ronald Reagan)
To: sayuncledave
Please keep in mind that you are tarring all with a brush that only belongs to the guilty. The last reputable figures I saw indicated an estimated .01% of priests involved. One tenth of one percent does not constitute a majority.
You're talking to people who are under the sway of media propaganda. Remember, the media can create a crime wave whenever they want to just by reporting selectively. Trust me, a much bigger crisis could be created over sex abuse in US public schools than ever existed among Catholic priests. But that would be counter-productive to the aims of the media propagandists.
Those on FR who use this issue to bash Catholics and the Catholic Church are either ignorant or part of the problem, frankly. We Catholics have been fighting, and winning, this battle over the homosexual infiltration of our Church for years. It angers me to no end that all this garbage is coming out from the pro-homosexual media to trash one of the men most responsible for cleaning up the mess that their ideology created within the Church--Pope Benedict XVI.
But of course, they know exactly what they're doing. If Pope Benedict XVI were more homosexual friendly--like Rowan Williams--none of these attacks would be happening.
14
posted on
06/25/2010 9:05:07 AM PDT
by
Antoninus
(It's a degenerate society where dogs have more legal rights than unborn babies.)
Comment #15 Removed by Moderator
To: Antoninus
"The way you can tell the phonies on this issue is that they don't give a fig about sex abuse in any institution other than the Catholic Church." Except that there are some perverts among the anti-Catholics who revel and wallow in their fantasies about vicars and choir boys and priests and altar boys. Why else would they sift through literally hundreds of topics per day and to find and focus only on stories involving Catholics and sex?
16
posted on
06/25/2010 9:06:29 AM PDT
by
Natural Law
(Catholiphobia is a mental illness.)
To: TSgt
"No we deride all pedophiles regardless of their faith or non-faith." No you don't. I've gone back through your posting history and you only have a grudge against the Catholic Church.
17
posted on
06/25/2010 9:08:28 AM PDT
by
Natural Law
(Catholiphobia is a mental illness.)
To: GladesGuru
cops were just violating the tombs normal citizens wont No just good police work when dealing with devious people. "A spokesman for the Belgian prosecutor in Brussels told news agency Reuters that investigators partially opened one tomb in the cathedral after someone mentioned work had recently been carried out on the grave."
18
posted on
06/25/2010 9:09:41 AM PDT
by
Cardhu
To: Antoninus
Satan worshipers, I’m not one personally, have a better record when it comes to child rape than your “The Universal Church.”
Put that in your smoker and swing it around a few times!
19
posted on
06/25/2010 9:11:51 AM PDT
by
TSgt
(We will always be prepared, so we may always be free. - Ronald Reagan)
Comment #20 Removed by Moderator
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