Swap White Cassock for Black, Lose the Red Shoes

Before this year, when Pope Benedict XVI became best-known for his questionable record in dealing with the sexual abuse of children by priests, the pontiff often made headlines for his fastidious attention to high-end clerical fashion.

Soon after his election in 2005, for example, Benedict rummaged through the papal attic for ornate gold vestments last worn during the Renaissance, and he resurrected a 19th-century liturgical cape so wide is must be held up by two attendants. Benedict has taken to wearing ermine-trimmed capes and hats, as well -- to the chagrin of animal rights activists -- and he even commissioned a set of 30 new vestments modeled on those worn by the notorious Medici pope, Leo X, who at his election famously declared, "Let us enjoy the papacy since God has given it to us."

The pope's daily attire has also drawn notice, from his sunglasses -- rumored to be Serengetis by Bushnell -- to his fancy red leather shoes, which were originally thought to be Prada but turned out to be custom made by a shop in northern Italy.

Now a lay woman who has been a leader in efforts to clean up Catholicism's sex abuse scandal wants to link these two issues -- sex abuse and papal fashion -- and by doing so, help the pope, and her beloved church.

"...Protestant numbers have been harder to come by and are sketchier because the denominations are less centralized than the Catholic church; indeed, many congregations are independent, which makes reporting even more difficult. Some of the only numbers come from three insurance companies � Church Mutual Insurance Co., GuideOne Insurance Co. and Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Co. Together, they insure 165,495 churches and worship centers for liability against child sex abuse and other sexual misconduct, mostly Protestant congregations but a few other faiths as well. They also insure more than 5,500 religious schools, camps and other organizations. The companies represent a large chunk of all U.S. Protestant churches. There are about 224,000 in the U.S., according to the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, although that number excludes most historically black denominations and some other groups, which account for several thousand congregations. Church Mutual, GuideOne and Brotherhood Mutual each provided statistics on sex abuse claims to The Associated Press, although they did not produce supporting documentation or a way to determine whether the reports were credible... Read more: http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2007/06/18/80877.htm#ixzz0vVQ3u7AN

“...Tom Farr, general counsel and senior vice president of claims for GuideOne, based in West Des Moines, Iowa, said most abuse cases are resolved privately in court-ordered mediation. Awards can range from millions of dollars down to paying for counseling for victims, he said.

One of the largest settlements to date in Protestant churches involved the case of former Lutheran minister Gerald Patrick Thomas Jr. in Texas, where a jury several years ago awarded the minister’s victims nearly $37 million (euro28 million). Separate earlier settlements involving Thomas cost an additional $32 million.

A victims’ advocacy group has said the Southern Baptists, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, could do more to prevent abuse by creating a list of accused clergy the public and churches could access.

Southern Baptist President Frank Page said leaders are considering several options to help churches protect children against abuse.

“We believe that the Scripture teaches that the church should be an autonomous, independent organization,’’ Page said. “We encourage churches to hold accountable at the local level those who may have misused the trust of precious children and youth.’’

Several years ago, the Baptist General Convention of Texas, which represents moderates who have increasingly distanced themselves from the conservative-led Southern Baptists, started a list of accused clergy for churches, but not the public. Under pressure from victim advocates, the Texas group just released the names of some convicted sex offenders who may have been ministers in local congregations.

Joe Trull, editor of Christian Ethics Today and retired ethics professor at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, helped the Texas convention create its registry and says there are now about 11 cases involving clergy abuse with minors.

But he believes these are just the “tip of the iceberg’’ because churches don’t have to report abuse cases to the registry and aren’t likely to.

“The problem we’re having is that churches just weren’t sending the names,’’ Trull said. “In the normal scenario, they just try to keep it secret. We’re going to have to be more proactive and let them know if they don’t come forward, they’re helping to perpetuate this problem.’’

Yes, the AP got their information from the Insurance Companies which is why I posted the excerpt since you had a (red-herring) problem with the AP source. I also posted the link to encourage you to read it in full. When pastors from thousands of churches are trying to keep their child sexual abuse cases secret one would surmise that the numbers and documentation would be scant.

Joe Thull - “...believes these are just the “tip of the iceberg’’ because churches don’t have to report abuse cases to the registry and aren’t likely to.”

After all, St. Malachi prophecies tell us that this mysterious Peter the Roman will be the last Pope, the religious leader that will ultimately destroy the Catholic Church. He supposedly joins up with the AC to lead the world into a new twisted faith that will involve the open worship of the Beast.

Goodness Gracious - Here is the actual prophecy by St. Malachy of Petrus Romanus :

"In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock amonth many tribulations; after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people".

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