Posted on 05/21/2011 2:40:39 AM PDT by Cardhu
AMSTERDAM The head of a Catholic religious order in the Netherlands has confirmed one of his subordinate priests served on the board of an organization that promotes pedophilia.
Herman Spronck, head of the Dutch arm of the Salesian order, said in a statement Friday the priest served on the board of the "Martijn" organization, which is widely reviled but not illegal.
"Of course we reject this and distance ourselves from this personal initiative" on the part of the priest, Spronck's statement said.
"Membership in such organizations does not fit with the ethos of the Salesian order."
However, RTL Nieuws, which broke the story, published interviews both with Spronck and the priest, identified as 73-year-old "Father Van B.," in which they defend some pedophile relationships.
"Society thinks these relationships are harmful. I disagree," RTL quoted Van B. as saying. He served on Martijn's board from 2008 until 2010, when the organization's founder was arrested for alleged possession of child pornography. That case is ongoing.
RTL quoted Spronck as saying that "formally I always say that everyone must obey the law. But these relationships do not necessarily have to be damaging."
Spronck and his organization could not be reached late Friday for comment.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Why isn't this guy on the faculty of an Ivy League University?
Cheers!
A contributing factor to the bugzapper thread.
Lest any claim that those of us who will not countenance any toleration of adults using minors as their sexual smorgasbord are opposing them because of their profession or religion.
This is not okay.
It is never okay.
You know -- I really don't think that this is what Jesus had in mind when he said, "Let the little children come unto me."
Cheers!
Pedophilia is for NEA members ONLY (naughty teachers).
Hasn't this guy ever heard of the separation of Church and State? /sarc>
Cheers!
Then they were pray 5 times a day.
Cheers!
If we claim to serve Christ, then it is implicit that we accept the guilt of our sin and find grace in Christ. That said, we then follow our legal Master. Christ the King has laid out church order and discipline in the Scriptures. This man is apostate and needs to be ejected from any fellowship of true believers. For the organized church to avoid this issue and play games is to foster the same and server the purposes of antiChrist. We (all who name Christ) need to repent and return to the revealed basis of our faith - the Word.
Bastard. One of the main promoters of pedophilia was Ralph Underwager a Lutheran minister. You can find the interview he did in the Dutch magazine “Paedeka” ,a pro pedophile magazine, on line. So unfortunately the involvement of ministers in such activity is not new or unique to one faith.
I love the generalization of thousands of past cases. How many? What defines abuse? How many years back? I imagine the numbers are way exagerated and that abuse can mean anything from an inppropriate remark to rape.
Did abuse happen? I have no doubt. But Holland is a small country and the idea of there being thousands of legitmate accusation of abuse just does not make sense.
Sad, but true.
In the latest example of the Boston archdiocese's chaotic record-keeping on problem priests, church officials acknowledged yesterday their discovery of new records detailing allegations of the Rev. Paul R. Shanley's involvement in NAMBLA - the North American Man-Boy Love Association........more damning were numerous documents revealing that Bernard Cardinal Law, his predecessor, Humberto Cardinal Medeiros, and other archdiocesean officials were aware of Shanley's behavior as far back as 1967, but continued to assign him to posts that put him in direct contact with children....
....records showed that Shanley spoke in favor of sex between men and boys at a December 1978 Boston convention that led to the founding of the intergenerational sex advocacy organization. But a Shanley supporter who organized the meeting and later co-founded NAMBLA insists that it has been mischaracterized, and that many different points of view on the subject were presented....
....More germane to the accusations of MacLeish's clients is Socrates' contention that it would have been totally out of character for Shanley to have had violent sex with a 6-year-old. In his suit and in a criminal complaint to Newton police, Gregory Ford, 24, claims that Shanley yanked him out of CCD classes and repeatedly fondled and raped him as a child in the rectory of Newton's St. Jean's Parish for six years beginning in 1984. ``I don't believe it, based on what I know of him,'' Socrates said, insisting that the priest would never have had sex with a pre-pubescent boy. ``I don't believe he ever did anything by force.''
-- from the 2002 thread BREAKING: Church uncovers [NEW!!!] file on Shanley NAMBLA activity
“More germane to the accusations of MacLeish’s clients is Socrates’ contention that it would have been totally out of character for Shanley to have had violent sex with a 6-year-old”
WTF would non violent sex with a 6 year old be? Oh I know. Impossible.
I knew about the Shanley NAMBLA link. YOu would be sickened by the number of so called experts in psychology who believe there can be such a thing as consensual intergenarational sex.
You want to get really angry about NAMBLA types see if you can find a book titled “The Franklin Coverup.”
Its a cheap shot to denigrate the entire Salesian order because of the acts of a single degenerate. The Salesians, named after St. Francis de Sales, do a tremendous job in working with orphans and underprivileged kids around the world.
It wasn't a cheap shot at all, merely a bad pun.
Notice the remnant of my post was about "this GUY", not the whole order, nor the Church.
I thought that was clear from context, as well as my later posts in the thread.
Cheers!
Amsterdam is a cesspool.
I'm speechless...
Herman Spronck, head of the Dutch arm of the Salesian order:
"Formally I always say that everyone must obey the law. But these relationships do not necessarily have to be damaging."
The head of Dutch arm of the Salesian Order is using the same justification for pedophilia as NAMBLA.
Is there any wonder that one of his priests was a board member of the club, no doubt with his blessing?
The whole story is shocking...
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