Posted on 03/22/2010 6:21:30 AM PDT by Gamecock
Pope Benedict's weekend apology to Ireland went further than any other papal statement on child-sex abuse by priests, but still fell too short for many victims of the scandals shaking the Catholic Church across Europe.
Following are details of some of the major abuse scandals in various countries:
SWITZERLAND: The Swiss Catholic Church is investigating allegations of abuse by clergy. The Diocese of Chur, in eastern Switzerland, said Saturday it was investigating about 10 complaints. The abbot of a monastery in the diocese said at least three of the 77 monks at Einsiedeln had committed acts of abuse since he took up office in December 2001, but no legal action had been taken.
NETHERLANDS: More than 200 Catholics have reported abuse after Radio Netherlands Worldwide and newspaper NRC Handelsblad revealed that three priests from the Salesian order abused pupils decades ago at a boarding school. The church there has set up an independent inquiry headed by a Protestant politician.
GERMANY: A Jesuit high school in Berlin reported cases of sexual abuse there in January, starting a series of revelations at other Catholic boarding schools and non-religious schools.
- The Regensburg diocese admitted physical and sexual abuse cases at a boarding school for its famous Domspatzen (cathedral sparrows) boys choir. Its director, Pope Benedict's brother, Rev. Georg Ratzinger, admitted to slapping boys to discipline them but denied knowledge of sexual abuse. The ensuing wave of abuse charges from previously silent victims has since reached about 250.
IRELAND: In April 2002, Bishop Brendan Comiskey of Ferns resigned over his handling of charges against a priest who committed suicide in 1999 while facing 66 charges of abuse.
- May 2009 - The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse issued a five-volume report that took nine years to compile. It said priests beat and raped children during decades of abuse in Catholic-run institutions.
- Nov. 2009 - The Murphy report, a government-commissioned inquiry into abuse in Dublin from 1975 to 2004 said church authorities covered up widespread cases of child sexual abuse until the mid-1990s.
- Dec. 2009 - After meeting two Irish church leaders, Pope Benedict said he shared the "outrage, betrayal and shame" over the scandal in Ireland.
- Feb. 2010 - Benedict held crisis talks with 24 Irish bishops at the Vatican. The bishops promised him they were committed to cooperating with authorities. Four bishops have offered their resignations and the pope has so far accepted one.
UNITED STATES: June 2002 - The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops agreed on a new policy that would forbid pedophile priests from ever again acting as clerics - but not necessarily expel them from the priesthood.
BRITAIN: July 2000 - London Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor acknowledged making a mistake in a previous post in the 1980s by allowing a pedophile priest to continue working. The priest was jailed in 1997 for abusing nine boys over a 20-year period.
AUSTRIA: July 2004 - Austrian News magazine Profil ran pictures of priests kissing and groping seminarians at a Catholic seminary in the St. Poelten diocese.
AUSTRALIA: July 2008 - On a visit to Australia, Pope Benedict apologized for sexual abuse by clergy. At that time there had been 107 convictions for sexual abuse in the church there.
MEXICO: March 2009 - Pope Benedict ordered an inquiry into the Legionaries of Christ priestly order whose founder was discovered to be a sexual molester. In 2006, the pope told the founder, Father Marcial Maciel, to retire to a life of "prayer and penitence". Maciel died in 2008. His order acknowledged in 2009 that he had fathered at least one child with a mistress.
CANADA: Oct. 2009 - Bishop Raymond Lahey of Antigonish, N.S., was charged with possession and importation of child pornography. Earlier that year, he had overseen a $13-million settlement with clerical abuse victims in the Antigonish diocese in a case dating back to 1950.
Nah. NYer and marshmallow do it all the time. No one is bashing them, now, are they? It's because they don't salivate, cackle and gloat. Unlike some others around here.
Yea, and whenever a priest walks through out doorway all us Catholics yell out "Jesus is here!" and immediately bow down and begin to worship him. LOL.
C'mon Eckleburg, you call the Catholic faith "imprecise" only because you cannot find anything in the Catechism or the thousands upon thousands of Catholic writings which were created over the course of centuries saying specifically that priests are Jesus Christ.
Otherwise, let me tell you a bit about my day. Today my boss was not in work, so, to the best of my ability and according to his instruction, I took his place. I dealt with clients, gave advice, made sure his business was taken care of as best I could. His subordinates followed my commands because my boss told them to do so. I made sure that what he left behind to be done was carried out, and I followed his explicit instructions to the best of my ability.
So tell me, are my boss and I the same?
LOLOLOLOLOLOL! Seriously stop it, you're killing me!
Sexual Abuse of Children by Protestant Ministers
Report: Protestant Church Insurers Handle 260 Sex Abuse Cases a Year
Abuse by Protestant Ministers of Every Denomination
Child Sexual Molestation by Various Protestant Clergy
"Yeshiva" of Brooklyn also Guilty of Child Abuse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Teachers and Pedophilia - In YOUR Backyard
Washington Post -- D.C. school officials reported 220 abuse allegations against teachers
Sex Abuse by Teachers Said Worse Than Catholic Church
WHEN BOYS ARE MOLESTED BY TEACHERS AND OTHERS IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY
lol. You've been given plenty of examples from Roman Catholic doctrine and Roman Catholic priests which teach that the RC priestcraft is an "alter Christus" - "another Christ."
Perhaps what you haven't been given are eyes to see and ears to hear.
The RCC also teaches that only priests can offer the Lord's Supper. Why is that?
Because supposedly only the priest has the magic mojo to turn the bread and wine into Christ. And why is that? Because the priest, in his capacity as an "alter Christus," is offering himself to the congregation.
Sick.
Of course it happens elsewhere.
But here is the difference:
What do you call a Roman Catholic clergyman who abuses children? A priest.
What do you call a Presbyterian clergyman who abuses children? An inmate.
That my FRiend, is the point.
lolol.
Evidently too often too true.
What do you call a Presbyterian clergyman who abuses children? An inmate.
That really is the whole issue. Any church or organization can be infiltrated by perverts. It's what you do after a CRIME has been committed. The RCC deserves nothing but contempt on this. They protected these perverts by moving them around instead of reporting them to the authorities.
Drudge just posted an article about this. Their Pope was notified by memo that a pervert was being returned to his church after starting therapy. It's all well and good that they wanted to help this pervert, but the therapy should have been provided in jail, or prison. The medieval practice of seperate courts and punishments for clergy was wrong then and is wrong today.
That's a good example of a cackle, right there.
Amen !
THX for the ping.
Reasonable points, imho.
Please do not blame the good Dr. E. for the content of her postings. She is not responsible. As a Calvinist Presbyterian, she was destined to post all of this before the foundations of the universe were created. Please do not be harsh.
Perhaps look it at this way, TAL, it is Palm Sunday, one of the holiest days of the year. The lord of this world is especially active during these seasons, as was pointed out some posts ago, just like Democrats are active in like fashion during election years.
A look around a church's website can provide wonderful insight into that church's theology, doctrines and overall philosophy. For instance, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, an admittedly dying minor league cult, openly encourages people to speculate upon their pets accompanying them to Heaven.
I have wondered if it is all pets of Calvinists that are eligible, or only Calvinist believing pets, but the website of the OPC is not clear and the good Dr. E. has not yet informed me as to official OPC doctrine on this matter. The Westminster Confession of Faith does not address this matter either; neither do any of the other Reformed Confessions that I have read.
Well, technically speaking, Drudge only posts links and graphics. :)
It's all well and good that they wanted to help this pervert, but the therapy should have been provided in jail, or prison. The medieval practice of seperate courts and punishments for clergy was wrong then and is wrong today.
Agreed. Most Catholics agree with this as well. We parents are the most appalled. What is not apparent to non Catholics, and even to most laity, is the work being done inside the Church by the clergy, and by some of the laity. I have been part of some of those efforts.
I have up to now managed to avoid assault and battery charges. Our Eastern brethren sometimes get a little more physical, which in my opinion is sometimes called for...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.