Free Republic

May 6, 2002 9:55 a.m. Mission Statement Spiritual relief on video. Catholics depressed by the sex-abuse scandal take comfort wherever they can get it these days. Whenever I'm feeling at spiritual loose ends, I rent the original film version of A Man for All Seasons, the inspiring Robert Bolt play about St. Thomas More, who went nobly to his death for refusing to betray his Catholic faith under orders of the king. It restoreth my soul. But A Man for All Seasons neither instructs nor satisfies when the antagonist testing one's faith is not secular authority, but the Church hierarchy...

McCormack regrets overlooking Rev. Shanley's deviant views By KATHRYN MARCHOCKI Union Leader Staff Manchester Bishop John B. McCormack yesterday said he regrets not picking up on former Boston priest Paul R. Shanley’s deviant views on adult-child sex, but didn’t think Shanley meant what he said nor would ever act on it. “I wish I did zero in on it more,” McCormack said about a 1985 speech on homosexuality in which Shanley was quoted as saying children seduce adults into having sex with them. “But, at the time, Paul was known as one who would push the envelope and kind of...

BOSTON (AP) - A Roman Catholic priest who allegedly advocated sex between men and boys was arrested Thursday on charges that he raped a young boy repeatedly for years, sometimes in the church confessional, prosecutors said. Ex-Boston Priest Arrested in Rape (AP) The Rev. Paul Shanley, who has been at the center the Boston sex abuse scandal, was arrested at his home in San Diego, charged with three counts of rape of a child in Massachusetts, Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley said.,p. Coakley said the alleged victim, who is now 24 years old, said Shanley abused him at St. Jean...

Some lay Catholics speak with their wallets. What can ordinary Catholics do to encourage their bishop to take more serious action against priest sex-abuse? A group of Catholic laymen in Chicago think they've found the answer. They have founded a group to encourage local Catholics to boycott the parish collection plate until they've seen Francis Cardinal George get tough with sexual abusers in the priesthood and open up archdiocesan files for a full accounting of four decades of clergy abuse.,p. Members of the Ad Hoc Committee for Prevention of Sex Abuse by Clergy insist that the cardinal allow an independent...

The sex abuse scandal is lapping awfully close to the feet of Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony. The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that an accused molester of four boys lived in Mahony's residence at St. Vibiana's cathedral and that Mahony recently assigned the molester to serve at his new cathedral in downtown Los Angeles as an associate pastor. For how long had Mahony known his housemate and would-be associate pastor was a molester? For at least a decade. "It was one of those cases where I felt he had followed the treatment successfully, honestly, and was rehabilitated to the...

Special Dispatch 312 – Jordan December 12, 2001 Former Chairman of the Jordanian Physicians' Association Criticizes U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice's Comments on Treatment of Women in the Muslim World The London Arabic-language daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi recently published an article by the former chairman of the Jordanian Physicians' Association, Dr. Tareq Tahboub: [1] American Women Are Humiliated More Than Afghan Women "What pushed me to write this article was the interview with U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on CNN. Asked by Wolf Blitzer about the situation of women in Afghanistan, the advisor spoke powerfully and in great ...

Michelle Malkin, December 21, 2001 Angels on loan from GOD Suffer the little children to come unto Me ... for of such is the kingdom of God. -- Mark 10:14 This is supposed to be the season for stealing merry midnight glimpses of our children, nestled all snug in their beds, while icicle lights gleam in the windows. But holiday spirits this year hang low, like evergreen boughs after a mighty snowstorm. The shock of Sept. 11 has melted, but not the sorrow. It is difficult to look in on my own blissfully sleeping toddler without thinking of the empty ...

Some American banks just don't get it. Here we are, at war with deadly foreign terrorists who exploited our lax immigration policies, and what are these U.S. financial institutions doing? Making it easier for illegal immigrants to do business inside our borders. Earlier this month, California-based banking giant Wells Fargo proudly publicized its plan to loosen identification guidelines for Mexican customers who want to open American checking or savings accounts.