Faith, BLESSED NEWMAN, prayers, Christ-CRUCIFIX never protected children and can never bring justice to victims of John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army

Benedict XVI Ratzinger, God’s Rottweiler is barking and mauling people’s minds again – by doing what he does best – that is pointing attention away from his own personal guilt and personal crime and the Vatican’s own accountability – by laying the blame on the Devil -- and by putting the entire burden upon Christ suffering on the Cross. In Rome at the spectacular closing ceremony for the Year for Priests, he blamed all the sins of pedophile priests on the Devil. See Benedict XVI and Eve: affiliation with the Devil http://jp2army.blogspot.com/2010/06/benedict-xvi-and-eve-affiliation-with.html In England he laid all the suffering of victims of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army upon the Crucifix of Christ in the majestic setting of Westminster.

The 1.2 billion Catholics in England and around the world are so blind because they cannot see that John Paul II beatified and canonized more than 1,500 dead persons during his entire 26 years papacy but not once did he defrock a pedophile priest and not once did he try to protect children and not once did he try to bring justice to the victims of his John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army. John Paul II protected countless pedophile priests and perpetuated priestly-sodomy of Biblical Proportions and therefore he does not deserve to be called Blessed or Saint by children in this generation and all generations to come. See our related articles below.


Pope and Mammon Vatican Bank are protected by Heads of State

Benedict XVI in England was saying in essence – “Christ suffered so must you, his sacrifice will bring healing to you all, so screw you all tens of thousands of victims of Priestly Sodomy of Biblical Proportions – you are not even 1% of the 1.2 billion Catholics who worship me the Pope, God and Mammon Vatican Bank. Catholics worship me through candle vigils and the sorcery of Christ’s flesh in the Mass. The Roman Catholic Church has gotten away with all kinds of crimes against humanity for two millennium and this most recent one of the 20th century – of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army – will soon be dust in history. Can’t you see that - like the Princes and wealthy Royalty of the Medieval Ages - the papal trillion dollars Vatican Bank is owned by all these politicians and millionaires in every country I go to – and therefore – I and all Popes will always have political immunity -- and the support of Heads of State like David Cameron who said: ‘As you, your Holiness, have said, faith is not a problem for legislators to solve, but rather a vital part of our national conversation. And we are proud of that.’”

This is how the criminal-Ratzinger-who-is-above-the-law was praised by Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron: "You have really challenged the whole country to sit up and think, and that can only be a good thing," he added. It had been an honour to have the pope in Britain, said Cameron. "Your Holiness, your presence here has been a great honour for our country. Now you are leaving us – and I hope with strong memories.” Imagine that, what the Vatican Bank money can buy – praises and lies -- for the corrupt Pope Benedict XVI. What a pack of lies David Cameron said: "You have really challenged the whole country to sit up and think”…Sit up and think -- what exactly? -- that this Catholic Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II have led the most heinous crimes against Catholic children in the history of Christendom and that they can get away with it with “faith” and words-of-baloneys by political Prime Ministers, Presidents, Kings and Queens over and over again? the new book written by Benedict was released to coincide with his visit to England and the prefaces were written by Kings and Heads of States.

“Pontiff told prime minister in farewell speech that his four-day visit had brought Britain and the Vatican closer together”. This means that Britain’s multi-millionaires’ investments in the Vatican Bank are made more secure by Benedict XVI’s visit. http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2008/02/benedict-xvi-marcos-gold-billions.html

The essence of all papal visits such as Benedict XVI’s in Britain is that, Heads of States support and protect the Pope in order to protect and perpetuate their own and their wealthy cronies’ multi-million dollars investments in the (corrupt) Vatican Bank. They continue to suppress all 1.2 billion Catholic and all countries to be little blind followers of this fictitious political Vatican State. Benedict XVI’s main hidden message is: Now run along now, go pray to another saint, Blessed Henry Newman and forget all those victims of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army – because soon I will beatify and canonize John Paul II, my Holy Father, to be beside his Mystical Bride St. Josemaria Escriva”. See the John Paul II Millstone – the mystical wedding http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2007/06/benedict-xvi-mystical-dance-to-june_26.html


The Crucifix of Christ NEVER protected children from sodomizer-priests

Benedict XVI drew attention away from his personal guilt and personal crime when he personally aiding and abetting pedophile priests and in the cover-up of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army for over a quarter of a century -- by saying ;” the power of Christ's grace, his sacrifice of reconciliation, will bring deep healing and peace to their lives.” There are many crucifixes in every Catholic Church for crying out loud and none of those crucifixes protected children from the thousands of pedophile priests. The same demonic hands of priests consecrated the so-called Body of Christ in daily Masses and at the same time -- they satiated their own pedophile lusts especially with altar boys – before and after the Sacrament of the Eucharist – in the confessionals and in the rectories and in every venues their priestly penises and sodomy hands could get their hands on. The reality of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army -- cannot be emphasized enough -- because like the spectacular ceremony of the beatification of Cardinal Newman, Pope John Paul II is next in line to be beatified and canonized at a spectacular ceremony at the Vatican – at the alarming speed faster than the Opus Dei founder St. Josemaria Escriva. See the real reasons why Opus Dei covered-up the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army.


Pope Benedict is oh so GAY

See our related article "Benedict XVI and Georg his GAY Private Secretary are GAYS.!." http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2007/06/benedict-xvis-handsome-private.html

UTV news reported that “Despite his exhausting schedule, the 83-year-old pontiff did not appear tired as he was handed his glasses by his personal secretary, "Gorgeous" Georg Gänswein. He stood up to deliver his final address, which commented on the "challenges" posed the by multiculturalism he had witnessed on his whistlestop tour of the country.” How can Benedict XVI be exhausted in any trip? His own Mystical Bride is the young 30 years younger "Gorgeous" Georg Gänswein – who alone has the GAY privilege to bath the Pope naked each night... And since no one else sees them, perhaps they bath together at the Vatican Roman bath. Such a handsome man to satiate Benedict XVI’s papal Holy See eyes!! Oh la la! GAYS know who GAYS are and Italian GAYS know best that "Gorgeous" Georg is GAY and Benedict XVI walk, act and speak oh so GAY . There is nothing “manly” in any of the mannerism of Benedict XVI -- he is not a man and he does not have a single fibre of integrity in him as he is the most-criminal of Popes next to John Paul II. Benedict XVI is heartless, callous and has no moral conscience whatsoever because he is a pathological liar about “sorrow and remorse”. Who can believe that he expresses authentic “sorrow” when he is having the time of his life and enjoying a daily feast? Guilty people are rotting in jail while guilty-Pope Ratzinger is having a party every day at the Vatican and wherever he goes such as in Britain.

Blessed Newman was GAY

Church 'has long blessed gays'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1336941/Church-has-long-blessed-gays.html

Mr Bray's findings were first released in a lecture at Newman House in Dublin last month and Mr Bray published an extract of his talk in The Tablet magazine this week. His book, The Friend, is out next year.

He described the "spiritual" relationship between Cardinal John Henry Newman, the 19th century Catholic theologian, and his friend Ambrose St John who are buried together.

Their names are on a cross in the burial ground of the fathers of St Philip Neri on the Lickey Hills, south of Birmingham.

Cardinal Newman, who died in 1890, said of his relationship with Ambrose: "From the first he loved me with an intensity of love which was unaccountable."

After Ambrose died in 1875, the Cardinal described how the two men had embraced on his death bed. "I have ever thought no bereavement was equal to that of a husband's or a wife's but I feel it difficult to believe that any can be greater, or any one's sorrow greater, than mine."


John L. Allen Jr - The Papal Pied Piper is the highest paid journalist on the planet

John L. Allen Jr of All Things Catholic of NCR – is paid by the Vatican trillion dollar Bank. In all of his articles, he media-spins for the Pope and the Vatican so that no matter how grievous their crimes against humanity are, people who read his NCR columns come out deceived and ‘feeling-good’ about the Catholic Church . For his contemporary times, John L. Allen Jr mission is to make Benedict XVI and the Vatican always coming out smelling like roses no matter how grievous were their crimes in their aiding and abetting and cover-up of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army for more than 26 years. That's over a quarter of a century of papal crimes.


Compare the CRIMES and their VICTIMS in America

Victims - Attackers - Responsible Leader

Pearl Harbor - 3,000 victims - 170 planes - Admiral Yamamoto
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WTC & 9/11 attacks - 5,000 victims - 19 Muslims - Osama bin Laden

USA Priest Pedophilia - 12,000 victims - 6,000 priests - Vatican Trinity: John Paul II, Benedict XVI & Opus Dei

See our related articles:

The Vatican is not a Country as other European Countries. It’s an artificial State created by Mussolini in 1929. It now wants power in European Union http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/08/vatican-is-not-country-as-other.html

Benedict XVI condemns abuse of children by priests 3 DECADES LATE…Cardinal Ratzinger Pope B16 is a pathological liar http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/02/benedict-xvi-condemns-abuse-of-children.html

Reasons why priest pedophilia is eternal: John Paul II the Great “Saint”, “The Conscience” of the ‘Age of Benedict XVI’, “Holy Father” Marcial Maciel http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2010/06/reasons-why-priest-pedophilia-is.html

Benedict XVI asks for ‘quickie forgiveness’ from “little ones” who were battered for years by ‘Priestly Sodomy of Biblical Proportions’ http://jp2army.blogspot.com/2010/06/benedict-xvi-asks-for-quickie.html

John Paul II did not have the charity of Mother Teresa http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2009/11/john-paul-ii-did-not-have-charity-of.html


Benedict XVI and Jon Sobrino, God's Rottweiler voracious appetite for the Jesuits, Jon Sobrino and Liberation Theology http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2007/05/benedict-xvi-gods-rottweiler-appetite.html

The Roman Catholic Church is no longer « Holy ». All Catholic churches, sacristies, rectories are not «holy» but potential priestly pedophile places http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2010/07/roman-catholic-church-is-no-longer-holy.html

Vaticano Spa (Vatican Ltd): John Paul II was the CEO of the trillion dollar Vatican Bank’s murky financial dealings http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2010/03/vaticano-spa-vatican-ltd-john-paul-ii.html

Spiritual healing, the Eucharist and the Rosary bring NEITHER JUSTICE NOR SAFETY FOR CHILDREN, the preys of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2010/05/spiritual-healing-eucharist-and-rosary.html

Catholics can emulate Jews [who hunted down Nazi officers] by hunting down pedophile priests’ officers Benedict XVI & Bishops into the World Court http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/02/catholics-can-emulate-jews-who-hunted.html

St. Josemaria Escriva, John Paul II & Benedict XVI: the new Vatican Trinity http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/st-josemaria-escriva-john-paul-ii.html

Who’s responsible & to blame: The Devil or Benedict XVI-Cardinal Ratzinger? Satan as scapegoat for Vatican's chaotic sex scandals http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/whos-responsible-to-blame-devil-or.html

Apology is not enough; Benedict XVI & Cardinals and Bishops who covered-them up must spend jail time and pay million$$$ of Euro to victims http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/apology-is-not-enough-benedict-xvi.html

Benedict XVI is now a RATzinger lost in the Vatican sex scandal maze with nowhere to run http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/benedict-xvi-is-now-ratzinger-lost-in.html

John L. Allen Jr the Pied Piper of Benedict XVI toots “Will Ratzinger's past trump Benedict's present?” http://jp2army.blogspot.com/2010/04/john-allen-of-ncr-pied-piper-of.html

‘Forgiveness’ is a gizmo of injustice to victims of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army. To Vaticanista chiesa.espresso Sandro Magister, Baloney! http://jp2army.blogspot.com/2010/03/forgiveness-is-gizmo-of-injustice-to.html

Sins and crimes are not synonymous. Sinners and criminals are not one and the same http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/05/sins-and-crimes-are-not-synonymous.html

Theology and John Paul II are heartless and together they made the immoral Fr. Marcial Maciel thrive http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2010/05/theology-and-john-paul-ii-are-heartless.html


In the Crucifix of Westminster, the Pope Sees the Suffering of Those Children

UNITED KINGDOM
Chiesa

The complete text of the homily at the cathedral of London, with a touching tribute to the victims of sexual abuse. "In the life of the Church, in her trials and tribulations, Christ continues to be in agony until the end of the world"

by Benedict XVI

Dear Friends in Christ,

I greet all of you with joy in the Lord and I thank you for your warm reception. I am grateful to Archbishop Nichols for his words of welcome on your behalf. Truly, in this meeting of the Successor of Peter and the faithful of Britain, "heart speaks unto heart" as we rejoice in the love of Christ and in our common profession of the Catholic faith which comes to us from the Apostles. I am especially happy that our meeting takes place in this Cathedral dedicated to the Most Precious Blood, which is the sign of God’s redemptive mercy poured out upon the world through the passion, death and resurrection of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. In a particular way I greet the Archbishop of Canterbury, who honours us by his presence.

The visitor to this Cathedral cannot fail to be struck by the great crucifix dominating the nave, which portrays Christ’s body, crushed by suffering, overwhelmed by sorrow, the innocent victim whose death has reconciled us with the Father and given us a share in the very life of God. The Lord’s outstretched arms seem to embrace this entire church, lifting up to the Father all the ranks of the faithful who gather around the altar of the Eucharistic sacrifice and share in its fruits.

The crucified Lord stands above and before us as the source of our life and salvation, "the high priest of the good things to come", as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews calls him in today’s first reading (Heb 9:11).



Victims faced 'immense suffering': Pope

UNITED KINGDOM
Sydney Morning Herald
AFP

Pope Benedict XVI expressed his "deep sorrow" Saturday for the "immense suffering" of children abused by Catholic priests, in a homily on the third day of his state visit to Britain.

"I think of the immense suffering caused by the abuse of children, especially within the Church and by her ministers," he said during mass at the Catholic Westminster Cathedral in London.

"Above all, I express my deep sorrow to the innocent victims of these unspeakable crimes, along with my hope that the power of Christ's grace, his sacrifice of reconciliation, will bring deep healing and peace to their lives."



Pope's state visit criticised in luminaries' letter

16 September 2010 Last updated at 11:24 ET

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11309357


Pope Benedict XVI

The Pope arrived in the UK for his four-day trip on Thursday

More than 50 public figures have added their names to a letter in the Guardian newspaper saying the Pope should not be given the "honour" of a UK state visit.
Authors Terry Pratchett and Philip Pullman and actor Stephen Fry are among those critical of the Vatican record on birth control, gay rights and abortion.
David Cameron has said the Pope's visit would be a "very special four days".
A Catholic spokesman said the prime minister's comments were an "excellent response to this open letter".


Harsh judgments on the pope and religion

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/15/harsh-judgments-on-pope-religion


· The Guardian, Wednesday 15 September 2010

We, the undersigned, share the view that Pope Ratzinger should not be given the honour of a state visit to this country. We believe that the pope, as a citizen of Europe and the leader of a religion with many adherents in the UK, is of course free to enter and tour our country. However, as well as a religious leader, the pope is a head of state, and the state and organisation of which he is head has been responsible for:

Opposing the distribution of condoms and so increasing large families in poor countries and the spread of Aids.
Promoting segregated education.

Denying abortion to even the most vulnerable women.

Opposing equal rights for lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Failing to address the many cases of abuse of children within its own organisation.

The state of which the pope is head has also resisted signing many major human rights treaties and has formed its own treaties ("concordats") with many states which negatively affect the human rights of citizens of those states. In any case, we reject the masquerading of the Holy See as a state and the pope as a head of state as merely a convenient fiction to amplify the international influence of the Vatican.

Stephen Fry, Professor Richard Dawkins, Professor Susan Blackmore, Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman, Ed Byrne, Baroness Blackstone, Ken Follett, Professor AC Grayling, Stewart Lee, Baroness Massey, Claire Rayner, Adele Anderson, John Austin MP, Lord Avebury, Sian Berry, Professor Simon Blackburn, Sir David Blatherwick, Sir Tom Blundell, Dr Helena Cronin, Dylan Evans, Hermione Eyre, Lord Foulkes, Professor Chris French, Natalie Haynes, Johann Hari, Jon Holmes, Lord Hughes, Robin Ince, Dr Michael Irwin, Professor Steve Jones, Sir Harold Kroto, Professor John Lee, Zoe Margolis, Jonathan Meades, Sir Jonathan Miller, Diane Munday, Maryam Namazie, David Nobbs, Professor Richard Norman, Lord O'Neill, Simon Price, Paul Rose, Martin Rowson, Michael Rubenstein, Joan Smith, Dr Harry Stopes-Roe, Professor Raymond Tallis, Lord Taverne, Peter Tatchell, Baroness Turner, Professor Lord Wedderburn of Charlton QC FBA, Ann Marie Waters, Professor Wolpert, Jane Wynne Willson



Pope addresses sex abuse scandal as he starts visit to Britain

UNITED KINGDOM
CNN

As a sex abuse scandal rocked the Roman Catholic Church, what did Pope Benedict XVI -- then a cardinal and Vatican official -- know, and when did he learn it? Watch the CNN investigation "What the Pope Knew," September 25 & 26 at 8 p.m. ET.
Glasgow, Scotland (CNN) -- The Roman Catholic Church has not been vigilant enough or fast enough in responding to the problem of sexual abuse by priests, Pope Benedict XVI said Thursday.

"These revelations were for me a shock and a great sadness. It is difficult to understand how this perversion of the priestly ministry was possible," he told reporters aboard his plane to Scotland. "How a man who has done this and said this can fall into this perversion is difficult to understand." ...

Another campaigner took aim at the pontiff personally.

"The pope affects the stance of a shocked bystander, when in fact he has been for decades the church's central handler of sex abuse cases," said Terence McKiernan of BishopAccountability, a group that tracks reports of abuse by priests.


In Britain, Pope Criticizes Response to Abuse Crisis

SCOTLAND
The New York Times
By RACHEL DONADIO and ALAN COWELL
Published: September 16, 2010

GLASGOW — Pope Benedict XVI arrived Thursday in Scotland, offering his strongest criticism yet of the Roman Catholic Church’s handling of the sexual abuse crisis. He said that church leaders had not been “sufficiently vigilant” or “sufficiently swift and decisive” in cracking down on abusers.

While Benedict was received graciously by Queen Elizabeth II in Edinburgh and thousands turned out for an open-air Mass in Glasgow, the visit was taking place under the dark shadow of the sexual abuse scandals, which have shaken even the faithful in nearby Ireland, in his native Germany and elsewhere in Europe. ...
Critics quickly pounced on the statement, calling it evasive and out of touch. In a statement, the United States-based group Bishopaccountability.org, which tracks abuse cases, said the pontiff’s words “ring hollow,” adding that he had said similar things for years with little action.

“In researching this crisis for seven years, we have not found one documented instance before 2002 of a top church official contacting civil authorities to report an allegation of sexual abuse,” the group said.



Abuse victims call pope's apology 'PR, not penitence'

UNITED KINGDOM
USA Today

Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Pope Benedict XVI once more has apologized for the 'unspeakable' abuse of children and teens by clergy, this time during his sermon at Westminster Cathedral on the third day of his four-day visit to Britain.
The first time was on the flight to Scotland Thursday, and he is also expected to meet privately with some victims during his visit, as he has done on all recent trips abroad.

Meanwhile, outside the cathedral, British victims of abuse were demonstrating against the church's handling of the crisis. And in the USA, one of the major victims' advocates groups, BishopAccountability.org, wasn't buying the apology -- again.

Terence McKiernan, founder and president of the group, brushes Benedict's remarks off as "public relations not penitence." He points to the same ideas, different lingo, during Benedict's 2008 visit to Washington and New York, where he said,
"I am ashamed and we will do everything possible to ensure that this does not happen in future."

McKiernan goes looks at the serial apologies following revelations in Ireland and Europe of rampant abuse in Catholic schools and care facilities.


Pope Visit UK 2010: Live

UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph
By Alastair Jamieson, Harriet Alexander and Patrick Sawer
Published: 4:15PM BST 18 Sep 2010

16.15 The Pope has spent the past couple of hours resting at the Apostolic Nunciature in Wimbledon, south west London, before this evening's engagements,
15.11 Nick Clegg, the deputy Prime Minister, spoke to the Pope in German during their meeting this morning, his spokesman discloses.

15.08 Boston-based lay Catholic group BishopAccountability.org issues a statement describing the Pope's apology during Mass as "public relations not penitence". It says: "Pope Benedict continues to speak as if he just stumbled upon the child sex abuse crisis and is as shocked as the rest of us. But he has managed since 1981 the Vatican’s response to the abuse, sodomizing, and sexual torture of children by Catholic priests. For 30 years, he has known more than anyone in the Catholic Church about the damage done to 'innocent victims of these unspeakable crime



Pope's London Mass expresses "deep sorrow" for child sex abuse

UNITED KINGDOM
The New York Times
By John F. Burns
The New York Times
Posted: 09/19/2010

LONDON — On a day when he faced the largest protests of his four-day state visit to Britain, Pope Benedict XVI used an address at a Mass in Westminster Cathedral on Saturday to reiterate his "deep sorrow" for the "unspeakable crimes" of child abuse within the Roman Catholic Church.

The pope's remarks followed others in recent times in which he has struck an increasingly remorseful tone about the abuse scandal.

But they took on an added weight by being made before 2,000 worshipers in the cathedral that is the seat of Catholicism in England, and ahead of a protest march on a scale rare in the recent history of the papacy.


The Case of the Pope: Vatican Accountability for Human Rights Abuse

UNITED KINGDOM
New Statesman
John Cornwell
Published 20 September 2010

Geoffrey Robertson QC’s j’accuse against Pope Benedict is a welcome analysis of anomalies in the position of the modern Catholic Church

The clerical abuse scandal has plunged the Catholic Church into a crisis unlike anything it has experienced since the Protestant Reformation half a millennium ago. Pope Benedict, the Curia (the ecclesiastical government of the Church in Rome) and the Catholic bishops of the world have been at pains to minimise the appalling PR.

But the Pope's attempts to understand the underlying causes of clerical abuse have been piecemeal and inchoate. Against this background, any positive contribution towards an understanding of the underlying reasons for the calamity must be welcomed by Catholics and non-Catholic Christians alike - for a failing Catholic Church is a failing Christendom.

Geoffrey Robertson's scalding j'accuse against priestly paedophile perpetrators, the Vatican and the current Pope will likely infuriate most devout Catholics, especially as its publication is timed to coincide with a papal state visit celebrating Benedict's spiritual leadership of his British flock. Written in a series of numbered paragraphs, like lawyer's briefs, the book attempts to address the circumstances which, in Robertson's view, have enabled the Pope to evade justice for his alleged role in covering up the abuse scandal.


Expressing remorse is not enough

Gulf News (Qatar)

Catholic priests who sexually abused children must face legal consequences
On Saturday during mass in London's historic Westminster Cathedral, Pope Benedict XVI said he was ashamed of the "unspeakable" sexual abuse of children by priests, adding he was deeply sorry and hoped that the church's humiliation would help its victims to heal.

While Benedict's head-on confrontation of the issue and apology are welcome, they offer little comfort for the thousands of victims of sexual abuse inflicted by church officials in Western Europe and North America.

The victims have suffered psychological abuse, guilt, remorse, addictions and suicide as a result of the trauma inflicted by priests. Residential, institutional and educational establishments, all under the auspices of the Catholic Church, were dens of abuse, where priests preyed on the innocent with little risk of being caught or punished.


Vatican shows systemic lack of accountability

AUSTRALIA
The Australian
From: The Australian September 20, 2010

OVER recent decades, tens of thousands of victims of abuse by Catholic clergy have suffered at the hands of the Catholic Church's policies. These policies have perennially sacrificed the victim in favour of the institution and the perpetrating clergy. Pope Benedict has held senior doctrinal roles overseeing these policies for nearly three decades. Over that time it is the victims who have borne the cross of abuse and the betrayal by the Church through inaction.

The Australian has uncovered yet another shameful story, this time of the unrepentant Peter Chalk, the former Catholic priest safely ensconced in Japan as allegations of child sex abuse against him mount up, and of the alleged cover-up by the hierarchy of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart ("After 20 years, an abuser is revealed", 18-19/9).

Chalk's statements, as reported, display a complete lack of remorse. He is quoted:

"There certainly seems to be some kind of desire, especially in English-speaking countries, to make a big issue out of these things. What the exact motivation of people is I don't know." Might I suggest that the desire and motivation for victims is to find justice, support, help and redress?


Is "sorrow" enough?

UNITED KINGDOM
New Statesman
Posted by Sophie Elmhirst - 19 September 2010 11:02

Why the Pope's language about abuse victims was insufficient

The Pope's visit, covered in minute-by-minute detail by the nation's media, is drawing to its close. Today is the final day, and the Pontiff is in Birmingham, conducting the beatification of Cardinal Newman in front of a crowd of thousands in Cofton Park. However, it was his statements yesterday on the child abuse cases within the Catholic Church at a Mass in Westminster Cathedral, that attracted the closest attention:

Above all, I express my deep sorrow to the innocent victims of these unspeakable crimes, along with my hope that the power of Christ's grace, his sacrifice of reconciliation, will bring deep healing and peace to their lives.

To those representing abuse victims, the carefully shaped rhetoric was hardly sufficient. As Peter Isely, of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said: "We don't need a Pope who is sad about crimes. We need a Pope who will prevent crimes. And his words prevent nothing." But what carefully chosen words they are.

"Sorrow", as Isely points out, implies sadness, possibly regret, but it does not constitute an apology, let alone an acknowledgement of wider responsibility or failure within the Church.


Pope ends UK visit with beatification of convert

UNITED KINGDOM
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By NICOLE WINFIELD
The Associated Press

LONDON — Pope Benedict XVI wraps up his visit to Britain with the beatification Sunday of Cardinal John Henry Newman, the 19th century Anglican convert held up by the pope as a model for the faithful because he followed his conscience at great personal cost.

Newman is admired by many Catholics and Anglicans alike and his influence on both churches is enormous. Yet his defection from the Church of England in 1845 still rankles some in that he abandoned Anglicanism because he realized the truth he was searching could only be found in the Catholic faith. ...

The vigil capped a busy day for the pontiff, his third in Britain: He met with four women and a man who were molested by priests as children, told British Catholics at a Mass in Westminster Cathedral he was ashamed by such "unspeakable" crimes and said he hoped the humiliation the church feels will help victims and the church alike heal.

As Benedict met with the victims, thousands of people marched through central London to protest his visit, angered by the abuse scandal as well as Benedict's hard line against gays, abortion, women's ordination and using condoms to fight AIDS. It was the biggest demonstration ever against Benedict in his 5-year papacy.


'My shame and humiliation' ...

UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail
By Jonathan Petre and Nick Pisa
Last updated at 3:26 AM on 19th September 2010

Pope Benedict XVI yesterday issued his strongest apology yet for child abuse by the clergy, denouncing it as an ‘unspeakable crime’.

In a sermon at Westminster Cathedral, the Pope expressed his ‘deep sorrow’ to victims of sexual abuse by priests, and said the scandal had shamed him and the Church.

‘I think of the immense suffering caused by the abuse of children, especially within the Church and by her ministers,’ he told the congregation.


Joan Smith: I'll take no lectures on ethics from Ratzinger

UNITED KINGDOM
The Independent

The child-abuse scandal engulfing the Catholic church has shocked even its most ardent followers. Yet the Pope, who can barely bring himself to apologise for it, dares to lecture us on the state of our morals.

Sunday, 19 September 2010

Let's start with a confession: I'm not really interested in religion. If Joseph Ratzinger wants to pop over to Britain, that's fine with me, as long as I don't have to pay towards it. The Vatican can surely afford the security costs when its chief executive travels abroad to promote the brand. He is welcome to style himself Pope Benedict XVI, but I don't recognise him as a head of state, and my opinion of his morals is barely printable in a family newspaper.

That's my dilemma, in a nutshell. I'd be happy never to write another word about Christianity, Islam or any other supernatural belief system if their leaders didn't keep telling me that their ethics are better than mine. On Thursday, Mr Ratzinger had barely got off the plane in Edinburgh before he was urging Britain to resist "aggressive forms of secularism". With excitable exceptions such as Richard Dawkins, most secularists I know are pretty laid back, although we do get irritated by discrimination against women and gay people. I think that's what Mr Ratzinger meant when he urged us to respect "traditional values", and I'm glad to have played a part in the struggle to eject them from public life.


Victims of abuse by priests speak out: 'There's this wall of silence'

UNITED KINGDOM
The Independent
Interviews by Andrew McCorkell, Pavan Amara and James Burton
Sunday, 19 September 2010

Victims of abuse by Roman Catholic priests yesterday met the Pope. "He was moved by what they had to say and expressed his deep sorrow and shame" over what they had suffered, a Vatican spokesman said. Other abuse victims also spoke out yesterday.
Sue Cox, from the Protest the Pope organisation, was first abused by her family priest 50 years ago.

"I was brought up in a very strict Catholic family. The first time I was abused was the night before communion and I had to go to confession the next day with the same person. The second time, he raped me in my own home. I was distraught; when my mother found out – she disturbed him [during the rape] – we couldn't talk about it. She mumbled something like, 'pray for him', and 'it was all part of God's plan'. I didn't think it was a very good plan."

Therese Albrecht of the US group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (Snap)
"I was eight when I was raped and sodomised by a Catholic priest. I was distressed and destroyed. It ruined my life and when I finally managed to speak out I found the church would not act. I was also sexually abused by a nun. So I found my voice and we have come to England to protest. I have come from the US to give a message that he [the Pope] needs to do more to protect children from predator priests. I go to Catholic mass once in a while. It's very traumatic for me. But I still love God.

Barbara Blaine, Snap president

"I was abused as a child by a priest in my church. When I finally got the courage to speak up, they made a lot of empty promises and did nothing. I found other people and we realised we were not alone. We are disappointed by response of the Pope so far. Grand apologies are not enough."


Pope meets with clergy abuse victims as thousands protest

UNITED KINGDOM
CNN
[with video]

London, England (CNN) -- Pope Benedict XVI met with five clergy abuse victims while on his official visit to the United Kingdom, the Catholic Communications Network said Saturday, the same day the pope expressed his "deep sorrow" for the scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church.

But his acknowledgement of the abuse suffered by children within the church -- the first time he has publicly addressed the issue during his four-day trip to Britain -- was not enough to dissuade thousands of protesters from expressing their anger on the streets of London. ...

A board member of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, expressed hope that the outcome of the victims' meeting will be positive.

"We hope each of these brave individuals feels better as a result of the meeting, both now and years from now," Mark Serrano wrote in a statement. "It takes real courage to disclose your pain to others, especially those in authority. We hope the risk these victims have taken will prove to be fruitful, for them, for other victims and for children being molested today and in the future."



Pope Visit UK: Thousands turn out to protest against Pontiff

UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph
[with video]
By Patrick Sawer
Published: 9:00PM BST 18 Sep 2010

Thousands of protesters marched through the centre of London on Saturday to voice their opposition to the Pope's visit.

Organisers of the event, Protest the Pope, said they wanted to voice anger at the Pontiff's stance on a variety of policies, including homosexuality, the ordination of women, contraception and the church's response to clerical sex abuse.

They claimed that 11,000 took part in the march, which ended at a rally outside Downing Street, although police were unable to confirm the figure.


London marchers confront Pope in biggest protest

UNITED KINGDOM
Vancouver Sun
By Avril Ormsby, Reuters September 18, 2010

LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict faced the biggest protest of his 17 trips abroad on Saturday when more than 10,000 people marched in London attacking his treatment of the abuse scandal in the Church, women priests and homosexuality.

Some of the demonstrators were dressed in costumes, including black leather nuns’ habits and red cardinals’ robes. Posters bore the message: "Pope Go Home."

The pope has faced protests throughout his four-day visit to England and Scotland, often competing for attention with the faithful who are solidly supportive of the trip, only the second by a pope in history.


Hyde Park sees protest and praise expressed for Pope

UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News
By Dhruti Shah
BBC News, central London

On one side of Hyde Park Corner was a stream of pilgrims heading towards the park to see, in person, a man they very much admired - the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI on his first State visit to the UK.

On the other side was a very different group whose opinion of the Pope was hostile, to say the least, but whose members were determined to make their voices heard.

They had come especially to take part in a demonstration organised by campaign group Protest the Pope, which was heading from that meeting point to a rally outside Downing Street.

NSAC: APOLOGIES and MEETINGS WITH SURVIVORS ARE ONLY AS GOOD as WHAT FOLLOWS THEM

UNITED STATES
National Survivor Advocates Coalition
NSAC PRESS STATEMENT

Contact: Mike Coode, 615-364-2334, United Kingdom mikeintn@bellsouth.net,
Kristine Ward, 937-272-0308, United States KristineWard@hotmail.com,
The National Survivor Advocates Coalition (NSAC) urges the Catholics of the United Kingdom to view Pope Benedict’s apology to sexual abuse survivors using their faith as the measure of what is right and good not their excitement at a religious celebrity in their midst.

It’s always a heady experience when a celebrity hits town and one with enough clout to have traffic re-routed and get on the Queen’s schedule boosts the excitement quotient.

But an apology is only as good as what follows it. Everyone knows from their own life experience that apologies can be flimsy as ash or strong as steel, and can spring from enlightened self interest or be birthed from a firm purpose of amendment. Is this one forged in the steel of right or is it a polite bread and circuses nod to crowd expectation?


Abuse victim responds to Pope's apology

UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A victim of institutional abuse within the Catholic church said an apology by the Pope for the "unspeakable crimes" committed by Catholic priests who sexually abused children did not go "far enough".

The pontiff made his comments during a service at Westminster Cathedral on Saturday morning.

He said the scandal had brought "shame and humiliation" on the church.

Margaret McGuckin was abused in the Sisters of Nazareth orphanage.

She welcomed the Pope's comments but said they didn't go far enough.


Protests as pope apologizes for sex abuse "crimes"

UNITED KINGDOM
Monsters and Critics

London - Pope Benedict XVI Saturday delivered his strongest condemnation yet of the child sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church as more than 10,000 people demonstrated in London against his official visit to Britain.

During a mass celebrated in London on his four-day state visit to Britain, the 83-year-old German-born pontiff expressed his 'deep sorrow' to the victims of abuse by priests, which he denounced as 'unspeakable crimes.'

His remarks came as critics of the papal visit, and victims of child abuse, marched through central London, accusing the pontiff of 'protecting paedophile priests.'
Pope Benedict XVI needs to 'listen not lecture,' says British think-tank during Pope's visit to London

UNITED KINGDOM
Christian News Today
By Dan Wooding

LONDON, UK -- "Public gaffes" made by Pope Benedict XVI and his retired senior adviser Cardinal Kasper, in aligning atheism with Nazism and describing Britain's social mix as being "like a Third World country," show that the Roman Catholic Church needs to re-learn how to communicate by listening not lecturing, says the UK-based religion and society think-tank, Ekklesia.

The strongly-worded comments were made during the second day of the Pope's four-day visit to the United Kingdom.

"The pontiff has misjudged his wider audience by pandering to exaggerated fears of antagonism to religion, rather than building bridges of understanding and cooperation between the peacemaking and justice-loving heart of Christianity and those of other or no faith committed to doing good in a plural society," said Ekklesia's Simon Barrow in a statement sent to the ASSIST News Service.


Church abuse survivors demand justice

UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Monitor

Sue Cox was 10 years old when she says she was raped by a priest in her family home on the eve of her Confirmation, a sacrament which signifies the cementing of bonds between baptised believers and the Church.

The attack occurred in her bedroom while her family was downstairs. “I was mortified. I started to self-harm. I was ashamed and guilty,” she said. Her mother told her: “Perhaps it was one of God’s plans.”

“It wasn’t one of His better ones,” Cox said.


Protest the Pope rally sees 10,000 march through London's streets

UNITED KINGDOM
Guardian
Tracy Mcveigh

guardian.co.uk, Saturday 18 September 2010

Day three of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Britain and it was a day for protests and anti-papists under bright blue skies in central London. Around 10,000 people took to the capital's streets for a Protest the Pope rally and march against what the organisers called "papal intolerance" and to condemn the state funding of the visit.

They came in red cardboard papal hats scrawled with the words "bigot" and "homophobe" and carrying placards, rainbow flags, pledges of atheism and balloons made of condoms. One giant banner showing the Pope carrying a swastika was later taken down after offending many of the protesters, who went as far as complaining to the police officers lining the route of the march to Downing Street.

Although a good-natured crowd, the force of feeling against the presence of Pope Benedict in the UK was clear in the messages condemning his stance on homosexuality, the use of condoms, segregated schools, women's rights and, most of all, the child abuse scandal for which so many hold the pontiff personally responsible for both accelerating it and then covering it up.


Victims unveil '5 point action plan' after UK papal visit

-10:30 a.m. Monday
After Pope’s visit, clergy abuse victims announce papal benchmarks

They want Benedict's strong words to be followed by even strong actions
Group lays out tangible Vatican measurements to make church safer for all
Victims to flyer parishioners asking them to help prod Catholic officials now

WHAT

Victims of clergy sexual abuse, after making brief sidewalk remarks, will hand out to parishioners and pedestrian passers-by a five point plan of action to address clergy sex crimes and cover ups in the wake of the papal visit to the UK

WHEN
TODAY, Sept. 20, 10:30 a.m.

WHERE

On sidewalk outside Westminster Cathedral on Fifth Avenue in London

WHO

Eight clergy sex abuse victims from four nations (UK, US, Belgium and Australia) including leaders of a US-based support group called SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)

WHY

Victims around the country want to see the global attention given to clerical sex abuse by Pope Benedict result in at least five concrete child protection measures by the Pope over the next six months to a year.
Victims believe that only these steps - simple, clear, measurable – will guarantee that the Pope's next overseas visit will have a lasting, historic and deep impact on the welfare of children around the world.

Each day of the UK papal visit, victims from several nations and SNAP leaders have focused on one of these

measures, through leafleting Catholics and holding news conferences.
Victims are urging Catholics to measure the success of Benedict's words and promises by his completion of the following 5 benchmarks:
-he adopts a global “zero tolerance” policy on child sex abuse by clergy to stop bishops from moving predator priests to new parishes, dioceses and countries and stay in ministry

- he sanctions, reprimands or publicly disciplines at least a handful of bishops who have transferred known sex offenders

-he orders bishops around the world to publicly disclose and post on line the names of all sex offender clerics and give evidence of their crimes to local and international law enforcement officials

-he urges heads of state and legislative bodies world-wide to launch thorough investigations of clergy sex crimes and cover ups as the Irish government has done (i.e., the Murphy report)

-he orders prelates to support, not oppose, secular legislative reforms, like extending or eliminating the statute of limitations, that better protect children from sex crimes.

Victims believe that the true meaning of the Pope's visit will only be known by the actions that are taken (or not taken by him) with bishops, Catholic laity, lawmakers, law enforcement officers, survivors and others in the next several months. Strong words, they believe, must be followed by strong actions that have measurable results.

CONTACT
Barbara Blaine (312 399 4747 cell, SNAPblaine@gmail.com, 07587206053), Therese Albrecht 07 570 893 544), Barbara Dorris (314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com)


Pope bashers are throwback to 1605

UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Record
By George Galloway on Sep 20, 10

As Bridget Jones might have said, he's not my favourite Pope or anything, but the malignant undertone to much of the coverage of the Pope Benedict visit fair takes you back.

To hundreds of years of British hosti lity to the Catholic Church, exemplified by the burning of the Guy and guys like him since around the time of the Gunpowder Plot.
When Guy Fawkes began plotting his treason, being a Catholic in Britain was a bit like being a Jew in Occupied Europe during the war. ...

He's slated for "covering up" sexual malpractice in the priesthood, though there is not a jot of evidence that he ever did anything not common practice in most societies and agencies at the time when faced with such "unspeakable crimes". In any case, child sex abuse happens in many places, and many churches too. I was myself sexually abused in the Army Cadet Force, by a non-denominational school janitor while he dressed up like Captain Mainwaring.

Others have been abused, in Boys' Brigades, Boy Scouts, football teams, clubs of all sorts.


Catholic Church is 'systemically paedophile' says Tory MEP

UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph
By Damian Thompson
Last updated: September 20th, 2010

Unbelievable. I’ve just been sent a link to a blog post by Roger Helmer MEP in which he says:

It would not be fair to describe the Church as “institutionally paedophile”. So far as I know it has no rules or systems designed to support or promote paedophilia. But I think it would be perfectly fair to describe it as systemically paedophile.
He also says:

Priestly celibacy is meant to focus the priest’s mind on God’s work, but all too often it seems to focus his mind on altar boys. If you put such priests in charge of the pastoral care of young people, you create both the inclination and the opportunity for abuse.

The Pope goes to Great Britain

UNITED STATES
"It's About Me"
Tim Fischer

The Pope went to Great Britain this past week. He made a great and swooning apology to all survivors of priest sex abuse. It sounded very convincing but fell very short on having teeth. In fact, it looks as though nothing will change except now the pope will tell us he is sorry every chance he gets to be in front of a camera. He still refuses to turn over records of known & suspected pedophiles to the police. As if the church has some moral and legal authority in this matter. The simple truth here is, if there is a crime committed, the police should have authority and no one else.

So while the Pope swoons and pounds his chest and tears up as he talks, he has really done nothing to put an end to the abuse and protect future generations.

The bible talks a lot about faith and works and about faith vs works. That is faith, a belief in God or what is right and good, as opposed to works, doing what is right and good. In the book of James (Jesus' brother) James puts the two together when he said this:

James chapter 2:15-18 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm and eat well," but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it? 17 So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works.

I see the pope doing this very thing. "I'm sooooo sorry for what has been done... Now go in peace. What turn over names??? Well that's a horse of a different color."

------------------

Benedict's in a box in talking about the crisis

UNITED KINGDOM
National Catholic Reporter (United States)
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
London

By now, declarations of papal contrition for the sex abuse crisis, such as that uttered by Benedict XVI this morning in Westminster Cathedral on day three of his Sept. 16-19 trip to the United Kingdom, have become almost routine.

As always, it seems, familiarity breeds contempt. The pope’s critics are becoming increasingly acerbic in denouncing these words as hollow, while some of his friends are openly questioning the value of endless apologies.

The dilemma Benedict XVI will have to face is whether to keep talking about the crisis every time he travels, and if he does, how to do it in a way that’s constructive.