Huffington Post - AP - 4/06/2010
Cardinal Herranz
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican is ratcheting up its counterattack against accusations that Pope Benedict XVI helped cover up the actions of pedophile priests to save the church's reputation.
Senior cardinals in Rome are decrying what they depict as an anti-Catholic `'hate" campaign that they say is related to the fact that Benedict is leading church opposition to same-sex marriage.
Vatican Radio on Tuesday quoted Italian Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, a Holy See official, as saying the church must pardon its attackers for what he called "hatred against the Catholic church."
Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz, who heads a Vatican disciplinary commission, says the pope is being attacked because of his stands against abortion and same-sex marriage. Herranz is quoted as saying powerful lobbies want to impose a different agenda.
(Gee whiz guess who belongs to Opus Dei?)
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If I needed any more proof that the Vatican is operating from it's own special reality, I now have more than I can stomach. Except I knew this was the tactic they would take. None of this current media coverage is about their criminal cover up of monstrously abusive priests and senior clerics, it's all about a covert agenda to promote abortion and gay marriage by powerful entities who hate Catholicism.
Interesting isn't it, that these are exactly the two agendas that Church officials themselves started pushing down out secular throats since the election of JPII. They have been wonderful cover for the dismantling of Vatican II, the quashing of liberation theology, and the ascendancy of the conservative clerical culture. They have also served to cover the political machinations of clerics who support conservative and/or fascist political regimes and ideology.
This is pretty ballsy. This is pretty sick. This is not my Church.
Anti-Truth. Hate Campaign.
ReplyDeleteAnd Jesus said, "I am the Way that is Truth and Life."
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTheraP-
ReplyDeleteSince I cannot post on your TPM blog for some reason, I'm posting here.
You wrote a post asking where the statement by St. Basil of Caesarea could be found.
I did a long search and could only find a reference in St. Peter Damia;
Saint Basil of Caesarea, the fourth century Church Father who wrote the principal rule of the monks of the East, establishes this:
“The cleric or monk who molests youths or boys or is caught kissing or committing some turpitude, let him be whipped in public, deprived of his crown [tonsure] and, after having his head shaved, let his face be covered with spittle; and [let him be] bound in iron chains, condemned to six months in prison, reduced to eating rye bread once a day in the evening three times per week. After these six months living in a separate cell under the custody of a wise elder with great spiritual experience, let him be subjected to prayers, vigils and manual work, always under the guard of two spiritual brothers, without being allowed to have any relationship … with young people.” (St. Basil of Caesarea, in St. Peter Damien, Liber Gomorrhianus, op. cit. cols. 174f.)
The book by Peter Damian was translated into Italian and published in 2001.
Thank you, Anonymous. I myself now believe that the person who can source this quote accurately is Father Tom Doyle. If you take another look at the blog, now updated and with a long comment below from an LA Times article on 375 page report that Fr. Tom and 2 ex-monks wrote, it seems pretty clear that his report can source the quote. (but if we have 2 sources, that's even better!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your help!!! :-)
What I'd like to see is not only a source, but the scholarly views of whether Basil himself likely wrote these words. Nevertheless it sure makes for a huge argument against moving priests around as a way of handling problems.
And one is forced to ask: If the Vatican stopped following the advice of a Father of the Church in serious matters such as this, what else have they discarded along the way?
I shudder to think!
Obviously St. Basil is part of the gay agenda now... ;)
ReplyDeleteP.S. I posted your comment for you, Anonymous!
ReplyDeleteI feel it is so important to try and circumvent the terrible injustices being perpetrated by the Vatican. The lies, the smears, the shifting of blame, the moving people around, the delays in criminal cases, the hypocrisy, the unwillingness to pay victims, while flaunting ceremonial clothing!
It is simply revolting!
Colleen -
ReplyDelete"They have been wonderful cover for the dismantling of Vatican II, the quashing of liberation theology, and the ascendancy of the conservative clerical culture. They have also served to cover the political machinations of clerics who support conservative and/or fascist political regimes and ideology."
...you do realize that Jose Maria Escriva de la Marquese de Peralta de la Alleluia.........was not only in Rome during the sessions of Vatican II, but was very much an un-official consultor to many of the bishops, archbishops & cardinals in attendance.
That pretty much explains what happened to Vatican II: that its funeral was planned even as it was given bith, by the elements you note.
It should come as no big surprise that the Vatican would resort to this tactic. This is the last act of desperate men; making obvious that they have no legitimate defense. Much an inkling of contrition or remorse.
The 'loyal Catholics' (i.e. those who think that Bill Donohue of the Catholic League is a good man...) are being roused to.....madness.
I noted on the night of Obama's election the Catholic origin of near pathological fear of/fearmongering against Obama on Catholic websites. Specifically with the 'birther' element. The same fanaticism was drummed up for the Teabaggers, et. al.
You can see it most clearly on sites like www.angelqueen.org
They, EWTN, & like elements are now standing firmly behind (insert name of your local Opus Dei friendly prelate). In rage against (insert name of whatever media person or entity they are mad at today).
It is getting quite predictable.
One more thing is very predictable: the exodus from the pews will now become like rats leaving a sinking ship.
Barring a handful of pious souls here & there, what is left of the institutional Church....will be the Disciples of the Pharisees.
What must also be noted is that in the US the biggest dioceses are now in the hands of Opus Dei members or sympathisers. That is a lot of assets when one thinks of New York, Denver, Chicago, and now LA.
ReplyDeleteFor readers who may not recall this, the Opus began and flourished under Franco, a Fascist. After 1939 and for many, many years, people did not dare to question the church in Spain. The Church and State were intertwined. How much more did the Opus twine itself within both?
ReplyDeleteIt was after I realized the Fascist connection (back in November when I was analyzing the church with the same skills I'd acquired analyzing politics), that I felt I could no longer remain with the RCC and hold my head up. Some people thought I was off my rocker then...
I think Anonymous is correct: Rats. Ship. Sinking.
One last thought. My deceased mother was always a religious rebel. Is she pulling strings from Heaven now - and helping us here? I feel her Presence stronger now than when she was alive...
ReplyDeleteNCR: Long 2-part article, Money paved way for Maciel's influence in the Vatican
ReplyDeletehttp://ncronline.org/news/accountability/money-paved-way-maciels-influence-vatican
More anti-catholicism? ;)
This has a life of its own!!!
The Jason Berry article is a must read. SO is the article linked in the NCR to Der Spiegel's take on Benedict.
ReplyDeleteI bet it's spun so that we are to believe Maciel was somehow working the homosexual agenda and Sodano was totally duped. And thankfully the saintly Maciel did not abort his children after he saw the sexual light. LOL
1962.
ReplyDeleteThat's the year that states began to mandate reporting of child abuse!
And that's the year the Vatican mandated secrecy oaths!
Take another look at that blog on Basil's quote - in the comments. And I've nailed it!
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/t/h/therap/2010/04/did-basil-of-caeserea-really-w.php
So.... what exactly or who exactly were they especially wanting to protect? Certainly NOT the children!
Gay agenda?
ReplyDeleteHere is a quote from Doyle:
"The documentation from the medieval period indicates that although homosexual liaisons were not uncommon among the secular or diocesan clergy, most celibacy violations involved heterosexual forms of abuse."
From here:
http://reform-network.net/?p=1464
But sadly, it was the monks who turned to young boys:
ReplyDelete"The monks became known for the frequency of homosexual activity especially with young boys."
Memo: Do not send your boy to be taught by monks!
TheraP -
ReplyDeleteActually, we have factual evidence of the Vatican's knowledge long before 1962...or 1963, when Paul VI met with the head of the Servants of the Paraclete in re the US abuser problem.
Let's try....THE CODE OF CANON LAW (1917).....when the then new Code of Canon Law was promulgated. In it, sex with minors by a priest was specifically cited as a crime, incurring severe penalties (including forcible defrocking). There was also an addendum added about 3 years later on the matter.
This proves that the Vatican was officially aware (on some level) of the problem during the reigns of Pius X (who instigated the reform of Canon Law), & Benedict XV who completed & published it.
Colleen - if there is ANY way to get this information to the attorneys for abuse victims in California & elsewhere, I hope they get it. As this is 'gold' to them.
Irrefutable documented proof that 'the Vatican knew of the general problem'....in their own official words.
Anon Y. Mouse
In my parish, St. John the Evangelist in Goshen, NY, the first major pedophile scandal materialized in the early nineties. The priest in question, "Father Ed" had been molesting boys in their early teens. To say that the parishioners were traumatized by this would be an understatement. They were devastated. Then something wondrous happened....
ReplyDeleteFather Ed was eventually replaced by Father Trevor Nichols. Father Trevor had been an Anglican in merrie old England when he converted to Catholicism. On becoming a Catholic was transferred to Saint John's - WITH HIS WIFE AND TWO DAUGHTERS! A married priest! WITH TWO KIDS!
You want to hear the punch line? Our little parish did not implode. The sun did not fall from the sky. Huge cracks did not appear in the earth's surface. In fact, it was nice having them. They were - and are to this day - deeply beloved by the people of St. John's.
Allowing priests to marry would transform the Catholic Church. Having Father Trevor, his wife Marian and their two lovely daughters in our midst certainly transformed the people of St. John's.
http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com
Tom Degan
Thanks for the post Tom. Perhaps your story can shed some hope for other Catholics who are having a hard time with the information coming out about the Vatican.
ReplyDeleteMarried priests do not spell the end of the priesthood as you point out. A married priesthood is a start on the long long road to truly cleaning up some of the filth.
Colleen, thanks for blowing the whistle on this despicable set of lies. As soon as Dononhue came out with that full-page ad in the NY Times--from an organization that is supposedly a one-man show--I, too, knew that this is where we were headed.
ReplyDeleteBecause there's a lot of money behind this smear campaign. And money talks in some circles.
That's the problem. Money is more real for more people than any spiritual truth.
ReplyDeleteI know that's more or less the way our brains are initially wired, but they are also designed to get over that.
This is not my Church either, not as Opus Dei has taken over the spirit of the Church. If these guys were truly "catholic" or the least bit Christian they would have the balls to be examples of Jesus. Their "works" are abominable before the Lord Our God.
ReplyDeleteThanks Colleen for telling it like it is in the Church that has gone to the dogs.