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Community => Big Talk => Chit-Chat => Religion => Topic started by: RU9 on Sep 01, 2011 at 08:50 AM
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http://www.stuartsantiago.com/media-mideo-bishops-rape/
media & mideo, bishops & rape | stuart-santiago
there’s a real live rape-of-a-minor court case pala in the works against a parish priest of agusan del norte, who denies the allegations of course, and whom the diocese bishop has taken into his palace (yes, palace! frailocracy pa rin) in butuan city, instead of surrendering him to civil authorities...
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A new age of religious intolerance? Did we ever leave that age? :)
Just to reiterate what I posted yesterday. I'd like to ask the devout Catholics here, specifically the ones who are particularly vocal against the Mideo artwork -- what's your take on the Church's refusal to give up the priest being accused of raping a minor and their insistence that a review panel be formed to review the priest's case instead?
Ano ang opinyon ninyo? Honestly, I'm really curious.
O may sasagot kaya sa tanong na ito?
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A new age of religious intolerance? Did we ever leave that age? :)
Just to reiterate what I posted yesterday. I'd like to ask the devout Catholics here, specifically the ones who are particularly vocal against the Mideo artwork -- what's your take on the Church's refusal to give up the priest being accused of raping a minor and their insistence that a review panel be formed to review the priest's case instead?
Ano ang opinyon ninyo? Honestly, I'm really curious.
O may sasagot kaya sa tanong na ito?
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may warrant of arrest na ba for the said priest? diba dapat kasuhan din yung bishop na nagtatago sa pari na ito?
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may warrant of arrest na ba for the said priest?
Wala pang warrant.
Charges were filed at the Agusan del Norte prosecutor’s office only last week. It will take maybe up to October or November before a resolution is issued.
diba dapat kasuhan din yung bishop na nagtatago sa pari na ito?
Hindi pa. Wala pa kasing warrant, e.
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For me a warrant is beside the point. The fact that the church leaders didn't bring him to the police and that he was just reassigned should be a cause for concern for anyone who is truly concerned about justice.
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Hehehe... sorry kung OT, just following your discussion... may nakasuhan na ba na priest dahil sa rape sa Philippines history? Usually dina-drop ang kaso diba or umaatras ang nagaakusa.... parang miracle... tapos nakakalimutan nalang ng tao ang mga nangyari or balita...
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For me a warrant is beside the point. The fact that the church leaders didn't bring him to the police and that he was just reassigned should be a cause for concern for anyone who is truly concerned about justice.
Well, ganon na nga ang lumalabas.
The Archdiocese of Butuan created a committee that will investigate the case. Butuan City Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos said the committee will be the one to determine the recommendations, if any, against Fr. Raul Cabonce. Bishop Pueblos also confirmed that Fr. Cabonce was in his custody.
We're under the impression that the Bishop wants to exclude the civil authorities. Para bang sinasabing kami na ang bahalang mag-imbestiga at magparusa, at huwag na kayong makialam.
Puwede ba naman yon?
I wonder what the Catholics think about it. OK ba sa inyo na pag may ginawang krimen ang pari, ang Iglesia Katolika lang ang mag-iimbestiga at magpaparusa, at puwera na ang criminal justice system?
Bishop Pueblos should issue a statement clarifiying that they will abide by the Pastoral Guidelines on Sexual Abuse and Misconduct by the Clergy, which states that “just like all other citizens, clerics and religious are subject to the civil and penal laws of the state.”
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A new age of religious intolerance? Did we ever leave that age? :)
Just to reiterate what I posted yesterday. I'd like to ask the devout Catholics here, specifically the ones who are particularly vocal against the Mideo artwork -- what's your take on the Church's refusal to give up the priest being accused of raping a minor and their insistence that a review panel be formed to review the priest's case instead?
Ano ang opinyon ninyo? Honestly, I'm really curious.
O may sasagot kaya sa tanong na ito?
Mabuhay!
Of course, i would want the priest to be investigated (although it hurts me to say this) and if proven guilty be sentenced with appropriate sanctions. And in the afterlife, its all in God's hands.
Godbless
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Naku wag niyong ganyanin si Father.
Father can do no wrong.
"This is for your own good, iha."
Lol.
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Iha, humayo tayo at magpakarami ... :D
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Bakit kaya walang uproar from the guardians of morality and decency? Ano sa tingin nyo?
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Bakit kaya walang uproar from the guardians of morality and decency? Ano sa tingin nyo?
I don't know about you but a priest raping a minor is a far, far, FAR more grievious sin than some artist putting a dildo on some religious imagery or a poor couple choosing to buy condoms.
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Bakit kaya walang uproar from the guardians of morality and decency? Ano sa tingin nyo?
Kasi presumed innocent?
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Kasi presumed innocent?
When has that stopped pundits from voicing their opinions? Kahit naman sila Ampatuan presumed innocent until proven guilty diba? Pero yung thread dito on the massacre lahat calling for blood and retribution na.
And besides, the issue also goes beyond the guilt or innocence of the priest. Anong entity, corporation or group here in the Philippines can do what these priests are doing and get away with it? I doubt people will keep quiet if, say, the local imams took the Ampatuans and say that they'll just form a committee to review the case dahil Muslims naman yung involved.
And there is also the issue of the Church not following the law. Innocent or guilty, they shouldn't be hiding the suspect.
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Di lang pinapaingay pa masyado siguro.
Or pwedeng naghahabol din yung CBCP ng media embargo/blackout.
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I don't know about you but a priest raping a minor is a far, far, FAR more grievious sin than some artist putting a dildo on some religious imagery or a poor couple choosing to buy condoms.
Even it's not a "priest" who raped a minor... it's still a grievious sin. Unless of course you're into role playing and with consent, that's something different. Hehe. :)
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Even it's not a "priest" who raped a minor... it's still a grievious sin. Unless of course you're into role playing and with consent, that's something different. Hehe. :)
But since the guy is a priest that makes the act 10x more heinous because a priest is supposed to be a trusted, celibate man of God whom his parishioners are supposed to always trust and look up to for spiritual guidance. For a priest to violate that trust by raping a child is a violation of that trust. That's why it's such big news around the world every time a priest gets caught with his hands in the pants of an altar boy.
The CBCP and the local moralistas go around condemning homosexuals, artists who put dildos on religious paintings and condom use are strangely silent when it comes to the far more heinous crime of rape of a minor by a priest.
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But since the guy is a priest that makes the act 10x more heinous because a priest is supposed to be a trusted, celibate man of God whom his parishioners are supposed to always trust and look up to for spiritual guidance. For a priest to violate that trust by raping a child is a violation of that trust. That's why it's such big news around the world every time a priest gets caught with his hands in the pants of an altar boy.
The CBCP and the local moralistas go around condemning homosexuals, artists who put dildos on religious paintings and condom use are strangely silent when it comes to the far more heinous crime of rape of a minor by a priest.
Yup... yun nga lang, priest pa yung accused na nangrape. I wonder what makes them do that. I mean, the priests. Naipon ang pagka-"L" and nagiging "tao lang"...? ::)
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Grabe yung moral outrage kay Mideo pero dito sa thread na ito wala. Mas galit pa yung so-called "free thinkers" at "atheists".
Kawawa naman yung batang napagsamantalahan, hindi sinusuportahan ng mga taong iginigiit na alam ang tama sa mali. :( Ibig kayang sabihin ang suporta nila nasa pari pa rin?
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Majority find it hard to believe that a priest can commit a physical crime but do not have a problem in believing a metaphysical being. Funny...
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Grabe yung moral outrage kay Mideo pero dito sa thread na ito wala. Mas galit pa yung so-called "free thinkers" at "atheists".
Kawawa naman yung batang napagsamantalahan, hindi sinusuportahan ng mga taong iginigiit na alam ang tama sa mali. :( Ibig kayang sabihin ang suporta nila nasa pari pa rin?
This thread is an eye-opener. Can't wait for the response of "good catholics".
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Grabe yung moral outrage kay Mideo pero dito sa thread na ito wala. Mas galit pa yung so-called "free thinkers" at "atheists".
Kawawa naman yung batang napagsamantalahan, hindi sinusuportahan ng mga taong iginigiit na alam ang tama sa mali. :( Ibig kayang sabihin ang suporta nila nasa pari pa rin?
I'm neither a devoted catholic nor atheist, but hindi mo pede i-direct compare ang 2 kasong ito. Yung isa, kitang-kita mong ginawa, at yung isa presumed innocent.
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Nahuli sa akto ang pari?
o pinagbintangang/inakusahang nangrape?
DEATH PENALTY to all rapist!!!
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Majority find it hard to believe that a priest can commit a physical crime but do not have a problem in believing a metaphysical being. Funny...
What's more than that, they have no problem believing that a metaphysical being who created the universe, who's basically omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, who created the Earth, and all its complex life forms and systems would be angry for someone putting a dildo in His "supposed" face.
Yet where is the moral outrage on the molestin' and rapin' priests? That's a 10000000x a bigger slap in the face of the Church than all the dildos and penises on Jesus paintings combined.
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I'm neither a devoted catholic nor atheist, but hindi mo pede i-direct compare ang 2 kasong ito. Yung isa, kitang-kita mong ginawa, at yung isa presumed innocent.
Sige ikumpara na lang natin sa ibang krimen. Presumed innocent diba? Bakit ang daming galit kay GMA at saka kay Mike Arroyo? Hindi pa naman sila nahahatulang may sala. Madami ding napag-usapang mga krimen sa Big Talk pero yung moral outrage nga sobrang lakas. Kataka-takang walang moral outrage tungkol sa isyung ito.
And it also goes beyond the issue of the accusation of rape. Wala bang naiskandalo na ang mga pari ayaw ibigay yung suspect sa pulis? Kahit na yun na lang ang pag usapan natin at hindi na yung akusasyon ng rape.
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I'm neither a devoted catholic nor atheist, but hindi mo pede i-direct compare ang 2 kasong ito. Yung isa, kitang-kita mong ginawa, at yung isa presumed innocent.
tanong ko lang. ano standing mo sa Maguindanao Massacre? since on going pa ang kaso and hindi pa guilty ang mga Ampatuans. isn't it that all suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty? nagalit ka ba sa Ampatuans kaagad or hindi?
kung walang ginawang mali yung pari bakit itinatago ng Simbahang Katoliko? why aren't they clamoring the government for an investigation sa kaso na ito at gusto nila sila na lang mag-imbistiga?
the reason why we're comparing the 2 cases is because it seems that the Catholic Church has a double standard. if something goes against the Church they go on a rally and demand something from the government but if the issue is against them they try to block out the situation. ::)
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International Traffic in Catholic Priests Who Abuse
By Richard Sipe and K.K. Murray
SNAP [United States]
April 17, 2007
The problem of foreign born or educated priests who come to the United States and subsequently abuse minors is and has been a problem for the American church. Some of the clergy coming to the US have abused prior to their service in dioceses here and also continue to abuse after they flee the US, often for their native country.
It is well documented that U.S. bishops Frequently transferred Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse to various venues within their own jurisdictions after receiving allegations—a different parish, chaplaincy, or to another bishop. (Approximately 60 percent of priests were reassigned after the first report of abuse. Cf. Sipe & Murray, October 18, 2006). The hierarchy also moved accused priests across international borders to other countries where many continued to work with children and were often able to avoid scandal, evade prosecution or extradition. These transfers are one of many ways in which global Catholicism affects the abuse crisis in the United States.
*Fr. Roberto Batoon was an extern priest From Philippines working in Honolulu. Accused of abuse he fled back to Philippines.
*Fr. Arwyn Diesta came to Los Angeles as extern priest From Philippines, abused one person in 1982-1983, returned to Philippines in 1988, accused in 1992.
*Fr. Cristobal Garcia admitted to having sex with two altar boys while a priest in Los Angeles in 1986. He fled to the Philippines, where he was ultimately promoted to monsignor.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news/2005_03_16_Egerton_PriestAccused.htm
http://www.cebuarchdiocese.org/directory/organizations/
*Fr. Leonardo Mateo was a visiting priest From the Philippines in Los Angeles. Accused of abuse in 1983, 1991, 2003 he ultimately fled to Philippines where he died in 2004.
*Fr. Emmanuel Omemaga was a priest in San Diego who fled to the Philippines after being accused of abuse in 1993
*Fr. John Steven Rabideau was a priest in Detroit; accused of abuse 1998, he immediately fled the U.S. He was an active priest in Philippines in 2004; caught in South America in 2006 trying to enter Colombia.
*Fr. Santiago L. Tamayo ordained in Philippines, moved to Los Angeles Archdiocese in 1968, accused of abuse in 1984, fled to Philippines
*Fr.Valentine Tugade was priest in Los Angeles California who fled to Philippines after accusation of abuse in 1984. Proved to be father of child born from abuse
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2007/03_04/2007_04_17_Sipe_InternationalTraffic.htm
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the reason why we're comparing the 2 cases is because it seems that the Catholic Church has a double standard. if something goes against the Church they go on a rally and demand something from the government but if the issue is against them they try to block out the situation. ::)
True! True! True! Hehehe... kanina ko pa gusto sabihin yan, hindi ko lang alam paano i-express. hehe. Parang kapag kabaro nila, pinoprotektahan nila.... Para bang the church has its own Mafia...
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Para bang the church has its own Mafia...
It's one of, if not the, largest corporations in the world.
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True! True! True! Hehehe... kanina ko pa gusto sabihin yan, hindi ko lang alam paano i-express. hehe. Parang kapag kabaro nila, pinoprotektahan nila.... Para bang the church has its own Mafia...
oo sir pareho tayo ng iniisip hehehe... and hindi lang naman sa kasong ito kinukupara yung Church kundi sa iba pang kaso ng abuse by Church priests as pointed out by Sir Rusty.
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oo sir pareho tayo ng iniisip hehehe... and hindi lang naman sa kasong ito kinukupara yung Church kundi sa iba pang kaso ng abuse by Church priests as pointed out by Sir Rusty.
Hmmmm... bakit sa post ni rusty (http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2007/03_04/2007_04_17_Sipe_InternationalTraffic.htm), halos puro "fled to the Philippines" yung mga accused???
Anong meron sa Philippines?!? Yung isa umamin na, naging monsignor pa... wow! Tsk tsk...
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Where is bass_nut, rascal101, AVPhile and GC? I'd like to hear what they think.
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i just opened the link provided by sir rusty. grabe, ganung kadami pala ang itinago ng Church. :o ::)
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Hmmmm... bakit sa post ni rusty (http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2007/03_04/2007_04_17_Sipe_InternationalTraffic.htm), halos puro "fled to the Philippines" yung mga accused???
Anong meron sa Philippines?!? Yung isa umamin na, naging monsignor pa... wow! Tsk tsk...
Hindi ko kasi pi-naste yung buong article. Pinili ko lang yung kasong may koneksyon sa Philippines. Masyado kasing marami e.
Si monsignor naman, mukhang active pa yata :-[
https://secure.flickr.com/photos/arnoldcarl/4993344566/
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Hmmmm... bakit sa post ni rusty (http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2007/03_04/2007_04_17_Sipe_InternationalTraffic.htm), halos puro "fled to the Philippines" yung mga accused???
Anong meron sa Philippines?!? Yung isa umamin na, naging monsignor pa... wow! Tsk tsk...
Gandang article yon a.
Pero hindi naman puro fled to the Philippines. Mas marami ang Ireland and Mexico.
Ayaw ko munang husgahan si Fr. Cabonce. Mahirap kasi, baka hindi totoo ang akusasyon.
Pero itong si Msgr. Cristobal Garcia, ibang klase pala talaga:
Priest Accused of Rapes Finds Prominence
Filipino church leaders welcome Garcia despite incidents with altar boys
By Brooks Egerton
Dallas Morning News
March 16, 2005
... Monsignor Garcia, in an interview at his religious compound, acknowledged having sex with Mr. Corral and another Los Angeles altar boy when they were in their early teens.
One of them "not only seduced me, he also raped me," the priest said.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news/2005_03_16_Egerton_PriestAccused.htm
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The bigger issue here is that the Church is hiding the suspect. Kahit pa sabihing inosente sya. Pwede bang gawin 'to ng karaniwang tao ng walang legal repercussions? May provision ba sa Revised Penal Code na pag sinabi ng suspect na inosente sya pwede syang hindi ibigay sa autoridad?
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Well: one thing to remember is everyone is human.
For the Catholic Church, we know our history right? Rizal? Gomburza? Watch the Borgias, this one even downplays the things the church did in the renaissance era...
But also look at other religions. Muslim faith (9/11) / Terrorisms, Cults (Cults in the US / other areas raping women and children). Look at whats happening to our OFW, conservatively 20% are raped / sexually abused.
Go to QC / Mkti - women are being raped by society for money becuase few options are available for survival. And we are Christians, right? The Politicians and their lawyers are Christians too???
We are the biggest non-practicing Christians likely in Asia.
In this kind of society-we expect priests to be magically saints? that priesthood changes human nature for all priests somehow, not just priests but leaders of other religions as well?
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Rape suspects are human -- be they priests, persons of other faiths or hoodlums. They must be given due process just like every other human under the law. No one is supposed to be special.
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The bigger issue here is that the Church is hiding the suspect. Kahit pa sabihing inosente sya. Pwede bang gawin 'to ng karaniwang tao ng walang legal repercussions? May provision ba sa Revised Penal Code na pag sinabi ng suspect na inosente sya pwede syang hindi ibigay sa autoridad?
I wouldn't say the Church is hiding the respondent. Not yet, at least.
Any respondent has the right to ignore the prosecutor's office during the preliminary investigation stage. If the respondent refuses to appear and does not submit counter-affidavits, the investigating officer shall resolve the complaint based on the evidence presented by the complainant.
After issuance of a resolution finding probable cause, the case goes to the judiciary and the judge issues a warrant for the arrest of the accused. Once a warrant is issued, it is only then that the accused must surrender, after which he may post bail for his temporary liberty.
As of now, the respondent has no obligation to surrender or appear anywhere, since the investigating prosecutor has not yet resolved the case. In fact, preliminary investigation hearings have not even commenced.
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Links:
Gabriela wants Bishop Pueblos to surrender priest accused of rape
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/230935/regions/gabriela-wants-bishop-pueblos-to-surrender-priest-accused-of-rape
Gabriela calls on Butuan Bishop to stop coddling priest charged with rape of minor
http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/08/30/gabriela-calls-on-butuan-bishop-to-stop-coddling-priest-charged-with-rape-of-minor/
Priest accused of rape to face church panel
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/08/30/11/priest-accused-rape-face-church-panel
Bishop confirms he has custody of priest accused of rape
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/48857/bishop-confirms-he-has-custody-of-priest-accused-of-rape
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For me a warrant is beside the point. The fact that the church leaders didn't bring him to the police and that he was just reassigned should be a cause for concern for anyone who is truly concerned about justice.
I think people are innocent until proven guilty. Everyone should be given the benefit of the doubt.
What if it turns out that the priest is really innocent. What then?
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I think people are innocent until proven guilty. Everyone should be given the benefit of the doubt.
What if it turns out that the priest is really innocent. What then?
So dapat may due process?
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I think people are innocent until proven guilty. Everyone should be given the benefit of the doubt.
What if it turns out that the priest is really innocent. What then?
Absolutely. The Church MUST surrender him to the civil authorities and his crimes be tried in a CIVILIAN court. His status as a priest must not subject him to a special treatment. He should be tried like anyone else. If he's truly innocent, then he shouldn't hide under the Church's protection and he should face the civilian courts like any person accused of a crime.
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ulitin ko lang nabanggit ni sir barrister...
wala pang warrant of arrest... kaya hindi puwedeng tawaging nagtatago ang paring ito... o kinakanlungan ng simbahang katoliko...
kapag may pinalabas na warrant of arrest tapos hindi pa lumabas at dumepensa ang simbahang katoliko.. saka na nating sabihin na may proteksiyon ang simbahang katoliko...
huwag padadala sa init ng ulo o emosyon...
ang paring ito ay hindi pa napapatunayang nagkasala... inaakusahan pa lang siya ng biktima... akusado pero hindi sentinsyado... inakusahan pero hindi pa maysala.
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I'd also like to point out that defending a rape suspect is an enormous challenge for any lawyer, lalo na sa pilipinas.
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huwag padadala sa init ng ulo o emosyon...
If only this could be applied to ALL SITUATIONS then walang problema. Kaya lang selective pa din. Dito sa thread na to dapat huminahon muna tayong lahat, "pagbigyan muna natin." Dun sa isang thread, "naargabyado kami dapat may aksyon agad, sagasaan na ang dapat sagasaan."
Double Standards. ;)
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In this rape case if there is really one, is not a case against the catholic church. This is a crime committed by an individual against the state. If a case has been filed against this priest, then what we just have to ascertain is whether or not the processes of the law are done regularly. If the rudiments of the law are carefully observed, there is actually no reason for us to cry foul. if the law could not reach the accused priest because he is harbored by some of his colleagues in the church then there is a case called harboring a criminal.
I think the case of the church being above the law happens when the established reason of the state in not going after the priest despite the law, is because he is a member or official of the church. In that case the majesty of the law is obviously subordinated by the reason of his membership to the church.
I agree that the catholic church is guilty of being an AC/DC or exercising double standards in terms of issues of morality. So many look up to them because of their role in the community. But you know I think this is just an illusion. Because for me the Catholic Church is just like an ordinary organization who professes in reality nothing besides its best human interests. I doubt if GOD knows this as a church who is supposed to be propagating his pure Christian doctrines.
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I think people are innocent until proven guilty. Everyone should be given the benefit of the doubt.
What if it turns out that the priest is really innocent. What then?
as we have pointed out, it's not only in this case but in other cases as well. look at the link that sir rusty has posted on the earlier page. when a member of the Church is accused of rape/abuse they ship the priest out to another country/diocese. the problem is not only this one but many others as well.
Issue here is double standards of the Church and it seems some Catholics also has double standards.
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The amount of religious intolerance here at PinoyDVD is very eye opening.
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The amount of religious intolerance here at PinoyDVD is very eye opening.
No , it is not about religious intolerance. Just the basic right or wrong discussion.
manuelbuencamino's Q & A.
Question: What is worse than Mideo Cruz sticking a penis on Christ’s face?
Answer: A Catholic priest sticking his penis into an unwilling minor.
Question: What could be worse than that?
Answer: A bishop sticks his nose in and offers protection to the erring priest. (No pun intended.)
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No, read the other comments on the thread. Many are based on complete and utter intolerance.
Not every Catholic offended and/or outraged by Mideo's art is stupid enough to defend priests who commit heinous crimes. But that's the tone and implication of many posts on this thread. And if you don't see it, then you're either extremely naive or are intentionally playing dumb.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not personally offended by the intolerance. I just find it to be very eye opening.
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The bigger issue here is that the Church is hiding the suspect. Kahit pa sabihing inosente sya. Pwede bang gawin 'to ng karaniwang tao ng walang legal repercussions? May provision ba sa Revised Penal Code na pag sinabi ng suspect na inosente sya pwede syang hindi ibigay sa autoridad?
Am not exactly sure if "the Church is hiding the suspect" from the law. If they've made it known that the suspect is within their custody, for the time being, they might just be protecting the suspect from being lynched by a mob, or the victim's kamaganak inc. - or something to that effect. It's possible that the Church wants the suspect to get due process, arrive in court, alive.
I can't imagine if i was the father of the victim. Somebody'd better hide that bugger from me fast, i mean really, really fast.
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Ewan ko ba sa inyo, pero para sa akin, mas nakaka-alarma yung situwasyon na pag naririnig o nababasa ko itong mga ganitong istorya e parang wala lang. Kasi hindi na bago to para sa akin. Yun bang "what else is new?" attitude ko tungkol sa ganitong pangyayari e natural na. Hindi na ko nagre-react na "ano ba yan?! pari pa naman sya!"
Innocent sila until proven guilty. Given na yan. Yung "tao lang naman sila" e hindi rason yan. Ano yan, escape clause nila para gumawa ng kalokohan?
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Nothing illustrates double standards more than this cartoon:
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_96Kvbam55yo/S_nm3BU65NI/AAAAAAAAAIg/sk6oz0Dch38/s1600/n505985007_6085919_6548769.jpg?ref=nf)
By the way, I'm not an atheist, neither am I a Catholic (anymore). ;)
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Para sa akin hindi pa 'religious intolerance' ang mga comments dito at sa kabilang thread.
Religious intolerance def via wikipedia (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Religious_intolerance)- is when a group (e.g., a society, religious group, non-religious group) specifically refuses to tolerate practices, persons or beliefs on religious grounds (i.e., intolerance in practice).
Hindi naman tayo intolerant ng mga paniniwalang kristyano o sa mga taong kristyano, kundi ay nag-e-express lang naman tayo ng outrage sa double standards ng ating lipunan. Hindi naman tayo intolerant sa mga religious practices ng mga katoliko, pwera na lang kung matatawag mong religious practice yung 'coddling a criminal' o kaya 'raping a minor'.
Siguro pag may nag-vandalize sa atin ng ating lokal na parokya, katulad ng pangvavandalize nila sa exhibit ni Mideo, religious intolerance na yun.
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But that's the tone and implication of many posts on this thread.
So just the tone and implications of the posts is religious intolerance to you.
Religious intolerance is prejudice against individuals or groups based on religious convictions, affiliations or practices. This prejudice can manifest as violent action and/or intimidation, with the intent to deny the right to practice religion freely or to deny basic human rights.
http://fightingreligiousintolerance.org/user-guide/what-is-intolerance
Other Definitions of Religious Intolerance
“Not respecting the fundamental human right of other people to hold religious beliefs that are different from your own.” ~Religioustolerance.org
“Religious intolerance is the refusing to acknowledge and support the right of individuals to have their own beliefs and related legitimate practices and the unwillingness to have one’s own beliefs and related practices critically evaluated.” ~Sexual Assault Centre of Brant
“The practice of keeping others from acting in accordance with their religious beliefs.” ~Stanford’s Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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I think in the case of the religious the standards are different. We deserve and expect better.
For civilians, we are after the judicial process. But with people of faith, we are after more than that - we are after the truth! Meaning we can go beyond the minimum of the judicial process and rights. We should not expect technicalities to get in the way. If not, then what are the religious preaching moral values for?
I think the Church sometimes forget that the catholics are part of the Church too and must be safeguarded as well.
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Here's an interesting article. (http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-catholic-churchs-secret-sex-crime-files-20110906)
I can't help but wonder how many Filipino children were raped by Catholic priests in the Philippines. The Catholic Church is still a very powerful presence here and can easily, EASILY cover it up because our politicians and public officials will be too scared to do anything against the Church.
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Watch this documentary about the Inquisition
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC6NwsjqyKY
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Here's an interesting article. (http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-catholic-churchs-secret-sex-crime-files-20110906)
I can't help but wonder how many Filipino children were raped by Catholic priests in the Philippines. The Catholic Church is still a very powerful presence here and can easily, EASILY cover it up because our politicians and public officials will be too scared to do anything against the Church.
i read this earlier. nakaka-awa yung bata na in-abuse nung mga pari at nung teacher. how can these people do these kinds of things? talk about double standards. these people are hypocrites. kung makapag-interfere sila sa politics ganun-ganun lang dahil immoral daw pero yung immorality within the Church tinatago nila. >:(
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I hope we can properly differentiate the "church" or "Catholic Church" from the priest who is being accused in this case, or those that have already been convicted of similar crimes.
The priests, bishops, faithfuls of the Catholic Church, as is the case with the other religions, sects, groups, associations, clubs, or what have you, are not perfect. As mere human beings, necessarily, a few will stray away. Even given this, the fault of one or even a few "member/s" is not the fault of the whole group, in this case the "church". Whatever these priests have done should not be made to reflect on the whole church, as they are but a very insignificant percentage of the millions of Catholics in the world, or of the whole priests population, for that matter. I'd like to believe that the good far outweigh those who are otherwise.
By taking the respondent priest into his custody and in calling for a committee to investigate the accusations against the same, the Bishop of Butuan (not the church) can't be justly accused of harboring the priest, or much more, being above the law. As stated by one who earlier posted, there is no, as of yet, obligation on the part of the priest or the Bishop of Butuan (not the church) to turn-in the priest. The investigation that the Bishop wants to be conducted, I'm certain, is not in lieu of the fiscal's preliminary investigation or the court's trial proceedings (shall it be necessary), but merely for the Bishop's purpose.
I believe that the crimes perpetrated in this case, and many other similar ones, are horrible to say the least. Whoever are responsible therefor, even if they turn out to be priests, should be made to pay. Whoever will meddle with the legal processes in connection therewith, even if he is a bishop, should also be made to suffer the consequences.
I am a Catholic. I am not the "church", though. Please note that the opinion above is mine alone, and not that of the church. ;)
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I sincerely hope that the Catholic Church here is not covering up rape and child molestation incidents among their priests like they did in U.S. and Europe.
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Limits drawn on heritage law’s coverage of Church’s cultural properties
The Philippine Roman Catholic Church’s cultural patrimony is shielded from the controversial National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 (Republic Act 10066) because of the constitutional principle of separation of Church and state; the Church’s own canon law; and the Concordat between the Holy See and the Philippine government on Church cultural heritage.
“While the Church unites with the state in the national policy to protect, preserve and promote the nation’s cultural heritage, the law should not prohibit and penalize necessary works on churches,” said Jo Imbong, a lawyer of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
Examples of “necessary works” are the construction of chapels and additions to the church rectory or other facilities that are inherently necessary to worship and liturgy.
Imbong was speaking in a forum on the National Cultural Heritage Law at the Angelicum College in Quezon City, with National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Commissioner Regalado Trota Jose and former NCCA commissioner Fr. Harold Rentoria, OSA.
Theme was “Kaban ng Nakaraan, Yaman ng Kasaysayan: RA 10066: National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.” It was held on Aug. 8, feast day of St. Dominic, the founder of the Dominicans, which own and run the Angelicum.
The lawyer said the Church was an autonomous institution, whose physical works and maintenance of properties were guided by canon law, or Church law.
The autonomy of the Church in administering its properties “is in keeping with the free exercise clause [of religion]:” “The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed (Art. III, Sec. 5, Constitution).”
The autonomous status of the Church, with its system of law and legal rights, is acknowledged in the Constitution with the provision “The separation of the Church and State shall be inviolable (Art. II, Sec. 6)."
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/12511/limits-drawn-on-heritage-law%E2%80%99s-coverage-of-church%E2%80%99s-cultural-properties
Wow! I didn't know that the Catholic Church recognized the separation between church and state :o :P
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The CBCP recognizes the separation of Church and State when it suits them. Like tax exemptions and such.
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Wow! I didn't know that the Catholic Church recognized the separation between church and state :o :P
From my HS classmate:
Lumabas din ang katotohanan - pati ang Vatican ay nakialam para pigilan ang pagpapatalsik kay GMA. May kinalaman kaya dito si Obispo Montero Sport? Cashswerte naman ng Vatican kung sila rin ay mapalad na
nabiyayaan!
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/11681/vatican-pressured-filipino-bishops-to-stay-clear-of-moves-to-oust-gma%E2%80%94wikileaks
MANILA, Philippines—The Vatican did pressure Filipino bishops to remain neutral and not support widespread calls for the ouster or resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the height of the “Hello Garci” scandal in 2005, according to US Embassy cables released by WikiLeaks.
A confidential cable
(http://www.wikileaks.org/cable/2005/07/05VATICAN500.html) dated July 15, 2005 stated that Msgr. Luis Montemayor, country director for the Philippines under the Vatican Secretariat of State, confirmed to Brent Hardt, deputy chief of mission and charge d’affaires of the US Embassy to the Holy See, that the Vatican, through papal nuncio Archbishop Antonio Franco, “pressured the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to remain neutral in the controversy surrounding Arroyo.”
“[Montemayor] told us that although the Vatican’s preferences on the matter had never been a secret, Franco had for the first time on July 9, 2005 explained in no uncertain terms to the CBCP that the Vatican did not support popular uprisings as a method to remove a government,” Hardt said.
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Before - PRIEST; After - RAPRIEST.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/09/05/11/doj-orders-filing-rape-charges-vs-parish-priest#.TmRRaKo6crs.facebook
DOJ orders filing of rape charges vs parish priest
By Ina Reformina, ABS-CBN News
Posted at 09/05/2011 8:53 AM | Updated as of 09/05/2011 2:17 PM
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice(DOJ), on review resolution, has recommended the filing of charges of rape against a parish priest in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley.
In a 5-page resolution signed by Justice Undersecretary Leah Armamento, the DOJ ordered the Provincial Prosecutor of Compostela Valley to file an information before the trial court against Fr. Melvin dela Cuesta for allegedly raping a 21-year-old college student.
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I hope we can properly differentiate the "church" or "Catholic Church" from the priest who is being accused in this case, or those that have already been convicted of similar crimes.
The priests, bishops, faithfuls of the Catholic Church, as is the case with the other religions, sects, groups, associations, clubs, or what have you, are not perfect. As mere human beings, necessarily, a few will stray away. Even given this, the fault of one or even a few "member/s" is not the fault of the whole group, in this case the "church". Whatever these priests have done should not be made to reflect on the whole church, as they are but a very insignificant percentage of the millions of Catholics in the world, or of the whole priests population, for that matter. I'd like to believe that the good far outweigh those who are otherwise.
By taking the respondent priest into his custody and in calling for a committee to investigate the accusations against the same, the Bishop of Butuan (not the church) can't be justly accused of harboring the priest, or much more, being above the law. As stated by one who earlier posted, there is no, as of yet, obligation on the part of the priest or the Bishop of Butuan (not the church) to turn-in the priest. The investigation that the Bishop wants to be conducted, I'm certain, is not in lieu of the fiscal's preliminary investigation or the court's trial proceedings (shall it be necessary), but merely for the Bishop's purpose.
I believe that the crimes perpetrated in this case, and many other similar ones, are horrible to say the least. Whoever are responsible therefor, even if they turn out to be priests, should be made to pay. Whoever will meddle with the legal processes in connection therewith, even if he is a bishop, should also be made to suffer the consequences.
I am a Catholic. I am not the "church", though. Please note that the opinion above is mine alone, and not that of the church. ;)
It's great you are able to say that. However, I think a lot of the anger is directed not just at individuals who, understandably, do not represent the values of the "Church" since they went against their vows, but at other members of the cloth who may actually condone such actions by covering up such incidents.
The sin of one should not reflect on all, true. But if that "all" turn a blind eye to the crimes of that "one" doesn't that make the "all" guilty of something? Like when the Vatican chose to remain silent to the crimes against humanity during the Holocaust. Where does it all begin and end?
Sure, people are innocent until proven guilty. But this situation just exacerbates the fact that the Church regularly circulates proven "bad" priests around instead of submitting them to the law. There's a lot of anger out there and the Church doesn't do itself any favors by appearing hypocratic.
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Eto pa:
RH bill was killed by Pres. Gloria Arroyo in exchange for Church political support
A month after then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a State of National Emergency, following the arrest of Brig. Gen. Danny Lim and other army officers, her political adviser Gabriel Claudio met with American diplomat Joseph Novak.
In a cable dated March 22, 2006, US Ambassador to Manila Kristie Kenney filed this summary about Kovak’s meeting:
In light of recent political turbulence,President Arroyo has been reaching out to high-level members of the Catholic clergy in an effort to shore up support. Arroyo has also taken care not to cross the Church on two key issues: mining and population policy.
Full Article:
http://raissarobles.com/2011/09/07/rh-bill-was-killed-by-pres-gloria-arroyo-in-exchange-for-church-political-support/
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The goal of priesthood is a lofty one: a man placed on a pedestal for his community to revere, an alter Christus – "another Christ" – who can literally channel the power of Jesus and help create the perfect society intended by God. To model that perfection and elevate themselves above the sinful laity, clergy adopt a vow of celibacy, which has served as a centerpiece of Catholic priesthood since the 12th century. It's a tall order to sculpt chaste, living incarnations of Jesus out of the sloppy clay of your average 18-year-old male. Even many of those who wind up being ordained fail to maintain their chastity: According to a 1990 study by psychologist Richard Sipe, only half of all priests adhere to their vows of celibacy. It is not just the sex-abuse epidemic the church seeks to deny, but sex itself.
The Catholic Church's Secret Sex-Crime Files
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-catholic-churchs-secret-sex-crime-files-20110906
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Actually, the celibacy requirement was instituted NOT because the Church wanted to "elevate" priests above the sinful laity as you said. It was because way too many priests during that time have been using Church funds to support their children and their families. The Church was running out of money and properties so they placed the celibacy requirement. That is all.
It probably also doesn't help that doctors of the Church St. Paul and St. Augustine hated human sexuality and wrote celibacy is quite preferable. The pleasures of the flesh is only a distraction by the Devil that will take man away from the glory of God. Procreation within the context of marriage is the ONLY thing that can justify sexual pleasure. Practically any sex act apart from that is a sin.
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Here in Australia, we are also frustrated at how the Catholic church handles sex abuse and rape in their own ranks.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/breaking-news/government-should-sack-priest-xenophon/story-e6frea73-1226135260019
Adelaide-based Anglican Archbishop John Hepworth revealed on the weekend he was the victim of violent rapes at the hands of three priests beginning in 1960.
At the time Archbishop Hepworth was studying to be a priest and was aged 15.
Ronald Pickering and John Stockdale have since died, but the third priest still runs a parish in South Australia.
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These atrocities of the Roman Catholic church were not new - they were there ever since these church leaders were elevated as prince & princess in the earth!
These officers are political beings hiding behind their religions.
Nothing was changed in them.
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Actually, the celibacy requirement was instituted NOT because the Church wanted to "elevate" priests above the sinful laity as you said. It was because way too many priests during that time have been using Church funds to support their children and their families. The Church was running out of money and properties so they placed the celibacy requirement. That is all.
Thanks. This strengthens my belief that the Church is really all business and the ultimate goal is to make money the easy way.
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These atrocities of the Roman Catholic church were not new - they were there ever since these church leaders were elevated as prince & princess in the earth!
These officers are political beings hiding behind their religions.
Nothing was changed in them.
I hope this time, justice will prevail.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/13/pope-crimes-humanity-victims-abuse
Pope accused of crimes against humanity by victims of sex abuse
Victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have accused the pope, the Vatican secretary of state and two other high-ranking Holy See officials of crimes against humanity, in a formal complaint to the international criminal court (ICC).
The submission, lodged at The Hague on Tuesday, accuses the four men not only of failing to prevent or punish perpetrators of rape and sexual violence but also of engaging in the "systematic and widespread" practice of concealing sexual crimes around the world.
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as of this time...
away away muna mga religion... galit galit muna... bukas makalawa... magkakaisa lahat ng religion... tsk tsk tsk... kapag nagkaganoon ... kapuff... maglalahong parang bula ang mundo.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/13/pope-crimes-humanity-victims-abuse
Pope accused of crimes against humanity by victims of sex abuse
Victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have accused the pope, the Vatican secretary of state and two other high-ranking Holy See officials of crimes against humanity, in a formal complaint to the international criminal court (ICC).
The submission, lodged at The Hague on Tuesday, accuses the four men not only of failing to prevent or punish perpetrators of rape and sexual violence but also of engaging in the "systematic and widespread" practice of concealing sexual crimes around the world.
Crimes against humanity, as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Explanatory Memorandum, "are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings. They are not isolated or sporadic events, but are part either of a government policy (although the perpetrators need not identify themselves with this policy) or of a wide practice of atrocities tolerated or condoned by a government or a de facto authority. Murder; extermination; torture; rape; political, racial, or religious persecution and other inhumane acts reach the threshold of crimes against humanity only if they are part of a widespread or systematic practice. Isolated inhumane acts of this nature may constitute grave infringements of human rights, or depending on the circumstances, war crimes, but may fall short of falling into the category of crimes under discussion."
(Wikipedia)
Under the above definition and given the information in the article I read, the alleged "crime" can't be considered a crime against humanity. Given this and some other grounds, what has been filed is outside the jurisdiction of the ICC.
While I'd like to believe that whoever filed this case has their own clean intention, personally, I think this is a little reckless, if not ridiculous. ;)
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as of this time...
away away muna mga religion... galit galit muna... bukas makalawa... magkakaisa lahat ng religion... tsk tsk tsk... kapag nagkaganoon ... kapuff... maglalahong parang bula ang mundo.
kelan ba yan prediction mo madame D? ;D
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While I'd like to believe that whoever filed this case has their own clean intention, personally, I think this is a little reckless, if not ridiculous. ;)
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/58555/child-abuse-victims-accuse-pope-of-crimes-against-humanity
Normally, the ICC prosecutor only investigates complaints if asked to do so by the United Nations Security Council; by a state that has ratified the Rome Statute; or on his own initiative.
But the CCR said in its statement that “the jurisdiction of the ICC names rape, sexual violence assault, and torture as crimes against humanity.
“It also provides for individual criminal liability for those with command or superior responsibility over those who directly commit such crimes.”
On this basis, members from Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States had travelled to The Hague to urge prosecutors to investigate the head of the Roman Catholic Church, it said.
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kelan ba yan prediction mo madame D? ;D
its Modom D.. not Madam D... (since i am a HE) :) :) :)
on, before or after i die... big MAYBE.
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Butuan priest charged with rape; CBCP says, "The most prudent thing to do is to wait for the decision of the court"
http://www.spot.ph/the-feed/49402/butuan-priest-charged-with-rape-cbcp-stays-mum-
Published: Sep 25, 2011 - 1:34pm
GMA News Online reports that the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has declined to comment any further on the pending court cases of rape and child abuse against Fr. Raul Cabonce, a priest assigned in the Diocese of Butuan.
The report revealed that the 18-year-old girl who had accused Cabonce of molesting her went to the CBCP office in Intramuros, Manila last week. She was accompanied by Gabriela officials.
The girl, who has been assigned the alias "Leah," and the members of the women's group presented a letter of appeal to the CBCP. In the two-page letter addressed to CBCP's vice president and incoming president Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, they sought the CBCP's "immediate action." The letter also pointed out: "It was very difficult for (Leah) to accept that Fr. Cabonce, a servant of God, and with whom her mother worked as catechist for five years, would become her sexual abuser."
Outgoing CBCP secretary general Msgr. Juanito Figura said that CBCP intervention is not possible at this time considering the pending court proceedings. "Since it was brought to court already, the most prudent thing to do is to wait for the decision of the court. The CBCP as a Church body would have to respect the forum of the civil court which is a state body," Figura said. The Butuan Diocese is also doing its own investigation.
For more on this story, log on to GMA News Online.
After 2000 years.... good luck. ;D
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I wonder if the church itself is linked with the recent development in Cebu.
In Cebu there is this pending anti-tabloid ordinance that seeks to ban tabloids that allegedly publish content that is considered obscene, pornographic or indecent. It's a threat to press freedom.
Nalzaro: On Magpale’s anti-tabloid ordinance
WHO are we in the media to dictate to Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale to withdraw her controversial proposed anti-tabloid ordinance? We are just voices in the wilderness.
But the media, as one of the stakeholders of her proposed ordinance, can perhaps suggest to her to re-study, re-evaluate and revise it before submitting it for a public hearing. Veteran lawyers, especially members of the Cebu Media Legal Aid, found several holes and flaws in her proposal. Even its drafters admitted the defects in several forums.
The original drafter of the ordinance, a barrister, admitted that it was not really the idea of the vice governor to come up with the ordinance. He said it was an officemate who brought up the idea after reading what they considered an obscene article and seeing a photo of a sexy woman in a Manila publication.
He said he drafted the ordinance a long time ago on installment basis. When the issue of the Cebu Anti-Indecency Board (Caib) and the two local tabloids, Superbalita and Banat News, cropped up, he presented the draft to Magpale. The vice governor then filed the ordinance without further studying the proposal and without consulting lawyers of its possible legal implications and ramifications.
The ordinance passed the first reading. Under legislative procedures, the term “first reading” is an acknowledgement of the proposed law, but it still has to be calendared and a public hearing will have to be conducted.
Magpale said she will not withdraw her proposal because the legal defects will be corrected and ironed out after the public hearing. She said she is willing to listen to the proposals of and suggestions from the media and other stakeholders. She also claimed she has the support of various Christian denominations in the province.
I have no quarrel with the vice governor, who is my kumare. We in the media are also strongly against obscenity, indecency and pornography. We support her advocacy. But we are talking here of a proposed law that might be abused by elected officials who will be tapped to implement the ordinance. They might not give due process to people responsible for the printing and to the owners of tabloids that contain allegedly obscene and indecent items.
The title of the ordinance is even defective. Why focus on tabloids only? Is a tabloid associated with obscenity? If a broadsheet newspaper publishes a photo of a beauty pageant winner, like Miss Universe third runner-up Shamcey Supsup wearing a two-piece swimsuit, is it exempted from the ordinance once the ordinance is passed? One of the legal staffers of Magpale, who is my friend, defended broadsheet newspapers that printed the photo of Miss Supsup in a bikini, saying it depends on who is featured. My friend said if it is an ordinary or unknown personality in a bikini, then it is obscene because the intention of the publisher is to sexually arouse male readers. But if it is a beauty-title holder, it is not because it has a purpose. What? If that is the case, aren’t they guilty of having double standards?
And who decides when an article is obscene? The mayors who will be tapped to implement that law in their respective local government units? I’m afraid politicians may abuse this law. I know Gov. Gwen Garcia does not like my criticisms and my commentaries against her. What if one of my write-ups is adverse to her and the newspaper that publishes my write-up also contains a questionable article about sex, would she order town mayors to confiscate the newspaper for containing an allegedly obscene article?
I appreciate Caib for filing a case against the two newspapers that printed what they perceived as obscene and indecent articles because it is only the court that can interpret what is obscene. Besides, there is already a provision in the Revised Penal Code, Article 201 as amended by Presidential Decress 960 and 969, which penalizes obscenity and indecency. Why don’t they just use these laws to go after newspapers that print obscene and indecent articles? There is also a pending bill in Congress that is “anti-obscenity and pornography.” Won’t these serve the same end? I rest my case.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2011/09/25/nalzaro-magpale-s-anti-tabloid-ordinance-181439
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^Violation of freedom of speech.^
I personally dislike those sleazy tabloids. They're pornographic in a sexist sort of way. But I would never, ever call for their being banned.
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I think that the Church is correct in supporting the Vice Governor's initiative to ban obscene tabloids. Correct -morally and legally.
This move can't be considered as a threat to press freedom as this freedom is not absolute. Obscenity, of course, is an exception and is not protected by this right. ;)
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My friend in Cebu feels terrible. Why? Because his local parish priest saw him reading a comic book from the New 52 comics of DC Comics. He was kind enough to show some pages to him until one image struck the priest.
(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.comicsalliance.com/media/2011/09/screen-shot-2011-09-22-at-11.33.09-am.png)
Just because of that, the priest told him that he will repeat his message of censorship and banning in the name of morality on his next mass this weekend, and this time he will specifically mention DC Comics, Catwoman and the New 52. The priest, by the way, already spoke out against the alleged obscene tabloids and voiced support for the vice-governor's proposal to ban such media.
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I think these outspoken priests need to ban anything that might make them horny. Intindihin naman daw natin ang kalagayan nila. Bawal na nga ang sex bawal pa ang masturbation. Tao lang sila!
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I think these outspoken priests need to ban anything that might make them horny. Intindihin naman daw natin ang kalagayan nila. Bawal na nga ang sex bawal pa ang masturbation. Tao lang sila!
How about banning pedophile priests or nuns who abused children in schools or orphanages?
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This move can't be considered as a threat to press freedom as this freedom is not absolute. Obscenity, of course, is an exception and is not protected by this right. ;)
How does one define OBSCENITY? That's the slippery slope. A government official can define those terms on his whim and make laws accordingly, thereby limiting journalistic and artistic expression. He can call any column or article criticizing him or exposing his misdeeds as "obscene".
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^ Case in point, that comic book panel of Batman and Catwoman up there. I don't find it obscene, yet, a priest has appointed himself judge, jury and executioner by saying it is. Under his "moral" compass, this kind of artistic expression will never reach my eyes.
Leave Sex Alone!!! ;D
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baka may naiimagine na di maganda si Cebu priest nung nakita niya si Catwoman at Batman. ;). baka selos siya at type niya si catwoman
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Not a new report but still relevant.
Clergy sex abuse victims turn to int'l court
Clergy sex abuse victims upset that no high-ranking Roman Catholic leaders have been prosecuted for sheltering guilty priests have turned to the International Criminal Court, seeking an investigation of the pope and top Vatican cardinals for possible crimes against humanity. The Vatican called the move a "ludicrous publicity stunt."
The Center for Constitutional Rights, a New York-based nonprofit legal group, requested the inquiry Tuesday on behalf of the U.S.-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, arguing that the global church has maintained a "long-standing and pervasive system of sexual violence" despite promises to swiftly oust predators.
The Vatican's U.S. lawyer, Jeffrey Lena, called the complaint a "ludicrous publicity stunt and a misuse of international judicial processes" in a statement to The Associated Press.
The complaint names Pope Benedict XVI, partly in his former role as leader of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which in 2001 explicitly gained responsibility for overseeing abuse cases; Cardinal William Levada, who now leads that office; Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state under Pope John Paul II; and Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who now holds that post.
Attorneys for the victims say rape, sexual violence and torture are considered a crime against humanity as described in the international treaty that spells out the court's mandate. The complaint also accuses Vatican officials of creating policies that perpetuated the damage, constituting an attack against a civilian population.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/13/501364/main20105805.shtml
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How does one define OBSCENITY? That's the slippery slope. A government official can define those terms on his whim and make laws accordingly, thereby limiting journalistic and artistic expression. He can call any column or article criticizing him or exposing his misdeeds as "obscene".
It has been defined by and explained in foreign and local jurisprudence. If "whim" will be the basis for the definition, such ordinance will easily be declared by the courts as invalid. The last sentence above is stretching the argument too much.
Even providing that the term is hard to define, still, the decision to support such an ordinance is not bereft of basis, that is - legally and morally. Also, even if there are priests that are rapist or otherwise immoral, the Catholic Church is still not guilty of double standard if it decided to back-up the said ordinance. ;)
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^ why do you think that the Church doesn't have double standards, if i may ask? they go on a rally or make a sermon about obscenity/immorality in the comics and exhibits but mum's the word when it comes to obscenity/immorality inside their own Church and they even protect the priest who has done the crime? that isn't double standard?
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^
While my statement above is my opinion, which I need not justify further, I can answer your question. Before I do, however, it is necessary that you first substantiate your 2nd sentence.
By the way, what "obscenity/immorality in the comics"? ;)
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this one bro. this was posted on the last page of this thread.
My friend in Cebu feels terrible. Why? Because his local parish priest saw him reading a comic book from the New 52 comics of DC Comics. He was kind enough to show some pages to him until one image struck the priest.
(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.comicsalliance.com/media/2011/09/screen-shot-2011-09-22-at-11.33.09-am.png)
Just because of that, the priest told him that he will repeat his message of censorship and banning in the name of morality on his next mass this weekend, and this time he will specifically mention DC Comics, Catwoman and the New 52. The priest, by the way, already spoke out against the alleged obscene tabloids and voiced support for the vice-governor's proposal to ban such media.
also, this is a post i made on the first pag of this thread:
if something goes against the Church they go on a rally and demand something from the government but if the issue is against them they try to block out the situation.
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i agree with bro leomarley, i dont have any grudge against our beloved church, but to me it seems that the church is trying to control our government. if they don't like something that the government propose they oppose it. look what happen to erap, without the support of the church in that revolt, i believed we wont have president arroyo ( for me the most corrupt and notorious). and for me it is the church who somehow doesn't do there part in helping the poor to enrich there life. for we wont have this big population. more child been birth = baptism = money. and who does the politician go to in time of election ????? CHURCH. so why does INC (inglesia) keep expanding there hm.. asset and not paying any cents to the government. check out most of there property which is in a prime lot. well i hope i didnt offend anyone here. this is just my opinion. ;D
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i agree with bro leomarley, i dont have any grudge against our beloved church, but to me it seems that the church is trying to control our government. if they don't like something that the government propose they oppose it. look what happen to erap, without the support of the church in that revolt, i believed we wont have president arroyo ( for me the most corrupt and notorious). and for me it is the church who somehow doesn't do there part in helping the poor to enrich there life. for we wont have this big population. more child been birth = baptism = money. and who does the politician go to in time of election ????? CHURCH. so why does INC (inglesia) keep expanding there hm.. asset and not paying any cents to the government. check out most of there property which is in a prime lot. well i hope i didnt offend anyone here. this is just my opinion. ;D
Ronald Reagan in 1981 said "Government is the problem."
Here in the Philippines, the church is the problem.
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halos karamihan ng church/denomination dito sa Pilipinas... nakikisali sa pulitika eh...
not only catholics... Iglesia ni Kristo, pentecostal... etc... mga nakikisawsaw sa mga politics issue...
in my opinion... we have the rights to question the government... but to use the church as a front to stage protest... its a big NO NO...
pera pera nga lang yan... halos lahat naman ng head ng mga churches ngaun... naabutan ng pera kapag panahon ng eleksiyon...
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It has been defined by and explained in foreign and local jurisprudence.
What is the definition? I'd like to hear it. Because for me, the terms OBSCENE and OFFENSIVE are very subjective. One person may be uncomfortable with nude paintings and nude sculptures while another person would look at pornography and not be bothered by it one bit. Who decides? What's the standard? I remember reading that one of the MTRCB guidelines is that one breast is okay. TWO exposed breasts? Not okay. That was hilarious.
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"The Vatican does not excommunicate the pedophile-priests who have raped and sodomized Catholic youth, or punish the bishops who covered up these crimes,"
http://news.change.org/stories/catholic-priest-faces-dismissal-for-support-of-womens-ordination
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in my opinion... we have the rights to question the government... but to use the church as a front to stage protest... its a big NO NO...
I respect your statement above as this is an opinion.
pera pera nga lang yan... halos lahat naman ng head ng mga churches ngaun... naabutan ng pera kapag panahon ng eleksiyon...
However, this one above is no longer an opinion but an accusation. I hope you won't subsequently say "baka lang pala", like you did in your other posts. :P
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this one bro. this was posted on the last page of this thread.
Ahh, that one. If the priest really did say that, I don't agree with him. I don't find this obscene.
Just a reminder though, that priest in Cebu is not the "Church". ;)
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What is the definition? I'd like to hear it. Because for me, the terms OBSCENE and OFFENSIVE are very subjective. One person may be uncomfortable with nude paintings and nude sculptures while another person would look at pornography and not be bothered by it one bit. Who decides? What's the standard? I remember reading that one of the MTRCB guidelines is that one breast is okay. TWO exposed breasts? Not okay. That was hilarious.
Please just Google it. This way you may be able to read the discussions in the cases. The standards are also there. The court is the final arbiter. If the MTRCB guidelines you mentioned are accurate, its really hilarious. :D
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Ahh, that one. If the priest really did say that, I don't agree with him. I don't find this obscene.
Just a reminder though, that priest in Cebu is not the "Church". ;)
i agree but that priest is a representative of the Church and aligns his sermon with the views of the Church. let me remind you that this was what he said:
the priest told him that he will repeat his message of censorship and banning in the name of morality on his next mass this weekend
i would understand if he told people that it is only his view but by including it in his sermon he already represents the Church as a whole and took in his own hands the responsibility to censor which ever he deems is "immoral/obscene".
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i agree but that priest is a representative of the Church and aligns his sermon with the views of the Church. let me remind you that this was what he said:i would understand if he told people that it is only his view but by including it in his sermon he already represents the Church as a whole and took in his own hands the responsibility to censor which ever he deems is "immoral/obscene".
non sequitur ;)
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explain in detail why is it so? you haven't even explained why you said the church doesn't have double standards. ::)
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The other Sunday - October 2 - the priest (who examined my friend's copy of Catwoman #1) went on the offensive during a morning mass in Cebu. With what he saw - Batman and Catwoman about to have sex together - he told the churchgoers that "X-rated comics" will turn teenagers and children into bad and immoral adults.
Other words he used to describe comic books in general:
"Porn illustrated materials"
"Sinful graphic stories"
He also used vague claims that comic books can be just as dangerous as the allegedly obscene Cebu tabloids that have now become the targets of the provincial government under the watchful eye of the vice-governor (who by the way admitted that she's conceptualized the pending tabloid-ban ordinance less on law but more on her personal views as a mother and grandmother) who also happens to be supported by very religious Christians.
No telling if there were any legislators or members of the media who attended that mass, but it is possible that comic books in general could become a target of perceived indecency.
Back to the priest, he predictably called for censorship and moral cleansing. He vaguely claimed that Filipino society will continue to decline morally.
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^How do you think the sermon was received by the parishioners? Collective eye-rolling? General agreement? Or a collective shrug?
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^How do you think the sermon was received by the parishioners? Collective eye-rolling? General agreement? Or a collective shrug?
According to my friend - who owned the mentioned Catwoman #1 that the priest saw - attended the same regular mass. The parishioners were silent although he noticed a few people around whispering.
It remains to be seen how people's perception about comics there will shape as a result of the said mass. My friend's observing there as I write this.
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Seduction of the Innocent (http://www.psu.edu/dept/inart10_110/inart10/cmbk4cca.html), anyone? This priest wants to set back society by 60 years.
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Does anyone here actually believe that the the cartoons Smurfs and My Little Pony are satanic?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgFWtK2AoPk
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Does the church want the following when it comes to democracy?
1) only allow good Catholics to vote
2) get rid of democracy altogether and instead install a Catholic dictatorship.
Watch this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLaiXYRyKWA
"Benevolent dictatorship", "Catholic monarch", "How the universe is governed"
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Haunting BBC documentary exposes 50-year scandal of baby trafficking by the Catholic church in Spain
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/16/article-0-0E6363E400000578-723_468x394.jpg)
Identity crisis: Randy Ryder as a baby being cradled in a Malaga hospital in 1971 by the woman who bought him
Up to 300,000 Spanish babies were stolen from their parents and sold for adoption over a period of five decades, a new investigation reveals.
The children were trafficked by a secret network of doctors, nurses, priests and nuns in a widespread practice that began during General Franco’s dictatorship and continued until the early Nineties.
Hundreds of families who had babies taken from Spanish hospitals are now battling for an official government investigation into the scandal.
Several mothers say they were told their first-born children had died during or soon after they gave birth.
But the women, often young and unmarried, were told they could not see the body of the infant or attend their burial.
In reality, the babies were sold to childless couples whose devout beliefs and financial security meant that they were seen as more appropriate parents.
Official documents were forged so the adoptive parents’ names were on the infants’ birth certificates.
In many cases it is believed they were unaware that the child they received had been stolen, as they were usually told the birth mother had given them up.
Journalist Katya Adler, who has investigated the scandal, says: ‘The situation is incredibly sad for thousands of people.
‘There are men and women across Spain whose lives have been turned upside-down by discovering the people they thought were their parents actually bought them for cash. There are also many mothers who have maintained for years that their babies did not die – and were labelled “hysterical” – but are now discovering that their child has probably been alive and brought up by somebody else all this time.’
This World: Spain’s Stolen Babies is on BBC2 on Tuesday at 9pm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2049647/BBC-documentary-exposes-50-year-scandal-baby-trafficking-Catholic-church-Spain.html
Stolen Babies: Confronting Spain's Dark Past
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2059563,00.html
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from one of my favourite artists...I am liking her more now!
Susan Sarandon calls Pope a 'Nazi'
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/confidential/susan-sarandon-calls-pope-a-nazi/story-e6frf96o-1226169884444
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CBCP wants anti-discrimination bill cleansed of provisions on gay rights
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/106981/cbcp-wants-anti-discrimination-bill-cleansed-of-provisions-on-gay-rights?
>:(
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CBCP wants anti-discrimination bill cleansed of provisions on gay rights
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/106981/cbcp-wants-anti-discrimination-bill-cleansed-of-provisions-on-gay-rights?
>:(
See how discriminating they are?
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George Carlin on the pro-life movement, conservatism and issues that concern religion. Carlin, raised Catholic himself, also talks about the Catholic norms as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvF1Q3UidWM
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George Carlin on the pro-life movement, conservatism and issues that concern religion. Carlin, raised Catholic himself, also talks about the Catholic norms as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvF1Q3UidWM
If you ask me, I think the Philippines needs its own George Carlin.
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George Carlin on the pro-life movement, conservatism and issues that concern religion. Carlin, raised Catholic himself, also talks about the Catholic norms as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvF1Q3UidWM
what he says is both funny and true at the same time lol
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A certain priest thought he had authority to have sex within the compound of a church in southern Cebu.
Acolytes, ministers ask Archdiocese: Stop priest who has sex in church compound
ONE of the priests of a parish in a Southern Cebu town was accused of having sex within the church’s compound on several occasions this year.
Some acolytes and a lay minister claimed that the priest had sex with two young women within the parish’s compound. One of the acolytes and the lay minister reported their complaint to Radio DySS yesterday morning.
The priest’s name is being withheld because Sun.Star Cebu could not reach him before press time.
A church official said in a separate interview that the incident shouldn’t have been publicized, as an internal investigation is being conducted to verify if the allegations are true.
One of the acolytes, who identified himself only as Greg, told Radio DySS that he and his colleague saw the sexual encounters from October to November this year.
Greg claimed that he and his colleagues were always surprised that the priest would sometimes go to a dark portion of the church’s compound after mass. One night, they followed the priest and claimed they saw a young woman who was waiting for him within the compound.
Greg claimed that the woman and the priest hid themselves in a dark portion of the compound and started having sex.
He also alleged that he found out the woman would usually come into the church’s compound through a gate at the back of the church.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2011/12/10/acolytes-ministers-ask-archdiocese-stop-priest-who-has-sex-church-compoun
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Dutch Catholic Church abused children. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/16/children-dutch-catholic-institutions-abused?newsfeed=true)
Wow...just wow. Bakit sa Philippines wala masyado narereport? (3, maybe 4....adult women over the years I've been alive) Mababait ba talaga ang mga pari dito or is the Catholic Church has such a powerful stranglehold on the politicians, government officials and the poor people here that the cover-ups are far more effective?
It's easier to believe the latter rather than the former.
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Dutch Catholic Church abused children. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/16/children-dutch-catholic-institutions-abused?newsfeed=true)
Wow...just wow. Bakit sa Philippines wala masyado narereport? (3, maybe 4....adult women over the years I've been alive) Mababait ba talaga ang mga pari dito or is the Catholic Church has such a powerful stranglehold on the politicians, government officials and the poor people here that the cover-ups are far more effective?
It's easier to believe the latter rather than the former.
How "benevolent" of the Church.
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The church of the poor
by Elizabeth Angsioco
This is something that only few of us know: the Philippine Roman Catholic Church is a multi-billionaire religious and business organization. Yes, the Church is mega-rich.
We have always known that the Church, to which at least 80 per cent of Filipinos belong, is rich. Its properties like cathedrals and other big churches, expensive private Catholic colleges and universities all over the country, private hospitals, big buildings and huge tracts of land for their seminaries, etc. are there for people to see. We have always thought this as a given, normal. After all, the Church has been here longer than any of us.
No one really cared to approximate how rich the bishops really are and what the church can do if it really wanted to help poor Catholics.
We know that Catholic schools are the most expensive that only children of the rich can attend. And, yes, Catholic schools are among the best in the country. In effect, children belonging to rich families generally receive better quality education than those of poor Catholic families.
We also know that Catholic hospitals are good. Though they are not the most expensive, still, these are private hospitals that ordinary Catholics can hardly afford. Thus, these hospitals care more for those who are better off than the millions mired in poverty.
Quality education and healthcare are two of the most urgent needs of the people, and we are, as the Church claims, mostly Catholic. Yet, we never question why the Church mostly serves those who are, in the first place, able to fend for themselves.
On top of these properties and service-oriented institutions that earn by themselves are the business holdings of the various Catholic organizations in the country’s biggest business corporations. This, I think, is something that people do not know about. After all, churches are not expected to be business corporations at the same time.
Very recently, news organizations have bannered Catholic Church holdings in at least two big corporations —Philex Mining Corporation and the Bank of the Philippine Islands.
Chamber of Mines head Jerry Brimo said that as of March 31, Catholic entities owned a substantial number of shares in Philex. The Archbishop of Manila owned 3,221,135 shares; the Religious of the Virgin Mary-B with a total of 4,216,804 shares; and the Archbishop in Zamboanga owned 1,116,147 shares.
According to the Philippine Stock Exchange, as of 27 May 2011, each Philex share is valued at P20.45. This means that the Catholic Church’s holdings in the company are valued at P65,872,210.75; P86,233,641.80; and P22,825,206.15 respectively, or a total of P174,931,058.70.
In BPI’s list of its top 100 stockholders as of 31 March 2011, at least eleven were obviously Catholic entities. The worth of these stocks amounts to many billions of pesos (computed at P57.05 per share according to the 27 May PSE Market Information). These were (according to ranking and number of stocks owned):
• 4 Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila with 222,843,681 shares worth P12,713,232,001;
• 8 Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila (Real Casa de Misericordia) with 41,408,841 shares worth P2,362,374,379;
• 13 Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila (Hospital de San Juan de Dios) with 22,072,182 shares worth P1,259,217,983;
• 15 Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila (Hospicio de San Jose) with 6,016,624 shares worth P343,248,399;
• 17 Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila (Hosp de San Juan de Dios) with 4,285,572 shares worth P244,491,882;
• 21 Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila (Mayordomia dela Catedral) with 2,664,266 shares worth P151,996,375;
• 26 Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila (St. Paul’s Hospital) with 1,772,418 shares worth P101,116,447;
• 49 Carmel of the Divine Infant Jesus of Prague, Inc (Filipino) with 726,819 shares worth P41,465,024;
• 60 Superior dela Corporacion Filipina de Padres Agustinos Recoletos, Inc. with 551,382 shares worth P31,456,343;
• 64 Roman Catholic Archbishop of Jaro with 491,385 shares worth P28,033,514; and
• 74 Corporacion de Padres Dominicos with 380,307 shares worth P21,696,514.
The staggering amount of RCC money in BPI alone totals P17.3 billion pesos. Add its Philex holdings and the total is 17.5 BILLION PESOS. This huge amount in only two corporations! It will not be surprising if the Catholic Church has a lot more money in other big corporations.
With this alone, the Roman Catholic Church already becomes the 9th richest in the country dislodging Emilio Yap, Manila Hotel and Manila Bulletin owner and Oscar Lopez of Benpres Holdings Corporation.
Let’s imagine what this kind of money can do.
P17.5 billion pesos is more than half of the total budget of the Department of Health which is P31.8 billion. The department’s budget is supposed to serve more than 90 million Filipinos. We can only guess how many hospitals can be better equipped, how many doctors and nurses can be hired, and eventually, how many lives can be saved if only the Church decides to put this money in people’s health —even only in Catholic people’s health.
The National Statistical Coordination Board estimates that there are about four million families living in poverty and each needs P7,017.00 monthly to stay out of poverty. Instantly, the Catholic church is in a very good position to remove about 2.5 million families from poverty!
The Church positions itself as the vanguard of morality. Yet, while it sits on at least P17.5 billion, it continues to solicit donations from the poor instead of helping them have a better life. The Church proclaims itself as the protector of life. Yet it doesn’t use its billions to save the Catholic poor from hunger, sickness, and death.
Why don’t we see anything wrong with the bishop in all his finery standing beside the Catholic beggar? Is it really acceptable that cathedrals are in the same community of Catholic slum dwellers?
When will the Roman Catholic Church realize that as the multi-billionaire church of the millions of poor Filipino Catholics, it is its moral responsibility to substantially help its flock?
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideOpinion.htm?f=2011/may/28/elizabethangsioco.isx&d=2011/may/28
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Si Angsioco talaga...inuuto lang kayo!
1. Angsioco should be ashamed of herself for being in government. It IS the government's job to provide quality education to ALL its citizens. So why put the blame on the Catholic Church?
2. The Catholic Church doesn't help the poor? What a big lie.
http://www.rcam.org/ministry/socialservices/caritas.htm (http://www.rcam.org/ministry/socialservices/caritas.htm)
Those who believe her are either...or... nevermind.
3. How will you pay doctors, nurses, hospital staff, electricity, water, teachers, etc etc etc without money? If she's so serious, let her file a bill preventing PCSO from having sweepstakes, lotto, etc. Let's see where they will get funding for their charity drive.
Speaking of which, the poorest of poor, instead of buying food, will buy a lotto ticket for the chance of winning. Isn't that a form of "soliciting donations" instead of helping them?
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German priest admits to 280 instances of sex abuse
(Reuters) - A Catholic priest admitted in a German court on Thursday to sexually abusing three boys over eight years, including one he was preparing for his first communion and two brothers during trips that included Disneyland in Paris, German media reported.
The 46-year-old, named in court documents as Andreas L., admitted to charges of abusing the boys from 2004.
"The worst aspect is that he exploited their trust," said Klaus Ziehe, lead court prosecutor in the central city of Braunschweig, in comments published by Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
Abuse allegations have rocked the Roman Catholic Church in Germany in recent years, forcing it to open its files to independent investigators and allow searches for potential abuse cases as far back as 1945.
The priest, who had been arrested last summer, used a document folder to cover his face in the courtroom, where some of his former parishioners had come to witness the proceedings.
Some shook their heads or covered their mouths in shock as the charges were read aloud, the paper reported.
The cases may be partly behind disenchantment among the faithful. One study shows some 180,000 German Catholics left the Church in 2010, a 40 percent rise over the previous year, amid allegations that priests sexually abused children for decades.
The number of people quitting the Church surpassed the total of those leaving main Protestant churches for the first time in postwar Germany, the study by the magazine Christ & Welt said.
Pope Benedict met victims of clerical sex abuse on a visit to his native Germany in September and expressed his deep regret, while Berlin has set up a 100 million euro ($128 million) fund to pay for their therapy.
The German Catholic Church faces some 600 demands for compensation.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/01/12/uk-germany-abuse-priest-idUKTRE80B1WI20120112
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It IS the government's job to provide quality education to ALL its citizens.
Agree.
So why put the blame on the Catholic Church?
It's the church's job to evangelize people. They are financially accountable to their members.
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German priest admits to 280 instances of sex abuse
(Reuters) - A Catholic priest admitted in a German court on Thursday to sexually abusing three boys over eight years, including one he was preparing for his first communion and two brothers during trips that included Disneyland in Paris, German media reported.
The 46-year-old, named in court documents as Andreas L., admitted to charges of abusing the boys from 2004.
"The worst aspect is that he exploited their trust," said Klaus Ziehe, lead court prosecutor in the central city of Braunschweig, in comments published by Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
Abuse allegations have rocked the Roman Catholic Church in Germany in recent years, forcing it to open its files to independent investigators and allow searches for potential abuse cases as far back as 1945.
The priest, who had been arrested last summer, used a document folder to cover his face in the courtroom, where some of his former parishioners had come to witness the proceedings.
Some shook their heads or covered their mouths in shock as the charges were read aloud, the paper reported.
The cases may be partly behind disenchantment among the faithful. One study shows some 180,000 German Catholics left the Church in 2010, a 40 percent rise over the previous year, amid allegations that priests sexually abused children for decades.
The number of people quitting the Church surpassed the total of those leaving main Protestant churches for the first time in postwar Germany, the study by the magazine Christ & Welt said.
Pope Benedict met victims of clerical sex abuse on a visit to his native Germany in September and expressed his deep regret, while Berlin has set up a 100 million euro ($128 million) fund to pay for their therapy.
The German Catholic Church faces some 600 demands for compensation.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/01/12/uk-germany-abuse-priest-idUKTRE80B1WI20120112
That guilty priest should really be punished.
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I agree with Angsioco about the greed of the Catholic Church.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/books/review/inside-scientology-and-render-unto-rome-book-review.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1
The Catholic Church offers a very different picture, but one where
money is even more important. Jason Berry, the reporter who broke
several of the priest abuse scandals of recent times, finds the same
pattern of deception, denial and subterfuge in the church’s handling
of money as in its treatment of pedophiles. The Vatican comes to its
high-handed way with money in an understandable fashion. In the Middle
Ages, all authority was male and monarchical, so the pope became a
king. His multiple realms had all the appurtenances of a medieval
monarch — armies, prisons, spies, torturers, legal courts in papal
service. The money flowed in from many sources — as conquest, as
tribute from subordinate princes (secular and religious) or from the
crops on farm lands held by the pope, who was not accountable to
anyone for use of these funds. When normal sources did not satisfy
papal ambition, clerical underlings invented new kinds of revenue —
like the granting of time off in Purgatory for cash contributions
during life (“indulgences” for sale).
The Vatican issues statements of
its assets — in 2007 the amount was 1.4 billion euros —but the Vatican
Bank is off the books, as is a metric ton of gold, and other things
not reported. On a list of papal assets, St. Peter’s Basilica and
other historic sites are listed as worth one euro each. No wonder, as
Berry says, “the Holy See’s true net worth is invisible.”
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Si Angsioco talaga...inuuto lang kayo!
We can say the same for the Catholic Church and religion in general.
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We can say the same for the Catholic Church and religion in general.
Nah, very much like with freethinkers who issue statements or post blogs without going to the reference first.
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Catholic Church Still Hiding Sexual Predators?
Ten years ago, Michael Rezendes and The Boston Globe colleagues broke a clergy sex abuse cover-up in the Boston Archdiocese. Host Michel Martin speaks with Rezendes about his investigative work.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Now, we want to call on Michael Rezendes. He is one of the investigative reporters and the lead writer on that Boston Globe story that revealed a serious problem with the abuse of children by a number of priests in the Boston Archdiocese. In the months and years that followed, literally hundreds of similar cases were revealed across the country. We want to take a look back at that watershed moment and we do want to say again that, owing to the subject matter, this may not be an appropriate conversation for everyone.
With that being said, Michael Rezendes, thank you so much for speaking with us.
MICHAEL REZENDES: Oh, it's a pleasure to be here.
MARTIN: Now, you made the point to us earlier that the important thing about your reporting and the reporting of your team was not that you discovered clergy sex abuse, but that you discovered the cover-up. Would you talk a little bit more about that?
REZENDES: Well, yes. I tell people all the time that we did not discover the clergy sex abuse scandal. By the time we came along in 2002, there had been many clergy sex abuse scandals all over the country.
One of them, right next to Boston in the city of Fall River, where a priest by the name of James Porter molested more than 100 children. We wrote about that extensively back in the early 1990s, but what we accomplished in 2002 was to prove that high officials in the Archdiocese of Boston, including Cardinal Law, actually knew for decades that priests were molesting children and nevertheless transferred those priests from parish to parish, which enabled them to continue molesting still more children.
It's the old adage that the cover-up is worse than the crime and that was the case with this story.
MARTIN: Why do you think it is that your reporting and the reporting of your team opened the flood gates, given, as you said, that there had been stories earlier about some really, really terrible behavior directed at children? What is it that you think changed with your reporting?
REZENDES: Well, our reporting was different because we obtained documents written by church officials. For instance, documents written by Cardinal Law, which proved that they knew there was a serious problem and they were covering it up.
Before that, the reporting all over the country was restricted to reporting on the claims of victims and describing the abuses that had occurred, but for the first time, we were able to get the church's internal documents, which were under a court seal, by the way. We were able to get those documents, which were written and signed by the church officials themselves and that's what was different about our reporting.
MARTIN: And I think it's important to point out that, in response to this, the archdiocese itself has marked the 10 year anniversary. The Cardinal Sean O'Malley released five pages of reflections on the crisis. It's too detailed to give all of his comments here, but one of the points that he makes is that there's been tremendous progress, that there have been, you know - 800 claims of abuse have been settled, that, you know, hundreds of thousands of children have been trained and offered sort of a curriculum on how to identify and protect themselves from this kind of abuse.
And he really says - he kind of says, in effect, that, while we thank the media for bringing this to light, this really is something in the past that needs to be put into that context. How do you respond to that?
More at http://www.npr.org/2012/01/13/145170449/catholic-church-still-hiding-sexual-predators
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New move by CBCP.
CBCP eyes Pacquiao as 'Bible ambassador'
Aside from being the Philippines' sports envoy, boxing champ and Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao may soon hold another title - that of being the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines' Bible ambassador.
The CBCP announced plans to make Pacquiao its Bible ambassador as it ended its 104th plenary assembly in Manila Monday.
“Manny has always been very religious and we are happy that he is deepening his faith and his understanding of the Bible,” Pampanga Auxiliary Bishop Pablo David in an article posted Tuesday on the CBCP news site.
He said Pacquiao could play a major tole in strengthening the Catholic Church’s Biblical apostolate in the country.
David added Pacquiao likes reading the Bible, and making him as the Church’s Bible ambassador could inspire more people to read the Scripture.
“That’s why I asked him if he could partner with us in promoting the reading of the Bible among Catholics,” said David, who chairs the CBCP’s Commission on Biblical Apostolate.
David said he is convinced Pacquiao's popularity will be a big help in promoting not only Bible readership but also in making the Bible available in every Filipino home.
“We want to make the Bible more available to the poor people that’s why we subsidized it at P50… we would like to produce five million Bibles for five million poor Filipinos and Catholics within seven years,” David said.
Other celebrities
Aside from Pacquiao, David said they are also seeking the help of other personalities to help boost their campaign.
“There are other bishops who are directly in touch with some personalities, celebrities, because they have a big influence on the people,” he said.
“Some of our known comedians are very serious people, very spiritual people and we are happy that they are partnering very closely with us,” he added.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/246694/news/nation/cbcp-eyes-pacquiao-as-bible-ambassador?ref=latest
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Milwaukee Archdiocese faces 550 sex abuse claims
About 550 people are asking for restitution for alleged sexual abuse by clergy in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee — more than in any of the other U.S. dioceses that have filed for bankruptcy protection, according to a lawyer involved in the Milwaukee case.
The Milwaukee Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection last year, saying pending sex-abuse lawsuits could leave it with debts it couldn't afford.
The archdiocese has paid more than $30 million in settlements and other court costs related to allegations of clergy abuse and more than a dozen suits against it have been halted because of the bankruptcy proceedings. One priest alone is accused of abusing some 200 boys at a suburban school for deaf students from 1950 to 1974.
James Stang, a bankruptcy lawyer who represents creditors in the Wisconsin case, estimated that about 550 claims had been filed by the Wednesday afternoon deadline set by the bankruptcy court.
Those who filed claims will end up splitting a settlement amount that will be determined by the creditors' committee, archdiocese and its insurance company. The archdiocese had only $4.6 million in assets to be applied to claims in 2010.
A victims' advocacy group called the number of filings "extraordinarily tragic," but said that represented only a small portion of people abused by clergy.
"It's sad and it just shows how devastating these crimes have been on this community but it's obviously far from over," said Peter Isely, the Midwest director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
The other seven Catholic dioceses in the U.S. that have filed for bankruptcy since the clergy abuse scandal erupted in 2002 in Boston are in Davenport, Iowa; Fairbanks, Alaska; Portland, Ore.; San Diego; Spokane, Wash.; Tucson, Ariz.; and Wilmington, Del. Two other religious orders have also filed for bankruptcy.
Of the seven other dioceses that also filed for bankruptcy, the number of claims ranged from about 40 to 250, Stang said. About 535 claimants had come forward against the Oregon Province of the Jesuits, he said.
Archdiocese spokeswoman Julie Wolf and attorney Jeff Anderson, who represents clergy abuse victims, including some in the Milwaukee case, said it's hard to compare cases. Anderson said each diocese represents a different number of people, and Wolf said some dioceses are incorporated differently.
Payouts in the other bankruptcy cases have varied based on the severity of the abuse and the quality of the diocese's insurance coverage, according to Stang. For example, cases in Southern California yielded an average of about $1.2 million per claimant, he said, while the amount was far less in Fairbanks, Alaska, where less money was available.
Stang predicted the payouts wouldn't be on the generous side in Wisconsin. The creditors committee, archdiocese and its insurance company will negotiate a dollar amount. After that, those who filed claims will negotiate between themselves on how to divide the money.
"Insurance-coverage issues in Milwaukee cases haven't been very good for survivors," he said. "The rulings by courts there have not been survivor-friendly."
Stang acknowledged some people file claims even though they weren't abused but said that was "extremely rare."
"Most people are not willing to come out and publicly say they were masturbated by someone," Stang said.
Anderson and the archdiocese both said they advertised the deadline both locally and nationally. Anderson said his firm paid for TV and newspaper advertisements because he didn't think the archdiocese's efforts made the victims feel safe coming forward.
Wolf disputed that. "We've just been focused on getting this message out far and wide to as many people as we could in order to make sure everybody who had a claim was able to submit it before this deadline occurred," she said.
A Feb. 9 court hearing is set for a judge to consider a request from the archdiocese to throw out some claims by people on grounds they were filed beyond the statute of limitations, they involved someone who was not an archdiocese employee or a victim who received a prior settlement.
Wolf said she didn't know how many of the claims would be included in the request.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57370183/milwaukee-archdiocese-faces-550-sex-abuse-claims/
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Notorious pedophile priest jailed for three years for child pornography
Former priest Oliver O’Grady was sentenced in Dublin to three years in prison after thousands of movies, clips and audio bites of graphic child pornography were found on his laptop. O’Grady previously served seven years in prison in America for child abuse.
The 65-year-old defrocked priest served the seven years after he was found guilty of rape, molestation, and lewd and lascivious acts on children during his time as a priest in California.
O’Grady was the subject of the 2006 Academy Award-nominated documentary Deliver Us From Evil. O'Grady said he wanted the film to serve as the "most honest confession of [his] life." He detailed how he preyed on children, and claims Church officials knew about his abuses but protected him by moving him from parish to parish.
The Irish Examiner reports that O’Grady admitted to three counts of possession of child pornography after his laptop, which he had left on a flight from Amsterdam to Dublin in 2010, was found to have 65,000 graphic images of children.
Upon finding the laptop O’Grady had presumably accidentally left behind on the plane, local gardai tracked him down to a hostel in Dublin. There, they found thousands more images and videos which were stored on his laptop, hard drives and USB drives.
Following his seven year imprisonment in the United States for similar charges, O’Grady was laicised from the Church and deported back to Ireland.
The judge who sentenced O’Grady, who used to reside at Charlemont House in Dublin 2, at Dublin’s Circuit Court believed that his imprisonment in the US had not rehabilitated the “socially isolated” O’Grady and that the man has a “serious problem.”
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Notorious-pedophile-priest-jailed-for-three-years-for-child-pornography-138387299.html#ixzz1lHo03wKz
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Catholic Priest Allegedly Told Child He Was Raping That ‘This Is What God’s Love Feels Like’
Just sickening!
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/02/12/catholic-priest-allegedly-told-child-he-was-raping-that-this-is-what-gods-love-feels-like/
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di ko ma-open...
Based on your corporate access policies, this web site ( http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/02/12/catholic-priest-allegedly-told-child-he-was-raping-that-this-is-what-gods-love-feels-like/ ) has been blocked because it has been determined by Web Reputation Filters to be a security threat to your computer or the corporate network. This web site has been associated with malware/spyware.
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Same news item on mainstream news network
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/LAWYEREDPriests-Accused-of-Molesting-Children-Hiding-in-Plain-Sight-139132424.html
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Pampanga's priests defy celibacy
by Aries Rufo
Posted on 01/18/2012 11:42 AM | Updated 02/14/2012 7:51 PM
The Church of Pampanga has been grappling with problems concerning its randy priests, and Church officials have been trying to contain a potentially damaging case, which if it drags on, could grow into a scandal.
For the first time, a priest has been hailed to court for having an affair with a married woman, although such extracurricular affairs are not uncommon in Pampanga.
Church officials have suspended the priest, Jeffrey Louie Maghirang, but the complainant, a security manager for a chain of malls, fears that he might just be reassigned to another parish after the scandal has subsided. (He has asked not to be identified to protect the privacy of his 3-year-old child.)
This priest’s illicit affair could lead to a family breakup.
A ticking bomb
The pending case will not be the last.
If the Church mishandles the case by allowing the revelation of salacious details to the public, it could open a Pandora’s box. It will expose the violations of Pampanga priests of their vow of celibacy, with the Pampanga laity looking the other way.
It will also expose the leniency of Church officials toward erring priests and their attempts to cover up their sins.
More fundamentally, it will reveal an inherent flaw in the formation of its clergy, perpetuating a vicious cycle.
The situation in Pampanga is like a ticking time bomb. With dozens of abandoned children sired by priests, it could provide a major financial headache for the Church, if ever a class suit seeking compensation is filed.
Among the 86 dioceses in the country, the bishopric of Pampanga boasts a singular honor: it has the highest incidence of priests engaged in extra-curricular affairs.
Consider this: 5 priests have sought for dispensation—those granted dispensation are freed from their priestly duties and assume the life of an ordinary layman—while 2 have been suspended, which underscores the gravity of the situation.
A retired archbishop said in an interview that more than a dozen clergymen in Pampanga are known to maintain lovers. A former lawmaker from Pampanga, who has extensive contacts with the Church, however said that of the more than 100 priests there, more than half are having affairs.
In 2004, Newsbreak wrote about the twin “demons” facing the Church in Pampanga—fornication and gambling. We wrote that Pampanga priests indulge in sex and maintain families and children—a violation of their priestly vow. With lovers and children to support, they fall prey to the temptation of jueteng.
At that time, we reported that 35 priests were having affairs, with 21 siring children. And they seemed not to practice any form of family planning as some had 2 or more kids.
http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/935-pampanga-s-priests-defy-celibacy
The Priest, The Lover
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd1gPQ1gEeE&feature=player_embedded
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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_VATICAN_CARDINALS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Feb 17, 1:13 PM EST
'Vatileaks' casts cloud over new cardinal ceremony
By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- A scandal over leaked Vatican documents and reports of political infighting, financial mismanagement and administrative chaos in the Holy See's frescoed halls have cast a cloud over this weekend's ceremony to create 22 new cardinals.
...
The Vatican spokesman has been doing serious damage control of late amid reports and leaked documents alleging corruption in the running of the Vatican city state, money laundering at the Vatican bank and political infighting between opposing camps within the Vatican bureaucracy.
The scandal began last month with the publication of letters from the former No. 2 Vatican administrator, who begged the pope not to be transferred after he exposed millions of euros in cost overruns. He was then removed and named the Vatican's U.S. ambassador in Washington.
Subsequent news reports focused on four priests under investigation for allegedly using Vatican bank accounts to launder cash. The pope's top banker, meanwhile, remains under investigation for allegedly breaking Italy's anti-money laundering law by trying to transfer cash from two Vatican bank accounts without identifying the sender or the recipient. He has denied wrongdoing.
More recent leaks have included a Vatican document warning of a plot to kill the pope this year - a scenario that has since been discredited - and of an internal debate over the scope and power of the Vatican's new financial watchdog and whether the Holy See's newly minted anti-money laundering law was actually any better than its predecessor.
The scandal, dubbed "Vatileaks" after Lombardi himself noted the similarities to the Wikileaks documents scandal that hit the U.S. government, has come as the Vatican has tried to clean up its finances and be more transparent in its financial dealings to comply with international norms.
The Vatican hopes to get on the so-called "white list" of countries that share information to crack down on tax evasion, aiming to forever erase its reputation as a secrecy-obsessed offshore tax haven.
The latest reports certainly haven't helped its bid.
In an editorial this week, Lombardi said the leaks "tend to create confusion and bewilderment, and to throw a bad light on the Vatican, the governance of the church, and more broadly on the church herself."
"We must, then, remain calm and keep our nerve, make use of reason - something which not all media outlets tend to do," he said.
The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano took up the charge as well, saying in a front-page editorial this week that Benedict was fighting unnamed, irresponsible "wolves." The pope himself made a vague reference to the rumors during a meeting with seminarians Wednesday when he said a lot was being said about the church in these days.
"Let's hope that our faith, the exemplary faith of this church, is also talked about," he said.
The picture that has emerged is one of political infighting and intrigue inside and outside the Vatican. One scenario suggests internal power struggles centering around Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the pope's longtime deputy and the Vatican's secretary of state whose leadership has been called into question after several botched decisions. The other underscores the tense relations the Vatican's financial institutions have with the Bank of Italy and Italian prosecutors.
"There is a great discontent within in the Roman curia, the outproducts of this discontent are back-stabbing, intrigues, anonymous letters about plots but the main thing is that Cardinal Bertone, who is the secretary of state, was never accepted by the curia because he was an outsider," said Marco Politi, a veteran Vatican watcher.
Against that backdrop is the perennial papal gossiping that comes with any consistory, since the ceremonies exist purely to restaff the College of Cardinals, which selects the next pope. All cardinals under age 80 are eligible to vote in a papal conclave.
The Italians are gaining seven new voting-age cardinals, adding to the eight they picked up at the last consistory in November 2010.
That boosts Italy's chances of taking back the papacy for one of its own following decades under a Polish and a German pope, or at least playing the kingmaker role if an Italian papabile, or papal candidate, doesn't emerge.
As of Saturday, Italy will have 30 cardinals out of the 125 under age 80. Only the United States comes close with 12, including Dolan and Cardinal-designate Edwin O'Brien, the former archbishop of Baltimore who is now grand master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, which raises money for the church in the Holy Land.
The consistory class of 2012 is heavily European, reinforcing Europe's dominance of the College of Cardinals, even though two-thirds of the world's Catholics are in the southern hemisphere. All but three of the new under-80 cardinals come from the West, with only a Brazilian, an Indian and a Chinese rounding out the balance.
Dolan said in an interview this week that he had remained largely aloof to the rumor-mongering, saying he had used his time in Rome to write his speech and buy his new crimson robes that he admitted were already getting tight after too many bowls of carbonara, a typical Roman dish of pasta tossed with egg yolk, cheese and guanciale, or pork jowl.
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Very sickening! I bet local priests are too scared to even talk about it. People should approach them for their opinion about that rapist priest.
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Catholic Priest Allegedly Told Child He Was Raping That ‘This Is What God’s Love Feels Like’
The Catholic Church has thrown a temper tantrum over contraceptives, abortion, and homosexuality over the last few years. Catholic bishops and priests have gone on the offensive, crusading against what they call sin, immorality, and abomination of the word of God. But the Catholic Church can’t seem to clean up its own act. Over the years, child molestation and rape scandals have rocked the Catholic Church. But instead of dealing with the problem, many in the Catholic hierarchy have largely ignored the scandal and some priests have tried to use their religious affiliations to escape justice or use God to justify their actions. The horrendous scandal has now hit California, where 200 Catholic priests have been accused of sexually abusing children.
Ray Boucher is the attorney at the helm of this investigation and he says that not only have “many if not all” of the 200 priests admit to sexually abusing children, “they live within a mile of 1,500 playgrounds, schools and daycare centers” across California. You heard that right. 200 priests that are under investigation for sexually abusing children live near areas where children play and learn.
According to NBC Los Angeles, one victim has detailed the tragic incident of a priest raping him. Dan Smith told NBC, “He would rape me and then say this is what God’s love feels like.” Sick isn’t it? Smith was just one of 500 people who joined together to sue the Los Angeles Archdiocese for sexual molestation.
“In 2007 the LA Archdiocese reached an unprecedented $660 million settlement with many of the plaintiffs without admitting any wrong-doing.
It also agreed to let the courts decide which of the case-related church files should be made public, including those identifying alleged and admitted predators.
But according to Boucher and court documents, the Catholic Church has since engaged in a cover-up. By Boucher’s account, Church officials allowed priests suspected of sexually abusing children to retire, flee the country or hide in rehab clinics until the statute of limitations on prosecution ran out.”
So while the Catholic Church crusades against same-sex marriage, which is between two consenting adults, its own priests are busy molesting innocent children who are below the age of consent and can’t protect themselves. And while the Catholic Church says that contraception is immoral and against God, they refuse to protect the children that would be born if contraception were to be banned, from being raped by their own so called “men of God.”
But Dan Smith’s tearful story made me think of a man who once said that children conceived by rape “are gifts from God.” His words implied that God sanctions rapes to give women a gift and that’s why he opposes abortion even in cases of rape. I assume he also feels the same way when little girls are raped and impregnated by their own fathers. It must be a “gift from God.” This man is also currently defending the Catholic Church in it’s efforts against same-sex marriage and contraceptives. Yet, he has remained silent about the egregious sin of child rape committed by many Catholic priests and the lengths that the Church has gone to, to cover up those sins. That man is Rick Santorum, the current leader of the Republican Presidential field and the man who is held in high regard by the Christian Right. I wonder what Rick Santorum would say about boys who get raped. Is it a “gift from God,” as Santorum says when women are raped and impregnated? Keep in mind that a priest allegedly told a boy he was raping that “this is what God’s love feels like.” Will Santorum say that it’s different when a boy or a man is raped? In Santorum’s sick mind, when women get raped, they should be thankful for the gift God is giving them. It would be very interesting to know what Santorum thinks about Catholic priests and their obsession with little boys. I’m not saying that Rick Santorum supports pedophilia and I’m not saying he supports rape. But I think he definitely has questions to answer. And so does the Catholic Church.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/02/12/catholic-priest-allegedly-told-child-he-was-raping-that-this-is-what-gods-love-feels-like/
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^This is why I don't think the Catholic Church, as an institution, has ANY right to claim high moral grounds.
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^This is why I don't think the Catholic Church, as an institution, has ANY right to claim high moral grounds.
I agree with you.
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Disgusting. (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/us/catholic-church-pressures-victims-network-with-subpoenas.html)
Leaving the Catholic Church sounds very tempting now.
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No wonder not too many Catholic priests or bishops speak out positively about Ronald Reagan.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/431278_381153375242957_100000448935979_1327095_438083920_n.jpg)
The Tea Party (aka Tea-baggers) often idolize Reagan yet they conflict with him on religion.
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Catholic institution castrated abuse victims. (http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/forced-castrations-reportedly-found-roman-catholic-care)
Why I'm still attending mass, I don't know. This is getting nauseating.
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The Catholic Church's candidate for US President is unfit for leadership
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_rsM0Zw_pw
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High school girl banned from graduation over Facebook ‘bikini photo’
By Ador Vincent Mayol
Cebu Daily News
2:37 pm | Wednesday, March 28th, 2012
CEBU CITY, Philippines—For posing in a bikini, and posting photos in her Facebook account, a 16-year-old girl won’t be allowed to attend her graduation ceremony on Friday.
The punishment meted by St. Theresa’s College high school was called “too harsh” and “unjust” by her mother, a resident of Lapu-Lapu City, who sued officials of the private Catholic school.
Regional Trial Court Judge Wilfredo Navarro Tuesday ordered the school to show him a copy of the photos, and the Student Handbook which bans several actions, including “engaging in immoral, indecent, obscene or lewd acts.”
“I will have my own standards on whether or not it is lewd,” said the judge in a court hearing on the mother’s petition of injunction and damages.
His decision will have to be made soon if the student hopes to join her graduation class in marching up the stage to receive a diploma on March 30.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/168441/high-school-girl-banned-from-graduation-over-facebook-bikini-photo
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High school girl banned from graduation over Facebook ‘bikini photo’
By Ador Vincent Mayol
Cebu Daily News
2:37 pm | Wednesday, March 28th, 2012
CEBU CITY, Philippines—For posing in a bikini, and posting photos in her Facebook account, a 16-year-old girl won’t be allowed to attend her graduation ceremony on Friday.
The punishment meted by St. Theresa’s College high school was called “too harsh” and “unjust” by her mother, a resident of Lapu-Lapu City, who sued officials of the private Catholic school.
Regional Trial Court Judge Wilfredo Navarro Tuesday ordered the school to show him a copy of the photos, and the Student Handbook which bans several actions, including “engaging in immoral, indecent, obscene or lewd acts.”
“I will have my own standards on whether or not it is lewd,” said the judge in a court hearing on the mother’s petition of injunction and damages.
His decision will have to be made soon if the student hopes to join her graduation class in marching up the stage to receive a diploma on March 30.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/168441/high-school-girl-banned-from-graduation-over-facebook-bikini-photo
What would be your take if you were the judge? :D
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What would be your take if you were the judge? :D
TRO granted, effective immediately.
The problem with preventing a student from attending the graduation ceremonies is that it is a punishment that cannot be undone. If the court or the DepEd should subsequently rule in May 2012 that the school was wrong, you can no longer turn back time and allow the graduate to attend the ceremonies held on March 30, 2012.
There should be a rule against this type of punishment. If the student passes all subjects, then it should be the duty of the school to allow the student to attend the graduation ceremonies. Let the school think of some other type of punishment.
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^OT: Same logic De Lima used in defying the TRO.
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Court to decide if students will be allowed to attend rites
By Ador Vincent Mayol, Patricia Andrea Pateña
Cebu Daily News
8:32 am | Thursday, March 29th, 2012
... Balili said if the court rules in favor of the petitioners, they will comply with the decision and allow the students to join the graduation ceremony on Friday.
“Well, if the petition is granted we have no choice but to follow, we are law-biding citizens. St. Theresa produces law-abiding citizens,” he said.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/168929/court-to-decide-if-students-will-be-allowed-to-attend-rites
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Cebu court lets girls in ‘bikini photo’ case to join graduation rites
By Charisse Ursal
Inquirer Visayas
5:02 pm | Thursday, March 29th, 2012
...The Regional Trial Court ordered St. Theresa’s College on Thursday to allow two 16-year-old seniors to attend their graduation ceremonies on March 30, after the school barred them doing so for posting pictures of themselves in bikinis in their Facebook accounts.
... In granting the TRO, Judge Navarro said the school also violated its own handbook when it didn’t accord due process to the students.
The manual requires that students be first informed of the infractions and be asked to present their side before a decision is made.
The court also chastised the principal for the manner she berated the students and called them names because it traumatized the students.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/169033/court-chastises-school-for-barring-girls-from-graduation-over-bikini-photos
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Cebu school defies court, won’t let students attend graduation
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/169733/cebu-school-defies-court-won%E2%80%99t-let-students-attend-graduation
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Uso na pala ngayon ang hindi sumusunod sa TRO. Yan ang blowback ng ginawa ni Secretary de Lima.
Ma-contempt sana yung mga school officials, plus a multi-million peso award for moral damages, plus criminal convictions for grave coercion and child abuse.
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6 boys banned from grad rites over prank 'kiss'
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/169117/catholic-school-bars-6-boys-from-joining-graduation-over-public-kissing%E2%80%99%E2%80%99
http://www.rappler.com/nation/3178-6-boys-banned-from-grad-rites-over-prank-kiss
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6 boys banned from grad rites over prank 'kiss'
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/169117/catholic-school-bars-6-boys-from-joining-graduation-over-public-kissing%E2%80%99%E2%80%99
http://www.rappler.com/nation/3178-6-boys-banned-from-grad-rites-over-prank-kiss
According to updated news, the boys will be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony, but as punishment, their diplomas will be temporarily withheld.
That's the more humane penalty.
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Cebu bishop backs Catholic school's stand on 'bikini students'
(The Philippine Star) Updated April 01, 2012 12:00 AM
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Archbishop of Cebu Jose Palma praised yesterday the decision of a Catholic school to bar five high school students from taking part in graduation rites for posting photographs of themselves in bikinis in their Facebook accounts.
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=793184&publicationSubCategoryId=63
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Cebu bishop backs Catholic school's stand on 'bikini students'
(The Philippine Star) Updated April 01, 2012 12:00 AM
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Archbishop of Cebu Jose Palma praised yesterday the decision of a Catholic school to bar five high school students from taking part in graduation rites for posting photographs of themselves in bikinis in their Facebook accounts.
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=793184&publicationSubCategoryId=63
bishop Palma should read and read and read Romans 13.... and put more emphasis especially verses 1 and 2
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From a few days ago.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/541300_391832014175093_100000448935979_1359137_354349195_n.jpg)
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Lim: Fury over a bikini
A 16-YEAR old girl uploads a photo of herself on Facebook wearing a bikini and holding a lighted cigarette. Her school, St. Theresa’s College, bars her from participating in graduation ceremonies.
Like most people my age, I frown upon inappropriate pictures and remarks that many young people post without any real understanding of its consequences. But I must crawl out of my cave.
While most people know that nothing one posts on the Internet is truly private, this realization does not really sink in for the “social-networking” generation. Privacy for this generation is not a choice between posting and not posting. Rather, it is a choice of privacy settings.
I understand that schools have rules and regulations. But I question the breadth of such powers to regulate the conduct of their students. Should these rules and regulations cover what students wear or do even outside school premises in private activities with family and friends?
Where does the Student Handbook end and the Constitution begin? Should school officials be spying on their students by looking into their Facebook accounts? Have we been transported to the cold-war era? When has wearing a bikini become obscene? Are we in the Middle East?
I do not condone drinking and smoking not just for teen-agers but for adults as well, but I accept that teen-agers drink and smoke perhaps in the misguided belief that it is hip to do so. As enlightened and mindful adults, it is our role to change their minds.
During Spanish times, women whose ankles showed underneath their long dresses were considered immoral. But the year is 2012. A bikini is appropriate swimwear. Some people find dirty dancing obscene. Well, I know someone who finds ballet obscene because of the costumes dancers wear that cling tightly to the body.
I think that students who study in Catholic schools should be more thoughtful about their conduct. Parents should be more mindful in their choices about where to enroll their children. School officials should enforce discipline but should show greater compassion to erring students.
As a former college instructor and surrogate parent, I can say that each time my ward errs; I ask myself where I erred. I ask myself where I went wrong, how I can improve and how I can prevent this from happening again.
It’s not a perfect process. But while I do want to be a Tiger parent, I realize that if adults can make monumentally stupid mistakes, teen-agers, more than ever, will make even more.
Who should set the parameters of morality in society? While we all accept that we have varying opinions on what is lewd or obscene, to be sanctioned for one’s “morality” is a very serious thing. Who undertakes the role of the moral police? Has the Taliban moved to Cebu?
If priest-molesters and rapists are allowed to say mass and continue their priestly duties, should students from Catholic schools who wear bikinis, hold lighted cigarettes and dirty dance in private social gatherings be barred from their graduation ceremonies?
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2012/03/31/lim-fury-over-bikini-214225
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Mongaya: Above the law
I READ posts by some defenders of St. Theresa’s College (STC) and I don’t want to quarrel with them with what they describe as unbiased views. To these defenders, only members of the Cebu media and all others who criticize STC are biased.
These defenders are saying that the nuns possess photos that would harm the five girls if these were released. It’s really a wonder how the nuns got hold of the photos in the first place when even the media could not (or would not) hack into private Facebook accounts.
They would need to argue in court that the photos were obtained legally, that the evidence are not fruits of a poisoned tree, asthe defense in the ongoing impeachment trial would say. Are STC officials, in effect, saying a little lady handed them the evidence or somebody left these at the school gates?
However, I am alarmed at how they justify defiance of a court order that would have allowed five students to join the high school graduation rites last Friday.
The nuns could have showed some respect for the law by entertaining the court sheriff. But, no. The school guards unceremoniously blocked the five students, their parents, and the court sheriff from entering the school.
Come to think of it, STC authorities treated agents of the court like vagrants. The court sheriff does not deserve being left at the campus gates.
The nuns of STC successfully showed that they believed they are above the law. As educators, they are teaching young Theresians that they can brazenly disobey court orders to prevent either applause or boos during the graduation rites.
The STC lawyer could cite all the legal technicalities to justify the defiance. But whatever he says cannot erase the fact that the school deliberately demonstrated how to be above the law in upholding school policies.
Our educators in STC are teaching school policies first, damn the courts.
In their zeal to uphold the school’s conservative values like its prohibition on wearing of bikinis even in private swimming occasions, the nuns practically told the world that STC’s values as an educational institution may not include being a good corporate citizen.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2012/04/01/mongaya-above-law-214361
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Vatican chastises US nuns for spending too much time on poverty
CHICAGO - A prominent U.S. Catholic nuns' group said on Thursday it was "stunned" that the Vatican reprimanded it for spending too much time on poverty and social justice concerns and not enough on abortion and gay marriage.
In a stinging report on Wednesday, the Vatican said the Leadership Conference of Women Religious had been "silent on the right to life" and had failed to make the "Biblical view of family life and human sexuality" a central plank in its agenda.
It also reprimanded American nuns for expressing positions on political issues that differed, at times, from views held by American bishops. Public disagreement with the bishops - "who are the church's authentic teachers of faith and morals" - is unacceptable, the report said.
The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a "doctrinal assessment" saying the Holy See was compelled to intervene with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious to correct "serious doctrinal problems."
The nuns' group said in a statement on its website, "The presidency of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious was stunned by the conclusions of the doctrinal assessment."
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/world/04/20/12/vatican-blasts-us-nuns-spending-too-much-time-poverty
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Nothing says Christ-like quite like living in a palace while telling people outside who are doing work to stick more closely to doctrine.
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The 12 Best Reasons Why The U.S. Is Not Now, And Never Should Be, A Christian Nation
Christians today have the same problem as their fellow believers of two hundred years ago: “One of the embarrassing problems for the early nineteenth-century champions of the Christian faith was that not one of the first six Presidents of the United States was an orthodox Christian.” –The Encyclopedia Britannica, 1968.
The ‘Christian’ label did not even fit some of our early Presidents. However, whether religious or not, the great intellects of democracy had a vision of all that the United States could be. They wouldn’t have dreamed of imposing religion on their fellow Americans; they knew that this nation’s greatness came from not being a Christian one. In their own emphatic words:
1) “Enforced uniformity confounds civil and religious liberty and denies the principles of Christianity and civility. No man shall be required to worship or maintain a worship against his will.” Roger Williams, Puritan minister and founder of Rhode Island, in The Bloudy Tenet of Persecution, 1644.
2) “As the government of the United States of America is not on any sense founded on the Christian Religion, – as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen (Muslims), – and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.” –Treaty of Tripoli
–initiated under President George Washington, 1796
–signed into law by President John Adams, 1797
–ratified unanimously by the Senate, 1797
–Published in full in all 13 states, with no record of complaint or dissent.
3) “But how has it happened that millions of fables, tales, legends, have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that ever existed.”–John Adams, letter to F.A. Van der Kamp, Dec. 27, 1816
4) “Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship… I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between church and State.” –Thomas Jefferson, letter to Danbury Baptist Association, CT
5) “I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the Constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises.”–Thomas Jefferson, letter to Samuel Miller, 1808 [note that this does not say Christian religion; it refers to all religions, equally]
6) “History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance, of which their political as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purpose.” –Thomas Jefferson to Baron von Humboldt, 1813
7) “Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise.” –James Madison, letter to William Bradford, April 1, 1774
“Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other sects?” –James Madison, A Memorial and Remonstrance, addressed to the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of VA, 1795
9) “What influence, in fact, have ecclesiastical establishments had on society? In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the civil authority; on many instances they have been seen upholding the thrones of political tyranny; in no instance have they been the guardians of the liberties of the people… A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate it, needs them not.” –James Madison, A Memorial and Remonstrance, 1785
.
10) “During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What has been its fruits? More or less, in all places, pride and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution.” –James Madison, A Memorial and Remonstrance
11) “He had no faith, in the Christian sense of the term– he had faith in laws, principles, causes and effects.” –Supreme Court Justice David Davis, on Abraham Lincoln
12) “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” –First Amendment, Constitution of the United States
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/05/11/the-12-best-reasons/
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Bishops Play Church Queens as Pawns
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: April 28, 2012
Who thinks it’s cool to bully nuns? While continuing to heal and educate, the community of sisters is aging and dying out because few younger women are willing to make such sacrifices for a church determined to bring women to heel.
Yet the nuns must be yanked into line by the crepuscular, medieval men who run the Catholic Church.
“It’s not terribly unlike the days of yore when they singled out people in the rough days of the Inquisition,” said Kenneth Briggs, the author of “Double Crossed: Uncovering the Catholic Church’s Betrayal of American Nuns.”
How can the church hierarchy be more offended by the nuns’ impassioned advocacy for the poor than by priests’ sordid pedophilia?
How do you take spiritual direction from a church that seems to be losing its soul?
It has become a habit for the church to go after women. A Worcester, Mass., bishop successfully fought to get a commencement speech invitation taken away from Vicki Kennedy, widow of Teddy Kennedy, because of her positions on some social issues. And an Indiana woman named Emily Herx has filed a lawsuit saying she was fired from her job teaching in a Catholic school and denounced as a “grave, immoral sinner” by the parish pastor after she used fertility treatments to try to get pregnant with her husband.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York recently told The Wall Street Journal that only “a tiny minority” of priests were tainted by the sex abuse scandal. But it’s a global shame spiral. The church leadership never recoiled in horror from pedophilia, yet it recoils in horror from outspoken nuns.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/opinion/sunday/dowd-bishops-play-church-queens-as-pawns.html?_r=1
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Catholic Church now talking about turning away non-Catholics in emergency rooms. (http://www.americablog.com/2012/05/catholic-church-now-talking-about.html)
I don't see Jesus anymore in the institution of the Catholic Church.
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Catholic Church now talking about turning away non-Catholics in emergency rooms. (http://www.americablog.com/2012/05/catholic-church-now-talking-about.html)
I don't see Jesus anymore in the institution of the Catholic Church.
They are so wrong and so out of touch!
Inch by inch, societies around the world are moving closer to the Catholic social agenda utilized during the fascist era of Spain (Francisco Franco's dictatorship).
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Catholic Church now talking about turning away non-Catholics in emergency rooms. (http://www.americablog.com/2012/05/catholic-church-now-talking-about.html)
I don't see Jesus anymore in the institution of the Catholic Church.
I think it is their belief na kailangan madami ka pang kailangan dasalan ng saints and/or intercessors para madinig ang prayers mo ni Jesus. Probably kaya hindi mo makita pa si Jesus sa institution nila. ;)
Para ngang Nazi style. BTW, di ba Hitler was a Catholic? Or was raised by catholic parents?
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Catholic Church now talking about turning away non-Catholics in emergency rooms. (http://www.americablog.com/2012/05/catholic-church-now-talking-about.html)
I don't see Jesus anymore in the institution of the Catholic Church.
That's not true. This is a blatantly dishonest article by americablog. No wonder I can't find any other website that confirms it.
Here's the New York Times source article, maliciously distorted by the americablog writeup:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/opinion/dowd-father-doesnt-know-best.html?_r=1
It's just an Archdiocese's propaganda, which uses a sarcastic style, that opposes the US government's new policy on contraception.
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David Barton Says Church Law Should Overrule Supreme Court Rulings
In other words, if the Bible has a verse that conservatives interpret to be contradictory of Supreme Court rulings, David Barton says the Supreme Court decision is invalid. This is why the Christian right is such a threat to the Constitution and our system of government and why it’s so important that we have separation of church and state in this country. If Barton had his way, Supreme Court decisions that rule in favor of abortion rights, gay rights, and many other rulings would be reversed by Biblical decree. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that the Bible overrules the Supreme Court. Barton’s video is just more proof of how much the Christian Right hates the Constitution and our system of government.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/05/24/david-barton-says-church-law-should-overrule-supreme-court-rulings-video/
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Vatican in chaos after butler arrested for leaks
Published May 27, 2012
Associated Press
VATICAN CITY – The Vatican's inquisition into the source of leaked documents has yielded its first target with the arrest of the pope's butler, but the investigation is continuing into a scandal that has embarrassed the Holy See by revealing evidence of internal power struggles, intrigue and corruption in the highest levels of the Catholic Church governance.
The detention of butler Paolo Gabriele, one of the few members of the papal household, capped one of the most convulsive weeks in recent Vatican history and threw the Holy See into chaos as it enters a critical phase in its efforts to show the world it's serious about complying with international norms on financial transparency.
The tumult began with the publication last weekend of a book of leaked Vatican documents including correspondence, notes and memos to the pope and his private secretary. It peaked with the inglorious ouster on Thursday of the president of the Vatican bank. And it concluded with confirmation Saturday that Pope Benedict XVI's own butler was the alleged mole feeding documents to Italian journalists in an apparent bid to discredit the pontiff's No. 2.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/05/27/vatican-in-chaos-after-butler-arrested-for-leaks/
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Has your church been meddling with the legislative processes and the education sector?
Science Defeats Creationism In Oklahoma In Flawless Victory
Three anti-science bills that would have severely set back the education of students in Oklahoma died quietly last week when the legislative session came to an end.
Among the bills that were killed includes:
SB 1742, which would have allowed teachers to challenge evolution using the Biblical theory known as creationism.
HB 1551 died previously in early April. That bill amounted to a full-fledged attack on climate change and evolution. Republican state Rep. Steve Russell attempted to amend an unrelated education bill, called HB 2341, to include the anti-science language of HB 1551 but that also failed.
With the end of the legislative session, all of these efforts to force creationism into science classrooms have been defeated meaning science has once again prevailed in another Republican dominated state. Earlier this month, science scored victories over creationism in Missouri and Alabama.
With these victories, Republican attempts to replace science with religion have been thwarted for the time being. Educators and scientists across the nation have been fighting in defense of science and the education of our kids for months, and now they have big wins in three different states. Science and fact once again reigns supreme.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/05/27/science-defeats-creationism-in-oklahoma-in-flawless-victory/
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A Brave Catholic Pastor Defends Nuns, Blasts Vatican Crackdown
The Vatican sounded like the Pharisees of the New Testament;—legalistic, paternalistic and orthodox— while “the good sisters” were the ones who were feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, educating the immigrant, and so on. Nuns also learned that Catholics are intuitively smart about their faith. They prefer dialogue over diatribe, freedom of thought over mind control, biblical study over fundamentalism, development of doctrine over isolated mandates.
Far from being radical feminists or supporters of far-out ideas, religious women realized that the philosophical underpinnings of Catholic teaching are no longer valid. Women are not subservient to men, the natural law is much broader than once thought, the OT is not as important as the NT, love is more powerful than fear. They realized that you can have a conversation with someone on your campus who thinks differently than the church without compromising what the church teaches.
The Vatican is hypocritical and duplicitous. Their belief is always that someone else needs to clean up their act; the divorced, the gays, the media, the US nuns, the Americans who were using the wrong words to pray, the seminaries, etc. It never occurs to the powers that be that the source of the problem is the structure itself.
US nuns work side by side with the person on the street. They are involved in their everyday lives. Most cardinals spent less than five years in a parish, were never pastors, are frequently career diplomats. Religious women in the US refuse to be controlled by abusive authority that seeks to control out of fear. They realize that Jesus taught no doctrines, but that the church, over time, developed what Jesus taught in a systematic way.
This investigation is not about wayward US nuns. It is the last gasp for control by a dying breed, wrapped in its own self-importance. It is a struggle for the very nature of the church; who we are, how we pray, where we live, who belongs, why we believe. The early church endured a similar struggle. The old order died. The Holy Spirit won.
http://content.seekandfind.com/bulletins/14/0244/20120527B.pdf
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I'm glad that there are some sane, compassionate men of the Church out there who really knows what it means to be a follower of Christ.
It's too the CBCP is by and large closer to the Vatican establishment rather than the more sane, liberal voices within the Church.
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U.S. nuns push back against Vatican crackdown
Fri Jun 1, 2012 12:41pm GMT
By Stephanie Simon
(Reuters) - The largest organization of U.S. Catholic nuns on Friday rejected a Vatican assessment that they had fallen under the sway of radical feminism and needed to hand control of their group over to a trio of bishops.
The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, whose members represent about 80 percent of nuns in the United States, issued a sharp statement calling the Vatican's rebuke "unsubstantiated" and "the result of a flawed process that lacked transparency."
The nuns said the Vatican's report has "caused scandal and pain throughout the church community and created greater polarization."
Tensions between U.S. nuns and church authorities, both in Rome and in the United States, have been simmering for decades as nuns have taken an increasingly independent and outspoken role in politics and social outreach.
The Leadership Conference has aired frank discussions of issues that deeply discomfit the Vatican, from ministry to gays and lesbians to the patriarchy of church culture. Some nuns have made public calls for the church to relax its stance against contraception; others have worked to ordain women as priests, in ceremonies the Vatican does not recognize as valid.
The Vatican also complained that the nuns have focused most of their attention on social justice issues, such as poverty, and have not spent enough time promoting the church's view on divisive political questions such as abortion and gay marriage.
To bring the sisters into line, the Vatican announced earlier this spring that it would put the Leadership Conference under the effective control of a trio of bishops, who would have the power to rewrite its statutes, its meeting agendas and even its liturgical texts.
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFBRE8500P620120601?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
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They can turn over the control of their organization to the trio bishops and instantaneously resign from their membership and start a new group. ;)
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The Vatican also complained that the nuns have focused most of their attention on social justice issues, such as poverty, and have not spent enough time promoting the church's view on divisive political questions such as abortion and gay marriage.
The question is: What would Jesus do?
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Anti-gay marriage bishop paid $20,000 to pedophile priests. (http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/05/31/492898/catholic-archbishop-railed-against-immorality-of-gay-marriage-but-authorized-20k-to-pay-off-pedophile-priests/)
Please, conservative Catholics who love the Church unconditionally and think we should listen to the bishops for our morality and the health of our eternal souls, explain to me why I should keep doing it?
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Philadelphia trial revives Catholic Church sex-abuse crisis
The statistics are staggering:
•More than 6,100 accused priests since 1950, Doerr said. She draws the number from two reports: a 2011 analysis by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City and the latest annual report by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), which tracks U.S. Catholic statistics.
•More than 16,000 victims, chiefly teenage boys, since 1950. However, "since there is no national data base tracking clergy abuse, we may never really know how many victims there are across all the dioceses and across time," said Mary Gautier, senior researcher for CARA.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2012-06-05/philadelphia-priest-sex-abuse-case/55453208/1
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Church leaders slam Aquino admin for ‘surrendering’ to US
The religious leaders also said it is wrong that the Philippine independence is being “surrendered” to another power aside from God.
“The Lord wants every people and every nation free, free to do God’s will and not the will and whims of other nations however powerful they may be. God is the only genuine power whose will is to be honored and kept,” said the EBF.
The EBF is a fellowship of bishops from the United Church of Christ, United Methodist, Episcopal Church in the Philippines, Iglesia Filipina Independiente, and the Roman Catholic churches in the Philippines.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-news/2012/06/11/church-leaders-slam-aquino-admin-surrendering-us-226245#.T9Vx4nPgL8I.facebook
How about freedom from religion?
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Church leaders slam Aquino admin for ‘surrendering’ to US
The religious leaders also said it is wrong that the Philippine independence is being “surrendered” to another power aside from God.
“The Lord wants every people and every nation free, free to do God’s will and not the will and whims of other nations however powerful they may be. God is the only genuine power whose will is to be honored and kept,” said the EBF.
The EBF is a fellowship of bishops from the United Church of Christ, United Methodist, Episcopal Church in the Philippines, Iglesia Filipina Independiente, and the Roman Catholic churches in the Philippines.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-news/2012/06/11/church-leaders-slam-aquino-admin-surrendering-us-226245#.T9Vx4nPgL8I.facebook
They don't want any help from the US.
What's their solution? Just pray? Good thing nobody takes those nutjobs seriously.
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Well, we need to U.S. in our side if we don't want China to attack us.
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Kawawa naman yung biktima.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/577649_479925092033376_913817653_n.jpg)
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What do you think?
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/599038_480809455278273_332396352_n.jpg)
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Church Battles Efforts to Ease Sex Abuse Suits
Changing the statute of limitations “has turned out to be the primary front for child sex abuse victims,” said Marci A. Hamilton, a professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University who represents plaintiffs in sexual abuse suits.
“Even when you have an institution admitting they knew about the abuse, the perpetrator admitting that he did it, and corroborating evidence, if the statute of limitations has expired, there won’t be any justice,” she said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/us/sex-abuse-statutes-of-limitation-stir-battle.html?_r=1
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Church leaders slam Aquino admin for ‘surrendering’ to US
The religious leaders also said it is wrong that the Philippine independence is being “surrendered” to another power aside from God.
“The Lord wants every people and every nation free, free to do God’s will and not the will and whims of other nations however powerful they may be. God is the only genuine power whose will is to be honored and kept,” said the EBF.
The EBF is a fellowship of bishops from the United Church of Christ, United Methodist, Episcopal Church in the Philippines, Iglesia Filipina Independiente, and the Roman Catholic churches in the Philippines.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-news/2012/06/11/church-leaders-slam-aquino-admin-surrendering-us-226245#.T9Vx4nPgL8I.facebook
How about freedom from religion?
yan ang binabalewala ng simbahang katoliko. na may karapatan rin ang ibang tao magpractice ng kanilang paniniwala or lack thereof. hindi simbahan dapat ang nagpapatakbo sa bansa natin, isang bahagi lang sila ng mas malaking kabuuan ng iba't ibang relihiyon at paniniwala.
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When churches are above the law in Indonesia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__uWhAsvE-s
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Bishop accused of diverting millions
BY ARIES RUFO
Posted on 06/18/2012 2:34 PM | Updated 06/18/2012 6:43 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Tempest is brewing in one of the richest dioceses in the Philippines.
Priests and lay leaders have asked the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Giuseppi Pinto, to look into the finances of the Diocese of Parañaque under Bishop Jesse Mercado for alleged misuse of funds.
They also want Mercado removed, for sowing division among the clergy for his double-standard policy.
After meeting with the papal representative a few times, the group finally secured a commitment from Pinto that he will refer the complaint to the Curia in Rome.
The move comes on the heels of growing sensitivity within the Catholic Church hierarchy on the issue of finances. This follows the backlash on the leaks of documents in the Vatican.
http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/7201-church-fund-misuse-to-be-probed-by-rome
(http://static.rappler.com/images/june%2018%202012%20misused%20funds%20of%20paranaque%20diocese%20chart.jpg)
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A lot of our priests and bishops are getting away with their kalokohan here due to the fact that Filipinos are afraid to speak out against them.....until now fortunately.
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Check this out.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/229931_10150890157876275_171382497_n.jpg)
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Bishop accused of diverting millions
BY ARIES RUFO
Posted on 06/18/2012 2:34 PM | Updated 06/18/2012 6:43 PM
Thanks for the link.
It's not surprising that relief donations to the Catholic Church are not reaching the intended recipients.
What is surprising is that somebody finally spoke up about it.
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Thanks for the link.
It's not surprising that relief donations to the Catholic Church are not reaching the intended recipients.
What is surprising is that somebody finally spoke up about it.
Paano kaya nila nakuha yun amount collected...? Ang alam ko, walang list ang mga ibang catholic churches regarding funds na pumapasok...
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Nagsalita yung bishop. Let's see if he can prove himself innocent.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-news/2012/06/20/prelate-ready-quit-if-found-guilty-227813
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The accused bishop reacts to the journalist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T43hYZiQ1Pw
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Lim: Tyranny
HOUSE Bill 6330 dubbed the Religious Freedom in Government Offices Act has stirred epic condemnation. The common thread of criticism for Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino’s bill which bans religious icons, symbols and ceremonies in government offices is that it curtails religious freedom.
But does it? It bans communal worship of any religion in the premises of a government office. It does NOT ban private worship of any religion by any individual even inside the confines of a government office. The prohibition is on public not private space.
Does Palatino truly misinterpret the Constitution that guarantees “the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference?” Is it not discriminatory to non-Catholics when Catholic icons are displayed in government offices? Is it not preferential to the Catholic faith when Catholic rites are held inside government institutions?
Palatino critics say no one is being compelled to attend Catholic rites inside government offices. No office memo need be circulated. When the boss spearheads any event of any kind, all employees know it would bode better for them to participate.
It’s called moral suasion. It’s why we buy tickets to raise money for the boss’ pet projects. It’s why we buy direct-selling products the boss sells on the side. There is pressure, not necessarily force, to comply or to fall out of grace.
House Bill 6330 seeks to make the state religiously neutral in order to provide all citizens, regardless of faith, the same rights in terms of government. The bill does not seek to have individuals abandon their religion, only to separate matters of faith from matters of the state.
I understand this concept is completely alien to the majority of Filipinos. The Spanish friars, after all, ruled our nation, for 300 years. But you only have to read the books of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, to see that the merger of church and state resulted in religious tyranny.
Palatino has been called crazy, his bill labeled nonsense but who’s really make sense here? Those who say that because the Philippines is 83 percent Catholic, the rest of the population should just shut up and bear with whatever the Catholic majority desires?
Are we saying that in a roomful of people, majority of whom agree to drink cyanide, the minority should just shut up and comply? This is a cult. Not a community. This is tyranny not democracy.
Reactions from both lay and ecclesiastical groups have been telling. Those who choose not to practice the predominant religion in this country are still persecuted for rejecting orthodoxy. That, I say, is curtailment of religious freedom.
Today, the Catholics are up in arms, saying that those who feel offended by Catholic rites and icons should simply shut up because they are the minority. I say beware of the tyranny of the majority. The Inquisition was a moment of great shame in history.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2012/06/23/lim-tyranny-228385
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Vatican fund for Ondoy victims diverted too
by Aries Rufo
Posted on 06/25/2012 2:09 PM | Updated 06/25/2012 4:23 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Even Rome’s intention was not honored.
A huge donation from the Vatican in the aftermath of typhoon Ondoy in 2009 failed to reach the intended beneficiaries, financial records from the diocese of Parañaque showed.
According to a ledger report, the Vatican’s Pontifical Council Cor Unum for Human and Christian Development gave a donation of P697,500 a few days after Ondoy struck.
The figure was about 10,000 euro, with the euro-peso exchange at that time pegged at one euro equivalent to P70.
The money was coursed through the “Apostolic Nuncia,” the ledger report – a copy of which was obtained by Rappler – showed.
But an analysis of the remittances to the typhoon victims revealed that only about 16% or P263,236.50 out of the total P1,631,473.05 donations has been disbursed.
The Cor Unum foundation was established in 1971 by Pope John Paul VI. In the Vatican website, Cor Unum’s mission represents “the care of the Catholic Church for the needy, thereby encouraging human fellowship and making manifest the charity of Christ.”
Among its objectives is to “assist the Pope and be his instrument for carrying out special initiatives in the field of humanitarian actions when disaster occurs, or in the field of integral human promotion.”
http://www.rappler.com/nation/7550-vatican-fund-for-ondoy-victims-diverted-too
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Cardinal’s Aide Is Found Guilty in Abuse Case
By JON HURDLE and ERIK ECKHOLM
Published: June 22, 2012
PHILADELPHIA — Msgr. William J. Lynn, a former cardinal’s aide, was found guilty Friday of endangering children, becoming the first senior official of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States convicted of covering up sexual abuses by priests under his supervision.
The single guilty verdict was widely seen as a victory for the district attorney’s office, which has been investigating the archdiocese aggressively since 2002, and it was hailed by victim advocates who have argued for years that senior church officials should be held accountable for concealing evidence and transferring predatory priests to unwary parishes.
The trial sent a sobering message to church officials and others overseeing children around the country. “I think that bishops and chancery officials understand that they will no longer get a pass on these types of crimes,” said Nicholas P. Cafardi, a professor of law at Duquesne University, a canon lawyer and frequent church adviser. “Priests who sexually abuse youngsters and the chancery officials who enabled it can expect criminal prosecution.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/us/philadelphias-msgr-william-j-lynn-is-convicted-of-allowing-abuse.html?_r=1
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As Filipino women suffer…
THE 2011 Family Health Survey, released last week by the National Statistics Office (NSO), clearly showed the effects of a decade of neglect of reproductive health services by the national government.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whose political survival was dependent on conservative elements of the Catholic Church, dismantled the national programs for the delivery of family health services not only through “benign neglect” but also by an active and systematic degradation of the family planning infrastructure that had survived sporadic periods of indifference over the preceding three decades.
Catholic fundamentalists, heady with the success of the pseudo-people power coup of 2001, began the hatchet job by convincing health regulators to withdraw registration of “Postinor”, a brand of the hormonal contraceptive levonorgestrel specifically designed for use immediately after unprotected sex (especially for victims of rape and incest). The underhandedness by which this was accomplished was matched only by the continuous deception that allowed health authorities to pay lip service to family health while depriving poor women of quality reproductive health services.
The Population Commission was, until 2001, a technically competent bureaucracy that ably supported family planning and population management and development activities. Its mission was doomed with the appointment of two commissioners from known conservative Catholic groups – one nominated by Couples for Christ, the other from the Opus Dei.
Procurement of contraceptive supplies by the Department of Health was scuttled. Funds earmarked for this purpose were diverted to extremist Catholic groups purportedly for “natural family planning”. This method of family planning remains unused except by a miniscule proportion of women despite the millions of pesos spent supposedly for its promotion.
The results have been devastating to the millions of women who would otherwise have been helped by government provision of family planning services. All the surveys conducted from 2001 to 2011 showed that, while overall contraceptive prevalence stagnated, this indicator of effective reproductive health services actually declined among the poor – the very population group that needed them most. Even more ominous for mothers, teen pregnancies during this period show an alarming upward trend. Total fertility rates remained high and unplanned pregnancies also climbed, while family planning needs remained unmet.
All these contributed to the deadliest effect of fundamentalist influence on health services - thousands of Filipino women dying unnecessarily of childbearing-related causes. This is evidenced by the 2011 FHS that reported maternal mortality at 227 per 100,000 live births – a number surpassed only by the least developed countries in Asia and Africa – from 162 just five years ago.
The observation made by NSO, that on infant and child mortality the Philippines is likely to achieve the Millennium Development Goal targets, is little consolation. Neonatal mortality (infant death during and immediately after birth) is still the highest contributor to infant mortality and the current maternal, neonatal and child health and nutrition (MNCHN) programs have hardly addressed this problem. What is more, surviving children among the poor continue to be malnourished and uneducated – making it difficult for them to become productive members of society as adults.
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Even as Filipino women and children suffer from benighted government policies encouraged by what can only be referred to as the Catholic Taliban, most Filipino Catholics remain oblivious to the ferment that is going on within their Church here and abroad. Philippine media, for a variety of reasons including a residual colonial reticence on matters of religion, have managed to ignore or minimize not only stories of Church corruption and malfeasance but also coverage of dissent among clergy and religious.
As the pedophilia scandals have quieted down somewhat, many concerned Catholics throughout the world are just beginning to realize that aberrant sexual behavior of clergy is only a sign of more deeply rooted problems in the entire institutional make-up of the Roman Catholic Church. These structural problems, beginning with a stubborn clinging by the Vatican to outdated monarchical authority, are major hindrances to ensuring the relevance of religion to human existence in the 21st century.
In the United States, American nuns have become the vanguard of what has been a hard struggle to maintain the beginnings of modernity that started with the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. While the Church hierarchy is under attack by ultraconservative heretics like the anti-Vatican II Lefebvre group in France, the Vatican continues to resist the participation of women in Church governance – as shown by the recent censure of Sister Margaret Farley, who wrote “Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics”, and Sister Elizabeth A. Johnson, author of “Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God.”
Meanwhile, here in the Philippines, a group of young priests with some lay support, have brought charges of financial malfeasance by the Bishop of Parañaque (with jurisdiction over Las Piñas and Muntinlupa) to the attention of the Vatican through the Papal Nuncio. This news has made it to the pages of a website specializing in news about the Church known as The Vatican Insider (accessed via www.vaticaninsider.com).
***
Email [email protected]
http://malaya.com.ph/index.php/opinion/7204-as-filipino-women-suffer
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Catholic school hit over 'collateral'
MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Can't pay tuition?
St Andrew's School (SAS), which is under the controversial Diocese of Parañaque, allegedly offers a solution that has sparked outrage from concerned alumni. This is for the school to “forcibly” demand collateral from parents that include game consoles and television sets, said SAS alumni in a public manifesto.
Through representative Eduardo Carabeo Jr, the alumni sent the statement in the wake of a Rappler exposé on Parañaque Bishop Jesse Mercado who is accused of fund misuse. (Read: Bishop accused of diverting millions.)
“We denounce the present SAS management's decision in implementing a non-standing policy of forcing parents whose children have back accounts with the school, to produce 'anything of considerable value' such as certificate titles of land title (sic), jewelries, wristwatches, vehicle registration papers, even PlayStations, laptops, payroll-linked ATM cards, television sets, video cameras, etc, even those not owned by the parents themselves but even those of friends and relatives, to be posted as guarantee, as if SAS were already engaged in the business of pawnshops,” the alumni said.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/7481-catholic-school-hit-over-forced-collaterals
Rally mars Catholic school's anniversary
(http://static.rappler.com/images/062712_St_Andrews.png)
http://www.rappler.com/nation/7700-rally-mars-catholic-school-s-anniversary
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I'm very happy we're now calling out the Catholic Church for all their kalokohan. We bow our heads to them for far too long.
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My 2 cents on the post by Rusty above:
At the end of the day, i think the school's rationale here is for them to think of the school as a business and not a catholic school. Let's face it, would the school impose such policies if parents settled their childrens tuition fees etc. with the school in a timely manner?
It's a business that needs to stay afloat regardless of its religious orientation.
Sure, it's not a Christian thing to do. But again, would they have resorted to such strategies if obligations were settled on time?
My wife and I work hard to put our kids to school. But i certainly would not blame the school if they imposed such policies on us should we fail to fulfill our obligations to them.
IMHO, it's a better option than saying "Well, you cant pay your dues to the school your child goes to? Get him/her the *%!@ out of here then"
Mejo double edged sword ito.
As a Christian, it definitely is not the thing to do.
As a business however, it's an option one should consider.
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My 2 cents on the post by Rusty above:
At the end of the day, i think the school's rationale here is for them to think of the school as a business and not a catholic school. Let's face it, would the school impose such policies if parents settled their childrens tuition fees etc. with the school in a timely manner?
It's a business that needs to stay afloat regardless of its religious orientation.
Sure, it's not a Christian thing to do. But again, would they have resorted to such strategies if obligations were settled on time?
My wife and I work hard to put our kids to school. But i certainly would not blame the school if they imposed such policies on us should we fail to fulfill our obligations to them.
IMHO, it's a better option than saying "Well, you cant pay your dues to the school your child goes to? Get him/her the *%!@ out of here then"
Mejo double edged sword ito.
As a Christian, it definitely is not the thing to do.
As a business however, it's an option one should consider.
Hindi naman ata registered yun school as a foundation or a non earning institution so pwede ata nilang gawin. And if the parents feel na hindi nila afford, may public school naman. If mataino yun bata, may mga scholarship programs naman ang different schools.
Ang nasa isip na lang siguro ng mga parents, na the school is run by the catholic church. And being a catholic church, is suppose to be a non-profit organization.
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I see your point of view bro. Ang sana lang na wag nila gawin is to charge interest on the values of the items that are surrendered to them as collateral. Ibang usapan na yun. Kasi may profit na yun eh.
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A lot of our priests and bishops are getting away with their kalokohan here due to the fact that Filipinos are afraid to speak out against them.....until now fortunately.
i know. i believe the internet has something to do with it. the its amazing tool that has open up free speech and democracy.
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They don't want any help from the US.
What's their solution? Just pray? Good thing nobody takes those nutjobs seriously.
What of course not! We dont need there help. It's so simple, Lets all pray. We know Gods hand will come from the sky and smack those chinese ships.
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What of course not! We dont need there help. It's so simple, Lets all pray. We know Gods hand will come from the sky and smack those chinese ships.
Some Filipino believe that we are somehow special in God's eyes as a race due to the fact that the Vatican has massaged our spiritual egos so that we'll pretty much say "How high?" every time they say "Jump!"
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Vatican labels the ordination of women a 'grave crime' to be dealt with in the same way as sex abuse
By STEVE DOUGHTY
UPDATED: 07:08 GMT, 16 July 2010
Making a woman a priest is as sinful as abusing a child, the Roman Catholic Church declared yesterday.
New religious rules published by the Vatican set both sins at the same level of gravity and recommended the same punishment for guilty priests.
Church officials in Rome insisted that the new version of Canon Law showed it was 'very, very serious in its commitment to promote safe environments'.
But it had the appearance of an own goal by Pope Benedict XVI in his attempt to cool the scandal over Catholic cover-ups of child abuse by paedophile priests.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1295012/Vatican-labels-ordination-women-grave-crime-par-sex-abuse.html
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Jeez....I read somewhere that much of the cardinals on the higher-ups of the Vatican are so isolated from the mainstream that they have little to no idea how the outside world sees them. This is proof of that.
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Are you with Mrs. Gates or the Vatican?
Catholic Melinda Gates defies the Vatican over birth control funds
Philanthropist reveals £360m grant to prevent unwanted pregnancies in poorer countries
Melinda Gates, billionaire philanthropist and practising Catholic, yesterday laid down the gauntlet to the Vatican by vowing to dedicate her life to improving access to contraception for women in the developing world.
At an extraordinary summit in London, Mrs Gates announced that the charitable foundation she set up with her Microsoft founder husband Bill was donating $560m to family planning services.
The size of the donation is intended to emphasise the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s commitment to reducing unwanted pregnancies in poorer countries, which experts say lead to more than 100,000 women dying prematurely every year.
A life-long Catholic, Mrs Gates said she had grappled with her faith before deciding to speak out against the Vatican’s opposition to contraception.
“Of course I wrestled with this. As a Catholic I believe in this religion, there are amazing things about this religion, amazing moral teachings that I do believe in, but I also have to think about how we keep women alive,” she said in an interview in advance of the summit.
“I believe in not letting women die, I believe in not letting babies die, and to me that’s more important than arguing about what method of contraception [is right].”
The summit, co-hosted by the Gates Foundation and Department for International Development, started with a remarkable declaration by the Indian government pledged to provide free access to family planning for all 64 million women currently denied the opportunity to control when and how many children to have.
Cash pledges then came in thick and fast from world leaders, with more than £3bn by the end of the day, Almost half of contribution were from developing countries.
David Cameron was given a standing ovation after announcing Britain is doubling its financial support for family planning services to £1bn over the next eight years, but was immediately asked how he would tackle religious opposition to the efforts.
He said Britain’s contribution would save the life of a woman or girl in the developing world every two hours for the next eight years by preventing deaths caused by too many pregnancies, too close together.
Mr Cameron and Andrew Mitchell, international development minister, were widely praised for showing leadership and commitment to women’s health, though the funding is not new money and will come out of existing aid budgets.
Australia and Germany both agreed to double their contributions for family planning programmes. Nigeria, where only one in 10 couples currently use contraception, announced a 300 per cent increase in funds.
In total, the summit raised nearly enough money to expand family planning programmes to an extra 120 million women.
In her speech Mrs Gates said: "What we're doing is an enormous undertaking… We're committed to innovating constantly; we're committed to educating women about their options… It is a difficult task but it is absolutely urgent."
Mr Cameron said: "When a woman is prevented from choosing when to have children it is not just a violation of her human rights it can fundamentally compromise her chances in life and the opportunities for her children.
"Family planning works not just because smaller families can be healthier and wealthier but because empowering women is the key to growing economies and healthy open societies."
Mr Cameron added: "We're not talking about some kind of Western imposed population control, forced abortion or sterilisation.
"What we're saying today is quite the opposite. We're not telling anyone what to do. We're giving women and girls the power to decide for themselves."
An estimated 220 million women around the world do not have access to contraceptives or family planning information.
In some countries women need written consent from their husbands before they can talk to a doctor about contraception while in others, family planning services are not offered to adolescents or unmarried women. In others, contraceptives are frequently out of stock when women need them.
For the past two decades vaccinations against infectious diseases have been pursued as the global health priority at the expense of contraception and family planning. But a series of papers published in The Lancet earlier this week concluded that addressing the unmet need for contraception was crucial if Millennium Development Goals on maternal deaths, poverty and gender equality were to be ever achieved.
And a recent report from Save the Children said every year one million teenage girls die or is injured because of pregnancy or childbirth – making pregnancy is the biggest killer of teenage girls worldwide.
Mrs Gates said the Foundation had initially focussed on vaccines because women would not choose to have fewer children until they were sure their children would survive childhood
In address by video link, Aung Sang Suu Kyi told delegates that giving women control over family planning would lead to healthier, better educated women and children for the future.
“Reproductive rights are basic human rights,” said Hillary Clinton.
Bill and Melinda: A labour of love
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was set-up by the Microsoft founder and his wife in 1994. Since then it has become a significant player in global development and health. As co-chairs of the Foundation, the Gates' are intimately involved in its work.
Latest figures show that the foundation has funded $26.2bn worth of programmes and grants, including more than $6bn for libraries, scholarships, emergency relief, schools and homelessness in the United States.
Global health is their first love, on which more than $15bn has been spent so far. They are probably best known for their work on Malaria, vaccines and HIV/Aids, but have also invested significantly in research and treatments for diarrheal diseases, TB and pneumonia which costs millions of lives every year. They have offices in India and China where large programmes of work are focused.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/catholic-melinda-gates-defies-the-vatican-over-birth-control-funds-7936386.html
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Do bishops here in the Philippines idolize Sarah Palin?
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Do bishops here in the Philippines idolize Sarah Palin?
That doesn't make sense. Would Catholic bishops idolize an Evangelical Protestant? For any reason?
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US church official gets prison in landmark abuse case
The highest-ranking US church official to be convicted of covering up child sex allegations, Philadelphia monsignor William Lynn, was sentenced to three to six years in prison on Tuesday.
William Lynn, who was secretary of the archdiocese from 1994 to 2001 and tasked with investigating abuse claims, was found guilty last month of one count of child endangerment.
Lawyers had pushed for Lynn to be spared prison, but Judge Teresa Sarmina imposed close to the maximum sentence of three and a half to seven years.
"It was three to six years," an official at the court in Philadelphia told AFP by telephone, confirming the sentence.
Lynn, 61, who took the witness stand for three days during his 10-week trial, was not charged with molesting children, but rather with covering up the crimes of priests who did.
The trial, the first in the United States involving a senior official in the Catholic Church, also centered on two more Philadelphia priests.
Reverend James Brennan, who was suspended from his duties as a priest, stood accused of attempting to rape a teenaged boy in the 1990's. The jury was hung over the charges dealing with Brennan, who will not face a new trial.
Defrocked priest Edward Avery pleaded guilty on the eve of trial. Avery was sentenced to between 2.5 and five years in prison.
During the trial the court heard graphic testimony describing sexual abuse in the Philadelphia archdiocese dating back to 1948, has not changed his view of the Church.
Lynn was found not guilty of endangering Brennan's accuser and not guilty of conspiring to endanger that accuser. He was found guilty of endangering Avery's victim, but not guilty of conspiracy with regard to that victim.
Victims' groups hailed the verdict as a major step forward as a court had acknowledged that someone in Lynn's position had endangered a child.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/266619/news/world/us-church-official-gets-prison-in-landmark-abuse-case
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Column: Penn State case bad, but church sex abuse worse
I didn't have much sympathy for people who complained about the punishment the NCAA doled out to Penn State, until I discovered how an even larger institution in the Keystone State has escaped punishment for shielding dozens of pedophiles in its midst.
In June, Jerry Sandusky, a longtime assistant football coach at Penn State, was found guilty of raping and sodomizing 10 young boys. Top university officials were told of Sandusky's deviant behavior years earlier and did nothing to stop him. They, apparently, were more worried about the damage that exposing him would do to the school's reputation than the harm he was doing to his victims.
For its inaction, Penn State on July 23 was fined $60 million, its football team was banned from post-season play for four years and the games it won from 1998 through 2011 — the span of time during which university officials were aware of Sandusky's pedophilia and looked the other way — were wiped off the record books.
Another troubling case
The next day, an even more troubling case of child sex abuse — given that so many more predators were involved — played out in a Philadelphia courtroom without any hint that justice would reach beyond a low-level official of that city's Catholic archdiocese.
Monsignor William Lynn was sentenced to three to six years in prison for covering up the actions of pedophile priests he was supposed to root out of the church. Instead, he sent them to unsuspecting parishes where other sexual assaults took place — an action his lawyers said was ordered by Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who headed Philadelphia's archdiocese from 1988 to 2003. He died in January.
In 2011, a grand jury said it had "no doubt that (Bevilacqua's) knowing and deliberate actions during his tenure as archbishop also endangered thousands of children in the Philadelphia Archdiocese." Lynn, it said, was carrying out Bevilacqua's policies exactly as he directed. But Bevilacqua, who was in poor health, was not indicted along with his aide.
Church coverup
According to that grand jury report — and another in 2003 and 2005 — the Philadelphia archdiocese's coverup of pedophile priests started before Bevilacqua became its leader and lasted after he was replaced.
So why hasn't it been penalized in some way for its bad acts — for sending pedophile priests to counseling instead of turning them in to the cops? Why hasn't its tax-exempt status been revoked for a number of years? That might be a real deterrent against a repeat of such harmful indifference in Philadelphia and elsewhere.
But the Philadelphia archdiocese is not likely to suffer the same fate as Penn State, even though three grand juries found it left pedophile priests free to prey upon children for years after church officials became aware of them. That's because saving the church from scorn was more important to them than protecting children from those monsters.
"As powerful as Penn State officials are, their power pales before the power of the Catholic hierarchy," David Clohessy, director and spokesman for the Survivor's Network of those Abused by Priests, told me. "When sex abuse happens in a religious setting, many people back away. I think a degree of fatigue has set it."
I hope for the sake of the children who were abused, and those who might be victimized in the future if nothing is done, that what happened in Philadelphia will produce enough outrage to force the archdiocese there — like Penn State — to pay a hefty price for its indifference to the sexual abuse of children.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2012-07-30/priests-penn-state-sex-abuse/56595192/1
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EDITORIAL - Courting disaster
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How sad that the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines would choose to bring its fight against the RH bill right into the halls of Congress where the bill originated instead of fighting what the bill is all about — its substance — from the pulpit.
The CBCP even went to the extent of counting how many congressmen it has enlisted to support its cause — 140 kuno as of the latest count, including, of all people, former president and now congresswoman Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
If this is the way the country’s bishops choose to fight, then it only indicates the plain bankruptcy of its position. They have clearly ascribed the evil they see on the bill itself, apparently thinking that by killing the bill they also kill the evil.
Conversely, the bishops have trembled tremendously that should the RH bill pass, all evil will be unleashed upon this solitary Catholic land in Asia. They have forgotten that if evil exists, it exists in the human heart and it is from there that it must be expurgated.
Even if the RH bill passes and becomes law, if the Church succeeds in convincing people of its evils, the law will have no effect upon this God-fearing land and, with nowhere to go, it will but die its own natural and preordained death.
On the contrary, even if no such or similar law exists, but if people find merit it in the things the bill would have proposed or made available, then these people can be expected to move heaven and earth to partake of these evil promises.
In other words, the Church and its bishops are barking up the wrong tree. They are charging at the wrong windmill. The only fight there is is the fight for people’s hearts, and it is from the pulpit that this fight must be waged.
Aside from the folly of fighting the wrong battle in the wrong battlefield, the Church and its bishops only needlessly expose themselves to the danger of losing credibility, which is an even greater loss than the ephemeral gain they seek to gain.
Has the Church and its bishops ever considered the possibility, despite its claim of numerical superiority, that it could actually lose. Have they ever tried to imagine the consequences of losing such a high profile gambit. One can actually shudder just thinking of it.
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=834219&publicationSubCategoryId=109
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Missouri Catholic priest pleads guilty in child porn case
Reuters By Carey Gillam | Reuters – Thu, Aug 2, 2012
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - A Kansas City Catholic priest pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges on Thursday, admitting to the crimes just weeks before he was scheduled to go on trial for taking sexually explicit photos of several young girls.
Shawn Ratigan, 46, pleaded guilty to four counts of producing child pornography and one count of attempting to produce child pornography using girls as young as 2 years old. The photos, taken with still cameras and a cell phone, included close-up pictures of the children's genitals. He faces 15-30 years in prison on each of the five counts, when sentenced at a later date.
http://news.yahoo.com/missouri-catholic-priest-pleads-guilty-child-porn-case-221937667.html
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Lim: Lies about the RHB
THE Catholic Church has never disappointed me more than today as it relentlessly spreads misinformation about the reproductive health (RH) bill.
The RH bill allows abortion. Read the bill. Abortion remains illegal. What the Catholic Church repeatedly refers to as “abortion” is in fact, “contraception.”
The bishops have fixated on pills which they claim are abortifacients. The truth is that the primary action of oral contraceptives is to prevent ovulation and fertilization. In a few cases, fertilization can take place but as the pill renders implantation difficult (though not impossible), no pregnancy occurs. These are the cases that the Catholic Church irresponsibly passes off as the norm rather than the aberration.
Vaccines, in a few cases, kill children. Should the availability of vaccines in medical facilities in our country thus be stopped because there “exists the possibility” that they can kill?
The pill is poison. Well, if you call all medication poison, then, yes, the pill is poison. No one is saying the pill is 100 percent safe. But so is every pill you pop in your mouth. No one is saying that the pill has no side effects. But so does every other pill in your medicine cabinet.
Should we thus NOT make medication available in our hospitals because there “exists the possibility” that they can kill? Perhaps, we should also ban pregnancies because the reality is that they “can” also kill.
It is ludicrous for the Catholic Church to harp on the pill as poison. Everything we pop into our mouths that is processed is poison depending on whose opinion you seek. But that is my point. Why don’t we allow every Filipino to decide for himself what is evil, immoral and dangerous? Why don’t we let every person decide for himself what is panacea or poison?
The Catholic Church cannot impose its morality on the population. Morality is couched on individual discernment. The bishops can preach from their pulpits but they should not threaten our legislators with a religious vote. This is no longer religion. This is politics.
Jehovah’s Witnesses do not subscribe to blood transfusion. To preserve freedom of conscience, are we to make blood transfusion inaccessible in our hospitals? Respecting the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses does not justify making blood transfusion unavailable to the rest of the population. This is the essence of a secular state.
Pills are not going to be forcibly stuffed down the throats of women. How is one’s freedom of conscience violated here? Your right to choose has not been taken away from you. The RH bill is anti-life. How is it pro-life to condemn contraception but to ignore the miserable existence of so many children, abused and abandoned on a daily basis, left to die of starvation, disease and neglect?
It is not principle but pride that fuels the Church to fight against the RH bill. It is not life they wish to save and protect but the institution they represent. It is not religion they preach rather it is political power they seek. The bishops do not want to be saviors. They want to be kingmakers.
The lies should stop now.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2012/08/04/lim-lies-about-rhb-235774
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When religious dogma clashes with democracy
GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc
Philippine Catholic hierarchs deem all contraceptives — including condoms, vasectomy, and tubal ligation — as abortifacients. If confronted with scientific proof to the contrary, they shift argument to the readiness of natural family-planning methods. Rhythm and Billings conform to the female’s monthly ovulation, during which the couple can avoid sex. Yet the wife also naturally feels sexiest during ovulation, and the loving husband obliges. To avoid pregnancy they might resort to sexual manipulations other than coition. There again, the hierarchs admonish that withdrawal, as with masturbation and similar ways of climaxing, are sinful because onanistic.
That’s when the most basic insistence of the hierarchs emerges: the sole function of sex is procreation. Bottom line, pleasurable sex is wrong if not for pregnancy. The only pure alternative is abstinence. Alongside it are other strictures, like chastity and marriage before procreative sex.
Unfortunately, if natural methods are so difficult to observe, then more so is abstinence. The Church intellectual Augustine understood human frailty. Not all men could live like saints. And so he quipped in confession, “Lord, make me chaste — but not yet.”
The impracticality of abstinence has led to the present situation in the 80-percent Catholic Philippines:
• a 100-million population — double what its resources presently can sustain, and still growing at more than two percent yearly;
• a 33-percent poverty rate, with the poorest households weighed down by too many mouths to feed, and too little knowledge and means to plan family size;
• eleven mothers dying each day giving birth, mostly because of one too many, too frequent unplanned pregnancies;
• a malnutrition rate of 26 percent among children below five years old; and
• 79,000 backstreet abortions of unwanted pregnancies in 2000, confirmed in government hospitals only because of serious aftermaths; meaning, the volume can only be higher through the decade, considering the unreported cases.
Again Catholic hierarchs have a way of dismissing such figures. Supposedly those are concocted by sinister western imperialistic groups that want to rein in Philippine population for easier domination. If again confronted with government and private studies, the hierarchs point to other causes. Bureaucratic corruption, tax evasion, and corporate and individual greed, they say, are to blame for the poverty and ignorance all around. The government is striving to curb the maladies. Still, the Catholic hierarchs insist that the solution is in charity — sharing everything with everyone.
Absolute chastity and charity are impossible in this imperfect world. That is why health and women’s groups for two decades have been advocating state support for reproductive rights.
Pending in Congress is a Reproductive Health Bill that would:
(1) ensure health care for mothers, newborns, and toddlers;
(2) teach the public, starting at inquisitive pubescence, about reproductive health, rights, and restraint;
(3) afford couples the freedom to learn and the means to plan families and space pregnancies;
(4) obligate the national and local governments to prioritize the citizens’ reproductive health and welfare; and
(5) slow down the runaway population growth rate.
The present version of the RH Bill would be up for voting at the 286-member House of Representatives on Tuesday. After that, rough sailing is expected at the Senate. The chamber leaders who control the agenda — the Senate President, Majority Leader, and Assistant Majority Leader — are against the proposed law.
Both the House and the Senate must assent for any proposal to be enacted. If the RH Bill passes in the House, the Catholic hierarchs would be banking on the three Senate leaders to shelve any voting in their chamber.
The bill’s proponents are praying that elected leaders would heed the sentiment of Catholics and non-Catholics alike. As stated in survey after survey, up to 85 percent of Filipinos believe that the government actively should participate in population planning. And up to 65 percent say they need help in family planning.
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=835174&publicationSubCategoryId=64
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(http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/5/30/1936118/hypocrites.jpg)
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Look who lashed out against the government and even the church
Reyes, arguably the Roman Catholic Church’s most maverick cleric, then questioned the sincerity of the Church leadership in its avowed mission to help the poor and the oppressed.
“Yes the Church has always been on the side of the poor. But how much has this been the case? Can the Church and the other churches also say the opposite then, that they, have not been and will never be on the side of the rich? Doesn’t this also smack of dishonesty if not hypocrisy?” Reyes said.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/243115/running-priest-hits-govt-church-for-using-poor-as-pawn-in-rh-bill-debate
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Catholic Church has billions invested in BPI, Philex, San Miguel
May 31, 201
For most of us, it’s a given that the Catholic Church is rich. One just has to look at their sprawling acres of land, large Church structures and buildings, and millions of pesos of cash collected from mass goers every week.
What a lot of people do not know is that the Church is also a stockholder in several Philippine companies; the total investment in these publicly-listed firms comprise a sizable chunk of its total wealth. Reports submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) show that the Church and affiliate Catholic groups are, in fact, the top stockholders in companies such as the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Philex Mining Corporation (PX), San Miguel Corporation (SMC), Ayala Corporation (AC), and Phinma Corporation (PHN), among others.
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila, for example, is the 4th largest owner of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) with more than 300 million shares. How much are these shares worth? As of May 2011, this is valued at more than P17 billion. Yes, that’s seventeen billion pesos, with a B.
Aside from banking, the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines is also invested in mining and construction.
As of March 31, 2011, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila is the 15th top shareholder of Philex Mining Corporation (PX), the country’s largest mining firm. It owns 3.2 million shares of PX currently worth more than P66 million.
More...
http://www.pinoymoneytalk.com/church-philippines-rich-wealth-stocks/
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Why don't they use that money to help the poor?
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Why don't they use that money to help the poor?
nakakakuha naman daw sila ng donation from the goverment eh (specially nung time ni GMA) bakit pa sila gagastos ng sarili nilang pera? ::)
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tax free pa din ba yang mga investments nila na yan?
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Why don't they use that money to help the poor?
Ang alam ko, ang obligation ng church is to spread the gospel. It's the government's responsibility to help the poor.
Probabbly yan ang method nila to "go and multiply" investments and spread the gospel. :D
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CATHOLIC CHURCH MAKES A FORTUNE IN THE GERMAN PORN BUSINESS
Weltbild, one of Germany’s largest publishing companies, happens to be owned and operated by the Catholic Church. But that has not stopped it from publishing books that many of the faithful find offensive.
(http://worldcrunch.com/images/story/germanporn.jpg)
The cover of a romance novel published by Weltbild. - ()
By
DIE WELT/Worldcrunch
Worldcrunch *NEWSBITES
"Weltbild," Germany’s largest media company, sells books, DVDs, music and more -- and also happens to belong 100% to the Catholic Church. Few people knew about this connection until this month when Buchreport, a German industry newsletter, reported that the Catholic company also sells porn.
A Church spokesman responded: “Weltbild tries to prevent the distribution of possibly pornographic content.”
Well, it's prevention efforts have apparently not been so successful. For more than 10 years, a group of committed Catholics has been trying to point out what is going on to Church authorities, and they are outraged at the hypocrisy of the spokesman's statement. In 2008, the group sent a 70-page document to all the bishops whose dioceses have shared ownership of Weltbild for 30 years, detailing evidence of the sale of questionable material.
Read more...
http://worldcrunch.com/culture-society/catholic-church-makes-a-fortune-in-the-german-porn-business//c3s3995/#.UC0ZmlYgc8p
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The Vatican Is Losing Money Like Crazy
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- The Vatican has registered one of its worst budget deficits in years, plunging back into the red with a €15 million ($19 million) deficit in 2011 after a brief respite of profit.
The Vatican on Thursday blamed the poor outcome on high personnel and communications costs and adverse market conditions, particularly for its real estate holdings.
Not even a €50 million gift to the pope from the Vatican bank and increased donations from dioceses and religious orders could offset the expenses and poor investment returns, the Vatican said in its annual financial report.
Read more:
http://www.businessinsider.com/vatican-deficit-2012-7
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Carvajal: Decline and fall
ALL empires of the world eventually arrive at the sunset of their power. Absolute power affords rulers an alienating up-in-the- clouds lifestyle that deludes them into believing they can resist man’s inherent drive to seek freedom. As we speak, for instance, a deluded despot is fighting a losing battle against a fiercely determined push for freedom by his Syrian people.
Among the few absolute monarchies left in the world is the Roman Catholic Church. She too, or more precisely her hierarchy, absolute power and all, will fall. No power on earth can resist man’s fight for his God-given right to basic freedoms, among them of religion and of conscience.
But isn’t the Church of divine origin? Yes and no. The faith of Catholics is a gift from God and is of divine origin. However, the monarchical form of government of the Catholic Church is a historical accretion. Early Christians started out as a community of equals presided over by chosen elders.
St. Peter, the first Pope, was not an absolute monarch in any sense of the term.
Vatican II opened the door to greater participation by the laity in Church affairs without being “infallible” about it. Since then, however, post-Vatican II popes have closed the door and asserted their power to rule absolutely. While many bishops, priests and laity in the world are resisting this backslide into medievalism, in the Philippines the local hierarchy is acting, so to speak, even more popish than the Pope.
Nowhere is this more evident than in their ever hardening stand against the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill. Unless the bishops just want to assert their waning power over a more informed laity, one cannot even start to understand their emotionally and unreasonably vehement opposition to the bill.
Why are they now talking heresy (and hellfire?) to pro-RH professors of the Ateneo when there is no infallible doctrine on artificial contraception?
Why do they have to use threats (disaffiliation, blacklist, no communion) if they had sound arguments to convince reasonable people to their side?
Why can they not re-evangelize us, as they said they would, and trust us to be formed enough to follow our consciences?
By demanding blind obedience from Church members and by trying to impose their debatable morality on non-Catholics the bishops are proving themselves to be completely alienated from people, hence disoriented and delusional. Unless they can humble themselves to accept the sense and sensibility ordinary Catholics are trying to impress on them, the hierarchy could well be on its way towards its decline and fall.
No problem. The Church will live on, this time with leaders who are short on raw power but long on moral and spiritual ascendancy.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2012/08/21/carvajal-decline-and-fall-238654
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Ateneo and the Church
A university that commands its faculty to think alike is a shame to all academic life. In demanding from the faculty of Ateneo total submission to its anti-RH line, out of fidelity to its beliefs, the Church risks destroying the very thing that makes Ateneo a university—respect for reason.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/35470/ateneo-and-the-church
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Parañaque bishop under fire
A LAITY group in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Parañaque criticized Bishop Jesse Mercado for snubbing a public forum on Monday where he was invited to explain the disposition of more than P3 million in diocesan funds that were meant to be given to disaster victims, but purportedly did not reach the beneficiaries.
Dr. Erwin Carabeo, a leader of the Lay Initiative for Transparency and Accountability, expressed disappointment at the bishop’s apparent refusal to face the public and clarify the allegations hurled against him.
“We want to hear it directly from the bishop. These people, the ordinary parishioners and the faithful, have questions that we church workers also could not answer,” said Carabeo, a former president of the pastoral council of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, the seat of the Parañaque diocese.
Carabeo told Manila Standard Today at the forum held at the Elorde Sports Complex on Sucat Road in Parañaque that he resigned as council president when the alleged irregularity broke out because the bishop has done nothing to explain the matter but issue “blanket denials.”
Manila Standard Today tried to reach Mercado for comment but was referred to a statement, signed by the diocesan chancellor Rev. Carmelo Estores, posted in the diocese’s official website which said the bishop neither endorsed nor recognized the forum.
The statement said the bishop submitted a report to Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Giuseppi Pinto, after three priests of the diocese complained.
“Moreover, the Oeconomus (or Diocesan Financial Administrator) as well as the Diocesan Finance Council have explained in detail the facts pertinent to the unfounded allegations. They have also presented in full the financial status of the Diocese. This was done in the Clergy Assembly and in a meeting of the Diocesan Council of the Laity,” the statement read.
“The Oeconomus will also present the same to members of the Parish Finance Councils on the vicariate level,’ the statement added.
But Carabeo claimed the diocesan laity were not happy with the circular because it opens more questions with no substantial answers.
“They issued a circular, but when we went to see the circular, there are still a lot of questions that remained unanswered, all blanket denials and there were no substantial answers,” Carabeo said.
“The problem is we expect transparency from the government and yet the Church also could not be equally transparent. This (forum) should have been the proper venue to talk to the laity,” he added.
Carabeo said Mercado is being questioned for diocesan funds that were mostly intended for victims of calamities that were collected at different times since 2009 when Typhoon Ondoy hit Metro Manila.
He said the funds represent the 10 percent of the mass collections of 51 parishes in the cities of Paranaque, Muntinlupa, and Las Pinas which are all under the Diocese of Parañaque.
Carabeo claimed the diocese collected P1.6 million in 2009 for donations to Ondoy victims but only more than P200,000 allegedly reached the intended beneficiaries.
There were also millions that were unremitted to the victims of Haiti earthquake in 2010 and Typhoon Sendong in 2011. The diocese also allegedly did not remit almost P400,000 donations to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines for the Palm Sunday celebrations in 2011.
Carabeo said they have written Mercado twice, once in July and the latest earlier this month, to release the audited financial statements of the diocese and other pertinent documents that could determine the real financial condition of the church.
http://manilastandardtoday.com/2012/08/28/paranaque-bishop-under-fire-2/
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Father Benedict Groeschel, American Friar, Claims Teens Seduce Priests In Some Sex Abuse Cases
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/29/father-benedict-groeschel-teens-seduce-priests_n_1840900.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
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Priest apologizes after sex abuse comments draw ire
By Laura Koran, CNN
(CNN) - A prominent Catholic friar has apologized for saying that child victims of sex abuse may at times bear some of the responsibility for the attacks because they can seduce their assailants, and that first-time sex offenders should not receive jail time.
"I did not intend to blame the victim," the Rev. Benedict Groeschel, of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, said Thursday. "A priest (or anyone else) who abuses a minor is always wrong and is always responsible."
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/31/priest-apologizes-after-sex-abuse-comments-draw-ire/
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(https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/558217_500420029985614_1114506005_n.jpg)
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In final interview, Cardinal says church ‘200 years out of date’
The former archbishop of Milan and papal candidate Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini said the Catholic Church is "200 years out of date" in his final interview before his death, published on Saturday.
Martini, once favored by Vatican progressives to succeed Pope John Paul II and a prominent voice in the church until his death at the age of 85 on Friday, gave a scathing portrayal of a pompous and bureaucratic church failing to move with the times.
"Our culture has aged, our churches are big and empty and the church bureaucracy rises up, our rituals and our cassocks are pompous," Martini said in the interview published in Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
"The Church must admit its mistakes and begin a radical change, starting from the pope and the bishops. The pedophilia scandals oblige us to take a journey of transformation," he said in the interview.
In the last decade the Church has been accused of failing to fully address a series of child abuse scandals which have undermined its status as a moral arbiter, though it has paid many millions in compensation settlements worldwide.
Martini, famous for comments that the use of condoms could be acceptable in some cases, told interviewers the Church should open up to new kinds of families or risk losing its flock.
"A woman is abandoned by her husband and finds a new companion to look after her and her children. A second love succeeds. If this family is discriminated against, not just the mother will be cut off but also her children."
In this way "the Church loses the future generation", Martini said in the interview, made a fortnight before he died. The Vatican opposes divorce and forbids contraception in favor of fidelity within marriage and abstinence without.
A liberal voice in the church, Martini's chances of becoming pope were damaged when he revealed he was suffering from a rare form of Parkinson's disease and he retired in 2002.
Pope John Paul II was instead succeeded in 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI, a hero of Catholic conservatives who is known by such critical epithets as "God's rottweiler" because of his stern stand on theological issues.
Martini's final message to Pope Benedict was to begin a shake up of the Catholic Church without delay.
"The church is 200 years out of date. Why don't we rouse ourselves? Are we afraid?"
Martini was much loved and thousands paid their respects at his coffin in Milan cathedral on Saturday.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/272197/news/world/in-final-interview-cardinal-says-church-200-years-out-of-date
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Unfortunately, the Church's response to that is to double-down on their social conservative positions, at times even rolling it back a bit. They have this delusion that people who fall out of the Church are either ignorant, misguided or just plain evil and that if they shout louder and be firm in their stance, they will win them back. This seems to be the attitude fostered by the CBCP here. I get the impression that if you disagree with them you are ignorant and misguided at best and evil at worst.
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The church is not above the law, it is just trying to influence people in the government to abide with their beliefs and persuasions.
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The church is not above the law, it is just trying to influence people in the government to abide with their beliefs and persuasions.
To make them above the law? ;D
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(https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/419205_10151045408391275_763899548_n.jpg)
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Our Lady of Annunciation Parish in Mindanao Ave. is causing massive traffic during Sundays. The 4 lane traffic is converged into single lane as the other three are being converted to parking lots by parishioners. I'm sure the local baranggay is aware and of this as they even provide traffic aids to help people cross the street to/from the parish. Meanwhile, yesterday when a friend's mini-cab broke down just across the street, a tow truck showed up and to remove the vehicle after only 10 mins.
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US bishop guilty of failing to report sex abuse
by Agence France-Presse
Posted on 09/07/2012 8:47 AM | Updated 09/07/2012 8:47 AM
CHICAGO, United States of America - Bishop Robert Finn was found guilty Thursday (Friday, Manila time) of failing to report suspected child abuse, becoming the highest-ranking US Catholic Church official convicted in clergy sex abuse scandals.
Jackson County Circuit Court Judge John Torrence issued the ruling in Kansas City, Missouri after Finn, 59, declined to fight the charges and instead agreed to a stipulated finding of facts in the case.
Finn will not serve jail time or pay a fine for the misdemeanor charge. He was instead placed on probation, which requires him to ensure the diocese trains staff and clergy to detect and report abuse, as well as create a US$10,000 fund for counseling abuse victims.
The ruling comes weeks after Monsignor William Lynn was sentenced to up to six years in prison for covering up child sex abuse by priests in Philadelphia.
http://www.rappler.com/world/11943-us-bishop-guilty-of-failing-to-report-sex-abuse
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The Ten Commandments according to George Carlin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-RGN21TSGk
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Ivory Worship
Thousands of elephants die each year so that their tusks can be carved into religious objects. Can the slaughter be stopped?
By Bryan Christy
Photographs by Brent Stirton
THE PHILIPPINES CONNECTION
In an overfilled church Monsignor Cristobal Garcia, one of the best known ivory collectors in the Philippines, leads an unusual rite honoring the nation’s most important religious icon, the Santo Niño de Cebu (Holy Child of Cebu). The ceremony, which he conducts annually on Cebu, is called the Hubo, from a Cebuano word meaning “to undress.” Several altar boys work together to disrobe a small wooden statue of Christ dressed as a king, a replica of an icon devotees believe Ferdinand Magellan brought to the island in 1521. They remove its small crown, red cape, and tiny boots, and strip off its surprisingly layered underwear. Then the monsignor takes the icon, while altar boys conceal it with a little white towel, and dunks it in several barrels of water, creating his church’s holy water for the year, to be sold outside.
Garcia is a fleshy man with a lazy left eye and bad knees. In the mid-1980s, according to a 2005 report in the Dallas Morning News and a related lawsuit, Garcia, while serving as a priest at St. Dominic’s of Los Angeles, California, sexually abused an altar boy in his early teens and was dismissed. Back in the Philippines, he was promoted to monsignor and made chairman of Cebu’s Archdiocesan Commission on Worship. That made him head of protocol for the country’s largest Roman Catholic archdiocese, a flock of nearly four million people in a country of 75 million Roman Catholics, the world’s third largest Catholic population. Garcia is known beyond Cebu. Pope John Paul II blessed his Santo Niño during Garcia’s visit to the pope’s summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, in 1990. Recently Garcia helped direct the installation of Cebu’s newest archbishop in a cathedral filled with Catholic leaders, including 400 priests and 70 bishops, among them the Vatican’s ambassador. Garcia is so well known that to find his church, the Society of the Angels of Peace, I need only roll down my window and ask, “Monsignor Cris?” to be pointed toward his walled compound.
Some Filipinos believe the Santo Niño de Cebu is Christ himself. Sixteenth-century Spaniards declared the icon to be miraculous and used it to convert the nation, making this single wooden statue, housed today behind bulletproof glass in Cebu’s Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, the root from which all Filipino Catholicism has grown. Earlier this year a local priest was asked to resign after allegedly advising his parishioners that the Santo Niño and images of the Virgin Mary and other saints were merely statues made of wood and cement.
“If you are not devoted to the Santo Niño, you are not a true Filipino,” says Father Vicente Lina, Jr. (Father Jay), director of the Diocesan Museum of Malolos. “Every Filipino has a Santo Niño, even those living under the bridge.”
Each January some two million faithful converge on Cebu to walk for hours in procession with the Santo Niño de Cebu. Most carry miniature Santo Niño icons made of fiberglass or wood. Many believe that what you invest in devotion to your own icon determines what blessings you will receive in return. For some, then, a fiberglass or wooden icon is not enough. For them, the material of choice is elephant ivory.
I press through the crowd during Garcia’s Mass, but instead of standing before him to receive Communion, I kneel.
“The body of Christ,” Garcia says.
“Amen,” I reply, and open my mouth.
After the service I tell Garcia I’m from National Geographic, and we set a date to talk about the Santo Niño. His anteroom is a mini-museum dominated by large, glass-encased religious figures whose heads and hands are made of ivory: There is an ivory Our Lady of the Rosary holding an ivory Jesus in one, a near-life-size ivory Mother of the Good Shepherd seated beside an ivory Jesus in another. Next to Garcia’s desk a solid ivory Christ hangs on a cross.
Filipinos generally display two types of ivory santos: either solid carvings or images whose heads and hands, sometimes life-size, are ivory, while the body is wood, providing a base for lavish capes and vestments. Garcia is the leader of a group of prominent Santo Niño collectors who display their icons during the Feast of the Santo Niño in some of Cebu’s best shopping malls and hotels. When they met to discuss formally incorporating their club, an attorney member cried out to the group, “You can pay me in ivory!”
I tell Garcia I want to buy an ivory Santo Niño in a sleeping position. “Like this,” I say, touching a finger to my lower lip. Garcia puts a finger to his lip too. “Dormido style,” he says approvingly.
My goal in meeting Garcia is to understand his country’s ivory trade and possibly get a lead on who was behind 5.4 tons of illegal ivory seized by customs agents in Manila in 2009, 7.7 tons seized there in 2005, and 6.1 tons bound for the Philippines seized by Taiwan in 2006. Assuming an average of 22 pounds of ivory per elephant, these seizures represent about 1,745 elephants. According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the treaty organization that sets international wildlife trade policy, the Philippines is merely a transit country for ivory headed to China. But CITES has limited resources. Until last year it employed just one enforcement officer to police more than 30,000 animal and plant species. Its assessment of the Philippines doesn’t square with what Jose Yuchongco, chief of the Philippine customs police, told a Manila newspaper not long after making a major seizure in 2009: “The Philippines is a favorite destination of these smuggled elephant tusks, maybe because Filipino Catholics are fond of images of saints that are made of ivory.” On Cebu the link between ivory and the church is so strong that the word for ivory, garing, has a second meaning: “religious statue.”
HOW TO SMUGGLE IVORY
I had no illusions of linking Monsignor Garcia to any illegal activity, but when I told him I wanted an ivory Santo Niño, the man surprised me. “You will have to smuggle it to get it into the U.S.”
“How?”
“Wrap it in old, stinky underwear and pour ketchup on it,” he said. “So it looks crapty with blood. This is how it is done.”
Garcia gave me the names of his favorite ivory carvers, all in Manila, along with advice on whom to go to for high volume, whose wife overcharges, who doesn’t meet deadlines. He gave me phone numbers and locations. If I wanted to smuggle an icon that was too large to hide in my suitcase, I might get a certificate from the National Museum of the Philippines declaring my image to be antique, or I could get a carver to issue a paper declaring it to be imitation or alter the carving date to before the ivory ban. Whatever I decided to commission, Garcia promised to bless it for me. “Unlike those animal-nut priests who will not bless ivory,” he said.
Full article:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/10/ivory/christy-text?source=link_fb20120914ngm-ivory&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_fb20120914ngm-ivory&utm_campaign=Content
>:(
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^
That "Monsignor Cris" is so retarded BEYOND belief, it's not even funny.
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^
He's the same Msgr. Cris who was mentioned earlier in this thread. He's truly 'special'. >:(
International Traffic in Catholic Priests Who Abuse
*Fr. Cristobal Garcia admitted to having sex with two altar boys while a priest in Los Angeles in 1986. He fled to the Philippines, where he was ultimately promoted to monsignor.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news/2005_03_16_Egerton_PriestAccused.htm
http://www.cebuarchdiocese.org/directory/organizations/
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2007/03_04/2007_04_17_Sipe_InternationalTraffic.htm
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Catholic Church in Australia reveals 620 abuse cases
by Agence France-Presse | Updated 09/22/2012 5:17 PM
SYDNEY, Australia - The Catholic Church in one Australian state has revealed that at least 620 children have been abused by its clergy since the 1930s, sparking a fresh call Saturday for an independent inquiry.
The Catholic Church in Victoria revealed the number in a submission to a state parliamentary hearing on Friday but said the instances of abuse reported had fallen dramatically from the "appalling" numbers of the 1960s and 1970s.
"It is shameful and shocking that this abuse, with its dramatic impact on those who were abused and their families, was committed by Catholic priests, religious and church workers," Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart said.
http://www.rappler.com/world/12877-catholic-church-in-australia-reveals-620-abuse-cases
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hey rusty looks like your link is making waves on the newspaper as well as yahoo.
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/philippines-illegal-ivory-trade-report-041001181.html (http://ph.news.yahoo.com/philippines-illegal-ivory-trade-report-041001181.html)
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hey rusty looks like your link is making waves on the newspaper as well as yahoo.
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/philippines-illegal-ivory-trade-report-041001181.html (http://ph.news.yahoo.com/philippines-illegal-ivory-trade-report-041001181.html)
Now the follow-up:
NBI asked to probe ivory trade in PH
http://www.rappler.com/nation/13035-nbi-asked-to-probe-ivory-trade-in-ph
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Priest linked to sex abuse in US, expelled by Dominican
Belonging to the Archdiocese of Cebu, he is the head of the Commission on Worship; the rector of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Jesus Nazareno in Cansojong, Talisay; and director of the archdiocese publications, “Bag-ong Lungsuranon” and “Mag-ambahan Kita,” according to the 2008-2009 Catholic Directory of the Philippines.
His high-profile ministry is a far cry from his situation some 20 years ago when he was expelled from the Dominican Order. Garcia then was working in the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
His expulsion reportedly came after a nun told police that an altar boy had been found in his bed in a Los Angeles rectory.
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/51138/priest-linked-to-sex-abuse-in-us-expelled-by-dominicans
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Msgr. Garcia’s religious icons under scrutiny after NatGeo article
Under the 2001 Wildlife Protection Law or Republic Act No. 9147, “collecting, hunting or possessing wildlife, their by-products and derivatives” is banned and draws a penalty of imprisonment of two years and one day to four years, with a fine of up to P300,000.
Lim was quoted as saying the priest could face a jail term up to four years if he couldn’t explain the origin of his ivory collection.
“Otherwise we will charge him with illegal possession of ivory and illegal trade, if there’s evidence he is also involved in buying and selling,” Lim said in a phone interview with the Inquirer.
She said the public must steer clear of ivory figurines to escape possible prosecution.
However, mere possession of an ivory object is not illegal, said Cebu Regional Trial Court Judge Meinrado Paredes in a separate interview. What is prohibited is smuggling.
Owning a ready-made ivory figurine is not against the law.
“We could not say whether or not Msgr. Cris is liable because we only heard of allegations. We have to hear his side,” Paredes told Cebu Daily News.
Garcia left for Manila several weeks ago, reportedly to seek medical treatment.
He is believed to be lying low as well to avoid exacerbating the firestorm that broke with the release of the National Geographic report, which also turned criticism on the Catholic Church.
https://cebudailynews.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/msgr-garcias-religious-icons-under-scrutiny-after-natgeo-article/
(http://www.snipcebu.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/cris-garcia1-600x397.jpg)
http://www.snipcebu.com/2012/09/26/msgr-cris-his-ivory/
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Msgr. Garcia’s religious icons under scrutiny after NatGeo article
Under the 2001 Wildlife Protection Law or Republic Act No. 9147, “collecting, hunting or possessing wildlife, their by-products and derivatives” is banned and draws a penalty of imprisonment of two years and one day to four years, with a fine of up to P300,000.
Lim was quoted as saying the priest could face a jail term up to four years if he couldn’t explain the origin of his ivory collection.
“Otherwise we will charge him with illegal possession of ivory and illegal trade, if there’s evidence he is also involved in buying and selling,” Lim said in a phone interview with the Inquirer.
She said the public must steer clear of ivory figurines to escape possible prosecution.
However, mere possession of an ivory object is not illegal, said Cebu Regional Trial Court Judge Meinrado Paredes in a separate interview. What is prohibited is smuggling.
Owning a ready-made ivory figurine is not against the law.
“We could not say whether or not Msgr. Cris is liable because we only heard of allegations. We have to hear his side,” Paredes told Cebu Daily News.
Garcia left for Manila several weeks ago, reportedly to seek medical treatment.
He is believed to be lying low as well to avoid exacerbating the firestorm that broke with the release of the National Geographic report, which also turned criticism on the Catholic Church.
https://cebudailynews.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/msgr-garcias-religious-icons-under-scrutiny-after-natgeo-article/
(http://www.snipcebu.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/cris-garcia1-600x397.jpg)
http://www.snipcebu.com/2012/09/26/msgr-cris-his-ivory/
The ivory reports are already worrying the local prayer/worship groups.
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You guys should really visit the Tayuman area. It's sad that many of the pious are ignorant of how much impact religion icons have had on the elephant population in the world.
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^
I live near the area. Those ivory statues are "semi-openly" sold by many of those stores selling religious statues and icons there. I say semi-openly because the merchants would normally place them way back in the store, never offering them up for sale to customers as they do the ceramic ones, *unless* the customer inquires about them discretely. I remember coming across a three-feet, non-colored ivory statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in a store there once over a decade ago. I can no longer recall the price though, only how hard my jaw hit the floor when I heard the shopkeeper tell my mom the price :o
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Wow, what an eye-opener. At least the government is starting to do something about it.
Mabilis talagang kumilos ang Pinoy pag napintasan ng foreigner ... ;)
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Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, who also heads the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, released a statement Wednesday emphasising that the church did not approve of any trade in illegal ivory.
He also questioned the veracity of the National Geographic article, saying it "smacks of bias against religious practices", but did not comment on whether the two priests named had indeed possessed illegally obtained ivory.
Archbishop Oscar Cruz, a senior member of the CBCP, said the church owns a collection of ivory statues across the country, but said these were pieces obtained well before an international ban on new ivory was put in place.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/13106-ph-probes-alleged-church-link-to-ivory
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Priest suspended on 20-year-old child abuse raps
CEBU CITY, Philippines— Msgr. Cristobal Garcia has been suspended and stripped of his positions in the archdiocese of Cebu on orders of the Vatican while the Holy See investigates accusations he molested altar boys more than 20 years ago in the United States.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/277960/priest-suspended-on-20-year-old-child-abuse-raps
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He also questioned the veracity of the National Geographic article, saying it "smacks of bias against religious practices", but did not comment on whether the two priests named had indeed possessed illegally obtained ivory.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/13106-ph-probes-alleged-church-link-to-ivory
So idolatry really is a religious practice in Catholicism, Father?
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So idolatry really is a religious practice in Catholicism, Father?
Santo nino is a form of idolatry. you don't see the catholic chuch outside the Philippines creating Santo nino.
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Msgr. Cristobal Garcia crime is pedophilia.
Per Msgr. Achilles Dakay:
“He must have repented and felt sorry for what he did because it was a sin. But the crime remained. Vatican went on investigating it,” Msgr. Achilles Dakay.
“What happened in the States could be a crime. If it was also a sin on his part, it was forgiven. It was repented for.”
Pedophilia - forgiven and repented for.
http://bit.ly/Qxa9R1
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Wow, what an eye-opener. At least the government is starting to do something about it.
Mabilis talagang kumilos ang Pinoy pag napintasan ng foreigner ... ;)
Which is sad because if it was a Pinoy who questioned this practice they'd linch him for being a Satanist.
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now i feel like the board is prejudice on people who don't share the catholic faith.
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The religious is above the law so long as no good person will set them straight. And what good person would do this if by default he is seen as the "evil atheists" even though he may believe in God.
I find it ludicrous that Pinoys would say our religion is ours and something the west find surprising.
Surprise, surprise Christianity arrived on a Spanish ship from the West.
The only difference is that when it comes to religious beliefs we are 2 centuries removed from Western civilization. Buti nga we have women's rights and people of all races can intermarriage.
I am Roman Catholic and see myself remaining so. It is just that I cannot respect the men and women of the CBCP so long as they keep coddling these sex offenders in their ranks. This is a reason why I do not attend Holy Mass either as the homily has become a staging point for propaganda that is disconnected from the realities of the present. A Church that is more concern about preventing reproductive healthcare from happening than helping the poor and powerless.
I know it is so difficult to find men and women to enter religious service but standards must be higher because the laity by default puts their unquestioning trust in them.
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pang NY Times na...
Philippine Priest Facing Scrutiny Over Ivory and Abuse
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/28/world/asia/philippines-priest-facing-scrutiny-over-ivory-and-abuse.html?_r=1
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http://bit.ly/Q8FR3C
Another priest Christy interviewed said he urges his parishioners to buy only new ivory icons to avoid fake antique statues. "It’s part of one’s sacrifice to the Santo Niño," Christy writes, "smuggling elephant ivory as an act of devotion."
Comment by JaePablo:
Smuggling is an act of DEVOTION!
Oh my, whats next? now I know why there were phedos in the history of catholic church, act of DEVOTION!
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Ivory probe team blocked from Cebu church
Agence France-Presse
Posted at 09/29/2012 8:47 PM | Updated as of 09/29/2012 8:47 PM
MANILA – Authorities looking for religious statues made from "blood" ivory were prevented from entering a church where the banned items were allegedly kept, a government investigator said Saturday.
A joint team from the Justice Department's investigation bureau and the Environment Department were denied entry to the Shrine of the Black Nazarene in the central island of Cebu when they visited on Friday, a member said.
Security guards at the shrine, set up by a priest allegedly linked to the illegal smuggling of ivory, told investigators they would have to speak to the priest's lawyers first, said Eddie Llamedo, an Environment Department spokesman.
He conceded the team did not have a search warrant at the time and would have to obtain the proper legal papers, possibly giving suspects time to conceal any ivory items.
Asked about the incident, Cebu archdiocese spokesman Monsignor Achilles Dakay said "the lawyers are taking care of that. We will be cooperating (with authorities) but we have church lawyers".
The shrine is maintained by Monsignor Cristobal Garcia, a priest named in a National Geographic article as giving advice on how to smuggle ivory and naming carvers who would turn it into statues.
The article has touched off a nationwide investigation into the smuggling of ivory, and particularly its use in making religious statues in this largely Roman Catholic country.
Philippine authorities on Friday said they had launched a nationwide investigation into Catholic devotees collecting religious figures made of ivory smuggled from Africa.
The probe, initially focused primarily on Garcia, has become an investigation into other owners of ivory figures, amid concerns the trade is extensive, said National Bureau of Investigation's environment division Sixto Comia.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/09/29/12/ivory-probe-team-blocked-cebu-church
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Priest caught on cam inside nightclub
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/metro-manila/10/01/12/priest-caught-cam-inside-nightclub
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Priest caught on cam inside nightclub
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/metro-manila/10/01/12/priest-caught-cam-inside-nightclub
Napanuod ko ito. Parang lumalabas ata, nakikisama lang siya because he was invited and hindi siya makatanggi.
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^
Sabi naman nung ibang pari na accused/convited of child abuse. they were "seduced and/or coreced into the act" daw.
Pero kung makapangaral about personal choices and personal responsibility, wagas! >:D
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Cardinal wants NatGeo writer banned from PH
http://www.rappler.com/nation/13452-cardinal-wants-natgeo-writer-banned-from-ph
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Cardinal wants NatGeo writer banned from PH
http://www.rappler.com/nation/13452-cardinal-wants-natgeo-writer-banned-from-ph
Uhm, wow. Bloated sense of ownership and relevance much, you Liberace stunt double?
Priest caught on cam inside nightclub
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/metro-manila/10/01/12/priest-caught-cam-inside-nightclub
Yikes. Just learned from my former high school classmates na parish priest pala 'to ng alma mater namin, although he assumed his position way past our graduation na. Oh my effing dog :-\
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Accused molesting priest blamed God (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/accused-molesting-priest-blamed-god/story-e6frg6nf-1226516709160)
A FORMER Catholic priest accused of molesting boys at a Victorian school told a colleague that "God made us this way and it's his fault", court documents allege.
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Uhm, wow. Bloated sense of ownership and relevance much, you Liberace stunt double?
Yikes. Just learned from my former high school classmates na parish priest pala 'to ng alma mater namin, although he assumed his position way past our graduation na. Oh my effing dog :-\
yuk, so pathetic. so "persona non grata" for exposing the truth all over again. Yes corruption at its worst.
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How US churches exploit tax exemption to promote faith-based politics
With the IRS turning a blind eye, the Christian right is getting its political advertising subsidised by American taxpayers
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/20/us-churches-tax-exemption-faithbased-politics
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Jesus wept … oh, it's bad plumbing. Indian rationalist targets 'miracles'
Sanal Edamaruku faces jail for revealing 'tears' trickling down a Mumbai church statue came from clogged drainage pipes
When water started trickling down a statue of Jesus Christ at a Catholic church in Mumbai earlier this year, locals were quick to declare a miracle. Some began collecting the holy water and the Church of Our Lady of Velankanni began to promote it as a site of pilgrimage.
So when Sanal Edamaruku arrived and established that this was not holy water so much as holey plumbing, the backlash was severe. The renowned rationalist was accused of blasphemy, charged with offences that carry a three-year prison sentence and eventually, after receiving death threats, had to seek exile in Finland.
Now he is calling for European governments to press Delhi into dropping the case. And on the first leg of a tour around EU capitals on Friday, he warned that India was sacrificing freedom of expression for outdated, colonial-era rules about blasphemy.
"There is a huge contradiction in the content of the Indian constitution which guarantees freedom of speech and the blasphemy law from 1860 under then colonial rule," Edamaruku told the Guardian in an interview in Dublin.
"This blasphemy law can affect anyone in India – even a girl recently who wrote on Facebook against closing down a city because of the death of a famous local politician. She was prosecuted under the blasphemy law and another girl who 'liked' her comment on Facebook was also arrested and then charged with blasphemy."
Edamaruku, who has the support of rationalists and atheists such as Richard Dawkins, is well known in India for debunking religious myths, and was already unpopular among Indian Catholics for publicly criticising Mother Teresa's legacy in Kolkata.
When the state "miracle" was pronounced, he went to Mumbai and found that the dripping water was due to clogged drainage pipes behind the wall where it stood. His revelation provoked death threats from religious zealots and ultimately charges of blasphemy under the Indian penal code in the Mumbai high court.
"India cannot criticise Pakistan for arresting young girls for blaspheming against Islam while it arrests and locks up its own citizens for breaking our country's blasphemy laws," he said. "It is an absurd law but also extremely dangerous because it gives fanatics, whether they are Hindus, Catholics or Muslims, a licence to be offended. It also allows people who are in dispute with you to make up false accusations of blasphemy."
Edamaruku said his exposure of the weeping statue was also a contribution to public health in Mumbai as some believers were drinking the water hoping it could cure ailments. "This was sewage water seeping through a wall due to faulty plumbing," he said. "It posed a health risk to people who were fooled into believing it was a miracle."
He has been living in Finland since the summer. He was in Europe on a lecture tour in July when his partner rang to say the police had arrived at his flat. "I felt really upset because under the blasphemy law you cannot get bail until the court case begins. I would be in jail now if I had been at my apartment in Delhi," he said.
He has spurned an offer from a senior Indian Catholic bishop to apologise for the exposure of the "miracle".
"The Catholic archbishop of Bombay, Oswald, Cardinal Gracias, has said that if I apologise for the 'offence' I have caused he will see to it that the charges are dropped. This shows that he has influence in the situation but he will not use it unless I apologise, which I will not do as I have done nothing wrong," he said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/23/india-blasphemy-jesus-tears?fb=optOut
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Fugitive Pinoy priest in pornography scandal surrenders, repatriated to US
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/285896/pinoyabroad/crime/fugitive-pinoy-priest-in-pornography-scandal-surrenders-repatriated-to-us
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Hirap sa simbahan, pinapakialaman ang pamahalaan tulad ni Damaso at Salvi.
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Hmm.. been reviewing my Patristics, and came upon the story of Emperor Constantine I. :) Because of the Athanasius of Alexandria part.
I think he was the best in doing the vice-versa of this thread "Politics/Law into the Church".
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Hmm.. been reviewing my Patristics, and came upon the story of Emperor Constantine I. :) Because of the Athanasius of Alexandria part.
I think he was the best in doing the vice-versa of this thread "Politics/Law into the Church".
i believe dyan nagsimula ang relihiyong Roman Catholics... dahil kay Constantine na irn... befor Constantine there is no such Roman Catholics...
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The logic of them pro-lifers.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/22112_596461047046077_292241606_n.jpg)
Pro-life should go beyond protecting the unborn. It should also include improving the quality of life and helping people survive.
Does the church have more than enough money to feed the countless hungry children?
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Life begins at conception....unless millions of dollars are on line! (http://coloradoindependent.com/126808/in-malpractice-case-catholic-hospital-argues-fetuses-arent-people)
HAH! What hypocrites.
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Hmm.. been reviewing my Patristics, and came upon the story of Emperor Constantine I. :) Because of the Athanasius of Alexandria part.
I think he was the best in doing the vice-versa of this thread "Politics/Law into the Church".
Up to now, it is still a debate if the conversion of Constantine (early 300ad) is really sincere... or he just used religion to unify his fragmented kingdom. It is possible that his conversion is politically motivated.
Bishop Athanasius is also the one who ordered to destroy all heretic books circulating around christian communities. When the bible was canonized there are still books that was not included on the canon used by early christians. To solidify the Catholic church he ordered them destroyed, anyone caught will be punished.
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Priest Is Planning to Defy the Vatican’s Orders to Stay Quiet
DUBLIN — A well-known Irish Catholic priest plans to defy Vatican authorities on Sunday by breaking his silence about what he says is a campaign against him by the church over his advocacy of more open discussion on church teachings.
The Rev. Tony Flannery, 66, who was suspended by the Vatican last year, said he was told by the Vatican that he would be allowed to return to ministry only if he agreed to write, sign and publish a statement agreeing, among other things, that women should never be ordained as priests and that he would adhere to church orthodoxy on matters like contraception and homosexuality.
“How can I put my name to such a document when it goes against everything I believe in,” he said in an interview on Wednesday. “If I signed this, it would be a betrayal not only of myself but of my fellow priests and lay Catholics who want change. I refuse to be terrified into submission.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/20/world/europe/priest-is-planning-to-defy-vaticans-orders-to-stay-quiet.html
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Anger as US records show Catholic sex abuse cover-up
LOS ANGELES - Victims of child sex abuse by Roman Catholic clerics voiced anger Tuesday after newly-released records showed church leaders discussing how to cover up priests’ alleged crimes in California in the 1980s.
Prosecutors also said they wanted to study the previously confidential records, including exchanges involving then Los Angeles Archbishop Roger Mahony about how to prevent police hearing about alleged abuse cases.
Excerpts from the documents were published Monday by The Los Angeles Times, including exchanges between Mahony and a top aide talking about how to conceal pedophile priests from law enforcement.
The records include secret memos between Mahony and Monsignor Thomas Curry, his top aide on sex abuse cases, about how to prevent police from probing three priests who had admitted to the church that they had abused young boys.
Specifically Curry suggested stopping suspected priests from seeing psychiatric therapists who might alert authorities about alleged abuse, or keeping them outside of California to avoid police investigations, the Times reported.
One such was Monsignor Peter Garcia, who admitted abusing children in mostly Spanish-speaking parishes for decades. He was sent to a New Mexico treatment center for pedophile clergy, and Mahony ordered that he stay outside California.
“I believe that if Monsignor Garcia were to reappear here within the archdiocese we might very well have some type of legal action filed in both the criminal and civil sectors,” Mahony wrote in July 1986.
“There are numerous — maybe twenty — adolescents or young adults that Peter was involved with in a first degree felony manner,” wrote Curry in May 1987.
Reacting Tuesday, Joelle Casteix of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said: “We were shocked and disgusted to see these documents.”
Mahony “personally managed the careers of predator priests,” she said outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles.
“He and other high-ranking (LA clergy) including now-Bishop Curry worked diligently to ensure that men who hurt children, who abused children and who destroyed communities were never going to see a day behind bars.”
A spokeswoman for the LA District Attorney’s office said prosecutors “will review and evaluate all documents as they become available to us,” the Times said.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/345593/anger-as-us-records-show-catholic-sex-abuse-cover-up
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Celdran found guilty of 'offending religious feelings'
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/01/28/13/celdran-found-guilty-offending-religious-feelings
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Celdran found guilty of 'offending religious feelings'
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/01/28/13/celdran-found-guilty-offending-religious-feelings
This is ridiculous! I think it demands a seperate thread.
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Section Four. — Crimes against religious worship
Art. 132. Interruption of religious worship. — The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee who shall prevent or disturb the ceremonies or manifestations of any religion.
If the crime shall have been committed with violence or threats, the penalty shall be prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods.chanrobles virtual law library
Art. 133. Offending the religious feelings. — The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon anyone who, in a place devoted to religious worship or during the celebration of any religious ceremony shall perform acts notoriously offensive to the feelings of the faithful.
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Section Four. — Crimes against religious worship
Art. 132. Interruption of religious worship. — The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee who shall prevent or disturb the ceremonies or manifestations of any religion.
If the crime shall have been committed with violence or threats, the penalty shall be prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods.chanrobles virtual law library
Art. 133. Offending the religious feelings. — The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon anyone who, in a place devoted to religious worship or during the celebration of any religious ceremony shall perform acts notoriously offensive to the feelings of the faithful.
Such things should be either repealed or not enforced at all, most especially the second one. It is a violation of the freedom of expression.
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I disagree. He could have expressed his freedom some place else.
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I disagree. He could have expressed his freedom some place else.
Perhaps he was out of place disrupting the mass but "offending religious sensibilities" is OUTRAGEOUS. In a society with freedom of speech, we have no right NOT to be offended. If something someone says offends you, you fight back with YOUR freedom of expression. You do not send them to jail. That's tyranny.
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Enforcing the word of the law is not tyranny.
Move to get the law repealed, sure. But until it is, you are obligated to follow it, or you risk suffering the clearly written sanctions.
You don't get to choose which laws you wish to follow.
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Perhaps he was out of place disrupting the mass but "offending religious sensibilities" is OUTRAGEOUS. In a society with freedom of speech, we have no right NOT to be offended. If something someone says offends you, you fight back with YOUR freedom of expression. You do not send them to jail. That's tyranny.
He IS out of place. There's no "perhaps" here. He can offend religious sensibilities all he want. That's his right. But do it some place else.
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Perhaps he was out of place disrupting the mass but "offending religious sensibilities" is OUTRAGEOUS. In a society with freedom of speech, we have no right NOT to be offended. If something someone says offends you, you fight back with YOUR freedom of expression. You do not send them to jail. That's tyranny.
Why would that be outrageous?
We're free to criticize and offend the religious feelings of the Catholic Church in other places. But we are not free to do that while disrupting an ongoing Mass inside a Cathedral.
Obviously, the dumbass was not aware of Art. 133 of the Revised Penal Code when he pulled off his cheap stunt. If he did, he would have done it elsewhere. Next time, he should consult a lawyer before he tries to be cute. ^-^
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What are his chances at the Court of Appeals?
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What are his chances at the Court of Appeals?
Very slim.
We don't have much jurisprudence on the matter, since prosecution under Art. 133 is pretty unusual.
The only defense I can think of is that his acts may be offensive to the feelings of the faithful, but cannot be considered "notoriously offensive," which is a strict requirement of the provision.
In 1939, SC Justice Jose P. Laurel once wrote in a dissenting opinion:
"...I believe that an act, in order to be considered as notoriously offensive to the religious feelings, must be one directed against religious practice or dogma or ritual for the purpose of ridicule; the offender, for instance, mocks, scoffs at or attempts to damage an object of religious veneration; it must be abusive, insulting and obnoxious (Viada, Comentarios al Codigo Penal, 707, 708; vide also Pacheco, Codigo Penal, p. 359)."
Following J. Laurel's view, Celdran's act was directed against abusive members of the clergy, not specifically against Catholic dogma or ritual for the purpose of ridicule; hence not "notoriously offensive."
But still, malabo pa rin ang acquittal.
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From a strictly layman's POV, isn't "offending religious feelings" a tad too general/subjective? I've always had the idea/impression of laws as very confined and specific that when you do violate one, wala ka na talagang kawala from the corresponding sanction.
Parang 'yung post nga ni atty. sa itaas: it's open to argument on what act or behavior constitutes offensive, or when it qualifies as notorious.
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Lahat naman ng laws puwede mong sabihin na general or subjective.
But that is not how laws are interpreted.
There must be a basis for the interpretation, such as jurisprudence and commentaries of respected legal authors. Spanish jurisprudence can also be used as basis, since our Revised Penal Code was based on the Spanish Penal Code.
But you can't just say it's not offensive or not notorious in your personal opinion. You must point out the legal basis to support your view.
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What is really involved here is freedom of religion. Nobody should be allowed to use his "freedom of expression" to mock somebody else in his place of worship or during the celebration of a solemn ceremony. You can do whatever you want in the parking lot but not inside. I don't think the law is outdated at all. It is meant to preserve order and protect people who are peacefully practicing their faith. Imagine if every church parish/mosque/temple had a Celdran shouting in the middle of the mass.
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"...I believe that an act, in order to be considered as notoriously offensive to the religious feelings, must be one directed against religious practice or dogma or ritual for the purpose of ridicule; the offender, for instance, mocks, scoffs at or attempts to damage an object of religious veneration; it must be abusive, insulting and obnoxious (Viada, Comentarios al Codigo Penal, 707, 708; vide also Pacheco, Codigo Penal, p. 359)."
*This* portion of the law IS in fact outdated and a violation of freedom of expression. Freedom of speech and freedom of expression should not be freedom of speech that's harmless and inoffensive. It is in fact OFFENSIVE speech that should be protected. People should be free to mock and ridicule religion. If you're offended, you can fight back by using YOUR freedom of expression, not by throwing people in jail.
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IMO, just like the libel clause in the Cybercrime Law, the penalty in "offending religious feelings" should not be criminalized. we really need to revise the Revised Penal Code.
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Very slim.
We don't have much jurisprudence on the matter, since prosecution under Art. 133 is pretty unusual.
The only defense I can think of is that his acts may be offensive to the feelings of the faithful, but cannot be considered "notoriously offensive," which is a strict requirement of the provision.
In 1939, SC Justice Jose P. Laurel once wrote in a dissenting opinion:
"...I believe that an act, in order to be considered as notoriously offensive to the religious feelings, must be one directed against religious practice or dogma or ritual for the purpose of ridicule; the offender, for instance, mocks, scoffs at or attempts to damage an object of religious veneration; it must be abusive, insulting and obnoxious (Viada, Comentarios al Codigo Penal, 707, 708; vide also Pacheco, Codigo Penal, p. 359)."
Following J. Laurel's view, Celdran's act was directed against abusive members of the clergy, not specifically against Catholic dogma or ritual for the purpose of ridicule; hence not "notoriously offensive."
But still, malabo pa rin ang acquittal.
Thank you, counselor.
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(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/530741_436219369781053_838219981_n.jpg)
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Jesus taught us better English than that meme.
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^
I actually missed that one. Dang it.
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Cardinal in Los Angeles Is Removed From Duties
Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, who retired less than two years ago as the leader of the nation’s largest Roman Catholic archdiocese, was removed from all public duties by his successor, Archbishop José H. Gomez, as the church complied with a court order to release thousands of pages of internal documents that show how the cardinal shielded priests who sexually abused children.
The documents, released as part of a record $660 million settlement in 2007 with the victims of abuse, are the strongest evidence so far that top officials for years purposely tried to conceal abuse from law enforcement officials. The files, which go from the 1940s to the present, are the latest in a series of revelations that suggest that the church continued to maneuver against law enforcement even after the extent of the abuse crisis emerged.
Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Curry, who was the vicar for clergy and one of the cardinal’s top deputies and his adviser on sexual abuse, also stepped down as the regional bishop for Santa Barbara, Calif.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/01/us/cardinal-in-los-angeles-is-removed-from-duties.html?_r=0
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Files Show Church Missteps, Evasions With Priests
By MICHAEL R. BLOOD and CHRISTINA HOAG Associated Press
LOS ANGELES February 2, 2013 (AP)
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles released 12,000 pages of personnel files on sexually abusive priests that Archbishop Jose Gomez described as "brutal and painful reading." While many of the names of the abusers and accusations against them were known, the files reveal previously undisclosed details of how the church transferred priests out of state, sent them to therapists who wouldn't report crimes and suppressed information from reaching the public. Lawyers for the archdiocese and priests who objected to the records being released did not return phone calls or an email seeking comment.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/files-show-church-missteps-evasions-priests-18383277
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Sex crime records involving Pinoy priests released
By Steve Angeles, ABS-CBN North America Bureau
Posted at 02/02/2013 1:31 PM | Updated as of 02/02/2013 1:31 PM
New details about church officials’ cover-up of alleged sex crimes involving Filipino priests have emerged after the Los Angeles Archdiocese’ released their records.
Files from the 1980s case involving a group of Filipino priests who reportedly raped and impregnated a then 16 year-old Rita Milla showed conversations among Filipino priest Santiago Tamayo and former cardinal Roger Mahoney and Monsignor Thomas Curry.
The church officials talked to Tamayo about staying out of the United States, according to records released.
Tamayo reportedly returned to the Philippines to avoid investigation.
A paternity test eventually confirmed that one of the priests implicated in the case, Valentin Tugade, is the father of the victim’s child.
Milla eventually won a half a million-dollar settlement with the archdiocese.
The files also revealed that another victim came forward to say that she has been abused by Tamayo; as well as letters from Tamayo to Mahoney, denying that he encouraged the victim to get an abortion.
Since the release of the documents, current Los Angeles archbishop Jose Gomez has announced that Mahoney will no longer have administrative or public duties, and Curry will resign as auxiliary bishop of Santa Barbara, California.
Tamayo and another priest Angel Cruces have since passed away in the Philippines.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/02/02/13/sex-crime-records-involving-pinoy-priests-released
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San Juan Nepomuceno de Malibay parish priest Tony Navarete says that a motel's ad "is inviting people to commit something bad or immoral"
Is this billboard immoral?
(http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/dOrg3qu0IcnSH5TD_2G5hQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/401/2013/02/04/VC1-jpg_124702.jpg)
Story at http://ph.she.yahoo.com/is-this-billboard-immoral-124200382.html
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Perhaps in some people's points of view. But if you're consenting adults, it's your business.
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The central figure is Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, whom the pope instructed in July 2009 to clean up at the Vatican administration. The overzealous lawyer imposed cutbacks in various areas, including construction contracts, real estate and management of the Vatican Gardens. In a letter to Bertone, he wrote that he had turned a Vatican budget deficit of €7.8 million ($9.8 million) into a surplus of €34.5 million within a year by putting an end to old boys' networks that "always awarded contracts to the same companies" -- at double the prices customarily paid outside the Vatican. Viganò made himself unpopular with his fight against waste and abuse of office.
He was maneuvered out of his position after only 27 months and, since October, he has been the Vatican's ambassador to the United States in Washington, far away from the Vatican. He has perceived his transfer as a punishment. In a letter of protest to the pope, he painted a blunt picture of the Curia: "The realm is fragmented into many small feudal states, with everyone fighting against everyone else." The conditions, he wrote, are "disastrous" and, even worse, are "well-known" to the entire Curia.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/pope-benedict-focuses-on-legacy-while-ignoring-vatican-power-struggle-a-838830-2.html
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San Juan Nepomuceno de Malibay parish priest Tony Navarete says that a motel's ad "is inviting people to commit something bad or immoral"
Is this billboard immoral?
(http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/dOrg3qu0IcnSH5TD_2G5hQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/401/2013/02/04/VC1-jpg_124702.jpg)
Story at http://ph.she.yahoo.com/is-this-billboard-immoral-124200382.html
It's not immoral. But why are the hands of the two guys touching each other?
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The Question: Is the Church Above The Law?
Answer: If the Church you are referring to is the Catholic Church, then the answer is no. That's because the Catholic Church thinks it is the law itself and the priests and bishops are the law enforcers.
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7:21 PM, February 22, 2013
Reports: Investigation that found gay sex, blackmail and corruption at Vatican led to Pope's resignation
http://www.freep.com/article/20130222/NEWS05/130222103/Pope-Benedict-XVI-resignation-Vatican-gay-sex-scandal
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20 March 2012 Last updated at 23:01 GMT
Dutch Roman Catholic church 'castrated' boys in 1950s
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17453849
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iamhe comments:
It must have been a terrible burden on clergy to preach homosexuality was an abomination, while so many of them were secretly -and practicing- homosexual
Cardinal O'Brien gay sex scandal: this was a hit job that succeeded beyond the plotters' wildest dreams
By Damian Thompson Religion Last updated: February 26th, 2013
The Cardinal Keith O'Brien Downfall video had been ready to run for ages. The story of three priests and one ex-priest complaining of inappropriate behaviour was timed to break when the Scottish prelate retired at 75 next month. The aim was to expose his alleged hypocrisy.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100204332/cardinal-obrien-gay-sex-scandal-this-was-a-hit-job-that-succeeded-beyond-the-plotters-wildest-dreams/
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Cardinal Keith O'Brien admits and apologises for sexual misconduct
Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who was forced to resign by the pope last week, has made a dramatic admission that he was guilty of sexual misconduct throughout his career in the Roman Catholic church.
In a short but far-reaching statement issued late on Sunday, the 74-year-old stated that "there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/03/cardinal-keith-obrien-admits-sexual-misconduct
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Vatican objects to the Fighting Violence Against Women UN act. (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/vatican-iran-resist-un-effort-to-fight-violence-against-women/article9281726/?cmpid=rss1)
Because they don't like the sound of "religion" and "culture" should NOT be an excuse to justify beating your wife. Apparently, the Vatican wants to keep it legal for beating your wife for dressing slutty or for throwing acid on your daughter's face if she gets pregnant out of wedlock or stoning to death a rape victim.
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Only two papal candidates 'clean' of sex abuse scandals, says victims group
A clergy abuse victims group has named cardinals from Austria and the Philippines as the only papal contenders untainted by sex abuse scandals.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/9917261/Only-two-papal-candidates-clean-of-sex-abuse-scandals-says-victims-group.html
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HOWEVER, Cardinal Tagle says he is against legal action on offending priests.
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http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/370979/team-tatay-lists-5-negros-priests-as-fathers-ay-patay
Team Tatay!
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Jesus put church in hands of erring humans, not angels, says cardinal
By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- If Jesus had wanted a church free of scandal or problems, he would have put it in the hands of angels, not a humanity he loved, said Nigeria's newest cardinal elector.
"If you say the church needs to reform and improve, it would be the first to admit it, because the church has never reached the end of its journey; the church is always under reform," Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria, told Catholic News Service.
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1301038.htm
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menon nang Team Tatay!, Team PEDO kaya ang susunod?
L.A. archdiocese to pay $10M in priest abuse cases
Michael Winter, USA TODAY9:37p.m. EDT March 12, 2013
Ex-priest, later convicted, had confessed to Cardinal Mahony in 1986 to abusing boys.
L.A. archdiocese to pay $10M in priest abuse cases
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay four men almost $10 million to settle allegations of sexual abuse by a former priest who more than a quarter century ago had confessed to molesting children, attorneys said Tuesday.
Two brothers will receive $4 million each, and the other two men will get nearly $1 million apiece, said John Manly, a plaintiff's attorney.
The settlement is the first since the Catholic Church released thousands of internal records detailing the actions of the defrocked priest, Michael Baker, and how church officials responded. Baker was convicted in 2007 of child molestation and paroled in 2011.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/12/los-angeles-archdiocese-priest-abuse-settlement/1983345/
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Another Team Tatay entry...
Woman abused by Pinoy priests pins hope on new Pope
By Steve Angeles ABS-CBN North America Bureau
Posted at 03/13/2013 10:35 AM | Updated as of 03/13/2013 10:35 AM
CARSON, California - Growing up, Rita Milla described herself as a loner, with plans to enter the convent and become a nun. But as a 16-year-old parishioner at Saint Philomena Church in Carson, California, she was the center of a clergy sex abuse scandal, eventually dubbed "Snow White and the Seven Priests" in the 1980's.
Seven Filipino priests, led by Father Santiago Tamayo, sexually abused her. She became pregnant and bore the child of one of the priests, Father Valentine Tugade.
Milla went through years of therapy, became a medical assistant, and won a half million dollar settlement in 2007.
She raised her daughter Jackie, which DNA tests confirmed was fathered by Tugade.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/03/13/13/woman-abused-pinoy-priests-pins-hope-new-pope
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"If you say the church needs to reform and improve, it would be the first to admit it, because the church has never reached the end of its journey; the church is always under reform,"
Unfortunately, most of the time the response is to go even MORE conservative.
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HOWEVER, Cardinal Tagle says he is against legal action on offending priests.
Cardinal Chito Tagle who, in an interview in December 2012, was quoted as saying that exposing the
victim and abuser through the media and seeking legal action against the abuser only “add to the pain.”
What is lacking in that statement?
Only the fact that, for many victims, seeking redress through the
media is their last resort in the face of institutional stonewalling
by the Church—from its impregnable silence about the corruption in its
ranks, to payments of hush money wrapped in lawyer-constructed quit
claims, to protecting and reassigning erring priests and bishops away
from the reach of civil and criminal authorities.
Elsewhere in the world, exposing wrongdoing is the preferred way of
redressing the wrong; in the Church, it is looking away and walking
on—but first making sure that victims remained in the shadows.
Here is what the next pope, whoever he will be, will have to contend
with: an arrogant and exclusionary Church that seems to have forgotten
the simplicity of the Beatitudes, the humanism and generosity at the
heart of the Gospels, the radical compassion of Jesus’ teachings.
The next pope may want to pay particular attention to “the only
Catholic nation in Asia,” where bishops have no qualms in labelling
candidates they disagree with as virtual endorsers of murder (“Team
Patay”), but who, when asked to account for wayward priests under
their watch who’ve wantonly broken the vow of celibacy (“Team Tatay”),
play victim by decrying the questions as a “smut campaign.”
http://opinion.inquirer.net/48695/fresh-start-2#ixzz2NPOuuYXJ
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South Africa cardinal says pedophilia not a crime
Reuters
Posted at 03/17/2013 10:25 AM | Updated as of 03/17/2013 10:25 AM
JOHANNESBURG - A South African cardinal who helped elect Pope Francis this week has told the BBC pedophilia is an illness and not a crime.
Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, the Catholic Archbishop of Durban, told BBC Radio 5 on Saturday that pedophilia was a "disorder" that needed to be treated.
"From my experience, pedophilia is actually an illness. It's not a criminal condition, it's an illness," he said.
Napier said he knew of at least two priests who became pedophiles after they were abused as children.
"Now don't tell me that those people are criminally responsible like somebody who chooses to do something like that. I don't think you can really take the position and say that person deserves to be punished. He was himself damaged."
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/world/03/17/13/south-africa-cardinal-says-pedophilia-not-crime
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^
OMFG
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He is TECHNICALLY correct. Pedophilia is not a crime. HOWEVER, he lost me when he says that pedophiles who molest children have no criminal responsibility. That's just stupid.
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Priests Watch DVD Screeners While Pirates Download Filth in the Vatican
April 7, 2013
While Thou Shalt Not Steal is one of the best known ten commandments, there is no directive ordering Thou Shalt Not Copy. This glaring loophole in God’s law, which runs contrary to established entertainment industry doctrine, apparently allows priests to watch pirated Oscar review copies of major movies without concern. Meanwhile, over in the Vatican, pirates are having the time of their lives downloading some quite eye-watering media.
http://torrentfreak.com/priests-watch-dvd-screeners-while-pirates-download-filth-in-the-vatican-130407/
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Revealing book on Catholic Church to be launched
May 31, 2013 8:08pm
The book "Altar of Secrets: Sex, Money and Politics in the Philippine Catholic Church" will be launched on June 7, 2013 at 6 pm at Fully Booked in The Fort.
Written by journalist Aries Rufo, it is the first of its kind in the country. It shows a Church cloaked in secrecy and portrays an institution where accountability is weak.
The book also delves into the influence of the Catholic Church on the shaping of government policy.
Rufo has covered the Church extensively as a reporter for The Manila Times and Newsbreak.
The book is published by the Journalism for Nation Building Foundation.
(http://i.imgur.com/A4A9gfl.jpg)
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/310931/cbb/revealing-book-on-catholic-church-to-be-launched
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Vatican: This Intolerance of Our Intolerance Will Not Be Tolerated
http://www.thedailydolt.com/2013/06/01/vatican-bishop-mario-toso-intolerance-in-the-name-of-tolerance/
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http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/30756-altar-of-secrets-crisostomo-yalung
The fall of the rising star
BY ARIES RUFO
POSTED ON 06/06/2013 1:44 PM | UPDATED 06/06/2013 6:08 PM
MANILA, Philippines – This is the second in a series of excerpts from the upcoming
book Altar of Secrets: Sex, Money, and Politics in the Philippine Catholic Church by veteran journalist Aries C. Rufo that Rappler is running this week. The book will be launched on Friday, June 7, at The Forum, FullyBooked at The Fort, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Metro Manila. Launch price is at P400; regular price at P450.
* * *
They had many things in common: both were protégés of Manila Cardinal Jaime Sin; both were former auxiliary bishops of Manila; both at one time worked and taught at the San Carlos Seminary — Bishop Teodoro Bacani as former dean and professor of theology and Bishop Crisostomo Yalung as former rector.
Both were also forced to resign after committing indiscretions involving the opposite sex.
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Lay leaders to Nuncio: Oust ‘immoral’ priest
http://www.rappler.com/nation/31536-nuncio-oust-las-pinas-priest-gerald-mascarina
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BUHAIN: I KEPT QUIET FOR THE GOOD OF THE CHURCH
Former auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Manila Teodoro Buhain Jr. says he “kept quiet for the good of the Church” after he was accused of sexual indiscretion and financial irregularities.
Before he resigned in 2003, he was accused of fathering a child and failing to account for the million-peso donations to Radio Veritas, which he managed.
Buhain says he wanted to face the charges, but then Cardinal Sin asked him to keep quiet to prevent adding to the controversy caused by two other bishops -- Crisostomo Yalung and Teodoro Bacani.
TEODORO BUHAIN JR., FORMER AUXILIARY BISHOP, ARCHDIOCESE OF MANILA: At the beginning -- and Cardinal Sin knew this -- I wanted a formal investigation...I opted for formal investigation and to initiate that I asked, in writing, for a list of faults, charges so that I know what not to do and so also I could improve. No answer. Then came...Cardinal Sin called for me, and he says, you know what has been happening, I know you have always been a man of obedience. So I'm asking you to please keep quiet for the good of the Church.
This is the first time Buhain spoke of what Cardinal Sin told him.
When asked why the charges were thrown at him, Buhain alludes to Church politics.
MARIA RESSA: How political is the Catholic Church?
TEODORO BUHAIN JR: Let me put it this way. For me I'm convinced as long as there are 3 persons, there will be politics…Somebody, a fellow cleric wrote a cardinal and mentioned these points about Radio Veritas and so forth...But then came this special assembly of the priests. It was officially in connection with Yalung and Bishop Bacani, but somebody had warned me, I think it was the same cleric who wrote the letter, that I would be the next.
http://www.rappler.com/video/newscast/31787-rappler-newscast-june-20,-2013
http://www.rappler.com/video/talkthursday/31710-talkthursday-with-bishop-buhain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xo9pNEzHCt4
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Monsignor Nunzio Scarano held in Vatican bank inquiry
A senior Italian cleric has been arrested in connection with an inquiry into a Vatican bank scandal over allegations of corruption and fraud.
Monsignor Nunzio Scarano works in the Vatican's financial administration. A secret service agent and a financial broker have also been arrested.
They are suspected of trying to move 20m euros (£17m) illegally into Italy.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23094320
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Girl Slaves of Catholic Magdalene Asylums to Receive Compensation, but Not from the Church
June 27, 2013 By Terry Firma
Twenty years ago, shock washed over Ireland. After the Catholic Church sold a parcel of a North Dublin convent’s grounds to a commercial developer, and the construction dig began, 155 bodies were discovered in unmarked graves. The place had been a Magdalene asylum for “wayward girls.” Apparently, inmates who met an early end had been buried in secret — many without a death certificate, without notification of parents or other family, and all without the dignity of even the simplest grave marker.
Initially conceived as rehabilitation centers for prostitutes, the Magdalene asylums — also known as the Magdalene Laundries for the “women’s work” slave labor expected of the residents — eventually grew into houses of horror. The girls, some not even teens, were forced to work seven days a week without pay. The short-term treatment intended by the founders eventually gave way to long-term incarceration. Though conditions varied from one asylum to the next, a strict code of silence was in place for most of the day throughout the Magdalene system. Long prayer sessions were mandatory.
Worse, for over a hundred years, beatings and sexual abuse are thought to have been endemic.
And you didn’t have to be a sex worker to “qualify” to be saved by God’s representatives on Earth. By the 1870s, asylum candidates
… extended beyond prostitutes to unmarried mothers, mentally retarded women and abused girls. Even young girls who were considered too promiscuous and flirtatious, or too beautiful, were sent to an asylum by their families.
Others reportedly ended up in a Magdalene asylum for being “slow learners.” They might never receive a lick of non-religious education again. The nuns were known to forge “school reports” and send those to the girls’ relatives, to conceal that their charges had been turned into slave laborers.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/06/27/girl-slaves-of-catholic-magdalene-asylums-to-receive-compensation-but-not-from-the-church/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/05/ireland-magdalene-laundry-system-apology
2002 Movie about the Magdalene Asylums
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318411/
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Disgraced Priest: Underage Prostitution Ring is Operating Within the Vatican
Italian investigators have opened an inquiry into claims by a convicted paedophile priest that an underage prostitution ring has been operating inside the Holy Roman Church with clergymen hiring rentboys for sex inside churches.
Don Patrizio Poggi, 46, told Italian authorities that a former Carabinieri pimped boys for nine clergymen.
Poggi, who served a five-year sentence for abusing teenage boys while he was a parish priest at the San Filippo Neri church in Rome, said he made the allegations to “protect the Holy Church and the Christian community.”
The boys were chosen because they were starving and desperate, he claimed, according to Il Messaggero newspaper.
The former policeman used to recruit the boys, mostly eastern European immigrants, outside a gay bar named Twink near Rome’s Termini train station. He reportedly sat in his Fiat Panda – marked “Emergency Blood” to avoid parking fines – to make his selection.
He was helped in the recruitment process by a friend who ran a modelling agency. He lured underage boys into prostitution through “false work offers for modelling and acting roles”, Poggi said.
The agent also looked for rentboys at gay discos, saunas and gyms across Rome. An accountant was also said to be involved.
The boys were paid €150-€500 (£130-£425) to perform sex acts in church premises across the capital.
Poggi also accused the former Carabinieri of selling consecrated hosts for satanic rites.
Poggi reportedly presented documentary and photographic evidence to police in the company of two senior Vatican clergymen who vouched for his credibility.
Poggi identified the nine clergymen, including two senior church officials and a religion lecturer. Three people have been placed under formal investigation.
The allegations were rejected by the Vatican. Cardinal Agostino Vallini, head of the Catholic Vicariate of Rome, said the priest made false claims out of a desire for vengeance and personal resentment.
The Vatican refused to reinstate Poggi after he served his term.
“The cardinal expresses his full confidence in the magistracy and declares himself full convinced that this slander will be demolished, demonstrating Poggi’s claims to be untrue,” Vallini said.
“God will hold everyone accountable for their deeds.”
http://deadstate.org/disgraced-priest-underage-prostitution-ring-is-operating-within-the-vatican/
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So a committed relationship between same sex couple is an "intrinsic" evil while these acts are not?
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Monsignor Nunzio Scarano held in Vatican bank inquiry
A senior Italian cleric has been arrested in connection with an inquiry into a Vatican bank scandal over allegations of corruption and fraud.
Monsignor Nunzio Scarano works in the Vatican's financial administration. A secret service agent and a financial broker have also been arrested.
They are suspected of trying to move 20m euros (£17m) illegally into Italy.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23094320
Check this out. I think this is the same person
A look at the arrested Vatican monsignor's lush life
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/07/05/13/look-arrested-vatican-monsignors-lush-life
I wouldn't be surprised if they'll discover another priest with a collection of boys in the closet. >:D
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New Documents Prove Anti-Gay, Anti-Choice Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan Shielded Pedophile Priests
(http://www.addictinginfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Cardinal-Timothy-Dolan-Archbishop-New-York.jpg)
We may now know why the Vatican didn’t choose Cardinal Timothy Dolan to be the new Pope. According to hundreds of documents released on Monday by order of the judge presiding over the bankruptcy of the Milwaukee archdiocese, conservative Catholic Cardinal Dolan shielded pedophile priests even as he investigated charges leveled against other priests by victims.
Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/07/02/anti-gay-anti-choice-catholic-cardinal-timothy-dolan-shielded-pedophile-priests/#ixzz2YGmKkj4h
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Is religious fundamentalism a mental illness?
Don't look now, but religious fundamentalists and those whose ideological beliefs border on the extreme and may be potentially harmful to society could soon be called crazy—in a medical sense.
Oxford University neurologist Kathleen Taylor said such "radicalizing ideologies" could be viewed as a mental disorder instead of personal choice.
"One of the surprises may be to see people with certain beliefs as people who can be treated. Someone who has for example become radicalized to a cult ideology -- we might stop seeing that as a personal choice that they have chosen as a result of pure free will and may start treating it as some kind of mental disturbance," she told The Times of London, according to Digital Journal.
Beyond religion
Taylor said the term "fundamentalist" could go beyond religion and could even include beliefs such as it is acceptable to beat one's children.
Such beliefs "are very harmful but are not normally categorized as mental illness," she said.
On the other hand, Digital Journal cited a Huffington Post report where Taylor warned about possible moral-ethical complications.
Taylor, in her book "The Brain Supremacy," stressed the need "to be careful" when developing technologies that can directly manipulate the brain.
She argued that technologies that profoundly change our relationship with the world around us "cannot simply be tools, to be used for good or evil, if they alter our basic perception of what good and evil are."
Taylor also warned against taking "fundamentalism" to mean radical Islamism.
'Us vs Them'
Digital Journal said some analysts are convinced neuroscientists may adopt a parochial and counterproductive approach if they insist on identifying particular belief systems characteristic of ideological opponents as a subject for therapeutic manipulation.
Also, it noted the potential of religious beliefs, political convictions, and even nationalist fervor could be powerful platforms for "Us vs Them" paranoid delusional fantasies.
Such fantasies could result in a devastating a 9/11-type attack or a Hiroshima/Nagasaki "orgy of mass destruction," it said.
"What we perceive from our perspective as our legitimate self-defensive reaction to the psychosis of the enemy, is from the perspective of the same enemy our equally malignant psychotic self-obsession," it added.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/316471/scitech/science/is-religious-fundamentalism-a-mental-illness
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Malolos bishop, itinangging mga paring Katoliko ang tumanggap ng allowance mula sa prov'l govt
Nilinaw ni Malolos Bishop Jose Francisco Oliveros na hindi paring Katoliko ang mga sangkot sa napaulat na pagtanggap ng honoraria mula sa pamahalaang panlalawigan ng Bulacan bilang mga consultant.
Ito ang reaksyon ng Diocese of Malolos sa mga naglabasang ulat sa ilang pahayagan noong nakalipas na linggo kung saan natuklasan ng Commission on Audit (COA) na kumuha ng sobra-sobrang casual employees, job orders at consultants ang provincial government.
Batay pa sa report, kabilang sa mga consultant na kinuha ay ang obispo ng Malolos at mga pari ng Bulacan na tumatanggap ng P9,000 hanggang P22,500 kada buwan.
Kasalukuyang nasa Roma si Bishop Oliveros ngunit sa isang pahayag, sinabi nitong hindi siya ang obispong tinutukoy sa report at wala rin siyang nalalaman na paring Katoliko sa Bulacan na nagtatrabaho para sa kapitolyo.
"Sana po ay hindi kayo maapektuhan ng mga balitang ito dahil ito ay hindi totoo. Hindi po paring Katoliko ang tinutukoy sa report at sadyang layunin lang ng iba na manira," sabi naman ni Rev. Msgr. Pablo Legaspi Jr, rektor ng Basilica Minore at Katedral ng Malolos.
http://dzmm.abs-cbnnews.com/news/Region/Malolos_bishop,_itinangging_mga_paring_Katoliko_ang_tumanggap_ng_allowance_mula_sa_prov%27l_govt.html
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Pope Criminalizes the Reporting of Sex Crimes
(http://www.newslo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Francisco-645x325.png)
Few eyebrows were raised last week when Pope Francis brought the Vatican’s legal system up to date by criminalizing leaks of official information and formalizing laws against sex crimes. But now that the laws have been made public, a closer look revealed that the pope has made it illegal to report sex crimes against children.
According to the new laws, revealing or receiving confidential Vatican information is now punishable by up to two years in prison, while newly defined sex crimes against children carry a sentence of up to twelve years. Because all sex crimes are kept confidential, there is no longer a legal way for Vatican officials to report sex crimes.
“We didn’t mean for this to happen, obviously,” lamented Vatican foreign minister Monsignor Dominique Mamberti. “It’s quite the papal pickle that His Holiness has placed upon our heads. Sex crimes are more illegal than ever, but technically it’s illegal to report them.” Mamberti said that the simultaneous passing of each law is merely a coincidence and insisted that the Church is not trying to protect itself against further embarrassment, but critics outside the Vatican are skeptical.
“They know exactly what they’re doing,” claims Fabrizio Perona of Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper.
“They just thought nobody would notice. The Church wants to impress the world by getting tough on sex crimes, but they criminalized leaks, which is the only way anybody would ever discover their crimes. It’s genius, if you stop and think about it.”
Mamberti says plans are already being made to eliminate the loophole, but change often comes slowly to antiquated Vatican law, which is based on the 1889 Italian code. “We’re not going to let a dangerous law like this stand, but people need to understand that this is the Vatican, and there is a process here. Voting, incense, prayer. We ask the minors at risk to please be patient with us.”
Fortunately, only clergy and lay people who live and work in Vatican City are subject to the new legislation, which differs from the canon law governing the universal Catholic Church.
As the Holy See moves to clarify the law, Mamberti has warned would-be offenders within Vatican walls that they “are still subject to the most watchful eye of all: the eye of God. His judgment is greater than—oh, who am I kidding? For now, there is nothing we can do.”
http://www.newslo.com/pope-criminalizes-the-reporting-of-sex-crimes/#sthash.zJqni7Xe.iaKCs2nE.dpuf
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Pope Francis: Gays, Abortion Too Much Of Catholic Church's Obsession
Pope Francis faulted the Roman Catholic church for focusing too much on gays, abortion and contraception, saying the church has become "obsessed" with those issues to the detriment of its larger mission to be "home for all," according to an extensive new interview published Thursday.
The church can share its views on homosexuality, abortion and other issues, but should not "interfere spiritually" with the lives of gays and lesbians, the pope added in the interview, which was published in La Civilta Cattolica, a Rome-based Jesuit journal.
“We have to find a new balance, otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel," Francis said in the interview.
"The church has sometimes locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules,' Francis said. "The people of God want pastors, not clergy acting like bureaucrats or government officials."
The 12,000-word interview ranges widely, touching upon the pope's personal faith, the role of women and nuns in the church, Latin Mass and even the pope's favorite artists.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/19/pope-francis-gay_n_3954776.html
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So a committed relationship between same sex couple is an "intrinsic" evil while these acts are not?
who said they were not?
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Something worth learning and sharing. It's about a recent development in Utah.
"What irks Mormons, evangelicals, and any religious group seeking to force their dogmata and beliefs on the people is that despite their machinations, the bible is not, and never will be, the Constitution and America’s justice system is not about to let it be."
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/12/24/religious-conservatives-thrown-frenzied-panic-court-impose-biblical-law.html
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VATICAN COMES UNDER SHARP CRITICISM FOR SEX ABUSE
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_REL_UN_VATICAN_ABUSE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-01-16-06-53-09
CHURCH RELEASING SEX ABUSE FILES ON CHICAGO CLERGY
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CHURCH_ABUSE_CHICAGO?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-01-15-18-45-49
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Chicago archdiocese releases documents detailing sexual abuse by priests
The Archdiocese of Chicago took steps to conceal sexual abuse by serial abusers, promoted and moved priests with multiple accusations against them and had victims making the allegations investigated, archdiocese documents released Tuesday reveal.
http://www.suntimes.com/25091013-761/archdiocese-releases-documents-detailing-sexual-abuse-by-priests.html
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this blast from the past...
Philippines telcos sue church ISP for fraud
Friday 31 May 2002 10:30
Telecommunication companies are poised to take the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to court for large scale fraud following the failure of its Church-run Internet service provider, CBCPNet.
The 500m peso (£6.8m) class suit against the influential bishops' group is being brought by a group of CBCPNet suppliers and creditors, including the Philippine Communication Satellite Corporation (Philcomsat), Bayantel, and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT).
http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240045910/Philippines-telcos-sue-church-ISP-for-fraud
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Lawsuit: 'Tag team' of former priest, ex-scout leader molested kids
Two days after a trove of confidential church documents was released detailing decades of clergy sex abuse, one of the 30 former priests whose sordid history is among the files now faces new allegations.
A lawsuit filed Thursday in Cook County Court alleges Norbert Maday molested three boys as part of a “tag team” with a scout leader who volunteered under the priest’s supervision.
The men who brought the legal action also accuse the Archdiocese of Chicago of failing to protect them more than 40 years ago during the abuse.
The unnamed plaintiffs, all in their 50s, said the legal action was sparked after media accounts in recent years revealed the church’s troubled past of responding to pedophile priests.
Maday is accused in the lawsuit of inappropriately touching all three boys in separate acts from 1967 to 1973 while he was at St. Leo Catholic Church in Chicago and, later, at St Louis de Montfort in Oak Lawn.
Two of the men said they also were fondled by Thomas Hacker, a former Boy Scout leader and volunteer at the Oak Lawn church in the early 1970s, who often accompanied them on parish retreats.
In an interview at his lawyer's office, a 52-year-old south suburban man identified as John Doe 3 said Maday seemed to target boys like him at St. Louis de Montfort, who were being raised by single mothers.
The man told the Tribune he was inappropriately touched by both Maday and Hacker as a preteen during car rides, gym class and parish outings. He said he eventually told his mother, who confronted the parish school principal, but Maday remained in ministry.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-01-23/news/chi-lawsuit-tag-team-of-former-priest-exscout-leader-molested-kids-20140123_1_ex-scout-leader-former-priest-thomas-hacker
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Here's a column about priest child abuse/rape. (http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/02/22/challenging-the-vatican)
I have to say, I've always wondered how many women and children were raped/abused by Catholic priests here in the Philippines. We almost NEVER hear news about that because Pinoys are quite religious and hold their priests in very high regard so they generally go unchallenged.
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Here's a column about priest child abuse/rape. (http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/02/22/challenging-the-vatican)
I have to say, I've always wondered how many women and children were raped/abused by Catholic priests here in the Philippines. We almost NEVER hear news about that because Pinoys are quite religious and hold their priests in very high regard so they generally go unchallenged.
Don't forget about the presence of these deeply conservative praise-and-worship Catholic groups who believe their faith rules above everyone.
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Exemption of priests from number coding sought
MANILA, Philippines - Priests, too, are on call.
And with this nature of their job, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) pushed to exempt priests from the number coding scheme.
Fr. Edu Gariguez, executive secretary of the CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action, said they should be granted exemption from the scheme because priests need mobility – especially with the anticipated heavy traffic in the major roads in Metro Manila due to the Skyway 3 extension project.
“We need total mobility that’s why if possible we want to be exempted from coding because the work of a priest doesn’t have a fixed time,” he said.
Gariguez lamented their duties to administer last rites for dying persons are usually jeopardized by immobility caused by the traffic-coding scheme.
“For example, there is a sick call, somebody died or somebody is in a life and death situation... we priests need to be there right away to cater to their pastoral needs,” he said.
The Skyway 3 will connect the North Luzon (NLEX) and South Luzon Expressways (SLEX) with an elevated expressway over Osmeña Highway, linking it with Quirino Avenue in Manila.
“If there’s traffic, our ability to give pastoral ministry will suffer,” Gariguez said.
He said the Mass for weddings or even for funerals may also be delayed if the officiating priest is caught in traffic.
“There will be no problem if the priest is just from the area but if the priest is from elsewhere that might pose a problem,” Gariguez said.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/02/24/14/exemption-priests-number-coding-sought
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bigyan ng bike mga idiotng yan. kapal ng mukha.
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bigyan ng bike mga idiotng yan. kapal ng mukha.
Baka hingan ka ng donation ng big bike.
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Baka hingan ka ng donation ng big bike.
let me rephrase then. bigyan ng pedicab ang mga yan. LOL
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let me rephrase then. bigyan ng pedicab ang mga yan. LOL
Paano kung stainless pedicab ang ipa-donate sa iyo? :D
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8 Reasons Why the CBCP’s Anti-Vaccination Article Is Mind-Blowingly Irresponsible
http://8list.ph/cbcp-the-truth-about-vaccines/
CBCP’s Anti-Vaccination Article
http://www.cbcpnews.com/cbcpnews/?p=32904
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Christians, You’re Not Victims
From what I read and hear, conservative evangelical Christians are feeling victimized by developments in American culture and in the ways they are being treated under new anti-discrimination laws. In ever greater numbers, they are appealing to the courts to grant them “relief” from regulations that they feel violates their freedom of religion. “Religious liberty” has become the rallying cry for a legal “remedy” to the violation of what they see as their freedom to practice their religion.
It is understandable that religious conservatives would feel uncomfortable and unsettled by recent developments in the church and in the culture. But are they victims? Is there, as many would claim, a “war on religion?”
This is especially obvious in the changing understanding about homosexuality. In ever-greater numbers, and across every religious and cultural demographic, acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people is increasing. In American religious communities, across every denominational demographic, support for equal rights for LGBT people, and particularly support for marriage equality for gay couples, is on the rise. In most denominations, that rise has resulted in majority support even when the denominational hierarchy disagrees.
Why have we seen such a sea change? Twenty years ago, most Americans would have told you they didn’t know anyone who was gay. They may have been suspicious about certain family members or co-workers, but it was not something openly talked about or acknowledged. Now, is there anyone left in America who does not know some family member, former classmate, neighbor, or co-worker to be gay?
And the result of knowing someone gay is that most people are now unwilling to believe or accept all the negative things said about us. The sky has not fallen, nor have church roofs caved in, just because gay marriage is legal in 17 states, plus the District of Columbia. Life goes on pretty much as normal, and in fact, people are seeing that marriage equality strengthens the institution of marriage, rather than undermining it.
For those religious conservatives who see something sinister and immoral in gay and lesbian couples having the right to marry, it must feel as if the moral universe has gone awry. The reaction to this development has engendered a fear that cultural morality is veering out of control. Nothing is as it should be. And it must feel to them that if such a proposition as marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples is accepted, nothing will now stop the world from careening out of moral control. That would be a pretty scary place for a religious person to live.
Then, as if to confirm their worst fears, photographers are being compelled to offer their services for gay couples’ weddings (New Mexico), bakers are being made to provide wedding cakes for gay wedding receptions (Colorado), and florists must provide flower arrangements to beautify gay wedding celebrations (Washington). It is important to point out that this is only true for weddings in states where a non-discrimination law is in effect to protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation—which, by the way, is only in 21 of the 50 states.
Appeals to the courts are being made for “relief” for this violation of the service providers’ “freedom of religion” and “religious liberty,” claiming that forced compliance with such anti-discrimination laws is a violation of the providers’ free practice of their religion. Indeed, the language used in defiance of these anti-discrimination laws takes on the language of victimization. These providers feel as though they are victims of discrimination themselves based on their religious beliefs.
But I have to ask: are religious conservatives confusing the pain of finding oneself “suddenly” in the minority with actually being a victim? Both feel uncomfortable, even painful, and are fraught with anxiety. But they’re very different.
Here’s what victimization looks like: every day, especially in some places, LGBT people face the real possibility of violence because of their orientation or gender identity. Young people jump off bridges or hang themselves on playground swing sets because of the bullying and discrimination they face. In 29 states, one can be fired from one’s job simply for being gay, with no recourse to the courts. In most places, we cannot legally marry the one we love. Some of us have been kicked out of the house when we come out to our parents, and many young LGBT people find themselves homeless and on the streets because of the attitudes of their religious parents toward their LGBT children. And did I mention the everyday threat of violence?
Compare that to the very painful realization that one’s view of something like homosexuality is in the minority after countless centuries of being in the majority. It may feel like victimization to hang a shingle out to sell something or provide some service to the public, only to find that the “public” includes people one disagrees with or finds immoral in some way. It may feel like it has happened practically overnight, when it has actually been changing over a period of decades. Being pressed to conform to such a change in majority opinion must feel like victimization. But as a society, we would do well to distinguish between real victimization and the also-very-real discouragement felt by those who now find themselves in the minority.
I do not mean to brush aside as inconsequential the feelings of those who find themselves in the minority, whether it be around the topic of gender, race, or sexual orientation. But I do mean to question characterizing such feelings as discrimination, violation of religious freedom, and victimization. It’s time we called out our religious brothers and sisters for misunderstanding their recently-acquired status as members of a shrinking minority as victims.
http://news.yahoo.com/christians-not-victims-040000977--politics.html
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Bakita kaya sa middle east countries where majority are muslims, parang walang news re LGBT?
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Ayúdanos a difundir esta noticia. Según la Iglesia Católica: "Las felaciones no son pecado si se hacen pensando en Jesús".
(Translated by Bing)
Help us spread this news. According to the Catholic Church: "fellatio are not sin if they are thinking of Jesus".
http://www.ecorepublicano.es/2014/04/segun-la-iglesia-catolica-las.html
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Newark Archbishop's Pricey Pad Causes Controversy
(http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/AcvAs9iLV7ZSyj23Dl_ozA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTU0MDtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz05NjA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/gma/us.abcnews.gma.com/RD_archbishop_nj_house_jtm_140414_16x9_992.jpg)
A half-million dollar renovation to the "weekend" home of the Archbishop of Newark has sparked a major controversy, raising questions about how money donated by church members is being used.
An online petition created by a D.C.-based website, Faithful America, has received more than 23,000 signatures to stop the renovation process, claiming that Archbishop John J. Myers does not need a 7,500-square-foot home for when he retires.
“The house will become the retirement residence when he retires in two year,” Jim Goodness, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Newark, told ABC News. “There is an additional suite being added for guests and office space, as well as a whirlpool and an exercise pool being added for therapeutic use, because he has some health issues. This would be beneficial for him in retirement.”
There will also be an elevator and three gas fireplaces added, Goodness said.
Protesters say the additions are unnecessary and lavish, and have contrasted Myers' lifestyle to that of Pope Francis, who lives in a small apartment in Rome with other priests.
Faithful America could not be reached by ABC News for additional comment. But the Rev. John Bambrick, pastor of a parish in Jackson Township, part of the Diocese of Trenton, said the lavish spending reflected poorly on the church and highlights the contrast between Myers and Pope Francis.
“I think it makes people question where their donations are going," Bambrick told ABC News today. “It's embarrassing to the church and the clergy and it’s an insult to the people and God."
“Most of the congregation when they hear about it they just think it is outrageous. They think they should sell it," Bambrick said.
“It’s really astounding given the fact that the pope teaches the bishops to live simply,” Bambrick added, noting that Pope Francis has admonished priests "don’t buy fancy cars and live simply.”
But Goodness said the $500,000 addition to the home in Clinton Township, in Hunterdon County, N.J., is necessary. “He will just not stop having responsibilities for the diocese anymore [after retirement]. We need to have an office space for him,” Goodness said.
“The way the house is being used now, he is never out there alone,” Goodness explained. “There are always other people with him. We are expecting that to continue to happen.”
“He [the Archbishop] envisions that there will be other guests or church members [who visit], so he wants to give them more privacy," Goodness said.
Goodness explained to ABC News that protesters are mistaken about how the renovation is being funded.
“The expansion and reservation is expected to cost $500,000. Some of that is being funded through donations that have been given to the church specifically for the renovation,” Goodness said. “The rest of it is coming from the sale of residential property in Connecticut that is owned by the archdiocese that we won’t need anymore. So we are actually consolidating residential properties.”
Goodness said the Faithful America petition is not representative of New Jersey Catholics and that the organization itself is a non-Catholic group that often challenges the church on a range of issues.
“A significant number of these names are not even people from New Jersey and a very large number from New Jersey are not even a part of the archdiocese. It is not a representative of the people in New Jersey," Goodness said.
But the Rev. Bambrick disagreed.
“You want people to give to the poor and support charitable works of the church and building a mansion is not a great inspiration," he said.
http://news.yahoo.com/newark-archbishops-pricey-pad-causes-controversy-224831502--abc-news-topstories.html
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(http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/files/2014/05/priest-prok.jpg)
Bishops defend priest for accepting donations from Napoles
(http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/604872/bishops-defend-priest-for-accepting-donations-from-napoles#ixzz32YARM7nA)
“Those are donations, walang masamang tinapay diyan. And the name Napoles before was a good name,” added the prelate.
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ano yan bumibili ng pass sa langit? LOL
walang pinagkaiba sa mga prayle nung panahon ng Kastila.
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ano yan bumibili ng pass sa langit? LOL
walang pinagkaiba sa mga prayle nung panahon ng Kastila.
parang sa movie na Fast & Furious yun nasa mexico sila.
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(https://s2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/zyJi.82IMJKyhcsVfpRUlg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9NDAwO2NyPTE7Y3c9ODM4O2R4PTA7ZHk9MDtmaT11bGNyb3A7aD0zMDE7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/anc/2014-08-31/846e1c20-30b5-11e4-8d4b-87bfac777cfe_0831-romaniloapura.jpg)
Fil-Am priest arrested for molesting teen
A Filipino Catholic priest in New Jersey is facing sex abuse charges after his arrest earlier this month for molesting a teenage boy.
According to a report by Catholic News Asia, the Diocese of Trenton received the news about 67-year-old Fr. Romannilo "Nilo" Apura with heavy hearts.
Apura, who is originally from Borongan City in Eastern Samar, is accused of molesting a 16-year-old at the boy’s family home in Trenton, New Jersey earlier this year.
Another encounter reportedly happened in June when Apura allegedly tried to remove the same boy’s pants.
https://anc.yahoo.com/news/fil-am-priest-arrested-for-molesting-teen-020846091.html
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Can't help but wonder how many priests HERE get away with it since the Catholic Church has far more influence and power over here than in the U.S. Lots I bet!
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Can't help but wonder how many priests HERE get away with it since the Catholic Church has far more influence and power over here than in the U.S. Lots I bet!
Mahirap talaga mag-vow of chastity kasi human nature yan.
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Mahirap talaga mag-vow of chastity kasi human nature yan.
Tama. Kaya hindi ako tumuloy sa pag pari.. Sabi father ko by the time pari na ako,baka pwede na pakasal ang pari. Buti hindi ako na convince. Only two activities lang mag secrete ng serotonin yung body, which was designed for survival of the race. Eating and sex.
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Tama. Kaya hindi ako tumuloy sa pag pari.. Sabi father ko by the time pari na ako,baka pwede na pakasal ang pari. Buti hindi ako na convince. Only two activities lang mag secrete ng serotonin yung body, which was designed for survival of the race. Eating and sex.
Hindi din ata biblical yun vow of chastity.
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Hindi din ata biblical yun vow of chastity.
I do believe that the vow of chastity among priests was started because at one point priests were starting to give lands and properties of the Church to their children and families. That's why the Church decided, no more doing that.
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I do believe that the vow of chastity among priests was started because at one point priests were starting to give lands and properties of the Church to their children and families. That's why the Church decided, no more doing that.
Thanks for the info!
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aba, aba, aba naman, kung walang chastity vow ang mga praileng Kastila, baka kalahati sa atin mga mestizo at meztizas..... >:D >:D >:D
white is beautiful....
sa isang kabanata sa Filibusterismo, yung kalong na sanggol ng isang indiong nanay sa kanto nang may purisisyon, tumawag ng "papa, papa" sa sa isang prayleng kastila.... ;) ;) ;)
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aba, aba, aba naman, kung walang chastity vow ang mga praileng Kastila, baka kalahati sa atin mga mestizo at meztizas..... >:D >:D >:D
Or it can the other way around. Kung walang chastity vow ang mga pari, baka lesser ang incidents ng sex abuse.
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Priest found guilty of raping dozens of children in Canada
OTTAWA, Canada – A defrocked Catholic priest was found guilty Friday, September 12, of raping dozens of children and a sled dog in the Canadian Arctic, where he worked as a missionary for decades.
The Belgian-born Eric Dejaeger, 67, was convicted of 31 counts of sexual offenses against children and one count of bestiality (http://www.rappler.com/world/regions/us-canada/68992-priest-guilty-rape-children-canada).
http://www.rappler.com/world/regions/us-canada/68992-priest-guilty-rape-children-canada
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Archbishop Says He ‘Wasn’t Sure’ It Was Illegal To Have Sex With Children
http://countercurrentnews.com/2014/06/archbishop-claims-he-wasnt-sure-it-was-illegal-for-priests-to-have-sex-with-children/
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Archbishop Says He ‘Wasn’t Sure’ It Was Illegal To Have Sex With Children
http://countercurrentnews.com/2014/06/archbishop-claims-he-wasnt-sure-it-was-illegal-for-priests-to-have-sex-with-children/
OMFG! it's not about if it's illegal or not. that is so wrong in so many levels! dammit!
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Yehey!
Pope Francis Demotes Outspoken Conservative Cardinal
(http://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/raymond-burke-pope.jpg?w=1100)
Pope Francis has demoted a conservative American cardinal who has criticized his leadership of the Catholic Church.
The pontiff removed Cardinal Raymond Burke as the leader of the Vatican’s highest court and appointed him to a ceremonial position as chaplain of the Knights of Malta, a charity group, according to a press bulletin issued Saturday.
That is a significant demotion, according to the National Catholic Reporter. “The position of Patron of the the Order of Malta is usually given to a retired cardinal, or as a second task to an active cardinal,” Michael Sean Winters writes. “It has almost no responsibilities.”
The move was not a surprise, as Burke, the Vatican’s highest ranking American, had said last month that he was going to have a new post.
The outspoken, conservative bishop — who pushed for the Vatican to revise and water-down its recent, tentative step toward greater acceptance of LGBT people — has butted heads with the pope since the Argentine was elected last year. Last month, he compared Pope Francis’ leadership to “a ship without a rudder” during an interview with a Spanish magazine.
http://time.com/3574166/pope-francis-demotes-cardinal-raymond-burke/
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good on ya Pope!
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Church council says “celibacy may have contributed” to sex abuse crisis
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2014/12/church-council-says-celibacy-may-have-contributed-to-sex-abuse-crisis/
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(https://s2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/zyJi.82IMJKyhcsVfpRUlg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9NDAwO2NyPTE7Y3c9ODM4O2R4PTA7ZHk9MDtmaT11bGNyb3A7aD0zMDE7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/anc/2014-08-31/846e1c20-30b5-11e4-8d4b-87bfac777cfe_0831-romaniloapura.jpg)
If that were reported locally the community would pressure the family to not pursue the case. Thank God for a society that is more plural. No one group dictates what's what.
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Can't help but wonder how many priests HERE get away with it since the Catholic Church has far more influence and power over here than in the U.S. Lots I bet!
My guess is a lot based on this article from a former associate justice of the Court of Appeals.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/80193/atheism-in-modern-science
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Church council says “celibacy may have contributed” to sex abuse crisis
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2014/12/church-council-says-celibacy-may-have-contributed-to-sex-abuse-crisis/
Di maalis alis sa kaisipan ng bawat nilalang ... masarap ang bawal ... basta may lusot.
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U.N. Report: Vatican Policies Allowed Priests To Rape Children
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-n-report-vatican-policies-allowed-priests-rape-children-n22531
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U.N. Report: Vatican Policies Allowed Priests To Rape Children
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-n-report-vatican-policies-allowed-priests-rape-children-n22531
Ang tagal pala ng report sa UN. Yun unang report daw, late by 14 years!
It criticized the institution for submitting its last report 14 years late.
Then:
Its recommendations are non-binding and the U.N. has given the Vatican until 2017 to report back.
So hantay tayo till 2017.
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sa tinagal tagal na nagexist ang UN ngayon lang nila nagaganyan ang Vatican :)
Vatican is powerful indeed...
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yun nga. 14 years?! bakit inabot ng ganung katagal? hinintay ba muna nila mamatay at mawala yung mga matatandang manyak priests para mabawasan?
In response, the Vatican said in a statement published on its website that some points made in the report were an "attempt to interfere with Catholic Church teaching."
unahin pa muna nila teachings nila kaysa buhay ng mga bata? kalokohan. >:(
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Catholic Church argues paying for lost child rape lawsuits burdens their religion. 7th Circuit rules against them.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wwjtd/2015/03/faith-catholic-church-argues-paying-for-lost-child-rape-lawsuits-burdens-their-religion-7th-circuit-rules-against-them/
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The more educated a populous are the less they depend on religion. See how the Europeans are doing with their empty Churches.
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The more educated a populous are the less they depend on religion. See how the Europeans are doing with their empty Churches.
It's why our local Catholic Church is relatively tolerant of corrupt politicians. As long as the population remains poor and uneducated, the more powerful they are.
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It's why our local Catholic Church is relatively tolerant of corrupt politicians. As long as the population remains poor and uneducated, the more powerful they are.
Ano kamo? Di ka proud 2b pinoy? :)
For religions to survive they have to be above the law. If they arent then they become mere myths like those of the ancient Greek, Egyption and Vikings.
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http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/562960/news/nation/masbate-priest-tells-duterte-we-have-list-of-criminals-we-want-you-to-kill
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good on ya Pope!
Lolo Kiko is one Pope like no other....now the church is open to anyone, girl boy bakla tomboy,
protestante, muslim etc....