Poppinjay

The Pope Knew

"This sexual abuse scandal will be a major part of Pope Benedict's legacy."
-- an America priest in Rome who dares not cross The Enforcer, TIME Magazine, March 29, Page 36


"It's probably just a matter of time before it comes out that Pope Benedict did know more."
-- a priest in Rome, on the Pope's role in a Munich pedo priest returning to rape more children, TIME Magazine, March 29, Page 36


Will Benedict end up ousted over this? He would be the first pope to resign since Gregory in 1046. This is going to be an interesting couple of months.

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I think the Apocalypse is happening all around us. We go on eating desserts and watching TV. I know I do. I wish we were more capable of sustained passion and sustained resistance. We should be screaming and what we do is gossip. -Lydia Millet

Iliftrocks

If the rc church wants to try to recapture legitimacy in the eyes of other Xtians, it needs to do something. This would be a good first swing at it. For me, it would be too little, too late.

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bill hicks - "I don't mean to sound bitter, cold, or cruel, but I am, so that's how it comes out."

Baraka_Guru

St. Malachy - The last Popes

Maybe this is the beginning of the end?

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

GreyWolf

He should be.

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The secret to great marksmanship is deciding what the target was AFTER you've shot.

roachboy

ratzinger...blech. what a reactionary dog he is.

but as for resigning? it doesn't look like that's his first tactical choice:

Pope Benedict condemns 'petty gossip' over child sexual abuse scandal | World news | guardian.co.uk

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a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

it make you sick.

-kamau brathwaite

braisler

Yeah, leave it to the catholics to equate child rape with petty gossip.

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You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.
- Albert Einstein
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JamesB

He would be wise to resign.

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-- apt-get install spare_time --

ratbastid

A season of scandal looks pretty short to somebody with a lifetime appointment.... Just ask a Supreme Court Justice.

The_Dunedan

I never have been a fan or Ratslinger. I've always admired his -very- formidable intellect, but especially compared to JPII's humanity and humour, or JP-1's workaday humility, or even Pius VII's extraordinary tactical and strategic mind...well, Ratslinger just falls short. He lacks the humanity and humility of either of the John Pauls, Pius's depth and sharpness of intellect, or Card. Arinze's remarkable "common touch" and skill at explaining and apoligizing complex theological concepts. His legalistic inability or unwillingness to deal with a paedophilia scandal literally in his own backyard stands in rather sharp relief to JPII's buzzsaw treatment and unflinching characterization of such affairs as "grave crimes*" which required public repentance and penitence by the molestor. The fact that JPIIs wishes in this regard were so publicly ignored, both within and without the Church, is a severe indictment not only of the Church itself (and the bureaucratic back-washing and tendency to filter the Pope's information which have come to characterise its' daily functioning) but also of the popular media which rightly demanded such a response and ignored it when it was forthcoming.

...one can only hope that Ratzinger is one of those Popes who comes along every now and again to remind the Faithful of just how rotten a jerk one can be while still being doctrinally Infallible. Kinda like the Borgias. At best, he's a legal-minded "place holder" for Arinze or somebody with his keen mind and perhaps a slightly less flustered personality. I like Arinze personally, but he loses his cool a bit too easily when pressed.


*I know this doesn't sound like much to a non-Catholic. However, in the extremely measured language of the Holy See, this is as close as anyone's likely to get to "Somebody take these child-raping motherfuckers out in Saint Peter's Square and go Inquisition on their asses! And any other bits you can reach!"

ratbastid

Geez, Dunedan... I didn't have you pegged for a Vatican historian! Good on you!

World's King

Oh come on... People that are that close to God can't do anything wrong.


God should just stop making little boys so fucking sexy.

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heavy is the head that wears the crown

snowy

The Borgias didn't have to deal with the modern media. I hope the media doesn't let this go. The children at the center of this, some of whom are no longer children, deserve so much better than this.

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Willravel

I'd kinda like to kick him in the balls. Repeatedly.

What's the about a resignation?

SecretMethod70

I've always thought Ratzinger was a terrible choice, ever since JPII grew ill and it become clear he was the front runner to be next. Unfortunately, JPII wasn't really all that great either when it comes down to it: he stifled alternative (and more liberal) theological viewpoints, and his long tenure allowed him to ensure the College of Cardinals would continue the fight against progress. Between what JPII did to the church behind the scenes, and now what Benedict is doing to the church publicly... it's seriously damaging the ability of the church to be a relevant organization in the modern world.

---------- Post added at 09:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:20 PM ----------

Oh, but what I originally came here to post is this gem...

NY archbishop defends pope against sex abuse furor - BostonHerald.com

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Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

ARTelevision

One day, people will no longer buy what he is selling.
That will be a better day for human beings.

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create evolution

Zodijackyl

Fewer people are, and the trend will only continue with ease of access to information like this, and thousands of other points which many have wondered, and can now find the answer on the internet.

Wes Mantooth

Maybe he just got bored and stopped predicting them Kind of like the Mayan calendar thing..."Jeez guys...we've gone a few thousand years into the future, think we can take a break with this calendar business for a bit?"

Sorry didn't want to derail the thread by being stupid. I think the Catholic church absolutely needs to fix this problem, its simply inexcusable to turn a blind eye to such a problem and by doing so they are pretty much supporting it. What other organization ANYWHERE would get away with this kind of behavior btw? I think its glossed over, pushed aside and "accepted" (for lack of a better term) because the organization in question happens to be the Catholic church. Why in gods name (pardon the pun) aren't the feds in every nation this has happened in, all over this? Imagine if instead this was going on in a day care or public school system, what would the response be then? Its really mind boggling that so little has been said or done about it by either the govt or the church.

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KellyC

I remember back in high school, about 8-10 years ago, there was also a large-scale sex abuse scandal within the church. Lots of people were angry, lots of money got involved, then it eventually died down and no one talks about it any more. It seems like this is just another one of them episodes...

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Him: Ok, I have to ask, what do you believe?
Me: Shit happens.

The_Dunedan

The Boy Scouts, the CIA, various Protestant "Boy's Homes" in New England and Northern Ireland (one deeply connected to anti-Rev. Ian Paisley), most of the BIA-run boarding schools which "educated" Native American children through the 1930s, Child "Protective" Services in various US States (most notorious cases being TX and GA, both of which hired convicted child-rapists for their CPS departments, both of which subsequently "lost" 3500+ children), and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR (Levrenti Beria liked to rape prepubescant girls, but would take boys when he couldn't get them. Even Stalin's wife and daughter were aware of this, and were terrified of him.) Then of course there's the Royal Navy, home of "Rum, buggery, and the lash." Cabin Boys and powder-monkeys had other uses too, y'know.

Plenty of orgs throughout history, even the 20th Century, have had this same problem. Anywhere you have an insular group with power over others and a tendency towards bureaucratic ass-covering, you are going to have this issue. The RC Church gets the focus because theirs are the most recent to be this pervasive, and because unlike the various Gov't-run agencies mentioned above...well...they aren't a Government. Secondarily, the Catholic Church is alien to most Americans, odd-looking in the modern world, and openly regarded as an anachronistic joke by significant portions of the American intelligentsia who control the major media.*


*Not a slam, just a fact. You've gotta be half-smart to be an editor or programme director, after all, at least if you want the other half-smart editors and directors to take you seriously.

james t kirk

I'm a Catholic.

At least I was baptised a Catholic. Never been to a Sunday service in my life. Been to a few weddings, a few funerals. Meh. I guess they would call me "lapsed"

But I fail to see the need for him to resign.

Was there a sex scandal in the Catholic church? You betcha. Was he complicit in it. Well no. He tried to cover it up. (I suppose you could argue that by trying to cover it up he created an environment within the church in which pedophile priests could operate without fear of the law. (It's not like a cover-up has never been done before.) Are sex scandals going to continue to occur in the Catholic church? You betcha. Are sex scandals going to continue in all religions? You betcha. Will they continue to try to cover it up? For sure. (Though hopefully they will think twice.)

In my humble opinion, those who have committed the crime should be brought before the courts of the land where the crimes were committed and face justice.

Those who covered up the crime should face the same treatment. If the pope committed a crime then he should face justice like any other citizen. If he has to go to jail - then he should go to jail like any other criminal.

It would then be up to the Church, or him, as to his fate.

But as it stands right now - he hasn't been convicted of anything by any court in any land. Until that happens, there is no need for him to resign (unless he feels otherwise.)

As to dragging the Catholic Church into the light, and into the 21'st century - that's a whole different thread.

DaveOrion

I brought this up before but few care about such things.

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/tilted-...re-2012-a.html

Jinn

He hasn't been convicted only because he's claiming sovereign immunity as head of state of an independent nation, the Vatican. He's certainly committed crimes, both in America and Italy.

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"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

Ourcrazymodern?

#112 should change his name to Peter the Greek

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BE JUST AND FEAR NOT

hunnychile

Ratslinger needs to resign. Period.

Or better yet, NO more Popes. Period.

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"I need compassion, understanding and chocolate." - NJB

djtestudo

I don't want to say that South Park was killing him last night...but South Park was KILLING him last night.

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"Final thought: I just rented Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine. Frankly, it was the worst sports movie I've ever seen."
--Peter Schmuck, The (Baltimore) Sun

SaltPork

I think I just choked on my spit...jc WK...

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It was like that when I got here....I swear.

james t kirk

If that's the case then bust him the second he leaves Vatican City.

If he travels to the USA - bust him and put him on trial.

But you'd better make damn sure you havea a solid case against him and if indeed the charges are serious.

Keep in mind, he didn't molest anyone, he covered it up (alledgedly).

kutulu

No way can the US arrest the pope. As much as he deserves it, that is a diplomatic line that we cannot cross. However, he needs to resign.

Poppinjay

Nixon ended up ass out because of the coverup, not the crime.

I was disappointed when Ratzinger was made pope, mainly because of the question about Nazi attrocities. His defender all said he did what he could to allow his church to survive.

Now his defenders are saying he's being persecuted..... like Jesus. So his true mission is to convert boys to rapery? Well then, carry on.

I actually find it very odd that despite all the various sex scandals associated with Evangelists, boy rape is not one of them.


Edit: Unbelievable. Now they are equating those who criticize the catholic church as nazis and themselves as jews.

Cantalemessa

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I think the Apocalypse is happening all around us. We go on eating desserts and watching TV. I know I do. I wish we were more capable of sustained passion and sustained resistance. We should be screaming and what we do is gossip. -Lydia Millet

Ourcrazymodern?

With what I consider all due respect to the church & meaning no disrespect to its members, it's been the pederast to the world for long enough. The whole damn thing should resign itself to admitting that.

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BE JUST AND FEAR NOT

DaveOrion

This is only the tip of the iceberg.............

Horrors of the Roman Catholic Church!

The time is past for the disillusionment of this "organization". Needless to say it wont be long anyway.............

orionnebula

In the western world we are closing to that point where one person can think by himself, but in some area of christanity such as Africa and South America that day is still far away tough