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The "Kinder, Gentler" Pope

Started by Recusant, February 20, 2019, 04:23:27 PM

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Recusant

I came across an interesting story from Reuters. It's not only interesting because of its content, but because apparently Reuters was prevailed upon to change the content of the story. The original was titled "Pope denounces constant accusers as sex abuse survivors express anger". That's a link to a Netscape news page (yeah, I didn't know they still existed, even as a subsidiary name), but the same story can be found on RAWSTORY and a few other sites.

QuotePope Francis said on Wednesday that people who spent their lives denouncing the Catholic Church were friends of the devil, as survivors of sexual abuse by clergymen accused him of snubbing an invitation to meet them.

Speaking on the eve of a conference he has convened to guide senior bishops on how to tackle widespread abuse that has decimated the Church's credibility, Frances said its mistakes should be corrected.

But those accusers who did nothing but criticize the Church were "friends, cousins and relatives of the devil," he told worshippers at the Vatican.

However, if you follow links to the original Reuters release you'll find yourself looking at a completely different piece: "Abuse victims demand to see pope, say bishops should be sacked" | Reuters

Here's a link to a websearch on the first phrase in the original story; you can follow the Reuters link from that search to verify that it takes you to the second story, which apparently has been put up in place of the original one.

Anyway, it seems that ol' softy Francis isn't too happy with people who make a point of denouncing the Catholic church's vile practice of sheltering and coddling abusive priests. There's no note of retraction from Reuters saying for instance that the pope was misquoted in the original story, so I tend to think that he did say what Reuters reported, but that somebody with the ability to influence Reuters got them to take it down.  :-\

And now for a musical interlude.

"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


21stCenturyIconoclast




__________________


Subjectively, when the pseudo-christian, including Catholic priests, accept their Forgiveness Doctrine brought to them by the mythical Jesus, then the blatant and disgusting acts of child-buggering by this faction is always forgiven as explicitly shown in the passages below. Deducing to the fact, there is no incentive not to sin!

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1 John 1:9)

"To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." (Acts 10:43)

"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6: 14-15)



Who is vying to be the number one division of Christianity in the child buggering arena, is the ever so horrific Jehovah Witnesses.  This factions "Two Witness Rule" allows their child molesters to be free of any crime, and without calling the police on any reported child molestation! SICKENING CHRISTIANITY!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses%27_handling_of_child_sex_abuse


___________________________________

Recusant

I think this has become a recognisable pattern: Pope Francis making noises that sound OK, but in fact the Catholic church stays the course. The Catholic's four day sexual abuse conference is complete, and it's an open question whether anything will change.

"Pope misses mark on sexual abuse" | The Hill

QuoteThe pope's closing call for "all-out war" against sexual abuse included no specific course of action. Missing was a declaration that any priest guilty of sexual abuse or any bishop guilty of covering them up would be immediately dismissed from the clergy and reported to law enforcement authorities.

M'kay?

The author of the piece has proposed three steps the church could take to address the issue. It's conceivable that the church would consider the first, but I certainly wouldn't hold my breath. The other two seem outside the realm of possibility. Maybe in a century or two.  :thoughtful:

QuoteOne, the church must recognize sexual abuse and assault as a law enforcement problem, not a church discipline problem, and immediately turn over all cases of alleged sexual and/or child abuse, on the part of perpetrators as well as those who covered up the crimes, to proper authorities. Priest or not, what happens to the guilty party should be up to the district attorney, not the bishop.

Two, the church must abandon the mandate of celibacy for the priesthood. Even the church admits this is a matter of discipline, not doctrine. It has little, if any, biblical foundation. It was not required by Jesus. He may not have married, but his apostles did.

St. Paul "recommends" celibacy, but never said it should be required for the priesthood. In fact, the Catholic Church did not mandate celibacy until the 11th century. And today, only the Roman Catholic Church, not Eastern Catholics, continue the practice.

Getting rid of celibacy would not only help the church solve its serious problem of a shortage of priests worldwide, it would add the value of more sexually-balanced and experienced clergy to serve the faithful.

Three, it's long past time for the church to end outright discrimination, to stop treating women like second-class citizens, and to welcome women to the priesthood.

As other religions have discovered, women can lead a church as well, if not better, than any man, and are far less likely to abuse their power by preying on others. Ordain women and the problem of sexual abuse among priests could largely disappear.

So, it was good for Pope Francis to meet with his bishops. But without these fundamental changes, the Catholic Church is just nibbling around the edges — and the problem of priestly sexual abuse will continue.

[Link to full article]
"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


Icarus

It is written that God created man in his own image.  If that be the case, God must be a horny son of a bitch. (Lord forgive the blasphemy please)  Why did he give his humans such an overdose of Testosterone and estrogen if he did not want them to take their pleasures and therefore "go forth and multiply".  Dear Pope: please help me out with this innocent question.

The Catholic church would seem to be adjudicating against God's will by requiring the priests and nuns to be forever chaste. 

Question that has puzzled me is this: Are the many Catholic priests who molest little boys of a different sexual orientation than the majority of other men ?  Do nuns masturbate while being "Married to God' ? ......or are they biologically different from the norm?

I am fully aware that questions such as these are forbidden, but I can not escape my irreverent curiosity. 

Recusant

It may be that some idealistic and overly optimistic sorts were thinking that this headline would be different. I'd consider the declaration from the erstwhile Inquisition (now known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) more in the "not really news" category.

"In setback for gay Catholics, Vatican says church cannot bless same-sex unions" | Reuters

QuoteThe Vatican said on Monday that priests cannot bless same-sex unions and that such blessings are not valid, in a ruling that greatly disappointed gay Catholics who had hoped their Church was becoming more welcoming under Pope Francis.

In some countries, such as the United States and Germany, parishes and ministers have begun blessing same-sex unions in lieu of marriage, and there have been calls for bishops to de facto institutionalise these.

But conservatives in the 1.3 billion-member Church have expressed alarm over these practices, particularly those in Germany where at least two bishops, including Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, one of the pope's top advisors, have shown support for some kind of "pastoral" blessing.

In response to formal questions from a number of dioceses on whether the practice was allowed, the Vatican's doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), issued the ruling: "Negative".

Pope Francis approved the response, the CDF said, adding that it was "not intended to be a form of unjust discrimination, but rather a reminder of the truth of the liturgical rite" of the sacrament of marriage and the blessing associated with it.

[. . .]

The Church teaches that being gay is not inherently sinful but forbids same-sex sexual activity.

A separate explanatory note from the CDF said that while the blessing of same-sex couples was not licit, the decision "in no way detracts from the human and Christian consideration in which the Church holds each person".

It also said that Church could bestow blessings on gay individuals.

"(The ruling) does not preclude the blessings given to individual persons with homosexual inclinations who manifest the will to live in fidelity to the revealed plans of God as proposed by Church teaching," it said.

[Continues . . .]

What kind and understanding fellows--they'll bless gay people, as long as they're celibate.
"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


Tank

If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Randy

It seems like it is almost taboo for law enforcement to go after these sexual predators.
"Maybe it's just a bunch of stuff that happens." -- Homer Simpson
"Some people focus on the destination. Atheists focus on the journey." -- Barry Goldberg

Recusant

Then the pope decided, as is his prerogative, to evolve the church's thinking (blessing gay couples is allowed--it's not marriage, mind).  :dominidomini:

There's been some pushback, with bishops in a couple of African countries (Malawi, Zambia) and Kazakhstan refusing to allow it.

No comment here so far, which I think is telling. People who're currently posting on this site aren't giving the Catholics much importance--who cares if the old fellow in a funny hat is making noises? It cheers me to reflect on that.  :grin:

Still, that gigantic old wheeze the Holy Roman Catholic Church claimed me as a born mark, and for a few decades I considered it an enemy. Therefore I still give it more attention than it deserves.  :sherlock2:  :sulk:
"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


Tank

If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

zorkan

Not sure how many gay popes there have been, but I get the impression that most monks are gay men.

https://time.com/5896685/queer-monks-medieval-history/

Asmodean

#10
I see your "queer" monks and raise you this;


The factual basis is... What it is, but they did get to a point that I find somewhat-compelling. In general, people both like and really want sex. When those desires are repressed, some of them find "creative" outlets, such as screwing children. (For clarity, I'm talking about people who are not specifically attracted to kids that way)

That said, I wonder if your impression is due to the opinion piece having been written by one of them Intersectional activists, who seem to think that, among other such things, the whole world is on a spectrum of gayness. Personally, I think that "some people will eventually have sex with who's available" does not a "queer community" make.

The Asmo goes on a vicious rant against The Woke(tm)
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on July 25, 2013, 08:18:52 PM
In Asmo's grey lump,
wrath and dark clouds gather force.
Luxembourg trembles.

zorkan

"Video unavailable
The uploader has not made this video available in your country"

That's what it says.


Asmodean

Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on July 25, 2013, 08:18:52 PM
In Asmo's grey lump,
wrath and dark clouds gather force.
Luxembourg trembles.

zorkan

Okay, I've seen some of that.
Wow, Peshawar must have changed since I was there.
It was neat and seemed quite affluent, but I guess so many people had crossed the border from Afghanistan.
You can blame the Russians, the Americans, the British and others for sparking so much religious fundamentalism.

Asmodean

Yeah... Blaming everyone except whoever happens to be in the mirror is the staple of international politics.

Personally, I refrain from assigning blame beyond saying that if the situation is as the filmmakers describe, then the sovereign nation of Pakistan has a job of work to do within its borders - regardless of what may or may not be happening in Afghanistan, Russia or Equador.
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on July 25, 2013, 08:18:52 PM
In Asmo's grey lump,
wrath and dark clouds gather force.
Luxembourg trembles.