chuckago

FROM AMERICABLOG.BLOGSPOT.COM

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Pope ignores Jesus, Casts Stones
by Rob in Baltimore - 2/22/2005 10:22:00 PM

He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
-- John 8:7

Seriously, I think that the Pope might need to spend more time reading the Bible and less time writing books. From Reuters:

Homosexual marriages are part of "a new ideology of evil" that is insidiously threatening society, Pope John Paul says in a new book published Tuesday.

In "Memory and Identity," the Pope also calls abortion a "legal extermination" comparable to attempts to wipe out Jews and other groups in the 20th century.

He's kidding, right? Gay couples who want to commit themselves in love is an ideology of evil? Perhaps he should look in his own organization if he wants to talk about evil. Thanks to a number of brave victims, and the commitment of The Boston Globe, we know this:

For decades church leaders kept horrific tales of abuse out of the public eye through an elaborate culture of secrecy, decepetion, and intimidation. Victims who came forward with abuse claims were ignored or paid off, while accused priests were quietly transferred from parish to parish or sent for brief periods of psychological counseling.

Far from being unaware of abusive behavior, Cardinal Law and his deputies had detailed information on many of the archdiocese's most serious molesters. Yet it was not until decades of allegations had accumulated against them that many abusive clergymen were removed from parish ministry. Despite reports of child rape and other criminal behavior by clergymen, church leaders made no apparent effort to inform law enforcement authorities.

The scandal began brewing in Boston, but it was not isolated here. As public furor grew, other dioceses began confronting abusive clergy in their ranks. By the end of 2002, some 1,200 priests had been accused of abuse nationwide, according to a study by The New York Times. Over the course of the year, five US prelates resigned in connection with sex scandals, including Boston's Cardinal Law -- joining four others who had resigned in previous years. The crisis was also felt worldwide, with accusations of abuse or the mishandling of scandals forcing the resignation of bishops in Argentina, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Wales, Scotland, Canada, Switzerland, and Austria.

That's right, by 2002 1,200 priests had been accused of abuse. By 2004, that number had grown to over 4,300. If you want to see PURE EVIL, here it is:

The Catholic bishops of the United States have removed about 700 allegedly abusive priests and deacons from ministry over the last two years, a dramatic housecleaning at the end of a half-century in which 4,392 priests allegedly abused 10,667 minors.

That's from LAST year. Nearly 11,000 children were abused by Catholic priests -- men of God -- and the Church's response was to pay off victims, cover it up, and move the priests to new parishes. That, Your Holiness, is pure evil. Not two people of the same gender who love each other.

-- Rob in Baltimore

this post was collected (not written) by chuckago@yahoo.com