Wednesday, March 31, 2010

GOP Wait and See What Happens With Healthcare Bill

The Healthcare debate is over. The bill is passed. President Obama has signed it into law. But long lives the wait and see what happens.


If Democrats are right and this bill does not prove to be the monster of socialism that the Republicans decry it is, then there may be trouble in the days to come for those who opposed it.


Clearly there was a slighting of Republican input as the politics as usual tactics this time were used by Democrats. I say this time, because history shows, both sides have used the same legislative rule gimmicks to pass legislation. Just so happen that this may have been the political maneuvering of the century, since it involved one of the most significant pieces of legislation since the Civil Rights era. Then again, the GOP decided to shun partisanship in the beginning with a power play to break the President, which is always dangerous politics; especially if it backfires and voters see it as petty and too partisan.


But if it does have a negative impact, then it may spell doom for some within the Democratic Party as they face fierce opposition at the polls. Whether the Republican opposition is enough to unseat Democrats is something which is left to voters.


States also have geared up for an envisioned fight over state rights vs. federal rights, which may lead to an even fierce constitutional battle.


Regardless of what side you are on, there is one thing that is sure. There are 32,000 million people in American who need to be insured, and for them, this may be already seeing, rather than waiting to see. Coverage for them makes the difference between life and death, good or poor health. If the Healthcare Reform is a mistake, I am sure they would rather see Congress err on the side of passage, rather than nothing at all.


Also by incorporating the Student Loan piece within the bill, there are millions of college students who stand to benefit greatly as it relates to student loans. For them it means a better shot now at affording college.


Although it still is not clear what all is in the tea, so far the healthcare debate is kept hot on the burner by those who call this a government takeover, as they brew and continue sipping on their own brand of political tea.


As for the Republican Party, we may want to cool off a bit, choose to sip on a cup of coffee, and wait and see what happens before we fan a fire which may shift winds and turn in our paths.


To reach the NRAAC national chair:

Jean Howard-Hill

nraachowardhill@gmail.com
jean.howard.hill@gmail.com


[Dr. Jean Howard-Hill is the author of Black Eyes Shut, White Lips Sealed. She has serves as the national chair for the National Black Republican Women with her late husband, Attorney Bobby Lee Hill serving as the head of the Black Republican Men for Change from 1987 to his death in 1991. After his death up until 1993, she remained head of the organization, and in 1999 combined the two groups to form the National Republican African American Caucus.

She has taught full time and as an adjunct, American Government, State and Local Government, and International Politics and Culture of Nonwestern Countries at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, and was voted 2006 Outstanding Professor of the year. Additionally, from 1976 to 1979, she designed and directed the "Democracy In Action" Program, which was a civics program taught in the local school systems. Howard-Hill also is a local political commentator and holds a law degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville College of Law. She also is ordained clergy and heads The Healing Place Ministries International, overseeing 47 ministries throughout Africa.]

The National Republican African-American Caucus is an organization that is comprised of Spirit filled people of faith within the African American community, that works in conjunction with local, state and national party efforts to embrace, and offer African-American Republicans opportunities for inclusion and involvement in the Republican Party, and builds bridges between the African-American community and the Republican Party. In doing so, it seeks to carry out the philosophy and mission set before President Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas to build a stronger and more inclusive Republican Party, where those guiding principles are more important than politics.

More information on the NRAAC can be found at:

http://www.nraacaucus.org; http://nraacaucus.ning.com [NRAAC] National Republican African American Caucus Social Issue Network (members only); http://nraac.blogspot.com [NRAAC Blog]; http://youthonthehorizons.blogspot.com [NRAAC Youth on the Horizons Blog]; http://the-twig.blogspot.com [NRAAC New Generation-New Direction Blog]; and
http://theblackolivebranch.blogspot.com [NRAAC National Chair's Blog]. Each State Caucus can be accessed by state. See related links at http://www.nraacaucus.org/index_files/Page816.htm. Also can be found on the RNC group page at http://our.gop.com/Groups/National_Republican_African-American_Caucus_NRAAC.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Cheshire Cat and White Rabbit

This Cheshire Cat was made by Marlene (Tedebear101 on Ravelry). The Cheshire Cat is an easy pattern.

Evy-Ann made this White Rabbit. Evy-Ann's blog: husflit.wordpress.com.

When it comes to justice, secularism trumps Catholicism. Sacraments of Penance, Eucharist & Priesthood are worthless in our justice system

The Sacrament of Penance and/or ‘forgiveness’ is fine for venial sins but not for mortal sins. And the worst mortal sin in the latter half of the 20th century is the most heinous crime against children committed by the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army (JPIIPPA). The Sacrament of Penance (also known as forgiveness) may spiritually forgive the pedophile priests, but humanly and morally speaking, it does absolutely nothing for the victims because it does not monetarily compensate them, it cannot heal them and most of all it brings no justice and no jail time to their predators, the criminal pedophile priests. Benedict XVI in his letter to Ireland called for pedophile priests to “to put themselves collectively in a state of penance and purification”, that ‘state’ subtly referring to the Sacrament of Confession which is useless in the secularism’s system of justice. See ‘Forgiveness’ is a gizmo of injustice to victims of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army. To Vaticanista chiesa.espresso Sandro Magister, Baloney! http://jp2army.blogspot.com/2010/03/forgiveness-is-gizmo-of-injustice-to.html

John Paul II must never be called a “saint” by American lips and in American soil (and in the world) in this generation and all generations to come because he failed to defend and protect one single American child among the tens of thousands victims of his John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army, aptly named after him because he had the longest papacy to do something to stop it but he didn’t simply because he was callous, indifferent and cold-hearted towards children. He was only concerned with his narcissistic legacy as John Paul II the Great, produced and managed by the Opus Dei at the Vatican. See the John Paul II Millstone , John Paul II Titanic Ship hit not only by American iceberg of priest pedophilia, also Irish iceberg, German iceberg, Austrian...Canadian icebergs.... http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2010/03/john-paul-ii-titanic-ship-hit-not-only.html

When it comes to justice, secularism trumps Catholicism. That’s right, secularism that is godless, without doctrines, without dogmas, without catechism, without reverential religious rituals, secularism which Benedict XVI hates to his core, has more justice than the Catholic Church with an infallible Pope and Catholic Catechism which were used in the system of cover-up of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army sins by the Catholic Church.

Ironically, it was the secular government and secular lawyers who brought justice to the American victims of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army and made the American Catholic Church pay 2.2 billion dollars in compensation to victims, and some jail time to a few pedophile priests. The American Cardinals and Bishops continue to fight to keep the records of 6,000 pedophile priests confidential; Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles hides hundreds of them and protect them from going to jail.

The Seat of Power of the Pope and Cardinals and Bishops and priests really is the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which includes the Sacrament of Priesthood and Sacrament of Penance. But the reality is, the Pope and priests do not have power to forgive and the Sacrament of Penance which they use as a means of injustice especially to victims. Benedict XVI’s Pastoral Letter to the people of Ireland will not bring justice and will not heal any of the tens of thousands victims. See It is time for the French Revolution at the Vatican: Benedict XVI must resign, Cardinal Bernard Law et al must resign …Shut-down the Vatican http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/it-is-time-for-french-revolution-at.html

The reality is, the Pope and priests do not have power to reincarnate the flesh of Christ in the flour host. We expose Benedict XVI has no power to say « Let there be God » in the Eucharist just like he has no power to say « Let there be light » in Genesis http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2009/12/benedict-xvi-has-no-power-to-say-let.html

We showed with pictures that Benedict XVI and priests cannot reincarnate Christ’s flesh in a 9 seconds of formula because it took the Blessed Mary 9-months pregnancy of Jesus - see Magisterium Benedict VERSUS Holy Mary: Priests' transubstantiation instant reincarnation of Christ VERSUS Mary’s 9 months pregnancy& child birth http://stella0maris.blogspot.com/

You go, Ireland! Make Benedict XVI pay 1 billion euro for his crimes as ‘ General Ratzinger of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army in Ireland’ http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/02/you-go-ireland-make-benedict-xvi-pay-1.html

See John Allen the Pied Piper of Benedict XVI toots “Will Ratzinger's past trump Benedict's present?” http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/john-allen-pied-piper-of-benedict-xvi_25.html

Compare the CRIMES and their VICTIMS in America

Victims - Attackers - Responsible Leaders

Pearl Harbor - 3,000 victims - 170 planes - Admiral Yamamoto

WTC & 9/11 attacks - 5,000 victims - 19 Muslims - Osama bin Laden

USA Priest Pedophilia - 12,000 victims - 6,000 priests - John Paul II & Benedict XVI & Opus Dei, the new Vatican Trinity

See American litigation against Benedict XVI-Cardinal Ratzinger the head of a Global Web of Childhood Sexual Abuse http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/02/american-litigation-against-benedict.html

NEW: Hundred of cases reported in Austria http://austrianindependent.com/news/General_News/2010-03-30/1860/Hundreds_of_cases_of_clerical_abuse_reported


Hundreds of cases of clerical abuse reported

There have been 566 reports of various kinds of abuse by clergy at the Catholic Church’s ombudsman’s offices this year, it was reported today (Tues).

Vienna archdiocese has had the highest number, 174, followed by Innsbruck diocese with 115. More than half of them can no longer be prosecuted because of the statute of limitations.

Cases of sexual abuse constitute 27 per cent of these, cases of violence 26 per cent. More than half of them require further investigation, according to the media.

The rising number of reports has caused Vienna Archbishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, the titular head of the Austrian Catholic Church and chairman of the Austrian Bishops Conference, to react.

He announced during a TV interview on Sunday that former Styrian People’s Party (ÖVP) Governor Waltraud Klasnic would head a commission dealing with victims of Catholic Church abuse, but the news was met with harsh criticism.

Parish priest Rudolf Schermann, who publishes Catholic magazine Kirche In, said yesterday: "I would have preferred an objective atheist." Schermann said no one could expect independent work from Klasnic since she had "strong links" to the Catholic Church.

Social Democratic (SPÖ) juridical issues spokesman Hannes Jarolim branded Klasnic’s nomination "unacceptable. She is not objective in this matter and is not a lawyer," Jarolim said yesterday.

Various hotlines set up by independent platforms to give victims of violence and sexual abuse by Catholic Church clergy a chance to talk about what they experienced have received hundreds of calls over the past few weeks.

A recent Integral Institut poll found 69 per cent of Austrians said the church was lacking in credibility, while another survey revealed that around one million Austrians were seriously considering leaving the Church.

More than 53,000 people left the Catholic Church in Austria in 2009, the highest in the country’s history. Analysts have said that recent developments could result in a new record number this year.


Victims of sex abuse to sue Vatican

The Times (United Kingdom)
Tony Allen-Mills in New York and John Follain in Rome

NEW revelations about Pope Benedict XVI’s alleged role in covering up accusations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have exposed the Vatican to the risk of lawsuits brought by victims around the world.

Mounting anger at the Catholic Church’s failure to act on predatory priests in the US, Europe and Mexico has plunged the papacy into an institutional crisis described by an American Catholic newspaper last week as “the largest in centuries”.

Yesterday the Vatican denounced the “aggressive persistence” of critics who were attempting to “involve the Holy Father personally in the matter of abuse”. A spokesman told Vatican Radio that the Pope’s record was “above discussion”.

Pope 'is at centre of Vatican abuse cover-up', says Hans Küng

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article7075618.ece

Roger Boyes, BerlinOne of Europe’s leading theological thinkers has accused the Pope of being complicit in a Vatican cover-up of child abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church.

“No one in the whole of the Catholic Church knows as much about abuse cases – knowledge that is ex officio, derived from his office,” Hans Küng said in an interview with Swiss television.

Professor Küng – a long-standing critic of the Vatican – said that the Pope’s involvement in hiding clerical molestation of children dated back at least to his 24 years as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome .

“This Vatican authority has for a long time centralised [information about] all abuse cases so that they can be concealed, classified as top secret,” the 82-year old Swiss theologian said.

He has been a close observer of Joseph Ratzinger – now Pope Benedict XVI – since they were theology professors at the University of Tübingen in the 1960s. Both were theological advisers to the Second Vatican Council, which concluded in 1965.

Professor Küng’s clinching piece of documentary evidence against his old university colleague is contained in a diocesal letter, dated March 18, 2001, on child abuse, “De delictis gravioribus” (“about serious offences”). Signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the document establishes guidelines for dealing with priests suspected of abuse:

“In tribunals established by ordinaries or hierarchs, the functions of judge, promoter of justice, notary and legal representative can validly be performed for these cases only by priests. When the trial in the tribunal is finished in any fashion, all the acts of the case are to be transmitted ex officio as soon as possible to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith," it says.

Professor Küng argues that the Pope is acting hypocritically by calling bishops to order because for the past ten years such offences have been officially regulated behind closed doors.

“He cannot now wag his finger at the bishops and say 'you did not do enough!' He gave the instructions himself – as boss of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and again as Pope.”

The Vatican has argued that it is a serious misunderstanding to cast the 2001 document as part of the Church’s supposed “culture of silence”.

A German church official tried to play down Professor Küng’s utterances, arguing in essence that the theologian has "form” with the Pope.

After their stint in Tübingen together, Hans Küng and Joseph Ratzinger went separate ways: Professor Ratzinger, upset at the radical questioning of doctrine during the 1968 student disturbances, moved to the more conservative Regensburg; Professor Küng began openly to question the infallibility of the Pope and urge a discussion about the celibacy of priests.

In 1979 the Vatican stripped him of his right to teach Catholic theology.
But Professor Küng remains a morally powerful figure in Europe – even Tony Blair came to Tübingen to pay his respects – and his highlighting of the 2001 document has fed into a public debate in Germany about how much the Pope knows personally about the abuse cases.

Only 17 per cent of Germans still trust the Catholic Church, according to a study by the FORSA sampling institute. At the end of January, 29 per cent of Germans trusted the Church and 38 per cent trusted the Bavarian-born Pope Benedict.

“Abuse: what did the Pope know?” was the front page headline of Der Tagesspiegel on Thursday – next to a picture of the 2001 document.

It is clear that the Pope certainly knew about the practice of transferring paedophile priests form parish to parish.

As Archbishop Ratzinger, head of the Diocesan Council of Munich, he presided over a meeting on January 15, 1980 that discussed the case of Father Peter Hullermann.
Father Hullermann had forced an 11-year-old to have oral sex and had assaulted three other children. The parents had been persuaded not to press charges and the police had not been informed. Instead he was supposed to be moved out of the diocese of Essen, to Archbishop Ratzinger’s territory in southern Germany.

Archbishop Ratzinger formally approved the transfer and ordered him to undergo therapy. Again, the police were not informed. Within a fortnight however the chaplain was taking on pastoral duties again. Whether the Archbishop knew of this is unclear.

Advice from Father Hullermann's therapist that the priest should not be allowed to work with children, and should be under close supervision, was ignored by the Archbishop's staff.

Over the next two decades, Father Hullermann persistently re-offended. Only once did it come to court: in 1986 he was given an 18-month suspended prison sentence. By this time, Cardinal Ratzinger was established in Rome and presumably was not following the details of Father Hullermann’s career.

Informally, on his regular visits to his brother Georg – choirmaster of the Regensburger Domspatzen – he may have heard reports of abuse. Georg Ratzinger himself says that he had “heard stories” about the boarding school in Etterzhausen that prepared children for the choir. No action was taken.

Through the 1990s, a pattern seems to have established itself in both Cardinal Ratzinger's Vatican department, but also in the dioceses: priests who abused children had sinned, were required to repent and needed help and solidarity from within the Church.

Open trial and imprisonment would hurt the church as an institution. The option of defrocking an offending priest was also only rarely applied. This week's revelations about an American priest who molested up to 200 deaf pupils falls into this category: proceedings leading to a canonical trial against the priest were broken off after he applied for leniency to Cardinal Ratzinger in 1996.

But by 2001 enough accounts of priestly abuse worldwide were reaching Rome to justify the drafting of a diocesal letter and the definition of child abuse as a grave offence.

The letter was, on the one hand, an affirmation of existing practice: that is, internal disciplining of errant priests. And on the other hand, a clear centralisation of information in Rome.

The Vatican wanted not only an overview but also control. Yet critics say that no significant action was taken on the accumulated information. It should have been plain, at least from 2001, that Irish paedophile priests were being moved to US parishes.

That information must have been available to the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. And to its head, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

Comment on the Pope's coming visit to England:

PF:
Re the pope's state visit -- it will cost a lot of money, the man has apparently covered up child abuse and has definitely made inflammatory statements, his visit should be revoked. It should never have been countenanced in the first place. He should resign and our Prime Minister should make it clear that he is not welcome. Why has the Vatican got a say in the United Nations??? When did the Vatican last send soldiers to face danger in the cause of making the world a better place.

John Paul II must never be called a saint in America, in Ireland, in Germany, in the Netherlands, in Austria, his John Paul II the Great Titanic Ship has been hit by many pedophile priests icebergs. John Paul II had no charity for the tens of thousands of poor suffering children victims of his John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army - See John Paul II did not have the charity of Mother Teresa http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2009/11/john-paul-ii-did-not-have-charity-of.html

Benedict honors John Paul 5 years after death


Pope Benedict XVI arrives for a memorial Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, to mark the fifth anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II, Monday, March 29, 20

VATICAN CITY (AP)— Pope Benedict XVI is commemorating the fifth anniversary of the death of John Paul II with a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Many pilgrims from Poland, the late pontiff’s homeland, joined Benedict in prayer Monday evening.

The 84-year-old John Paul died on April 2, 2005, after battling Parkinson’s disease. The commemoration was held a few days earlier because April 2 this year falls on Good Friday, when Benedict will preside over Lenten services at the Vatican and at the Colosseum in Rome.

Immediately after John Paul’s death, faithful were clamoring for his sainthood. But this anniversary comes amid some doubts that a miracle needed for his saint-making will stand up to scrutiny. And there have been questions about John Paul’s record in combatting pedophile priests.

British protesters demand Pope quits over abuse



An anti-Pope protester dressed as a religious leader knees amongst protesters with their banners as they demonstrate outside Westminster Cathedral in London in a demonstration calling for the Pope Benedict XVI to resign, Sunday.

LONDON (AP)— British protesters called on Pope Benedict XVI to resign Sunday as they staged a demonstration over the Catholic Church’s handling of clerical sex abuse cases.

Demonstrators gathered outside Westminster Cathedral to call for action over the scandal, carrying placards displaying messages including "Pope? Nope!" and "Don’t Turn a Blind Eye," though fewer than 50 people joined the rally.

Revelations of the sexual abuse of children by priests at Catholic institutions have swept across Europe, including in the pope’s native Germany.

Benedict has been criticized over a case dating to his tenure as archbishop of Munich, and his actions when head of the Vatican office responsible for disciplining priests.

"The buck stops with him and he should resign," human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said at the London rally. "The pope has played a direct personal role in covering up sex abuse."

However, Benedict won support from Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols who insisted the pope wouldn’t — and shouldn’t — quit.

"The pope will not resign, frankly there is no strong reason for him to do so," he told BBC television. "In fact, it is the other way around. He is the one above all else in Rome that has tackled this thing head on."

Austrian church abuse hot lines log 566 reports

VIENNA — Austria’s Catholic Church says its abuse hot lines have received 566 calls or e-mails this year.

The head of the abuse reporting center linked to the Vienna archdiocese says most of the complaints — 174 in total — were logged by his center.

The statistics carried by the Kathpress Catholic news agency also show that 115 were received by the Innsbruck diocese, 78 were logged in Linz and 63 in Graz-Seckau.

Johannes Wancata said Tuesday it was unclear how many of the reports would turn out to be concrete abuse claims, but that all would be followed up diligently.

Austria is among several European countries hit by an ongoing wave of church abuse claims in recent weeks.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Nice

This is rather nice, on Sydney's northern beaches. Love the little front gate... might do that (but with a stone wall) next time. I think the price tag is around $5 million.

Look, there's the sea! Lovely.
Happy Tuesday folks.
A-M xx

Images courtesy www.realestate.com.au.

‘Forgiveness’ is a tool of INJUSTICE to victims of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army. To Vaticanista chiesa.espresso Sandro Magister, Baloney!

The Pope’s Italian Vaticanista, Sandro Magister, (counterpart of American John Allen Jr of All Things Catholic of NCR) just wrote an article of 'forgiveness' (not in his title) to try to save Benedict XVI’s head from the guillotine of the media on the wake of Benedict XVI’s worse cover-up of a pedophile priest (after the German Fr. Hullermann) in Wisconsin who molested 200 deaf boys see B & B Benedict XVI and Cardinal Bertone in 1998 hid a pedophile priest who abused 200 deaf boys http://jp2army.blogspot.com/2010/03/b-b-benedict-xvi-and-cardinal-bertone.html. One of the mothers said that Benedict XVI is “lying” (see her article below and watch VIDEOS).

Please read our latest post in the John Paul II Millstone: John Paul II Titanic Ship hit not only by American iceberg of priest pedophilia, also Irish iceberg, German iceberg, Austrian...Canadian icebergs.... http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2010/03/john-paul-ii-titanic-ship-hit-not-only.html

So Italian Vaticanista of chiesa.espresso Sandro Magister in his article “Genesis of a Crime: The Revolution of the 1960’s” is invoking a litany of spiritual measures to save Benedict XVI’s head, especially the words of Jesus in the Gospel and the story of Nineveh in the old Testament. But here’s to you, Sandro Magister: Nonsense, in Italian, Sciocchezza!

Let us point out how deceptive Sandro Magister is using the trump card of forgiveness(or the Sacrament of Penance) in laymen’s terms.

Sandro Magister is the #2 Pied Piper (after John Allen of NCR the number 1 Pied Piper) of Benedict XVI see John Allen the Pied Piper of Benedict XVI toots “Will Ratzinger's past trump Benedict's present?” http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/john-allen-pied-piper-of-benedict-xvi_25.html

Let us show you the deceptive professional journalism of Italian Sandro Magister in this article.

1 First, Magister makes Benedict XVI appear as if he is suddenly doing so many things as Pope to remedy the sex abuse scandals plaguing the Vatican. We put our comments below the phrases

» »Law and grace. Where earthly justice does not reach, the hand of God can. With his letter dated March 19, Benedict XVI has given the Catholics of Ireland an order never before given by a pope of the modern era to an entire national Church.

(Where earthly justice does not reach, the hand of God can. Here Sandro Magister insinuates that Benedict XVI’s hand is God’s hand. He is speaking for Benedict XVI that law and grace is possible, that SECULAR law should forget its way of justice and punishment for criminals and let grace rule. Grace usually means forgiveness, spirituality, all nice feelings of forgive-and-forget, like simply pray the Hail Mary, full of grace, and forget the whole John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army ever happened. Very tricky, Sandro Magister, you're like a serpent sneaking in your Vatican agenda for B16)

» »He told them not only to bring the guilty before the canonical and civil courts, but to put themselves collectively in a state of penance and purification. And not in the privacy of their consciences, but in a public form, before the eyes of all, even of their most implacable and mocking adversaries.

(Benedict XVI told them only because the secular governments and the secular victims are telling him to do so. Ireland had to do its own Murphy and Ryan Reports, Benedict XVI did nothing, the Vatican did nothing except cover-up all those pedophile priests in Ireland for decades.)

» »Fasting, prayer, reading the Bible, and works of charity on all the Fridays from now until Easter of next year. Frequent sacramental confession. Continual adoration of Jesus – " himself a victim of injustice and sin" – present in the sacred host, exposed on the altars of the churches.

(There is nothing new in this list of Benedict XVI. In fact these are all he has been doing with Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law as Archpriest of St. Mary Magiorre in Rome. All these things Benedict XVI mentions are very common, there is nothing new in them because Catholics have been doing these for centuries. Fridays during Lent was eat only fish or in lieu, a Hail Mary or a small act of charity. In fact these are all that Benedict XVI and those pedophile priests have been doing so well that is why their crimes were able to go undetected. All these Catholic rites and rituals mentioned are tools of secrecy of sins and wolves in sheep's clothing cloaks of deceptions to distract the attention of victims and law enforcers.)

» »And for all the bishops, priests, and religious, without exception, a special period of "mission," a long and strict course of spiritual exercises for a radical review of life.

(This is baloney. Spiritual exercises are a forte of Cardinal Bernard Law and Cardinal Mahony and all Bishops guilty of cover-up. Those pedophile priests were great speakers and well versed with spirituality, just like John Paul II the Great, the great writer and speaker and traveler; but in spite all these spiritual exercises and special mission, they were all cold-hearted and indifferent to the victims of pedophile priests. See John Paul II did not have the charity of Mother Teresa http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2009/11/john-paul-ii-did-not-have-charity-of.html

» »It's a daring step, this one taken by Pope Benedict. Because not even the prophet Jonah believed any longer that God would forgive Nineveh its sins, in spite of the penitential ashes and sackcloth worn by all, from the king to the lowliest beast of burden.

(Whoa! Sandro Magister is now comparing Benedict XVI with Jonah, that if God could forgive Nineveh, God can forgive also Benedict XVI and the Vatican and the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army of the 20th century. Not this time, Magister, not this time, the sins of the Vatican and the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army are worse than Nineveh and Sodom and Gomorrah and the Third Secret of Fatima shall come true with the full destruction of the Vatican. Even Mother Mary cannot stand the sight of Benedict XVI any longer just like she cannot stand the sight of John Paul II see John Paul II betrayed 'Totus Tuus Marie' http://stella0maris.blogspot.com/2007/06/john-paul-ii-betrayed-totus-tuus-marie.html. Benedict XVI is the Papal Midas Touch only counting the trillion dollar Vatican Bank and he is the Bad Shepherd who has grossly neglected children under his watch as Prefect of the CDF and the Vatican.)

» »And today as well, many conclude that the Church remains irremediably under condemnation, even after the letter in which the pope himself expresses shame and remorse for the abomination committed against children by some priests, with the culpable negligence of some bishops.

(This is a very deceptive paragraph of Sandro Magister in that he emphasizes that it is enough that "the pope himself expresses shame and remorse for the abomination committed against children by some priests, with the culpable negligence of some bishops." This 'expression of shame and remorse' is equivalent to the Sacrament of Confession or Penance or Reconciliation in the Catholic Church -- that it is enough to confess ones sins and forgive-and-forget and move-on.)


2 Second, Sandro Magister cites Jesus’ words to forgive ALL sins pedophile priests “if they sincerely repent”

» »And yet God's forgiveness descended even upon Nineveh, and the skeptical Jonah had to face this fact, and Michelangelo painted this very prophet at the top of the wall behind the altar in the Sistine Chapel, to show that God's forgiveness is the key to everything, from the creation of the world to the last judgment.

(The Sistine Chapel makes the Pope and Cardinals live out-of-touch with reality. This is where they elect a new pope and where the brother of Benedict XVI celebrated his 80th birthday see photos in Benedict XVI’s priest brother, Georg Ratzinger admits “slapping” famous Regenesburg choir boys …but, was that all? http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/benedict-xvis-priest-brother-georg.html Sandro Magister is using the art of Michelangelo to invoke “God's forgiveness is the key to everything, from the creation of the world to the last judgment." Michaelangelo's art and the Sistine Chapel are useful only for the pageantry and the tourist account of the Vatican Bank but they are totally useless for us in America and for the victims of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army. In fact the Vatican art treasures couldn't suvive one month at the John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington D.C. which is sinking in the mire http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2006/08/john-paul-ii-cultural-center-in-mire.html)

(The problem with this forgiveness card is, if 'forgiveness' was used for the 6,000 American pedophile priests, not one dollar of the 2.2 Billion dollars would have been paid out by the American Catholic Church to the victims in the USA. This includes the more than $100 million paid out by Cardinal Bernard Law who was forced to sell his pompous Archbishop's Palace to Boston College.)

» »On Sunday, March 21, while his letter was being read in the churches of Ireland, Benedict XVI commented to the faithful, at the Angelus in St. Peter's Square, on Jesus' forgiveness of the adulterous woman: "He knows what is in the heart of every man, he wants to condemn sin, but to save the sinner and unmask hypocrisy." The hypocrisy of those who wanted to stone the woman, even though they were the first to sin.

(Now Sandro Magister is accusing the media and everyone are running after Benedict XVI’s head with “The hypocrisy of those who wanted to stone the woman, even though they were the first to sin.” He is reminding that we are all sinners and we must not cast any stone to Benedict XVI. This is the loudest pied piping by Sandro Magister in that he is acting like Christ showing us a stone and daring us not to throw the first stone to Benedict XVI. How much is the Vatican Bank paying you, Sandro? Baloney to you. )

» »Ruthless with sin, "beginning with our own," and merciful towards persons. This is the lesson that Joseph Ratzinger wants to apply to the case of Ireland, and, by extension, to the entire Church.

(Sandro Magister is speaking on behalf of Benedict XVI when he says “This is the lesson that Joseph Ratzinger wants to apply to the case of Ireland, and, by extension, to the entire Church.” Problem is, Benedict XVI words no longer hold water, he is a pathological liar like the little boy who cried Wolf 3 times too many see Benedict XVI condemns abuse of children by priests 3 DECADES LATE…Cardinal Ratzinger Pope B16 is a pathological liar http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/02/benedict-xvi-condemns-abuse-of-children.html

(Benedict XVI NEVER defended any child abused by thousands of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army, he is a cold-blooded despot and now he is asking mercy through this Italian Vaticanista? Not a chance)

» »On the one hand, the rigors of the law. The price of justice must be paid to the last penny. The dioceses, the seminaries, the religious congregations in which the abuse was allowed to run free have been warned: apostolic visitors will come from the Vatican to uncover what they have done, and even where there is nothing that can be prosecuted under civil law, canonical discipline will punish the negligent.

(The Irish victims asked for 1 billion euro and we have not seen a euro out of the hand of Benedict XVI from his trillion dollar Vatican Bank. Nothing was mentioned to this demand after the 2-days meeting with the Irish Bishops. Sandro Magister is a pathological liar when he writes "The price of justice must be paid to the last penny." He knows that the Vatican Bank will never give out a penny to survivors of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army. The American Catholic Church paid more to lawyers to try to pay the least to victims.)

» »But at the same time, the pope is kindling the light of grace. He is opening the door of God's forgiveness even to those guilty of the worst abominations, if they sincerely repent.

(Again, Sandro Magister does not mix his words; he is clearly speaking out in laymen’s term on behalf of Benedict XVI asking the laity to forgive the pope and he makes it appear like God’s forgiveness for all the John Paul II Pedophile Priests…no jail time, only repentance. This is the fallacy of the Sacrament of Confession and that’s all that Benedict XVI requires: repentance, no monetary compensation and no jail time. What a Holy Crap!)

(If all the court houses in the USA and in the world followed Benedict XVI's and God’s forgiveness to those guilty of worst abomination, all our jails would be empty and there would be no need for judges and lawyers, imagine what a chaos that would be. Benedict XVI’s and the Catholic Church’s sense of justice is totally nonsense and it Magic of Forgiveness like the Magic of the Mass see Magisterium Benedict VERSUS Holy Mary: Priests' transubstantiation instant reincarnation of Christ VERSUS Mary’s 9 months pregnancy& child birth http://stella0maris.blogspot.com/!)

» »As for the foremost accusers, those most armed with stones to throw at the Church, none of them is without sin. It is a stretch for those who exalt sexuality as a pure instinct, free from any constraint, to object when it is abused.

(Again, Sandro Magister is reminding that we are all sinners and that we have no right to throw stone to Benedict XVI who is like the adulterous woman.)

(Listen Magister, if all the USA lawyers accepted this Christ-like argument of yours, the Catholic Church would not paid 2.2 billion dollars of compensation to 12,000 American victims of 6,000 of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army in the USA. You have lived too long in Italy and you are also out-of-touch with reality like the Pope that you serve. If all we did in Bosotn and in the USA was "forgive" the pedophile priests, those pedophile priests would have kept on committing sodomy with Holy ES at biblical proportions see Biggest Vatican stories of the decade: John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army committed Holy ES Eucharist-and-Sodomy of Biblical proportions http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2010/01/biggest-vatican-stories-of-decade-john.html.)

(Your Vatican prescription is: sodomize and forgive, sodomize and forgive. Sandro Magister, you can enjoy you days at the Vatican and in Italy, but your sense of Benedict XVI justice does not hold water under secular law. You may be paid by the trillion dollar Vatican Bank together with John Allen of All Things Catholics, but secular law shall prevail in Italy and for the victims of the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army at the Vatican -- just like it did for the entire country of the USA from Boston to LA. You and John Allen cannot save Beneidct XVI from the guillotine of the media; Benedict XVI is now a RATzinger lost in the Vatican sex scandal maze with nowhere to run http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/benedict-xvi-is-now-ratzinger-lost-in.html

-------

Genesis of a Crime. The Revolution of the 1960's

The scandal of pedophilia has always been there, but it was magnified by the cultural revolution of half a century ago. Benedict XVI makes the claim in his letter to the Catholics of Ireland. Two cardinals and a sociologist comment

by Sandro Magister
http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1342641?eng=y


ROME, March 25, 2010 – Law and grace. Where earthly justice does not reach, the hand of God can. With his letter dated March 19, Benedict XVI has given the Catholics of Ireland an order never before given by a pope of the modern era to an entire national Church.

He told them not only to bring the guilty before the canonical and civil courts, but to put themselves collectively in a state of penance and purification. And not in the privacy of their consciences, but in a public form, before the eyes of all, even of their most implacable and mocking adversaries. Fasting, prayer, reading the Bible, and works of charity on all the Fridays from now until Easter of next year. Frequent sacramental confession. Continual adoration of Jesus – " himself a victim of injustice and sin" – present in the sacred host, exposed on the altars of the churches. And for all the bishops, priests, and religious, without exception, a special period of "mission," a long and strict course of spiritual exercises for a radical review of life.

It's a daring step, this one taken by Pope Benedict. Because not even the prophet Jonah believed any longer that God would forgive Nineveh its sins, in spite of the penitential ashes and sackcloth worn by all, from the king to the lowliest beast of burden.

And today as well, many conclude that the Church remains irremediably under condemnation, even after the letter in which the pope himself expresses shame and remorse for the abomination committed against children by some priests, with the culpable negligence of some bishops.

And yet God's forgiveness descended even upon Nineveh, and the skeptical Jonah had to face this fact, and Michelangelo painted this very prophet at the top of the wall behind the altar in the Sistine Chapel, to show that God's forgiveness is the key to everything, from the creation of the world to the last judgment.

On Sunday, March 21, while his letter was being read in the churches of Ireland, Benedict XVI commented to the faithful, at the Angelus in St. Peter's Square, on Jesus' forgiveness of the adulterous woman: "He knows what is in the heart of every man, he wants to condemn sin, but to save the sinner and unmask hypocrisy." The hypocrisy of those who wanted to stone the woman, even though they were the first to sin.

Ruthless with sin, "beginning with our own," and merciful towards persons. This is the lesson that Joseph Ratzinger wants to apply to the case of Ireland, and, by extension, to the entire Church.

On the one hand, the rigors of the law. The price of justice must be paid to the last penny. The dioceses, the seminaries, the religious congregations in which the abuse was allowed to run free have been warned: apostolic visitors will come from the Vatican to uncover what they have done, and even where there is nothing that can be prosecuted under civil law, canonical discipline will punish the negligent.

But at the same time, the pope is kindling the light of grace. He is opening the door of God's forgiveness even to those guilty of the worst abominations, if they sincerely repent.

As for the foremost accusers, those most armed with stones to throw at the Church, none of them is without sin. It is a stretch for those who exalt sexuality as a pure instinct, free from any constraint, to object when it is abused.

The tragedy of some priests and religious, Benedict XVI has written in the letter, was in part that they gave in to these widespread "ways of thinking and assessing secular realities without sufficient reference to the Gospel," to the point of justifying the unjustifiable.

A lapse that certainly cannot be attributed to Ratzinger as bishop and pope, not even by his staunchest adversaries, if they are sincere.

_______________

The commentary reproduced above is published in "L'espresso" no. 13, 2010, on newsstands March 26.
Benedict XVI's letter to the Catholics of Ireland:

English translation by Matthew Sherry, Ballwin, Missouri, U.S.A.
The latest three articles from www.chiesa:

20.3.2010
> "You must answer for it before God"
"... and before properly constituted tribunals." The pope's pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland, on the scandal of sexual abuse against minors on the part of priests

18.3.2010
> How to Pilot the Church in the Storm. A Lesson
Benedict XVI has taught it to the faithful in a general audience, against those who call for a new beginning for Christianity, without hierarchy or dogmas. The secret of good governance, he said, is "above all to think and to pray"

16.3.2010
> The Legion Awaits a New General. And Trembles
A commissioner appointed by the Vatican will take command of the Legionaries of Christ, orphans of their founder Marcial Maciel, disgraced by scandals. This is the likely outcome of eight months of investigation. Many things should be changed, including the current leaders

143 Years of Papal Documents in One Click
VATICAN CITY
Chiesa
[Italian]
[French]
[Spanish]
The Vatican has put on the web the records of the Holy See from the past century and a half, including those on the second world war and on Pius XII and the Jews. A user's guide
by Sandro Magister
ROME, March 27, 2010 – For two days now, all the official records of the Holy See from 1865 to 2007 have been freely available on the internet, in pdf format, on the Vatican website:
> Acta Sanctae Sedis, 1865-1908
> Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 1909-2007
Also available online are the twelve large volumes of the records and documents of the Holy See relative to the period of the second world war, from 1939 to 1945, the collection requested by Paul VI in 1964 and compiled between 1965 and 1981 by the Jesuit historians Pierre Blet, Angelo Martini, Burkhart Schneider and Robert A. Graham:
> Actes et documents du Saint Siège relatifs à la Seconde Guerre Mondiale
Posted by March 27 at 9:55 AM

-------------

Mother of Sex Abuse Victim Says Pope Is 'Lying'

WISCONSIN
ABC News
By Russell Goldman and Clark Bentson
March 25, 2010

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/TheLaw/pope-defrock-priest-admitted-molesting-deaf-boys/story?id=10200159

Senior Vatican officials, including the current pope, refused to punish a priest who sexually assaulted as many as 200 deaf boys over the course of three decades, despite calls for disciplinary measures from two American bishops.

Documents from a lawsuit brought by the priest's now adult victims against the Milwaukee Diocese, and initially obtained by the New York Times, record the Rev. Lawrence Murphy admitting to diocese officials in the 1990s that he molested dozens of boys while working at St. John's School for the Deaf in St. Francis, Wisc., for 25 years from 1950 to 1975.

The documents also include letters during the 1990s from two Wisconsin bishops to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, asking for permission to prosecute Murphy in a church trial. Ratzinger at the time headed the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the church's disciplinary office.

The office initially authorized a secret church trial for Murphy, but the trial was halted after the priest wrote a letter to Ratzinger asking for mercy.

Sex scandals have been roiling the Catholic Church for nearly a decade, but the Milwaukee case is the closest the scandals have come to tainting the Pope. The Murphy revelations also come as the Pope's handling of sex scandals in Germany and Ireland has been questioned.

"The goal of Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, was to keep this secret," said Peter Isely, Milwaukee-based director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, during a protest today outside the Vatican.

"We need to know why he (the pope) did not let us know about him (Murphy) and why he didn't let the police know about him and why he did not condemn him and why he did not take his collar away from him," Isely said.

In Milwaukee, the mother of one of the abused boys, accused the Pope of "lying" through his apologies and said the Church needed to be held accountable.

"There should be no institution that is not accountable for what they do, that is able to hide behind the faith. You know the Catholic Church is very powerful and that should not be," Lynn Pilmaier told reporters. "The Pope, you know, he is lying. I mean his false apologies."

Vatican Defends Pope's Handling of Pedophile Priest



Behind her SNAP supporters spread out photographs of abused children on the sidewalks.

John Pilmaier from Milwaukee, left, and Peter Isely of the SNAP bureau (Survivors Network of those...

John Pilmaier from Milwaukee, left, and Peter Isely of the SNAP bureau (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) show pictures of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger now Pope Benedict XVI, left, and of father Lawrence Murphy, as they stage a press conference in front of The Vatican Thursday, March 25, 2010. SNAP members denounce Benedict's handling of the case that involved father Murphy, who died in 1998, accused of molesting some 200 deaf boys as he worked at the former St. John's School for the Deaf in St. Francis from 1950 to 1975. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's deputy at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,ruled that the alleged molestation had occurred too long ago and that the accused priest, Rev. Lawrence Murphy, should instead repent and be restricted from celebrating Mass outs


(Pier Paolo Cito/AP Photo)Isely and three other protests were held by Italian police for more than two hours because they didn't have a permit for the news conference.

"We've spent more time in the police station than Father Murphy did in his life," Isely said after his release.

The Vatican released a statement today defending its decision to not prosecute Murphy. The Vatican did not say what role the Pope played in that investigation as head of the office.

The Vatican's statement also noted that Murphy solicited sex in the confessional, a church ritual in which members confess their sins to a priest and seek forgiveness.

Murphy "violated the law and, more importantly, the sacred trust that his victims had placed in him," the Vatican statement said. It added, however, that the church did not complete the process to defrock Murphy because he "was elderly and in very poor health, and ? was living in seclusion and no allegations of abuse had been reported in over 20 years."

Murphy died in 1998.

According to the court documents made public today, then Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland wrote to Ratzinger's office explaining he had just learned of the accusations against Murphy and seeking advice on how to handle the situation.

The congregation's second in command, Cardinal Tarciscio Bertone, now the Vatican's secretary of state, told the Wisconsin bishop to begin a secret trial. In a personal appeal to Ratzinger, Murphy wrote, "I have just recently suffered another stroke which has left me in a weakened state. I have repented of any of my past transgressions, and have been living peaceably in northern Wisconsin for 24 years. I simply want to live out the time that I have left in the dignity of my priesthood."

"I ask your kind assistance in this matter," he wrote the man who would be pope within a decade.

Pope's Office Halted Secret Trial of Pedophile Priest

Bertone then sent a letter to the diocese to stop the secret trial.

The archbishop then handling the case, Bishop Raphael Fliss, objected, saying in a letter to Bertone that "I have come to the conclusion that scandal cannot be sufficiently repaired, nor justice sufficiently restored, without a judicial trial against Fr. Murphy."

The victims of Murphy remain angry over the revelations.

"The pope knew about it. He handled sex abuse cases. He should be accountable. He did nothing," said Arthur Budzinski , 61, during a news conference today in Milwaukee. Budzinski said he was abused by Murphy when he was 12 years old and was ignored by police and later Vatican officials when he came forward.

Budzinski said the abuse made with him withdraw as a child, causing him to become "embarrassed and very depressed."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related

Victims: Pope Benedict Protects Accused Pedophile Bishops Then-Cardinal Ratzinger's Hand SlapWATCH: Vatican Insider a Sex Abuser?

Compare the CRIMES and their VICTIMS in America

Victims - Attackers - Responsible Leaders

Pearl Harbor - 3,000 victims - 170 planes - Admiral Yamamoto

WTC & 9/11 attacks - 5,000 victims - 19 Muslims - Osama bin Laden

USA Priest Pedophilia - 12,000 victims - 6,000 priests - John Paul II & Benedict XVI & Opus Dei, the new Vatican Trinity

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Bribe Winner

The winner of these gorgeous Riviera Maison, whitewashed, wooden coasters in a vintage rattan holder, is Kerry, from A Tranquil Townhouse....(random org number 22). Please email me your address Kerry and ... enjoy! My last set!... they are no longer available in Australia.....devastation... you know my obsession with all things vintage rattan.....so don't get me started on the disappearance of the RM 'Cobbler's Wharf'' range... I could have single handedly kept them in business with that one range here in Oz. Aaaah furniture politics...a  harsh reality... great stuff comes and then goes... thank goodness for the new 'great stuff' that is popping up all the time!
Have a great day!
A-M xx

The Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland

I've added the Mad Hatter pattern to my Alice in Wonderland set in my Etsy Shop
Mad Hatter doll

Alice in Wonderland dolls

11th monkey introduces the pandas

My newest creatures are a couple of pandas, Sachi and Peanut. I think they’re adorable!
Sachi the Panda loves mini muffins and playing volleyball. Peanut the Panda loves fried bananas and walking barefoot. Sachi already found a friend to hug her, but Peanut is still looking for a new friend and he loves hugs too.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Sandra Grabowski made this Emily doll. It's bigger than my Emily: she's 9 inches. She used Red Heart Super Saver with an F hook and Caron Super Soft Eco for the hair. Sandra makes stuffed animals and dolls to give to children who are in long-term care at her local Children's Hospital. Kuddos for the good work Sandra does.   

A new year

The Japanese year starts in April, that is when the new school year and business year starts, so lots of things change. For our school that means Sachi is leaving and being replaced by a new Japanese teacher. Of course, we had to have a farewell/welcome party to celebrate this!
Of course, I’m sad Sachi is leaving but I’m excited for her and her new job. And I made her ‘Sachi the Panda’ to accompany her on her new adventure, and she really seems to like the little panda. And it’s always fun to get to know a new teacher and I’m sure Yuka will fit in well at our school.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Weekend

Image Courtesy Pastiche of Cape Cod

Well, what a wonderful first week we have had here at CCD. Thank you for all your support, feedback, ideas, encouragement and for joining me for the ride. I even got my first CCD bloggy award from the lovely 'Melbourne Girl' over at 'Life At Number 10'. Thank you Lesley!
 
I will be back on Monday with the winner of my 'join me or else bribe' competition/giveaway!
Have a happy weekend.
A-M xx

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Mad Hatter

As you might know I have an Alice in Wonderland set in my shop. Many requests came in to create the Mad Hatter. Last Monday I started making him. The first doll was much smaller than Alice and the Cheshire Cat, so I started again. I have an almost finished Mad Hatter, but his hat is too small and he looks like a young man. Despite his gray hair. All my dolls have a youthful appearance and this one too. I will work on him a little more and this means he will not be finished before the weekend.

B & B Benedict XVI and Cardinal Bertone in 1998 hid a pedophile priest who abused 200 deaf boys

Th Vatican sex abuse scandals are getting worse and getting closer to the person of Benedict XVI. Our weblogs are paying off because readers, Catholics, secular governments and the whole world will not give the pope and the Vatican a free pass this time.

Please read our latest posts in our sister weblogs Benedict XVI Ratzinger, God's Rottweiler, especially our response to the much awaited Pastoral Letter of Benedict XVI to the Irish people.

It is time for the French Revolution at the Vatican: Benedict XVI must resign, Cardinal Bernard Law et al must resign …Shut-down the Vatican http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/it-is-time-for-french-revolution-at.html

Jesuits are bad examples as Pope Loyalists; Fr. Federico Lombardi is puppet Public Secretary http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/jesuits-are-bad-examples-as-pope.html

John Allen the Pied Piper of Benedict XVI toots “Will Ratzinger's past trump Benedict's present?” http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/john-allen-pied-piper-of-benedict-xvi_25.html

Photos of the out-of-touch with reality pompous life of Benedict XVI at the Vatican http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/photos-of-out-of-touch-with-reality.html

Holy Crap! What “rigor”? Due to Pope's rigor, sex abuse victims are rendered justice, writes Italian bishop who is out-of-touch with reality http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/holy-crap-what-rigor-due-to-popes-rigor.html


Benedict XVI’s priest brother, Georg Ratzinger admits “slapping” famous Regenesburg choir boys …but, was that all?
http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/benedict-xvis-priest-brother-georg.html


Timeline of Benedict XVI’s personal cover-up of a German pedophile priest when he was Archbishop of Munich, Germany http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/timeline-of-benedict-xvis-personal.html

Jon Stewart features HOLY SH*T Benedict XVI personal cover-up of German paedo priest & his personal usher GAY prostitution ring at the Vatican http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2010/03/jon-stewart-features-holy-sht-benedict.html

The John Paul II Millstone

John Paul II Titanic Ship hit not only by American iceberg of priest pedophilia, also Irish iceberg, German iceberg, Austrian...Canadian icebergs.... http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2010/03/john-paul-ii-titanic-ship-hit-not-only.html

John Paul II miraculously cures his German barber of hernia in Rome… as the John Paul II Pedophile Priest Army jolts Germany http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2010/03/john-paul-ii-miraculously-cures-his.html

B & B Benedict XVI & Bertone, nice pals with another B, Bernard Law of Boston.

We first disclosed who Cardinal Bertone is at the John Paul II Millstone weblog John Paul II clone Cardinal Bertone: SNAP and the Jesuits http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2007/10/john-paul-ii-clone-cardinal-bertone.html

Today is the feast of the Annunciation and we are posting our latest posts in Benedict XVI Ratzinger God's Rottweiler. But this news fresh out of Wisconsin of 200 deaf and blind boys is really heartwrenching - they were abused for years and in 1998 Cardinal Ratzinger did NOTHING to stop this pedophile priest. These victims went directly to the office of the CDF of which Ratzinger was Prefect and he did NOTHING for them. We are right in our analysis of Benedict XVI that he is a cold blooded despot and a pathetic liar.

Vatican Declined to Defrock U.S. Priest Who Abused Boys

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/world/europe/25vatican.html

The New York Times

The Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy, with hands together, at St. John’s School for the Deaf
in Wisconsin in 1960.

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: March 24, 2010

Top Vatican officials — including the future Pope Benedict XVI — did not defrock a priest who molested as many as 200 deaf boys, even though several American bishops repeatedly warned them that failure to act on the matter could embarrass the church, according to church files newly unearthed as part of a lawsuit. The internal correspondence from bishops in Wisconsin directly to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future pope, shows that while church officials tussled over whether the priest should be dismissed, their highest priority was protecting the church from scandal.



The documents emerge as Pope Benedict is facing other accusations that he and direct subordinates often did not alert civilian authorities or discipline priests involved in sexual abuse when he served as an archbishop in Germany and as the Vatican’s chief doctrinal enforcer.

The Wisconsin case involved an American priest, the Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy, who worked at a renowned school for deaf children from 1950 to 1974. But it is only one of thousands of cases forwarded over decades by bishops to the Vatican office called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, led from 1981 to 2005 by Cardinal Ratzinger. It is still the office that decides whether accused priests should be given full canonical trials and defrocked.

In 1996, Cardinal Ratzinger failed to respond to two letters about the case from Rembert G. Weakland, Milwaukee’s archbishop at the time. After eight months, the second in command at the doctrinal office, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, now the Vatican’s secretary of state, instructed the Wisconsin bishops to begin a secret canonical trial that could lead to Father Murphy’s dismissal.

But Cardinal Bertone halted the process after Father Murphy personally wrote to Cardinal Ratzinger protesting that he should not be put on trial because he had already repented and was in poor health and that the case was beyond the church’s own statute of limitations.

“I simply want to live out the time that I have left in the dignity of my priesthood,” Father Murphy wrote near the end of his life to Cardinal Ratzinger. “I ask your kind assistance in this matter.” The files contain no response from Cardinal Ratzinger.

The New York Times obtained the documents, which the church fought to keep secret, from Jeff Anderson and Mike Finnegan, the lawyers for five men who have brought four lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The documents include letters between bishops and the Vatican, victims’ affidavits, the handwritten notes of an expert on sexual disorders who interviewed Father Murphy and minutes of a final meeting on the case at the Vatican.

Father Murphy not only was never tried or disciplined by the church’s own justice system, but also got a pass from the police and prosecutors who ignored reports from his victims, according to the documents and interviews with victims. Three successive archbishops in Wisconsin were told that Father Murphy was sexually abusing children, the documents show, but never reported it to criminal or civil authorities.

Instead of being disciplined, Father Murphy was quietly moved by Archbishop William E. Cousins of Milwaukee to the Diocese of Superior in northern Wisconsin in 1974, where he spent his last 24 years working freely with children in parishes, schools and, as one lawsuit charges, a juvenile detention center. He died in 1998, still a priest.

Even as the pope himself in a recent letter to Irish Catholics has emphasized the need to cooperate with civil justice in abuse cases, the correspondence seems to indicate that the Vatican’s insistence on secrecy has often impeded such cooperation. At the same time, the officials’ reluctance to defrock a sex abuser shows that on a doctrinal level, the Vatican has tended to view the matter in terms of sin and repentance more than crime and punishment.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, was shown the documents and was asked to respond to questions about the case. He provided a statement saying that Father Murphy had certainly violated “particularly vulnerable” children and the law, and that it was a “tragic case.” But he pointed out that the Vatican was not forwarded the case until 1996, years after civil authorities had investigated the case and dropped it.

Father Lombardi emphasized that neither the Code of Canon Law nor the Vatican norms issued in 1962, which instruct bishops to conduct canonical investigations and trials in secret, prohibited church officials from reporting child abuse to civil authorities. He did not address why that had never happened in this case.

As to why Father Murphy was never defrocked, he said that “the Code of Canon Law does not envision automatic penalties.” He said that Father Murphy’s poor health and the lack of more recent accusations against him were factors in the decision. The Vatican’s inaction is not unusual. Only 20 percent of the 3,000 accused priests whose cases went to the church’s doctrinal office between 2001 and 2010 were given full church trials, and only some of those were defrocked, according to a recent interview in an Italian newspaper with Msgr. Charles J. Scicluna, the chief internal prosecutor at that office. An additional 10 percent were defrocked immediately. Ten percent left voluntarily. But a majority — 60 percent — faced other “administrative and disciplinary provisions,” Monsignor Scicluna said, like being prohibited from celebrating Mass.

To many, Father Murphy appeared to be a saint: a hearing man gifted at communicating in American Sign Language and an effective fund-raiser for deaf causes. A priest of the Milwaukee Archdiocese, he started as a teacher at St. John’s School for the Deaf, in St. Francis, in 1950. He was promoted to run the school in 1963 even though students had disclosed to church officials in the 1950s that he was a predator.

Victims give similar accounts of Father Murphy’s pulling down their pants and touching them in his office, his car, his mother’s country house, on class excursions and fund-raising trips and in their dormitory beds at night. Arthur Budzinski said he was first molested when he went to Father Murphy for confession when he was about 12, in 1960.

“If he was a real mean guy, I would have stayed away,” said Mr. Budzinski, now 61, who worked for years as a journeyman printer. “But he was so friendly, and so nice and understanding. I knew he was wrong, but I couldn’t really believe it.”

Mr. Budzinski and a group of other deaf former students spent more than 30 years trying to raise the alarm, including passing out leaflets outside the Milwaukee cathedral. Mr. Budzinski’s friend Gary Smith said in an interview that Father Murphy molested him 50 or 60 times, starting at age 12. By the time he graduated from high school at St. John’s, Mr. Smith said, “I was a very, very angry man.”

In 1993, with complaints about Father Murphy landing on his desk, Archbishop Weakland hired a social worker specializing in treating sexual offenders to evaluate him. After four days of interviews, the social worker said that Father Murphy had admitted his acts, had probably molested about 200 boys and felt no remorse.

However, it was not until 1996 that Archbishop Weakland tried to have Father Murphy defrocked. The reason, he wrote to Cardinal Ratzinger, was to defuse the anger among the deaf and restore their trust in the church. He wrote that since he had become aware that “solicitation in the confessional might be part of the situation,” the case belonged at the doctrinal office.

With no response from Cardinal Ratzinger, Archbishop Weakland wrote a different Vatican office in March 1997 saying the matter was urgent because a lawyer was preparing to sue, the case could become public and “true scandal in the future seems very possible.”

Recently some bishops have argued that the 1962 norms dictating secret disciplinary procedures have long fallen out of use. But it is clear from these documents that in 1997, they were still in force.

But the effort to dismiss Father Murphy came to a sudden halt after the priest appealed to Cardinal Ratzinger for leniency.

In an interview, Archbishop Weakland said that he recalled a final meeting at the Vatican in May 1998 in which he failed to persuade Cardinal Bertone and other doctrinal officials to grant a canonical trial to defrock Father Murphy. (In 2002, Archbishop Weakland resigned after it became public that he had an affair with a man and used church money to pay him a settlement.)

Archbishop Weakland said this week in an interview, “The evidence was so complete, and so extensive that I thought he should be reduced to the lay state, and also that that would bring a certain amount of peace in the deaf community.”

Father Murphy died four months later at age 72 and was buried in his priestly vestments. Archbishop Weakland wrote a last letter to Cardinal Bertone explaining his regret that Father Murphy’s family had disobeyed the archbishop’s instructions that the funeral be small and private, and the coffin kept closed.

“In spite of these difficulties,” Archbishop Weakland wrote, “we are still hoping we can avoid undue publicity that would be negative toward the church.”

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Documents: The Case of the Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy
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Timeline: The Predator Priest Who Got Away
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• Abuse Scandal’s Ripples Spread Across Europe (March 25, 2010)
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Jeffrey Phelps for The New York Times

Arthur Budzinski, at a cemetery behind St. John's School for the Deaf, says he was first molested in 1960 when he went to Father Murphy for confession.
• Pope Accepts Irish Bishop's Resignation in Abuse Scandal (March 24, 2010)
• Abuse Scandal's Ripples Spread Across Europe (March 24, 2010)
• Church Adds More Abuse Cases to Its Inquiry in Germany (March 22, 2010)
• Pope's Letter Does Little to Assuage Anger (March 21, 2010)
On Wednesday, Pope Benedict XVI, above in St. Peter's Square, accepted a bishop's resignation.

Warned About Abuse, Vatican Failed to Defrock Priest; SNAP responds

Statement by Peter Isely of Milwaukee, Wisconsin - SNAP Midwest Director (in Rome today) For immediate release: Thursday, March 25, 2010

Newly-disclosed church records prove that the world’s two most powerful Catholic prelates refused to rein in a serial predator even though three US bishops begged them to act. Because these documents are relatively recent, the crimes so egregious, the victims so vulnerable and the Vatican inaction so clear, this disclosure is particularly damaging to Benedict and Bertone.

Benedict has told bishops to "recognize the extent and complexity of the (abuse) problem" and "admit grave errors of judgment were made and failures of leadership occurred." He’s said "All this has seriously undermined your credibility and effectiveness."

"It cannot be denied that some of you (bishops) and your predecessors failed, at times grievously, to apply the long-established norms of canon law to the crime of child abuse,” Benedict has written. “Serious mistakes were made in responding to allegations." He’s said that bishops should “remedy past mistakes” and “guarantee that they do not happen again.”

These papal admonitions apply to the pope as well. He must follow his own advice. He must “come clean,” about this case and others he has mishandled, especially as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF).

Several years ago, speaking about the abuse crisis, he told Irish bishops “It’s important to establish the truth of what happened.” Perhaps most important, it’s time for Benedict to do this, starting with his own cover ups. And if he refuses, how can he ever hope to hold others accountable for recklessness, deceit and callous misdeeds since he himself was involved in recklessness, deceit and callous misdeeds?

I feel passionate about the Times’ disclosures. I’ve spent hours with these extraordinarily brave victims of Fr. Murphy. I’ve met the Wisconsin church officials who tried to little about Murphy yet could and should have done so much more so much sooner. I know that tremendous suffering could have been prevented or ameliorated if any church official, even just one, would have been brave enough to act.
But it hurts even more to know, clearly, that even the top Catholic officials didn’t act, to either protect the vulnerable or heal the wounded.

It’s important to know how involved the Pope was with Fr. Hullerman, and other predator priests, nuns, seminarians and brothers, when he headed the Munich archdiocese. It’s important to know how the Pope and his highest aide, Cardinal Bertone, handled the Murphy case. But even more, it’s important to know how the Pope handled hundreds of cases across the world more recently, as head of the Vatican bureaucracy where all abuse reports were quietly sent.

That’s what he must do. The Pope, if he is to have any credibility whatsoever in this crisis, must voluntarily release records of how he himself handled hundreds of clergy sex crimes and cover ups as head of CDF. He can’t tell his managers across the globe “Be more open with abuse” unless he’s willing to lead by example.
Some claim that Ratzinger’s 2001 world-wide memo to bishops insisting on secrecy in clergy abuse cases was misinterpreted. These records show that, even before 2001, Ratzinger’s practice and priority was secrecy. More important, the stunningly consistent behavior of bishops across the globe proves that secrecy with clergy sex crimes remains ‘job one’ in the Catholic hierarchy even now, from the top down.
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Missouri - SNAP executive director (in Missouri today)

"These records prove that the world's two top Catholic officials did nothing about a serial predator despite repeated pleas from three US bishops. The reason was because then-Cardinal Ratzinger and then-Cardinal Bertone were afraid of publicity. The year was 1998. The obvious result was that more kids were molested. The likely result was that more kids were molested. And now, the likely result will be that any papal words about getting tough with predators or being open about abuse will be meaningless, because church staff will see that the Pope himself, just a dozen years ago, opted for secrecy and inaction with an admitted predator."

Let's be clear about Ratzinger and Bertone: They did nothing. They didn't call police, warn citizens, contact parents, defrock the predator, or insist that Wisconsin bishops do anything other than keep quiet.

If they refuse to act against a pedophile who admits molesting 34 kids, imagine their indifference and inaction with pedophiles who admit nothing and molest fewer. If they rebuff three bishops, imagine how they respond to lay Catholics and victims.
Let's be clear about the Wisconsin bishops: They are no saints either. They delayed for years, contacting the Vatican only when lawsuits were threatened. Before, after, or instead of seeking Rome's advice, they could and should have done their civic and moral duty by calling police. None of them apparently ever did.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 22 years and have more than 9,000 members across the globe.

Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers.)

CONTACT
In Rome: +49-172-1676 93, Peter Isely, peterisely@yahoo.com, 414 429 7259, from US: 0039 3388970386, Barbara Blaine, SNAPblaine@gmail.com 312 399 4747, Barbara Dorris, SNAPdorris@gmail.com, 314 503 0003, John Pilmaier, pilmaier@milwpc.com, 414 336 8575
In the US: David Clohessy, SNAPclohessy@aol.com, 314 566 9790
In Washington DC: Becky Ianni, RIanni@cox.net, 703 801 6044
In Chicago: Mary Guentner megmeg@execpc.com, 414 418 3191
In Milwaukee: Lynn Pilmaier, lynpilmaier@yahoo.com, 262 781 5361, Mark Salmon , msalmon44@yahoo.com, 414 774 4350
In Superior & Boulder Junction: Bob Schwiderski, skibrs@q.com, 952 471 3422

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Fr. Lombardi explains Vatican response to sexual abuse by Wisconsin priest


Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi.
Vatican City, Mar 25, 2010 / 10:10 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The New York Times printed an article on Wednesday in which they alleged that in the 1990s the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), then Cardinal Ratzinger, did not respond to letters of a Wisconsin bishop on the matter of a sexually abusive priest. In an official response to the Times for the article, Fr. Federico Lombardi addressed the specific case and the CDF response.

According to the Times' article, Fr. Lawrence C. Murphy started working at the St John’s School for the Deaf in 1950. During his time there, civil and Church authorities were allegedly aware that he molested boys in the school.

He was moved from the Diocese of Milwaukee to the northern Wisconsin Diocese of Superior in 1974, where he continued working with children in parishes and even a juvenile detention hall.

After nearly two decades had passed and repeated complaints were received from victims about Fr. Murphy’s actions, Archbishop of Milwaukee Rembert G. Weakland began to investigate the cases in 1993. As part of the investigations, he hired a social worker to interview Fr. Murphy, during which he admitted to molesting around 200 boys.

The Times reported that, in 1996, after information had come to light that the priest had made solicitations in the confessional, thus violating the Sacrament of Penance, the archbishop referred the case to the Vatican.

Archbishop Weakland sent two letters about the violations to Cardinal Ratzinger, who was prefect of the CDF at the time. After eight months, he received orders from Cardinal Ratzinger's second-in-command, Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, instructing the U.S. bishops conference to carry out a canonical trial behind closed doors.

The investigations ended abruptly, they report, when Fr. Murphy sent a letter to the Vatican protesting the trial claiming that he had repented, his health was poor and the statute of limitations had passed.

Archbishop Weakland continued to call for the defrocking of the priest until a final meeting in the Vatican in May, 2008.

The New York Times stated that, “even as the pope himself in a recent letter to Irish Catholics has emphasized the need to cooperate with civil justice in abuse cases, the correspondence seems to indicate that the Vatican’s insistence on secrecy has often impeded such cooperation.”

"At the same time," the report continues, "the officials’ reluctance to defrock a sex abuser shows that on a doctrinal level, the Vatican has tended to view the matter in terms of sin and repentance more than crime and punishment.”

Fr. Federico Lombardi released his full response to the New York Times about the “Murphy Case” to members of the press in the Holy See’s Press Office on Thursday. The Vatican spokesman's response was only cited in part in the article from the New York Times.

He underscored that “Father Murphy violated the law and, more importantly, the sacred trust that his victims had placed in him.”

Fr. Lombardi related that victims reported abuses to the civil authorities in the mid-1970’s, but “according to news reports, that investigation was dropped.”
The CDF was made aware of the matter nearly two decades later, he pointed out, adding that the examination of how to address the question canonically was initiated, since the case involved a violation of the Sacrament of Penance.

Fr. Lombardi emphasized in his reply, “It is important to note that the canonical question presented to the Congregation was unrelated to any potential civil or criminal proceedings against Father Murphy.”

“In such cases, the Code of Canon law does not envision automatic penalties, but recommends that a judgment be made, not excluding even the greatest ecclesiastical penalty of dismissal from the clerical state," he explained.

Responding to the question of punishment, Fr. Lombardi referred to the fact that the abusive priest was "elderly and in very poor health, and that he was living in seclusion and no allegations of abuse had been reported in over 20 years." This led to the CDF suggestion to Milwaukee's archbishop of "restricting Father Murphy's public ministry and requiring that Father Murphy accept full responsibility for the gravity of his acts."

Fr. Lombardi notes that the priest died about four months afterward, "without further incident." He was 72 years old.

Concerning the suggestion of a link between the "non-reporting" of child abuse to civil authorities and the application of the Vatican document Crimen sollicitationis, which establishes Church policy against priests who violate the sanctity of the Sacrament of Penance by making advances in the confessional, Fr. Lombardi stated that "there is no such relationship."

"Indeed, contrary to some statements that have circulated in the press, neither Crimen nor the Code of Canon Law ever prohibited the reporting of child abuse to law enforcement authorities," he insisted.