Future pope stalled pedophile case(correspondence-obtained by The AP-is the strongest challenge yet)

[kpete]

Source: Washington Post

Future pope stalled pedophile case

By GILLIAN FLACCUS
The Associated Press
Friday, April 9, 2010; 2:54 PM

LOS ANGELES -- The future Pope Benedict XVI resisted pleas to defrock a California priest with a record of sexually molesting children, citing concerns including "the good of the universal church," according to a 1985 letter bearing his signature.



The correspondence, obtained by The Associated Press, is the strongest challenge yet to the Vatican's insistence that Benedict played no role in blocking the removal of pedophile priests during his years as head of the Catholic Church's doctrinal watchdog office.

The letter, signed by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was typed in Latin and is part of years of correspondence between the Diocese of Oakland and the Vatican about the proposed defrocking of the Rev. Stephen Kiesle.

The Vatican refused to comment on the contents of the letter Friday, but a spokesman confirmed it bore Ratzinger's signature.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/09/AR2010040903109.html

[MineralMan]

1. This is getting pretty thick. At some point His Popishness is going

to have to say something, I think.

[TwilightGardener]

2. Not a note of concern for the children harmed. Only for the perpetrator, and the institution.

Sickening.

[Mz Pip]

6. I think that's what really bothers me

about this. They have expressed little regret regarding the pedophilia. They seem to be more into covering it up, making excuses and lashing out with bizarre accusations against those who question their actions.

All of those actions do more to reinforce the guilt. One would think the Church would sincerely regret the actions of these priests. If they do they need to do it louder and stronger.

[Stuart G]

35. Yes, sickening...If you have time, read the entire article..from the

Washington Post in the OP...worth it.

[Alhena]

3. Hey, at least they aren't burning witches any more

gotta give them some credit.

[crim son]

7. I think it was the Protestants who burned the witches.

The Catholics burned heretics and anybody else who pissed them off.

[defendandprotect]

12. "The Hammer of Witches" is the work of the Vatican . . .

[crim son]

22. Obviously I don't know much about witch burnings! n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

30. Malleus Maleficarum.

The author, Heinrich Kramer, was a Catholic Inquisitor. He apparently added the name of Thomas Sprenger, another Catholic theologian, as an author although Sprenger probably had nothing to do with it.

[DeSwiss]

20. No, you're wrong. The Church.....

...bows to no one when it comes to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_trials">killing for Jesus.

[crim son]

23. The early Church denied the existence of witches but

in any event, a witch would necessarily be a heretic and therefore be a candidate for buring. I agree that the Catholic church and other Christian churches used the threat of murder to uphold their authority.

[defendandprotect]

36. Here are two interesting slants on witchcraft ....

Brief History of Witchcraft
Written and researched by Margaret Odrowaz-Sypniewska, B.F.A.

http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/polcrt/WitchHistory.html



and . . .

http://www.rotten.com/library/occult/witchcraft/


Haven't had time to read each thoroughly, but think the first is more accurate --

The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament was written to cement patriarchy -- and offered a violent god.

It reversed much of reality, kind of like the GOP right wing is fond of doing.

Adam creates life? Nah.

Once the one-male god was put in place by the Hebrews, the Christian "Jesus" was at once a

competitor and a follower. There is no Catholicism without the Old Testament.

Basically, the old religion worshipped nature -- there were gods and goddesses.

Many of the goddesses are still well remembered and esteemed. Needless to say, with the

coming of the "one true MALE god"/patriarchy the old religion and the goddesses were threatened'

even further.

And that coming would have already been preceded by much violence against women.

And much rewriting of history by the Hebrews. Catholics did the same later.

But, women were the doctors for the communities -- they supplied the medicines -- they cared

for the populations. They studied nature and plants. Witchcraft is basically woman's wisdom.

Women were in charge of childbirth -- they were the midwives -- and this is the first I've ever

heard they used hypnosis in deliveries, making labor pain free!! You know there is great power

in hypnosis when it is such a taboo subject even today. Unfortunately, rather than relying on

the good it can bring, patriarchy seems to worship it mainly as another weapon of war --

and a way to have power over others.

The Witch Burnings were the final attack on women, who up until then still had some control

over their lives -- a right to inheritance was one.

Some say that the impetus for it was compelled by the great loss of MALE lives during the

Catholic Crusades/Inquisition -- and the fact that women inherited the wealth and property

of their dead husbands which didn't, of course, suit the misogynist views of the church.

They had overturned the goddesses and female power -- and wanted it completely stamped out.

The first aggressive campaigns to eradicate witchcraft began when the Catholic Church rose to political power. For a religion based on love and meekness, the Catholics were beset by internecine battles from the very beginning. After a campaign to wipe out "heresies" such as Gnosticism in the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D., the Church was quite successful in establishing a pretty monolithic monotheism by the end of the first millennium.

The persecution of witches carried over into the New World when the hideously twisted Puritans adopted witch-hunting as an outlet for the basic sexual urges which they repressed to an absurd degree. The Puritans and especially their New England settlements became synonymous with the Witch Trials, an American inquisition which saw women dragged before tribunals, maligned and frequently executed.


After the Witch Burnings, women basically had no rights -- no rights to their own children,

no rights within the marrige, no rights of inheritance from family, fathers, husbands.

[vssmith]

49. And it now OK to believe the earth moves around the sun

[Soylent Brice]

4. K&R

but apparently rec'ing it didn't do anything.
odd and mysterious how all the pope ratfucker threads keep getting unrecced...

[DeSwiss]

21. It's the work of.....

...the church's "Enablers."

[Soylent Brice]

38. yup. n/t

[ZombieHorde]

53. Enablers and small time financial backers. nt

[ZombieHorde]

54. Dangerous cults don't like facts. nt

[closeupready]

5. He really should step down.

IMO. K&R

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. And while Ratzinger stalled, he worked with children

Kiesle continued to volunteer with children, according to Maurine Behrend, who worked in the Oakland diocese's youth ministry office in the 1980s. After learning of his history, Behrend complained to church officials. When nothing was done she wrote a letter, which she showed to the AP.

"Obviously nothing has been done after EIGHT months of repeated notifications," she wrote. "How are we supposed to have confidence in the system when nothing is done? A simple phone call to the pastor from the bishop is all it would take."

She eventually confronted Cummins at a confirmation and Kiesle was gone a short time later, Behrend said.
...
"He admitted molesting many children and bragged that he was the Pied Piper and said he tried to molest every child that sat on his lap," said Lewis VanBlois, an attorney for six Kiesle victims who interviewed the former priest in prison. "When asked how many children he had molested over the years, he said 'tons.'"

Outrageous. The BBC is leading its TV news with this - the first thing to push the general election off the lead this week.

[MilesColtrane]

9. Maybe he can tap his ruby slippers together three times and all of his pedophile shielding history..

will simply melt away.

[saberjet22]

10. ruby slipppers

Perhaps if we shpritzed him with holy water, he'd just melt away.

[DeSwiss]

19. You mean these?

- They aren't working as good as they used to.....

[crim son]

24. Oh, I have to have that pic!

LMAO!

[AngryOldDem]

11. Did anyone see the CBS story about this?

Do I need my hearing checked, or did the reporter say that this asshole has also been accused of getting a 7 YEAR OLD drunk on wine and then abusing her?

This is rapidly getting out of the jurisdiction of the Vatican's spin patrol. About damned time.

[defendandprotect]

13. Guess Ratzy isn't as "infallible" as some think--? This Pope should step down . . .!!

[elleng]

25. Never was; was opus dei type.

Bad news from the beginning.

[defendandprotect]

27. I know . . .

An old Office of Inquistion guy, as well!

[Teaser]

33. pope is never infallible in catholic doctrine

only the very small number of statements he makes "ex cathedra" are considered infallible.


Not that it isn't all bunk...

[DesertDiamond]

14. Aside from the fact that the good of the people should be his first concern...

how is keeping a child molestor in the priesthood good for the "universal church"?

[defendandprotect]

28. IMO, patriarchy's concern is NOT for the child, but for preserving patriarchy . . .

they certainly don't want malehood embarrased by revealing the sins of any male!

PLUS, especially in this modern time, they had suffered a great loss of priests --

even more aggravated a situation now.

They were importing a lot of priests from Latin America -- but even that hasn't helped

them that much.

[ckimmy57]

31. Exactly

How in the hell do you justify moving a child molesting priest from one church to another? They are just wreaking havoc and pain on another child and family. Christianity at it's finest? This is the TOTAL reason why I left the catholic church. Their behavior is inexcusable and I did not want to be a part on a church that would aid in destroying families as they did. The SOB's should of been turned over to the local law enforcements as soon as the allegations were made. But no, they skirted them away in the middle of the night like the common criminals they are. :mad:

[radhika]

15. Just like the other times...quickly forgotten.....

Cynical apercu: These pedophilia stories emerge every 5-10 years or so, get a lot of bad press, get one or two token 'prosecutions' and then...POOF. The institutional Catholic Church, the infallible Pope and church's repressive hypocritical policies go on unimpeded. Need I mention their tax exemptions? Or their high-profile decisions to withhold communion from politicians that do not toe the papal line.

Just a few weeks ago, Representative Stupak boasted that he worked with Catholic Bishops (not nuns, mind you, they don't count for much) on the gratuitous abortion amendment that almost derailed our modest Health Insurance Reform Law. And the Church's hypocritical alliances with the Mormon Church to undermine GLBT rights. I guess they only support gay rights for unmarried clergy. Let me be clear that I do not equate pedophilia and homosexuality - even though some Church spokesmen do. But considering the relatively high proportion of priests and nuns that are avowedly GLBT, and the titters about the ruby-slippered Pope and his assistant, the Church cannot avoid charges of hypocrisy on gender matters.

This is a corrupt and vicious organization in the RICO sense and IMHO deserves no share of the public commons. If one wishes to practice Catholic Dogma privately, feel free.

[dipsydoodle]

16. Should change his title

to The Grope given he's such a supporter.

[DeSwiss]

17. K&R

- I feel as though I've said everything that needs saying already. So here are the voices of others......

"This is what has troubled me over the years: the church's sanction of sexual predation. I cannot think of a more grave violation of trust and faith...Abusers will at times declare, "They wanted it," "They tempted me," "I couldn't (or can't) help myself," "I really love them," and so forth. When the church turns a blind eye to this evil by transferring the rapist rather than reporting them to legal authorities and pulling them out of their office and getting him or her therapeutic help, the church becomes a sexual predator as well." -- Emilie Townes, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Yale Divinity School - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/emilie-townes/the-church-as-sexual-pred_b_505471.html">link

"Popes, like Republicans, are NEVER guilty of anything. In fact, they’re all as pure as freshly driven snow so anything which paints them in an unfavorable light is merely a lie and an attempt by evil-doers to smear them. Got that? They’re innocent. They’re always innocent." -- Mario Piperni - http://mariopiperni.com/religion/can-they-impeach-a-pope.php">link

"It is possible for individuals and even for whole cultures to care about the wrong things. Which is to say that it is possible for them to have beliefs and desires that reliably lead to needless human suffering. Just admitting this will transform our discourse about human morality." ~ Sam Harris http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj9oB4zpHww"> link

“Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed” ~ Steven Wright

[fascisthunter]

18. right wing Pope... people should expect this

[defendandprotect]

29. ... and we haven't even gotten to the Swiss Guards yet . . . !! Though that would be consentual...!!

Otoh, is there a prositution ring operating in the Vatican?

[fascisthunter]

51. I believe I read somewhere that there is...

[benld74]

26. ROH! ROH!

[Teaser]

32. Benedict, molester

[Stuart G]

34. A letter with his signiture...?? Oh..looks like

as they say...a smoking guy..or..Who knew what and when.
.now there is proof beyond doubt.

[Lionel Mandrake]

37. This is a smokefucking gun. K&R

How about some prison time for Popes and Cardinals? (like Roger Mahony of LA)

[onager]

45. Cardinal Balony is about to retire.

See the jaw-dropping 2006 documentary "Deliver Us From Evil" for Mahony's history of stonewalling and covering up for criminals.

[Shining Jack]

39. That fucker is a disgusting perv...

And he protects his slimy partners in crime. :puke:

[OhioBlue]

40. Absolutely appaling. The Pope needs to step down

and the Catholic Church needs a major overhaul. IMO - there is a lot of good in the Catholic Church but this systemic cover-up of pedophile Priests is beyond disgusting. If Catholics want to save the Church, this should be the catalyst for reform.

[Iggo]

41. Can the Pope lie? (n/t)

[skepticscott]

42. Is the pope Catholic?

[DeSwiss]

44. Yes.

However, when pope's lie, those lies magically are transformed into truths through his holiness. Because he's infallible, see?


- It's nice work if you can get it......

[Iggo]

52. That's what I'm thinking.

Either way, I think I'll have some fun with the locals.

[vssmith]

50. Yes, if he had previously obtained an indulgence

[TankLV]

43. Stop picking on the Nazi Pope!!!

You're defaming the "church" by mentioning their CRIMINAL behavior!!!

[Q3JR4]

46. Hey so if the pope is god's representative on earth

does that mean that god likes pedophiles?

I'm just a bit confused here is all...

:shrug: :wtf:

Q3JR4.

[D23MIURG23]

47. Kick (the vatican in the teeth) and rec!

[Shallah Kali]

48. Vatican confirms report of sexual abuse and rape of nuns by priests in 23 countries

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vatican-confirms-report-of-sexual-abuse-and-rape-of-nuns-by-priests-in-23-countries-688261.html

Reports of abuse
AIDS exacerbates sexual exploitation of nuns, reports allege
http://www.natcath.com/NCR_Online/archives/031601/031601a.htm

[Soylent Brice]

55. if it hasn't been already, you should post this as an OP.

exacerbates is an understatement.
this is manslaughter.