Cardinal Bellarmine really nails it . . .

At the Inquisition of Galileo.

'Silence in the House of God'

The film explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.

Awkward questions for theists - No.4

Catholics, do your priests believe that by confessing their sins they will still get into heaven? Or are they really just as sceptical about the stuff they preach as those they condemn for atheism?

Awkward question for Theists - No.1
Awkward question for Theists - No.2
Awkward question for Theists - No.3

The Vatican Rag

Solicitors say Catholic Church is incapable of stopping abuse and must be called to account

Letter to the Times, 17th January 2012:-

"As lawyers working on behalf of children and vulnerable adults who have suffered sexual and physical abuse in institutional care, we write to call for a public inquiry into abuse within church organisations in England and Wales.

Officials of church organisations hold influential and highly respected roles within the community; historically they have enjoyed both the trust of the public and unquestioned access to children. This has undoubtedly created extensive opportunities for abuse. From cases we are handling currently, we are aware of some 41 Catholic priests who have been convicted of serious sexual offences in the recent past. Yet these very same organisations, particularly in the Catholic Church, have persistently ignored and in many cases covered up complaints of abuse.

We have seen clear evidence of cover-ups on some of our cases and we believe these are the tip of the iceberg. The culture of cover-up has been embedded in the Catholic Church for decades if not centuries. It will never be effectively challenged without full public scrutiny, something which only a public inquiry, with powers of access to documents, including each Catholic diocese's secret archive, can achieve.

The Church of England has similarly been criticised for a lack of transparency. The available evidence shows that the practical implementation of new safeguarding policies in both the Catholic Church and the Church of England (and indeed in other denominations) has been tentative, patchy and has met significant institutional resistance at senior levels in the church hierarchy.

There is now overwhelming evidence that religious organisations are too compromised by their own failings to police themselves effectively. The only way to address the scandal of sexual and physical abuse in these organisations is through a comprehensive public inquiry, and we urge ministers to order this without delay."

Richard Scorer, Pannone Solicitors; David Greenwood, Jordans Solicitors; Tracey Storey, Irwin Mitchell Solicitors; Jonathan Wheeler, Bolt Burdon Kemp Solicitors; Malcolm Johnson, Malcolm Johnson & Co Solicitors; Alan Collins, Verisona Solicitors; Tracey Emmott, Emmott Snell Solicitors; Peter Garsden, Abney Garsden McDonald Solicitors

Banned ice cream adverts

"Immaculately conceived"

"We believe in Salivation"

These mildly-amusing adverts have been banned in the UK by the Advertising Standards Authority on the grounds they might offend catholics. Yet very few complaints were received. 

In a letter to Communications Minister, Ed Vaizey, the National Secular Society says:-

“Although these advertisements were only meant to be mildly humorous or satirical, their banning represents something much more sinister. We have now reached the stage where any reference to religion that is not completely reverential is immediately branded as “offensive” and therefore unacceptable. This is an intolerable threat to freedom of expression that must be challenged.

“We ask that you instigate an enquiry into the ASA’s oversensitive approach to advertising with a religious theme. It is getting completely out of hand when something as mild and humorous as these ice cream advertisements is banned from public view on such spurious grounds.”

A victim of Dutch Church speaks . . .

If religion does not temper even the behaviour of its priests why does David Cameron recommend it to the rest of us?

Catholicism . . .

"Catholicism, that stodgy humbug and haven of horrible old men who think they’ve found love in the rape of children, that citadel of cowards who retreat from reality to find meaning in the dust and lies of antique theology." ~ P Z Myers

To Xmas and beyond . . .

The Case of the Pope - Epilogue

"This book was completed in August 2010, and published in time for the Pope’s visit to Britain the following month. En route, he made his most grovelling apology yet for the damage caused by clerical sex abuse, expressing “deep sorrow” for these “unspeakable crimes”. He made a similar apology at the outset of his visit to Germany in September 2011. But he does not have the moral integrity to take the action that is necessary to cleanse the Catholic church of its stigmata, namely to abjure any role for canon law in dealing with allegations of molestation, and to require bishops and church officials to report them to the police. In truth, Benedict is incapable of understanding the nature of the problem – he is too old, too academic, and too ready to blame anything but Catholic practices for the explosion of sexual abuse within the church. His last Christmas message was to blame it all on pornography, sex tourism and the ‘moral relativism’ of the 70’s: “In the 1970’s, paedophilia was seen as a natural thing for men and children” he said - a preposterous statement, except to the unworldly Cardinals he was addressing(1). For all his fine words about feeling the pain of victims, he still does not get it: the church, by delivering trusting boys from the age of seven to untrustworthy priests who believe – with good reason – that they can get away with abusing them, is guilty of negligence when they do abuse them. By blaming pornography and sex tourism, Benedict excuses their crimes. He lacks the gumption to tell his paedophile priests – as Christ surely did – that they will burn in hell, if they are not first drowned in the depths of the sea." Read complete article.

E-petition to close the UK Embassy in the Holy See

The petitioner says: "Following Ireland's closure of it's embassy in the Vatican it seems to me time to review our links with this small state. Do we need an embassy here? There is an embassy for Italy in Rome more or less a short walk from the Vatican. Let's save the money."

Go to: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/22434

Every sperm is sacred . . .

Blood taken from John Paul to be used as relic

Fox News. Published April 26, 2011. 

VATICAN CITY –  Blood taken from Pope John Paul II during his final hospitalization will be used as the official relic for veneration after he is beatified.

The Vatican made the announcement Tuesday, putting to rest questions about what relic would be presented during Sunday's beatification.

In a statement, the Vatican said four small vials of blood had been taken from John Paul during his final days for a possible transfusion, but were never used. Two of the vials were given to John Paul's private secretary, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, and another two remained at the Vatican's Bambin Gesu hospital in the care of nuns.

One of the hospital vials will be placed in a reliquary and presented Sunday; the other will remain with the nuns.

John Paul died April 2, 2005.

Is there no limit to the gruesome lengths these sick minds will not go to?

Richard Dawkins on Lord Patten

An article by Jonathan Wynne-Jones of the Telegraph reports the views of Lord Patten, the new Chairman of the BBC. In a lecture last week he accused atheists of being "intolerant"" completely overlooking, apparently, the intolerance catholics show towards homosexuals and women. 

The former governor of Hong Kong and current chancellor of Oxford University, who described himself as a cradle Catholic, said his own experience was that people looked down on him intellectually for having religious belief.

Richard Dawkins comments:-

"Looked down on him? Looked DOWN on him. Apparently they didn't look down on him enough to stop him being a cabinet minister, governor of Hong Kong, Chancellor of Oxford University, Chairman of the BBC Governors, Member of the House of Lords, and all-round one of the most successful and looked-UP-to men in England today!

His appointment now means that both the Director General of the BBC (Mark Thompson) and the Chairman of the Governors are practising Roman Catholics. You'd think he'd be delighted at this triumph of his religion, in monopolising two of the most influential positions in world media. What has he got to complain about?"

Richard

"Why I get angry at religion" - Richard Dawkins

I would have loved to have seen Alistair McGrath's response. (If any were possible!)

Ireland's Holocaust

Pope charged with crimes against humanity

From "IRISHTIMES.COM":

By PATSY McGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent

TWO GERMAN lawyers have initiated charges against Pope Benedict XVI at the International Criminal Court, alleging crimes against humanity.

Christian Sailer and Gert-Joachim Hetzel, based at Marktheidenfeld in the Pope’s home state of Bavaria, last week submitted a 16,500-word document to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court at the Hague, Dr Luis Moreno Ocampo. 

Read more.

International Aid wasted on bullshit

Payments of nearly £2 million towards the cost of the Pope’s state visit to the UK have been made by the Department for International Development (DfID). The British Humanist Association (BHA) has described the payments as illegitimate use of government funds. In October 2010, it was reported that £3.7 million had been paid towards the spiralling costs of the Papal visit from environmental funds, by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The payment came to light following an investigation into the accounts of DfID, by the International Development Select Committee, which considered the transfer of funds as surprising, and has asked the government for further explanation. A spokesperson for DfID claimed that the £1.85 million contribution ‘Recognised the Catholic Church's role as a major provider of health and education services in developing countries’. The BHA has described this reasoning as ‘irrational and wrong’. Read more.

Every Catholic should read this . . .

From ex-catholic girl - "A dirty little girl her head hanging in shame"

"The Catholic Church loathes children. Loathes them. To the Church, children are Catholics first and humans second, and the lifelong trauma caused by childhood indoctrination is mere collateral damage in the Church’s battle against the outside world. As is so often the case, the Church unashamedly places their own interests above all other concerns, including the welfare (physical, emotional, and mental) of children. And an organization that despises and preys upon its weakest and most vulnerable members (who haven’t even chosen to be members) is undoubtably a force of great evil in the world."

The Religious Believer

The religious believer is a mental slave to an insubstantial idea, a phantom presence inculcated in a youthful developing mind with the object of control and obedience. It develops with the mind to become a source of mental refuge and comfort, and consequently becomes near impossible to expel. 

To claim to be in communication with this phantom does not provide the claimant any special authority for the issuing of moral and ethical diktats which can deleteriously affect peoples' lives. 

If a cloistered, life-long celibate, 83 year old man, with no experience of sex, marriage, children or grandchildren professes to give advice on such matters as contraception, abortion, sexual relations, we are  entitled to ask for back-up evidence. We are aware of the shortcomings of our own minds, so we are unlikely to be impressed simply with what is going on in his (or his advisors). If he has sincerely-held opinions on these matters, let him set up and fund appropriate research projects in all the relevant disciplines, physiological, psychological, statistical, and, when they are completed, re-present his advice backed-up with credible evidence.