'No Belgian church escaped sex abuse', finds investigation. It reveals that abuse was so extensive that it was going on in almost every diocese and at every Church-run boarding school: "We can say that no congregation escapes sexual abuse of minors by one or several of its members," the commission concluded." 'Hundreds of sex abuse victims have come forward in Belgium with harrowing accounts of molestation by Catholic clergy that reportedly led to at least 13 suicides and affected
children as young as two, an independent Belgian commission said Friday.' 'Friday's report lists 507 witnesses who came forward with stories of molestation at the hands of clergy over the past decades. It says those abused included children who were two, four, five and six years old.'
[more inside]
posted by VikingSword
on Sep 10, 2010 -
133 comments
The nation's Catholic bishops approved a broad new document on marriage. "Since marriage and same-sex unions are different realities, it is not unjust discrimination to oppose the legal recognition of same-sex unions," the letter says. "These unions pose a serious threat to the fabric of society that affects all people."
Also Tuesday, the bishops reaffirmed a moral obligation to maintain nutrition and hydration for patients in a persistent vegetative state and approved a document on reproductive technology.
"Life-Giving Love in an Age of Technology" reaffirms Catholic teaching against in vitro fertilization, egg, sperm and embryo donation, surrogates and cloning.
[more inside]
posted by VikingSword
on Nov 18, 2009 -
197 comments
Bishop Richard Williamson, a member of
The Society of Saint Pius X, has been making news since
his excommunication was lifted by Pope Benedict XVI in January. On January 21, 2009, in a nearly six minute interview Williamson told a television news program in Sweden that "
I believe that history is strongly against, is hugely against, six million Jews having been gassed in gas chamber as a deliberate policy" during the Holocaust. In 2001, the bishop wrote "
That girls should not be in universities flows from the nature of universities and from the nature of girls: true universities are for ideas, ideas are not for true girls, so true universities are not for true girls."
The Vatican is now repudiating the Holocaust denials. And Bishop Williamson has claimed
he will reconsider the issue of Nazi gas chambers by reading the book of a former Holocaust doubter.
posted by McGuillicuddy
on Feb 12, 2009 -
89 comments
The quicker you succeed the better. Declassified documents show Secretary of State Kissenger
gave a green light to the Argentine Junta, whilest Rev. Christián González
aka Christián von Wernich, also leant a hand, showing that The Catholic Church's involvement with fascism and the Dirty War was far from dead. The Vatican was instrumental in
witholding detail. The
Desaparecidos probably exceeded
12,000.
posted by adamvasco
on Oct 10, 2007 -
8 comments
The Catholic Church is traditionally not seen as a progressive institution, but when it comes to global warming, Vatican City is aiming to become the
worlds first fully carbon-neutral state, and the Pope is expected to use his first address to the United Nations next April to
deliver a powerful warning over climate change in a move to adopt protection of the environment as a "moral" cause for the Catholic Church and its billion-strong following.
posted by stbalbach
on Sep 22, 2007 -
81 comments
Philadelphia Priest scandal unfolds The
Philadelphia Archdiocese concealed sexual abuse by priests for four decades, but no criminal charges can be brought against the church or its priests because of the constraints of state law, according to grand jury findings released Wednesday. With 63 confirmed and as many as 170 suspected - all accused of multiple acts, Priests in the
city of brotherly love are making a mockery of the city's moniker. It's being reported that Both Cardinal Bevilacqua and Cardinal Kroll not only ignored the abuse but were complicit in preventing the abuse from being reported to the police.
posted by j.p. Hung
on Sep 21, 2005 -
61 comments
BenedictXVI.com registered a few weeks ago by our very own
rcade. He hedged his bets by registering six domains in all, and now is being called out for popesquatting.
posted by riffola
on Apr 19, 2005 -
64 comments
Vatican to test if trainee priests are gay. As if the Catholic Church doesn't have bigger concerns. They seem to be trying to throw dirt onto their own graves. Organized religion is SO last millennium. If a gay person really wanted to be a priest, wouldn't it be simple to "pass" a psychological screening? And what self-respecting gay person would want to be a part of something that seeks to exclude him?
posted by archimago
on Oct 25, 2002 -
77 comments
Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, the founder of the
Opus Dei movement, was
canonized today. Opus Dei is a conservative
movement within the catholic church, and counts many powerful people among its
adherents - the current pope among them. However, it is not
without its
detractors and
opponents. Some of
the most important people in the
Franco
dictatorship were part of the group, as were several of the participants in the
Venezuelan coup
earlier this year. Should
we keep an eye on
these guys? They are certainly
secretive and aggressive, but are they just a group of
concerned, pious Catholics, or a power-hungry fraternity? I'm half-catholic myself, and certainly curious to hear if any Catholic MeFiers have thoughts on this subject. Even better, an Opus Dei member to clarify some of these misunderstandings...
posted by charlesv
on Oct 6, 2002 -
24 comments
