Diversions

The Vatican has finally decided to forgive The Beatles for their satanic messages in such songs like "All You Need is Love." An ungrateful Ringo said "...they've got more to talk about than the Beatles." Doesn't he realize that it took the Vatican 359 years to pardon Galileo? Comparably The Beatles were fast tracked.

But Ringo may be onto something. This could be a diversion from discussing the cover-up of the sexual abuse scandal reaching the Pope's door. I think some other topics are also diversions.

Celibacy

Some have suggested that celibacy is the problem for the clergy sexual abuse of children. So are the proponents of this theory suggesting that if a man does not get laid for ten years, one day he will wake up and say, "Gee, I think I'll boink a kid"? Haven't they heard of craigslist?

I can't even begin to connect these dots. I worry about those who do. I think we need to create a registry for people who come to this conclusion. The creepy logic registry.

Allow Priests to Marry

Some are suggesting, as an offshoot from the celibacy argument, that allowing priests to marry will stop the sexual abuse of children. Because we all know married men never sexually abuse children.

Okay maybe they do.

The notorious serial abuser from the Fall River Diocese, Father James Porter, was married after he left the priesthood.  As a priest he has admitted to abusing over 100 kids. He was arrested and prosecuted for abusing his kids babysitter.

I guess his marriage didn't protect children.

Gays

Recently the Vatican has been saying that gay priests are the reasons for the sexual abuse of children.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said "Many psychologists, many psychiatrists have demonstrated there exists no relationship between celibacy and pedophilia." So far so good.

"But many others have demonstrated, and have told me recently, that there is a link between homosexuality and pedophilia. This is true, this is the problem."

As it is with the celibacy argument, if a gay man wants to have sex he doesn't need to go to college, get accepted to seminary school and get ordained as a priest to do so. He can use craigslist. A pedophile would take the other route.

And how does the gay argument explain female victims? It seems to me the Vatican only seems to think sexually abusing little boys is the problem. But little girls?

Suddenly they become Maurice Chevalier singing "Thank Heaven for Little Girls"

The sexual abuse of little girls by priests still seems to be a secret. Or tolerated.

Prayer

One of the best solutions the Vatican and Catholics seem to be offering is prayer. It seems as if they pray hard enough, priests will stop abusing children.

The Knights of Columbus are even sponsoring a Novena.

V/ Let us pray for Benedict, the pope.R/ May the Lord preserve him, give him a long life,
make him blessed upon the earth,
and not hand him over to the power of his enemies.
V/ May your hand be upon your holy servant.
R/ And upon your son, whom you have anointed.

Uh oh. I think I'm the enemy.

And all I'm suggesting we do is prosecute criminals. Including the Pope.

A kind of secular solution.

Recently I've been feeling this heavy weight on my back and I couldn't quite figure it out. Until I received an email from Voice of the Faithful saying they were having Vigils of Sorrow on Good Friday to "stand in solidarity with victims of clergy abuse."

Really? They want to stand with us again? Why it seems like only yesterday that we were standing on the streets of Providence, in the rain, as they held their convention without much concern for the victims, on whose backs they built their organization.

Heck, because of all of the news about the Pope, VOTF's President Dan Bartley has even appeared on CNN. That should help raise some money for them.

I know I sound a little cynical. I do understand that this is reflective of the organization on the national scale. I also know that there are many local affiliates of Voice of the Faithful with integrity.

Apparently these vigils will be held at major cathedrals in Boston, New York and Washington D.C. I'm not sure I see this as the right PR move. It is Good Friday and the church will be discussing nothing but forgiveness. That is what the church is all about.

Unless you are the New York Times. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn has gone as far to say, "I might even suggest canceling our subscriptions to The New York Times, but we need to know what the enemy is saying." That's not very forgiving.

Let alone the likes of our friend Bill Donohue at the Catholic League. When he forgives Larry David, Bill Maher and Kathy Griffin, then I will start to believe the church is about forgiveness.

They used to go willingly and humbly to the lions to profess their faith, now they can't even take a joke.

Is forgiveness what we are looking for anyway? How about justice first?

If you want to protest, why not start with the offices of federal prosecutors, attorneys general and local DAs? They are the only agents who can promote real change. Resignations won't solve anything, but prosecution will.

The question "Will the Pope resign?" is irrelevant.

From Boston to Australia to Ireland to Germany and everywhere in between, the handling of clergy sexual abuse worldwide has been the same. We should be looking at why.

The abuse is reported to the Bishop, and he either sends the priest to another Diocese or to a "treatment center" and then reassigns him, without ever notifying the authorities. Are we to believe this is all a coincidence? That they have acted individually and independently from each other? Not likely.

Let's look at how the Dioceses of Worcester and Fort Worth handled Fr. Tom Teczar. He served for a little while at St. Mary's in Uxbridge prior to this. That's where he got to know me.

Here is an article written by Richard Nagle from the Worcester Telegram, April 21, 2003.

In a letter:
Monsignor Raymond J. Page, vicar general of the Worcester diocese, wrote to Bishop Reilly, then in charge of the diocese serving Norwich, Conn., "Father Teczar is a priest of this diocese. Bishop Harrington has granted him a leave of absence with the suggestion that he seek a benevolent bishop.

"Tom's difficulties came to a head two years ago when a 16-year-old boy accused Tom of soliciting him," the letter continued.

Monsignor Page also wrote Bishop Reilly that "Bishop Harrington says there has long been a cloud of suspicion over Tom. Bishop Harrington knows a trail of damaged youngsters he left in one town. The police there were far from pleased. In that town, the police threatened to find a reason to arrest him if he returned there." Bishop Reilly declined to take on Rev. Teczar, and the Worcester diocese began to focus on Fort Worth.

With the knowledge of this risk, Bishop Delaney of Fort Worth still wanted Tom to serve in his Diocese. In a letter to the Worcester Diocese he wrote:

The letter went on, "Bishop Rueger sent me a copy of the letter you received from Mr. James Reardon, the diocesan attorney, with his opinion that Father Teczar should be excardinated from the Diocese of Worcester immediately. While respecting Mr. Reardon's expertise in civil law, I want to raise with you other questions about this matter involving both justice and charity." 

Bishop Delaney said he believed Rev. Teczar would perform well for the Fort Worth diocese. "Let me be clear about the three-year wait," he wrote. "It is not due to concern about Tom's past problem. If I had serious concern in that regard I would not be dealing with the matter at all! ... In Tom's case there is the past problem that you and he have fully shared with me. But that is not the reason for the wait. If I had any fear that the problem would ever arise again I could not and would not accept him at all for any length of time. "

You told me both times we talked that you believe Tom can do effective priestly work and that you do not want to see him laicized. I can offer him that chance ... I am willing to provide the Diocese of Worcester with a document absolving you of any responsibility for Father Teczar's conduct during this time."

That document absolving  Worcester cost Fort Worth $4.15 million in settlements. It ultimately gave Teczar a 50-year prison sentence. Not to mention the children that were abused.

There was full disclosure between these two Bishops. It is time for the full disclosure of the policy of the cover.

It is clear they knew what they were doing. Just like they did Germany and everywhere else. I wish I could say April Fools, but I can't. This is no joke.

The only fools are those who believe the Catholic Church will police themselves.

Archbishop Dolan of New York's assertion that Pope Benedict is like Jesus should be considered miraculous. What else could possibly explain the transformation of one person from Hitler Youth to the King of the Jews?

Alright, that's an unfair joke. He was only 16 years old when he went into military service for the Nazi's. Clearly that doesn't count. Just like my Uncle Vinny who lied about his age and joined the US Navy at the age of 16. He was there when they captured the only German submarine in WWII, the U-505. That doesn't count either.

I can understand the Church's unease with discussions around Nazi's as Pope Pius XII reputation and record during that period is a little suspect. In particular, letting the likes of Dr. Josef Mengele to escape justice by fleeing Europe down the ratline, which went through the Vatican.

That's not good for PR. Although all of this bad press does keep the likes of Catholic League President Bill Donohue employed. As silly as he sometimes may be. Like his response that Cardinal Ratzinger may have seen a memo about the transfer of pedophile priest Peter Hullermann.

Donohue said "So what? Wasn't that what he expected to happen?” Yes, but he wasn't supposed to get caught transferring him.

It is actually called the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. They spend their time fighting against those who suppress their civil rights, like Larry David, while minimizing sexual abuse by priests by blaming the parents.

Now that's not very civil, is it? Who would he blame for the escape of Mengele? Defending Genocide might be a little more difficult for him.

And that may be next. According to a column by Martin Kimani in the Guardian UK:

"To you, Catholic survivor of genocide in Rwanda, the Vatican says that those priests, those bishops, those nuns, those archbishops who planned and killed were not acting under the instruction of the church. But moral responsibility changes dramatically if you are a European or US Catholic. To the priests of the Irish church who abused children, the pope has this to say: "You must answer for it before almighty God and before properly constituted tribunals. You have forfeited the esteem of the people of Ireland and brought shame and dishonour upon your confreres."

"The losses of Rwanda had received no such consideration. Some of the nuns and priests who have been convicted by Belgian courts and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, respectively, enjoyed refuge in Catholic churches in Europe while on the run from prosecutors."

Hey, it worked with Mengele.

I'm coming to understand why they call the Vatican the Holy See. Because no matter how hard they might try to compare themselves to Jesus, the only thing I See are Holes.

In spite of the recent bad publicity, the Catholic Church is still flexing it's moral muscle. No not that one. Apparently the US Bishops are telling the faithful to press their Congressmen to vote against the Senate Health Care bill because of Federal Funding of abortions. It's nice that the church wants to use a woman's Constitutional Right as a bargaining chip. 

Why do we call it a Constitutional Right anyway? Does that make it less somehow? Like it isn't inalienable but a right that can only be granted by the government. Women, apparently, aren't born with certain rights.

Speaking of born...

If the church believes that life begins at conception, then why do they teach we are "born" with original sin and not conceived with it? They seem to be making some distinction between the two themselves. It's as if they are making this up as they go along.

Speaking of making things up...

It looks like the Vatican sent out a form letter of apology to Ireland yesterday. In it the Vatican apologized to the Irish, but in a statement said it could be read as applying to other countries. It's their new green policy. Saving trees and money. They are going to need it for legal fees.

In the letter the Pope describes the Bishops' response to the abuse as "botched." Obviously. They got caught. Just like he botched things in Germany.

It should be clear to everyone now that the Bishops worldwide used the same MO with the abusers. Keep them in ministry, move them to another parish and don't report the crime to authorities. They could not have been acting individually and independently from each other. They were behaving as directed.

From people like the Pope.

So, with all of this, the church still thinks it has the moral authority to tell our representatives how to vote. That is just plain silly.

Giving the church any moral authority at all now, would be like publishing a cook book by Jeffrey Dahmer.

Today's New York Times has an article by Nicholas Kulish and Rachel Donadio titled Abuse Scandal in Germany Edges Closer to Pope. It begins:

BERLIN — A widening child sexual abuse inquiry in Europe has landed at the doorstep of Pope Benedict XVI, as a senior church official acknowledged Friday that a German archdiocese made “serious mistakes” in handling an abuse case while the pope served as its archbishop.

The archdiocese said that a priest accused of molesting boys was given therapy in 1980 and later allowed to resume pastoral duties, before committing further abuses and being prosecuted. Pope Benedict, who at the time headed the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, approved the priest’s transfer for therapy. A subordinate took full responsibility for allowing the priest to later resume pastoral work, the archdiocese said in a statement.

And somehow people are shocked. Not Captain Louis Renault shocked, but actually shocked.

I'm beginning to understand the last thirty seconds of Congressman Patrick Kennedy's recent rant directed at the media. Prompting this response as reported in the Boston Herald:

...Larry Sabato, director of the center for politics at the University of Virginia, said Patrick’s outburst was ill-conceived, no matter the motivation. “You can understand and sympathize with someone, but that doesn’t justify the behavior,” he said. “It was a temper tantrum.”

Sometimes ill-conceived outbursts can make a lot of money. Just ask Joe Wilson who raised 4 million dollars after calling President Obama a liar. But Mr. Sabato won't mention that, because his Center for Politics received over seven million dollars in earmarked money from Republican Congressman Virgil Goode.

That's a nice little cottage industry. So few opinion makers and so much money.

I once wrote a haiku:

Glen Beck, Michael Moore
With Moral Indignation
Fuck Off and Go Home

Two very rich men who know what is best for you. Please. They have created two of the most successful cottage industries - themselves - and will do anything to promote and protect it.

Which brings me back to the mainstream media and the Catholic Church. Remember them? That's what I was writing about. And it is one hell of a successful cottage industry. The Granddaddy of them all.

No one in the mainstream media is connetcing the dots with the worldwide sexual abuse scandal. It's to the point where Anderson Cooper actually interviews a priest on the adoption scandal in Haiti.

What, was he looking for advice as to the proper way to exploit children?

They all reported on Cardinal Law. The Globe even won a Pulitzer. But they've kind of glossed over the Murphy Report, which lays out the horrific abuse in Ireland. It is quite a read. It even explains how a crucifix can be used as a sex toy.

Which makes me wonder, does the Bishop consider it foreplay when you kiss his ring?

Now we have the stories from Germany. The Pope's homeland. And cover-ups.

Why am I not surprised? Let's connect some dots. As I have written in a previous blog, in 1962, "Crimen Solicitationis," a confidential document from the Vatican was sent to every Bishop in the world instructing them how to cover up clergy sexual abuse.

I know, I'm quoting myself, but hey, it worked for Norman Mailer didn't it?

Which means Archbishop Ratzinger's job was to folow the rule of that document. We are now finding out, he obviously did. But he went beyond that. In 2001, while Cardinal Ratzinger was Pope John Paul II's right hand man...John Paul II, remember him? They are going to make him a Saint...Ratzinger sent a letter to all of the Bishops and Cardinals, reminding them of Crimen Solicitationis and even went beyond its scope in covering up these crimes against children.

Pope Benedict is the author of the modern day cover-up. So today's story comes as no surprise.

And those within the walls of the Vatican know it. Just ask Father Gabriele Amorth, the Holy See's chief exorcist. He says, according to the Times UK, that the sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church are proof that that "the Devil is at work inside the Vatican"

Yes, and he wears Prada.

I'm still struck that, on NECN with Jim Braude, Massachusetts US Senate candidate Scott Brown said he is inspired to "live every day like it's my last," because the late JFK Jr. and Princess Diana were "powerful, handsome, rich" people who can no longer make a difference in the world as he wants to do. What?

Does Scott Brown believe he is one of the beautiful people?

I think his, er, spread in Cosmopolitan answers that question.

To be able to relate to the less attractive, he has been running ads showing the public that, like the common man, he drives a pickup truck. Of course, unlike the common man, as an elected official in Massachusetts, the taxpayers pay for his gas. He'd be doing us all a favor if he drove a Prius.

I wonder if he remembers that Noble Peace Prize winner Mother Teresa died the same day as Princess Di. She was one of the greatest humanitarians and advocate for the poor and helpless of the last century.

I don't know of anyone in my life time who deserves Sainthood more that her. I can't think of anything more miraculous than a woman running a ministry in the Catholic Church.

Still, she was old, poor and, well,  unattractive. How can that be inspiring?

Last July, Ben Stein wrote a column for the American Spectator, We Figured Him Out, taking on the ultra-leftist president we elected and his socialist health-care reform. Since then it has been circulated in an email and yesterday, it came to me.

Ben says -

Why is President Barack Obama in such a hurry to get his socialized medicine bill passed?

Because he and his cunning circle realize some basic truths:

The American people in their unimaginable kindness and trust voted for a pig in a poke in 2008. They wanted so much to believe Barack Obama was somehow better and different from other ultra-leftists that they simply took him on faith.

They ignored his anti-white writings in his books. They ignored his quiet acceptance of hysterical anti-American diatribes by his minister, Jeremiah Wright...

I thought this was about Health Care reform?

Wait a minute, wasn't Ben Stein a speechwriter and lawyer for Richard Nixon?

Doesn't he remember that on February 6, 1974, Nixon introduced the Comprehensive Health Insurance Act? Nixon’s plan would have mandated employers to purchase health insurance for their employees, and in addition provided a federal health plan like Medicaid that any American could join by paying on a sliding scale based on income.

Anyway, I interrupted Ben, sorry, what were you saying?

Ben...Ben?

Bueller?

Cardinal Sean O'Malley is holding a healing Mass for abuse survivors, Sunday December 20th, 2009 at 3:30 pm at the Bethany Chapel, 66 Brooks Drive, Braintree, MA.

All in attendance will receive this Advent Booklet, showing one of the the actual reasons for the Mass in the first place. 

I once was in the position of the Magnificent Advent Companion too. They saw great potential in me at a very early age. I was heavily recruited for the position.

It didn't last though. Once I reached the age of consent, I was retired.

Survivor: Cardnial Sean, do you know how to heal survivors?
Cardinal Sean: I don't know, can you hum a few bars?

If I get any more news like this, I think my head will explode. First on the list is an article on how the Vatican is responding to the UN about sexual abuse accusations. They start off by saying, "In a defiant and provocative statement, issued after a meeting of the UN human rights council in Geneva, the Holy See said most of the Catholic clergy who committed such acts were not pedophiles but homosexuals attracted to sex with adolescent males." Try telling that to the female victims. They make up around 40% of the victims. I guessing this must have happened because they were heterosexuals attracted to sex with adolescent females, right? If the Holy See decides to ban homosexuals to protect little boys, it would stand to reason that they should ban heterosexuals to protect little girls. Perhaps they should just ban anyone with a penis from the priesthood. Let the women run the church. It would be a smooth transition. They already have the dresses. The Holy See tried to deflect their responsibility by noting that "...most US churches being hit by child sex abuse allegations were Protestant" In most Protestant churches the members hire their ministers. They are not appointed by the Bishop, who may be playing a shell game with a person who is attracted to sex with an adolescent. And I can't think of one protestant church that is actually a sovereign nation. Hence the UN's involvement. Which is the good news. Speaking of the hierarchy of the church, a Roman Catholic bishop from Nova Scotia faces child porn charges. Raymond Lahey has been charged with possessing and importing child pornography. "Lahey once oversaw a $15-million settlement with people who said they had been sexually abused by priests in the diocese, in a case dating back to 1950." So that is who is minding the store. My only question, though, is was it child porn porn? Which brings me to Roman Polanski. The rush to protect a convicted rapist of a 13 year old girl is staggering. 100 filmmakers signed a petition demanding Polanski's release. Among them Martin Scorsese, who once studied at the seminary and flirted with becoming a priest. I have no doubt he would have become a celebrated Bishop. And, of course, Woody Allen. What else needs to be said?That is a two for one, truth and punchline in the same sentence. It would be funny except we are talking about the rape of a 13 year old girl. This is how it works for the successful predator, either a priest or celebrity. The communities back the predator because it is too much to fathom that they have loved and been touched by the work, of a person who commits monstrous deeds. Better to rely on denial than face that. I'm a fan of both Scorsese and Allen's films. I'm even in Scorsese's new film Shutter Island. You can see me in the trailer. That's me being dragged on lawn. And I got the part of a mental patient because I actually have a diagnosis, PTSD, because of clergy sexual abuse. Can I separate the art and the artist, or is that just another form of denial? Perhaps Whoopi can tell me if it is denial denial. Yesterday I went to St Mary's in Uxbridge, the place of my abuse, to support a friend, a brother in arms, at a funeral. The church has a history of hosting more predator priests in the Worcester Diocese than any other parish. Six priests to be exact. We had coffee after the funeral in the new, and quite expensive, community center. All funds raised by the thriving parish. I would say it's just plain denial.

1963 was a year of contrasts. It was both light and dark. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and The Beatles released their first record, "Please Please Me." It was similarly a year if contrasts for Catholics. The big news that year was the passing of Pope John XXIII, the Pope of radical change who called the Second Vatican Council. Things were also radically changing on a quieter front in the Catholic Church. The Rev. Gerald M. C. Fitzgerald founder of the order, Servants of the Paraclete, a treatment center for priests and Brothers visited Rome in 1963 to warn Pope Paul VI of the immense problem of clergy sexual abuse. A forceful warning he had been trying to deliver since 1952. As the article in the New York Times reports a year earlier in 1962, Fitzgerald went to Rome and met with Vatican officials to discuss this issue. The same year a document entitled "Crimen Solicitationies," a confidential document from the Vatican was sent to every Bishop in the world instructing them how to cover up clergy sexual abuse. The document was signed with the seal of Pope John XXIII. Radical indeed. The coincidence of Fitzgerald's visit to Rome the same year this document is secretly released is hard to dismiss as nothing more. The church was warned. And they took action. Cover it up. By the time of the 1963 meeting, the wheels were already in motion. The bearer of truth and light, Rev. Gerald M. C. Fitzgerald, would meet with Pope Paul VI who would oversee the modern chapter of the darkness of clergy sexual abuse. It would be hard not to conclude that had the church listened to Fitzgerald and taken appropriate action, a substantial amount of victims since 1962 would have been spared.