Did Bennie really say that?!

"Even in our own lifetime, we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live..."

Yup, you heard it from il papa's own mouth.

It wasn't centuries of entrenched anti-semitism in European society and institutionalised anti-semitism in both Catholic and Protestant mainstream religions which allowed the Nazis to plough politically fertile ground as they first demonised, physically isolated and then attempted wholesale eradication of Jews both before and during World War Two. Oh, no.

Apparently it was teh godless in society who encouraged and supported the Third Reich in this endeavour. An argument that's a bit rich coming as it does from a former member of the Hitler Youth.

I suspect that next Bennie will be blaming atheists for the fact that (according to him) paedophile priests have no free will when in a position of power over a child.

Is it any wonder that the Catholic Church's reputation is all but beyond repair?

One thing's for certain - Robert Bruce and that Knox laddie will be spinning in their graves about now.

"Mass Attendance in Australia" 2008

Pic of il papa in his glory days from Google Images

Proven attempt to ordain a woman - excommunication. Proven child abuse - er, non farlo di nuovo

Sometimes one has to wonder which century the Catholic Church thinks it is living in when media reports such as this are published:

The new rules issued by the Vatican puts attempts at ordaining women among the “most serious crimes” alongside paedophilia and will be handled by investigators from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), considered the successor to the Inquisition.
Women attempting to be priests, and those who try to ordain them, already faced automatic excommunication but the new decree goes further and enshrines the action as “a crime against sacraments”.....
Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, underscored how the ordination of women is “a crime against sacraments,” while paedophilia should be considered a “crime against morals” and both would fall under the jurisdiction of the CDF.
The organisation, which was once known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition, was previously headed by the current Pope when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

Under the term Substantive Norms the Vatican apparently ranks the ordination of women ahead of child abuse as it lists mandatory major excommunication as punishment:

Art. 5
The more grave delict of the attempted sacred ordination of a woman is also reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:
1° With due regard for can. 1378 of the Code of Canon Law, both the one who attempts to confer sacred ordination on a woman, and she who attempts to receive sacred ordination, incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.
2° If the one attempting to confer sacred ordination, or the woman who attempts to receive sacred ordination, is a member of the Christian faithful subject to the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, with due regard for can. 1443 of that Code, he or she is to be punished by major excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.
3° If the guilty party is a cleric he may be punished by dismissal or deposition[31].

Art. 6
§ 1. The more grave delicts against morals which are reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith are:
1° the delict against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue committed by a cleric with a minor below the age of eighteen years; in this case, a person who habitually lacks the use of reason is to be considered equivalent to a minor.
2° the acquisition, possession, or distribution by a cleric of pornographic images of minors under the age of fourteen, for purposes of sexual gratification, by whatever means or using whatever technology;
§ 2. A cleric who commits the delicts mentioned above in § 1 is to be punished according to the gravity of his crime, not excluding dismissal or deposition.

Guide to Understanding Basic CDF Procedures concerning Sexual Abuse Allegations:

B3 Disciplinary Measures
In cases where the accused priest has admitted to his crimes and has accepted to live a life of prayer and penance, the CDF authorizes the local bishop to issue a decree prohibiting or restricting the public ministry of such a priest. Such decrees are imposed through a penal precept which would entail a canonical penalty for a violation of the conditions of the decree, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state. Administrative recourse to the CDF is possible against such decrees. The decision of the CDF is final.

A marked feature of the Vatican's stance on admitted child abuse is that there is still no instruction that such abuse should be reported to state secular agencies such as the police or any child welfare authority.

if god's away on business who's looking after il pappa?

In Rome it must feel as though the Christian god has taken his eye off the latest incumbent in that long dynasty of power-hungry old men, as the media unearths more and more about Pope Benedict's failings in relation to the pastoral care of his flock and his alleged protection of paedophile priests.

Bad news keeps be made public despite the best efforts of some Catholic laity to counterattack.
Last week the Canadian media and at least one blog Catholic Culture were reporting:

Seven Ontario bishops and Cardinal José Sanchez, the prefect for the Congregation for the Clergy, were aware by 1993 that the secretary-general of the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith had committed sexual abuse, according to a February 1993 letter from the bishop of Pembroke (Ontario) to Canada’s apostolic nuncio.....
By 1993, however, Bishop Windle had become aware that there were four or five victims. In his letter to Archbishop Carlo Curis, who served as apostolic nuncio to Canada from 1990 to 1999, Bishop Windle urged that Father Prince not be given a papal honor or promoted to the episcopate, noting that such a move could prompt victims to speak out publicly.

In Australia Cardinal George Pell is rather unnaturally silent for one who loves the media spotlight, but then he is thought to have a similar inadequate history in matters of pastoral care.
A spokesperson on his behalf has accused the Herald Sun of running an inquisition.

Rather alarmingly, it seems the Vatican never learns for it is rumoured that Rome intends to send Pell to Ireland to help restore confidence in the Irish Church after the paedophile scandals there. Pell himself also appears to have been the alleged subject of at least one sexual abuse complaint in the past and, even though that complaint was not proven it does leave his proposed intervention open to alternative interpretations.

1985 Letter to Oakland Bishop John S Cummins, signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, concerning a then 38 year-old priest who is reported to have plead guilty in 1978 to misdemeanour charges of lewd conduct for tying up and molesting young boys in a church presbytery:

Most Excellent Bishop

Having received your letter of September 13 of this year, regarding the matter of the removal from all priestly burdens pertaining to Rev Stephen Miller Kiesle in your diocese, it is my duty to share with you the following:

This court, although it regards the arguments presented in favour of removal in this case to be of grave significance, nevertheless deems it necessary to consider the good of the Universal Church together with that of the petitioner, and it is also unable to make light of the detriment that granting the dispensation can provoke with the community of Christ's faithful, particularly regarding the young age of the petitioner.

It is necessary for this Congregation to submit incidents of this sort to very careful consideration, which necessitates a longer period of time.

In the meantime your Excellency must not fail to provide the petitioner with as much paternal care as possible and in addition to explain to same the rationale of this court, which is accustomed to proceed keeping the common good especially before its eyes.

Let me take this occasion to convey sentiments of the highest regard always to you.

Your most Reverend Excellency

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

Bishop Cummins letter to the then Pope John Paul II:

DIOCESE OF OAKLAND

VOTUM EPISCOPI

Most Holy Father:

I wish to present the petition of Father Stephen Kiesle for laicization. He wishes to return to the lay state and to be relieved of all the obligations of the priesthood, including celibacy.

Father Kiesle was born on February 14. 1947 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended elementary school in Lakewood, California and San Lorenzo, California. He entered St. Joseph's High School Seminary in 1960. Upon graduation he entered St. Patrick's College Seminary in 1964 and began his theological studies at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park in 1968. Father Kiesle was ordained on May 19, 1972 at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral by the Most Reverend Floyd L. Begin, Bishop of Oakland.

It does seem clear, now, with hindsight, that quite probably Father Kiesle should never have been ordained.

He has experienced a variety of psychological, emotional, and sexual difficulties during his pri"esthood. In August of 1978 he was arrested by the police and charged with having taken sexual liberties with at least six young men ranging from eleven to thirteen years of age during the period of November 1971 through May 1978. When he appeared in court, Father Kiesle pleaded "nol o contendere" to the charges. He received a three year suspended sentence and was to remain on probation for three years. He was to meet regularly with his probation officer. He was not to be alone with any juvenile, nor was he to work with any juveniles without an adult being present. He was also required to register with the police department of any city in which he would be residing. It was during this period of time that Father Kiesle took an extended leave of absence.

Unfortunately, from the time of Father Kiesle's first court appearance there was a great deal of publicity surrounding his conduct. Lengthy news reports appeared in all of the major newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area. as well as throughout California. Some of the publications also printed pictures of Father Kiesle. As a result his case and alleged wrong-doings received maximum publicity exposure. Some of the newspaper accounts were able to obtain rather specific details of his conduct from the police report. Father Kiesle has been in psychiatric therapy since this difficult situation first became public in August of 1978. He still continues to see a therapist on a regular basis.

I would credit Father Kiesle with great cooperation in seeking out psychiatric help when asked. On the other hand, his dealings with me as expressed in his own statement unearthed for me the problem he had with authority and obedience. I had arranged with two neighboring bishops to provide employment in special assignments for him outside of pastoral ministry during the months that he would be in thereapy. He adamantly refused to consider these although later, on his own, he took a temporary assignment in one of those same dioceses. I felt obliged to poi'nt out the inconsistency of his judgment.

I prevailed on one of our excellent young priests to provide him a home with some possibilities of limited work. That assignment carried on for many months but it was obvious that there was no development either in work or in any other interests. I feared the wasting of time was profoundly detrimental to a man of his age. At the time, therefore, that he did procure a job of reasonable support, I asked him to take a year away from the parish and assume responsibility for the managing of his own life. That decision, as hard as it was, seems to have been very beneficial to him. I believe it has contributed much toward his present resolution of his life.

Given all of the circumstances surrounding this case and Father Kiesle's irrevocable decision to leave the active ministry, it would seem to me most prudent that his petition be granted. Therefore, since all of these things are attested to in the Acts of the case, it is our opinion that this case should be submitted to you with the petition that Father Stephen Kiesle be relieved of all of the obligations of the priesthood.

Given at the Chancery of the Diocese of Oakland this 19th day of June in the Year of Our lord 1981.

John S. Cummins

Bishop of Oakland

Broken Rites list of 117 Catholic priests, religious brothers and seminarians who have been sentenced in Australian courts since 1992.

UN judicial official suggests trial of Pope for 'crimes against humanity'

Richard Dawkins: I will arrest Pope Benedict XVI

Did the Pope put his money where his mouth is?

ABC Radio's AM program reported that Pope Benedict who flies on the chartered Alitalia Flight commentators dubbed Shepherd One was praying for the airline which is on the brink of collapse. (Read the transcript here.)

Airline companies collapsing has become such a common occurrence that the British online betting agency Paddy Power offered punters odds on which airline company will be the next to hit terminal turbulence.

Thirty people made $30,000 when they successfully wagered on the collapse of XL, the third largest package holiday group. (Read about XL going down the gurgler here.)

Paddy Power rated Qantas a 66/1 prospect of being the next airline company to go belly up. Virgin was rated as the rank outsider at 100/1.
Alitalia was given the dubious honour of being the favourite.

Hence, the question arises. Did Benny put his money on another airline?

BTW, Paddy Power still rates Australia's George Pell a 66/1 chance of being the next Pope. Perhaps George is 'investing' the weekly plate collections on himself. (The odds of other wouldbes if they couldbes are listed here.)

WYD 08: Pope warns world against the dangers of Angel Food Cake!

On SBS World News Hour last night an excerpt from the papal mass was shown in which the world heard Pope Benedict (with an unfortunate stress on the first syllable) warn the young about a growing spiritual dessert [sic].

In the interests of public safety, posted below is the likely culprit - Black & White Angel Food Cake.
Please report any sighting immediately to the nearest bishop.

Photograph from Culinary in the Desert Country.

O to be a pilgrim

Now the Catholic Church has issued an urgent appeal for donations of blankets and winter clothing to warm pilgrims to its Sydney World Youth Day 2008 events this month.
Have I missed something here? This isn't the first such international event, so the Church should have been able to anticipate this need arising.
Could it be that Cardinal Pell was simply too mean to fork out church funds for these items?
Are Bene and George just trying to screw more out of the populace?
Fair crack of the whip, boys - you've already had over $80 million in cash and kind from the Australian taxpayer.
Time to put your hand in your own pockets and draw out the readies for these 'pilgrims'.
In case you hadn't noticed, there are also plenty of Aussies who have few blankets and warm clothes to make it through winter, as well as lacking money to afford any form of international travel.
World Youth Day is providing one PR blunder after another.

Come all ye faithfull and Sieg Heil George Pell

Stone the crows! Cardinal Pell's wet dream has finally come true.

This month, in connivance with the NSW Iemma Government, he has managed to roll back political and social history as far as the Middle Ages, when church and state were so closely intertwined that they were virtually one.

Annoying or inconveniencing participants in the Catholic Church's taxpayer-funded indulgence, World Youth Day, is now an arrestable offence in this state.

And no, George, I won't believe any hot air about these draconian measures not being sought by the Church. This sort of thing is exactly your style. As is beating up on victims of sexual abuse.

With over 10,000 votes recorded by The Sydney Morning Herald online poll and 90% of those votes going against the Labor far-right mafia's new regulations, it seems that many are unhappy with this turn of events.

Annoying pilgrims at Youth Day : What do you think of the new laws?
For them - 10%
Against them - 90%
Total Votes: 10983
Poll date: 01/07/08

In the interests of thumbing a nose at both Iemma and Pell - here's a little something from Rottentoons.

Update:

Today's Herald Sun article revealing legal attempts (by the Church in New South Wales led by Cardinal Pell) to avoid any legal responsibility to compensate victims of abuse.

This is not a matter of historic record. This is the Catholic Church in 2008 using legal devices to avoid responsibility in court for parishioners raped, sodomised or otherwise abused in its "care".

Iemma and Costa miscalculate and the state suffers

With less than half the projected 'pilgrim numbers now likely to turn up, the Iemma Government's decision to go all the way with il papa and Cardinal Pell is likely to see New South Wales further in debt after the Catholic Church World Youth Day held in Sydney over 5 days of official events in July.

The only question seems to be; will the debt be larger than the reported $24 million that Toronto, Canada was left holding after it hosted this event in 2002.

 

The Daily Telegraph 

THE State Government was forced last night to introduce legislation to appropriate an extra $400 million after finding itself short on cash to pay the bills.

Treasurer Michael Costa has asked Parliament to approve a transfer of funds to pay for "unforeseen" expenses over the past year.

They included horse flu, drought, new hospital beds, allowances for foster carers and $140 million to pay off rail debt.

Mr Costa claimed it was nothing out of the ordinary, calling it a "top up".

 

The Sydney Morning Herald

THE arrival of Pope Benedict in Sydney for World Youth Day is looming as an unholy disaster for the luxury hotels of Sydney.

Top-end hotels and businesses are reeling from the huge shortfall in predicted numbers. Domestic tourists are also reluctant to take holidays in Sydney because of the expected disruption to roads. One five-star hotel set aside 1000 beds and has not received one booking.

 

The Age

The NSW government has defended its decision to spend $86 million on World Youth Day, saying it would bring international attention to Sydney at a fraction of the cost of the Olympics.

The NSW government's spokeswoman for World Youth Day, Kristina Keneally, said the government would spend $86 million to support the event, compared to the $390 million it provided for the Olympics.

 

The Sydney Morning Herald

This figure [$86 million] does not include taxpayers' $42 million compensation payment - shared between federal and state governments - to the racing industry for use of Randwick racecourse as the venue for the closing papal Mass.

 

ABC News

Sydney's deputy Lord Mayor says parts of Hyde Park will be closed for three months after World Youth Day to repair the damage caused by thousands of pilgrims using the area.

Tony Pooley says the northern part of the park will be affected by the heavy pedestrian traffic during World Youth Day events in mid-July.

Councillor Pooley says the rehabilitation cost of $100,000 is minimal when considering how much money the event will inject into the state's economy.---

"The Catholic Church has asked us to pay for those costs," he said.

 

World Youth Day 2008 official website

Welcome to the World Youth Day 2008 HomeStay program.

This is your chance to play an important and rewarding role in Sydney's hosting of the world's biggest youth event.

We are asking Homestay Hosts to volunteer to host pilgrims from overseas - or from outside Sydney - from 14 July to 21 July 2008.

Pilgrims will be 18 years or older. Homestay Hosts are asked to provide bed and breakfast (cold or hot) on a complimentary basis.

Pope's holiday in Australian prior to WYD2008

The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Benedict will spend an extra three days holidaying in Australia prior to World Youth Day 2008 (WYD08), but those in the know about where the Pope will be putting his feet up are staying mum.

The Catholic Weekly reports that the Pope will undertake his longest trip to Australia, spending eight days here after arriving on July 13.

WYD08 co-ordinator Bishop Anthony Fisher said the recommended venue will be a location that is serene, beautiful and suitable for the leader of the world’s Catholics.

“He will have the opportunity to see some of Australia’s beautiful flora and fauna.”

So, where will the Pope be holidaying?

Perhaps these locations are on the short list:
* the Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo
* Nimbin
* Star City Casino
* Kings Cross
* God's waiting room (aka the NSW Central Coast)