Words actually fail me

Comments

Didn't they castrate

Angharad's picture

the wrong ones, the victims not the perpetrators. Time to abolish the Church of Rome, methinks.

Angharad

Castration

Since abolishing the Church of Rome (which is effectively the last remaining outpost of the Holy Roman Empire) is probably impractical given the vast number of people who subscribe to that particular variation-on-a-theme of Christianity (a significant portion of whom probably still believe the Pope's infallible), Angie's other suggestion, while unlikely, could be do-able.

After all, since Catholic priests supposedly commit themselves to a life of celibacy, why not give willpower a helping hand? :) It's not as though it would make much of a difference to their lives (apart from perhaps helping them to be even more pious than they claim to be)...

As for the perpetrators, rather than cover up for them, defrock 'em and subject them to the full weight of criminal law. Castrate them too (preferably using a less-than-sharp blade [truly blunt probably wouldn't do the job] and without any form of anaesthesia).


As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!

There's a slight problem there...

Puddintane's picture

Catholic priests cannot legally be eunuchs under Canon Law, because this is the same "defect" that prevents women from assuming the Priesthood. It's an astonishing Catch-22, considering the results over the years, but serves to perpetuate a certain undercurrent of illicit sexuality which has lasted from the days when the Church ran brothels as a profit center (another institution inherited from the Roman Empire) until now.

In fact, Church brothels were one of many scandals that drove Martin Luther to the Reformation, so there's always the possibility of change.

-

Cheers,

Puddin'

A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style

Not being religious...

But isn;t there something in the OT about 'incomplete' men not being allowed into the temple?
GIMF...Deueteronomy 23:1.

Don't forget to add the leaf!

Don't forget the leaf when your done with the neutering. Iconoclasm at its finest! And I do love a good dose of irony!

Power Corrupts

Power Corrupts Absolute power over others corrupts Absolutely. I was Catholic until I was 13 years old, then a Jesuit decided I was not church material and against our parish priest's {Franciscans}desire told me to leave the church. Over the years it became very clear that I was the lucky one who got away. Now the rumors whispered about when I was a child are being openly spoken of. Next it will be the other condemning religions who have murdered wholesale 145 million Native Americans 300 million plus people of color ect ect ect. It will be there time to be exposed, This election is a very important one it is the choice of the lesser of two evils, and the realization that bad people must be opposed by all of us by us demanding of our elected officials to do our will not evil like castrating the victims of rape, or rapping the victims again when seeking justice.

The only bad question is the one not asked.

While I tend to agree to your

While I tend to agree to your view on religion those genocides weren't really the fault of religion and mostly due to human greed. Put the blame where it belongs.

Thank you Steph,

'and Angharad,I agree completely, except that castration is not enough for these
disgusting people who hide behind the cloak of religion.

ALISON

three chears

Angharad me thinks thee has a capital Idea. But forsooth why stop at only one. The fewer the greater the cheer.

Why not Be spiritual not religious.?

The only bad question is the one not asked.

Moths to a flame

Any organisation that deals with children attracts its share of Paedophiles,unfortunately the Catholic church would appear to have an overall culture of abuse.The upper levels of the church are heavily implicated and part of the problem hence the massive cover ups.You must feel sorry for the average Catholic finding their church is not as pure as they thought.

devonmalc

Religeon vs. Spirituality

Hope Eternal Reigns's picture

It has been said (and I believe it) that there has been more murder and torture in the name of Christ than all other forms of death and evil combined, for the last 2000 years or so.

Religeon:

The opiate of the masses.

A way for people to divest themselves of responsibility for their own personal actions.

A way for the power hungry to cloak their greed in 'spirituality'.

Spirituality: (for me)

A way to appreciate the beauty of the natural world and to contemplate my place in the world around me.

with love,

Hope

Once in a while I bare my soul, more often my soles bear me.

Sad,

but some people seem to need what the church offers. I'm not talking about the vile disgusting things done by the avatars of the church, but the leadership, the forgiveness from God.

I have a similar view to evangelicals of Baptists in the middle of the USA. A large percentage of these cretins were incredibly venal, but they had no problems telling other people how to live.

There is something fundamental (forgive the term) in churches attracting people who live to tell other people how to live their lives, while not maintaining the same standards for themselves. As with any group I believe it is a minority, but they do horrific damage to those around them while they are in power.

The answer in my mind is make the church pay, and pay large when they cover up the acts of evil men. I don't think it would be money either, but property. Maybe the inclination may be reduced after they loose a couple of historical landmarks. If they loose enough churches it is possible they will pay more attention, but the money comes straight from the faithful, whose job I've been told is to pray, pay, and obey.

Sorry...

Confused...what do you mean?

I know...I know...

Andrea Lena's picture

...the old quote about statistics and lies and such? But keep in mind that the occurrence of child molestation is actually lower among clergy in general and Catholic clergy in specific than that of the general population.

What makes it all the more heinous, however, is not how frequently it is committed (not an event but a choice), but by whom it has been committed. Like any closed system, such as a family, where the overwhelming majority of child molestation occurs, the church in a broad sense is a family, and the same dysfunction can occur; enabling, denial and outright participation. The child is set up from the start because there is no one to turn to for help, since their only support system is the very system that they are trying to escape.

I quoted this once or twice in commentary, but it really applies here, since in the context of where it is cited, it is directed in a sense to those who wish to be shepherds.

Better a man tie a millstone around his neck and cast himself into the sea than to harm one of these little ones. Better that man had never been born.... You get the idea.

I posted a comment yesterday about the Sandusky scandal at Penn State. Yesterday I had a flashback; actually a clarifying memory, since I'd known about this all along, but never knew the context until I remembered yesterday: my grandmother pulling me back into the apartment building where my uncle had been molesting me while I screamed for help at the top of my lungs on a busy street in Denville, NJ. No one came to help a terrified ten year old.

The outrage becomes stronger for us when we have the very people who have been charged to protect us inflicting the evil upon us. I will say this; my parents didn't stop it because they likely already knew, and by that time, their own choices hurt both me and my sister in like manner. But my faith in God has grown; perhaps that might feel odd to some, aye? But for anyone who actually has been through this, I want to encourage you that while it never goes away, it does get better.

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

The abuse I have seen.

I tried to work with homeless youth for a couple years, but found it too heartbreaking. The most astonishing story I heard was about two very young twins, one girl, one boy. The parents were dopers and decided they wanted two girls. They castrated the little boy, and gave him hormones at a very early age. I met them once at a writing work shop. They were very clingy toward each other, and one of them seemed to be on the verge of tears most of the time. I could not tell which one the boy was because they both looked absolutely alike and both dressed pretty androgynously.

It was the one time when I completely lost it and planned to go find those parents to mete out some justice. I found out that they were either in the slammer or were dead. Fortunately my ire had cooled by that time.

I think I've told my story until it is nauseating to folks here, and it most certainly is to me. I know what it is to fear for my life at the hands of a violent parent, and to be raped while in care.

Gwendolyn

Shit! I never believed stuff

Shit! I never believed stuff like this was real. I figured it was only crap that happened in forced femme stories, but apparently what one human mind will think of another human will make reality.
I can understand you, the poor kids. Damn, stuff like this makes me want to go berserk on those monsters.

Beyogi

it's hardly surprising ...

... that an all-male organisation which specifically bans its members from male/female sexual relationships (or any sexual relationships) should attract men who have no interest in them. That they are also given charge of young people makes it equally likely to attract potential paedophiles.

The same thing applies to any youth organisation and, hopefully, those in authority are vigilant. Obviously sometimes they fail either through ignorance or, more worryingly, deliberately. Our scout master was jailed in the late 40s for kiddy fiddling, fortunately not involving me. The amazing thing is that after release he continued to live in the town unmolested.

This case is particularly shocking and bears a lot of resemblance to Steph's story last year which is probably why words fail her. She's already expressed her disgust in a very eloquent manner. And people wonder why many of us have no time for religion.

Robi