Comments on Cardinal Sins

In fairness, Dan, there's also the rampant alcoholism to consider. That'll affect your judgment.

Yeah, I've never understood the "we have our own laws, thanks anyway" approach of the Church. Call the fucking cops FIRST. It's got nothing to do with the diocese.

Or are conspiracies and pedophile rings somehow less criminal when child rapists and their accomplices claim to be Jesus Christ’s representatives on earth?

Yes. That was Don Juan's essential realization in Moliere's play, and also one of Moliere's favorite topics.

Seriously, though, nail the fuckers. I want to see a raging storm of subpoenas, search warrants, arrests. Find out who did it and put them on trial for it. In public. Then, if they're convicted, put them away for a long time.

Gotta wonder about other hypocrisies in that group. I wonder for instance what happens if a nun get pregnant (say by a member of the clergy) and decides to have an abortion. Think she would be protected by the higher-ups? Would mamma superior cover for her?

Also I do not buy the booze defense for this or any sexual assault.

Word to the wise- spelling errors are that much more apparent when they're bold.

(And sometimes spell check doesn't work)

I know Slog is spontaneous and all that, but nothing undermines an author faster than a spelling mistake.

I am in no way defending the actions of the Archdiocese of Chicago, or of Cardinal George, but to answer the question of what the church thinks about their actions, the idea is that it is necessary to follow church law. While you would think the love thy neighbor would get to be the most important, since Jesus said it was, when they look at situations like this the focus is on forgiveness. One of the basic tenets of the church is the idea that G-d (through the church) forgives all sins if the person is truly repenent. This is the justification for re-locationing of priests, that they sinned but repented, and thus deserve G-d's and the church's forgiveness. The idea that G-d alone can not only forgive a man's sins, but cure him of his sinful desires then leds to the lack of therapy or any sort of check-up on people who have been moved after confessing their sins. They also, of course, just accept the perpetrators claim that they are sorry and will not do it again.

@6 - That is the most G-d d-mned f-cked up sh-t I've heard in my m-therf-cking life, G-d d-mmit.

Seriously though, unless you're a wig-wearing, long skirts-only, doesn't ride a bike on Saturdays Orthodox Jew, just type God, God dammit.

Megan W @6,

"when they look at situations like this the focus is on forgiveness"

Yes, but I would add that by choosing to focus on forgiveness, church officials also have struck on a great strategy for keeping their names out of the mud.

Wow, aren't coincidences like that neat?

Keep on preaching about this Dan! This shit sucks and needs to be exposed and stopped. This is seriously fucked up!

A question and a comment...

Is child molesting the same thing as rape? (For some reason I thought some body part of the molestor had to penetrate the molestee to be considered rape... Maybe I'm just too old.)

I like the "G-D" spelling. Reminds me of my dog-training lists, where many people "thank doG".

Catholic Church = Mafia

More question...

If the molestee is gay - and maybe finds the molestation 'welcome' - does it still count as molesting and and/or rape?

What's tha age cut-off? (Cut-on?)

Megan: no, it doesn't matter one teeny tiny bit what it says in church law. Church law doesn't supercede the LAW law. The question of what THE CHURCH should do about molester priests is moot; molesting a child is against the LAW law, and a cop ought to be there arresting the SOB before the bishop ever hears about it. And in a court, nobody gives a shit what it says in the canon. Nor should they.

Billions of dollars in settlements have been paid by the Catholic church to those whom they've grievously harmed in mind (religious brainwashing) just as much as in body (fondling, fingering and fucking of trustworthy minors).

Fortunately, the Catholic church has endless resources, but with further exposes and expensive settlements sure to come, slicing up the Sistine Chapel ceiling into souvenir plates and hawking them on e-Bay will provide ready cash for countless prosecutable revelations yet unrevealed.

Since these problems don't arise in Orthodox churches, can they still seriously argue that celibacy has nothing to do with it?

What I want to know is why McCormack is only serving 5 years.

The Catholic Church is a racketeering conspiracy, plain and simple. They all agreed to hide, enable, foster, and protect child rapists and child molestors. They commit fraud on a daily basis by soliciting funds from parishioners telling the lie that they are a religious organization.

It's all about lies, money and power. It's the same as the mafia. God damn them all to hell.

The cops arrested the pervert and then let him go. What was the cardinal supposed to do?

Notice that all the pedophiles have Irish surnames, btw.

According to the Illinois Dept of Corrections, McCormack was convicted of 5 counts, yes 5, of aggravated sexual abuse victim less than 13 yr. He received 5 years for each count, but his parole date is less than 2.5 years of his initial incarceration.
Maybe Catholic thought has changed? When I was
in Catholic school, I got more time than that for chewing gum in church.
I hope his fellow inmates aren't as forgiving as his church.

@4:

Yes. My bff worked in a clinic for years, and she said they got nuns and missionaries (and the same young women who protested outside every weekend) all the time. Many were repeats. She told me that they always freaked out on her and asked if she thought God would forgive them.

@ 17 - yeah, it sounds like this cardinal asshole could be tried pretty easily under RICO, although it'd be the ballsy Chicago/Illinois prosecutor who'd try that.

@ 19 - no way a pedophile priest doesn't get placed in protective custody.

More outrageousness from Cardinal George in the Chicago Sun-Times:

"Cardinal Francis George and one of his top bishops are stirring up controversy because of statements they recently made criticizing lawsuits from victims of priest sexual abuse."

In a letter obtained by the Sun-Times, the cardinal earlier this year wrote to the parents of a victim and apologized "for the terrible abuse suffered by your son at the hands of Ken Ruge and Robert Becker," two Chicago area priests who are now dead.

The cardinal also wrote that money was the motivation for proposed state legislation that would allow adults who were abused by priests as children to sue their perpetrators in cases where statutes of limitation have expired.

"This is irresponsible, is not about the safety of children as the sponsor claims, and is clearly, to me at least, about money," he wrote."

The article also contains this astounding bit:

"Meanwhile, Bishop Thomas Paprocki said in a sermon to lawyers recently that abuse suits undermine "the charitable works and religious freedom of the church." The Chicago bishop, who said he is George's representative on the review board that scrutinizes abuse allegations, wants some protection for charities.

"This attack is particularly directed against bishops and priests," he said, adding that the principal force behind the attacks "is none other than the devil."

http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/religion/647039,CST-NWS-Arch13.article

"True freedom will come when the last brick falls off of the last church and kills the last priest"

Well, at least they are going to Hell. They have that to look forward to.

Seriously though, I had to listen to my neighbors whine about how people condemn the whole Catholic church unfairly because of this stuff. Is it just me or is that totally lame? Seems like with how often it happens and how much has been covered up, that there's no way to say this is a fringe thing that shouldn't affect the Church's reputation.

Your child gets molested and you call the church instead of the cops? Wow, those Catholics really know how to control the flock.

So...seriously. How many kids need to get molested for people to realize that this whole church thing is psychologically unhealthy and just generally fucked up?