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News & ArtsFriday, April 9, 2010
Religion The Smoking Gun
Posted by Dan Savage on Fri, Apr 9, 2010 at 12:22 PM
AP:
The future Pope Benedict XVI resisted pleas to defrock a California priest with a record of sexually molesting children, citing concerns including "the good of the universal church," according to a 1985 letter bearing his signature. The correspondence, obtained by The Associated Press, is the strongest challenge yet to the Vatican's insistence that Benedict played no role in blocking the removal of pedophile priests during his years as head of the Catholic Church's doctrinal watchdog office.The letter, signed by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was typed in Latin and is part of years of correspondence between the Diocese of Oakland and the Vatican about the proposed defrocking of the Rev. Stephen Kiesle.
The pope—then Cardinal Ratzinger—refused to defrock Rev. Stephen Kiesle in 1985 despite the fact that Kiesle himself had asked to be laicized after serving three years probation for "tying up and molesting two young boys in a San Francisco Bay area church rectory" in 1978. The Diocese of Oakland all but begged Ratzinger to defrock Kiesle but Ratzinger refused, citing the "good of the universal church" and the fact that Kiesle was only 38 and defrocking such a young priest was likely to attract attention and create a scandal. So what did the Catholic Church do with Kiesle while it dithered and stalled?
As Kiesle's fate was being weighed in Rome, the priest returned to suburban Pinole to volunteer as a youth minister at St. Joseph Church, where he had served as associate pastor from 1972 to 1975.... Kiesle continued to volunteer with children, according to Maurine Behrend, who worked in the Oakland diocese's youth ministry office in the 1980s. After learning of his history, Behrend complained to church officials. When nothing was done she wrote a letter, which she showed to the AP.
Kiesle would eventually be defrocked—and was eventually charged with molesting 13 children. He told a lawyer that he molested "tons" of children, boy and girls, "every child that sat on his lap."
And the current pope thought that kicking this guy out of the church was the scandal.
Read the whole, sickening story here.
3
Every single day there is a new story about something horrible the Catholic church is doing or has recently done, and every single day it is a battle not to run outside and point to the story and scream, "I FUCKING TOLD YOU SO!"
The greatest evil empire the world has ever seen, and somehow it's still considered a legitimate entity, and people pretend to be shocked when yet another of the Church's crimes is exposed. What's it going to take?
The greatest evil empire the world has ever seen, and somehow it's still considered a legitimate entity, and people pretend to be shocked when yet another of the Church's crimes is exposed. What's it going to take?
4
I don't mean to detract from the seriousness of this but... he wrote the letters in Latin??? What in the fuck.
6
Well, if Catholics are OK with the fact that the Church has committed torture and murder in the past, I'm sure they won't have a problem with a teensy little thing like child molestation.
7
But Dan! It's all OK since this happened when JP II was pope and Ratzi's already said that he was only following orders WRT covering up stuff while JP II was Pontiff. (No, I'm not kidding -- a German Pope actually dared try "Befehl ist Befehl" in a post-Nuremberg world: http://www.eriegaynews.com/news/article.… )
8
Huh... so he did have direct involvment after all. But I thought they had a commandment against bearing flase witness, or am I thinking about a different cult? Cuz I hear those commandment thingies are supposed to be kinda important.
10
@6: I grew up Catholic (Irish-American Catholic out of Chicago--I had family members cutting checks to the IRA well into the 80s), and my being "OK" with the Church having committed torture and murder *in the past* was exactly analogous to my being "OK" with the USA having committed torture and murder *in the past*--in that I wasn't OK with it, but that both organizations had previously fallen short of their worthy ideals, and that that didn't render those ideals or the organizations themselves illegitimate and that as societies evolve and improve we'd all collectively continue to get better at realizing those ideals. And that the priest that everybody in grade school knew was a dirty old perv was just a bad individual, not a walking indictment of the priesthood in general.
I felt the same way about the Church as I do about my family: They've got problems, and I'll take the nutcases to town all day long, but someone ELSE looks at them cross-eyed? I will fuck that motherfucker UP.
But goddamnit, I'm done with these assholes now. I don't know how long it's going to take the rest of my family to walk away, but as devout as most of them are, there's an eventual limit to their loyalty to any organization that displays such mind-boggling arrogance and contempt for the people it purportedly exists to serve.
I felt the same way about the Church as I do about my family: They've got problems, and I'll take the nutcases to town all day long, but someone ELSE looks at them cross-eyed? I will fuck that motherfucker UP.
But goddamnit, I'm done with these assholes now. I don't know how long it's going to take the rest of my family to walk away, but as devout as most of them are, there's an eventual limit to their loyalty to any organization that displays such mind-boggling arrogance and contempt for the people it purportedly exists to serve.
11
Oh. My. Fucking. God.
Yeah, just when I think I can't be any more disgusted with these bastards in dresses (not referring to drag queens or the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence!).. Well, something "new" comes along and I'm fuckin sick all over again....
Jesus H. Keerist on a crap cracker.... Where's a nice cleansing bolt of Divine Lightning when you need one?
Yeah, just when I think I can't be any more disgusted with these bastards in dresses (not referring to drag queens or the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence!).. Well, something "new" comes along and I'm fuckin sick all over again....
Jesus H. Keerist on a crap cracker.... Where's a nice cleansing bolt of Divine Lightning when you need one?
12
@4 - Latin is still the official language of the RCC. All documents are written in Latin first, and any translations have to be approved before they can be issued. It took years before the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church was approved for publication.
And this story just...I don't have the words. There are good reasons so many of us fall into the "recovering Catholic" category. Personally, I found a new denomination that works for me, but I totally understand people who abandon religion or faith entirely.
And this story just...I don't have the words. There are good reasons so many of us fall into the "recovering Catholic" category. Personally, I found a new denomination that works for me, but I totally understand people who abandon religion or faith entirely.
13
#3 said "What wil it take?"
I think we are seeing some of what it will take right now with the almost daily flood of revelations. It will also take a change in attitude by others in the media to stop acting like religion deserves deference merely because it is religion. I really get tired of those who feel that just because millions of people see a figure as sacred that they must be handeled with kidd gloves. Only Catholics are required to view the pope as holding some sacred place in the world. Only Catholics believe he is God's representative on Earth. We have no obligation to view as sacred everything that believers believe to be sacred or holy. Sacred is in the eyes of the beholder.
If the priest molested "every child that sat on his lap" he should receive no more consideration than if he was a department store santa.
I think we are seeing some of what it will take right now with the almost daily flood of revelations. It will also take a change in attitude by others in the media to stop acting like religion deserves deference merely because it is religion. I really get tired of those who feel that just because millions of people see a figure as sacred that they must be handeled with kidd gloves. Only Catholics are required to view the pope as holding some sacred place in the world. Only Catholics believe he is God's representative on Earth. We have no obligation to view as sacred everything that believers believe to be sacred or holy. Sacred is in the eyes of the beholder.
If the priest molested "every child that sat on his lap" he should receive no more consideration than if he was a department store santa.
14
The Pope does not resign nor can be recalled however the Pope before John Paul only lasted 33 days before he died. Same amount of years the Jesus walked the earth per the Catholic Church. That Pope whose name escapes me was promoting birth control pills to 3rd world countries and then he just died and of course you can not do an autopsy on a Pope …so perhaps his health will take a turn for the worse. Child Fucker!!!
16
the trial lawyers will take down this criminal organization. in the meantime the appropriate words are "child raping organization" or "criminal racheteering enterprise" not "The Church."
And try this:
"capo di tutti capo" in lieu of "Pope"; "capo for Oakland" instead of "Bishop" for the Diocese of Oakland; and "consiglieri" instead of "Vatican adviser."
In fact, we should just call it the "Child Rapist Mob."
And try this:
"capo di tutti capo" in lieu of "Pope"; "capo for Oakland" instead of "Bishop" for the Diocese of Oakland; and "consiglieri" instead of "Vatican adviser."
In fact, we should just call it the "Child Rapist Mob."
18
@4 @12 It's also handy to use Latin if the correspondents have different mother tongues (in this case Ratzinger grew up with German and whoever he was writing to grew up with English; both would know Latin pretty well). Remember we're dealing with an institution that looks back on the Middle Ages as the good old days.
A legible image of the letter itself is here: http://www.ksbw.com/image/23103799/detai…
A full translation (which looks pretty good to me) is here: http://cbs2.com/national/pope.benedict.d…
A legible image of the letter itself is here: http://www.ksbw.com/image/23103799/detai…
A full translation (which looks pretty good to me) is here: http://cbs2.com/national/pope.benedict.d…
19
I'm sad for a priest of my childhood, Father Tom Connolly (later a bishop of eastern Oregon), who could laugh and swear and mocked the gold-spray-painted plaster dove above the altar as "looking like a duck," and sweet slender Sister Bernadette in her beige pleated skirt and cardigan--I was as in-love with her as a future gay boy could be. I know at my core they were good people. The rest of them, start running, and the devil of retribution take those slowed by the weight of guilt for the assaults you committed or tried to conceal.
20
I heard the next Dan Brown book was going to be about Robert Langdon uncovering secret records of child rape hidden by Opus Dei.
Speaking of which, OFFICIAL REQUEST. Can the Stranger Manual of Style be immediately adjusted to only refer to this shit as child rape? Don't couch the language, please. Call it what it really is: child rape. Raping a child.
Speaking of which, OFFICIAL REQUEST. Can the Stranger Manual of Style be immediately adjusted to only refer to this shit as child rape? Don't couch the language, please. Call it what it really is: child rape. Raping a child.
22
Unfortunately for those who'd like to see the Pope and confederates deposed or even tried in court, the Vatican qualifies as a "country" and as such doesn't have to respond to legal manuevers by any other country. The Church fathers were venal, murderous, and many other things, but they weren't stupid.
23
What do you expect from the Whore of the Earth?
Any parent who exposed their children to the Catholic Church or clergy to any degree is worst than the pedophile Priests.
Any parent who exposed their children to the Catholic Church or clergy to any degree is worst than the pedophile Priests.
25
Sunshine is the best disinfectant. And, may the sun continue to shine, because the filth and shame is miles thick.
I still can't fathom how they could continue to expose children knowingly and doing it for the "good of the universal church". I guess the human minds ability to see its actions and choices as benign makes it possible for them to sleep at night. What evil.
I still can't fathom how they could continue to expose children knowingly and doing it for the "good of the universal church". I guess the human minds ability to see its actions and choices as benign makes it possible for them to sleep at night. What evil.
26
It sounds like the opposition to gay marriage is perfectly in harmony with this, and perhaps a conscious managerial choice. Clearly, they think that only gays want to be priests (and that "child molester" is equivalent to "gay"). There's a shortage of priests, priests can't be married, and therefore allowing gays to get married would decrease the number of people going into the priesthood.
27
@23: You are one of those assholes who need to separate your disgust and outrage at the pedophiles in the Church and those superiors who covered up their crimes from a general hatred of the Catholicism in general. The one Catholic priest I know is a true man of God; kind, tolerant, and generally deserving of the respect he receives. If only the Catholic Church could fill its ranks with priests of that philosophy...
28
@27: I'm sure many friends of the pedophile priests and those who protected them thought they were men of God also. I know one in Seattle I thought was, but several years ago he testified in a child rape case he had knowledge of and some part in (as a protector, not as the rapist) that in the 1970s, "we didn't know it was a crime."
29
@28: Admittedly, you don't always know. But to assume that all priests are (not that they MIGHT be, but that they ARE) child molesters is about as bad as just assuming that none are. Real life is rarely black and white. Except of course, real life before color film came around.
30
I think your "good priests" fall under the evil or stupid rule. They are either stupid for thinking they can change the church, or that it is a good organization to belong to, or the news coming out it false. Or they are evil and think the church has done nothing wrong, the kids were asking for it, and the church should be protected from all the criticism it's been getting.
Either way, they're not people I would look to for guidance.
Either way, they're not people I would look to for guidance.
31
It's pretty clear that Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) played a direct role in covering up patterns of sexual abuse by priest against children. The question that remains is when will ALL of the guilty parties, including the Pope himself, be put to justice.
The church does not seem to recognize the urgency of this situation. We the people need to put the necessary pressure on them.
Citizens of the world should be equally infuriated. We should demand that Vatican officials take full responsibility for the actions of their priests over the course of decades. They should be charged for child endangerment for their involvement (or lack thereof) in each case that is discovered and ongoing from the time that Ratzinger headed the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (the Vatican watchdog group created to STOP molester priest) to now.
It was arrogance coupled with the sheer lack of courage that guided the decisions of officials to keep these predators in their positions. It is fear of being outed as cowards and hypocrites that forces Ratzinger and others to maintain the lies.
To confess now would be to light the wick at the end of their foothold on power and betray the base of millions who faithfully believe in the Pope's infallibility. It is unfortunate that so many who truly believe in the word of God and adhere to the principles of Christ's teachings also conflate this wretched human being that is now the Pope with these beliefs.
We cannot wait until the day of their deaths for retribution. They must be righteously punished HERE ON EARTH so that the victims can at least live knowing that that looming "wrong" had finally been righted.
The church does not seem to recognize the urgency of this situation. We the people need to put the necessary pressure on them.
Citizens of the world should be equally infuriated. We should demand that Vatican officials take full responsibility for the actions of their priests over the course of decades. They should be charged for child endangerment for their involvement (or lack thereof) in each case that is discovered and ongoing from the time that Ratzinger headed the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (the Vatican watchdog group created to STOP molester priest) to now.
It was arrogance coupled with the sheer lack of courage that guided the decisions of officials to keep these predators in their positions. It is fear of being outed as cowards and hypocrites that forces Ratzinger and others to maintain the lies.
To confess now would be to light the wick at the end of their foothold on power and betray the base of millions who faithfully believe in the Pope's infallibility. It is unfortunate that so many who truly believe in the word of God and adhere to the principles of Christ's teachings also conflate this wretched human being that is now the Pope with these beliefs.
We cannot wait until the day of their deaths for retribution. They must be righteously punished HERE ON EARTH so that the victims can at least live knowing that that looming "wrong" had finally been righted.
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