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EMOTIONAL FEMALE by Yumiko Kudota

January 11, 2022
BOOKS In My Non-Fiction Collection-REVIEWS
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Emotional Female

EMOTIONAL FEMALE by Yumiko Kadota

“A young doctor’s account of what it was like to train in the Australian public hospital system, and how it made her walk away from her dream of becoming a surgeon.”

“A Brilliant young surgeon’s journey through ambition and dedication to exploitation and burnout.”

Yumiko Kadota was a brilliant and hard-working student throughout her school years, always achieving  top exam marks. She continued her scholarly dedication when she was accepted into Medical School with a passionate goal to become a plastic surgeon (Plastics).

Yumiko’s family moved from their home in Japan to Singapore, then on to London, and finally to Australia, as her father’s employment advancements required.  Yumiko came to love Australia, so that even when her parents and sisters eventually returned to live in Japan following  her father’s retirement, Yumiko continued working hard and learning new  surgical skills whenever  she was given the opportunity. Nevertheless,   her dream of getting on to the relevant  Programme eluded her, even though she was proving herself to be an outstanding young surgeon.  Was it racism, sexism, or the constant bullying tactics standing in her way? Was it more to do with who you knew rather than what you knew?

She was expected to work punishingly long hours as well as to study. Not all senior surgeons would give her the opportunity to take part in operations or to perform those within her scope as junior surgeon.  She needed more practice to enable her to get on to the Programme. Why was she constantly thwarted in her ambitions?                                                  

However, after some very tough assignments, both emotional and exhausting, Yumiko did achieve  two of her dream goals and moved onto Plastic Surgery for her surgical resident year and then as plastic surgery registrar in Melbourne.

“I realised too as I left her room, that she was friends with everyone at the hospital…It seemed unlikely that she would stick up for me to the plastic surgeons, her fellow consultants at the hospital. Maybe she was used to this kind of behaviour from them. So what was going on here? Was it me at fault, or these major players at the hospital? I knew I couldn’t complete my Plastics term successfully without their support, their teaching, at the very least without them giving me some of their time. Did that mean that I just had to put up with all the degrading treatment I’d seen…” and that which Yumiko had had to endure herself?                                                                                                                                                       

 

In spite of all these hurdles, and the sacrifices, Yumiko makes it through to her new term as plastic surgery registrar. She was well on her way to becoming a Plastic Surgeon and she continued to strive to fulfil her dream of getting on to the Programme to become a fully qualified and registered plastic surgeon. However, despite all of these successes, twice she missed out getting onto the Programme and it appeared to have nothing to do with her exam results or her surgical experience.   

Tragically, Yumiko has a complete physical and mental breakdown largely due to burnout; her total exhaustion and lack of sleep from working at times, end to end 24 hour shifts with no down time, or even time to eat properly. At times Yumiko became tearful during these extremely difficult and stressful  times, and once was told by an Emergency Registrar to “…Calm down, you’re being an emotional female.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

The author discusses at length the sexual harassment, racism, sexism, and malicious manipulation from senior doctors and surgeons, which will shock readers. She also gives examples of situations involving bullying, and the rorting of public hospital  taxpayer funding carried out by surgeons and senior registrars.                      

 I must say that as a reader of Dr Yumiko’s journey I felt the power imbalances and the misogyny she writes about, to be similar to those experienced by women in the  Australian political scene. As the author comments at the end of her book, why doesn’t the Royal College of Surgeons address the lack of institutional leadership shown by her bosses, fellows of RACS, that had led to her poor treatment, and more importantly, which had in turn lost the services of a brilliant young plastic surgeon to the public hospital system.

-Anne Frandi-Coory, 11 January, 2022

‘Reverential fear’: The only reform that could tackle Catholic clerical sexual abuse

March 28, 2019
CATHOLIC CHURCH & Its Institutions, Catholicism & Paedophilia
3 Comments

Opinion piece by Geoffrey Robertson QC published in The Sydney Morning Herald

1st March 2019

Catholic symbol

 

News of George Pell’s conviction was a fitting end to a papal summit on child abuse which achieved nothing and began with other cardinals attributing the problem to homosexuals in the priesthood.

red George Pell

The reality is that priests abuse small boys not because they are gay but because they have the opportunity. Most are not even paedophiles, but rather sexually maladjusted, immature and lonely individuals unable to resist the temptation to exploit their power over children who are taught to revere them as the agents of God.

A church that has tolerated the sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children – a crime against humanity in any definition – needs to face unpalatable truths and to make drastic reforms.

Cover-ups are no longer an option. The magnitude of the crimes is well-established and the evidence of how the Vatican and its bishops hushed them up in order to protect the reputation and finances of the Catholic Church is fully proved.

By insisting upon its right to deal with allegations under medieval Canon Law weighted in favour of the defendant and providing no effective punishment, the church itself became complicit.

It has allowed abusive priests to confess without fear of any report to police; it has encouraged bishops to withhold information from prosecuting authorities; it has refused to allow Vatican envoys (papal nuncios) to co-operate with government inquiries on the excuse that it is a state [which it is not, according to International Law!] and hence they have diplomatic immunity.

The necessary reforms must begin with recognition that child sexual abuse is a crime, not just a sin, and must be reported to and dealt with by prosecuting authorities.

Canon Law, with its pathetic punishments of prayer and penitence, and its obligations to keep proceedings secret, must have no part in dealing with allegations of sex abuse.

Nor can the veil of confidentiality any longer be allowed to shroud the confessions of paedophiles, let alone the absolution of one priest by another (“Brother, can you spare a crime?”) The confessed abuser must be told to confess to the police or else be handed over to them.

Obviously, there should be zero tolerance for clerics who confess or are convicted. They must be defrocked and certainly not allowed any appeal to the Vatican, which in the past has permitted many to remain in holy orders – the sheep’s clothing in which they have often reoffended.

Even in countries where local bishops have announced that public prosecutors will be told of sex abuse allegations, there is always the qualification “only if the victim consents”.

It is all too easy for young victims and trusting parents to be counselled that their child’s best interests lie in allowing the church to deal with the matter “in its own way” without involving the police. They give in easily to pressure and persuasion that their complaints should be dealt with in secret under canon law.

Abolishing the role of Canon Law in dealing with sex crimes will take some papal courage, but will be relatively easy, beside the radical changes necessary to stop the abuse from happening in the first place.  The reform most often suggested is to abandon celibacy. This would not be doctrinally difficult – Christ’s disciples appear to have been married and the rule was a dogma introduced in the 11th century and almost abolished by 16th-century reformers.

But marriage does not “cure” paedophilia. Moreover, many abusive priests are not paedophiles: their disordered personalities can often be ascribed to conditions that would prevent them from forming satisfactory heterosexual relationships. Abuse happens because they are too weak or emotionally immature to resist temptation.

That temptation arises because the church indoctrinates children at an early age – as young as seven or eight – that the priest is the agent of God. Communion is an awesome miracle performed by the God-priest, and then the impressionable and nervous child is made to confess his sins and seek forgiveness, from God, represented again by the priest.

Anne.

The phenomenon of children’s unflinching obedience to sexual requests from the priest is induced by “reverential fear”: the victims have such emotional and psychological dependence on the abuser that they unquestionably obey and do not tell for many years afterwards.

It follows that the only reform that could tackle the evil of clerical sexual abuse at its source would be to raise the age at which children are first given communion and confession to, say, 13. Other churches, and the Jewish faith, leave indoctrination and spiritual commitment rituals until teenage-hood. By this stage young people are much more capable of resisting sexual advances and have more courage to report them.

Could the Pope ever contemplate this reform? The Jesuits say “Give me the boy at seven …” and now we know what this has meant. But if such reforms are not implemented, there must be consequences.

One consequence could be to reconsider, not the state, but the statehood of the Vatican. It is, after all, the only religion allowed this elevated status, with diplomatic immunities, expensive embassies and a role at the UN where it condemns programs that help homosexuals or propose family planning or gender equality.

Yet it is in reality no more than a religious enclave in Rome, without the attributes of sovereignty or even an indigenous population (no one is born there, except by accident). If it continues as an organisation that facilitates the abuse of children, it should have no immunities.

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Geoffrey Robertson QC

Geoffrey Robertson QC is a former UN Appeal Judge and author of The Case of the Pope (Penguin). See my review of his book here:  The Case of the Pope

Jason Frandi – “The Jason I Knew”

June 12, 2012
Jason Frandi
5 Comments
email received by Anne Frandi-Coory 8 June 2012:
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Jason Frandi

Jason Frandi (alleged murderer of Czech tourist)

I know that Jason lived with Arthur [his father] in Waimate and attended his funeral along with his brother or half brother as ———– (my husband) went with them.  After he died Jason purchased his father’s Smith St home in 2005.

Police search Jason Frandi’s house in Waimate NZ

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Jason worked in forestry first and set the standard, he was such a hard worker that no one could come close to what he could do in a day.  After that he drove the Waimate rubbish truck and like everything for him,  that was also a piece of cake and he put everything he had into it.  He also worked for Smiths in Timaru driving a digger which was his passion, he would be miles ahead of what anyone else would do and they had trouble keeping up with him.  After that he decided to work closer to home and went to Leethwick’s driving a digger. He was offered a brand new one but Jase being Jase said he didn’t want a new one, what he had was perfectly fine and he would stay on that.  ———- knows what he did between the rubbish truck and Smiths but  I’m not sure.
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When we built our house Jason came up and cut down the retaining walls, then leveled the dirt for the lawn later.  If he didn’t get it finished that day he would say, ‘don’t worry I’ll be back tomorrow’.  He would sit on the digger all day and refuse to stop and eat lunch or have a break and when it broke he would calmly sort out how to fix it and sort it out without a fuss.
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He carried a photo of his son ——— in his wallet; when he was up this way he would stop in but after a while would say he had to get going because the wee fella would be awake soon and he wanted to go and visit him.  Jason was so proud but as time went on he saw less and less of his son with his ex partner making excuses. But he would always say calmly with never a bad word, ‘that’s how she wants it then I can’t do anything about it. No point causing trouble and she just makes it harder for me’.  His ex said she [was] allergic to Latex, while they were together she became very moody and difficult so Jase decided to end it later finding out that she was pregnant but I think they had burned their bridges by then and she had decided to make it very hard for Jase to be part of his son’s life.  Jason saw him when he could and was always talking about new things he was looking to buy for him for birthdays and at Christmas time.  It was very sad, he just wanted to be a good dad to his son and not miss out.
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He was an incredible guy with the kindest heart, respect for everyone and was so much more talented than he would ever give himself credit for.  We’re so extremely gutted we know what we [would] do now and think there are so many things we could have said and done to at least try and help him through his dark patch. I’m sure just knowing there were people that really loved and cared about him, that he could rely on to talk to about absolutely anything without feeling ashamed or embarrassed, and to help, may have stopped him from ever getting to the point he did.  We both agreed today if he was still alive now after what happened we would both still be here for him because the real Jase was just lonely, very troubled and dying for someone to help him with the issues he carried around for so long.
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He should have been given help when he was in prison in 2001, he admitted then he was crying out for someone to help him and it went completely ignored.  We never asked exactly what happened and I don’t know if anyone ever did; we thought we would be prying and it was just a minor offence until they plastered it all through the newspaper, internet and television recently last month.  It was a secret until it was too late.  I’m angry about the stupid way that makes no sense, it’s too late now so people don’t need to know things with some of it being fabricated anyway.  Your life’s only private until you’re dead and it’s too late.
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Something that I’ve never forgotten is how every time he was here he would put his hand on the window to leave a hand print in the kitchen or dining room and jokingly say, ‘that’s in case I ever go missing, people will know I was here’. Was that his way of asking for help?
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I just want to know that he has been put to rest with the respect he still deserved and if it is somewhere public [to enable us to go] and make peace, and to know he is somewhere safe.  It looks as though someone has started or may have finished clearing his house out but apart from that I have nothing.  If you do ever find or hear from anyone can you please let me know or pass on my details so they can contact me; I would be eternally grateful. I really can’t let this go until I know, he meant too much to me to just let it slide.
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Thank you very much, I’m glad I found your blog and was able to talk to you. x
– From a friend of Jason’s
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Royal Commission Into Sexual Abuse of Australian Children

September 20, 2011
Catholicism & Paedophilia
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Updated 6 February 2017 – From today and over the next three weeks archbishops from every state (except Tasmania) will take the stand. 

Some statistics from the Royal Commission on first day of proceedings involving archbishops of Australia,  in just 5 Dioceses here in Australia:

Figures much worse for religious orders: 20.4% Marist Brothers, 21.9% Salesians, 22% Christian Brothers 40.4%, St John of God.

“The following five archdioceses or dioceses with priest members which had
the highest overall proportion of priests who ministered in the period 1950
to 2010 and who were alleged perpetrators: 


a. 11.7% of priests from the Diocese of Wollongong were alleged
perpetrators
b. 13.9% of priests from the Diocese of Lismore were alleged
perpetrators
c. 14.1% of priests from the Diocese of Port Pirie were alleged
perpetrators
d. 14.7% of priests from the Diocese of Sandhurst were alleged
perpetrators
e. 15.1% of priests from the Diocese of Sale were alleged
perpetrators”.

The disturbing figures were revealed by senior counsel assisting, Gail Furness, SC. She also revealed that the Holy See had refused to hand over documents involving Australian priests accused of abuse.

“The royal commission hoped to gain an understanding of the action taken in each case,” Furness said. “The Holy See responded, on 1 July 2014, that it was ‘neither possible nor appropriate to provide the information requested’,” she said

“Children were ignored or worse, punished. Allegations were not investigated. Priests and religious [brothers] were moved. The parishes or communities to which they were moved knew nothing of their past,” she said. “Documents were not kept or they were destroyed. Secrecy prevailed as did cover-ups.”

Read more here: Clerical Paedophilia; Centuries-Old Timebomb

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The Inquiry into the sexual abuse of children by Catholic and other religious clerics is now underway in Australia.

‘Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses Into Sexual Abuse Of Children’ will carry out its investigations throughout Australia. The Chairman at the Inquiry is Justice Peter McClellan.

Thanks to the courageous work of PM Julia Gillard’s team, the Inquiry began its work in April 2013.

On 7 May 2013 Cardinal George Pell admitted that the Catholic Church covered up hundreds of cases of sexual abuse of children. The Church did this to protect the reputation of the Church, its wealth, and its priests.  Since he made that statement, Pell has been given refuge at the Vatican so that he has not taken the stand in these proceedings, which to many victims, is a travesty of justice!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Below is a book which is a must read for anyone interested in the proceedings of the Inquiry:

‘Hell On The Way To Heaven’ is written by Chrissie Foster, mother of two daughters who were raped by a 70+ year old Catholic Priest, Father Kevin O’Donnell. He died before justice prevailed. It’s a heartbreaking story. Chrissy Foster tells us that she was so indoctrinated by Catholic dogma she couldn’t see the signs that her daughters were at risk of sexual abuse by this paedophile. Father O’Donnell had total power over his diocese and the Catholic school the girls attended. He was free to wander among the children at any time and free to take them out of classes when he chose.

It is believed that this paedophile sexually molested and raped hundreds of boys and girls. The Catholic Church did not warn the community that there had been complaints against Kevin O’Donnell spanning 50 years.  O’Donnell was eventually defrocked by the Catholic Church but boys continued to visit him at his unit. When George Pell was informed by parishioners about O’Donnell’s continued association with children, he replied that it was no longer anything to do with the Catholic Church!

For everyone’s sake in our community, so this never happens again, please take the time to read this book.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

An Inquiry into the sexual abuse of children within the Catholic Church is long overdue in Australia.

The stress and heartbreak that the victims of sexual abuse, and their families, go through is horrendous. I do not believe that the Catholic Church even comes close to understanding this. If it did, would the Vatican have allowed this abuse to go on for centuries? Perhaps it’s not a question of understanding and empathy. It’s most likely all about power, wealth and status. I believe that the number of reported abuses is just the tip of the iceberg, because research has shown that is the tendency with all forms of sexual abuse. It can take half of a victim’s lifetime, or more, to just gain the strength to talk about the abuse. To quote Chrissie Foster: “It takes 40 or 50 years for children to talk about what has happened to them, and it just never stops”.

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For more details see: How Catholic Dogma Aided Paedophile priests

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Chrissie & Anthony Foster

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It one such case, two of Chrissie and Anthony Fosters’ daughters were raped by a Catholic Priest. In an article about the Fosters in Catholica, March 2011, the writer refers to the abuser as “A Holy Roman Catholic Priest”.  I think this is indicative of the mentality of the Catholic hierarchy, in that they choose this highly inflated title to describe a paedophile. It sends a message that this rapist continues to be treated with respect by his peers and the Vatican!

Chrissie and Anthony Foster are the parents of three daughters, two of whom were raped as little girls by a paedophile priest, Kevin O’Donnell. One of the daughters eventually took her own life in despair after a long period of self harm. The second daughter who was raped, after a similarly long period of self harm, walked in front of a speeding car while intoxicated and today requires round the clock nursing care that will continue for the rest of her life.

Mrs Foster has written a book ‘Hell on the Way to Heaven‘ in which she cites six bishops who failed to take decisive action following several parents’ complaints regarding Kevin O’Donnell. It is difficult to comprehend why Cardinal Pell is still in Office given what has been presented in Mrs Foster’s book. “Cardinal Pell has more front than Myers Department Store and it will probably wash over him like water off a duck’s back”.  Read Mrs Foster’s book and judge for yourself, the failure of these six bishops to protect children from sexual abuse by Kevin O’Donnell.  Cardinal Pell appears to bury his head in the sand over this issue, and still there has been no effective inquiry.

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The Fosters are driving the push for an inquiry into sexual abuse by clergy in Victoria.  As quoted in the Waverley Leader September 13, “Two signatures stand between an inquiry into the alleged sexual abuse of two Oakleigh girls, and other alleged victims by Victorian clergy”.  Labour MP, Anne Barker handed the proposed terms of reference for an inquiry to Attorney-General Robert Clark, recently. If Mr Clark and Premier Ted Baillieu, sign  the four page document, a Royal Commission of Inquiry will be launched.  The Terms of Reference state that: “Since 1993, more than 65 clergy who have served in Victoria, have been convicted of abuse”. These figures are staggering. But the Catholic hierarchy have stipulated that they will not deviate from its ‘Melbourne Response Programme’ which was implemented 15 years ago. However, going on past experience of the way the Catholic Church has protected its paedophile priests, we must have nothing less than a Royal Commission of Inquiry, which would be  totally outside the influence of the Vatican. Mr Foster believes A  Royal Commission is the only way to expose the secretive behaviour of the Church, and bring it under full scrutiny. A decision is pending. Let’s hope that in the event of a Royal Commission of Inquiry in Victoria, other states will follow suit.

-Anne Frandi-Coory 20 December 2011

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See  previous posts:  Clerical Paedophilia         /    Irish PM Blasts Vatican

Clerical Paedophilia; Centuries Old Timebomb

August 7, 2011
Catholicism & Paedophilia
2 Comments

Updated 6 February 2017 – Today, every Catholic archbishop from around Australia (apart from Tasmania) will be giving evidence at the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Former Australian archbishop George Pell who is alleged to have covered up multiple cases of child sexual abuse by his priests, now resides at the Vatican.  

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DYSFUNCTIONAL. Disconnected. Elitist. Narcissistic. The leadership of the Roman Catholic Church downplayed the torture and rape of children or ”managed” it to uphold the primacy of the institution, its power, standing and reputation.

The above damning indictment of the culture at the heart of the Vatican came not from a communist demagogue or a firebrand ayatollah but from Enda Kenny, the Prime Minister of Ireland, one of the most Catholic countries in the world. This Irish PM is a true hero. As the saying goes, it only takes one good man…

The Irish government has also warned the Church it can no longer even consider the seal of the confessional to be sacrosanct, promising to impose a five-year jail sentence for anyone found guilty of not passing information on child sexual abuse to state authorities.

Source-Douglas Dalby, a Dublin based journalist.

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Pacific Daily News reporting on Guam clergy abuse trials: Noted canon lawyer Patrick J. Wall said, “Compiling and keeping records of various crimes by clerics, including childhood sexual abuse, is required by the Church’s own rules.” Wall is a former Catholic priest and Benedictine monk who left the ministry in 1998 after it became apparent he was being used to cover up the sexual abuses of other priests.

Wall is helping dissect defenses that dioceses mount during trial. He co-authored “Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes,” a leading book on the 2,000-year history of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

See previous posts:

  Australian Royal Commission into Sexual Abuse of Children

&   Irish Prime Minister Blasts The Vatican

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People world-wide must be growing weary by now of the endless cases of child sex abuse which is endemic within the Catholic Church. No other organisation has been so infiltrated by the sheer numbers of clerical paedophiles.  It’s no wonder that the Vatican has been labelled ‘the gay men’s club’ and the largest paedophile ring in the world’. The abuse has been going on for hundreds of years because the great power and wealth of this establishment has been able to cover it up.  It has blatantly ignored the damage done to children to protect its image of Godliness and purity. I would love to know what numbers of the congregation have left the church because of the ongoing revelations. I believe that it is not merely a case of an organisation of celibates attracting paedophiles, as some would have us believe.  There appears to be a deep psychological flaw in the Church’s teachings and if you read enough about convicted priests, there is this view that it is ‘ok’ to rape little boys, girls, and ‘fallen’ women, as long as you leave the ‘sacred image of Mary’  alone ie in the form of ‘saintly’ mothers here on earth. These paedophiles show little remorse and their colleagues pity them their “sins of affliction” as though they are the sole victims. Canon Law allows Catholic clergy a loophole in the truth; it’s called ‘Mental Reservation’ which has allowed them to rape children with impunity for centuries!

 

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How corrupt is the Vatican?

><>< >< Two other major reports published since 2005 also breached the iron walls of Vatican silence, but the Cloyne Report is different because it found systematic sexual abuse of children was still a reality as recently as 2008 and the church had been paying lip service to its own 1996 guidelines on child protection, which include the mandatory reporting of suspected abuse to state authorities. However, it was implicit that the ‘mandatory reporting’ was at the discretion of  local Bishops. In fact. Bishops reported abuse cases to the Vatican heirarchy which enabled  it to cover up the abuse and to move  the paedophile elsewhere. The Vatican effectively encouraged bishops to ignore its own guidelines by dismissing them as “merely a discussion document”. PM Kenny’s confrontational address to the Irish parliament last month reflected the collective mood and tapped the raw pain and sense of betrayal felt by people across Ireland after the recent publication of the Cloyne Report.  The state-funded independent report detailed numerous allegations of abuse by priests and a failure to report them in the rural diocese of Cloyne from 1996 to 2009. Pointedly, the local Catholic bishops didn’t rate a mention in PM Kenny’s speech; he saved his ire for their bosses in Rome. PM Kenny’s speech revealed that the Cloyne Report brought the government, Irish Catholics and the Vatican to an “unprecedented juncture”. The Cloyne Report exposed a more serious issue than previous reports. Because for the first time in Ireland, a report into child sexual abuse proved an attempt by the Holy See to frustrate an inquiry in a sovereign democratic republic as little as three years ago, not three decades ago. ><>< ><

Formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger-Currently Pope Benedict XVl

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See post   ‘The Case of the Pope’  by Geoffrey Robertson, in which he examines,  from a legal perspective, the Vatican as a sovereign state and its handling of paedophile priests and their victims

><>< The tide appears to be changing in Ireland. Most people still profess faith in God but church doctrine no longer governs personal spirituality. Indeed, there are now calls to remove Catholicism  from every aspect of public life. Some Catholic parents are even doing the unthinkable and choosing not to baptise their children. While they may still regard themselves as Catholic, albeit with a small ”c”, contrary to stereotypes, this is no priest-ridden, theocratic backwater. The Catholic Church may continue to supervise the education system and control many hospitals, but for the most part, this is a cosmopolitan, urbanised, and secular, society. Increasingly, people in Ireland confine their church attendance to life changing events – christenings, weddings and funerals. Indeed, churches are more like mausoleums to past glories, with pews mostly empty or dotted with a few pensioners. The drift away from Catholicism has been gathering pace for some time, but revelations of the devious deceit and persistent cover-up of child abuse detailed since 2005 in the Ryan, Murphy and Cloyne Reports have transformed passive indifference into white-hot rage. ><>< In many ways the Catholic Church in Ireland is being devastated by a catastrophe of its own making. Its abuse of power also extends back  to its role in the so-called industrial schools and Magdalene laundries, places of institutionalised slavery where children and young women were routinely, physically, sexually, and emotionally assaulted. The Magdalene laundries, which operated before the formation of the state in 1922 until 1996, were effectively church businesses where women and girls were imprisoned and forced to work in appalling conditions for little or no pay. Many of them suffered a lifetime of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of the nuns in charge. In many cases their ”crime” was to be a single mother. Only now are their stories being widely circulated and their campaign for redress gathering pace. ><

See post  Banished Babies

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So far, 18 religious orders have agreed to pay €600 million ($A783 million) in compensation to industrial school victims. The state has agreed to pay €1.3 billion for effectively allowing the church to run riot with its most vulnerable citizens.  American Catholic Churches have already paid compensation in the millions of dollars and incidents of the cover-up of sexual abuse by priests are still being currently exposed.

Source: Douglas Dalby, Dublin Journalist. _______________________________________________  

Riccardo Seppia on the left

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Christopher Jarvis: Child Protection Chief for the Catholic Church

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One wonders if the Catholic Church can sink any lower.

Christopher Jarvis is headed to jail for a long stint,  following his conviction for making, possessing, and distributing, child pornography, of which images were found on his home computer and work laptop.  The laptop in question was provided to him to aid in his duties as a Catholic Church Child Protection Chief. The Catholic Church is the largest employer of sex offenders and pedophiles on the planet.

The Child Protection Chief’s  job was to monitor church groups to ensure paedophiles did not gain access to children in the Church’s congregations.  But Jarvis was caught by police in March with more than 4,000 child porn images on both his personal and work computers. He admitted 12 counts of making, ­possessing and distributing indecent ­images when he appeared before ­magistrates in Plymouth and is likely to face jail when he returns to court for sentencing next month. Jarvis worked the Diocese of ­Plymouth for nine years.

A Vatican spokesperson claims that the church removed him from his position as soon as his sex predator status was discerned. Who can possibly believe any statements issued by the  Vatican in light of its record to date. 

In yet another shocking case:  Father Riccardo Seppia, a 51-year-old parish priest in the village of Sastri Ponente, near Genoa, was arrested on pedophilia and drug charges. Investigators say that in tapped mobile-phone conversations, Seppia asked a Moroccan drug dealer to arrange sexual encounters with young and vulnerable boys. Seppia makes his request to the drug dealer clear: “I do not want 16-year-old boys but younger. Fourteen-year-olds are O.K. Look for needy boys who have family issues”.  Now, priests would know all about families with problem children, wouldn’t they?

According to investigators, Seppia told his friend, a former seminarian and barman who is currently under investigation himself, that the town’s malls were the best places to entice minors. In tapped phone conversations the two cursed and swore against God. The priest is charged with having attempted to kiss and touch an underage altar boy and of having exchanged cocaine for sexual intercourse with boys over 18. Seppia’s defense lawyers are expected to argue that the monitored conversations,  “were just words, sex games that were played by adults”. It was just a game even when he claimed to have “kissed on the mouth” a 15-year-old altar boy, according to the defense.  The altar boy in question confirmed that the kisses did in fact happen. These are games played by supposedly celibate priests? It beggars belief! Seppia also served as Pope Benedict’s official advisor on pedophilia; a child-raping pedophile himself?

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In Australia it seems, the Catholic Church hierarchy is no more keen on investigating sex abuse by priests, than anywhere else:

AN inquiry into suicides among victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and brothers in Victoria would achieve little, a Catholic bishop says.

Australian police investigating the case of convicted pedophile Christian Brother Robert Best, believe at least 26 victims of sexual abuse at schools in which he taught have committed suicide. One of the investigating officers wants a parliamentary inquiry to investigate the deaths.

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Christian Brother Robert Best

><>< “If it helps the victims I’d be more than happy for it to go ahead,” Bishop of Ballarat Peter Connors told AAP.  “I don’t think they’ll learn very much more … I’m convinced we’ve done the best we can in more recent years.” Best, who taught at schools throughout Victoria, including Ballarat, will be sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty to 27 charges of abusing 11 boys between 1969 and 1988. Best was principal at St Alipius primary school in Ballarat at the same time convicted serial paedophile and priest Gerald Ridsdale was the school chaplain. But Bishop Connors said not even revelations from Detective Sergeant Kevin Carson that 26 young men had killed themselves after being abused by priests and brothers in Ballarat convinced him that more would be learnt from an inquiry. “I think we’ve learnt a lot of things about what is appropriate behaviour and what’s not appropriate behaviour,” Bishop Connors said.  “I think people are very well informed nowadays as to what’s inappropriate approaches from a male”,  the Bishop contnued. But I would ask, what have these lame statements got to do with opening an inquiry in to the abuse? While conceding the abuse of children was wrong, he said that in the past it had not always been clear to everyone what was appropriate and inappropriate behaviour.  I don’t believe he could make such a claim. Surely grown men in the priesthood, one would assume, should have known what was appropriate behaviour? Bishop Connor’s ramblings don’t make sense. “In the past a lot of ignorance was there on the part of lots of people. Parents didn’t understand, sometimes bishops didn’t understand. We have no excuse now.” As to whether there was an excuse when Ridsdale and Best were abusing boys, Bishop Connors said he did not know. Among the charges laid against Best in Victoria’s County Court last month were details of him raping a nine-year-old boy in his office. The court heard that after Best raped him, the boy thought he was going to die and blacked out. Bishop Connors said in the past 14 years he had spoken to more than 30 victims of Ridsdale and other priests in the Ballarat diocese. But he said none had told him they were also abused by Best. “I can’t remember them saying they were victims of Brother Best as well,” he said. The bishop said he had no reason to meet Best’s victims “because he being a Christian Brother, I’m not responsible for him.” Another stupid answer. Yet he conceded that some of Ridsdale’s victims he had met could also have been abused by Best, because  both men were there at the same time. Bishop Connors says the church has paid some victims far more than the $70,000 the Archdiocese of Melbourne says should be paid for the worst cases of child assault. Others have been paid less but overall victims had received “a considerable amount”. He is now waiting to see if any of those victims will come forward in two civil compensation cases set to be mounted against Best and whether the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat will be named in the actions. The statements made by Bishop Connors tells me that the Vatican does not employ the right sort of specialists to deal with sexual abuse cases. This is part of the problem.  Bishop Connors, like other priest and Bishops, is trained to minister to the spritual needs of their congregations, not to deal with thousands of sexual abuse victims. ><><

ABC News Update on Brother Best 8/08/2011:

Christian Brother Robert Best jailed for sex abuse of Victorian school boys.

Robert Best has been sentenced by the Court to 14 years imprisonment  for abusing 11 boys, mainly aged between eight and 11, but will probably serve a minimum term of 11 years. Seventy-year-old Robert Best taught at schools in Ballarat, Box Hill and Geelong between the 1960s and the 1980s.  During the sentencing, Best stood in the dock without emotion. His many victims were in court and shouted at Best as he was led away.

Civil claims lawyer Dr Vivian Waller:  The Catholic Church, and particularly Christian Brothers, who supported Brother Best throughout, now need to take the next step on the road to recovery for these victims and assist them with their treatment and education. We’ll be claiming damages for pain and suffering and for the cost of medical treatment, and other special damages that will assist these victims to recover from what they’ve been through.

Victims believe Best is unrepentant. “He doesn’t show any remorse.”

See relevant posts:

Celibacy & Sexual Abuse

& Catholic Dichotomy of the Female & Abuse of Children

Vatican – Is It The Gay Men’s Club?

March 16, 2011
Catholicism & Paedophilia
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The cover of Panorama: “The Wild Nights Of Gay Priests”.

Is it any wonder that the Vatican, in light of its failure to immediately report sexual abuse by Catholic clergy to criminal investigators, is known as ‘The Gay Men’s Club’?
Apparently, Cardinal Sean O’Malley has a list of suspected paedophile priests in Boston which he refuses to release. The unreleased list, possibly 40 names of  offending priests, is included in a record of the minutes from a March 2010 meeting of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council.How can the Vatican  therefore, allow these men to continue working around vulnerable children in  positions of trust?   It also means these men are not receiving help for their predilections.

Anne Barrett Doyle of Bishop-Accountability.org called the number of undisclosed priests “staggering.” She accused O’Malley of purposely delaying to protect church officials responsible for monitoring the priests.  And also, if past actions by Bishops are anything to go by, so the accused can be sent on safely to another parish in Africa somewhere.  The church has said compiling the list is a complex task. It cited concerns about due process for accused priests.  What I would like to know is:  what about the children?

Many gay priests have been exposed by Panorama magazine frequenting gay clubs and actually having sex with gay partners.  Being gay is not the issue here.  It is the hypocrisy of supposed men of God, claiming they are celibate.  If there is so much opportunity around for gay sex, one has to wonder why these men have joined the priesthood.  It may be that the Catholic religion allows them to believe that if they are not having sex with women, then they are not having sex.  Perhaps it is as simple or as psychologically complex as that.

Panorama magazine is owned by Catholic Prime Minister and media baron, Silvio Berlusconi.  Its reporters have film of priests attending gay clubs and having gay sex.  One of the priests  is later filmed saying Mass!  http://italia.panorama.it/Le-notti-brave-dei-preti-gay  – can be translated into English via Google

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See previous posts:

Celibacy and Sexual Abuse

Last Judgment and Babies

Paedophilia in Italy

Kiss of Betrayal

Celibates And Nuns Are Not Good For Children

January 19, 2011
Catholicism & Paedophilia
2 Comments

Adam & Eve. A detail from Michelangelo’s painting in Sistine Chapel in the Vatican

Updated April 2015:  Investigation launched into unmarked graves of children who once lived in Catholic Mercy Orphanage in Ballarat.  Is Ballarat Australia’s ‘Ireland’ where paedophile priests were sent by Vatican?

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Updated 2 August 2014

More and more cases of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy around the world are being uncovered. Not only sexual abuse, but neglect of children in orphanages and homes for unmarried mothers:

Tuam mass grave and the search for almost 800 unbaptised children. So, a foetus is worth more than a child whose mother is unwed? 

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tuam mass grave

Tuam Catholic Home For Unmarried Mothers in Ireland (now demolished)

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There is no doubt that unmarried mothers and their babies were treated with a special type of callousness by the Catholic Church at the time this home for unmarried mothers was in operation.  And those children who were not baptised were not allowed to be buried in proper, named graves.

After all, as far as the Catholic Church was concerned, these ‘inflicted’ children were full of sin!  We will never know if these children were sexually abused, as well as grossly neglected, but if history is anything to go by……..

The Irish Prime Minister, Enda Kenny,  has authorised an inquiry into the missing children and to ascertain exactly how many children are buried at Tuam.  It is estimated that over 60,000 children were abused by Catholic Clergy in Ireland over several decades.

 Updated 20 September 2018 …Tuam Mass Grave – Read more here:

https://ciarantierney.blogspot.com/2018/03/for-peter-and-families-its-personal.html?m=1

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Because of the thousands of cases of sexual abuse perpetrated by paedophile Catholic priests, questions are being asked about the correlation between priestly celibacy and sexual abuse.The Vatican secretary of state,  insists there is no cause-and-effect link between priestly celibacy and the child abuse scandal rocking the Roman Catholic Church.  But how would he know that for sure when there has never been extensive research about this issue?  And, this very issue has not only been swept under the carpet for centuries, but in some cases has been condoned by Bishops.

To quote the secretary of state: “It has been amply demonstrated that celibacy, when faithfully observed, is of great value to their vocation and in helping the people of God…..there is no direct link between celibacy and the deviant behaviour of certain priests,” Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, told the Spanish newspaper Vanguardia.  “On the contrary, it is precisely the failure to remain celibate that gradually degrades the life of a priest, until he ceases to be an example, a gift, a spiritual guide for others”.  This is so Catholic!   SIN is the problem!   That awful blemish we are all born with because Eve tempted Adam.   That means that the only actions  that will save the offending priests’ souls are prayers and penance.  But what about the victims: those poor innocent  children who have been robbed of their childhoods and in most cases, a peaceful adulthood.  I don’t see anywhere, the Vatican’s sorrow for the children so abused.

Last week Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of two bishops implicated in the revelations of paedophile abuse by Catholic priests that have swept Europe and the Americas since November.

In Belgium Roger Vangheluwe, the first bishop directly implicated in the affair, resigned after admitting to abusing a minor several years ago.

Bishop James Moriarty, for his part, became the fourth bishop to resign since two major sex abuse scandals hit the Irish Catholic Church.  Revelations of large-scale paedophilia spanning decades have rocked the Catholic Church in countries including Ireland, Austria, the United States and the pope’s native Germany.  Bishops and cardinals were accused of protecting guilty clergy by moving them to other parishes  instead of handing them over to police for prosecution.   The priests were protected but not the children in those other parishes the paedophiles were sent to.

One alleged victim of a priest accused of molesting up to 200 boys at a school for the deaf in Wisconsin sued the Vatican and the Pope on Thursday in a bid to access secret files on investigations into sex abuse in the Church.   As I have stated in a previous post, there is little chance of any court being allowed access to Vatican files.  All archives are closely guarded by the Office of the Inquisition renamed the Congregation For The Doctrine of the Faith.

See post & book by Geoffrey Robertson QC, a must-read for all Catholics:   The Case of the Pope; Sexual Abuse & The Vatican.

Latest News release relating to the above:

THE Vatican is asking a US  judge to reject an attempt to question Pope Benedict XVI under oath in a sex abuse lawsuit on the grounds that there has been no evidence of a link to church officials in Rome.

The arguments filed on Thursday in the US District Court in Kentucky also say that forcing Benedict, a head of state, to give a deposition would violate international law. The US considers the Vatican to be a sovereign nation. The lawsuit accuses the Vatican, referred to in papers as the Holy See, of orchestrating a cover-up of priests sexually abusing children throughout the US. Louisville attorney William McMurry asked to depose Benedict and other Vatican officials in a motion in March, and the filing on Thursday was a response. Mr McMurry has also asked that the Vatican turn over administrative documents and respond to questions related to the abuse scandal in the US.

Lawyers for the Vatican argue that thousands of documents provided in a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville several years ago have turned up no connection to Rome. The Louisville archdiocese reached a settlement in 2003 with more than 240 abuse victims represented by Mr McMurry for $US25 million ($A28.87 million). Mr McMurry will have an opportunity to reply to the Vatican’s latest arguments in a response to the court.  While US dioceses have been sued over abuse by priests, the Kentucky lawsuit is the first US case to make it to the stage of determining whether victims have a negligence claim against the Vatican.  Filed in 2004 by three men abused by priests in the Louisville diocese, it argues in part that US bishops should be considered employees or officials of the Holy See.

Saint? Pope?

January 18, 2011
Catholicism & Paedophilia
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Newly elected Pope John Paul ll uplifting his “pilgrims” in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican

Karol Wojtyla, later  John Paul ll, was passionate about religion. He maintained a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, choosing as his personal motto Totus tuus  which is Latin for “All yours”, (Mary) .   To my mind, this left him with a distorted and unrealistic view of women.  (see my post Catholic Dichotomy of Females). To his detractors, he was a reactionary trying to turn back the clock on modern reality. Some harshly criticized his ultra-conservative theology, which prohibited female ordination, birth control and abortion. He branded the notion of global overpopulation a myth and said the use of condoms as a precaution against AIDS only encouraged the behaviour that led to the spread of the disease. Yet companies associated with the Vatican earn millions from the manufacture of contraceptives.

In a 1993 letter to his bishops, John Paul said both sex before marriage and contraception were intrinsically evil. He also broadened the definition of mortal sins to include abortion, euthanasia, drug dealing and drug taking. No mention here of the abuse of innocent children by Catholic priests being a mortal sin. During his time as Pope and head of the Catholic Church, John Paul worked closely with Joseph Ratzinger (the present Pope Benedict), at the Congregation For The Doctrine of Faith,  to cover up widespread paedophilia within the Catholic clergy and arranged  offending priests to be sent  from one parish to another without warning parishioners of the dangers these evil men posed.  During this time, no priestly child abusers were reported to police and the vast majority have never paid for their crimes.  But of course, the Vatican paid out millions in cash to those victims who wouldn’t shut up!

Many liberal Catholics believed John Paul centralized power during his reign and blocked the democratization of the church. (see my blog  ‘Are We But A Flock Of Sheep?)

In April 2002, John  Paul  called 12 U.S. cardinals to the Vatican for an extraordinary two-day session to discuss the growing scandal of priestly sexual abuse of children in America. The Pope told the visiting cardinals that sexual abuse of children by priests and religious is “rightly considered a crime” and is “an appalling sin in the eyes of God.”   All talk!  Paedophile priests are still protected by the Church.  I wonder how many of those same cardinals had themselves sexually abused children in the past.

The most fabulous smoke screen of all time is being puffed out right now!   John Paul has been canonised a saint, ie: a first miracle has been credited to him.  As usual, it is a woman (nun) who has been cured of some fatal illness.  Now we await his second miracle so that this ex pope can be beatified and so entitled to have the word ‘saint’ installed in front of his name.  Meanwhile, unwanted children continue to be born. Men, women and children die of AIDS in their millions.   The trail of sexual abuse victims left behind is truly gigantic.  This abuse can affect families for generations to come and I write about these consequences in my book ‘Whatever Happened To Ishtar?’


Pope’s Kiss of Betrayal

September 22, 2010
Catholicism & Paedophilia
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Updated 14 November 2014  

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Paedophile Priests Sent Abroad…….yes, children are still being sexually abused by Catholic Priests and yes the Vatican is still shifting them to poorer countries! 

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A message for Pope Francis:  

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pope francis

 

Get your own palace (The Vatican) in order before you preach to the rest of the world about peace and kindness. As far as I can see, you have done nothing different to any other pope before you, when it comes to transparency about the Catholic Church’s scourge of clerical child sex abuse!

Paedophile priests are still being shuffled around the globe, this time to Africa, Asia, South America etc. Until we see paedophile priests defrocked, convicted and sent to prison, your words are just empty words.

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Britain Pope

Kiss of Betrayal

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This photo is disgusting in light of the Vatican’s cover up of the sexual abuse of thousands of children and the protection of paedophile priests. Just wait for the time bomb of huge numbers of abused children to explode over the next few years in countries such as Africa and parts of Asia.  Children are now being abused in developing countries where these rapist priests have free reign after being exiled from America, Australia, Canada, Ireland etc, to escape conviction.  But not only children suffer from this insidious clerical abuse.  It was revealed in 2001 that predator priests sent to Africa, forced themselves on nuns, because they were free from Aids/Hiv virus.  Convents stripped the abused nuns of their vows and evicted them from the convent with no means of support.  Of course, the offending priests were free to continue their abuse.  Anyone like me who was indoctrinated into the Catholic faith from infancy, will know first hand the adoration which nuns bestow on priests.  So, like children, they are powerless and vulnerable in the hands of a  priest intent on his own sexual gratification.

The Vatican has a priority list when in damage control and spin: Protect its wealth, priests and reputation. Women and Children’s welfare is not considered! The hypocrisy is sickening.

Catholic Dichotomy of Females & Abuse of Children

September 16, 2010
Catholicism & Paedophilia, ISHTAR the goddess- her story
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Guido Cagnacci: Allegory of Human Life (1601-1663)

*Updated 6 March 2019*

The Italian painter Guido Cagnacci encompasses it all in his beautiful painting which depicts the “cyclical regeneration of life out of death”.  He knew the realities of life and death.  His nude woman was the personification of beauty and fecundity, fundamental to the eternal  cycle of life and  the antithesis  of patriarchal  Catholicism. The Church created the dichotomy of the female; the virginal mother vs the whore.  Easy to commit ‘sins’ against the worthless latter and be forgiven in the confessional.  Within the flawed doctrine of Catholicism this is implicit.

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See posts: Are We But  a Flock of  Sheep? & Saint?  Pope?

& Australian Royal Commision into The Institutional Sexual Abuse of Children

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The power brokers behind the Vatican machine are very astute.  Every so often they target some obscure person for beatification; the penultimate  stage before sainthood.  They don’t have to pay millions of dollars for publicity and enhancement of Catholicism because it is all free once this ‘news’ is released to the Global Media.  But the global congregation is growing weary of the sheer numbers of abused children.  The Dead Sea Scrolls have revealed that so much of Christianity is based on fantasy. The canonisation  into sainthood scams regarding the 19th Century cardinal John Henry Newman and Sister Mary MacKillop are nothing but pathetic attempts at diversion from the sexual abuse of thousands of children by Catholic clergy around the world and especially recent revelations in Belgium, Ireland and Australia.  This has been going on for centuries but in the past the Church always covered it up.  Priests’ sexual gratification and its secrecy was paramount;  children’s welfare wasn’t an issue.  The Church just ignored the abuse and shifted the offending priests around the parishes where they carried on with their proclivities.   Perhaps The Church’s fantastical teachings made it easy for priests to delude themselves into believing that they weren’t really having sex with their child victims.  It was ‘fallen’ women, those evil temptresses, that they had to avoid.  I cannot believe that this vast Catholic scourge can simply be labelled ‘paedophilia’.  It is much more psychologically complicated than that. Catholic seminaries are not suitable ‘educational’ and religious institutions for teenage boys and young men, where only males of all ages reside in monk-like living conditions, and where apparently acts of ‘homosexuality’ are rife.

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Sexually abused children suffer and grow into adults who continue to suffer for the rest of their lives, that is if they haven’t committed suicide; and by the way, suicide is another sin in the eyes of the Church so the victims are condemned to “go to hell” as if they haven’t already been there. In some cases priests refuse to bury them!   Little Boys are as fair game as little girls; in the latest investigations into the Belgium abuse cases involving Catholic clergy,  girls and boys from two years of age were repeatedly raped.  Celibacy is a joke and the Vatican’s continued stance on celibacy, that Jesus (if he existed at all) was celibate,  is rubbish; it is written that he married twice and fathered children.  His second wife was called Lydia, but Mary Magdalene, his first wife, was always labelled by The Church as a prostitute and Mary, mother of Jesus, was promoted to the pedestal of sainthood and mother of God because, The Church’s doctrine would have us believe,   hers  was an Immaculate Conception.  Some parts of Catholicism were taken from paganism so they had to have a replacement for the ancient  mother goddess such as the Babylonian Ishtar.  In the grottos around the Middle East whatever figurine of a goddess was in residence,  was removed and replaced with a statue of the Virgin Mary.

In Australia in 2013, the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, began. One of the most disturbing conclusions to come out of the hearings, was that the Catholic Church hierarchy, in Australia,  believed the sexual abuse of prepubescent children was paedophilia, but that the sexual abuse of adolescent boys was homosexuality, which was a sin, and that priests could be forgiven after prayers and penance. Even allowing for this very Catholic distinction, no action was taken against offending clergy between 1950 and up to the time of the Royal Commission. In fact, the Royal Commission exposed gross failings by Catholic priests, bishops and archbishops to place the welfare and safety of children before the protection of its paedophile clergy.

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**See my memoir HERE: Whatever Happened to Ishtar? – A Passionate Quest To Find Answers For Generations Of Defeated Mothers.**

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Previous Post: Scandal in the ADF

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7 News Item: Pregnant Nun Image Sparks Outrage:

pregnant nun

Pregnant nun advertisement sparks outrage!

An ice cream advertisement featuring a pregnant nun has been banned in the UK, media reports say. The Italian ice cream brand Antonio Federici launched the magazine campaign with the attached tagline text: “Immaculately conceived … Ice cream is our religion.” According to the British Advertising Standards Authority it reportedly received 10 (is that all?) complaints from magazine readers who said the ad was offensive to Christians, especially those who practice Catholicism. “We concluded that to use such an image in a light hearted way to advertise ice-cream was likely to cause serious offence to readers, particularly those who practised the Roman Catholic faith.” an official statement from the ASA says. A UK advertising watchdog says the imagery used to illustrate Immaculate Conception was likely to be seen as mocking Catholic beliefs. The Italian company said the ad, featuring in The Lady and Grazia magazines, aimed to gently satirise religion and that the notion of conception represented the creation of their ice cream product. Where’s the outrage about predatory priests? one person asks in the comments section of the news item.