Pope visits UK, admits failures in abuse scandal
September 16, 2010 at 2:43 am in Grand Forks Herald
The pope’s comments to reporters traveling with him from Rome marked his most thorough admission to date of church failures to deal with pedophile priests. The issue has reignited with the recent revelations in Belgium of hundreds of new victims, at least 13 of whom had committed suicide. Continue Reading
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
7 
25
The reality Zardoz, is that the pope was a leader of the cover-up of the child abuse. On top of that, the pope told the same egregious lie that you yourself have repeated on these boards — that Hitler killed in the name of atheism. I’ll wager that you will repeat that same lie almost immediately after I post this comment.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
24 
5
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
5 
25
THAT was AWESOME!!!!!
Nicely done!!
Like or Dislike:
13 
3
Did Hitler live up to any Christian principles? No. Hitler totally deceived Germany and the world leaving no basis to believe, by his statements, that he believed in God even as much as Satan does. Talk is cheap.
Like or Dislike:
4 
12
You rock justasec. And you nailed Zardoz. Bravo!!!!!
I hate all religions, they are evil mind viruses.
Freedom is my religion.
Life is hard, but so very, very beautiful and short.
The pope’s an evil man who should be thrown in prison and the key thrown away for not doing everything in his power to protect children. He loves living in his golden castle with the world worshipping him. Sick! Every catholic out there is an accomplice just by staying catholic.
Hot debate. What do you think?
20 
12
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
5 
21
Well zardoz, if Adolf lied about his religion he certainly did it very effectively. After all, who but the most zealous of atheists would have closed down German atheists to fool his Volk? Who but the most devious of unbelievers would have lobbied catholics to vote for him (see: http://www.secularism.org.uk/hitlers-election-poster-uses-the.html ) and entered into a pact with pope Pius XII? And finally, the sheer atheist genius of having priests bless the troops before they went into battle bearing the words “Gott mit uns” on their belt buckles. Next thing we know zardoz will be claiming that mother Teresa was a life long atheist — she did renounce her faith at the end after all!
Like or Dislike:
17 
5
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
5 
16
There’s many sources to choose from zardoz, but I think this one is quite reasonable: http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/99oct/9910pope.htm Question for you: Why didn’t Pius XII nail the Adolf-claims-to-be-a-catholic issue by excommunicating him. Was the epitome of morality vicar of christ afraid of something?
Like or Dislike:
11 
5
Maybe the Pope was hoping to try to save lives. Didn’t that ever occur to you? In fact Adolf excommunicated himself. How often did he go to Mass and receive Holy Communion as an adult? That would be…never. He hated the Church as much as you do.
Like or Dislike:
6 
14
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
4 
19
Anybody who’s not against the pope and catholicism isn’t paying attention.
Like or Dislike:
5 
2
What, are you an Islamic, Zardoz? Its not okay for us freethinkers to criticize your catholic ideology? That’s what seems familiar to me. You and Spearman have a lot in common. You’d get a long great as a muslim because neither Catholics nor muslims want anyone to criticize their ideologys.
Like or Dislike:
17 
9
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
6 
21
Pope Benedict XVI (a.k.a. Joseph Ratzinger) belonged to the Hitler Youth when he was young. Maybe that’s where he developed his desire for power.
Like or Dislike:
21 
7
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
5 
19
“forced” that is what they all say now.
Like or Dislike:
10 
3
bob, any evidence to support that? I thought not.
Like or Dislike:
2 
5
He was forced into the Hitler Youth, just like everybody else who was in it. Learn history before you spout off so naively.
Like or Dislike:
6 
0
Good one Captain. Bravo!
Fruitloop Terry Jones down in Florida just burned a bunch of Richard Dawkin’s books called “The God Delusion.” The worst atheists all over the world did over it was to lift an eyebrow and shrug. More royalties for Dawkins though. Perhaps that’s why muslims were so bent on violence over Jone’s threat to burn the koran, they knew they’d get no royalites?!
Like or Dislike:
14 
6
As an American who supports freedom of thinking, I have to support your legal right to be a supernaturalist and religious person zardoz. But I will always be critical of religion and supernaturalists. As a freethinker, I’m free to do that. You on the other hand, for some reason, cannot or will not. I think you’re missing out big time. Did you ever stop to think that Jesus has the biggest joke of all on his followers? I’d trade places with him anyday. He went suffered for only three days, and he gets to be lord of the universe for eternity? Forever and ever he gets to be the guy who wins the lottery everyday. A really good guy would have done that for everyone if he has that kind of power. Jesus is as bad as Ratzinger in his shining gold rat castle playing his flute luring the innocent to him like a rat catcher.
Like or Dislike:
11 
10
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
4 
18
Zardoz, thou livest under a rock! Let’s think about those “church police” and how they behave in our supposedly secular democratic republic. First, anybody who wants to run for public office has to pass de facto religious tests — even though Article VI of the COTUS forbids it. Then in the height of McCartyism, you loving church police metaphorically rammed god up our atheist apertures by sticking him on the money and in the pledge. Heck, we even have to swear an oath to him to give evidence (why isn’t the secular affirmation the default?). Of course, the US military doesn’t discriminate — just ask Mikey Weinstein. Our leaders are tolerant too — like George H. Bush who didn’t think non-believers could be true citizens. Nor was the charming rabbi Glen Beck had on the other day — he said atheists are parasites on society. Mitt Romney had a similar opinion to George H., if I remember clearly too. Then, of course, all you apologists for Ratzinger spread slurs and misinformation like butter on toast. Conversely, when courts uphold the COTUS and stop the overnment from violating the establishment clause, it’s “wah, wah, wah!”
Like or Dislike:
12 
5
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
4 
17
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
3 
14
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
4 
14
Although I don’t intend to actually get into this right now… there is no proof Christ even lived.
Like or Dislike:
8 
3
Cheers everybody!!!!
Like or Dislike:
10 
5
Check out this link zardoz: http://www.secularism.org.uk/hitlers-election-poster-uses-the.html (Hint: It shows how Hitler and the catholic church coluded). BTW, Mother Teresa renounced her faith before she died — so she must have been an atheist all along eh? The church didn’t think so — they spun it as a crisis of faith that was actually an indication of how devout she was!
Like or Dislike:
15 
5
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
3 
13
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
4 
16
Hmm, if I’ve lied zardoz, it must have been because I get my information from the liberal elitist sections of the media. I have to “fess up” — this was one of my sources: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,294395,00.html
Like or Dislike:
12 
4
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
4 
15
Maybe you should try praying for a higher approval rating for your comments.
Like or Dislike:
14 
3
Like I tell muslims Zardoz, I don’t hate the people, I hate the ideology. I strongly loath all religions. I’d probably like you Zardoz if I knew you, you are probably a good person. But religion is bad, a surrender of the mind, and people will do bad and hurtful things in the name of their religion and often not even realize they are bad hurtful things because they were brainwashed as children to believe that. Its a hard thing to separate your thinking from religion if you were brought up that way. Very hard, but it is well worth it by far to be a freethinker, and non-religious supernaturalist.
Cheers everybody, life is hard, but lovely and so worth it.
Like or Dislike:
10 
5
Can’t keep quiet on THIS one Athiests… mind you I am much more on your side than the other… but pet peeves are pet peeves.
“I don’t hate the people, I hate the ideology.”.. yes, lets just mimic the bible thumpers who say.. Hate the Sin, but Not the Sinner”.. well, ones actions, and ESPECIALLY ones ideology define them as people. They are not just lumps of clay with no identity.
If you hate the action, or the beliefs, you hate what fundamentally defines them as people. Its specious to say that athiest, and frankly, reaks of empty rhetoric.
Like or Dislike:
8 
3
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
4 
16
Zardoz, what kind of things have atheists done? Seems to me the very idea of atheism precludes any kind of organization.
Like or Dislike:
11 
12
bob, if you have evidence to the contrary then present it.
Like or Dislike:
2 
6
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
2 
12
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
3 
16
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
2 
14
Where you are wrong is the Benedicts job before becoming Pope was to be responsible for investigating the cases of priest sexual abuse. The standard end result of his investigations were primarily to reassign the pedophiles to OTHER catholic schools to continue molesting children.
“As the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Ratzinger (as Benedict was known at the time) took steps to silence priests who wanted to reveal what they knew. In a 2001 letter to the bishops, Benedict “ordered them to keep sexual abuse allegations secret under threat of excommunication – updating a noxious church policy… that both priests accused of sex crimes and their victims “observe the strictest secret” and be “restrained by a perpetual silence.” (Washington Post)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=18408
Just another example of how the “Church” takes care of its lambs…. er.. sheep.
Like or Dislike:
12 
3
Ratzinger needs to go before the judge. He covered up the rapes by pedophiles wearing dark robes, and because he did that, thousands of more children were raped. What is so morally hard to understand about that? The poop is a criminal just like the godfather of the mob. But catholics are dumb, they’ll let that accomplice to baby rapers sit in his golden castle until the day he dies, worship him and give him their money too. Sick!!!!
Its like watching a horrible villian out of a fantasy story play out on your television and newspaper everyday, in real life. You can do anything in religion. That’s just one of many reasons to loathe religion.
Like or Dislike:
9 
6
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
2 
14
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
3 
13
The CDF was only responsible from 2001. As soon as it was in charge the laws were tightened and enforced strictly. We owe Benedict a lot of thanks.
But of course you don’t care about children. One of the main atheists in the UK supports lowering the age of consent to 14! I don’t see you crying about that. This is just a way for you to unjustly bash the Pope and the safety of children means nothing to you.
Like or Dislike:
2 
9
Wrong is wrong. You don’t need to be a genious to figure out that we are all (humanity) responsible for not raping children, we are all responsible for not covering the rape of children so that those who rape children, like many priests have done, be allowed to rape even more children. Thats what all this media attention is about. Its about that the poop knew that those priests raped those children, he covered it up, and as a result, thousands of more children were raped by pedophile priests. Thats what all this is about. The poop is a criminal. But he’ll never serve time because his followers worship him, give him their money, and don’t give a Ratzinger about what happened to them. I hold all catholics responsible for that. In a way, all catholics are accomplices to that crime because they don’t demand that Ratzinger be responsible. Kids mean nothing to the catholics. Sick!!!!
Like or Dislike:
11 
4
Thanks for not answering my question. The response that “Well everyone just knows it.’ isn’t good enough. I’m not disagreeing with the responsibility of the Catholic Church and other churches for this absolute disgrace. Your blanket statements about all Catholics are quite ridiculous however.
Like or Dislike:
4 
11
His “admission” means nothing now that everything is being exposed. If he could continue to cover the abuse up he would. It’s too late however. Thousands of victims have come forward. Many have committed suicide. And Benedict still won’t take individual personal responsibility, saying only that the authority of the church has failed. Well who exactly IS the “authority of the church?” The pope is human as are all the pedophile bishops and all should suffer legal consequences so that this will end!
“The queen who wore a blue-gray knee-length coat and matching hat and gloves…The pontiff himself donned a green tartan scarf as he rode through Edinburgh” – and what’s that about?!!
Like or Dislike:
10 
4
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
2 
13
I would appreciate if you would not tell me what I feel about children…
Like or Dislike:
11 
3
Rambo, if you’re going to try make your point based on how well christians live up to the christian morals, you’ve already lost the argument.
Its not cheap to point out that the poop let those priests, who he knew were guilty, go free to rape more kids. The guys a sociopath. Who does that? Who lets a bunch of pedophiles go on to rape more kids? If there ever was a devil, its the poop Ratziner.
Like or Dislike:
7 
4
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
3 
14
Here a liberal secularist atheist sums up his disgust with the anti-Catholicism he saw in the UK:
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/9598/
Like or Dislike:
2 
10
Thread closed due to extreme abuse of Godwin’s Law.
Like or Dislike:
3 
7