At the Vatican, Up Against the World

[giovonni]

Thank you Amer, i knew you had it in you :hug:

Note, below is a little book of wisdom, that was shared with me by several members on the old Avalon Forum; it was extremely helpful too me, in shedding the shackles of my old faith based attitudes and feelings.

you might of come across it before...The Door Of Everything
http://pamelaparnell.homestead.com/files/doorofeverything.htm

[shybastid]

G man... Between our relationship with the catholic curch and an understanding of Trout Lake....
Might be nice to meet you up there in person...(Trout, not chatholisms higher levels Heh)

Might be a good road trip for me.

Are you already planning dates you'll be there?

[shybastid]

Oh, might be doing a seminar/conference with Camelot here in Tahoe this summer... Gotta show Kerry some dates and venues. Last location was perfect but too small occupancy wise.
I found a better one on North shore....
Just have to show Kerry some numbers.
Maybe join us/her (Bill?) if it works out.

[vibrations]

It has to be extremely difficult for a people grown up in a catholic education to start to doubt in this institution. A part of their essential world, belief system, is falling apart and the desperation is tremendous. The entire authority image which church always present as a part of their power over the people suddenly disappear. It’s like chaos.

They all lie. It is a shocking feeling I presume.

But looking from the broader perspective it is just a hint which helps one to start thinking by himself.

And here is a bright spot. All this abusers are in reality helping on a global awakening. Their lust and greed is a tool for us.

There is also another perspective (I am working with). All this abusers were abused too. Because this is the usual trigger which produces this kind of mental disorder, the shock and the trauma made such damage that the person confuse his sexual needs and turn to what he knows. It has to be treated..............in insolation off course.

[shybastid]

Vibration I'm not against the catholic church.

I'm against pedophiles.

Gman was nice enough to offer his condolences WAY back when I admitted I was molested by a pedophile within the catholic church who happened to be a priest.
He was very nice and sincere to me about "it."
Hope I get to meet him.
He lives in Washinton and has hung out at Trout Lake.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCziwgcKT2k
Giovanni seems like a good person. I like nice people.
Not fond of the Catholic Church inspite/despite my personal issues.
The doctrine is creepy all by itself.:madgrin:

[giovonni]

Thanks vibrations for your comments

And yes shybastid ~ my Friend, i will keep you posted on when i plan on visiting the Ranch again ~ So that we might get to enjoy (the view) together :thumb:

[vibrations]

dear shybastid

I am not against a millions of honest priests who are doing so much good around the globe, but for me the Catholic Church as institution does not have any meaning. I also think, that a lot of cases of pedophilia is a consequence of their way of educating and of their rules inside the walls.

And these are just facts which stand out by them. The pedophiles should be removed from the public and treated, but the catholic church as a whole is doing a bad favor to itself trying to cover this cases. And if we ask why they hide it, I think the possible answer would be something in between the fear that they raised so many mental cripples and the standard political lies of any kind of authorities.

My view is that just doesn’t exist any religion which is worth of trust. The only way to find God is to start to believe in myself. Coz I am the same little drop as all the others composing this universal rain.

[shybastid]

Agreed Vibration.. I have nothing to add about Catholsism. You and Gman have said plenty. WELL said I might add. And thanks.
I'm still a little "tweaked" forgetting about the molestation for 40 years...so what if I blame it on the priests? They're the easiest target.
And well they should be from a statistical standpoint based on the number of molestations ,compared to how many priests hide behind the tabbernackle and the "faith" in GOOD faith.
Not my numbers.

Criminal conduct should not be shoved under a rug for the sake of the religion.
It's NOT one time stuff.. These guys have been doing it for years/centuries.

I HATE what they get away with for the sake of the masses. Masses of religious destruction is all I see. Masses of hurting peoples trusting this nonsense.
Remember the LONG MASS in Latin?
I'm pretty sure they made me sit and listen to that too to make me Teed off.

The fear of God and death wasn't good enough. I had to get molested too. Talk about forgiveness and compassion for WHO? The priest?
I got shang hied at an early age, ...got my religious God radar up is all.

I'm open to idea's, but don't touch me for the sake of God... Heheheh

[Amer]

Suppress something to the nth degree and it will eventually destroy you and in turn you will be a destroyer of others. Just think of the numbers of psychologically unhealthy men churned out into communites to work and minister. Young men indoctrinated into the suppression of their sexual selves for a higher good, and not just the indoctrination of suppression but the absolute vilification of an integral part of self. It is not a wonder they became depraved.
As a very young Theology student twenty years ago I remember classes taken with the first year seminarians, I remember their faces. The injustice of it all. For everybody.
I know and have known good priests working away to the best of their ability within what they must know is a corrupt structure. Perhaps real change will only come when there is an internal revolt. But on this I shall not be holding my breath my friends.

[shybastid]

Amer... I lived in Southern California for quite a few years. There was a very "hip" restaraunt I worked at in Dana Point as a wine stewerd. (Oh yeah..I was cool back then) The restaraunt was owned by some people in the Gay Community. BIG Shot dough. Anyways, because it was gay owned, it had a "safety net" that allowed Gay people within the community to come there without the repercussions of being seen at gay bars in Laguna Beach.
I was straight,most of the staff was gay. (not homophobic...hey my wifes an ice skaing coach,gimmee a break)
They had MORE fun playing with me and asking me if I could tell who was gay or straight when they came into the restaraunt.
I was wrong probably 75% of the time.

We used to get the new recruits being indocrinated into the Catholic Church as young priests ALL the time. Almost ALL of them were effeminate and acted girley because they knew it was a safe house. Drove me nuts knowing they were going to become priests.

I still never remembered the molestation.
Never put 2 and 2 until about 3 years ago. Saw an ad on TV for a lawyer looking to put toghether a class action. I JUMPED up and started pointing at the TV to my wife going.."MMMphhh Mphhh THATS ME"

No way would I sue the church. I was just REALLY pissed I blacked it out for so long.
Still am.
I have nothing against gays or their lifestyle. Never have.

This pedophile thing within the church disturbs me deeply though.
Creeps me out.... The feeling in my stomach that I supressed for so long is something no one else deserves to have, ESPECIALLY a kid... from a God sworn representative.

For the Chuch to be on "damage control" alert is just too mindboggling to me.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1976872,00.html

I'm not even on the radar. Just another statistic to make go away.
I'll still believe that the Church does more good then bad....so,knowing that if I donate money before I die, and do a good act of contrition,I'll go to heaven anyways ,makes me feel better. Righttttttt.

[Amer]

Shybastid I'm really very sorry for what you went through. I hope with all my heart you're healing.
Take care.

[shybastid]

Thanks.. appreciated. Not who I am though. That was one thing that happened.
giavvi was nice enough to be a friend last year when I was coming to grips with it.
I just hope I don't use it as an excuse for future mistakes I make.
That would be stupid..

I saw a therapist about it ,and she told me to get over it already. THAT pissed me off.
She was like...."Oh, so you compartmented a bad memory.You surprised your brain was/is capable of that?" I felt stupid. Bitch. :hand:

LOL... I wanted a "I'm sooo sorry"

Thanks for giving me that. Really appreciate it.. Moving on..

See ya at Trout maybe.. or here in Tahoe.

[shybastid]

Hey NO one can say my kids don't have a sense of humor. I turn 55 tonite.
OK Thanks....
My oldest daughter is in L.A. for the time . 19

Sends this crap for a laugh..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMHl_ck3u5E

I wondor where my kids get their sarcasm?:rolleyes:

[shybastid]

TOO funny...... My kids got game.

[Arrowwind]

Just came by this thread to see if any mention was made on those 37 priests.. if not I was going too..thanks for having it done.

I was raised catholic too. I removed myself from its clutches at a fairly young age, 14 or so.

At this point in my life I can in no way support any form of the church or its work. I see nothing but lies promoted, deception rewarded and humans repressed. Everytime you lie to a child you teach them to lie. Every lie promotes misdirection, and the inability to see the truth when its staring you in the face. Every lie achild learns dismpowers them from their highest potential. I spent many years studying thier lies.. I thank my highest self that it had the intelligence to free me with n my mind, and I thank my lower self that I had the ears to hear and the ability take action.

about repressed abuse.... do no t beat yourself up if you spent a long time not remembering. Your subconscious is only waiting for that time when you are safe enough and strong enough to deal with the truth. I had a repressed memory also (not church related) for 20 years.. by the time it came to me I was mature enough and awake enough to handle it... and that is generally how it is for most people. Not that I didnt have things to consider and work though, but it did not blow me away to the point of self destrucition It is processed now and in the past. It can be the same for you if you want it to be that way.

The best gift you can give yourself when coming out of the church is freedom from guilt. that is their biggest chain onto your heart and soul that must be severed. That is your gateway to freedom

[shybastid]

Thanks Nicely worded.

[giovonni]

Power vs. Force

In regards to dying religious dogmas...

It is believed that true power arises from meaning; that which comes from ones motive (intent), principles (morals) and actions (conduct).

"Power is always associated with that which supports the significance of life itself. It appeals to that part of human nature that we call noble ~ in contrast to force, which appeals to that which we call crass. Power appeals to what uplifts, dignifies, and ennobles. Force must always be justified, whereas power requires no justification. Force is associated with the partial, power with the whole...Force always moves against something, whereas power doesn't move against anything at all. Force is incomplete and therefore has to be fed energy constantly. Power is total and complete in itself and requires nothing from outside. Because force has an insatiable appetite, it constantly consumes. Power, in contrast, energies, gives forth, supplies, and supports. Power gives life and energy ~ force takes these away. we notice that power is associated with compassion and makes us feel positively about ourselves. Force is associated with judgment and makes us feel poorly about ourselves."

From ~ "Power vs. Force ~ The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior"
By David R. Hawkins M.D., Ph.D.

A truly brilliant and fascinating human :yes4:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnYJS5lg72w&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnYJS5lg72w&feature=related

more videos on David R. Hawkins
http://www.youtube.com/user/NYCHookmeup

[giovonni]

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTwkbX4e7CSglEF_hXfr7Pc09OV7rdnN 4ip4ZU--TrKQy7-SBDD
Benedict XVI former Hitler Youth member
video/story
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7576505/ns/msnbc_tv-countdown_with_keith_olbermann/

It appears of late there's a determined hurriedness, in this pontiff's need to clear his desk...especially with grand gestures such as this...?

***********

Pope Benedict: Jewish people not guilty for Jesus death


http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/51504000/jpg/_51504196_011422913-1.jpg
Pope Benedict says the Temple authorities were the real accusers, not the Jews

3 March 2011


Tackling an issue that has led to centuries of persecution, the Pope argues there is no basis in scripture for the Jewish people to be blamed.

The Catholic Church officially repudiated the idea in 1965.

But Jewish groups say the Pope's detailed analysis of the gospels is a major step forward.
'Historic moment'

"This is a personal repudiation of the theological underpinning of centuries of anti-Semitism," said Elan Steinberg, vice-president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants.

The Anti-Defamation League said it was an "important and historic moment".

Excerpts of the book, Jesus of Nazareth-Part II, have been released in which the Pope considers the Gospels of John and Matthew and analyses the hours leading up to Jesus' death.

"Now we must ask: Who exactly were Jesus' accusers?" he says, as he considers Jesus' condemnation to death by Roman governor Pontius Pilate. He also asks why St John said Jesus' accusers were "the Jews".

"How could the whole people have been present at this moment to clamour for Jesus' death?"

Benedict explains how only a few Temple leaders and a small group of supporters were primarily responsible for the crucifixion. He believes John's reference to "the Jews" must have been towards the "Temple aristocracy", because Jesus had declared himself King of the Jews and had violated Jewish law.

In his analysis of the phrase taken from the gospel of Matthew - "His blood be on us and on our children" - Benedict says Jesus' blood "does not cry out for vengeance and punishment, it brings reconciliation. It is not poured out against anyone, it is poured out for many, for all."

The Catholic Church's most authoritative teaching until now came in the 1965 document "Nostra Aetate" which said Jesus' death could not be attributed to the Jewish people either at the time or now.

In a statement, the World Jewish Congress praised the Pope for setting an important marker against anti-Semitism and "unequivocally rejecting the argument that the Jewish people can be held responsible".

Source;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12634176

Pope Benedict has rejected the idea of collective Jewish guilt for Jesus Christ's death, in a new book to be published next week.

[giovonni]

These men are a disgrace to the imagery of Jesus Christ;
if proven and found guilty ~ they should be defrocked!
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ3PZAojmjZt3ta1k-IKGaq4KY5AzzXODBW25KxgUYmIQ7UUqtc

8 March 2011

Philadelphia priests suspended over sex abuse report

Twenty-one priests in the US city of Philadelphia have been suspended after being named in an inquiry into claims of widespread child molestation.

The move follows the release last month of a grand jury report in which 37 priests were identified as suspects.

Cardinal Justin Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia, said the 21 Roman Catholic priests had been placed on leave while their cases were reviewed

He said he was "truly sorry" for the harm done to the victims of abuse.

The two-year grand jury investigation resulted in charges being brought against four priests and a Catholic school teacher last month.

The grand jurors also found that a panel set up by the archdiocese to handle abuse claims following an earlier grand jury probe in 2005 had worked mostly to protect the church.
'Difficult weeks'

Three of the 37 priests named as suspects in the grand jury report were suspended in February, a week after its release.

Five more were already on leave, serving elsewhere or no longer in active ministry, the Philadelphia archdiocese said.

The remaining eight identified were not being suspended because "independent examination of these cases found no further investigation is warranted", the archdiocese added.

The names of the priests concerned have not been released.

"These have been difficult weeks since the release of the grand jury report," Cardinal Rigali said in a statement.

"Difficult most of all for the victims of sexual abuse but also for all Catholics and for everyone in our community."

Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams praised the archdiocese for taking some of the steps called for by the grand jury.

But Peter Isely, of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, told the Associated Press news agency that Cardinal Rigali had put the interests of the church above those of children, and should have suspended the priests sooner.

Source;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12684494

[giovonni]

The trend away from religion in most of the industrialized world -- the U.S. being the notable exception, although even here religious affiliation is declining -- is a fascinating trend, particularly because concurrently there is another trend towards increasing spirituality. Spirituality arises from a personal experience of nonlocal consciousness. Religion is the dogma that arises from that experience, particularly as articulated by a powerful and charismatic figure.

***********

Two-thirds of Britons Not Religious, Suggests Survey http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/51758000/jpg/_51758386_censusformgetty.jpg

20 March 2011

by By John McManus BBC News

Nearly two-thirds of people do not regard themselves as "religious", a new survey carried out to coincide with the 2011 Census suggests.

The British Humanist Association (BHA), which commissioned the poll, said people often identified themselves as religious for cultural reasons.

The online poll asked 1,900 adults in England and Wales a question which is on this month's census form.

The Office for National Statistics has defended the wording of the census.

While 61% of the poll's respondents said they did belong to a religion, 65% of those surveyed answered "no" to the further question: "Are you religious?"

Two surveys were commissioned, one covering England and Wales, and the other for Scotland. The Scottish survey was commissioned by the Humanist Society of Scotland.

South of the border, 61% of respondents said they did have a religion.

But only 29% also said they were religious, while 65% said they were not.

Among respondents who identified themselves as Christian, fewer than half said they believed Jesus Christ was a real person who died, came back to life and was the son of God.

Another 27% said they did not believe that at all, while 25% were unsure.

In Scotland, 42% of respondents said they did not belong to a religion, yet in a further question "Are you religious?" 56% answered "no".

The BHA has complained the wording of the optional census question about religion encourages people to wrongly identify themselves as believers.

In the last census in 2001, 72% of people were classed as Christians - a figure which is much higher than other surveys.

The BHA believes people might tick "yes" to the census question on religion for reasons of cultural identity.

The chief executive of the BHA, Andrew Copson, is running a national campaign encouraging non-religious people to state their unbelief clearly on their census forms.

He said: "This poll is further evidence for a key message of the Census Campaign - that the data produced by the census, used by local and national government as if it indicates religious belief and belonging, is in fact highly misleading.
Religious affiliation

The humanists say data which might indicate a greater amount of religious belief than actually exists, is being used to justify faith schools, and the continuing presence of Anglican bishops in the House of Lords.

The Office for National Statistics has defended the wording of the religion question.

A spokesman told the BBC: "The religion question measures the number of people who self-identify an affiliation with a religion, irrespective of the extent of their religious belief or practice."

The think tank Theos, which undertakes research into religious matters, says attempting to measure cultural affiliation to religion - rather than actual, regular practice - is a good idea, as it shows the broad values society shares.

It also disputes the BHA's assertion that the collected data is used for political purposes.

Source;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12799801

Also a related story;

Religion May Become Extinct in Nine Nations, Study Says
A study using census data from nine countries shows that religion there is set for extinction, say researchers.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/51778000/jpg/_51778296_51778294.jpg

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12811197

[giovonni]

Jesuit Priests, Sex Abuse Victims Announce Settlement http://www.kxly.com/2005/0802/4799997_240X180.jpg

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—

March 25, 2011

A clergy organization representing Jesuit priests in Western states has reached a $166.1 million agreement to settle approximately 524 claims of clergy sex abuse. The settlement is one of the largest in U.S. history relating to the Roman Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal.

Under the settlement, the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus -- which represents Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska and Montana -- will pay $48.1 million into a trust for the victims, while one of its insurance carriers will pay $118 million. In addition, the society will publicize the names of perpetrators, issue a written apology to victims, release their medical records to them and take steps to protect children from future sexual abuse.

“Many victims blame themselves or believe they did something to cause this to happen, even though they were just children,” said Chris Cooke, an attorney representing several Alaskan clients. “I think the importance of something like an apology is the recognition that this wasn't the victim's fault.”

The plaintiff’s attorneys expect the payout to take up to six months. First the court will have to approve the order’s bankruptcy plan and evaluate the claims on a case-by-case basis. Some cases may not qualify; the money paid to each plaintiff will vary depending on a panel’s evaluation of the abuse suffered.

Attorneys for the victims say the abuse took place in Jesuit-operated mission schools and boarding schools on Indian reservations in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. The order was accused of using villages as dumping grounds for priest known to have problems, a claim it has rejected.

After the lawsuits were filed in late 2008, the Oregon Province filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2009. Nearly 200 Alaska claims were brought by John Manly of Manly and Stewart (California).

“There is no question that the number of cases filed, and the establishment of prolific abuse, triggered the bankruptcy,” Manly said.

A year after the bankruptcy declaration, people claiming sex abuse filed 37 lawsuits demanding about $3.1 million against the Oregon Province. The plaintiffs told the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Portland that the society gave money to various church-related entities before filing for Chapter 11 protection, and that the funds should be considered part of the order’s assets.

“This settlement recognizes that the Jesuits betrayed the trust of hundreds of young children in their care, and inflicted terrible atrocities upon them,” said Blaine Tamaki of Tamaki Law, which represented nearly a third of the non-Alaska clients in the case. “These religious figures should have been responsible for protecting children, but instead raped and molested them.”

There have been numerous cases of clergy sex abuse in Alaska. The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks announced a tour of the state last October to offer sympathy to victims of abuse, along with symbolic “penance patches” as a sign of repentance. A month later, the Child Maltreatment Conference in Anchorage saw several victims come forward and try to chart a path forward after their lawsuits’ conclusion.

Source;
http://www.ktuu.com/news/ktuu-society-of-jesus-sex-abuse-settlement-032511,0,7117223.story

[giovonni]

So it's the Web's fault? :suspicious:

***********

Surge in Satanism sparks rise in demand for exorcists, says Catholic Church

http://curiouspresbyterian.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/father-gabriele-amorth-the-official-exorcist-of-vatican-city.jpg?w=460&h=287

A surge in Satanism fueled by the internet has led to a sharp rise in the demand for exorcists, the Roman Catholic Church has warned.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01768/Squires_60_1768792j.jpg By Nick Squires, in Rome 30 Mar 2011

The web has made it easier than ever before to access information on Devil-worshipping and the occult, experts said.

Exorcism is the subject of a six-day conference being held this week at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University in Rome, which is under the Vatican's authority.

"The internet makes it much easier than in the past to find information about Satanism," said Carlo Climati, a member of the university who specialises in the dangers posed to young people by Satanism.

"In just a few minutes you can contact Satanist groups and research occultism. The conference is not about how to become an exorcist. It's to share information about exorcism, Satanism and sects. It's to give help to families and priests. There is a particular risk for young people who are in difficulties or who are emotionally fragile," said Mr Climati.

The object of seminars was to scrutinize the phenomenon of Satanism with "seriousness and scientific rigour", avoiding a "superficial or sensational approach", he said.

The conference in Rome has brought together more than 60 Catholic clergy as well as doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, teachers and youth workers to discuss how to combat the dangers of Devil-worship.

Organisers say the rise of Satanism has been dangerously underestimated in recent years.

"There's been a revival," said Gabriele Nanni, a former exorcist and another speaker at the course.

In theory, any priest can perform an exorcism – a rite involving prayers to drive the Devil out of the person said to be possessed.

But Vatican officials said three years ago that parish priests should call in professional exorcists if they suspect one of their parishioners needs purging of evil.

An exorcist should be called when "the moral certainty has been reached that the person is possessed", said Father Nanni, a member of the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

That could be indicated by radical and disturbing changes in the person's behaviour and voice, or an ability to garble in foreign languages or nonsensical gibberish.

While the number of genuine cases of possession by the Devil remained relatively small, "we must be on guard because occult and Satanist practices are spreading a great deal, in part with the help of the internet and new technologies that make it easier to access these rituals," he said.

The Vatican's chief exorcist claimed last year that the Devil lurked in the Vatican, the very heart of the Catholic Church.

Father Gabriele Amorth said people who are possessed by Satan vomit shards of glass and pieces of iron, scream, dribble and slobber, utter blasphemies and have to be physically restrained.

He claimed that the sex abuse scandals which have engulfed the Church in the US, Ireland, Germany and other countries, were proof that the anti-Christ was waging a war against the Holy See. He said Pope Benedict XVI believed "wholeheartedly" in the practice of exorcism.

Source;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8416104/Surge-in-Satanism-sparks-rise-in-demand-for-exorcists-says-Catholic-Church.html

[giovonni]

German Catholics leave church in droves


http://www.dw-world.de/image/0,,4699856_4,00.jpg
Grand architecture, but empty pews?

07.04.2011

A record number of Catholics in Germany have turned their backs on the church. They officially cancelled their membership in the wake of child abuse scandals that rocked church institutions across the country.

180.000 German Catholics left their church for good in 2010, and it appears the child abuse scandal was the main reason for the dramatic rise in departures. Data provided by 24 of Germany's 27 Catholic dioceses and published this week by the newspaper Die Zeit shows that 50.000 more Catholics cancelled their church membership last year than in 2009, an increase of 40 percent.

It was what the church had feared, Alois Glück, head of the lay Central Committee of German Catholics said.

"It's a dramatic signal and a clear message that we have to take the issue seriously; winning back people's trust has to be at the core of our efforts for renewal and dialogue."

Germany has faced revelations over the past year that hundreds of children were physically and sexually abused in church institutions throughout the country. All but a handful run were by the Roman Catholic Church.

It looks likely that this is also the first time in Germany's postwar history that more Catholics officially renounced their church membership than Protestants: Germany's protestant church estimates that just under 150.000 people left in 2010.

German bishops shocked

The wealthy diocese of Cologne, Germany's largest, saw the biggest drop in membership ever last year. The city's vicar-general, Dominik Schwaderlapp, said the departures were painful for the Catholic church because many people apparently chose to leave the church as "their personal form of protest and of expressing their disgust at the scandal."

Hardest-hit were a handful of dioceses in deeply Catholic Bavaria, which saw up to 70 percent more people leaving the church than the year before.

Matthias Kopp, press spokesman for the German Catholic Bishops' Conference, said that every single person who left was a human loss for the church. "The German bishops won't ignore that, they want to win back lost credibility."

The bishops, who have been criticized for their slow response, have meanwhile offered compensation of up to 5,000 euros ($6,900) to the sexual abuse victims. None of the offenders can be prosecuted because of a three-year statute of limitations. Some of the sexual abuse cases occurred in the 1950s, most of them in the 1970s and 1980s.

In Germany, membership in a religion is more than symbolic - it has a concrete financial significance, as members of a religious group officially recognized by the government in Berlin pay a "church tax" that is automatically deducted from their monthly paychecks.

Author: Dagmar Breitenbach (dpa, epd, KNA)
Editor: Michael Lawton

Source;
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,14971010,00.html

[modwiz]

The Church has been gay since Paul.

Back when the oldest son of almost any Catholic family was going to be a priest the clerics knew who they could "initiate" and when that young man made his way to the priesthood it was all contained. With so few going into the priesthood today there is confusion and desperation along with an inability to shift with the times.

The modern media is dominated by people who are not friends of the Church and are more than happy to seek out and break these stories.

People are horrified that the Vatican does nothing because they are unaware that molestation/initiation is part of the quiet tradition of the all male, and celibate, priesthood.

None of the above is an excuse but, it is an explanation. The Church is looking at its' last days IMO.

I did leave out even more shocking things that happen in the bowels of the Vatican. I think Jordan Maxwell has covered that part.

[giovonni]

from modwiz

"The Church has been gay since Paul."

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WPjZST8SC40/S0jLvPXghjI/AAAAAAAA0fw/hq0u5kVIxlI/s400/gaymarriage-704434.gif

sorry about that :rolleyes:

[giovonni]

WTF :tape2:


http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/52180000/jpg/_52180110_011748982-1.jpg

Belgium hears ex-bishop Vangheluwe play down abuse

14 April 2011 Last updated at 21:56 ET

Former Belgian bishop Roger Vangheluwe has gone live on TV to talk about how he sexually abused two boys but does not see himself as a paedophile.

Emerging from hiding, he revealed he had molested two of his nephews, and not one, as he confessed last year before resigning as bishop of Bruges.

He does not face prosecution because the abuse occurred decades ago.

"It had nothing to do with sexuality," he said, in comments that caused indignation among politicians.

Justice Minister Stefaan De Clercq said in a statement the Church authorities "had to take measures to stop the irresponsible behaviour of the former bishop".

"It is a slap in the face of his victims and all victims," the justice minister added.

The 74-year-old is believed to be living outside Belgium since being ordered to leave the country by the Vatican, which has yet to decide on his future.

A decision will be made "naturally taking into account the various aspects of this issue, starting with the suffering of the victims and the requirements of the justice system", Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told AFP news agency earlier this week.

'Not good'

Wearing a blue smock over a black shirt, with no clerical collar showing, Fr Vangheluwe spoke to the Flemish-language VT4 channel's interviewer in a room at an undisclosed location.

"Of course I know that this was not good," he said. "I have confessed many times."

He had considered suicide but believed it to be a "cowardly act".

He described the 13 years of sexual abuse to which he had subjected one nephew from the age of five as no more than "a little piece of intimacy".

"How did it begin?" he said.

"As with all families. When they came to visit, the nephews slept with me. It began as a game with the boys. It was never a question of rape."

"I don't have the impression at all that I am a paedophile," he said. "It was really just a small relationship. I did not have the feeling that my nephew was against it, quite the contrary. It was not brutal sex."

According to the former Roman Catholic bishop, the boy he abused over 13 years eventually told his family and he stopped.

He alleged he had later paid his former victim several large sums of money.

Walter Van Steenbrugge, a lawyer for the nephew, denied that such payments had been made.

He was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying: "Knowing what happened, I want to ask him what he then understands to be brutal sex."

Speaking in Vatican City, Fr Lombardi said Roger Vangheluwe had been ordered to leave Belgium and undergo spiritual and psychological treatment.

The disgraced cleric has not been defrocked but the Vatican spokesman added that it was "obvious" he would not be allowed to practise as a priest while he was undergoing treatment. :twitch:

Source;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13089763

[conk]

I truly have come to believe ~IT~ was truly> Christ's intention through his teachings > that the divine feminine was always included and part of the holy trinty in regards too the Spirit. Yo, Mary Magdeline was his girl, yo. Yes, sadly the church has relegated women to the role of servants.

[giovonni]

"For the first time in the history of the papacy, Benedict XVI agreed to take part in a programme in which he took questions from ordinary Catholics." :doh:
***********

Pope Benedict admits there isn't a full answer to suffering in rare TV interview


http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01810/pope_B_1810418c.jpg
More than 3,000 questions were submitted after the initiative was announced a month


By Nick Squires, in Rome 12:01PM BST 22 Apr 2011

The Pope has spoken about the tsunami in Japan, conflict in Iraq, the civil war in Ivory Coast and victims of multiple sclerosis in an unprecedented television appearance due to be broadcast in Italy on Good Friday.

For the first time in the history of the papacy, Benedict XVI agreed to take part in a programme in which he took questions from ordinary Catholics.

More than 3,000 questions were submitted after the initiative was announced a month ago, of which seven were chosen and put to the 84-year-old pontiff.

One of the most moving was put by the parents of a 40 year old man who has suffered from multiple sclerosis since 1993 and has been in a vegetative state for the last two years.

Francesco and Maria Teresa Grillo asked Benedict whether the soul of their son Francesco remained within his body or was elsewhere given his degenerating mental state.

The Pope, speaking from his office in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, told them: "Certainly his soul is still present in his body.

"The situation is a little like a guitar which has had its strings broken and can no longer be played....the soul cannot be heard but it remains within.

"I'm also sure that this hidden soul can feel your love, even if it cannot understand the details, the words. But it feels the presence of love."

The parents' round-the-clock care for their son was "a testimony to faith in God, to respect for human life," the Pope said.

He also answered a question from a seven-year-old Japanese girl who was caught up in the tsunami about why so many children had to suffer in natural calamities.

"I ask myself the same question," he said. "We don't have the answers, but we know that Jesus suffered as innocent children suffer."

Benedict also responded to questions about the civil war in Ivory Coast, calling for greater dialogue between Islam and Christianity, and the dangers endured by Christians in Iraq.

The programme, In His Image, was recorded last week and will be aired on Italian state television at 1.10pm GMT.

It is expected to be rebroadcast by television networks around the world.

Source;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/8468312/Pope-Benedict-admits-there-isnt-a-full-answer-to-suffering-in-rare-TV-interview.html

[giovonni]

Pope: Humanity isn't random product of evolution

http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/phillyburbs.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/c/97/cea/c97ceac1-1c13-5e4d-9d2c-32ccd48f47ba-revisions/4db35a668da21.preview-300.jpg
Pope Benedict XVI holds a candle as he celebrates the Easter Vigil mass, in St. Peter's Basilica.

By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Nicole Winfield, Associated Press – Sat Apr 23, 6:33 pm ET

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI marked the holiest night of the year for Christians by stressing that humanity isn't a random product of evolution.

Benedict emphasized the Biblical account of creation in his Easter Vigil homily Saturday, saying it was wrong to think at some point "in some tiny corner of the cosmos there evolved randomly some species of living being capable of reasoning and of trying to find rationality within creation, or to bring rationality into it."

"If man were merely a random product of evolution in some place on the margins of the universe, then his life would make no sense or might even be a chance of nature," he said. "But no, reason is there at the beginning: creative, divine reason."

Church teaching holds that Roman Catholicism and evolutionary theory are not necessarily at odds: A Christian can, for example, accept the theory of evolution to help explain developments, but is taught to believe that God, not random chance, is the origin of the world. The Vatican, however, warns against creationism, or the overly literal interpretation of the Bibilical account of creation.

Benedict's voice was hoarse and he coughed several times during the three-hour service, which ended after midnight. It was the second late night in a row for the 84-year-old pontiff following his participation in the Good Friday Way of the Cross procession at Rome's Colosseum, which commemorates Jesus' death.

On Sunday, he celebrates Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square and gives his traditional Easter greetings in dozens of languages — his last major celebration before next week's beatification of Pope John Paul II.

The Easter Vigil is the most important liturgy on the church's calendar, when the faithful mark the passage from Christ's death to his resurrection on Easter Sunday. It is rich with symbols: fire and light signifying Jesus' resurrection, and the water used to baptize people into the faith.

On Saturday night, Benedict baptized six adults from Switzerland, Albania, Russia, Peru, Singapore and China, pouring water over their heads as he prayed.

Benedict began the service by lighting a candle and walking down a darkened central aisle of St. Peter's Basilica in silence, while hundreds of faithful in the pews shared the flame from candle to candle until the entire basilica twinkled.

This year, students of the Legion of Christ, the conservative order undergoing a major Vatican-mandated overhaul, provided the liturgical service at the vigil. The Vatican took over the Legion last May 1 after confirming its founder was a pedophile.

Source;
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110423/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_easter_vigil_4

[OnyxKnight]

Now I read the Pope is upset that how could anyone have the nerve to combine Pedophiles with Homosexuality, and Priests against Jesus ?
What???? It did'nt happen?

Well its not one and the same, and everyone should know that.

[giovonni]

Pope John Paul II's body exhumed ahead of beatification
Thousands gather in Rome; coffin will be placed in St. Peter's Basilica for viewing
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20110428/i/r3820506754.jpg?x=400&y=279&q=85&sig=brPY6TYVo9w1fqejZxJXpA--
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42819424/ns/world_news/?GT1=43001

[Maia Gabrial]

I'm hoping that when there's First Contact that that'll change everyone's religious beliefs. And all the religious corruption will be gone forever....

I can dream can't I?

[East Sun]

Looking at all this from a spiritual prospective I believe that evil has made a last desperate effort to destroy what might be seen by millions around the world as a real Christianity, but in some cases was not.

Evil has won at this point, maybe because evil was allowed in over the years. That's to be expected in light of prophesy. The dark before the dawn.
They floundered, they fell, but why did it take so long?

But don't forget the real dedicated who gave everything to being Christian. So many priests and so many Nuns. They were many and should not be forgotten.

[giovonni]

Looking at all this from a spiritual prospective I believe that evil has made a last desperate effort to destroy what might be seen by millions around the world as a real Christianity, but in some cases was not.

Evil has won at this point, maybe because evil was allowed in over the years. That's to be expected in light of prophesy. The dark before the dawn.
They floundered, they fell, but why did it take so long?


But don't forget the real dedicated who gave everything to being Christian. So many priests and so many Nuns. They were many and should not be forgotten.

thanks East Sun for your comments, and yes ~ least we never forget ~
the many who served (blindly) with pure and giving hearts in revealing the 'Word" of the Christ :(

[giovonni]

"the Pope's latest effort to eradicate child sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church"...

Perhaps too little too late... for this religious organization :(

***********
16 May 2011

Pope Benedict orders action on sex abuse

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/52782000/jpg/_52782906_011982468-1.jpg

Pope Benedict has told bishops around the world to promptly report all suspected cases of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests
to local police in new guidelines he has issued.

Set out in a letter, the guidelines are the latest effort to eradicate child sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.

It incorporates sweeping revisions made last year to the Church's laws on sexual abuse.

But victims' groups are critical of the move, saying it does not go far enough.

The letter is intended to help every diocese draw up its own guidelines, based on a global approach, but in line with local criminal law. These must be sent to the Vatican for review within a year.

"Sex abuse of minors is not just a canonical delict [crime], but also a crime prosecuted by civil law", the letter said, stressing that local civil law "should always be followed".

The new guidelines say bishops should seek to protect minors and help victims of paedophile priests find assistance and reconciliation.

"The responsibility for dealing with crimes of sexual abuse of minors by clerics belongs in the first place to the diocesan bishop," the letter says.

"The guidelines... seek to protect minors and to help victims in finding assistance and reconciliation," the letter says, adding that it was up to bishops to notify the authorities regarding a suspected paedophile priest.

The clergy should be "helped to recognise the potential signs of abuse" and those suspected of paedophilia should be suspended "until the accusation is clarified".

Bishops are urged to be more careful in choosing candidates for the priesthood and weed out early those who are or could become sex abusers.

The revisions made last year to the Church's laws on sexual abuse doubled a statute of limitations for disciplinary action against priests and extended the use of fast-track procedures to defrock them.

'No tolerance'

But victims' groups, who have deplored the Vatican's secrecy over sex crimes, have condemned the guidelines.

"As an absolute minimum, there should be a global no-tolerance policy," said the US victims' group Survivors' Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

"Fundamentally, the reason that Church officials ignore, conceal and mishandle sex crimes is because they can."

The new Vatican guidelines come 20 years after widespread reports of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests in many countries first came to the notice of Church authorities, says the BBC's David Willey in Rome.

Hitherto, the Vatican has often appeared to be more interested in protecting priests from false accusations, rather than in punishing them, our correspondent says.

Now the accent is increasingly upon prompt and full communication to the proper local civil authorities of suspected crimes of sexual abuse of minors.

Source;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13416498

[giovonni]

Creepy creepy creepy...This stuff just becomes more and more bizarre.

***********

Shock after Dutch priest endorses pedophilia


By TOBY STERLING

May 21, 2011

AMSTERDAM (AP) - The Dutch Catholic Church and the Salesian order are investigating revelations that a Salesian priest served on the board of a group that promotes pedophilia with the full knowledge of his boss.

The order's top official in the Netherlands, Delegate Herman Spronck, confirmed in a statement that the priest - identified by RTL Nieuws as 73-year-old "Father Van B." - served on the board of "Martijn," a group that campaigns to end the Dutch ban on adult-child sex.

The group is widely reviled but not outlawed.

"Of course we reject this and distance ourselves from this personal initiative" on the part of the priest, Spronck said in a statement. "Membership in such organizations does not fit with the ethos of the Salesian order."

However, Spronck's own superior in Belgium said he will investigate both Spronck and Van B., after both men were quoted by RTL Nieuws as saying such relationships aren't always harmful.

Superior Jos Claes told Belgian television on Saturday he "couldn't imagine" that both men would not be disciplined, but said he must make sure of the facts first.

"Society thinks these relationships are harmful. I disagree," RTL quoted Van B. as saying. He served on Martijn's board from 2008 until 2010, when its founder was arrested for alleged possession of child pornography, a case that is ongoing.

Van B. told RTL he remains a member of Martijn and now lives in a retirement home in eastern Netherlands.

In a second interview, RTL quoted Spronck as saying he was aware of Van B.'s pedophilia and membership in Martijn, and even of two instances where the priest had been fined by police for exposing himself in public. But he said he didn't think that was sufficient reason to ban him from the order.

"Removing someone from the order is something you would only do in the case of grave moral transgression, such as rape. There was never any question of that," Spronck was quoted as saying.

Spronck added that adult-child sexual relations do not necessarily have to be damaging, including with children as young as 12.

Spronck and his organization could not be reached Saturday for comment. According to its website, the Dutch arm of the Salesians has 14 employees and 400 volunteers and aims to help poor children.

Dutch Catholic Church spokesman Pieter Kohnen said Saturday that, even with sex abuse scandals rocking the church worldwide, this particular case was "unbelievable" and the church utterly rejects pedophilia. He said if Superior Claes did not act quickly to reform the Dutch Salesian order's leadership, the matter would be referred to Rome.

RTL's report detailed Van B.'s movements over two decades, through three dioceses and six parishes in the Netherlands where the priest often departed under a cloud of suspicion.

Pastor Rudy de Kruijf in the eastern city of Wijchen said Van B. had helped him as recently as Christmas, but his church ended contact immediately when it learned of his past.

Kohnen said the Church has done extensive background checks on all employees since 2004, but in Van B.'s case that would not have helped since he was a volunteer.

Thousands of past cases of alleged sexual abuse by Dutch priests are under investigation by an independent but church-funded commission in the Netherlands.

The Dutch church, which has more than 4 million members, set up a body to deal with abuse allegations in 1995. But the independent commission was formed last year after shocking abuse cases were uncovered just as similar stories were snowballing in neighboring Germany.

Several of the most prominent abuse cases coming to light recently in the Netherlands have also involved Salesians at boarding schools and orphanages in
the 1950s and 1960s.

Source;
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20110521/D9NBQ01G0.html

[giovonni]

"We'll have nun of that!" :nono:

Heavens forbid...the church can not allow this to continue...

***********

Pope 'shuts down irregular monastery in Rome'

Pope Benedict XVI has shut down a famous monastery in Rome, Italian media reports say.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/53003000/jpg/_53003509_090403112822_freira226-1.jpg
Sister Nobili, based at the monastery, became famous for performing her modern Holy Dance


26 May 2011

The Santa Croce in Gerusalemme church is being closed because of rumours of a lack of liturgical, financial and moral discipline, La Stampa reports.

The few remaining Cistercian monks at the church said to be being transferred to other communities in Italy.

The basilica's abbot, a flamboyant former Milan fashion designer, was moved two years ago.

Il Messaggero reports that Simone Fioraso transformed the church, renovating its crumbling interior and opening a hotel, holding regular concerts, a televised bible-reading marathon and regularly attracting celebrity visitors with an unconventional approach.

One of the nuns at the monastery, Anna Nobili, a former lap-dancer, reportedly took part in dance performances with other nuns during religious ceremonies.

But the Vatican was reportedly not pleased by rumours that circulated about the behaviour of the monks.

"An inquiry found evidence of liturgical and financial irregularities as well as lifestyles that were probably not in keeping with that of a monk," Father Ciro Benedettini, a Vatican spokesman, is reported as telling the Guardian newspaper.

An inquiry was carried out by the Vatican's Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life but has not yet been made public, La Stampa reports.

Santa Croce is one of Rome's oldest and most prestigious churches, and was built around a chapel dating back to the 4th Century.

It is one of the Italian capital's key places of pilgrimage as it is believed to house holy relics.

Source;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13559219

Past & related stories:

'Lap-dancing nun' performs for Church
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7988322.stm

Pope shuts down monastery where dancing sisters were order of the day
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1390799/Lap-dancer-turned-nun-angers-Pope-Monastery-shut-Benedict-XVI.html?ITO=1490

[giovonni]

Just read this on facebook via my friend LB...

It seems were getting ever closer to the bottom of this Vati-Can of worms !

***********

Priest Sex-Abuse Case Hits Church of Pope's Adviser http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2010/1009/pope_england_0913.jpg

By Alessandra Pieracci and Giacomo Galeazzi
/ La Stampa / Worldcrunch Thursday, May 19, 2011


GENOA) — The latest sex-abuse case to rock the Catholic Church is unfolding in the archdiocese of an influential Italian Cardinal who has been working with Pope Benedict XVI on reforms to respond to prior scandals of pedophile priests.

Father Riccardo Seppia, a 51-year-old parish priest in the village of Sastri Ponente, near Genoa, was arrested last Friday, May 13, 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. "I do not want 16-year-old boys but younger. Fourteen-year-olds are O.K. Look for needy boys who have family issues," he allegedly said. Genoa Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, who is the head of the Italian Bishops Conference, had been working with Benedict to establish a tough new worldwide policy, released this week, on how bishops should handle accusations of priestly sex abuse. (Read "Vatican Gets Tough on Child Abuse but Not Tough Enough.)

Bagnasco said that when he met the Pope this weekend, he "asked for a particular blessing for my archdiocese" in light of the alleged crimes, adding that "like every father toward a son [feels] great pain in seeing a priest who is not faithful to his vocation."

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi praised Bagnasco's handling of the Sastri Ponente case, lauding its "timeliness and competence." On Saturday, May 14, the Cardinal visited the Santo Spirito church, where Seppia was the parish priest.

According to investigators, Seppia told a friend — a former seminarian and barman who is currently under investigation — 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. (See inside Benedict XVI's daily life.)

Seppia's defense lawyers are expected to argue that those conversations — monitored since Oct. 20, 2010 — 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.

On Monday, May 16, during formal questioning by Genoa's investigating magistrate Annalisa Giacalone, Seppia chose not to respond. The magistrate decided to keep him in custody to avoid a risk of relapse or tampering with evidence. Defense attorney Paolo Bonanni said the defense wants to evaluate all the charges, reserving the right to respond to public prosecutor Stefano Puppo in the coming days.

Questioned by the investigators, the altar boy reportedly confirmed the attempted kiss. Another male minor who, according to the investigators, was stalked with messages and pressing invitations, will be questioned soon. Psychologists are helping Carabinieri police officers obtain testimony from the alleged victims. "The boys are ashamed to talk and to admit what happened," says one of the investigators. The evidence amounts to at least 50 messages and phone calls. In the tapped phone conversations, the drug dealer contacted the boys and gave their phone numbers to the priest, who paid them with cocaine or 50 euros each time for sexual intercourse. (Read "Controversial Study Links Catholic Abuse to '60s Culture and Church Hierarchy but Offers Few Solutions.")

"[The investigators] made us listen to that man saying terrifying things about our children. Things so terrible that I cannot repeat them," a father of one of the boys said.

Investigators are also examining three confiscated computers: the priest allegedly looked for partners via chat as well.

Seppia is currently being kept in a confinement cell in a Genoa prison. He met the jail's priest and psychologist. "He has read the newspapers, and he is pained by his parishioners' comments," says his lawyer. The investigation is ongoing.

Source;
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2072613,00.html?xid=rss-world

[giovonni]

Greeting's

i will pull back from my usual hard knock posting here (in regards to the continual unraveling of the Roman Catholic Church) with a simple and humble tribute story that reflects upon the lives of two beautiful spirit souls !

Note i had the privileged and honor to work with individuals (like this) that exemplified a true and purposeful example of living a simple Christ like existence - within the Franciscan Order OFM

______________________________

Brothers' 92 years end the lifelong way: as twins
Friars with St. Bonaventure University ties die together in hospital http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/53236000/jpg/_53236243_53236240.jpg


Updated: June 3, 2011, 10:23 PM

From the moment of their birth in Buffalo 92 years ago, twin brothers Julian and Adrian Riester rarely left each other's side.

They played together, went to school together, as young men traveled cross-country together -- and, in their 20s, joined the Franciscan order together.

And on Wednesday, after 65 years as identical twins wearing the identical brown robes of the Franciscans -- mostly at St. Bonaventure University -- Brother Julian Riester and Brother Adrian Riester died together at St. Anthony Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla. Julian died Wednesday morning, followed by Adrian in the evening.

Those who knew the Riesters best say they are not surprised at all.

"If ever there is a confirmation that God favored them, this is it," said their cousin and close friend Michael Riester of Buffalo. "They weren't even separated for 12 hours."

The biological brothers were also religious brothers, committed to the monastic life of Franciscan friars, not as priests but in roles as physical laborers.

During two stints at St. Bonaventure, from 1951 to 1956 and from 1973 to 2009, "the twins" were a common sight strolling in lockstep across campus -- or, in later years after a few "incidents" resulted in loss of their driver's licenses, on identical bicycles wearing identical helmets.

They became known as accomplished artisans who expressed their talents as gardeners and woodworkers, turning out tables and cabinets from their workshop in the garage of St. Bonaventure's Franciscan Friary.

Yvonne Peace, former secretary to the university's Franciscan community, remembers them as handymen and "fixers" who repaired all sorts of items brought to them by many on campus.

"They were always busy," she said.

Brother Julian, whose given name was Jerome, and Brother Adrian, whose given name was Irving, were part of a family of seven children born to Dr. Julian Riester and his wife, Clara. Their father was a prominent obstetrician who as a medical student observed surgery on President William McKinley after he was fatally shot in Buffalo in 1901, according to Michael Riester, who is the historian of St. Louis Catholic Church.

The attended St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute in Buffalo (where they had a reputation for fooling teachers by their identical looks) and then a radio technology school in Los Angeles before applying to the Franciscans' Holy Name Province.

Toward the end of World War II, after mutually pledging to reply to whichever came first -- an acceptance from the Franciscans or an expected induction notice from the Army -- the morning mail brought an invitation to join the friars, and the afternoon mail "greetings" from the draft board.

God's call, they told interviewers in later years, took priority.

They were separated only twice, once from 1946 to 1951 when Brother Adrian was a sacristan at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Manhattan and Brother Julian was general manager of St. Anthony Shrine in Boston. Later they were not far apart in the 1950s when Brother Julian was assigned to St. Patrick's Parish in Buffalo and Brother Adrian to Bishop Timon High School in South Buffalo. But from 1956 on, the Riester brothers were together.

Michael Riester remembers them as family men who used the money given them by friends to travel to Buffalo on their day off to take their mother -- who lived to 103 -- to dinner at fine restaurants such as Salvatore's Italian Gardens or Romanello's. "They liked a good time," he said.

Indeed, in 2003 Brother Julian told the Bona Venture, the university's student newspaper, that they confounded the friars' seniority system by often claiming they "walked in the door together" and by never divulging which twin was born first.

"We don't tell," Brother Adrian told the newspaper. "We like to keep them guessing."

Michael Riester said his cousins will be remembered as "exemplary men and holy men," who lived their lives in a truly Franciscan spirit. When word came earlier this week that both were seriously ill in the Franciscans' retirement home in St. Petersburg, where they had lived for the last two years, Michael Riester and many in the St. Bonaventure community said they almost expected that the pair would leave together.

Now they will be buried together Monday in Olean.

"They had this intimate bond, in which neither was selfish at all," Michael Riester said. "And because they were so in tune to God and to each other, it's not surprising at all."

Source;
http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article442210.ece

[giovonni]

A second manifestation of holding the Roman Church's hierarchy responsible. A shift for the good in this unhappy trend is emerging because a change in consciousness is occurring.
From S. A. Swarltz

__________________________________________

Belgian child sex abuse victims sue Catholic church

GHENT, Belgium (AFP) – Dozens of victims of a child sex scandal in the Belgian Catholic church on Wednesday announced the launch of legal action against the Holy See, the first such suit in Europe.

Lawyers and victims said at a news conference a summons was on its way to Rome as well as to Belgian bishops to appear before a Belgian civil court for failing to stop sexual abuse by priests and church workers under their responsibility.

"The group of victims of sexual abuse in the church have summoned the Holy See, the Belgian bishops and superiors of religious orders and congregations in the Ghent Court of First Instance," they said.

A 40-page summons is being translated into Italian before being served on the Vatican.

The group of some 80 plaintiffs, which lawyers said was growing by the day, said it was the first time in Europe that legal proceedings had been initiated against the church authorities.

"The Pope is the head of the Holy See," said lawyer Walter Van Steenbrugge. "He is the appointer and authority over the bishops, which means that he can be liable for their errors. In addition, he can be held liable for his own faults.

"He neglected to intervene himself and to give instructions, which meant that abuse was liable to continue and the damage was able to increase."

Belgium's Catholics are reeling over revelations last year of nearly 500 cases of abuse by priests and church workers since the 1950s, including 13 known suicides among victims.

Among several victims who stood up to denounce the church's failure to stem the sexual abuse -- grey-haired men in their 50s and 60s -- was journalist and author Roel Verschueren, abused by Jesuits from the age of 12 to 14 "just around the corner from here," he said.

"We've all been living for years with a church which is in denial," he told AFP. "Now we're turning the situation around. We're in charge, we're choosing an independent judicial framework."

Verschueren said the victims first and foremost wanted the church to admit its guilt and to pay for the trauma of lost childhoods and lost years.

"The victims of sexual abuse are often people who've lost their pride and self-dignity," he said. "They need fast help. In the United States, people win compensation of 160 million dollars, here and elsewhere in Europe you're offered 5,000 euros to shut up."

Accused of showing little compassion for the victims as evidence of misconduct piled up in recent months, the Belgian church this week offered compensation via an as yet inexistent arbitration panel suggested by parliament.

One of the lawyers, Christine Mussche, said "this is a positive move by the church but for the moment it's no more than words."

Under the class action suit launched Wednesday, the Ghent Tribunal is expected to set hearings for the case in September, the lawyers said.

The scandal in the Belgian church surfaced last April with revelations that the bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe, had abused a nephew for 13 years.

He was exiled by the Vatican to a French monastery for spiritual reflection but while there confessed in an interview to abusing another nephew, and then went missing.

That development further angered victims of church sexual abuse and left left the Vatican "stupefied," coming days after it sent him into exile.

Source;
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/06/01/belgian-child-sex-abuse-victims-sue-catholic-church/

[giovonni]

it must be tough being the pope :decision:

***********

18 June 2011

Vatican to set up clergy sexual abuse help centre

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/53502000/gif/_53502622_ti1rotgn.gif
Scandals of sexual abuse by clergy have cast a long shadow over the Roman Catholic Church

The Vatican is to set up a new e-learning centre to help safeguard children and victims of sexual abuse by clergy, as part of its efforts to deal with damaging scandals.

The Roman Catholic Church is preparing for a major conference on abuse to take place next February in Rome.

The Vatican has told bishops to come up with guidelines to combat abuse, in line with local laws.

The Catholic Church has been rocked by scandals of sexual abuse by priests.

The centre will offer guidance to those who have to respond to abuse cases, as well as providing information for victims. Its advice will be available in German, English, French, Spanish and Italian.

"The e-learning centre will work with medical institutions and universities to develop a constant response to the problems of sexual abuse," said Monsignor Klaus Peter Franzl of the archdiocese of Munich, according to the Reuters news agency.

Officials said private donors had pledged funds to maintain the database for an initial three years, the Associated Press reported.

Loss of faith

Victims' groups have criticised the Vatican for its slow response to allegations of sexual abuse by clergy.

Baroness Sheila Hollins, who will be one of the main speakers at the conference, said she hoped the victims' point of view would be at the forefront of the debate.

"Some have lost their faith and are unable to go in a church because of the presence of a priest; others have kept their faith despite it all," said Baroness Hollins, who is professor of psychiatry at St George's University in London.

The BBC's David Willey in Rome says the Vatican appears to be coming round to the view that the measures taken by the leadership of the Catholic Church in England and Wales during the past decade to deal with clerical sexual abuse of children could provide a model for other countries to follow.

Next year's conference will include experts in psychiatry, church law, sociology and child protection programmes, as well as 200 bishops and religious superiors. It is being held in conjunction with the Pontifical Gregorian University, a Jesuit institution.

Last month, Pope Benedict XVI told bishops around the world they must report promptly all suspected cases of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests to local police.

The Vatican's sex crimes prosecutor Monsignor Charles Scicluna admitted some bishops' conferences had no interest in being forced into drafting guidelines.

But he told reporters in Rome that bishops would be unwise to ignore the advice of experts at the symposium.

Source;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13824850

[giovonni]

Here's some good news for the Pope...
And it should be noted here, the U. S. Government and many other nations of the world - consider the Vatican City an independent state, which entitles and gives Pope Benedict (the official Vatican's head of state) full diplomatic immunity. This means that the papacy and the Vatican - cannot be charged or sued for any sexual molestations associated and perpetrated by clergy members (or lay persons) - serving within or working independently for the Roman Catholic Church. But note this immunity does not include any of the thousands of dioceses (worldwide) - which are headed up by individual bishops appointed by the Pope who reigns from the Vatican City state.

***********

2 July 2011 Last updated at 09:47 ET

Vatican budget emerges from the red http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/53822000/jpg/_53822285_012358691-1.jpg

The Vatican has announced its finances have returned to profit - after three consecutive years in the red.

Its report said the Holy See saw revenues of 245.2m euros (£222m; $356m) against expenses of 235.3m in 2010.

But annual donations from churches worldwide - known as Peter's Pence - were down nearly $15m to $67.7.

The separately administered Vatican City State also made a 21m-euro profit due to strong ticket sales at the Vatican Museums.

The Vatican lost 4m euros in 2009 and was also in the red in 2008 and 2007.

Most of the Vatican's outlay is to cover the activities of Pope Benedict XVI, and services such as Vatican Radio which is broadcast on five continents in 40 different languages.

The Vatican began publishing annual financial reports in 1981 when Pope John Paul II set out to challenge perceptions that the Vatican was rich.

Source;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14002700

[giovonni]

20 July 2011 Last updated at 10:42 ET

Irish PM in unprecedented attack on Vatican

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has launched an unprecedented attack on the Catholic Church in parliament.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/54165000/jpg/_54165544_kenny.jpg
Enda Kenny said the relationship between church and state in Ireland could not be the same again.

He said the recent Cloyne Report into how allegations of sex abuse by priests in Cork had been covered up showed change was urgently needed.

Mr Kenny said the historic relationship between church and state in Ireland could not be the same again.

He said the report exposed the elitism, dysfunction, disconnection, and narcissism that dominated the Vatican.

"The rape and torture of children were downplayed or 'managed' to uphold instead the primacy of the institution, its power, standing and 'reputation'," the taoiseach said.

'Unprecedented'

"The revelations of the Cloyne Report have brought the government, Irish Catholics and the Vatican to an unprecedented juncture."

Opposition leader Michael Martin said that when he met the Papal Nuncio after the Murphy report into the cover-up of abuse in the Dublin diocese in 2009, he told him the government expected the full cooperation of the Vatican into the Cloyne inquiry.

However, he said, the Vatican chose to focus on the interests of the church rather than the children abused by its clergy and shielded by its leaders.

During the debate, the church was called upon to publish the audits currently being sent to every Catholic diocese in the country.

Sinn Fein spokesperson on health and children Caoimhghin O'Caolain said the government should consider coordinating with the Northern Ireland Executive on any future inquiries - particularly as four of the Catholic dioceses straddle the border.

Source;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-14224199

[giovonni]

25 July 2011 Last updated at 08:38 ET

Vatican recalls Irish papal envoy after Cloyne report

The Vatican has recalled its special envoy in Ireland after a damning report on the Catholic Church's handling of child abuse by priests.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/54257000/jpg/_54257072_tv012450789.jpg

Papal Nuncio Giuseppe Leanza has been called back to Rome to discuss the impact of the recent Cloyne Report.

It showed how allegations of sex abuse by priests in Cork had been covered up.

The report led to angry condemnation of the Vatican by Prime Minister Enda Kenny in the Irish Parliament.

In a blistering attack, Mr Kenny accused the church of putting its reputation ahead of child rape victims.

Vice-director of the Vatican press office Father Ciro Benedettini said the nuncio's recall "should be interpreted as an expression of the desire of the Holy See for serious and effective collaboration with the (Irish) government".

He added that it "denotes the seriousness of the situation and the Holy See's desire to face it objectively and determinately.

"Nor does it exclude some degree of surprise and disappointment at certain excessive reactions."

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore said the decision to recall the nuncio was a matter for the Holy See.

"The government is awaiting the response of the Holy See to the recent report into the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne and it is to be expected that the Vatican would wish to consult in depth with the Nuncio on its response."

Messages of support

Last week, Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Irish parliament that the report into how allegations of sex abuse by priests in Cork had been covered up showed change was urgently needed.

"The rape and torture of children were downplayed or 'managed' to uphold instead the primacy of the institution, its power, standing and 'reputation'," the taoiseach said last Wednesday.

At the weekend, the prime minster said he had received thousands of messages of support from around the world - many were from the clergy, he said.

He said this reflected the way people felt about the Catholic Church's role on clerical child abuse.

He told an audience at an annual cultural event in County Donegal at the weekend that the messages showed how people felt.

Mr Kenny said he was "astounded" at the number of clergy who contacted him after his speech on the Cloyne Report.

Mr Kenny received a standing ovation after he finished delivering the annual lecture at the opening session of the summer school.

Source;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14272988

More on this story...

Irish PM's attack on church sign of changing times
The blistering attack on the Vatican by Taoiseach Enda Kenny
epitomises the dramatic transformation of Irish society in recent years.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-14228354

[rufus7]

I dont understand why anyone could belong to organization that promotes the rape and torture of children the end.

[East Sun]

I dont understand why anyone could belong to organization that promotes the rape and torture of children the end.

I grew up in Ireland in the 50s on a farm in a Catholic family. I started asking questions a long time ago as that's part of my nature. From knowing Catholics all my life in many parts of the world I can say that we were in the dark as far as any crimes committed by Priests. Most still are until very recently and a lot think that is is just a minority of 'bad' priests that would do anything like that.
But the truth will wake a lot of people up, and about time.

On a larger scale the Vatican has had a lot of power in world affairs, far greater than most people would believe.
I did not want to believe some of the things I'm finding out even today.

The real world 'truth' is not very comforting. We are waking up re the PTW here on this forum and other forums. We have to realize that millions through the ages were duped. That's not strong enough a word but it is plainly the truth. We are victims of Govts. , Religions and blood lines and much worse.

Anyone knowing the truth re the above and believing it would not be members for very long I can assure you.
We're working on it together, all of us who know. Pass it on.....

[giovonni]

Thanks for your post comments ~ Rufus & East Sun

"I dont understand why anyone could belong to organization that promotes the rape and torture of children the end"... "Pass it on"...:yes4:

[giovonni]

Perhaps too little too late...for this dying institution ?

***********

In 3 Countries, Challenging the Vatican on Female Priests


http://www.8thdaycenter.org/img/roy_bourgeous.jpg
The Rev. Roy Bourgeois has received letters from the Vatican threatening dismissal for his role in a ceremony that purported to ordain Janice Sevre-Duszynska, far right, as a priest.

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

Published: July 22, 2011

More than 150 Roman Catholic priests in the United States have signed a statement in support of a fellow cleric who faces dismissal for participating in a ceremony that purported to ordain a woman as a priest, in defiance of church teaching.

The American priests’ action follows closely on the heels of a “Call to Disobedience” issued in Austria last month by more than 300 priests and deacons. They stunned their bishops with a seven-point pledge that includes actively promoting priesthood for women and married men, and reciting a public prayer for “church reform” in every Mass.

And in Australia, the National Council of Priests recently released a ringing defense of the bishop of Toowoomba, who had issued a pastoral letter saying that, facing a severe priest shortage, he would ordain women and married men “if Rome would allow it.” After an investigation, the Vatican forced him to resign.

While these disparate acts hardly amount to a clerical uprising and are unlikely to result in change, church scholars note that for the first time in years, groups of priests in several countries are standing with those who are challenging the church to rethink the all-male celibate priesthood.

The Vatican has declared that the issue of women’s ordination is not open for discussion. But priests are on the front line of the clergy shortage — stretched thin and serving multiple parishes — and in part, this is what is driving some of them to speak.

“They are saying, ‘We don’t have enough priests, we’re closing down parishes,’ ” said David J. O’Brien, who holds an endowed chair in faith and culture at the University of Dayton, a Marianist Catholic college. “It’s a sign that the pastoral needs are sufficiently grave now that priests are speaking up and saying, ‘Wait a minute, you can’t just ignore the pastoral consequences of the things you do and say at the top.’ ”

Church experts said it was surprising that 157 priests would sign a statement in support of the American priest, the Rev. Roy Bourgeois, because he did much more than speak out: he gave the homily and blessed a woman in an illicit ordination ceremony conducted by the group, Roman Catholic Womenpriests. That group claims to have ordained 120 female priests and five bishops worldwide. The Vatican does not recognize the ordinations and has declared the women automatically excommunicated.

Father Bourgeois, a member of the Maryknoll religious order, received a letter from the Vatican in 2008 warning that he would be excommunicated if he did not recant. He sent the Vatican a long letter saying that he was only following his conscience. The Vatican never wrote back, he said.

The Maryknolls, however, did not dismiss him, and he continued presenting himself as a priest. He is a rather well-known one, at that. Father Bourgeois, now 72, was an American missionary in El Salvador during the death squad era and has made it his ministry ever since to lead antiwar protests outside the United States Army School of the Americas in Georgia.

But now, under pressure from the Vatican, the Maryknolls have sent the first of two required “canonical warnings” that they will dismiss him if he does not recant. Father Bourgeois responded that if he recanted to save his priesthood or his pension, he would be lying. “I see this very clearly as an issue of sexism, and like racism, it’s a sin,” he said in an interview this week from his home in Georgia. “It cannot be justified, no matter how hard we priests and church leaders, beginning with the pope, might try to justify the exclusion of women as equals. It is not the way of God. It is the way of men.”

In a 1994 declaration seen as intended to end the debate, Pope John Paul II issued an apostolic letter, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, saying that the church “has no authority whatsoever” to ordain women. Among the reasons the church gives is that the apostles of Jesus Christ were all men, and that that has been the church’s practice all along.

Christopher Ruddy, associate professor of systematic theology at the Catholic University of America, said of the recent statements from the priests, “I don’t think anything will come of it.

“Some say the church’s teaching on the nonordination of women is an infallible teaching, some say it’s not defined as such. But it’s clear that an extraordinarily high level of teaching authority has been invoked on that,” said Professor Ruddy, the author of “Tested in Every Way: The Catholic Priesthood in Today’s Church” (Herder & Herder, 2006).

The statement from the 157 American priests says only that they support Father Bourgeois’s “right to speak his conscience” — cautious wording that probably enabled more to sign. The effort was organized by Call to Action, a Chicago-based group that has long advocated change in the church. It is intended to put pressure on the Maryknolls not to go through with dismissing Father Bourgeois.

“Maryknoll is caught in the middle,” said Michael Virgintino, director of communications for the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, based in New York. “It is Maryknoll that is trying to keep Father Roy engaged, and very much wishes that there could be some conciliation between Roy and the church.”

Austria is home to many Catholic priests and laypeople seeking changes in the church. And yet the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, said of the recent priests’ statement there, “The open call to disobedience shocked me.”

Besides calling for ordination for women and married men, the Austrian priests called for having women preach at Mass, and giving Communion to divorced Catholics who have remarried without an annulment.

Cardinal Schönborn responded that if the priests had such extreme conflicts with the church, they should not continue to serve. His spokesman said the cardinal would meet with the group’s leaders in August or September.

In Australia, the church was shaken in May when Pope Benedict XVI removed Bishop William Morris from the Diocese of Toowoomba, where he had served since 1992. The pope wrote the bishop that the teaching barring women’s ordination was “infallible.”

The Vatican had sent Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver (named this week to be the new archbishop for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia) to investigate Bishop Morris.

The National Council of Priests of Australia, which says it represents 40 percent of priests there, denounced the dismissal, saying that those who influenced the decision “have limited pastoral experience.”

The Rev. Ian McGinnity, chairman of the priests council in Australia, said in an e-mail, “Bishop Morris was endeavouring to face honestly significant problems in his rural diocese, particularly with the shortage of priests, which meant that some communities were deprived of the Eucharist on a regular basis.”

Source;
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/23/world/23priest.html?_r=2&hp=&pagewanted=all

[giovonni]

New report on Irish Catholic Church reveals further untold horrors
Donegal diocese reports hundreds of children were sexually abused by 20 pedophiles

By CATHY HAYES,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

read story here;
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/New-report-on-Irish-Catholic-Church-reveals-further-untold-horrors-127574198.html

[giovonni]

Irish Chase Vatican Cash, Real Estate

By Dara Doyle and Colm Heatley - Aug 14, 2011

Ireland is squeezing the Roman Catholic Church to hand over cash and real estate toward a 1.4 billion-euro ($2 billion) child-abuse bill amid the bitterest stand-off yet seen between the Vatican and the government.

In the sharpest language an Irish leader has ever used against the church, Prime Minister Enda Kenny said last month the Vatican’s handling of the scandals has been dominated by “elitism and narcissism.”

read more here;
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-14/irish-chase-church-cash-real-estate-toward-2-billion-child-abuse-bill.html

[RedeZra]

Perhaps too little too late...for this dying institution ?


it is dying alright like Christ on the Cross by the incessant infiltration smear and subversion by TPTB satanists

Satan sees the Catholic Church as the main enemy as Christ has the power to save souls from hell

every religion saint and sage speak about heaven and hell as real


Satan and his boys in the secret societies are the satanists that are governing us in Europe and the US... and thanks to the satanists our society has been dumbed down deceived and lied to

Satanists have given us the theory of evolution communisme capitalisme rationalisme alienisme etc etc and have plunged us into war after war after war... while softly sickening us at home by poisoning the water and the food


how hard is it to understand that the Catholic Church have been infiltrated by satanists from the top down... and that satanists posing as priests are behind the phedophilia in the Church ?


we are free to choose Satan Christ or any other role model or ideal

and we will be held accountable for our actions


Satan is guilty together with his lesser spirits for turning humanity away from God corrupting everybody and perverting everything

but we should see this as a test to show the worth of our souls ; )

[Tane Mahuta]

For the Catholic Church to collapse the 3rd world countries need to stop believing...that is not going to happen....The Catholic Church survived the massacres they did in the middle ages in both sides of the Atlantic

I will love it to dissapear but somehow I think they are too powerfull and to rich to fail. It is sad

:wave:

Quote;

"A Corrupt System will always collapse upon itself"

Nothing needs to be done...it will undo itself.

nuff said

TM

[humanalien]

The bible says that God created evil, so the only one
to blame is God for all the evil in the world.

[giovonni]

The bible says that God created evil, so the only one
to blame is God for all the evil in the world.

And since we are those supposeded gods.. Perhaps we should now precede in finally dissolving all this evil from our wake :decision:

[giovonni]

Note - with a newly published article in Rolling Stone magazine this month (Sept 2011) titled - "The Catholic Church Secret Sex Crime Files" - now questioning that perhaps all roads (do) lead back to Rome...It appears the the Vatican will not much longer will be able to keep the hounds at bay...?

_________________________________________

Vatican rejects cover-up claims over Cloyne report

The Vatican has rejected claims by Irish PM Enda Kenny that it sabotaged efforts by Irish bishops to report child-molesting priests to police.

It follows the damning Cloyne Report that showed how allegations of clerical sex-abuse in Cork had been covered up...
read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14774142

[giovonni]

The Catholic Church's Secret Sex-Crime Files
How a scandal in Philadelphia exposed documents that reveal a high-level conspiracy to cover up decades of sexual abuse


SABRINA RUBIN ERDELY - Rolling Stone

The five co-defendants sit close enough to shake hands in the Philadelphia courtroom, but they never once acknowledge one another. Father James Brennan, a 47-year-old priest accused of raping a 14-year-old boy, looks sad and stooped in a navy sweater, unshaven and sniffling. Edward Avery, a defrocked priest in his sixties, wears an unsettlingly pleasant expression on his face, as though he's mentally very far away. He and two other defendants " the Rev. Charles Engelhardt, also in his sixties, and Bernard Shero, a former Catholic schoolteacher in his forties " are accused of passing around "Billy," a fifth-grade altar boy. According to the charges, the three men raped and sodomized the 10-year-old, sometimes making him perform stripteases or getting him drunk on sacramental wine after Mass.

Heinous as the accusations are, the most shocking " and significant " are those against the fifth defendant, Monsignor William Lynn. At ...

Read More - http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-catholic-churchs-secret-sex-crime-files-20110906

[Chuck]

I came across this video today. In the hopes that it contributes in the same spirit as giovonni had intended for this thread, I'll add it here.

It is quite revealing... there is a disconnect in the top brass of the Vatican. Unravelling indeed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=J_hJxZU-Jho
J_hJxZU-Jho

[Camilo]

Oh, their time is coming sooner than many would believe.

[East Sun]

Check out the manipulation by the Jesuits throughout the world and their opposition to the Pope in many ways for a long time. They are supposed to obey the Pope but don't. The head of the Jesuits is referred to as the Black Pope or the General of the Jesuits. I would guess that he has supporters in some of the Cardinals in Rome and elsewhere.

Tied in closely with them is The Knights of Malta and other 'secret' organizations including non religious groups.
A book titled "Vatican Assassins" by Eric Jon Pheps has more than we would ever want to know about them. But I think a better title would have been "Jesuit Assassins." Can be found on the internet.

Yes things are changing around the world either because of predictions being realized or the natural evolution of humanity. Either or both are welcome.

[giovonni]

Someone should remind this religious buffoon ~ Denial is not a river in Egypt :wacko:

______________________________

"I have held this story for several days waiting for it to be rescinded, because I found it hard to believe. Could any Catholic prelate be so tone-deaf as to take back his apology about his role in the Church's child abuse scandal? I wouldn't have thought so, but the upper Church hierarchy seems to be so self-referential and cosseted that its true. It is so revealing it is painful. You want to look away."
From Stephan A. Schwartz

***********
Egan Takes Back Apology on Local Priest Abuse, Triggering Outrage

http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/10/55/24/2282763/3/628x471.jpg

DANIEL TEPFER - Westpport News

Former New York Cardinal Edward Egan, who was at the center of the priest abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport when he was its bishop, has drawn criticism from a national victims' group and a local law firm that represented victims over an interview he recently gave.

In a recent edition of Connecticut Magazine, Egan said that while bishop here, he did nothing wrong regarding abuse allegations against priests in the diocese and, in fact, never had a case of alleged abuse while he was bishop.

In the interview, Egan also said he believes there is no legal requirement to report abuse cases in Connecticut and expressed regret for the apology he made regarding the priest scandal here.

"First of all, I should have never said that," Egan told the magazine regarding his 2002 statement of regret. "I did say if we did anything ...

Read More - http://www.westport-news.com/news/article/Egan-takes-back-apology-on-local-priest-abuse-3101668.php#page-2

[giovonni]

:gossip:

***********

"Monsignors' mutiny" revealed by Vatican leaks

http://www.redicecreations.com/ul_img/18559vatican.jpg

Call it Conspiracy City. Call it Scandal City. Call it Leak City. These days the holy city has been in the news for anything but holy reasons.

"It is a total mess," said one high-ranking Vatican official who spoke, like all others, on the condition of anonymity.

The Machiavellian maneuvering and machinations that have come to light in the Vatican recently are worthy of a novel about a sinister power struggle at a medieval court.

Senior church officials interviewed this month said almost daily embarrassments that have put the Vatican on the defensive could force Pope Benedict to act to clean up the image of its administration - at a time when the church faces a deeper crisis of authority and relevance in the wider world.

Some of those sources said the outcome of a power struggle inside the Holy See may even have a longer-term effect, on the choice of the man to succeed Benedict when he dies.

From leaked letters by an archbishop who was transferred after he blew the whistle on what he saw as a web of corruption and cronyism, to a leaked poison pen memo which puts a number of cardinals in a bad light, to new suspicions about its bank, Vatican spokesmen have had their work cut out responding.

The flurry of leaks has come at an embarrassing time - just before a usually joyful ceremony this week known as a consistory, when Benedict will admit more prelates into the College of Cardinals, the exclusive men’s club that will one day pick the next Roman Catholic leader from among their own ranks.
"This consistory will be taking place in an atmosphere that is certainly not very glorious or exalting," said one bishop with direct knowledge of Vatican affairs.

The sources agreed that the leaks were part of an internal campaign - a sort of "mutiny of the monsignors" - against the pope’s right-hand man, Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

Bertone, 77, has a reputation as a heavy-handed administrator and power-broker whose style has alienated many in the Curia, the bureaucracy that runs the central administration of the 1.3 billion-strong Roman Catholic Church.

He came to the job, traditionally occupied by a career diplomat, in 2006 with no experience of working in the church’s diplomatic corps, which manages its international relations. Benedict chose him, rather, because he had worked under the future pontiff, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, in the Vatican’s powerful doctrinal office.

"It’s all aimed at Bertone," said a monsignor in a key Vatican department who sympathizes with the secretary of state and who sees the leakers as determined to oust him. "It’s very clear that they want to get rid of Bertone."
Vatican sources say the rebels have the tacit backing of a former secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, an influential power-broker in his own right and a veteran diplomat who served under the late Pope John Paul II for 15 years.

"The diplomatic wing feels that they are the rightful owners of the Vatican," the monsignor who favors Bertone said.

Sodano and Bertone are not mutual admirers, to put it mildly. Neither has commented publicly on the reports.

Whistle-blowing Archbishop

The Vatican has been no stranger to controversy in recent years, when uproar over its handling of child sex abuse charges has hampered the church’s efforts to stem the erosion of congregations and priestly recruitment in the developed world.

But the latest image crisis could not be closer to home.

It began last month when an Italian television investigative show broadcast private letters to Bertone and the pope from Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the former deputy governor of the Vatican City and currently the Vatican ambassador in Washington.

The letters, which the Vatican has confirmed are authentic, showed that Vigano was transferred after he exposed what he argued was a web of corruption, nepotism and cronyism linked to the awarding of contracts to contractors at inflated prices.

As deputy governor of the Vatican City for two years from 2009 to 2011, Vigano was the number two official in a department responsible for maintaining the tiny city-state’s gardens, buildings, streets, museums and other infrastructure, which are managed separately from the Italian capital which surrounds it.

In one letter, Vigano writes of a smear campaign against him by other Vatican officials who were upset that he had taken drastic steps to clean up the purchasing procedures and begged to stay in the job to finish what he had started.

Bertone responded by removing Vigano from his position three years before the end of his tenure and sending him to the United States, despite his strong resistance.

Other leaks center on the Vatican bank, just as it is trying to put behind it past scandals - including the collapse 30 years ago of Banco Ambrosiano, which entangled it in lurid allegations about money-laundering, freemasons, mafiosi and the mysterious death of Ambrosiano chairman Roberto Calvi - "God’s banker."

Today, the Vatican bank, formally known at the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), is aiming to comply fully with international norms and has applied for the Vatican’s inclusion on the European Commission’s approved "white list" of states that meet EU standards for total financial transparency.

Bertone was instrumental in putting the bank’s current executives in place and any lingering suspicion about it reflects badly on him. The Commission will decide in June and failure to make the list would be an embarrassment for Bertone.

Italian Pope?

Last week, an Italian newspaper that has published some of the leaks ran a bizarre internal Vatican memo that involved one cardinal complaining about another cardinal who spoke about a possible assassination attempt against the pope within 12 months and openly speculated on who the next pope should be.

Bertone’s detractors say he has packed the Curia with Italian friends. Some see an attempt to influence the election of the next pope and increase the chances that the papacy returns to Italy after two successive non-Italian popes who have broken what had been an Italian monopoly for over 450 years.

Seven of the 18 new "cardinal electors" -- those aged under 80 eligible to elect a pope -- at this Saturday’s consistory are Italian. Six of those work for Bertone in the Curia.

Bertone, as chief administrator, had a key role in advising the pope on the appointments, which raised eyebrows because of the high number of Italian bureaucrats among them.

"There is widespread malaise and delusion about Bertone inside the Curia. It is full of complaints," said the bishop who has close knowledge of Vatican affairs.

"Bertone has had a very brash method of running the Vatican and putting his friends in high places. People could not take it any more and said ’enough’ and that is why I think these leaks are coming out now to make him look bad," he said.

Pope "Isolated"

Leaked confidential cables sent to the State Department by the U.S. embassy to the Vatican depicted him as a "yes man" with no diplomatic experience or linguistic skills and the 2009 cable suggests that the pope is protected from bad news.

"There is also the question of who, if anyone, brings dissenting views to the pope’s attention," read the cable, published by WikiLeaks.

The Vatican sources said some cardinals asked the pope to replace Bertone because of administrative lapses, including the failure to warn the pope that a renegade bishop re-admitted to the Church in 2009 was a well-known Holocaust denier.

But they said the pope, at 84 and increasingly showing the signs of his age, is not eager to break in a new right-hand man.

"It’s so complicated and the pope is so helpless," said the monsignor.
The bishop said: "The pope is very isolated. He lives in his own world and some say the information he receives is filtered. He is interested in his books and his sermons but he is not very interested in government."

source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/world/02/14/12/monsignors-mutiny-revealed-vatican-leaks

[modwiz]

The fabric, that has been the elite management of this world, is unraveling. Those who have been at the helm are cracking from the increased energies. They are going insane and starting to turn on each other as well as take last stands of criminal bravado. Their garments are rent and the winds of change blow chill through the holes. Their world is ending.

[giovonni]

More church politicking by the pope ...
perhaps he's trying to pull off one last miracle :pray:

Pope Benedict XVI to create 22 new cardinals http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58572000/jpg/_58572837_014027756.jpg

Pope Benedict XVI will create 22 new cardinals - his closest aides -
at a ceremony in St Peter's Basilica in Rome on Saturday morning.
read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17081964

[giovonni]

Hmmm... coming from a leader of an institution that requires (unnatural human) celibacy from most of its religious (priests nuns and monks)...
One could also say goes against humankind's true nature... :rolleyes:

***********

"But the Pope stressed that the bishops should do what they could to ensure traditional marriage would be "defended from every possible misrepresentation of their true nature"...

Pope Benedict warns against gay marriage http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58985000/jpg/_58985695_58983934.jpg

Pope Benedict XVI has denounced gay marriage in a speech to US bishops visiting Vatican City...
Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17320932

[Lifebringer]

Aiding and abetting Child Sex and sodomy.

[giovonni]

Aiding and abetting Child Sex and sodomy.

:nod:

Yes that's a given ... that's been well documented and established here on this thread.

[Seikou-Kishi]

Lol I'm sorry he "takes back" his apology? It seems you really are only as old as the person you're feeling if he thinks it's at all acceptable to go "I'm sorry... ha! Fingers crossed haha"

[Belle]

I've heard rumors that Pope Benedict is considering retiring in April when he will turn 85 years old. The cardinals purposesly elected a 75 year old man when electing him so he wouldn't have as much time to move the church in a certain direction as did John Paul II.

According to the prophecies of St. Malachy, the next elected pope will be the last pope. Then, supposedly, "Rome will burn". The end of the Catholic Church?

[giovonni]

Someone should remind this religious buffoon ~ Denial is not a river in Egypt :wacko:

______________________________

"I have held this story for several days waiting for it to be rescinded, because I found it hard to believe. Could any Catholic prelate be so tone-deaf as to take back his apology about his role in the Church's child abuse scandal? I wouldn't have thought so, but the upper Church hierarchy seems to be so self-referential and cosseted that its true. It is so revealing it is painful. You want to look away."
From Stephan A. Schwartz

***********
Egan Takes Back Apology on Local Priest Abuse, Triggering Outrage

http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/10/55/24/2282763/3/628x471.jpg

DANIEL TEPFER - Westpport News

Former New York Cardinal Edward Egan, who was at the center of the priest abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport when he was its bishop, has drawn criticism from a national victims' group and a local law firm that represented victims over an interview he recently gave.

In a recent edition of Connecticut Magazine, Egan said that while bishop here, he did nothing wrong regarding abuse allegations against priests in the diocese and, in fact, never had a case of alleged abuse while he was bishop.

In the interview, Egan also said he believes there is no legal requirement to report abuse cases in Connecticut and expressed regret for the apology he made regarding the priest scandal here.

"First of all, I should have never said that," Egan told the magazine regarding his 2002 statement of regret. "I did say if we did anything ...

Read More - http://www.westport-news.com/news/article/Egan-takes-back-apology-on-local-priest-abuse-3101668.php#page-2


Lol I'm sorry he "takes back" his apology? It seems you really are only as old as the person you're feeling if he thinks it's at all acceptable to go "I'm sorry... ha! Fingers crossed haha"

Yes ~ when it was probably pointed out to him from (now i am assuming here) from Church Diocese legal council ~ that his statement could lead a complicit trail back to his boss the pope and the Vatican itself ~ i thinketh he got cold feet... and hence resended his previous public statement ... But the cat has been let out of the bag and the mice are running for the hills ~ so to speak ! :lol:

[Lifebringer]

The maladjusted andmelevolent thought intent causes the "evils" as you put it. Man who has been in dominion for 6000 years as they put it according to the bible. Those 6,000 are up, because as of today the now, the religious persecution of others who don't follow their doctine of "its okay to browbeat and rape a child or push people into so much fear of being themselves, has show themselves to be judgemental and hypocritical.

Denouncing homosexuality while promoting it through the child abuse, is considered worse in the more awakened masses. This harm lasts a lifetime and damages the mental stability of the victim where they border on schizophrenic tendendencies.
Mind manipulation by those in charge of healing the soul's from the world beating them down. It's like a hooker coming to Jesus for forgiveness, and he asks her how much?

Hypocritical and maladjusted thinking.

Just a thought or two by observation.

[giovonni]

I've heard rumors that Pope Benedict is considering retiring in April when he will turn 85 years old. The cardinals purposesly elected a 75 year old man when electing him so he wouldn't have as much time to move the church in a certain direction as did John Paul II.

According to the prophecies of St. Malachy, the next elected pope will be the last pope. Then, supposedly, "Rome will burn". The end of the Catholic Church?

Greetings my Friend ~
:yes4: ~ well with that said ~ IF those of us who truly believe we have been awoken anew in spirit upon this plane ~ then one must totally agree that it is ones thoughts ( and ones true belief in them ) that will create and allow ones future ~ now ... whatever that may be...?

So i suggest we all create and live the change we truly wish for here on earth !

Blessings Love :hug:
Gio

[giovonni]

The maladjusted andmelevolent thought intent causes the "evils" as you put it. Man who has been in dominion for 6000 years as they put it according to the bible. Those 6,000 are up, because as of today the now, the religious persecution of others who don't follow their doctine of "its okay to browbeat and rape a child or push people into so much fear of being themselves, has show themselves to be judgemental and hypocritical.

Denouncing homosexuality while promoting it through the child abuse, is considered worse in the more awakened masses. This harm lasts a lifetime and damages the mental stability of the victim where they border on schizophrenic tendendencies.
Mind manipulation by those in charge of healing the soul's from the world beating them down. It's like a hooker coming to Jesus for forgiveness, and he asks her how much?

Hypocritical and maladjusted thinking.

Just a thought or two by observation.

Thank you for sharing and posting here ~ Lifebringer

Note ~ i encourage and welcome any member who wishes to weigh in on this subject matter to do so without fear or hesitation ~ especially if it will help clear from them ~ any pain or negativity caused by this poisoned institution.


Also to all members ~ this thread has numerous postings from me, so in the future when you attribute or reference a quote from me - please post the full quote in tact above your posted comments, so i and others here can get the full jest of what your commenting on. It makes it easier for me to follow-up and response to later.

Blessings to All :nod:

[giovonni]

This is the latest in the priest child abuse sex scandal. The Church has come up with a legal strategy that if successful will make if far harder for abuse victims to file a complaint. This whole business becomes ever more sordid and as any consideration of morality drains away what is left is a fight about money.

Stephan A. Schwartz

***********

Priests Turn the Table on Abuse Victims’ Group

http://d3vddn0swh40nc.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/jp-CATHOLIC-articleLarge.jpg

JDJournal

Lawyers of the Roman Catholic Church and priests accused of sexual abuse in two Missouri cases have approached the court to compel the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests to disclose more than two decades of e-mails including correspondence with victims, lawyers, whistle-blowers, witness, police, prosecutors and journalists. Though the SNAP is neither a plaintiff nor a defendant in the litigation, it has been subpoenaed five times in recent months and its national director, David Clohessy, was interrogated by a full battery of church lawyers for more than six hours in 2012.

The SNAP claims that the coordinated legal action against the group from courts in Kansas City and St. Louis is integral to the Catholic Church’s campaign to silence victims of priestly sex abuse.

Marci A. Hamilton, a law professor told the media, 'If there is one group that the higher-ups, the bishops, would like to ...

Read More - http://www.jdjournal.com/2012/03/13/priests-turn-the-table-on-abuse-victims-group/

[Belle]

Interesting...


Pope sets up criminal investigation into Vatican leaks

The Pope has taken the unusual step of setting up an internal, criminal investigation to identify the source of damaging leaks of compromising Vatican documents.

By Nick Squires, Rome

1:50PM GMT 18 Mar 2012



"The inquiry will seek to punish the insiders who leaked the papers, whom the Vatican hierarchy regard as "disloyal and cowardly".


Pope Benedict XVI had been "hurt" by the leaks, said Archbishop Angelo Becciu, the Vatican's deputy secretary of state and third most powerful Vatican figure, in an interview with L'Osservatore Romano, the city state's daily newspaper.


Documents leaked to the Italian press over the last few weeks have shed light on dark power struggles between senior cardinals, alleged corruption and nepotism in the running of the Vatican administration, and a mysterious prediction that the 84-year-old pontiff would die within a year, possibly as a result of an assassination attempt.


Msgr Becciu described whistle-blowers as "cowardly" and "deeply disloyal" and warned that they would face the full force of the law from Vatican prosecutors. They had abused the trust placed in them by leaking the documents, he said.


The investigation will be conducted by a tribunal and will probe all departments in the Vatican administration..."

Rest of the article found at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/9151418/Pope-sets-up-criminal-investigation-into-Vatican-leaks.html

[giovonni]

Interesting...


Pope sets up criminal investigation into Vatican leaks

The Pope has taken the unusual step of setting up an internal, criminal investigation to identify the source of damaging leaks of compromising Vatican documents.

By Nick Squires, Rome

1:50PM GMT 18 Mar 2012



"The inquiry will seek to punish the insiders who leaked the papers, whom the Vatican hierarchy regard as "disloyal and cowardly".


Pope Benedict XVI had been "hurt" by the leaks, said Archbishop Angelo Becciu, the Vatican's deputy secretary of state and third most powerful Vatican figure, in an interview with L'Osservatore Romano, the city state's daily newspaper.


Documents leaked to the Italian press over the last few weeks have shed light on dark power struggles between senior cardinals, alleged corruption and nepotism in the running of the Vatican administration, and a mysterious prediction that the 84-year-old pontiff would die within a year, possibly as a result of an assassination attempt.


Msgr Becciu described whistle-blowers as "cowardly" and "deeply disloyal" and warned that they would face the full force of the law from Vatican prosecutors. They had abused the trust placed in them by leaking the documents, he said.


The investigation will be conducted by a tribunal and will probe all departments in the Vatican administration..."

Rest of the article found at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/9151418/Pope-sets-up-criminal-investigation-into-Vatican-leaks.html

Thank you for this update ~ Belle :thumb:

[giovonni]

This is all so pitiful smells of such hypocrisy... :rolleyes:

"The Pope expressed horror...which revealed a 70-year history of child abuse by a significant number of priests, brothers and nuns and cover-ups by their religious superiors."

***********

Vatican reports on Irish child abuse scandals

The Vatican has expressed its "dismay and betrayal" at the "sinful and criminal acts" by Catholic clergy guilty of child abuse across Ireland...
Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17442603

[giovonni]

From The Schwartz Report

"It gives me no pleasure to say this, but I think the Roman Catholic clerical structure must be seen as a diseased social organization both financially corrupt and sexually perverted. Literally tens of thousands of children were abused, and now this. The deeper investigations dig the more these conclusions are confirmed."
Stephan A. Schwartz

___________________

Dutch Roman Catholic Church 'Castrated at Least 10 Boys'

BRUNO WATERFIELD - The Telegraph (U.K.)

At least 10 teenage boys or young men under the age of 21 were surgically castrated "to get rid of homosexuality" while in the care of the Dutch Roman Catholic Church in the 1950s. Evidence of the castrations has emerged amid controversy that it was not included in the findings of an official investigation into sexual abuse within the church last year.

The NRC Handelsblad newspaper identified Henk Heithuis who was castrated in 1956, while a minor, after reporting priests to the police for abusing him in a Catholic boarding home.

Joep Dohmen, the investigative journalist who uncovered the Heithuis case, also found evidence of at least nine other castrations. "These cases are anonymous and can no longer be traced," he said. "There will be many more. But the question is whether those boys, now old men, will want to tell their story."

Mr Heithuis died ...

Read More - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/9153676/Dutch-Roman-Catholic-Church-castrated-at-least-10-boys.html

[giovonni]

From the Schwartz Report ~

"There is a kind of institutional meltdown going on, in public view, but everyone seems to have agreed to look away. The largest and oldest virtual state in the world is imploding on its own weaknesses, and it is all being done from the inside, not by enemies from the outside."
Stephan A. Schwartz

***********

JPMorgan Chase Closes Vatican Bank Account


BARBIE LATZA NADEAU - The Daily Beast

The investment bank’s decision to close a Vatican-held account on suspicion of money laundering is the latest financial scandal to rock the Holy See.

The Vatican is in public-relations panic-mode ... again. But it’s not the pedophile priest scandal or Vatileaks that has the pope’s image-makers hopping. This time the Holy See faces serious allegations that its curious accounting practices are really a cover for a money-laundering scheme.

On March 30, the Milan branch of the global investment bank JPMorgan Chase will officially close the Vatican bank’s account No. 1365-held by the Institute for Works of Religion, or the IOR-on speculation that the account is being used for less-than-immaculate financial deeds. JPMorgan Chase sent a letter to the Vatican on Feb. 15 to notify them of the closure after the Vatican bankers were 'unable to respond” to a series of requests about questionable money transfers from the ...

Read More - http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/03/21/jp-morgan-chase-closes-vatican-bank-account.html

[write4change]

The church openly castrated young boys for years and they were called castratti. They did it to keep their high voices because there is no sound as pure as a boy soprano -- it is a different sound than women. At 9 I was very jealous of young boy's voice which training at Incarnate Word. The thing that kept me in my place is that I knew it would not last but for a time he had an incredible voice that just soared. I can still shut my eyes and see and feel him sing. He was very tall, very thin, blond and blue eyed and his name was Keith. Few people are as real in my memory from that time as Keith.

There has been a long time rumor in Hollywood that Joe Jackson, Michael Jackson's father had this done to him in Italy by the best while on his first world tour to keep his high voice. There are several things that have never have allowed me to dismiss this out of hand.

[mexrph]

We all need to be better informed of the sinister nature of the catholic church. The role of the catholic church in the days leading up to World War II needs to get wide circulation. I recommend "Hitler's Pope" (free on the internet) that exposes Pope Pius XII as one of the most sinister men ever to walk the earth.

[write4change]

I meant to say the catholic church openly castrated young boys for CENTURIES. Well known and documented fact. Before she became famous Anne Rice wrote a book under a pseudonym called Cry to Heanven which was a historical novel about this practice and its consequences. It is now available in paperback under her name Ann Rice.

[giovonni]

Greetings Write4change :hug:

So good to see you back here on the forum again ... Note ~ i've always enjoyed reading your engaging and insightful post comments.

Blessings Love ~ Gio

[write4change]

And I am glad to see you too. I think you also took a break for a while. Yes?

[giovonni]

And I am glad to see you too. I think you also took a break for a while. Yes?

Why yes ~ until recently ~ i had a serious ongoing kidney problem ~ till i finally realized i could heal myself ~ and did :)

[giovonni]

Whether one believes or not in contraception or abortion...
Old righteous farts dressed in fancy robes should definitely be the last ones to have any say in it ... :amen:

***********

Catholic Bishops Lose a Big Battle Over Contraception http://mjcdn.motherjones.com/preset_16/surprised-sinter-claus.jpg

STEPHANIE MENCIMER - Mother Jones

For the past several months, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has been waging war on the Obama administration over reproductive health care, declaring it no less than a battle over religious freedom. But on Friday, a federal judge ruled against the bishops in a fight over whether the group could impose its views on contraception and abortion through its control of taxpayer dollars.

For the past six months, the bishops have complained very publicly that the administration is anti-Catholic and biased against religious groups because it refused to renew a contract with the group to provide services to victims of human trafficking. The bishops had been administering virtually all the federal money allocated for such services, about $3 million a year, doling it out to subcontractors who served victims all over the country. The USCCB had prohibited the contractors from using the federal funds to pay for staff ...

Read More -http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/03/catholic-bishops-lose-another-contraception-fight

[giovonni]

http://illiweb.com/fa/i/smiles/icon_scratch.png


Ah ... The same thing a dictator does...?


***********

Fidel Castro to Pope Benedict: “What does a pope do?”

http://nationalpostlife.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/castro-and-pope.jpg?w=620

By Philip Pullella

HAVANA – Pope Benedict and Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, both octogenarians, joked about their age in a brief meeting on Wednesday and then Castro popped the question: so what do you do?

The two world figures chatted for about 30 minutes at the Vatican embassy in Havana near the end of the pope’s three-day visit to Cuba, where he called for greater freedom and a bigger role for the Catholic Church in the communist-led nation.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Benedict, 84, and Castro, 85, had an “exchange of ideas” in a “very cordial” atmosphere...
Read more - http://life.nationalpost.com/2012/03/28/fidel-castro-to-pope-benedict-what-does-a-pope-do/

[giovonni]

This is becoming quite a controversial topic and practice for more reasons than one...

***********

Cardinal Keith O'Brien urges Christians to 'proudly' wear cross http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59486000/jpg/_59486043_014162497-1.jpg

Britain's most senior Roman Catholic Church cleric has called for Christians to wear a cross every day. In his Easter Sunday sermon, Cardinal Keith O'Brien will tell worshippers to "wear proudly a symbol of the cross of Christ" each day of their lives. The leader of the Church in Scotland, he will voice concern at the growing "marginalisation" of religion...

Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-17611036

[giovonni]

:twitch:

from the pope... 'DARKNESS THREATENS MANKIND'

**********

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/jZ5owJeW5x8OnM1YmmOjMw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00MDA7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/e7493f2edfab2b090c0f6a7067000be8.jpg

Pope holds Easter candle at basilica vigil

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI, carrying a tall, lit candle, ushered in Christianity's most joyous celebration with an Easter vigil service Saturday night, but voiced fears that mankind is groping in darkness, unable to distinguish good from evil...

Read more - http://news.yahoo.com/pope-holds-easter-candle-basilica-vigil-200034985.html

[seigiarchon]

obviously these filthy priests love children more than God himself..

[giovonni]

obviously these filthy priests love children more than God himself..

Perhaps it might be more accurate and best in saying... 'Some of these priest' ... :nod:

[giovonni]

:clock:

**********

Pope marks milestones amid signs of frailty, succession talk

http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120415&t=2&i=594927148&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE83E0U7T00

VATICAN CITY | Sun Apr 15, 2012

(Reuters) - Pope Benedict marks two milestones this week and while his health appears stable, signs of frailty have again prompted speculation over whether he will be the first pontiff in seven centuries to resign. Benedict, one of the oldest popes in history, turns 85 on Monday, and on Thursday he marks the seventh anniversary of his election as successor to the immensely popular John Paul II...
Read more - http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/15/us-pope-idUSBRE83E06220120415

[giovonni]

From the Schwartz Report...

Landmark Church Sex Abuse Case Ends Testimony

"The child sexual abuse trend is moving to a new level. If Monsignor Lynn is convicted, as I think is likely, it will place the trial of Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City in an entirely different context. If both men are convicted, coming on top of the Irish reports, and Belgian reports, and... on... and on I think it will force the church into crisis equal to the Reformation."


Graphic testimony in landmark church sex abuse casehttps://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRT-wTbyPKLdtPSVgj0oyWxoPdyZ7fWZih2EnifHem26WD_WUb6

ELAINE QUIJANO - CBS Evening News

It could be a pivotal case for prosecutors in the nationwide scandal of child sex-abuse by Roman Catholic priests.

Five weeks of testimony concluded Thursday in the Philadelphia trial of a senior clergyman who allegedly chose to protect the church, instead of the children.

It's the first time in the U.S. that a senior official with the Catholic Church has faced charges in the church's child sexual abuse crisis.

CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano reports that Monsignor William Lynn is accused of endangering children by helping reassign priests suspected of child sex abuse to jobs where they continued to prey on boys and girls. Lynn was in charge of Philadelphia's priests from 1992 to 2004.

Jurors have heard graphic testimony from victims recounting how priests under Lynn's supervision sexually abused them sometimes inside churches. One witness testified he went directly to Monsignor Lynn with his complaints ...

Read more with video news report - http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57422539/landmark-church-sex-abuse-case-ends-testimony/

[giovonni]

More strangeness from an institution (in my opinion) that is tittering on the brink of being labeled almost perverse ... :tsk:

***********

Two items from ~ The Daily Beast

Nuns Gone Wild! Vatican Chastises American Sisters http://cdn.thedailybeast.com/content/dailybeast/articles/2012/04/20/nuns-gone-wild-vatican-chastises-american-sisters/_jcr_content/body/inlineimage.img.503.jpg/1334911566046.cached.jpg

American nuns are pushing ‘radical-feminist themes,’ according to a damning new Vatican report...
Barbie Latza Nadeau on why the U.S. sister act is too hot for the men of the Holy See ...

Read more - http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/20/nuns-gone-wild-vatican-chastises-american-sisters.html

Also ~

Vatican Investigating Girl Scouts for Links to Safe-Sex Education Groups

http://cdn.thedailybeast.com/content/dailybeast/articles/2012/05/15/vatican-investigating-girl-scouts-for-links-to-safe-sex-education-groups/_jcr_content/body/inlineimage.img.503.jpg/1337096297900.cached.jpg

The Catholic Church is not investigating the Girl Scouts for their sinfully delicious cookies, but rather for the organization’s ties to nonprofits such as Médicins Sans Frontières and other groups that teach safe-sex education. Barbie Latza Nadeau on how one U.S. official’s claim that the GSA has links to Planned Parenthood has snowballed.

Should there be any doubt left about how the Vatican views women after clamping down on American nuns late last month, the leaders of the billion-strong Catholic Church have now set their sights on the devilish Girl Scouts. No, it’s not about the sinful cookies, but a claim that the Girl Scouts are associating with 'questionable” groups that the church believes do not strictly adhere to their tenets. In particular, the Vatican believes that several groups the Girl Scouts endorse, including Médecins Sans Frontières and Oxfam, both of which cater to the poor but also ...

Read More - http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/15/vatican-investigating-girl-scouts-for-links-to-safe-sex-education-groups.html

[mountain_jim]

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2148071/Emanuela-Orlandi-Missing-girl-buried-mobsters-tomb-kidnapped-Vatican-sex-parties.html#ixzz1vhw2RZ8B




Missing girl 'buried in murdered mobster's tomb was kidnapped for Vatican sex parties', claims Catholic Church's leading exorcist priest



The Catholic Church's leading exorcist priest has sensationally claimed a missing schoolgirl thought to be buried in a murdered gangster's tomb was kidnapped for Vatican sex parties.
Father Gabriel Amorth, 85, who has carried out 70,000 exorcisms, spoke out as investigators continued to examine mobster Enrico De Pedis's tomb in their hunt for Emanuela Orlandi.
Last week police and forensic experts broke into the grave after an anonymous phone call to a TV show said the truth about Emanuela's 1983 disappearance would be 'found there'.
And although bones not belonging to the mobster were recovered they have not yet been positively identified as hers.
However Father Amorth, in an interview with La Stampa newspaper, said: 'This was a crime with a sexual motive.
'It has already previously been stated by (deceased) monsignor Simeone Duca, an archivist at the Vatican, who was asked to recruit girls for parties with the help of the Vatican gendarmes.
'I believe Emanuela ended up in this circle. I have never believed in the international theory (overseas kidnappers). I have motives to believe that this was just a case of sexual exploitation.
'It led to the murder and then the hiding of her body. Also involved are diplomatic staff from a foreign embassy to the Holy See.'

Today there was no immediate response from the Vatican to Father Amorth's claims.
But Vatican officials insisted they had always co-operated with the investigation into Orlandi's disappearance - a claim that her brother has often disputed.

Father Amorth is a colourful figure who in the past has also denounced yoga and Harry Potter as the 'work of the Devil'. He was appointed by the late Pope John Paul II as the Vatican's chief exorcist.
It is not the first time Father Amorth has raised eyebrows with his forthright views - two years ago he said sex scandals rocking the Catholic Church were evidence 'the Devil was at work in the Vatican.'


..... (rest at link)

[Camilo]

The total collapse of the corrupted institutions all over the wold is inevitable, and we're seeing it happening day by day.

[giovonni]

They always blame it on the butler ! :lol:

***********

Vatican detains 'Pope's butler' as suspect in leaks probe http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/60500000/jpg/_60500535_014851794-1.jpg

The Vatican says it has detained a person suspected of leaking a series of confidential documents and letters to the media.

Reports citing unnamed sources said he was the Pope's personal butler.

The "Vatileaks" scandal, as it is known, has enraged the Holy See. The leaks have revealed alleged corruption, mismanagement and internal conflicts...

Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18209956

[giovonni]

will share this here ...

Red Ice Radio - Tom Horn - Hour 1 - Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope

Descriptive:


Published on May 26, 2012 by RedIceRadio

Thomas Horn is an internationally recognized lecturer, radio host and bestselling author of several books including his newest books, Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope Is Here. He is a well-known columnist who has been interviewed by US Congressmen and Senators on his findings as well as featured repeatedly in major media. Thomas received the highest degree honorary doctorate bestowed in 2007 from legendary professor Dr. I.D.E. Thomas for his research into ancient history. He returns to Red Ice to discuss Petrus Romanus. For more than 800 years scholars have pointed to the dark augury having to do with "the last Pope." The prophecy, taken from St. Malachy's "Prophecy of the Popes," is among a list of verses predicting each of the Roman Catholic popes from Pope Celestine II to the final pope, "Peter the Roman," whose reign would end in the destruction of Rome. St. Malachy's list heralds the beginning of "great apostasy" followed by "great tribulation" sets the stage for the imminent unfolding of apocalyptic events. According to this prophecy, the next Pope will be a false prophet who leads the world's religious communities into embracing a political leader known as Antichrist.

http://www.redicecreations.com/



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ayvksfg-abw&feature=em-uploademail
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ayvksfg-abw&feature=em-uploademail

[sdv]

FYI - a list of all cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, as of May 30 2012 here: http://www.catholic-pages.com/hierarchy/cardinals_list.asp

Gosh, most of them are rather old!

[giovonni]

These old farts are forever diving deeper into a bottomless pit of lies, deceit and corruption...

"There just is no bottom to this story. You just can't make this up. And remember to place this revelation in the context of the bishops attacks on the nuns for spending too much time doing what Jesus said to do, and not enough on the bishops' anti-gay, anti-choice agenda; as well as their inquisition of the Girl Scouts." Stephan A. Schwartz

***********

Cardinal Dolan Quiet on $20K Payments to Pedophile Priests

http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/ap_dolan_kb_120531_wg.jpg

COLLEEN CURRY - ABC News

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the archdiocese of New York is keeping quiet today after his old diocese, the archdiocese of Milwaukee, confirmed that under his leadership the church paid individual sums of $20,000 to priests accused of molesting children.

Dolan, who became a cardinal in February and serves as the head of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, is recorded discussing the payments in the minutes of financial committee meetings in 2003, documents released as the Milwaukee archdioecese goes through bankruptcy court in Wisconsin.

The archdiocese of Milwaukee confirmed to the Associated Press Wednesday that the church paid the priests money to voluntarily sign papers to leave the priesthood because it was cheaper and faster than removing them by other administrative routes, which would have included going through the Vatican.

"In 2002, the Church affirmed that priest offenders should no longer be functioning as priests in ...

Read More - http://abcnews.go.com/US/cardinal-dolan-quiet-20k-payments-pedophile-priests/story?id=16467662#.T8oNCcVRK8C

[giovonni]

:clap2:

"The Nuns of the Roman Catholic are an example of what beingness can achieve."

From the Schwartz Report
http://lifeboat.com/papers2/stephan.a.schwartz.pdf

***********

American Nuns Fight Back Against Vatican Crackdown

http://cdn.thedailybeast.com/content/dailybeast/articles/2012/06/01/american-nuns-fight-back-against-vatican-crackdown/_jcr_content/body/inlineimage.img.503.jpg/1338580802610.cached.jpg

BIGAIL PESTA - The Daily Beast

American Catholic nuns issued a fiery response to recent Vatican claims that they are showing signs of 'radical feminism” by failing to vigorously promote church teachings on issues such as abortion and homosexuality. The sisters said Friday that the Vatican’s assessment had 'caused scandal and pain throughout the church community, and created greater polarization.”
nuns-fight-back-pesta

In April, the Vatican released a highly critical report on the main umbrella group of U.S. nuns, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, or the LCWR, a group that trains sisters and holds general assemblies. The study, conducted by a Vatican unit called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, acknowledged the 'great contribution” of nuns in 'schools, hospitals, and institutions for the poor,” but said nuns had 'stayed silent on the right to life from conception to natural death.” Further, the study said, 'the church’s biblical view of family life and human ...

Read More - http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/06/01/american-nuns-fight-back-against-vatican-crackdown.html

[giovonni]

No respite for pope as more documents leaked

http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120603&t=2&i=614702291&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE85210N100

(Reuters) - Pope Benedict got no rest on Sunday from a leaks scandal when an Italian newspaper published documents showing that his butler was not the only person in possession of confidential correspondence indicating a Vatican in disarray....
Read more - http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120603&t=2&i=614702291&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE85210N100

[giovonni]

Below...

Gianluigi Nuzzi, an investigative reporter, wrote a book based on “VatiLeaks,” telling of high-stakes power struggles in the church....

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/06/04/world/JP-VATICAN-1/JP-VATICAN-1-articleLarge.jpg

As Vatican Manages Crisis, Book Details Infighting


RACHEL DONADIO - The New York Times

VATICAN CITY -- In an undisclosed location here, the Vatican authorities are busy questioning Paolo Gabriele, the pope’s butler, and others in a widening leaks scandal that has made the seat of the Roman Catholic Church appear to be a hornet’s nest of back-stabbing and gossip.

Across town, in the lobby of a fancy hotel on the Via Veneto, Gianluigi Nuzzi, the investigative reporter whose new book based on some of the leaks has sent the Vatican into a tailspin, was holding court and looking rather pleased.

'I’m serene, I’m tranquil, convinced that I did my work in a correct way, without raising questions about the Holy Father,” Mr. Nuzzi said in an interview last week, during which he was twice interrupted by fans asking him to sign copies of his book, 'Your Holiness: The Secret Papers of Benedict XVI.”

With its glimpses of behind-the-scenes spats in ...

Read More - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/04/world/europe/as-vatican-manages-crisis-book-details-infighting.html

[giovonni]

Vatican Criticizes US Nun's Book on Sexualityhttps://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQEelKiCDDWQa5tCg8qMxU_YR-vprpovY85Inm_7D0JvVaWtKznWg


NICOLE WINFIELD - NBC29/Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican on Monday sharply criticized a book on sexuality written by a prominent American nun, saying it contradicted church teaching on issues like masturbation, homosexuality and marriage and that its author had a "defective understanding" of Catholic theology.

The Vatican's orthodoxy office said the book, "Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics" by Sister Margaret Farley, a member of the Sisters of Mercy religious order and emeritus professor of Christian ethics at Yale Divinity School, posed "grave harm" to the faithful.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said that in the 2006 book, Farley either ignored church teaching on core issues of human sexuality or treated it as merely one opinion among many.

Farley said Monday she never intended the book to reflect current official Catholic teaching. Rather, she said, she wrote it to explore sexuality via various religious ...

Read More - http://www.nbc29.com/story/18690915/vatican-criticizes-us-nuns-book-on-sexuality

[onawah]

Public Declaration to the Vatican & The Republic of Kanata (Canada)
Interview with Kevin Annett and Alfred Lambremont Webre
Posted on June 11, 2012 by itccs

Does anyone know if this group (itccs) has the ability to follow through with these projected actions?

08e30vnE6js


n this video interview with Alfred Lambremont Webre, Rev. Kevin Annett, Acting Secretary of the International Tribunal for Crimes of Church and State – www.itccs.org – discusses a public declaration to Pope Ratizinger and the Vatican stating that unless specific actions are taken by the Pope and the Vatican by September 15, 2012, "every known Roman Catholic priest or official who has harmed a child or protected those who have will be publicly named by our network, and will be publicly arrested and expelled from their churches."

The Declaration continues, "This decision is made under the common law right of citizenship arrest of those who endanger children when established authorities refuse to protect the community.

Such direct action to protect our children will be accompanied by ongoing occupations and seizures of Roman Catholic Church property commencing globally on September 15, 2012.

These measures are being taken because of the refusal by you and your church hierarchy to do justice to your victims and abide by the law and morality; and specifically, because of your refusal to agree to these ten measures, issued to you on May 4, 2012 by our Tribunal:

1. Issue full reparations to survivors
2. Surrender the remains of those who died for a proper burial.
3. Return all land and wealth taken from church victims
4. Surrender all evidence and perpetrators of crimes against children
5. Annul Crimen Sollicitationis and all Vatican policies that protect child rapists
6. Expel and defrock all child raping priests and those who protect them, including the pope
7. Agree to the licensing of all clergy as public servants
8. Withdraw from all tax exemptions, concordats and privileges
9. Annul the status of the Vatican as a state and abolish Rome's authority over its congregations
10. Redistribute the wealth of the Vatican Bank to church victims and the community, as Christ commands

Update on Genocide of First Nation Children at Brandford, Ontario

Rev. Annett also provides and update on the continuing search and discovery of evidence of child genocide at the residential school at Brandford, Ontario, where an infiltration and disruption effort by the Government of Canada was successfully deconstructed and defeated.

The Republic of Kanata (Canada)

The separation and disaffiliation of Canada from the UK Monarchy is necessary, states Rev. Annett, because of the leading role that UK Monarchs, including Elizabeth Windsor, have taken in implementing the aboriginal genocide and in retarding true democracy in Canada. He cited polls that showed that 68% of Canadians were in favor of establishing a republic of Canada. Rev. Annett discusses the practical steps that are now undertaken to establish a Republic of Kanata (Canada), including upcoming public meetings in Vancouver, BC and other locations in Canada.

[giovonni]

In regards to above post...


From onawah

Does anyone know if this group (itccs) has the ability to follow through with these projected actions?

From my point of view... Any focus intent that brings public awareness to these atrocities > has everything to do with eroding and preventing these culprits > from hiding or finding any protection or sanctuary from facing the spiritual consequences of their crimes against humanity.

[giovonni]

Again there is no escaping the inevitable consequences of this cover-up and these culprits ill intent...

:nono::ballchain:

***********

Church Battles Efforts to Ease Sex Abuse Suits

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/06/14/us/jp-ABUSE-1/jp-ABUSE-1-articleLarge.jpg


LAURIE GOODSTEIN and ERIK ECKHOLM

While the first criminal trial of a Roman Catholic church official accused of covering up child sexual abuse has drawn national attention to Philadelphia, the church has been quietly engaged in equally consequential battles over abuse, not in courtrooms but in state legislatures around the country.

The fights concern proposals to loosen statutes of limitations, which impose deadlines on when victims can bring civil suits or prosecutors can press charges. These time limits, set state by state, have held down the number of criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits against all kinds of people accused of child abuse - not just clergy members, but also teachers, youth counselors and family members accused of incest.

Victims and their advocates in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New York are pushing legislators to lengthen the limits or abolish them altogether, and to open temporary 'windows” during which victims can file lawsuits no ...

Read More - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/us/sex-abuse-statutes-of-limitation-stir-battle.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

[giovonni]

:amen:

"The Prophecy of the Popes, attributed to Saint Malachy (1094-1148) -- the first Irish saint and archbishop of Armagh -- says that after Benedict XVI, there will be only one final pope. It is beginning to look possible..."

The Final Battles of Pope Benedict XVI

http://cdn4.spiegel.de/images/image-357287-panoV9-wqrg.jpg

FIONA EHLERS, ALEXANDER SMOLTCZYK and PETER WENSIERSKI - Der Spiegel (Germany)

The mood at the Vatican is apocalyptic. Pope Benedict XVI seems tired, and both unable and unwilling to seize the reins amid fierce infighting and scandal. While Vatican insiders jockey for power and speculate on his successor, Joseph Ratzinger has withdrawn to focus on his still-ambiguous legacy.

Finally, there is clarity. The Holy See has cleared things up and made the document accessible to all: a handout on checking whether apparitions of the Virgin Mary are authentic.

Everything will be much easier from now on. The Roman Catholic Church has taken a step forward.

This "breaking news" from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) reveals the kinds of issues the Vatican is concerned with -- and the kind of world in which some there live. It's a world in which the official Church investigation of Virgin Mary sightings is carefully regulated while cardinals in ...

Read More - http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/pope-benedict-focuses-on-legacy-while-ignoring-vatican-power-struggle-a-838830.html

[A Simple Human]

Vatican Gets Fox Media Adviser (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/apnewsbreak-vatican-gets-fox-media-adviser#overlay-context=article/syrian-civilians-hit-hard-spreading-violence) (Associated Press)

Vatican Gets Fox Media Adviser
By Nicole Winfield and Victor L. Simpson | June 23, 2012

The Vatican has brought in the Fox News correspondent in Rome to help improve its communications strategy as it tries to cope with years of communications blunders and one of its most serious scandals in decades, The Associated Press learned Saturday.

Greg Burke, 52, will leave Fox to become a senior communications adviser in the Vatican's secretariat of state, the Vatican and Burke told the AP.

"I'm a bit nervous but very excited. Let's just say it's a challenge," Burke said in a phone interview.

He defined his job, which he said he had been offered twice before, as: "You're shaping the message, you're molding the message, and you're trying to make sure everyone remains on-message. And that's tough."

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, confirmed the move to the AP, saying Burke will help integrate communications issues within the Vatican's top administrative office, the secretariat of state, and will help handle its relations with the Holy See press office and other Vatican communications offices.

Burke, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, is a member of the conservative Opus Dei movement. Pope John Paul II's longtime spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, was also a member of Opus Dei.

The Vatican has been bedeviled by communications blunders ever since Pope Benedict XVI's 2005 election, and is currently dealing with a scandal over Vatican documents that were leaked to Italian journalists. While the scandal is serious — Benedict himself convened a special meeting of cardinals Saturday to try to cope with it — the Vatican's communications problems long predate it.

Benedict's now-infamous speech about Muslims and violence, his 2009 decision to rehabilitate a schismatic bishop who denied the Holocaust, and the Vatican's response to the 2010 explosion of the sex abuse scandal are just a few of the blunders that have tarnished Benedict's papacy.

Burke acknowledged the task ahead but said that after turning down the Vatican twice before, he went with his gut and accepted the third time around. "This is an opportunity and challenge that I'm not going to get again," he said.

He said he didn't know what, if any, role his membership in Opus Dei played. Opus is greatly in favor in the Vatican these days, particularly as other new religious movements such as the Legion of Christ have lost credibility with their own problems. Currently, for example, the cardinal who is heading the Vatican's internal investigation into the leaks of documents is the Opus Dei prelate, Cardinal Julian Herranz.

"I'm an old-fashioned Midwestern Catholic whose mother went to Mass every day," Burke said. "Am I being hired because I'm in Opus Dei?" he asked. "It might come into play." But he noted he was also in Opus when he was hired by Time and Fox.

Burke has been a Fox correspondent since he joined the conservative U.S. network in 2001. He was the Time magazine correspondent in Rome for a decade before that. At Fox, he led the network's coverage of the death of John Paul and election of Benedict, and has covered the papacy since then, traveling with the pope around the globe. But he has also used Rome as a base for non-Vatican reporting, including several stints in the Middle East during the last intifada, labor law protests in France and the terrorist attacks in London and Madrid.

He is a graduate of Columbia University's School of Journalism.
End

Ah yes, it's not about telling the truth as Greg Burke confirms. It's all about shaping the message, molding the message, and trying to make sure everyone remains on-message. That previous statement is probably the last true (perhaps only true) statement Greg Burke will ever make in his career from this point on.

[giovonni]

Cardinal’s Aide Is Found Guilty in Abuse Case

"This is the latest in the Catholic abuse saga. It represents the first breach in the U.S. of the firewall the Church has maintained separating errant priests from the upper hierarchy. Not too long into the future this will all be seen in an historical context, dissertations will be written, and it will be discussed in the way we now talk about the corruption of the Renaissance popes. I follow this trend, and publish these stories because one out of four Americans is at least nominally Roman Catholic, and when an institution that pervasive goes through this level of crisis it affects our society in a myriad of ways.

This is a two thousand year old organization, the oldest virtual corporate state on earth, and it is imploding, not just over sexuality, but financial corruption, and internal wars as well. What is going to emerge is not yet clear but the effects will echo across the world."

Stephan A. Schwartz

JON HURDLE and ERIK ECKHOLM - The New York Times

PHILADELPHIA -- Msgr. William J. Lynn, a former cardinal’s aide, was found guilty Friday of endangering children, becoming the first senior official of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States convicted of covering up sexual abuses by priests under his supervision.

Monsignor William J. Lynn, walking into court before the verdict reading, was the first senior official of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States to be convicted for covering up child sexual abuses by priests.

The 12-member jury acquitted Monsignor Lynn, of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, of conspiracy and a second count of endangerment after a trial that prosecutors and victims rights groups called a turning point in the abuse scandals that have shaken the Catholic Church.

The single guilty verdict was widely seen as a victory for the district attorney’s office, which has been investigating the archdiocese aggressively since 2002, and it was ...

Read More - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/us/philadelphias-msgr-william-j-lynn-is-convicted-of-allowing-abuse.html?_r=2&src=recg&pagewanted=all

[giovonni]

:rockon: right on sister !

***********

An American Nun Responds To Vatican Criticism

From NPR

In April, the Vatican announced that three American bishops (one archbishop and two bishops) would be sent to oversee the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, a member organization founded in 1956 that represents 80 percent of Catholic sisters in the United States, to get them to conform with the teachings of the Church.

In its assessment of the group, the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said the leadership conference is undermining Roman Catholic teachings on homosexuality and birth control and promoting "radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith." It also reprimanded the nuns for hosting speakers who "often contradict or ignore" church teachings and for making public statements that "disagree with or challenge the bishops, who are the church's authentic teachers of faith and morals."

In their own statement, the nuns said the Vatican's doctrinal assessment of the group was based on "unsubstantiated accusations" ...

Read More - http://www.npr.org/2012/07/17/156858223/an-american-nun-responds-to-vatican-condemnation

[giovonni]

From the Schwartz Report ~
http://www.schwartzreport.net/

Republic of Ireland Abandoning Religion Faster Than Almost Every Other Country

http://cdn.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/multimedia/dynamic/00233/Catholic_Church_233545t.jpg

Since the mid-19th century Irish priests have comprised a large percent of the Roman clerics, and Ireland has been defined by its Catholicity. As a result of the massive child abuse uncovered in Eire, and the clear failure and hypocrisy of the hierarchy all that is changing, as this report describes.

BREDA HEFFERNAN and COLM KELPIE - Belfast Telegraph (Northern Ireland)

The Republic of Ireland is abandoning religion faster than almost every other country worldwide, a massive global survey on faith reveals.

Only Vietnam has seen a bigger drop in people declaring themselves to be religious over the past seven years, a period when the Catholic Church in Ireland has been rocked by sex-abuse scandals and a crisis of leadership.

Red C interviewed more than 51,000 people worldwide, including just over 1,000 people in the Republic.

An overwhelming 69% of Irish people declared themselves to be "a religious person" in the last survey conducted in 2005, but this has now plummeted to 47%.

Last night the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, said the results of the global index required "closer critical reading" but he acknowledged that it highlighted the challenges facing the Catholic faith in a changing Ireland.

"The Catholic Church, on its part, cannot simply ...

Read More - http://cdn.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/multimedia/dynamic/00233/Catholic_Church_233545t.jpg

***********

Also in the news...

The Pope Drops Catholic Ban on Condoms in Historic Shift


http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01767/PopeAids_1767109b.jpg

This is an extraordinary reversal. Once again I am amazed at how little attention has been paid to this Papal announcement which also includes a number of observations from the Pontiff that hold enormous implications for believing Roman Catholics.

JONATHAN WYNNE-JONES, Religious Affairs Correspondent - The Telegraph (U.K.)

After decades of fierce opposition to the use of all contraception, the Pontiff has ended the Church’s absolute ban on the use of condoms.

He said it was acceptable to use a prophylactic when the sole intention was to 'reduce the risk of infection” from Aids.

While he restated the Catholic Church’s staunch objections to contraception because it believes that it interferes with the creation of life, he argued that using a condom to preserve life and avoid death could be a responsible act – even outside marriage.

Asked whether 'the Catholic Church is not fundamentally against the use of condoms,” he replied: 'It of course does not see it as a real and moral solution. In certain cases, where the intention is to reduce the risk of infection, it can nevertheless be a first step on the way to another, more humane sexuality.”

He stressed ...

Read More - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/8148944/The-Pope-drops-Catholic-ban-on-condoms-in-historic-shift.html

[giovonni]

will share this here...

From the Schwartz Report ...

***********

Earthly Concerns
http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/290-width/images/print-edition/20120818_FBP001_0.jpg

This is an amazing story about the finances of the world's oldest virtual corporate state. Well, not entirely virtual, it does have some geographical reality in Vatican City. This may be the start of the emergence of a new church.

The Economist (U.K.)

BOSTON, NEW YORK AND SAN DIEGO -- OF ALL the organisations that serve America’s poor, few do more good work than the Catholic church: its schools and hospitals provide a lifeline for millions. Yet even taking these virtues into account, the finances of the Catholic church in America are an unholy mess. The sins involved in its book-keeping are not as vivid or grotesque as those on display in the various sexual-abuse cases that have cost the American church more than $3 billion so far; but the financial mismanagement and questionable business practices would have seen widespread resignations at the top of any other public institution.

The sexual-abuse scandals of the past 20 years have brought shame to the church around the world. In America they have also brought financial strains. By studying court documents in bankruptcy cases, examining public records, requesting documents from local, state and federal governments, ...

Read More - http://www.economist.com/node/21560536

[giovonni]

everything old is new again... :rolleyes:

***********

Latin to undergo Renaissance under plans drawn up by the Vatican

Latin rebirth in schools
Latin is about to undergo a renaissance in schools under plans being drawn up by the Vatican.

http://www.redicecreations.com/ul_img/21425vaticanlatin.jpg

The Holy See has aligned itself unwittingly with the likes of London mayor Boris Johnson, an enthusiastic proponent of the classics, in calling for Latin to be given greater contemporary relevance and for more teaching in schools and universities.

Vatican officials want to see the language of Cicero and Caesar spread beyond the walls of the tiny city state, the only place in the world where ATM cash machines give instructions in Latin.

They say Pope Benedict XVI is preparing to establish a new pontifical academy for the study and promotion of Latin, to be known as the "Pontificia Academia Latinitatis".

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said the academy will be staffed by "eminent academics of various nationalities, whose aim it will be to promote the use and knowledge of the Latin language in both ecclesiastical and civil contexts, including schools."
Latin remains the official language of the Roman Catholic Church and the idea is that if more people understand it, it will be easier to explain and disseminate the Church’s teachings.

But Vatican translators have had to use ingenuity when rendering modern concepts into the ancient language of the Roman Empire.

In 2003 the Vatican published a lexicon of 15,000 Latin terms for modern-day words.
A photocopied document is rendered as "exemplar luce expressum", while a parachute is an "umbrella descensória".

In the unlikely event that a Catholic priest needs to use the word "hot pants" in Latin, he would have to say "brevíssimae bracae femíneae".

If he was writing about a mountain bike he would use the words "bírota montāna" while if he needed to ask someone to send an email, he would request an "inscriptio cursus electronici".

When Vatican officials translated an encyclical written by the Pope about the environment, they rendered alternative energy sources as "fontes alterius generis".

Latin’s prominence as the language of the Catholic Church has been watered down since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.
Before that, priests of different nationalities had an advanced understanding of a language which the rest of the world regarded as dead or dying.

"When I was a young seminarian I was once on the border of Italy and Austria, where we met a group of priests. We spoke not in German or in Italian but in Latin," Father Ciro Benedettini, a Vatican spokesman, told The Daily Telegraph.

"There is certainly a desire for more people to learn and understand Latin. From the Church’s point of view, the more people who speak Latin, the better."

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/9511929/Latin-rebirth-in-schools.html

[giovonni]

Via the Schwartz Report ...

***********

Catholic Church Tapped for Taxes


"If this taxation goes through the Catholic Church will be compelled to undertake fundamental change. This is a change of a cultural perspective and legal recognition that goes back 1,000 or, depending on how one parses it, 2,000 years. A major deal by any calculation."

Stephen A. Schwartz

The Washington Post/The Portland Press Herald

ALCALA DE HENARES, Spain -- Cash-strapped officials in Europe are looking for a way to ease their financial burden by upending centuries of tradition and seeking to tap one of the last untouched sources of wealth: the Catholic Church.

This cathedral in Santiago de Compostela is among the Catholic Church’s holdings in Spain. One of Spain’s largest landowners, the church could owe up to $3.9 million in taxes a year – but it’s also facing its own financial troubles.

The net worth of the Vatican and the Catholic Church’s dioceses is believed to be astronomical. The Vatican’s gold alone is thought to be worth several billion dollars.

Thousands of public officials who have seen the financial crisis hit their budgets are chipping away at the various tax breaks and privileges the church has enjoyed for centuries.

But the church is facing its own money troubles. Offerings ...

Read More - http://www.pressherald.com/life/religionandvalues/religion-and-values_2012-09-15.html

[OBwan]

Source: http://itccs.org/


PUBLIC SUMMONS

Issued under De Jure Naturalis by the Human Rights Trial Division of The International Common Law Court of Justice (Established under the Customary Land Law Jurisdiction of Sovereign Nations)
Brussels
September 15, 2012
To: (Name of Defendant)
In the Matter of HRTD Case Docket Numbers A-091512-001 through 005 inclusive
BE ADVISED that you have been named as a defendant and a primary witness in a matter brought before this Court for adjudication, in that you are charged in a personal and corporate capacity with ordering, aiding and abetting, colluding in and concealing Crimes against Humanity and other criminal acts, and with personally and deliberately participating in a Criminal Conspiracy.
BE FURTHER ADVISED that you or your attorney have ten (10) working days as of this date to respond in writing to this Public Summons and to indicate your willingness to participate in a pre-Trial Conference and Examination.
Failure by you or your attorney to respond to this Summons can be understood and interpreted by this Court to mean that you do not dispute or challenge the charges made against you by the Plaintiffs named in these cases, and that by your silence you are consenting to the proceedings. As a potentially incriminating admission, such a refusal to respond may cause a guilty verdict to be delivered against you by this Court in absentia.
If you do not respond to this Summons, the Court will reserve the right to appoint a legal counsel to represent you in your absence.
A complete list of charges, specifications and Plaintiffs in these cases will be forwarded to you separately.
Following depositions, the opening arguments before this Court will commence on Monday, October 15, 2012, in the absence of a pre-Trial Conference and Examination.
Issued by the Office of the Clerk of Court, Human Rights Trial Division, ICLCJ, Brussels, and through the Offices of the Court in Rome, London, Dublin, New York and Toronto.
Signed and sealed, 17 September 2012
This Summons is being issued today to the following persons in their named capacities:

Joseph Ratzinger, alias Pope Benedict, Head of the Roman Catholic Church Incorporated, Rome
Adolfo Nicholas Pachon, Superior General of the so-called Society of Jesus, or Jesuit Order
Pedro Lopez Quintana, Papal Nuncio to Canada
Angelo Sodano, College of Cardinals, Rome
Tarcisio Bertone, College of Cardinals, Rome
Angelo Bagnasco, College of Cardinals, Rome
Elizabeth Windsor, alias Queen of England, London
Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, London
Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church in Canada
Bob Bennett, Bishop of Huron Diocese, Canada
Steven Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
John Milloy, TRC officer
Nora Sanders, General Secretary of the United Church of Canada
Gary Paterson, Moderator of the United Church of Canada
Jon Jessiman, legal counsel of the United Church of Canada
Marion Best, former Moderator of the United Church of Canada
Brian Thorpe, Art Anderson, Foster Freed, Bill Howie and Phil Spencer, officers of the United Church of Canada
John Cashore, former minister of the government of British Columbia
Robert Paulson, Superintendent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police of Canada
Inspector Peter Montague, E Division, RCMP
Daniel Fulton, Chief Executive Officer of Weyerhauser Logging Corporation
Ron Huinink and other members of the Law Society of British Columbia
Former members of the congregation of St. Andrew's United Church, Port Alberni, Canada
Sean Atleo, so-called Grand Chief, Assembly of First Nations
William Montour, Chairperson of the Six Nations Confederacy
Head officers of the New England Company, London

[giovonni]

will share this here...

Via ~ Red Ice Creations

***********

The Archons—Alien Intrusion


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WBo24sIPCOM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WBo24sIPCOM

WERE ANCIENT BRONZE AGE civilizations taken over by sophisticated, parasitic extra-dimensional entities who manipulate the human mind to this day for their own evil purposes? Gnostic texts from 2000 years ago may hold the key to the greatest conspiracy in all human history!

The Gnostic Theory of Alien Intrusion
By John Lamb Lash, metahistory.org

Since the explosion of the ET/UFO phenomena in 1947, speculation about alien intrusion on planet Earth has been rampant. Half a dozen theories dominate the debate, but there is one theory that has yet to be examined. It did not emerge after 1947, but approximately 1600 years earlier. To be precise, the evidence of this theory came to light through a discovery in Egypt in December, 1945, although the significance of the find was not realized until—guess when? 1947.

In that year, French scholar Jean Doresse identified the Egyptian find at Nag Hammadi as a cache of rare Gnostic texts. “Gnosticism” is the label scholars use for a body of teachings derived from the Mystery Schools of pre-Christian antiquity. Gnostics who protested against Christian doctrines such as divine retribution and Christ’s resurrection found themselves targeted as heretics and were brutally suppressed by early converts to the One True Faith. This is the untold story of how the Mysteries ended. Since that signal year, 1947, some of the lost Mystery School knowledge has been recovered.


http://www.redicecreations.com/ul_img/21688book.jpg

Gnosis (“inner knowing”) was a path of experimental mysticism in which the initiates of the Mystery Schools explored the psyche and the cosmos at large. Using psychoactive plants, yoga, and sex magic, these ancient seers experienced altered states and developed siddhis, occult skills such as clairaudience and remote viewing. Gnosis was a kind of yogic noetic science melded with parapsychology. In heightened perception, Gnostics developed a vast cosmological vision centered in a female deity, the Divine Sophia. The Gnostic creation myth is unique in that it includes a full-blown explanation of how inorganic alien beings came to be present in our solar system.

The Nag Hammadi material contains reports of visionary experiences of the initiates, including first-hand encounters with inorganic beings called Archons. Gnostic teaching explains that these entities arose in the early stage of formation of the solar system, before the Earth was formed. Archons inhabit the solar system, the extraterrestrial realm as such, but they can intrude on Earth. Interestingly, this Gnostic insight accords closely with the view of Jacques Vallee, who maintains that ET/cyborgs probably belong to the local planetary realm. Vallee also proposes that the ET/UFO enigma is a “spiritual control system,” a phenomenon that “behaves like a conditioning process.” (Messengers of Deception). This is exactly what Gnostics said about the Archons: they can affect our minds by subliminal conditioning techniques. Their main tactics are mental error (intellectual virus, or false ideology, especially religious doctrines) and simulation. Archons are predatory, unlike a wide range of non-human and other-dimensional beings also know to the Gnostics, beings who are benevolent or neutral toward humanity.

Physical descriptions of Archons occur in several Gnostic codices. Two types are clearly identified: a neonate or embryonic type, and a draconic or reptilian type. Obviously, these descriptions fit the Greys and Reptilians of contemporary reports to a T. Or I should say, to an ET.

Delving into the Gnostic materials, it is quite a shock to discover that ancient seers detected and investigated the problem of alien intrusion during the first century CE, and certainly well before. (The Mysteries date from many centuries before the Christian Era.) What is amazing about the Gnostic theory of the Archons is not only the cosmological background (explaining the origin of these entities and the reason for their enmeshment with humanity), but the specificity of information on the alien m.o., describing how they operate and what they want from us. For one thing, Gnostics taught that these entities envy us and feed on our fear. Above all, they attempt to keep us from claiming and evolving our “inner light,” the gift of divine intelligence within. While I would not claim that Gnostic teachings on the Archons, or what remains of such teachings, have all the answers to the ET/UFO enigma, one thing is clear: they present a coherent and comprehensive analysis of alien intrusion, as well as specific practices for resisting it. They are far more complete and sophisticated than any theory in discussion today.

In short, the ancient seers of the Mysteries in Europe and the Levant seem to have accomplished 2000 years ago what many of us have been attempting to do since 1947: figure out who the ETs are, where they originate, how they relate to us, and most important of all, how we ought to relate to them.

As far as I know, apart from myself only one writer on the ET/UFO issue has directly identified the Gnostic Archons with contemporary ETs. This is Nigel Kerner, whose book, The Song of the Greys, is a strange, singular and little-known contribution to the debate. Kerner cites the Nag Hammadi texts just in passing, and does not elaborate on Gnostic teachings about the Archons. He makes a strong case for alien interference with the human genome, but this claim does not stand up against Gnostic analysis. Gnostic texts use mythological language to describe actual events in prehistory as well as long-term developments in the human psyche. According to the ancient seers, Archons cannot access our genetic makeup but they can fake an intervention. Considering the confusion of humanity in modern times, a faked intervention would be as good as real. This typifies the Archon tactic of getting us to imagine and believe things that are not true, and to accept simulation for reality. In this way, Gnostics taught, these alien cousins can deviate the human species from its true and proper course of evolution.

The unique emphasis on the Goddess Sophia is the high inspirational message of Gnosis. The ancient seers taught that, through a special link to the Goddess, our species can overcome the Archons and secure a human, and humane, future for the Earth.

Source: http://www.exohuman.com/wordpress/2012/08/the-archons-alien-intrusion/

[giovonni]

German Catholics lose church rights for unpaid tax


http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/63072000/jpg/_63072548_loaf3n2q.jpg
The number of Catholics leaving the Church has sharply increased

A German bishops' decree which has just come into force says anyone failing to pay the tax - an extra 8% of their income tax bill - will no longer be considered a Catholic. The bishops have been alarmed by the number of Catholics leaving the Church...

Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19699581

[giovonni]

Vatileaks: Pope Benedict's former butler to go on trial over stolen letters ...

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/9/28/1348824455775/FILE-Pope-Benedict-XVIs-P-008.jpg

Paolo Gabriele faces up to four years in jail amid claims he stole Pope Benedict XVI's letters and leaked details to Italian media...

Read more - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/28/vatileaks-pope-benedict-butler-trial

[Flash]

German Catholics lose church rights for unpaid tax


http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/63072000/jpg/_63072548_loaf3n2q.jpg
The number of Catholics leaving the Church has sharply increased

A German bishops' decree which has just come into force says anyone failing to pay the tax - an extra 8% of their income tax bill - will no longer be considered a Catholic. The bishops have been alarmed by the number of Catholics leaving the Church...

Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19699581

Since when does Jesus and believers community has to do with taxes and money??? LOL :rolleyes:

[onawah]

Trial of pope's butler starts with setback for defense

I think this guy probably deserves our prayers, and counts as a whistleblower.


http://news.yahoo.com/trial-popes-ex-butler-vatileaks-case-opens-074435515.html

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/D7p.0uBdFIY2w6rS.JsXwA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9MzE2O2NyPTE7Y3c9NDUwO2R4PTA7ZH k9MDtmaT11bGNyb3A7aD0zMTY7cT04NTt3PTQ1MA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2012-09-29T112423Z_1_CBRE88S0VOP00_RTROPTP_2_POPE-BUTLER.JPG


VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's butler, accused of using his access to the pope to steal papers that he thought would expose Vatican corruption, suffered a blow on Saturday's first day of his trial when judges refused to admit evidence from the Church's own investigation.

Gabriele's arrest in May, after police found confidential documents in his apartment inside the Vatican, not only threw a spotlight on allegations of malpractice but also pointed to a power struggle at the highest levels of the Church.

The 46-year-old Paolo Gabriele, an unassuming man who served the pope his meals and helped him dress, looked pale at his first public appearance since May. He smiled as he chatted with his lawyer but often staring into space during a hearing that lasted just under two and a half hours.

His lawyer, Cristiana Arru, had asked the court to allow as evidence the results of an inquiry by a commission of three cardinals who questioned Vatican employees, including prelates, about the leaks of the documents to Italian media.

But chief judge Giuseppe Dalla Torre, sitting before a crucifix and with a large, framed picture of Benedict looking down from the wall, said the commission answered only to the pope and had "no relevance" to the Vatican City's penal code.

According to an indictment issued in August, Gabriele told investigators he had acted because he saw "evil and corruption everywhere in the Church" and wanted to help root it out "because the pope was not sufficiently informed".

Domenico Giani, head of the Vatican police force, told the court that 82 boxes of evidence had been seized in Gabriele's apartments in the Vatican and in the papal summer residence.

Arru had wanted to see the commission's transcripts in the hope that they could help to explain her client's motives.

19TH CENTURY CODE

Instead, trial evidence will be based solely on the results of the investigation by a Vatican prosecutor and Vatican police.

The trial is being held under a 19th-century criminal code, so Gabriele did not enter a plea and did not speak. He is expected to testify when the trial resumes on Tuesday.

In a mostly procedural session, the court split off the case of Claudio Sciarpelletti, a Vatican computer expert charged with helping Gabriele who was not present in court.

The session was attended by eight police witnesses. The other four witnesses, including the pope's private secretary, Monsignor Georg Ganswein, were not present but are expected to give evidence next week. Gabriele's family also did not attend

Dalla Torre, wearing a black robe with gold epaulettes and a white, ruffled cravat, said he hoped to wind up the proceedings next week. It was not clear when the verdict would come.

The self-styled whistle-blower, who wore a smart light grey suit and light grey tie, could be jailed for four years.

Gabriele, who has said he saw himself as an "agent of the Holy Spirit", is widely expected to be found guilty because he has confessed.

"He has done harm by leaking this information because there will always be somebody who will take advantage of these things to denigrate the Church," said Rome resident Sergio Caldari in Saint Peter's Square.

Another local onlooker, Giovanni Maisto, said he was hopeful that the trial could mark "a new dimension of openness and transparency" in the Church's affairs.

Gabriele, a father of three who lived a simple but comfortable life in the city-state, told investigators after his arrest that he believed a shock "could be a healthy thing to bring the Church back on the right track".

MONTHS OF INTRIGUE

His capture capped nearly five months of intrigue and suspense after a string of documents and private letters found their way into the Italian media.

It was the latest embarrassment for a Church still reeling from the scandal of worldwide sexual abuse by members of its clergy.

The most notorious of the letters were written to the pope by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, currently Vatican's ambassador to Washington, who was deputy governor of the Vatican City at the time.

In one, Vigano complains that when he took office in 2009, he discovered corruption, nepotism and cronyism linked to the awarding of contracts to outside companies at inflated prices.

Vigano later wrote to the pope about a smear campaign against him by other Vatican officials who were upset that he had taken drastic steps to clean up the purchasing procedures.

Despite begging not to be moved, Vigano was later transferred to Washington by Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, effectively the Vatican's prime minister.

Since the papal state has no prison, Gabriele would serve time in an Italian jail, though the pope is widely expected to pardon him.

Television cameras, tape recorders and computers were not allowed into the court, a small, wood-paneled room with an ornate papal emblem on its ceiling.

The eight journalists allowed to cover the hearing were even blocked from bringing their own pens inside for fear that they could contain hidden recorders or cameras.

(additional reporting by Gavin Jones and Eleanor Biles; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

[Ba-ba-Ra]

To go up against the Vatican takes great courage - I will send him as much of that energy as I can.

[giovonni]

Just in...

***********
From the BBC
6 October 2012 Last updated at 15:26 ET

Pope ex-butler Paolo Gabriele jailed for theft ...
Pope Benedict's ex-butler Paolo Gabriele has been found guilty of stealing confidential papers from him and sentenced to 18 months in jail.


http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/63331000/jpg/_63331865_63332741.jpg
The BBC's Alan Johnston said it was probable that the Pope would pardon Mr Gabriele, seen here on the right...
View and read more here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19850385

[giovonni]

Update: Pope ex-butler Paolo Gabriele jailed for theft...
From the words of the accused Gabriele... "I do not feel I am a thief"
View and read more -http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19850385

[araucaria]

German Catholics lose church rights for unpaid tax


http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/63072000/jpg/_63072548_loaf3n2q.jpg
The number of Catholics leaving the Church has sharply increased

A German bishops' decree which has just come into force says anyone failing to pay the tax - an extra 8% of their income tax bill - will no longer be considered a Catholic. The bishops have been alarmed by the number of Catholics leaving the Church...

Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19699581

Since when does Jesus and believers community has to do with taxes and money??? LOL :rolleyes:

Ever since he was executed for overturning the money lenders tables in the temple. Plus ça change... :)

[OBwan]

Court case starts on Monday

Source: http://itccs.org/

Thirty two officials of church and state were issued official Public Summonses by our Prosecutor's Office on September 21, 2012 to respond to charges made against them. They were given ten working days to reply, and that period of time has now elapsed.

As of today, only one response has been received by the persons named in these Summonses, from Dr. John Milloy, a researcher for the Canadian government's so-called "truth and reconciliation commission".

Dr. Milloy did not dispute or challenge the charge made against him, of colluding in a criminal conspiracy to conceal crimes against humanity in Canada. He did however issue threats against our Court and its officers, and stated that he is asking the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to bring a charge of harrassment against us.

Our Court Clerk, Mr. George Dufort, has informed Mr. Milloy that such a request to the police can be construed to constitute an attempt by him and the OPP to obstruct and subvert justice and the workings of this Court, and can result in a criminal contempt action being brought against both him and OPP officers. Our Court has written to the OPP and notified them of this fact and has asked them not to interfere with the procedure of our Court.

Since neither John Milloy nor any of the persons named below as defendants in the first five cases brought before our Court have denied or challenged the charges made against them, the Prosecutor's Office has filed a motion before our Court this morning that a guilty plea be entered against these defendants in absentia.

The Court is considering this plea, and has noted for the record the refusal of the defendants to offer counter arguments or motions on their own behalf.

However, in the interest of judicial procedure and fairness, the Court will assign a defense counsel to represent the defendants in their absence, with the understanding that their refusal to be present in this Court can be interpreted as a tacit admission of guilt on their part.

The Court will convene as planned on Monday, October 15, 2012 at 9 am pacific time. Its proceedings will be posted on You Tube and this site.

Issued by G. Dufort, ICLCJ clerk on behalf of the Court
Brussels, Belgium 10/10/12
List of Defendants in the first five cases in Docket Numbers 0915.12.001 through to 005 inclusive, issued Public Summonses by our Court on 21 September 2012:

• Joseph Ratzinger, alias Pope Benedict, Head of the Roman Catholic Church Incorporated, Rome
• Adolfo Nicholas Pachon, Superior General of the so-called Society of Jesus, or Jesuit Order
• Pedro Lopez Quintana, Papal Nuncio to Canada
• Angelo Sodano, College of Cardinals, Rome
• Tarcisio Bertone, College of Cardinals, Rome
• Angelo Bagnasco, College of Cardinals, Rome
• Elizabeth Windsor, alias Queen of England, London
• Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, London
• Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church in Canada
• Bob Bennett, Bishop of Huron Diocese, Canada
• Steven Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
• Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
• John Milloy, TRC officer
• Nora Sanders, General Secretary of the United Church of Canada
• Gary Paterson, Moderator of the United Church of Canada
• Jon Jessiman, legal counsel of the United Church of Canada
• Marion Best, former Moderator of the United Church of Canada
• Brian Thorpe, Art Anderson, Foster Freed, Bill Howie and Phil Spencer, officers of the United Church of Canada
• John Cashore, former minister of the government of British Columbia
• Robert Paulson, Superintendent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police of Canada
• Inspector Peter Montague, E Division, RCMP
• Daniel Fulton, Chief Executive Officer of Weyerhauser Logging Corporation
• Ron Huinink and other members of the Law Society of British Columbia
• Former members of the congregation of St. Andrew's United Church, Port Alberni, Canada
• Sean Atleo, so-called Grand Chief, Assembly of First Nations
• William Montour, Chairperson of the Six Nations Confederacy
• Head officers of the New England Company, London

[OBwan]

The Shame of the Catholic Church
The film discusses a priest having known to abuse 26 children. The priest was convicted of sexual abuse. A cover up of the abuse is discussed. Those who were exploited are remembered in my prayer.

4vuyZ90xBpw

[giovonni]

Now that's what i call ~ 'the pot calling the kettle black' ... http://factoryjoe.s3.amazonaws.com/emoticons/emoticon-0136-giggle.gif

From the BBC ...

***********

Polish Catholic Church in Halloween warning http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/63788000/jpg/_63788895_63788250.jpg

Poland's Catholic Church has warned that modern Halloween rituals risk promoting the occult.

In a statement on its website, the Church said that celebrating Halloween could contradict Church teachings and Christianity.

One archbishop said the 31 October celebrations were promoting paganism to young people.

Archbishop Andzej Dziega warned that Halloween was behind a "culture of death".

"This kind of fun, tempting children like candy, also poses the real possibility of great spiritual damage, even destroying spiritual life," the archbishop of Szczecin-Kamien wrote in a letter to be read out at Sunday sermons, according to the Polish Press Agency.

He wrote that "irresponsible and anti-Christian fun" introduced young people to a "world of darkness, including devils, vampires and demons" in the name of "fun".

The archbishop's statement echoes that of the Catholic Church in Poland, which warned that the "occult rituals" contradicted Church teachings and Christianity.

The All Saints religious feast is widely celebrated in the largely Catholic nation on 1 November, with relatives often travelling across the country to tend to the graves of late relatives, decorating them with lanterns and wreaths.

But the American-style practice of carving pumpkins and dressing up as monsters, ghouls and devils the night before has also become increasingly popular.

Source page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20131808

[giovonni]

Pope butler's 'helper' Claudio Sciarpelletti on trial

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/63937000/jpg/_63937607_63937606.jpg

A computer technician has gone on trial in the Vatican City charged with
aiding and abetting the Pope's former butler in stealing papal documents...

Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20200038

Also this follow up...

Pope's former butler moved to Vatican cell

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/63714000/jpg/_63714407_jex_1541410_de54-1.jpg


The Vatican authorities were worried, our correspondent says, that if he were to be moved into an Italian prison he might be subject to pressure to reveal secrets which might cause further embarrassment to the Pope.

Read and view report here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20085988

[OBwan]

Source: http://itccs.org/


Historic Commencement of, “The International Common Law Court of Justice”
The Case of Genocide in Canada

Following is the preview and full video of the evidence that will be used in the International Common Law Court of Justice. The videos are very disturbing. I ask that prayers be offered for those who lives have been impacted.

pptFLwWaDHg

I2q8nkok-V0

[giovonni]

Thank :yu: OBwan ...

For keeping us posted here on the latest from The International Common Law Court of Justice ....

Blessings Gio

[giovonni]

November 10, 2012 ...



Vatican computer tech convicted in leaks scandal

http://i0.mail.com/970/1691970,h=425,pd=1,w=620/pope-benedict-xvi.jpg

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A Vatican court on Saturday convicted a Holy See computer technician of helping the former papal butler in the embarrassing leak of confidential papal documents and gave him a two-month suspended sentence in the last trial in the scandal.

Claudio Sciarpelletti, a 48-year-old Italian who is a computer program analyst in the Vatican's Secretariat of State, testified that he had played no role in helping to leak the documents, which later formed the core of an Italian journalist's book alleging corruption in high ranks of the Vatican bureaucracy.

Last month, Paolo Gabriele, who served Pope Benedict XVI his meals and helped him dress for ceremonies, was convicted in a separate trial for the theft of the documents from the papal apartment and is serving an 18-month prison sentence in Vatican City.

Gabriele and Sciarpelletti are the only Vatican employees to be formally investigated in the case, which distressed the pope, embarrassed the Vatican hierarchy and left many wondering about the competence of the Holy See's security apparatus.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi told reporters after the verdict that the probe into the leak "isn't closed," but gave no indication of whether any other suspects existed. Lombardi said it was unclear if Sciarpelletti will keep his Vatican job. The defendant was ordered to pay court costs of a few thousand dollars, Lombardi said.

Sciarpelletti was convicted of aiding and abetting Gabriele by giving conflicting statements to Vatican investigators about an envelope found in his desk, addressed to Gabriele. Judge Giuseppe Dalla Torre cited Sciarpelletti's long years of service at the Vatican while suspending the sentence and ordering the criminal conviction not to appear on his record. The judge, a layman, said the court concluded that Sciarpelletti had helped Gabriele "elude the investigations of the authorities" at the Vatican.

At the start of Saturday's proceeding, the Vatican prosecutor sought conviction and a four-month sentence, which the court agreed with. But in announcing the sentence it immediately shaved two months off it to reflect Sciarpelletti's Vatican employment "service and lack of criminal record."

The verdict, following just over an hour of deliberation, was rendered "in the name of Pope Benedict XVI," Dalla Torre said. Sciarpelletti looked crestfallen when he heard the verdict, then embraced his wife in the courtroom, according to a pool of reporters chosen by fellow journalists. Gabriele lives in Vatican City, but Sciarpelletti and his family live in Rome.

Both sides in the Sciarpelletti case have three days to appeal. Defense lawyer Gianluca Benedetti indicated that he would appeal. Vatican investigators found the sealed envelope addressed to "P.Gabriele" and containing documents in Sciarpelletti's office desk. The prosecutor himself confirmed Benedetti's assertion that the envelope held documents "irrelevant, of zero value."

Gabriele, in court this time as a witness, described himself as a friend of the computer technician. During his own trial, the butler said he was concerned that Benedict wasn't being informed of the "evil and corruption" in the Vatican.

Gabriele testified he would give Sciarpelletti "many things" he had read on the Internet, along with copies of the pope's speeches and church teachings, but contended he never gave him official documents.

Sciarpelletti testified he never opened the envelope given to him 2 ½ years ago and insisted his statements to investigators were confused because of the "great panic" and "moral shock" he felt after being arrested and held in a Vatican cell for a day in May. He also said that it is difficult to remember what he did nearly three years earlier, including who gave him the documents.

At one point, early in the probe, the computer expert told Vatican investigators the envelope was given him by his boss, Monsignor Carlo Maria Polvani, who is a nephew of the current Vatican ambassador to Washington. The diplomat, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, was the No. 2 administrator at the Holy See until being posted in Washington earlier this year.

In one of the letters leaked in the probe, Vigano pleaded with Benedict not to be transferred after exposing alleged corruption in the awarding of Vatican contracts that cost the Holy See millions of euros (dollars).

Polvani told the court he "never transferred any document protected by official secret" to Gabriele. "I swear on (my) baptism and priesthood that I never" did such a thing, the monsignor testified. At one point Saturday, the usual formal atmosphere of the Vatican courtroom was interrupted by a bit of humor. When a court employee who was writing summaries of the testimony on a laptop complained of computer problems, Sciarpelletti offered his services, asking the judge: "Do you need a technician?"

The courtroom rippled with chuckles, but his help wasn't needed. It turned out there was a problem with a plug, which was quickly resolved. http://factoryjoe.s3.amazonaws.com/emoticons/emoticon-0136-giggle.gif

Source - www.mail.com/news/us/1691680-vatican-computer-tech-convicted-leaks-scandal.html#.1691666-stage-related1-3

[giovonni]

will share this here...

***********



Oct. 5

Sinéad O’Connor Twenty Years After


Twenty years ago today, during a Saturday Night Live performance, Sinéad O’Connor ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II. There was an immediate outcry from critics, journalists, and, a week later, SNL host and noted theologian, Joe Pesci. O’Connor’s career never recovered. When she attempted to perform Bob Marley’s “War” at a Bob Dylan concert, she was booed off the stage. Now, twenty years on, Michael Agresta takes a fresh look at the event.

http://shrineodreams.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/sinead_snl.jpg?w=640

Agresta listened to what O’Connor had to say: she added some fresh lyrics to “War” about child abuse as one of the Catholic Church’s sins. This isn’t news today, but it was then. In fact, most people (including me, I have to admit) missed the allusion altogether and thought O’Connor was protesting abortion/contraception policies or something. But O’Connor, when anyone bothered to ask, was quite clear about what angered her:

In Ireland we see our people are manifesting the highest incidence in Europe of child abuse. This is a direct result of the fact that they’re not in contact with their history as Irish people and the fact that in the schools, the priests have been beating the **** out of the children for years and sexually abusing them. This is the example that’s been set for the people of Ireland. They have been controlled by the church, the very people who authorized what was done to them, who gave permission for what was done to them.

The Time magazine interviewer didn’t really grasp what O’Connor was saying, so she tried to explain by giving some personal history. She said she had been subjected to every kind of abuse:

Sexual and physical. Psychological. Spiritual. Emotional. Verbal. I went to school every day covered in bruises, boils, sties and face welts, you name it. Nobody ever said a bloody word or did a thing. Naturally I was very angered by the whole thing… [Time interview, November 9, 1992, behind a pay wall, unfortunately.]

Her mother, said O’Connor, was a Valium addict, a product of Catholic schools. Later, when O’Connor went to an Adult Children of Alcoholics-type group, she got a handle on her situation. The photo of the Pope that she tore up? That had belonged to her mother: “The photo itself had been on my mother’s bedroom wall since the day the ****er was enthroned in 1978.”

http://shrineodreams.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/sinead_young.jpg?w=640
Young Sinéad, striped shirt.


O’Connor herself was incarcerated in a Magdalene laundry, an Irish institution for wayward girls, at the age of 15. The Magdalenes have been criticized by the UN Committee Against Torture and one Magdalene being sold by nuns trying to make up stock market losses turned out to have twenty-two unregistered anonymous corpses buried out back.

After Pope Benedict apologized in 2010 for the Irish abuse cover-up, O’Connor criticized him for calling the cover-up “well-intentioned” and called for a boycott of the Church. She told Rachel Maddow that she is a believer who wants to free the Church from those who have brought it into disrepute. And in the Los Angeles Times:

I’m a Catholic, and I love God. . . . That’s why I object to what these people are doing to the religion that I was born into. . . .

I’m passionately in love and always have been with what I call the Holy Spirit, which I believe the Catholic Church have held hostage and still do hold hostage. I think God needs to be rescued from them. They are not representing Christian values and Christian attitudes. If they were truly Christian, they would’ve confessed ages ago, and we wouldn’t be having to batter the door down and try to get blood from a stone.

Sometimes angry people are dismissed when they do or say things other people find disturbing. Often these angry people are absolved over time. Sinéad O’Connor paid a price for expressing her anger and for telling truths that people weren’t ready to hear. She is a brave woman who has finally been awarded some of the respect that she has earned.

by mikulpepper
My name is Mike Culpepper. I live in British Columbia. This is a blog about stuff that interests me -- books, movies, history, comics.

http://2.gravatar.com/avatar/f0c59182f2ce2e7946cbb1de4a5a133b?s=100&r=pg&d=mm
The header image was done by Lee Mero probably in the late 20s. This picture hung in my great aunts' house for as long as I can remember. I have cropped the poem that ran at the bottom of the image.

Source page : http://shrineodreams.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/sinead-oconnor-twenty-years-after/


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B3T37rD9yM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B3T37rD9yM

[giovonni]

Will share this here ...

The latest from another religious institution on the brink ... http://factoryjoe.s3.amazonaws.com/emoticons/emoticon-0101-sadsmile.gif

***********

Church of England general synod votes against women bishops

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/64270000/jpg/_64270041_64270035.jpg
The outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury was in favour of allowing women bishops


The general synod of the Church of England has voted against the appointment of women as bishops.

The decision came at the end of a day of debate by supporters and opponents - and a 12-year legislative process...

Read more with post comments here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20415689

A follow-up story ~

The Church of England—out of touch
Adam still goes higher than Eve

http://www.economist.com/blogs/theworldin2013/2012/11/church-england%E2%80%94out-touch

[giovonni]

Really ... well that's a start ... http://factoryjoe.s3.amazonaws.com/emoticons/emoticon-0105-wink.gif
***********

Bible Wrong? Jesus was born years earlier than thought, says Pope ...

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02405/pope_2405414b.jpg

The entire Christian calendar is based on a miscalculation, the Pope has declared, as he claims in a new book that Jesus was born several years earlier than commonly believed.

The 'mistake' was made by a sixth century monk known as Dionysius Exiguus or in English Dennis the Small, the 85-year-old pontiff claims in the book 'Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives', published on Wednesday...

Read more - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/9693576/Jesus-was-born-years-earlier-than-thought-claims-Pope.html

[eaglespirit]

Thank You for ALL You Do, Giovonni : )


Literal Bible - Exposing the Holy Book

D6kpZKcTQBY

Literal Bible - Exposing the Holy Book (Pt. 1 of 6). Translator of original Bible texts who worked for the Vatican reveals what the Bible really says.

Mauro Biglino had worked for ten years for the main publishing house of the Vatican, Edizioni San Paolo*, as a translator of ancient Hebrew from the original Masoretic text of the Bible.

Mauro Biglino has found that in the original Hebrew text of the Bible, in the Book of Genesis, it is written that a group of individuals - called the Elohim -- made man with a genetic engineering intervention, by mixing their own DNA with the DNA of primates already present on the Earth.

The Bible speaks of a group of flesh and bones individuals, called the Elohim. The word Elohim was translated as "God" both in the Catholic Bible, both in the King James version.
It is a wrong translation.

The Elohim were not a "God" but a group of flesh and bones individuals. That they were flesh and bones individuals it is written with absolute clarity in the original Hebrew Masoretic text of the Bible.
The meaning of Elohim is "The Shining Ones", "The Elevated Ones" or "The Powerful Ones".

Mr. Biglino's findings reveal that Yahweh was simply one of this group of flesh and bones individuals called the Elohim.

In the original Hebrew Masoretic text of the Bible it is written in clear words that even the Elohim die. (Psalm 82, 83)

In the original text of the Bible, the Malakhim - translated as "Angels" - are clearly described as flesh and bones individuals, as are the Elohim: in the Bible it is written that the Malakhim eat, drink, they get tired, they sweat, they get dirty and they even need to wash themselves.

The true "Ten Commandments" of the Covenant given by Yahweh to Moses are completeley different from what is being told by the Catholic hierarchies, and by the Christian Protestant Churches.

It appears evident that all the spiritual meanings we read in today's Old Testament are just a theological construction, inserted on purpose, distorting the meaning of the original Biblical text.

There is no "God" in the Bible.

[giovonni]

Just what the world needs ... :doh:

***********

From BBC ...

Pope Benedict XVI to create six 'global' cardinals

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/64353000/jpg/_64353455_64353452.jpg

Pope Benedict XVI is set to create six cardinals from non-European countries, at a Vatican ceremony in St Peter's Basilica...

Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20473929

[giovonni]

as if one needed more ... http://factoryjoe.s3.amazonaws.com/emoticons/emoticon-0122-itwasntme.gif

***********

50 Reasons to Boycott the Catholic Church
The Church uses its resources to oppose social progress and positive change all over the world...

Read them all here - http://www.alternet.org/belief/50-reasons-boycott-catholic-church?paging=off

[giovonni]

the circus comes to the Vatican... :juggle:

***********

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/4TtWat.oL.nfU76S1_S.SQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD02MTI7cT04NTt3PTQ5MA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2012-12-01T135331Z_1241839569_GM1E8C11ODR01_RTRMADP_3_POPE .JPG

***********

Pope greets clowns, acrobats: Circus comes to town

http://binaryapi.ap.org/278e613ba8c04970bf42b557476c8ff0/460x.jpg
Pope Benedict XVI, center, delivers his blessing during the weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

\VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI greeted thousands of clowns, acrobats, puppeteers and even a pair of lion cubs on Saturday as the circus came to town for an unusual papal performance.

Benedict clapped and watched amused as circus workers flipped, flopped, juggled and twisted before him in what the Vatican has called a historic audience to make street performers and other itinerant entertainers feel like they belong to the church.

Benedict, a known cat lover, paid particular attention to a pair of lion cubs that were brought up to him, stroking them and chatting with their trainers. At one point Benedict even bent down to caress one — not an easy feat given the 85-year-old pope has trouble with his knees and occasionally uses a cane.

Benedict acknowledged the sacrifices circus workers make to bring joy to young and old alike, traveling constantly and living on the margins of society. He noted they lack schools for their children or parish churches to call home. But he urged them to keep the faith.

"I hope that you can find, in the communities where you stay, people who are welcoming and available and able to care for your spiritual needs," Benedict said. He urged governments to better integrate itinerant entertainers in the social fabric.

A big top tent and carousel were mounted in St. Peter's Square to make the scene complete, and thousands of entertainers from a dozen countries filled a Vatican audience hall for the papal performance that featured acrobats and a puppet show.

Benedict has been entertained before by various circus troupes, but Vatican officials said Saturday's audience was unusual in that it involved so many different types of traveling performers from around the world, and was dedicated to them alone.

The event was organized by the Vatican office that looks out for the welfare of migrants, refugees, seamen as well as prostitutes and street children — people who by force or choice live without stable homes.

Source page - http://bigstory.ap.org/article/pope-greets-clowns-acrobats-circus-comes-town#overlay-context=article/official-bus-hits-miami-airport-overpass-1-dead

[MorningSong]

Heard about the "implosion" of the Vatican on local news...searched and found this:


Vatican writer describes ongoing 'implosion'
Robert McClory | Dec. 4, 2012

The Vatican is undergoing a historic "implosion," according to Robert Mickens, Vatican correspondent for The Tablet, published in Britain.

In a November speech to the City Club of Cleveland, Mickens said we are "viewing the collapse of an entire system, structure, ethos and culture, the crumbling of what is close to an absolute monarchy as ever existed and certainly the last absolute monarchy in the West."

Mickens said he often traveled with Pope John Paul II when he served for 11 years with Vatican radio before moving to The Tablet. In his view, John Paul set the scene for the collapse, he said, and Pope Benedict XVI has been busily moving it along.

His dire assessment from his current post offers little good news. NCR readers might want to listen to the almost hour-long speech linked below where, in a calm, relaxed voice, Mickens takes the Vatican to task piece by piece. Here are some of the signs of implosion he discussed: the bitter fights for promotion, the corruption, the cronyism among bishops and cardinals, as revealed in the Vatileaks scandal; the ongoing parade of Catholics out of the church; the relentless decrease of priests with the accompanying mergers and closings of parishes in the Western world.

A major sign and also a cause of the implosion, Mickens said, is the "cleric-centered" organization of the church, which leads inevitably to "clericalism." He sees a definite "resurgence" of clericalism, calling it "a cancer," spreading especially among the younger clergy.

He cited the priest abuse scandal as a byproduct of clerical control and power and criticized the way bishops "so inadequately handled the crisis" that continues to erupt in the world. He credited Pope Benedict XVI for acting to remove guilty priests but said Benedict has done "nothing" to hold accountable or discipline bishops who covered up the scandal.

The only solution is structural change, Mickens said, noting that the modern world employs myriad forms of democracy while the Vatican insists on a monarchic, feudal approach in all things. The pope's sole solution to mounting collapse, Mickens said, is the "conversion of individual persons," but he insisted this will be pointless without structural changes.

He left one hint of hope. As the crisis grows, Mickens said, the cardinals at the next papal election may be looking for "a healer," someone like João Braz de Aviz of Brazil.

Watch the video of Micken's speach:

PyPUzfJ8X50

[giovonni]

So ~ the Roman Catholic church finally publicly admits and announces its agenda ...

http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/jobs/pope-smiley-emoticon.gif

***********
http://www.redicecreations.com/ul_img/22944dapope.jpg

Vatican Calls for World Government and a New World Order...

The leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, has called for the establishment of World Government and a New World Order.

In a speech made at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace on Monday December 3 2012, the Pope called for the “construction of a world community, with a corresponding authority,” to serve the “common good of the human family”.

As a means of defending global peace and justice, the pope’s vision for the establishment of World Government and a New World Order is supposedly not to create a new superpower, but a new governing body that offers to those (politicians) who are responsible for making decisions, criteria for judgment and practical guidelines...

Read more - http://www.theglobalistreport.com/vatican-world-government-new-world-order/

[giovonni]

:rolleyes:

Apparently the church is on a roll this week...

So ~ there you have it ... it's official ...


***********


Vatican: World not ending, despite Maya prediction

Posted: Dec 11, 2012 12:44 PM PST Updated: Dec 11, 2012 12:44 PM PST

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican's top astronomer has some assurances to offer: The world won't be ending in about two weeks, despite predictions to the contrary.

The Rev. Jose Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, wrote in Wednesday's Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that "it's not even worth discussing" doomsday scenarios based on the Mayan calendar that are flooding the Internet ahead of the purported Dec. 21 apocalypse.

Yes, Funes wrote, the universe is expanding and if some models are correct, will at one point "break away" — but not for billions of years. But he said Christians profoundly believe that "death can never have the last word."

The Mayan Long Count calendar begins in 3,114 B.C., marking time in roughly 394-year periods known as Baktuns. The Mayans wrote that the significant 13th Baktun ends Dec. 21.

Source: http://www.myfoxny.com/story/20318206/vatican-world-not-ending-despite-maya-prediction#ixzz2EoYnFjNK

[giovonni]

Bishops criticise Irish government abortion move ...

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/64130000/jpg/_64130792_savita2.jpg

The Irish government has announced it will legislate for abortion in circumstances where the mother's life is at risk.

The move comes seven weeks after the death of Savita Halappanavar.

The four Catholic Archbishops of Ireland, including Cardinal Sean Brady, have criticised the decision...

Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20768743

[giovonni]

Just walk away old man ... :rolleyes:

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/vFtXGA1SxYUHjwdwuOb7fg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD02MTI7cT04NTt3PTQwOA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2012-12-19T112926Z_505226894_GM1E8CJ1I4401_RTRMADP_3_POPE. JPG

Pope says future of mankind at stake over gay marriage...
Pope Benedict XVI has weighed in on a heated debate over gay marriage, criticising new concepts of the traditional family and warning that mankind itself was at stake...

Read more - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/9760782/Pope-says-future-of-mankind-at-stake-over-gay-marriage.html

[giovonni]

will share this here...

From my dear good Friend ...

James Gilliland


"The Third Secret of Fatima"

Before we cover this I want to tell about my own personal relationship with
Mary. At five years old I was dying of bronchial pneumonia and on several
occasions the doctors feared I would not make it through the night. A woman in
blue appeared to me and stood by my side with her hand on my head. The last
night I was sic she gave me a white substance that was the consistency of ice
cream but not cold and fed it to me. I recovered very quickly and since that
time never missed a day of school for years to come. It was later I came to find
out it was Mother Mary. Not being religious or a Catholic it did not make sense
yet these masters, saints and sages have transcended all religious and cultural
boundaries in service to all humanity and the Earth. Some may jump to the
conclusion that they are in service to God. God does not really need servicing,
humanity and the Earth is in the most need. Because of my deep relationship with
Mary and Masters, Saints and Sages including higher dimensional beings I am
writing this letter.

If you search the ancient teachings and frescos you will find a plethora of
religious events tied into not only UFOs, but also higher dimensional beings.
They are often referred to as angels, archangels and other ancient masters yet
why the ships depicted in such holy events? Could it be that much of our
religious history is filled with off world visitations and events. The ancient
Vedic scriptures are replete with flying vehicles and elaborate descriptions of
them. Even the bible speaks of fiery chariots, Shiny disks in the firmament with
bronze feet like calves, fire and brimstone emitting from them sounding like a
thousand rushing rivers when they landed. There were wheels within wheels with
flashing lights around them darting about after such landings. There were
wrathful Gods no one could appease and loving all forgiving Gods; which sounds
schizophrenic unless you know the real history of Earth. If Jesus brought the
new covenant and spoke of an all loving, all forgiving God why is the
retribution of a wrathful punishing God still used as an image to control the
masses. Could it be Mary spelled this all out? How can you fear God and love
God at the same time? Has fear, guilt and unworthiness been used to control and
extort money from the masses? If churches were created to attend to the sic, the
poor and the hungry why have they amassed such wealth often at the expense of
the poor, the ignorant and the hungry?

Is it a sin to use logic and critical thinking? Has humanity become so ignorant
and controlled by the herd consciousness so as to not even question these
matters? Why would Popes cry and fear releasing the third Secret of Fatima?
Could it talk about the real God, a frequency and a force beyond human
comprehension and the images of man? What would happen when those aligned with
the real God return and see the betrayal of a trust with Satanic Rituals of
Religions and Governments? What would be the consequences of self-serving
actions, amassing great wealth at the expense of humanity? What would be the
consequences of a long history despite warnings of misleading the people,
extorting money and obedience from them using fear guilt and unworthiness? Could
Mary have spoken of the Apocalypse, the great uncovering of the fall of the
church and state, satanic worship, child molesting, extreme abuse of power in
the name of God? Could she have given a dire warning of the consequences of
religions, governments, and civilizations constantly warring on each other,
destroying God's kingdom, the environment? Could she have warned about straying
away from universal law, God given rights and trespassing on those rights? Now
you see why Popes cry and fear releasing the Third Secret of Fatima. The secret
is in the questions. You will not see this message in churches, governments or
the mainstream. There is a great suppression of the divine feminine. They too
fear the truth and the consequences of their actions and any light shed upon
those actions. In the days to come there will be a great reckoning. In their
heart of hearts and souls they know their time is short.

Mary's Appearance At the ECETI Ranch
http://www.eceti.org/Mary/MaryIV.jpg

Frescos with UFOs
http://www.eceti.org/Eceti.UFOInHistory.html

[giovonni]

:pray:

'bless me father for i have sinned ?'

***********

from the BBC ...

Pope Benedict pardons former butler Paolo Gabriele http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/64914000/jpg/_64914341_pope_afp.jpg

Pope Benedict XVI has pardoned his former butler, Paolo Gabriele, who is serving an 18-month jail sentence for stealing confidential papers.

The Pope visited Gabriele in prison to personally inform him of the decision, the Vatican said in a statement.

In October the former butler was found guilty of stealing and copying the Pope's documents and leaking them to an Italian journalist.

Gabriele said he acted out of love for the Church.

"This morning the Holy Father Benedict XVI visited Paolo Gabriele in prison in order to confirm his forgiveness and to inform him personally of his acceptance of Mr Gabriele's request for pardon," the Vatican statement said.

Following Gabriele's conviction by a Vatican court, officials said he was likely to be pardoned by the pontiff.

In November the court convicted a computer expert, Claudio Sciarpelletti, of helping leak the papal documents.

Sciarpelletti was given a suspended sentence of two months.

Gabriele's trial heard that he had taken advantage of his access to the pontiff to photocopy thousands of confidential documents.

He later passed some to journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, who this year released a best-selling book detailing scandals and infighting within the Vatican.

Gabriele confessed to taking the papers, but said he believed the Pope was being manipulated and hoped to reveal alleged corruption at the Holy See.

Source page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20824814

[lookbeyond]

will share this here...

From my dear good Friend ...

James Gilliland


"The Third Secret of Fatima"

Before we cover this I want to tell about my own personal relationship with
Mary. At five years old I was dying of bronchial pneumonia and on several
occasions the doctors feared I would not make it through the night. A woman in
blue appeared to me and stood by my side with her hand on my head. The last
night I was sic she gave me a white substance that was the consistency of ice
cream but not cold and fed it to me. I recovered very quickly and since that
time never missed a day of school for years to come. It was later I came to find
out it was Mother Mary. Not being religious or a Catholic it did not make sense
yet these masters, saints and sages have transcended all religious and cultural
boundaries in service to all humanity and the Earth. Some may jump to the
conclusion that they are in service to God. God does not really need servicing,
humanity and the Earth is in the most need. Because of my deep relationship with
Mary and Masters, Saints and Sages including higher dimensional beings I am
writing this letter.

If you search the ancient teachings and frescos you will find a plethora of
religious events tied into not only UFOs, but also higher dimensional beings.
They are often referred to as angels, archangels and other ancient masters yet
why the ships depicted in such holy events? Could it be that much of our
religious history is filled with off world visitations and events. The ancient
Vedic scriptures are replete with flying vehicles and elaborate descriptions of
them. Even the bible speaks of fiery chariots, Shiny disks in the firmament with
bronze feet like calves, fire and brimstone emitting from them sounding like a
thousand rushing rivers when they landed. There were wheels within wheels with
flashing lights around them darting about after such landings. There were
wrathful Gods no one could appease and loving all forgiving Gods; which sounds
schizophrenic unless you know the real history of Earth. If Jesus brought the
new covenant and spoke of an all loving, all forgiving God why is the
retribution of a wrathful punishing God still used as an image to control the
masses. Could it be Mary spelled this all out? How can you fear God and love
God at the same time? Has fear, guilt and unworthiness been used to control and
extort money from the masses? If churches were created to attend to the sic, the
poor and the hungry why have they amassed such wealth often at the expense of
the poor, the ignorant and the hungry?

Is it a sin to use logic and critical thinking? Has humanity become so ignorant
and controlled by the herd consciousness so as to not even question these
matters? Why would Popes cry and fear releasing the third Secret of Fatima?
Could it talk about the real God, a frequency and a force beyond human
comprehension and the images of man? What would happen when those aligned with
the real God return and see the betrayal of a trust with Satanic Rituals of
Religions and Governments? What would be the consequences of self-serving
actions, amassing great wealth at the expense of humanity? What would be the
consequences of a long history despite warnings of misleading the people,
extorting money and obedience from them using fear guilt and unworthiness? Could
Mary have spoken of the Apocalypse, the great uncovering of the fall of the
church and state, satanic worship, child molesting, extreme abuse of power in
the name of God? Could she have given a dire warning of the consequences of
religions, governments, and civilizations constantly warring on each other,
destroying God's kingdom, the environment? Could she have warned about straying
away from universal law, God given rights and trespassing on those rights? Now
you see why Popes cry and fear releasing the Third Secret of Fatima. The secret
is in the questions. You will not see this message in churches, governments or
the mainstream. There is a great suppression of the divine feminine. They too
fear the truth and the consequences of their actions and any light shed upon
those actions. In the days to come there will be a great reckoning. In their
heart of hearts and souls they know their time is short.

Mary's Appearance At the ECETI Ranch
http://www.eceti.org/Mary/MaryIV.jpg

Frescos with UFOs
http://www.eceti.org/Eceti.UFOInHistory.html

Wow, thanku for this post. I am interested in the Marion apparitions also ( in fact all apparitions- due to personal experience).In my catholic stage i spent a lot of time investigating the mystical side of this religion.I had a particular attraction to the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, she is wearing a beautiful star covered long cape.
I will never forget the night i was watching history channel years ago,and the stars in the cape were linked with cosmology-i was blown away, needless to say this was all part of my wake up.
Thanks for the links also.
Kind Reguards, lookbeyond

[giovonni]

http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/nysanta/t7704.gif

Dear Santa please make this all go away ... :fie:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8odA81_x1FM&feature=em-uploademail
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8odA81_x1FM&feature=em-uploademail

[giovonni]

Really ...http://illiweb.com/fa/i/smiles/icon_scratch.png



1 January 2013 Last updated at 09:11 ET

Pope's new year address deplores rampant capitalism http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/65030000/jpg/_65030258_gospelap.jpg

Pope Benedict XVI has condemned "unregulated capitalism" for contributing to world tension, in a new year address to worshippers.

The Pope also thanked the world's peacemakers and said humanity had "an innate vocation for peace".

The Roman Catholic Church leader spoke at a Mass in the Vatican, then greeted a crowd outside St Peter's Basilica.

He deplored "hotbeds of tension and conflict caused by growing instances of inequality between rich and poor".

Those "hotbeds" also grew out of "the prevalence of a selfish and individualistic mindset which also finds expression in an unregulated financial capitalism", as well as "various forms of terrorism and crime", he said.

The 85-year-old pontiff delivered a prayer for peace to the crowd in St Peter's Square after his homily at Mass.

"The peacemakers are many, but they are not loud. As leaven in dough, they raise humanity according to God's plan," he said.

Comparing the new year to a journey, he prayed that it "may lead on a path to peace for every person and every family, for each country and for the whole world".

Source page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20882894

Check this out...


http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/imagenes_titulos/vatican_billions.gif

“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Matthew 6:21


Chapter 1

The Historical Genesis of the Vatican’s Accumulation of Wealth

Historical genesis of the Vatican’s accumulation of wealth

The splitting of Christianity accelerated by its policy of temporal riches

Christianity expropriates all rival religions

How the Apostolic tradition of poverty was abandoned.

Jesus, the founder of Christianity, was the poorest of the poor.

Roman Catholicism, which claims to be His church, is the richest of the rich, the wealthiest institution on earth. How come, that such an institution, ruling in the name of this same itinerant preacher, whose want was such that he had not even a pillow upon which to rest his head, is now so top-heavy with riches that she can rival - indeed, that she can put to shame - the combined might of the most redoubtable financial trusts, of the most potent industrial super-giants, and of the most prosperous global corporation of the world?

Continue reading - http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vatican/vatican_billions.htm

[Arrowwind]

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/c0.0.403.403/p403x403/383897_468629523205027_883417726_n.png

Whats wrong with this?

[gripreaper]

Thank You for ALL You Do, Giovonni : )


Literal Bible - Exposing the Holy Book

D6kpZKcTQBY

Literal Bible - Exposing the Holy Book (Pt. 1 of 6). Translator of original Bible texts who worked for the Vatican reveals what the Bible really says.

Mauro Biglino had worked for ten years for the main publishing house of the Vatican, Edizioni San Paolo*, as a translator of ancient Hebrew from the original Masoretic text of the Bible.

Mauro Biglino has found that in the original Hebrew text of the Bible, in the Book of Genesis, it is written that a group of individuals - called the Elohim -- made man with a genetic engineering intervention, by mixing their own DNA with the DNA of primates already present on the Earth.

The Bible speaks of a group of flesh and bones individuals, called the Elohim. The word Elohim was translated as "God" both in the Catholic Bible, both in the King James version.
It is a wrong translation.

The Elohim were not a "God" but a group of flesh and bones individuals. That they were flesh and bones individuals it is written with absolute clarity in the original Hebrew Masoretic text of the Bible.
The meaning of Elohim is "The Shining Ones", "The Elevated Ones" or "The Powerful Ones".

Mr. Biglino's findings reveal that Yahweh was simply one of this group of flesh and bones individuals called the Elohim.

In the original Hebrew Masoretic text of the Bible it is written in clear words that even the Elohim die. (Psalm 82, 83)

In the original text of the Bible, the Malakhim - translated as "Angels" - are clearly described as flesh and bones individuals, as are the Elohim: in the Bible it is written that the Malakhim eat, drink, they get tired, they sweat, they get dirty and they even need to wash themselves.

The true "Ten Commandments" of the Covenant given by Yahweh to Moses are completeley different from what is being told by the Catholic hierarchies, and by the Christian Protestant Churches.

It appears evident that all the spiritual meanings we read in today's Old Testament are just a theological construction, inserted on purpose, distorting the meaning of the original Biblical text.

There is no "God" in the Bible.

I had only listened to some of this, and was wanting to finish it today, but cannot find it! has this been removed, or am I just having a blond ms. USA moment?

[greybeard]

Oh well--- the original version of the ten commandments would have been interesting to read.
Thanks for your devotion to truth Gripreaper
Chris

[giovonni]

It appears the first two segments were removed - deleted ... ?

Here is a link to the youtube channel with the remaining 4 parts - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrBkv9A0QjZysJLhWY4czJu1vRjFb_8Q5

[MorningSong]

More here on Mauro Biglino's work, too:

http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?38941-Biglino-s-Unexpected-Bible-Translating-it-literally-UFO-s

http://www.holy-bible-aliens.com/

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Mauro+Biglino&oq=Mauro+Biglino&gs_l=youtube.3..0l10.11613.16217.0.16655.13.9.0.4. 4.1.209.1457.2j5j2.9.0...0.0...1ac.1.g6xJ5eIZIhU

[giovonni]

Via Red Ice Creations ...

http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/jobs/pope-smiley-emoticon.gif


Vatican ’Cash Only’ http://www.cool-smileys.com/images/skype-emoticon0164-cash.gif Blocks Credit Cards

http://www.redicecreations.com/ul_img/23228vaticancash.jpg

In God We Trust - All Others Pay Cash

A money laundering crackdown by the Bank of Italy has caused the Vatican to abruptly go to ’cash only’ for tourists. Credit card and debit card purchases are being declined, and on-site cash machines have been shut down or removed.

This is apparently in an attempt to hold the notorious Vatican Bank accountable to their inadequate money-laundering controls.

The Globe and Mail reports:

Some commentators have mused on the paradox of telling people to use cash when trying to monitor money-laundering activities. The Vatican has played down the episode, passing it off as a temporary glitch after the expiration of an agreement between some Holy See offices and the current provider of its electronic point-of-sale services.

The Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, told reporters this week that discussions with other providers were under way, and that the interruption of credit card and debit card sales “would be short-lived.”

But the Bank of Italy’s actions underscore larger concerns about the transparency of the Vatican’s finances, something that Pope Benedict XVI has promised to fix.

The Bank of Italy – which monitors the activities of Italian banking institutions, even in foreign states – did not issue a formal statement. But financial experts said the bank’s decision reflected concrete concerns over banking and financial legislation at Vatican City state, as well as an inadequate system of independent supervision.

While the Holy See has traditionally been tight-lipped about the dealings of its primary financial institution, the Institute for Works of Religion, also known as the Vatican Bank, the Vatican has worked in recent years to comply with international transparency and money-laundering standards, with mixed results.

From EuroNews:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoFeajyYSO0&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoFeajyYSO0&feature=player_embedded

The cash-only measurements come after implications of money laundering and scandal have shaken the Vatican Bank (Institute for Works of Religion), including the dismissal of the former Director, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi. This, plus countless child abuse investigations, and the Pope’s personal butler leaking papers which allegedly highlighted corruption, has left the Vatican reeling and struggling to secure the power and influence it once maintained.


By Elizabeth Leafloor, RedIceCreations.com

Source page: http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=23229

[giovonni]

Note ~ these recent next three news articles come via the schwartzreport.net ...

http://cdn1.spiegel.de/images/image-445244-panoV9free-npou.jpg



Sex Abuse Scandal German Catholic Church Cancels Inquiry

I hate this story, and the trend it represents, and it never seems to end. Readers sent me three different stories today about their local version of the same thing, and I have decided to run them all to give a sense of my reaction to these emails.

How the believing community of Catholics, who are the living church, tolerate this I cannot comprehend. It must be extraordinarily painful for them. It is certainly painful for me to read these stories, and to think about the tens of thousands of children whose sexual abuse by the hierarchy lies at the core of these stories.

BARBARA HANS - Der Spiegel (Germany)

An independent inquiry into sex abuse in the German Catholic Church was supposed to restore faith in the embattled institution. But now the Church has called it off, citing a breakdown in trust with the researchers.

It was a major promise after a major disaster: In summer 2011, the Catholic Church in Germany pledged full transparency. One year earlier, an abuse scandal had shaken the country's faithful, as an increasing number of cases surfaced in which priests had sexually abused children and then hidden behind a wall of silence.

The Lower Saxony Criminological Research Institute (KFN) was given the job of investigating the cases in 2011. The personnel files from churches in all 27 dioceses were to be examined for cases of abuse in an attempt to win back some of the Church's depleted credibility.

But now the Church has called off the study, citing a breakdown ...

Read More - http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-catholic-church-cancels-sex-abuse-scandal-inquiry-a-876612.html

***

Catholics Await Release of Files Identifying Abusive Clergy

This is the California version of the story.

RUXANDRA GUIDI - KPCC (Southern California Public Radio)

The news that a court has ordered LA’s Roman Catholic Archdiocese to release thousands of records identifying the names of priests accused of child abuse is stirring discussions among Southland Catholics-especially those who’ve waited years for the ruling.

Some documents the Archdiocese must release are memos between top church officials and their attorneys, medical and psychological records, complaints from parents, and even correspondence with the Vatican about accused priests.

Once that evidence goes public, it will include a file about Esther Miller. When she was a 16-year-old in Van Nuys, a priest singled her out. Today, she’s in her forties.

'I still had this box, and I didn’t even know that was evidence," Miller says. "The love letters, the cards, the gifts, the jewelry, money he gave me out of the collection basket.”

In the years that followed, Miller earned multiple degrees, worked for an ...

Read More - http://www.scpr.org/news/2013/01/08/35560/la-catholics-welcome-latest-ruling-ordering-releas/

***

Vermont Catholic Church Settles Abuse Cases

Here is the Vermont version. Three versions of the same story in three widely separated dioceses. It is a special abomination that these children have been molested by men who are presented to their young minds as the representatives of God. How screwed up does that leave you? And when will it end?

Times Argus (Vermont)

Three years after paying more than $20 million to close almost 30 priest misconduct lawsuits, Vermont’s Catholic Church settled a dozen new cases Wednesday just minutes before the first was set for trial.

The state’s largest religious denomination had hoped to rid itself of nearly a decade of lurid headlines and legal headaches in 2010 when it sold its historic 32-acre Burlington headquarters and 26-acre Colchester Camp Holy Cross to make good with all its then-known accusers. But that settlement didn’t preclude other former altar boys and young male churchgoers alleging sexual abuse from filing later lawsuits.

Lawyers for the first of 12 new plaintiffs were scheduled to argue their case in U.S. District Court in Burlington Wednesday at 10 a.m. But attorneys for the statewide Roman Catholic Diocese offered a settlement just minutes before the start of opening statements.

Neither church counsel Thomas McCormick nor Burlington ...

Read More - http://www.timesargus.com/article/20130109/THISJUSTIN/130109955

[giovonni]

Via ~ Red Ice Creations ...


Vatican Welcomes Obama Gun Control Proposal

http://www.redicecreations.com/ul_img/23451popeobama.jpg

VATICAN CITY January 19, 2013 (AP)

The Vatican praised President Barack Obama's proposals for curbing gun violence, saying they are a "step in a right direction."

The Vatican's chief spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Saturday that 47 religious leaders have appealed to members of the U.S. Congress "to limit firearms that are making society pay an unacceptable price in terms of massacres and senseless deaths."

"I am with them," Lombardi said, in an editorial carried on Vatican Radio, lining up the Vatican's moral support in favor of firearm limits.

"The initiatives announced by the American administration for limiting and controlling the spread and use of weapons are certainly a step in the right direction," Lombardi said.

Obama is trying to rally support for reinstating a ban on assault weapons and requiring background checks on all gun sales. He faces stiff opposition in the U.S. Congress and from powerful gun lobbies.

Considering that Americans possess "about 300 million firearms," Lombardi said, "people cannot fool themselves that it is enough to limit the number and use (of guns) to impede in the future horrendous massacres like that of Newtown that shook the conscience of America and world, as well as that of children and adults. "

He was referring to the Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school where 20 children and six adults were killed by a sole attacker last month.

"But it would be worse to be satisfied with words" of condemnation alone, Lombardi said. And while massacres are "carried out by unbalanced or hate-driven persons, there is no doubt that they are carried out with firearms," the Vatican spokesman said.

Lombardi renewed Vatican appeals for disarmament and encouragement for measures to fight "the production, commerce and contraband of all types of arms," an industry fueled by "enormous economic and power interests."

Original source page: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/vatican-welcomes-obama-gun-control-proposal-18256863

[Akasha]

...Vatican Welcomes Obama Gun Control Proposal...

From my comment here: http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?54058-Alex-Jones-Debate-with-Piers-Morgan-1-7-2012-on-CNN&p=613269&viewfull=1#post613269

"...according to [Eric Jon] Phelps, the Black Pope wants a disarmed US population more than anyone..."

[giovonni]

This story just never stop ...

***********

Another Catholic sex abuse cover-up
Newly released documents reveal plans to "shield abusers from police"

http://media.salon.com/2013/01/roger_mahony-620x412.jpg

It’s been a good 10 or so days since the last time the Catholic Church revealed itself to be somewhat less than forthcoming about the decades of sexual abuse perpetrated by trusted members of its own ranks. So it should come as a demoralizingly thorough non-surprise that it’s time again for another revelation of harrowing behavior – and systematic deceit. On Monday, the Los Angeles Times’ Victoria Kim, Ashley Powers and Harriet Ryan published newly released internal documents revealing how Archbishop Roger M. Mahony and his adviser Msgr. Thomas J. Curry conspired together in 1986 and 1987 to “shield abusers from police" ...

Read more - http://www.salon.com/2013/01/22/another_catholic_sex_abuse_cover_up/

[giovonni]

How the Vatican Built a Secret Property Empire Using Mussolini's Millions

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/1/21/1358778795723/Pope-Benedict-XVI-010.jpg

Few passing London tourists would ever guess that the premises of Bulgari, the upmarket jewellers in New Bond Street, had anything to do with the pope. Nor indeed the nearby headquarters of the wealthy investment bank Altium Capital, on the corner of St James's Square and Pall Mall.

But these office blocks in one of London's most expensive districts are part of a surprising secret commercial property empire owned by the Vatican...

More here - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/21/vatican-secret-property-empire-mussolini

[giovonni]

Good news ....

***********



from the bbc ...

a cardinal mahony 'stripped of duties' over sex abuse

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/65638000/jpg/_65638831_65638826.jpg

a retired los angeles cardinal accused of mismanaging a child sex abuse crisis has been stripped of all administrative and public duties by his successor.

Retired cardinal roger mahony, 76, has apologised for his "failure", archbishop jose gomez said on thursday.

The los angeles archdiocese, the largest in the us, has released thousands of pages of files on priests accused of child molestation.

Cardinal mahony retired in 2011, having run the archdiocese for 25 years.

In 2007 los angeles paid $660m (£415m) to alleged victims of abuse, the largest sex abuse payout on record.

Cardinal mahony has publicly apologised for mistakes he made handling the clerical sex abuse issue.
'they failed'

"i find these files to be brutal and painful reading," archbishop gomez said in a statement. "the behaviour described in these files is terribly sad and evil.

"there is no excuse, no explaining away what happened to these children. The priests involved had the duty to be their spiritual fathers and they failed."

he added that bishop thomas curry, former vicar of the clergy who handled the cases of accused priests, had stepped down from his post as bishop of santa barbara.

The 12,000 pages of documents were released after church records on 14 priests were unsealed as part of a civil case.

They showed both bishop curry and cardinal mahony had helped to shield accused priests from investigation in the 1980s.

A church expert said the "very unusual" punishment showed how seriously the us catholic hierarchy was taking the case.

"to tell a cardinal he can't do confirmations, can't do things in public, that's extraordinary," said jesuit scholar the reverend thomas reese, a georgetown university fellow, told the los angeles times.

But a victims' support group said cardinal mahony's reprimand was too little, too late.

"when [cardinal mahoney] had real power, and abused it horribly, he should have been demoted or disciplined by the church hierarchy, in rome and in the us," said david clohessy, director of the survivors network of those abused by priests.

"but not a single catholic cleric anywhere had the courage to even denounce him. Shame on them."

the catholic church in the us has been embroiled in a series of child sex scandals over the past two decades.

A church-commissioned report said more than 4,000 us priests had faced sexual abuse allegations since the early 1950s, in cases involving more than 10,000 children - mostly boys.

Source page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21289854

[giovonni]

Now that's what a call some fancy PR (public relations) back peddling... :(

***********

Vatican official thanks media for exposing sex scandal

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/65719000/jpg/_65719386_65719383.jpg
Father Oliver said that many within the Church had initially been incredulous about the abuse

The Vatican official charged with prosecuting sexual crimes has acknowledged that the US media helped the Church confront the abuse scandal.

Father Robert Oliver, a lawyer from Boston, was speaking after being named as the Vatican's "Promoter of Justice".

Officials said about 600 cases of abuse - most of which took place from 1965 to 1985 - are being reported each year.

In the past, Vatican officials have accused the media of irresponsible reporting on the story.

The scandals were uncovered by American media in Boston in 2002.

They began reporting that instances of abuse were being systematically covered up and accused priests were being transferred between parishes, instead of facing criminal charges.

"I think that certainly those who continued to put before us that we need to confront this problem did a service," Father Oliver said, speaking in Rome.

"They [the media] helped to keep the energy, if you will, to keep the movement going so that we would, honestly and with transparency, and with our strength, confront what is true," he added.

Father Oliver said the peak of reported cases was in 2004, with 800 denunciations.

He acknowledged that, initially, Church leaders had been incredulous about the claims.

"In the beginning our reaction was: 'No, this is not possible, people don't do this to children'," he said.

Appointed to his role as the Vatican's chief prosecutor on clerical child abuse last week, he pledged zero tolerance against priests and Church officials who were discovered to be abusers.

The Vatican has set up new guidelines to prevent future abuse, stressing that it will help victims, forewarn minors, train future clergy, rehabilitate abusers and work alongside civil authorities.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21344567

[giovonni]

will share this here ...

looking for a few 'good men' ... :rolleyes:

***********

Ancient Order Knights of Malta, Militia to the Pope, Seeks New Blood

http://www.redicecreations.com/ul_img/23715malta_inner.jpg

At 900 years, Knights of Malta confronts modernity

Matthew Festing — aka His Most Eminent Highness The Prince and Grand Master of the Knights of Malta — bounds into the sitting room of his magnificent Renaissance palazzo sweaty and somewhat disheveled, and asks an aide if he should take off his sweater to be photographed...

Continue reading here - http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=23716

[giovonni]

will post this here for the record ...

***********

Pope Benedict Resigns, Vatican Confirms

The pope is to become the first since 1415 to step down as leader of the Catholic Church ...

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/dXAAS_3MqqpuMO1H5r53Sg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD02MTI7cT04NTt3PTM5Ng--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/3f6b270a14253305290f6a7067008151.jpg

Pope Benedict XVI is to resign on February 28 due to his "deteriorating" health.

He will be the first head of the Roman Catholic Church to resign in almost 600 years, with his departure expected to leave the post vacant for around three weeks.

The 85-year-old German's resignation letter said: "After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.

"I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering.

"However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me."

He will step down after almost eight years in the post, having been elected in April 2005.

Speaking at a hastily-arranged news conference, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said: "The pope caught us a bit by surprise...

More here - http://news.sky.com/story/1050513/pope-benedict-resigns-vatican-confirms

[giovonni]

There's obviously lots more to this than meets the eyes...

Perhaps finally a global wake-up call ... http://factoryjoe.s3.amazonaws.com/emoticons/emoticon-0112-wondering.gif

From ~ Russia Today


Published on Feb 11, 2013

Pope Benedict XVI is to resign for reasons relating to his health, according to a Vatican spokesperson. He's the first head of the Catholic Church to quit the highest post since the Middle Ages - READ MORE http://on.rt.com/ll6yot

The director of the National Secular Society, Keith Porteous Wood, says there's more to the official explanation of the Pope's resignation.

RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4q0SDryzmM&feature=em-uploademail

[giovonni]

REALLY ... http://factoryjoe.s3.amazonaws.com/emoticons/emoticon-0110-tongueout.gif

***********

"The Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, he is Jesus Christ himself, hidden under the veil of flesh."
~ Catholic National, July 1895

Bombshell: Pope Benedict XVI resigns

http://www.redicecreations.com/ul_img/23775poperesign_678x320_front.jpg

Lots More Here ~ Red Ice Creations: http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=23776

[giovonni]

Just in...

More from Tom Horn

WND EXCLUSIVE
'Final pope' authors predicted Benedict would resign http://www.wnd.com/files/2013/02/pope-benedict-throne-shadow-340x161.jpg
900-year-old Catholic prophecy says successor will be 'Peter the Roman'
Published: 33 mins ago ...

"Horn and his co-author have created their own list of 10 candidates to succeed Benedict and become “Peter the Roman.”

Interestingly, a leading candidate is Cardinal Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone, the Cardinal secretary of state, who was born in Romano, Italy. His name could, therefore, be rendered Peter the Roman."

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/final-pope-authors-predicted-benedict-would-resign/#46KIfU177OAmhOs7.99


Uploaded on Nov 3, 2008

Who will rule The Church during Armageddon .In extreme persecution, the seat of the Holy Roman Church will be occupied by Peter the Roman, who will feed the sheep through many tribulations, at the term of which the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the formidable Judge will judge his people. The End.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgotFXeXGeQ

[giovonni]

http://www.redicecreations.com/ul_img/23777churchabuse.jpg

***

Irish abuse victims welcome pope’s resignation

A group representing victims of child abuse in Catholic-run institutions in Ireland on Monday welcomed the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI after "he promised a lot but delivered nothing".

"This pope had a great opportunity to finally address the decades of abuse in the church but at the end of the day he did nothing but promise everything and in the end he ultimately delivered nothing," John Kelly, of the Survivors of Child Abuse support group, told AFP.

Ireland has been stunned by a series of revealing reports in recent years that lifted the lid on decades of child abuse suffered at the hands of religious members that stretches back to the foundation of the state in 1922.

"We asked the pope for sanctions against the religious orders who committed the abuse and the religious leaders in Ireland who allowed this to happen but to our dismay nothing has happened," Kelly added.

Kelly himself spent most of his childhood living in Catholic-run institutions and recalls being flogged with a whip and having a religious brother standing on his hands.

Groups such as Survivors of Child Abuse have repeatedly called on the Vatican to bring to justice priests found to have carried out abuse.

"The Church needs to acknowledge that all of this happened. They need to acknowledge that they allowed the devil inside and had him reside there for 50 years," Kelly said.

"The Church cannot move on. This pope's tenure has been plagued by scandals and that will continue unless the pope addresses the root causes and that can only start from the top."

The surprise announcement from the 85-year-old pope that he intends to step down marked a first in the modern history of the Catholic Church.


Original source: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130211/irish-abuse-victims-welcome-popes-resignation

[write4change]

Isn't there a prophecy that this is the last or the second to the last pope? And so far there has not been a mistake in the series of popes prophecied?

[giovonni]

Isn't there a prophecy that this is the last or the second to the last pope? And so far there has not been a mistake in the series of popes prophecied?

According to the research and information i posted above ... yes ...

Whether the prophecies are divine or sinister in nature ~ seems to be the big question and are still open to debate.

[giovonni]

more from ground zero ... :tinfoil3:

***********

http://images.theage.com.au/2013/02/12/4024831/dh_lightning-20130212092237696119-300x0.jpg

A sign from above? Lightning strikes Vatican after Pope Benedict resigns

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/world/a-sign-from-above-lightning-strikes-vatican-after-pope-benedict-resigns-20130212-2e9ng.html

[giovonni]

Obviously raising the bar for the term naughty catholic girls ... http://factoryjoe.s3.amazonaws.com/emoticons/emoticon-0136-giggle.gif

Più Nessun Papa !

***********

'No More Pope!' Femen activists get naked in Notre Dame


Published on Feb 12, 2013

Naked Femen activists protest at Notre Dame - Pope no more !

'No More Pope!' Femen activists get naked in Notre Dame


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM5mJukThYQ

[giovonni]

The Rat Scurries from the Vat: The Latest Coup in Rome

By Kevin D. Annett | RedIceCreations.com

http://www.redicecreations.com/ul_img/23794Pope-Bertone.jpg

Theories are abounding this week now that the first pope in seven centuries is resigning his office. But as always, the most direct way to the truth behind the world’s oldest corporation is simply by following the money: and specifically, Vatican Bank money.

Let’s put to rest, first of all, the fallacy that "looming scandals" about child rape and coverup are behind Joseph Ratzinger’s resignation. That’s just the cover story...

Read more - http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=23795

[giovonni]

Via Red Ice Creations ...

Pope Benedict to seek immunity and protection from Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on February 23 ... http://www.redicecreations.com/ul_img/23866popered_2.jpg

http://www.redicecreations.com/ul_img/23866vatwall.jpg
The Vatican’s defensive walls 19 Dec 2005

From: ITCCS.org

International Tribunal calls on Napolitano to "not collude in criminality", and announces global campaign to occupy Vatican property and launch human rights inquiry in Italy.

Rome (9 am local time):

Pope Benedict, Joseph Ratzinger, has scheduled a meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano for Saturday, February 23 to discuss securing protection and immunity from prosecution from the Italian government, according to Italian media sources.

Ratzinger’s meeting follows upon the apparent receipt by the Vatican of a diplomatic note from an undisclosed European government on February 4, stating its intention to issue an arrest warrant for Ratzinger, who resigned from his pontificate less than a week later.

In response to the February 23 meeting, the International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State (ITCCS), through its field Secretary, Rev. Kevin Annett, has written to President Napolitano, asking him to refrain from assisting Ratzinger in evading justice...

Continue reading with other related material here - http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=23867

[giovonni]

From the BBC

Vatican may bring forward conclave for next pope

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/65924000/jpg/_65924710_cardinalsap.jpg

The Vatican is considering calls from cardinals to hold a papal conclave earlier than planned, after Pope Benedict XVI steps down on 28 February.

Church officials want a successor to be in place before the start of Holy Week on 24 March - the most important event in the Christian calendar...

More here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21483138

[giovonni]

Perhaps a confession would have been more appropriate :(

***********

From the BBC

Pope Benedict blessing: Tens of thousands hear prayer

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/65933000/jpg/_65933801_de27.jpg

Tens of thousands of pilgrims have attended St Peter's Square in Rome for one of the final public appearances of Pope Benedict XVI.

He is stepping down on 28 February.

The Pope recited the Angelus prayer and thanked all those who had prayed for him and shown him support over the past few days since his resignation.

The Vatican has said it may hold the conclave that chooses the new pope early, so he can be in place before the start of Holy Week on 24 March...

More here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21490187

[giovonni]

Latin America is home to almost half the world's Catholics, but will struggle to produce the next pope

The continent has half a billion Christians – but only 21 of the 117 cardinals who will elect the next pontiff ...

Almost as soon as Benedict XVI announced his resignation, Latin America was abuzz with speculation that the Catholic church would finally choose a pope from the continent with the most believers.

From the mayor of Mexico City to bishops and newspaper commentators in almost every country in the region, the prospects for a first Hispanic pontiff have been raised, weighed or boosted in newspapers, social networks and sermons...

Read more - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/17/pope-latin-america

[giovonni]

Transcript : Former Catholic Priest Matthew Fox on Ratzinger, Opus Dei and the Broken Catholic Church

http://www.opednews.com/populum/uploadnic/screen-shot-2013-02-20-at-10-40-34-am-png_2_20130220-768.png


Matthew Fox Bio :

Matthewfox.org

Matthew Fox is an internationally acclaimed spiritual theologian, an Episcopal priest, and an activist who was a member of the Dominican Order for 34 years. He holds a doctorate, summa cum laude, in the History and Theology of Spirituality from the Institut Catholique de Paris.

As a spiritual theologian, he has written 30 books that have been translatedinto 48 languages and have received numerous awards. Among them areOriginal Blessing, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, A Spirituality Named Compassion, The Reinvention of Work, The Hidden Spirituality of Men, andChristian Mystics.

Matthew Fox has been renewing the ancient mystical tradition of Creation Spirituality that was named for him by his mentor, the late Father Marie Dominic Chenu, o.p., in his studies in Paris. This tradition is feminist, welcoming of the arts and artists, wisdom centered, prophetic and committed to eco-justice, social justice and gender justice.

Fox's effort to reawaken the West to its own mystical tradition has included revivifying awareness of Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart, Thomas Aquinas and the Cosmic Christ...


I interviewed Matthew Fox on February 13th.
Thanks to Don Caldarazzo for doing the transcript.

I met Matthew Fox about nine years ago when we were both speakers at the first Mythic Journeys conference an amazing event bringing together writers, mythologists, psychologists, poets. At the time, I was running the Storycon Conference on the art science and application of story, which I'd founded two years earlier, and which ran for six years.

Matthew Fox was first stopped from teaching Liberation Theology by Cardinal Ratzinger, then defrocked. He has since lived an extraordinary life. But he also brings a unique point of view on Pope Benedict, the next pope the college of cardinals will choose and today's Catholic Church...

Read interview transcript here - http://www.opednews.com/articles/Transcript-Former-Catholi-by-Rob-Kall-130220-447.html

[giovonni]

will share this here...

Some humour from Bill Maher's ~ New Rules ...

note ~ some profane language


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzHBU3b2p54

[giovonni]

Please note ~ i will be taking a much needed break and vacation and will be unable to post regularly for a while ~ till then ~ Blessings Gio

[giovonni]

Hey all ~ have a brief internet connection and will share this here ...

More intrigue with lots of interesting information ...

***********

From Red Ice Creations ...

Michael Hoffman - Hour 1 - Abdication of the Pope & Usury in Christendom

February 14, 2013
"Michael Hoffman is a former reporter for the Associated Press and the author of six books of radical history, journalism and literature. He describes himself as a "heretical writer." Hoffman is also the managing editor of the newsletter Revisionist History. In the first hour, we begin discussing Pope Benedict’s resignation. Michael questions who procured his abdication and he talks about ruthlessness in the pious conclaves. We’ll also discuss Masonry within the Roman Catholic Church. Then, we talk about his new book Usury in Christendom: The Mortal Sin that Was and Now is Not. Michael explains how the Renaissance was not a great rebirth but instead saw the rise of the machine of the social robot, the rise of money power and usury. He talks about usury in religious doctrine and the early Protestant’s resistance to the usury revolution. In the member’s hour, we return to the Vatican and discuss their symbiotic relationships. Michael talks about how they play both sides as the Kabalistic chameleon. He’ll speak more about the destructive qualities of usury, a parasitic element in our world. Later, we talk about scientism as the new God and cryptocracy replicating a Satanic force."


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9l-YvSISfM&feature=em-uploademail

[Cidersomerset]

I posted this item on another thread just now. Then this spread popped up
again..LOL....So " when in Rome " as they say ..LOL..



THE GUARDIAN ONLINE.....


Papal resignation linked to inquiry into 'Vatican gay officials', says paper

Pope's staff decline to confirm or deny La Repubblica claims linking 'Vatileaks' affair
and discovery of 'blackmailed gay clergy'



John Hooper in Rome

The Guardian, Friday 22 February 2013


http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Politics/Pix/pictures/2012/7/18/1342605030769/A-Swiss-guard-at-the-Vati-008.jpg

The Vatican is awhirl with rumours about the pope's decision to retire. Photograph:
Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images


A potentially explosive report has linked the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI to the
discovery of a network of gay prelates in the Vatican, some of whom – the report
said – were being blackmailed by outsiders.

The pope's spokesman declined to confirm or deny the report, which was carried by
the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica.

The paper said the pope had taken the decision on 17 December that he was going
to resign – the day he received a dossier compiled by three cardinals delegated to
look into the so-called "Vatileaks" affair.Last May Pope Benedict's butler, Paolo
Gabriele, was arrested and charged with having stolen and leaked papal
correspondence that depicted the Vatican as a seething hotbed of intrigue and
infighting.According to La Repubblica, the dossier comprising "two volumes of
almost 300 pages – bound in red" had been consigned to a safe in the papal
apartments and would be delivered to the pope's successor upon his election.

The newspaper said the cardinals described a number of factions, including one
whose members were "united by sexual orientation".

In an apparent quotation from the report, La Repubblica said some Vatican officials
had been subject to "external influence" from laymen with whom they had links of
a "worldly nature". The paper said this was a clear reference to blackmail.

It quoted a source "very close to those who wrote [the cardinal's report]" as
saying: "Everything revolves around the non-observance of the sixth and seventh
commandments."

The seventh enjoins against theft. The sixth forbids adultery, but is linked in
Catholic doctrine to the proscribing of homosexual acts.La Repubblica said the
cardinals' report identified a series of meeting places in and around Rome. They
included a villa outside the Italian capital, a sauna in a Rome suburb, a beauty
parlour in the centre, and a former university residence that was in use by a
provincial Italian archbishop.

Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said: "Neither the cardinals'
commission nor I will make comments to confirm or deny the things that are said
about this matter. Let each one assume his or her own responsibilities. We shall not
be following up on the observations that are made about this."

He added that interpretations of the report were creating "a tension that is the
opposite of what the pope and the church want" in the approach to the conclave of
cardinals that will elect Benedict's successor. Another Italian daily, Corriere della
Sera, alluded to the dossier soon after the pope announced his resignation on 11
February, describing its contents as "disturbing".

The three-man commission of inquiry into the Vatileaks affair was headed by a
Spanish cardinal, Julián Herranz. He was assisted by Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi, a
former archbishop of Palermo, and the Slovak cardinal Jozef Tomko, who once
headed the Vatican's department for missionaries.

Pope Benedict has said he will stand down at the end of this month; the first pope
to resign voluntarily since Celestine V more than seven centuries ago. Since
announcing his departure he has twice apparently referred to machinations inside
the Vatican, saying that divisions "mar the face of the church", and warned
against "the temptations of power".

La Repubblica's report was the latest in a string of claims that a gay network exists
in the Vatican. In 2007 a senior official was suspended from the congregation, or
department, for the priesthood, after he was filmed in a "sting" organised by an
Italian television programme while apparently making sexual overtures to a
younger man.In 2010 a chorister was dismissed for allegedly procuring male
prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting. A few months later a weekly news
magazine used hidden cameras to record priests visiting gay clubs and bars and
having sex.

The Vatican does not condemn homosexuals. But it teaches that gay sex
is "intrinsically disordered". Pope Benedict has barred sexually active gay men from
studying for the priesthood.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013...ckmail-inquiry

[giovonni]

Finally ...
The most compelling and important documentary released to date regarding these ongoing atrocious crimes perpetrated upon the innocence of childhood ...

***********

'Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God is a 2012 documentary film directed by Alex Gibney. The film details the first known protest against clerical sex abuse in the United States by four deaf men. The film investigates how a charismatic priest in Milwaukee abused more than 200 deaf children in a Catholic boarding school under his control. The young students were molested again and again by Father Lawrence Murphy, who stalked them in their dorm rooms at night, on trips to his rural cabin, and even in the confessional booth. The film further explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church all the way to the Vatican and the current Pope Benedict.

It features the voices of actors Jamey Sheridan, Chris Cooper, Ethan Hawke, and John Slattery, who provide the vocal translation of the deaf interviewees.

***

The title is derived from the Latin phrase "mea maxima culpa". It is taken from the Confiteor that is part of the Roman Catholic Mass. It translates into English as "through my most grievous fault"

Note ~ it debuts on HBO in February 2013.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shMIKAneJz8

Related ...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlqqDBGBraQ

[araucaria]

I just stumbled on this piece which describes how sexual crimes could be dealt with by the Church in the 15th century: serial child killer Gilles de Rais was ultimately executed but was spared burning and granted burial in a chapel.

http://absintheliteraryreview.com/archives/fierce9.htm

Excerpt:


Georges Bataille, who edited and prepared a record of the trial, saw no incongruity between Gilles’ murderous behavior and his Catholic faith, seeing them as symbiotic to one another. He wrote: “Perhaps Christianity is even fundamentally the pressing demand for crime, the demand for the horror that in a sense it needs in order to forgive. …Christianity implies a human nature which harbors this hallucinatory extremity, which it alone has allowed to flourish.” Thus, the moral limits set by Christianity contain the necessity of their own transgression, so that the religious institution may then return and offer solace, penance, forgiveness, etc. In fact, Bataille’s view is exactly congruent with the trial itself, during which—although found guilty of heresy and sodomy—Gilles’ contrite confession kept him in the relative good graces of the Church: he was briefly excommunicated but then reinstated; he was hanged but his body was removed before being burned at the stake. Apparently, the severity of his crimes was not enough to earn more drastic condemnations from the bizarre, hypocritical justice of the Catholic Church.

[astrid]

Apologies if this has already been posted...

http://www.vatileaks.com/_blog/Vati_Leaks/post/Vatican_loses_fight_to_keep_sex_files_secret/

Vatican loses fight to keep sex files secret,

"After six years of American court appeals by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to keep 30,000 pages of internal, sealed files of priesthood sex crimes out of public scrutiny, the State Supreme Court recently ordered their release, and the documents became public for the first time. They make for startling reading, soul-jarring and shocking, an incontrovertible record of brutal and heartless rapes committed by 122 Roman Catholic priests who presented themselves to the world as the earthly agents of God. These files are a remarkable archive of criminal behaviour condoned by the Holy See, and are disturbing to read. Ray Boucher, the lead attorney for plaintiffs, said that what is revealed in the files is ‘chilling’, and ‘the irony in all of this’, he added, ‘is that in their vain attempts to protect the image of the church, they’ve tarnished it beyond repair’. Upon reading the unsealed documents, an anonymous Vatican official said that the Los Angeles Catholic priesthood ‘left a wake of devastation that is hard to comprehend’."

The released files can be accessed at the following web address:

http://clergyfiles.la-archdiocese.org/listing.html

Beyond repair is right, if we aren't looking at the beginning of the end for the Vatican, i would be very surprised.

[Ouroboros]

From the BBC

Vatican may bring forward conclave for next pope

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/65924000/jpg/_65924710_cardinalsap.jpg

The Vatican is considering calls from cardinals to hold a papal conclave earlier than planned, after Pope Benedict XVI steps down on 28 February.

Church officials want a successor to be in place before the start of Holy Week on 24 March - the most important event in the Christian calendar...

More here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21483138

Who is technically the (figure)head of the catholic church between Feb 28th and March 24th? I wonder what their roll might entail over this period?

[giovonni]

My thanks to all here who contribute and follow this thread ... :welcome:

***********

When Pope Benedict XVI steps down, who will run the Vatican ?

http://media.cleveland.com/world_impact/photo/12294050-large.jpg

VATICAN CITY -- As of 8 p.m. on Feb. 28, Pope Benedict XVI will no longer be pope and the Vatican will go into "sede vacante" mode -- a Latin expression that means that the seat of St. Peter is vacant.

So who's in charge until a new pope is chosen? The "interregnum" between two popes is governed by ancient rituals and by institutions half forgotten even within the Vatican...

Read more - http://www.cleveland.com/world/index.ssf/2013/02/when_pope_benedict_xvi_steps_d.html

***

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Holysee-arms-A.svg/150px-Holysee-arms-A.svg.png More here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_Secretary_of_State

[giovonni]

the latest unraveling ...

***********

Britain's senior Catholic cleric resigns ...
Cardinal Keith O'Brien steps down but rejects claims by three priests and a former cleric of inappropriate behaviour ...
Read and view video report here - http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/02/20132251114433842.html

[giovonni]

Just in time for the Easter rush ... http://www.cool-smileys.com/images/bunny2.gif

Hmm ... makes me wonder perhaps the new pope has already been chosen ... http://factoryjoe.s3.amazonaws.com/emoticons/emoticon-0112-wondering.gif


***********

From the BBC

Pope Benedict XVI amends Roman Catholic conclave law


Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during his last Angelus noon prayer, from the window of his studio overlooking St Peter's Square, at the Vatican (24 Feb 2013) The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI is to take effect on Thursday
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/66060000/jpg/_66060807_66060804.jpg

Pope Benedict XVI has amended Roman Catholic church law so that the conclave selecting his successor can be brought forward, the Vatican says... Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21573157

[giovonni]

http://www.htmlforums.com/images/smilies/Judge.gif


GUILTY !

Final Verdict is Rendered in First Common Law Court Case against the Vatican and Canada for Genocide


Pope, Queen and Canadian Prime Minister found Guilty of Crimes against Humanity and Sentenced to Twenty Five Year Prison Terms


Court Orders them to Surrender by March 4 or face Citizens' Arrests ...

Read more here - http://itccs.org/

[Wookie]

Just in time for the Easter rush ... http://www.cool-smileys.com/images/bunny2.gif

Hmm ... makes me wonder perhaps the new pope has already been chosen ... http://factoryjoe.s3.amazonaws.com/emoticons/emoticon-0112-wondering.gif


***********

From the BBC

Pope Benedict XVI amends Roman Catholic conclave law


Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during his last Angelus noon prayer, from the window of his studio overlooking St Peter's Square, at the Vatican (24 Feb 2013) The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI is to take effect on Thursday
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/66060000/jpg/_66060807_66060804.jpg

Pope Benedict XVI has amended Roman Catholic church law so that the conclave selecting his successor can be brought forward, the Vatican says... Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21573157

I prefer Zombie Jesus Day to Easter
http://galactecha.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/zombie_pope.jpg

Peaceful Journeys Wookie

[astrid]

That Matthew Fox, has some serious courage,
also from his bio...

"In 2005, when Cardinal Ratzinger was made pope, Fox went to Martin Luther’s church in Wittenberg,
Germany and pounded 95 contemporary theses at the door to call people to a New Reformation.
Knowing Ratzinger well from a protracted battle with him over the years in his role as chief inquisitor of our day,
Fox wanted to alert people to what the future held. Six years later, after documenting the ongoing evolution of
that future in The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled The Church And How It Can Be Saved,
Fox repeated his protest, nailing his 95 Theses outside of Cardinal Law’s Basilica in Rome to call attention to the corruption in the Vatican."

I like this guy, we need more like him.

[Murray]

From Red Ice Radio -

Tom Horn - Hour 1 - Papal Resignation, Petrus Romanus & Exo Vaticana
February 21, 2013
Thomas Horn is an internationally recognized lecturer, radio host and bestselling author of several books including his newest books, Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope Is Here. He returns to Red Ice to discuss the recent abdication of Pope Benedict the 16th and the prophecy of the final pope, "Peter the Roman," whose reign would end in the destruction of Rome. The pope of lists from St. Malachy's heralds the beginning of "great apostasy" followed by "great tribulation" sets the stage for the imminent unfolding of apocalyptic events. According to this prophecy, the next pope will be a false prophet who leads the world's religious communities into embracing a political leader known as Antichrist. We’ll discuss the reformation of the Catholic Church and how, whoever seats the throne of the papacy, might take a more active part in the disclosure of the reality of extra-terrestrial life. In the member’s hour, we discuss UFO sightings, Rome, Astrotheology and who ET’s really are. Will it be as Arthur C. Clarke portrayed in Childhood's End where ET’s will be part of the cleanup crew to save us and restore order after disastrous events have occurred? If so, how participatory is the Vatican is in this potential plan? Are they passive onlookers, or are their intricately involved in the planning and revealing of the post ET world?

dzYCBgxl7cw

This is the NY times article mentioned - link (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/world/europe/pope-benedict-xvi-says-he-will-retire.html?pagewanted=all)

In which it states -


That the resignation was long in the planning was confirmed by Giovanni Maria Vian, the editor of the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, who wrote on Monday that the pope’s decision “was taken many months ago,” after his trip to Mexico and Cuba in March 2012, “and kept with a reserve that no one could violate.”

Interesting interview.

[mojo]

Murray thanks for posting Tom's latest interview. I found it interesting that Tom speculates in the interview that there will be a terrorist attack during the conclave and that the next Pope will reveal the existence of ET. He uses the Zohar to prove the speculation.

[araucaria]

As Joseph Farrell says, when prophecies come true, the prophets are the ones steering the agenda - or words to that effect.

The prophecies of Malachi would be a whole lot more persuasive if the clergy had not had access to them from the getgo.

Unscientific.

Joe Ratzinger clearly gave the game away. He had no connection with the Benedictines announced in the motto, so his getout was to take the name Benedict.

How very convenient.

Other cases are more complex, but this is essentially how it works.

Edit: correction 13 March: I have since learnt that Ratzinger's birthday, 16 April, is the feast of St Benedict Joseph, hence presumably the name Joseph, and the name Benedict. This rather puts a different complexion on the matter, I have to admit.:o

[giovonni]

http://www.gloria.tv/image/smiley-swiss-50x44.gif http://www.gloria.tv/image/smiley-cardinal-48x31.gif http://www.gloria.tv/image/smiley-swiss-50x44.gif

***********


Ex-pope will have ‘pontiff emeritus’ title: Vatican

By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, February 26, 2013 7:35 EST

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Pope-Benedict-XVI-via-AFP.jpg

Pope Benedict XVI will have the official title of “pontiff emeritus” after he resigns on Thursday — the first leader of the Catholic Church to do so since the Middle Ages, the Vatican said.

Benedict can be addressed as “Your Holiness”, can continue wearing his white papal cassock and will have the title of “Roman Pontiff Emeritus”, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said Tuesday.

Source page: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/26/ex-pope-will-have-pontiff-emeritus-title-vatican/

[UpToLight]

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone's name TARCISIO gives anagram ISCARIOT. JUDAS ISCARIOT was one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus. He is infamously known for his kiss and betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief Sanhedrin priests in exchange for a payment of thirty pieces of silver coins. His place among the Twelve Apostles was later replaced by Matthias. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Iscariot)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Cardinal_tarcisio_bertone.JPG

[giovonni]

Pope Benedict will have to give up his custom 'red shoes' ... But will get to keep his custom brown pair made during his trip to Mexico...

Apparently his dancing days are over ... :eyebrows:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/2486118-3x2-700x467.jpg

***********


Benedict to get new title, lose ring and red shoes

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2013/02/26/gty-161711507-x-large.jpg
A cardinal kisses Pope Benedict XVI's ring at the Vatican. / Franco Origlia, Getty Images

Pope Benedict XVI will soon be the world's first prelate to be known as "His Holiness Benedict XVI, Roman pontiff emeritus."

Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi announced Tuesday that after the 8 p.m. close of business at the Vatican Thursday, Benedict loses his Swiss Guard (they're only for the acting pope) and gives up his papal ring (it will be smashed).

He keeps the white cassock but bye-bye to fashionista's favorite touch, the red shoes.

Instead, Benedict will shift to a pair of brown shoes he was given on the 2012 papal visit to Mexico, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

More than 50,000 tickets have been requested for his final general audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday. Thursday, he meets with cardinals and civil dignitaries.

Then, just three hours before the end of the papacy, Benedict will take a helicopter off to Castel Gandolfo, the papal retreat outside Rome, where he will greet the public.

The retired archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, who is going to Rome for Thursday's farewell but is too old to vote in the conclave, said Tuesday that the cardinals will meet for eight to 10 days of advisory talks before they begin the conclave.

That information went out on a tweet from a London Catholic paper, The Tablet. But there will be no tweeting from the Sistine Chapel. "Conclave" means "to lock with a key" and the cardinals will be sealed off from social media once they enter.

Source page: http://news.cincinnati.com/usatoday/article/1948065?odyssey=mod_sectionstories

[Cognitive Dissident]

Murray thanks for posting Tom's latest interview. I found it interesting that Tom speculates in the interview that there will be a terrorist attack during the conclave and that the next Pope will reveal the existence of ET. He uses the Zohar to prove the speculation.

Part 2 of this interview is especially interesting. Tom's basic thesis is that the Vatican has always been aware of ET's presence and is now preparing theologically to be the leading "ET friendly" religion in the post-disclosure world. These events will play out over the next few years.

Tom's next book, Exo Vaticana, goes into all of this and will be available in April. This looks like an issue well worth following. His website is at http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/

[Calz]

Pope Benedict will have to give up his custom 'red shoes' ... But will get to keep his custom brown pair made during his trip to Mexico...

Apparently his dancing days are over ... :eyebrows:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/2486118-3x2-700x467.jpg




jsaTElBljOE


Click your ruby red slippers together 3 times pontiff and repeat

"There's no place like jail"

"There's no place like jail"

"There's no place like jail"


ooM-RGUTe2E


http://media.urbandictionary.com/image/large/pope-25524.jpg

"There's no place like jail"

[meeradas]

But will get to keep his custom brown pair made during his trip to Mexico...

bH3HsZHe_AI

[giovonni]

SO BE IT ... :wizard:

pope benedict departs vatican ...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd2OSQBUMqE


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFVpbijCYXE

[giovonni]

will share this here ...




From William Henry ...

"I hope you'll enjoy my REVELATIONS interview with Nanette Crist, who shares vital insight into the Last Pope prophecy. If you thought Judgment Day meant the end of the world, guess again. We've just entered the passage that will take us to an astounding future in which millions of ordinary people do something extraordinary for humanity. Find out what it is in this interview" ...

***

http://www.unknowncountry.com/sites/all/themes/admire_gray/revelations-view.jpg

Wednesday February 27, 2013

The Pope and the Comet
The pope’s sudden and shocking resignation sent millions flocking to the 12th century Prophecy of St. Malachy, which predicted that there would be 112 popes after it was written, and the current pope is the 111th. The last pope, who will in some way be connected with the name Peter and the city of Rome, will be the last pope prior to the final judgment and the destruction of Rome.

Today’s guest, Nanette Crist, is an authority on how the Prophecy of St. Malachy is connected to Edgar Cayces prophecies, and Nostradamus’s quatrain about the appearance of a great star that some believe could be comet ISON.

Nanette is also world famous as the artist of one of the most lifelike paintings of Jesus ever known. It has been validated by many visionaries. Most recently, she is Executive Producer of the film, White Buffalo, She spent the past year interviewing Native American elders on their prophecy for this time. Nanette’s decades of experience in the alternative science and metaphysical community have put her way beyond the ordinary in terms of knowledge and understanding.

Listen here - http://www.unknowncountry.com/revelations/latest

[giovonni]

persecution or prosecution ?

***********

Via ~ the Schwartz Report

Were Early Christians Really Persecuted? Historian Reveals the Surprising Truth ...

http://www.alternet.org/files/styles/story_image/public/story_images/biblecross.jpg

The sense of persecution that is part of the DNA of Christianity begins here. I have to admit this story stunned me. Perhaps like you I had seen the early Christian period as a time of persecution and martyrdom. But I spent some time looking into this, and I think Professor Candida Moss' work is solid, and is destined to be the accepted view. We need to reconsider this period through a very different prism.

LAURA MILLER, Senior Writer - Salon/AlterNet (U.S.)

In the immediate aftermath of the Columbine High School massacre, a modern myth was born. A story went around that one of the two killers asked one of the victims, Cassie Bernall, if she believed in God. Bernall reportedly said 'Yes” just before he shot her. Bernall’s mother wrote a memoir, titled 'She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall,” a tribute to her daughter’s courageous Christian faith. Then, just as the book was being published, a student who was hiding near Bernall told journalist Dave Cullen that the exchange never happened.

Although Candida Moss’ new book, 'The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom,” is about the three centuries following the death of Jesus, she makes a point of citing this modern-day parallel. What Bernall truly said and did in the moments before her death absolutely matters, Moss asserts, if we are going ...

Read More - http://www.alternet.org/belief/were-early-christians-really-persecuted-historian-reveals-surprising-truth?akid=10113.267705.03O6iG&rd=1&src=newsletter801060&t=11&paging=off

[giovonni]

will share this here ...

***********

Note ~ this is comes via William Henry who is (was) on pilgrimage in Assisi, Italy ...

The simplicity and humbleness that was (is) Francis of Assisi ...


Cardinals are gathering in Rome to select the next/last Pope who will usher in Judge Jesus. In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, an Argentine, said the next pope should not be chosen according to a geographic area but must be a “saintly man” qualified to lead the Church in a time of crisis. Good luck to the church in its quest to discover another Francis of Assisi who can harmonize all the world's spiritual traditions and open the gate to our enlightened age.

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/601587_10151545765300903_746252853_n.jpg

While in Assisi I took a photo of Francis' cloak. When I first saw it I was hit with a blast of energy that opened my high-heart to throat area. The only other place I've had that experience is in Egypt, especially with statues of Sekhmet. Personal items of advanced spiritual beings, such as Francis, hold the holy vibration of these beings. Every time I look at the photo the same energy hits me in the same place.

Perhaps Francis's cloak should be put on display in front of the Vatican as a reminder of the spiritual potential within all of us. IMHO Francis’ empty cloak would be a better teacher than what the Pope has demonstrated recently.

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/166777_10151545769780903_1033397475_n.jpg

[MorningSong]

Latest news on Italian TV....103 of the 115 eligible Cardinals for the papalcy are already present at the Vatican... The Conclave could begin on the 11th of March.

http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/News/Cronaca/Vaticano-cardinali-riuniti-per-preparare-il-Conclave-Mancano-ancora-12-elettori_314243658619.html

I just ran into this about the "congregation" meetings that are being held at the Vatican right now...


Cardinals want to be briefed on secret report
by Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY | Mon Mar 4, 2013 12:22pm EST

(Reuters) - Catholic cardinals in a closed-door meeting ahead of the election of a new pontiff want to be briefed on a secret report into leaks about alleged corruption and mismanagement in the Vatican, a senior source said on Monday.

More than 140 cardinals began preliminary meetings to sketch a profile for the next pope following the shock abdication of Pope Benedict last month and to ponder who among them might be best to lead a church beset by crises.

The meetings, called "general congregations," are open to cardinals regardless of age, although only those under 80 will later enter a conclave to elect a pope from among themselves.

The source, a prelate over 80 who was present at Monday's meetings, said the contents of the report came up during the morning session but declined to say if the requests to be briefed were made in the formal sessions or informal coffee break discussions or both.

"They want to be briefed on the report," said the cardinal, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "But it is a very long report and technically it is secret".

The report was prepared for Benedict, who is now "Pope Emeritus," by three elderly cardinals who investigated the so-called "Vatileaks" scandal last year. The three are attending the preliminary meetings but will not enter the conclave.

Paolo Gabriele, the pope's butler, was convicted of stealing personal papal documents and leaking them to the media. The documents alleged corruption and infighting over the running of its bank. Gabriele was jailed and later pardoned by Benedict.

Benedict decided to make the report available only to his successor but one Vatican official said the three elderly cardinals who wrote it could "use their discernment to give any necessary guidance" to fellow cardinals without violating their pact of secrecy about its specific contents.

At two news conferences on Monday, both the Vatican spokesman and two American cardinals refused to be drawn on the report and whether cardinals had asked to be briefed on it.

SECRECY

Specific matters discussed at the preliminary meetings are covered by secrecy.

"Certainly, there can be various members of the college of cardinals who want information they feel is useful or pertinent to the situation of the curia," spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said, referring to the central Vatican administration.

Chicago's Cardinal Francis George was equally coy when asked if cardinals wanted to be briefed on the report.

"As far as the state of the church here in Rome is concerned, I would imagine that as we move along there will be questioning of cardinals involved in the governing of the curia to see what they think has to be changed and in that context anything can come up," George said at a separate news briefing.

Cardinals will be using the meetings this week to get to know each other and decide when to start a conclave to choose a man to lead the 1.2 billion-member church.

The Vatican appears to be aiming to have a new pope elected next week and officially installed several days later so he can preside over the Holy Week ceremonies starting with Palm Sunday on March 24 and culminating in Easter the following Sunday.

"The thing that is in the back of all our minds, I think, is Holy Week. We'd like to be done before Holy Week starts, have a pope, and we all go back to our dioceses," George said.

High on the agenda at the general congregations will be the daunting challenges facing the next pontiff, including the sexual abuse crisis in the church and the Vatileaks scandal.

"We need a man of governance, by that I mean a man who is able with the people he chooses to help him in an intimate way to govern the church," Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the former Archbishop of Westminster in London, told BBC radio.

"Among the things we will be talking about out here are precisely the need in looking for a new pope for these failings that have happened again to be treated, to be faced strongly."

The cardinals will hold one or two meetings a day. The date of the conclave will be decided after all the 115 cardinal electors arrive. Twelve still had not arrived by Monday.

It is widely expected to start next week.

The crisis involving sexual abuse of children by priests and inappropriate behavior among adult clerics continues to haunt the church and has rarely been out of the headlines.

One elector - Cardinal Keith O'Brien - quit as Edinburgh archbishop last week and pulled out of attending the conclave because of accusations that he behaved inappropriately with priests and seminarians in the past.

He at first denied the allegations but on Sunday issued a statement apologizing that "my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal".

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/04/us-pope-succession-idUSBRE92208420130304

[MorningSong]

Cardinal talks expected to last longer than other conclaves
March 5, 2013 7:47 AM

(CBS News) By late Tuesday all but one of the 115 voting cardinals are expected to be in Vatican City, but there are already signs that the process of electing a new pope may take longer than it has in the recent past.

The cardinals have taken an oath of secrecy, but CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips reports that sex abuse, claims of corruption, and the future of the Church are high on the agenda. Job number one, however, is electing a new leader.

Some cardinals arriving in Vatican City needed bodyguards to force their way through the waiting press just to get to the "congregations" -- meetings to discuss the problems of the Church, and where it needs to go next.

Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet says the search for a new pontiff has already widened.

"There was a focus on Europe obviously for centuries and centuries, and that someday, I think, someday it is to be expected that a pope would come from Asia, would come from Africa, would come from America," he said. "It wouldn't be a surprise. Nowadays it wouldn't be a surprise."

The Sistine Chapel was formally closed to tourists Tuesday to prepare it for the secret vote. Special urns for the electoral cardinals' ballots were put on display.

The cardinals may have to huddle there for longer than the 1.8 days they averaged over the last six conclaves.

"I think we are just feeling our way right now in trying to determine what is the best way for us to proceed," said Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., noting that, "there are many of us in this conclave who were not in the last one, so this is all uncharted water for many of us."

A recurring theme is the sex abuse scandals. Scotland's Cardinal Keith O'Brien has already recused himself from the conclave over charges of sexual misconduct, and the pressure group Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) wants more cardinals to do the same.

"It's hard, I would think, for Catholics and it certainly is hard for victims to have faith in this process knowing that many of the men involved are morally compromised," said SNAP director David Clohessy.

It's unlikely that he and his organization will get succeed in getting any more cardinals to skip the conclave, but several have said the problem must feature high on the agenda of choosing a new pope.

The cardinals all seem to agree the new pope will have to be both a good manager and an effective pastor. As religion writer and analyst Thomas Reese put it, they're looking for "Jesus with an MBA."

A new CBS News/New York Times poll finds that as the cardinals meet, American Catholics are optimistic about Pope Benedict's successor. Among those polled, 74 percent of Catholics expressed at least some confidence that the College of Cardinals will select a pontiff who will be in touch with the needs of Catholics today, including 29 percent who have a great deal of confidence. That's a drop from 2005, however, just before Benedict was elected.

See the vid at link:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57572514/cardinal-talks-expected-to-last-longer-than-other-conclaves/

[giovonni]

can you guess which one ... http://factoryjoe.s3.amazonaws.com/emoticons/emoticon-0136-giggle.gif

***********

Phony Bishop: German Imposter Sneaks into Vatican

http://cdn2.spiegel.de/images/image-468665-breitwandaufmacher-mfvq.jpg

German church officials on Tuesday distanced themselves from the man who infiltrated a meeting of cardinals at the Vatican by masquerading as a bishop, saying he can't be trusted. This isn't the first time the self-proclaimed bishop and "Jesus yoga" proponent has caused a kerfuffle...

More here - http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/german-imposter-sneaks-into-vatican-as-fake-bishop-a-886950.html

[MorningSong]

Another hint is dropped on "who will be the next Pope"...yet something doesn't add up in this article.... notice the chronology of orders discussed:


Pope's Tailor Ordered to Prepare Clothes for Three Tall Europeans
Published March 01, 2013

The official tailor for the pope said Thursday he received orders from the Vatican to prepare three different sizes of mitres, or ceremonial papal hats, and regalia for the next pope, specifically designed for tall European men.

“They have ordered robes for three tall people measuring anywhere between 5’8 and 6 feet tall. None of them are Latino, they are European,” said Luis Abel Delgado, the official papal tailor from his small apartment in Cali, Colombia. His home is decorated with photos of him with Pope Benedict XVI and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

"I had to do three different mitres and I started a while ago because making just one takes time and you have to do them right away for whoever is elected. Equally, I have five made for everyone,” Delgado said.

As the tailor for former Pope Benedict XVI, Delgado, 44, explained he had no idea the pope was going to resign weeks after the Vatican ordered the clothes to be made...


http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2013/03/01/next-pope-to-be-tall-tailor-prepares-clothes-for-three-tall-men/

[giovonni]

Thanks ~ Aileen (MorningSong) :hug:

It is real convenient that you live in country (Italy) at this time...

Your kinda like our unofficial forum's Vatican reporter ... http://boards.buffalobills.com/images/smilies/meanie.gif

[MorningSong]

Just in:


Vatican: Conclave seen starting early next week
last update: March 08, 16:38

Vatican City, 8 March (AKI) - Catholic cardinals were expected Friday to set a date for the election of Benedict XVI's successor early next week, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said.

For a new pope to be elected , 77 votes are needed from the 115 cardinals taking part in the conclave, Lombardi told journalists at a briefing.

Cardinals from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Italy are seen as having the best chance.

US cardinal Donald Wuerl in an interview Friday with Italian daily La Stampa predicted the conclave would not be brief, however, saying there was still "no clear choice" of candidate.

Britain's largest bookmaker William Hill has secretary of state Tarciso Bertone (Italy) in a lead with a quote of 9/4 overtaking countryman Angelo Sodano and Ghana's Peter Turkson.

About half the cardinal-electors (60) are European - 21 of those being Italian - and many have worked for the Vatican government or Curia, in Rome.

Sixty-seven of the cardinal electors were appointed by Benedict and 48 by his predecessor John Paul II.

Cardinals on Friday were holding their seventh round of pre-conclave and prayers talks at the Rome that have taken place since Monday. 

The last "general congregations" in 2005 took three days, and the delay reflects the many issues facing the Catholic Church, observers say.

The discussions are held under an oath of secrecy, but Italian newspapers have published what they say are leaked details of the debate on the church's current problems including the Curia and the Vatican bank.

Last year European regulators said the bank was not doing enough to combat money laundering, while corruption and infighting in the Vatican was revealed by documents leaked by Pope Benedict's butler.

During Benedict's reign the Catholic Church was wracked by a worldwide scandal over the sexual abuse of children by priests.

There are also tensions between traditionalists and reformers over issues including priestly celibacy, gay rights and the role of women.

http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/English/Religion/Vatican-Conclave-seen-starting-early-next-week_314259464399.html

Italian news RAI says the Conclave will begin on March 12, after the morning mass.


Reuters Top News ‏@Reuters

PAPAL CONCLAVE TO START ON AFTERNOON OF TUESDAY, MARCH 12 FOLLOWING MORNING MASS #breaking

https://twitter.com/Reuters

[giovonni]

From the BBC ...

Los Angeles archdiocese pays $10m to settle abuse cases ...

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/66356000/jpg/_66356773_8d5059c1-d1eb-44db-8a3a-94b5491c37b1.jpg

The Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles is to pay out nearly $10m (£6.7m) to settle four cases of sexual abuse by a former priest, Father Michael Baker.

Recently released files show Cardinal Roger Mahony knew the priest had abused but put him back into ministry, where he is alleged to have abused again.

The settlement comes as the cardinals of the Catholic Church are meeting to select a new pope following the abdication of Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Mahony is at the conclave...

Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21765850

[778 neighbour of some guy]

That is a start, i hope the other tens of thousands of victims will receive the same and strip the church of all their stolen and robbed assets, now they only have to find a way to bring the murdered, butchered, raped and tortured hundreds of millions of native inhabitants of the world back to life, not to mention those who got scared into submission by threath of everlasting pain, suffering and guilt in hell if they should not comply, just saying sorry will not do the trick imho, I consider everybody who became an active member of the clergy someone who chooses to be oblivious of their bloody past guilty by association.


I assume they know their history, would you for example join the National Socialist party with knowledge you have now, become a Maoist or Stalinist or join any war effort, would you support Nuclear or fossil fuel now we know there are alternatives?

I sure hope not.

IMO after 2000 years of repression they now owe the world 2000 years of reparations.

But hey who tf am I, right?

[giovonni]

will share this here...

via the Schwartz Report ...

***********

If the Dalai Lama Were Pope ...

http://truth-out.org/images/2013_0306da_.jpg

This piece illustrates for me the difference between religion (The Roman Catholic Church) and spirituality.

I was stunned to learn, and checked and it is correct: "Less than five percent of money flowing through Catholic charities and hospitals comes from Catholic offering plates. Powerful Christian organizations have secured government funds to underwrite" their costs.

This essay gave me pause and made me think, and I hope it does the same for you.

VALERIE TARICO - truthout

Despite Vatican efforts to keep the public eye focused on pomp and circumstance, speculation about the real reason for Pope Benedict’s resignation dominates conversation about the papal succession: Is it the Vatileaks money laundering? Is it the pedophilia scandal? Might it have something to do with criminal charges filed in European courts? How about the impact of all three on Catholic Church coffers and pews? Is this about immunity or power or finances or brand management?

The Vatican claims to promote a “comprehensive culture of life,” but it is the Church’s comprehensive culture of corruption that refuses to die. Consider yesterday’s scandal in which Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien, resigned amid allegations of sexual contacts with priests. Last year O’Brien had called marriage equality a “grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right.” In fact, in 2012, he received a “bigot of the year” award from the British gay rights group, Stonewall. The combination makes him a poster boy for the notion that homophobia is a symptom of denial. Methinks he doth protest too much...

Read more - http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/14967-if-the-dalai-lama-were-pope

[giovonni]

The new guy ... who is what else ~ a Jesuit :(

Francesco the 1st ~ alias ~ Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina

http://c.o0bc.com/rf/image_590c400/Boston/2011-2020/2013/03/01/Boston.com/Metro/Images/Argentina%20Bergoglio.JPEG-0d0b9.jpg

[Selene]

Giovanni, you totally hit it: St. Francis. Nice prescient call. And a great thread.

Cheers,


will share this here ...

***********

Note ~ this is comes via William Henry who is (was) on pilgrimage in Assisi, Italy ...

The simplicity and humbleness that was (is) Francis of Assisi ...


Cardinals are gathering in Rome to select the next/last Pope who will usher in Judge Jesus. In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, an Argentine, said the next pope should not be chosen according to a geographic area but must be a “saintly man” qualified to lead the Church in a time of crisis. Good luck to the church in its quest to discover another Francis of Assisi who can harmonize all the world's spiritual traditions and open the gate to our enlightened age.

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/601587_10151545765300903_746252853_n.jpg

While in Assisi I took a photo of Francis' cloak. When I first saw it I was hit with a blast of energy that opened my high-heart to throat area. The only other place I've had that experience is in Egypt, especially with statues of Sekhmet. Personal items of advanced spiritual beings, such as Francis, hold the holy vibration of these beings. Every time I look at the photo the same energy hits me in the same place.

Perhaps Francis's cloak should be put on display in front of the Vatican as a reminder of the spiritual potential within all of us. IMHO Francis’ empty cloak would be a better teacher than what the Pope has demonstrated recently.

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/166777_10151545769780903_1033397475_n.jpg

[Gardener]

Hi Selene, thank you for posting your picture of St.Francis' cloak, I can imagine that was quite an experience. :)
Now this new guy is supposed to be quite humble, and a champion of the 'poorest' but with strongly orthodox views. Well we shall see. Maybe he identifies with the humility St Francis, I doubt that anyone with real humility would want to call themselves Francis after the saint, it is somewhat presumtuous, and self important. As the saying goes, 'we are seldom as good or as bad as we think we are' I think it was Gurdjieff who said it.

By their fruits we shall know them.

[Selene]

Thanks, Gardener. The above was Giovanni’s post – and he was quoting a friend of his.

But I did, actually, have the chance to see St. Francis’s robe in Assisi myself – and it was an overwhelming experience. It “glows”. It “speaks” in an indescribable way. To be in its presence is an incredibly emotional – and very humbling - experience.

Did you know that those square patches you can barely see in the photo are patches mended onto the patches of his robe? He had only one garment. That’s all. He tended it with great humility, care and respect as he did for all life. He was truly the least – and the greatest of us all.

The garment is still suffused with his joy, peace, and continuous utter delight in all God’s creation. It speaks beyond words or experience of what we barely know. It is a great lesson.

To be in the presence of St. Francis’s energy field in the form of his robe was ….. well, it shocked me and moved me to tears. I was not expecting that, and it still teaches me.

He was the Real Deal.

Cheers,

Selene

[giovonni]

It saddens me that the church hierarchy has decided to saddle itself upon the humbled imagery of St. Francis of Assisi ...
As in naming of the new pontiff (AKA) Francis I ...

Whereas there is with no doubt (in my learned opinion) much myth attached to Francis, i still can't believe some of the stuff that being posted about his public life. Even on a sadder note, some so called enlighten ones out there (who i have respected) are taking shots at the so named saint.

Remember folks ~ there is no one who is amongst us who walks upon this plane, who isn't without some human frailty. :(

***********

Francis begins his challenging papacy with humility

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/66378000/jpg/_66378505_66378191.jpg

Pope Francis has spent his first day at the helm of the Catholic Church meeting the people of Rome ahead of a Sistine Chapel Mass with cardinals later...

After private prayers at the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, he crossed the road to a local school to meet children and commuters heading to work...

Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21781125

[Gardener]

Oops my mistake, sry to both of you, another late night is my excuse lol. But in actual fact had I been a fully conscious being I would not have made it. :o



Giovani--->Remember folks ~ there is no one who is amongst us who walks upon this plane, who isn't without some human frailty.

So much to learn so little time!

Yes it seems that the name is being anchored to the new pope with the Francis imagary of humility for public influence of thinking. Sigh.

[giovonni]

Thank you posting my Friend :)

Blessings Gio

[learninglight]

Think this belongs here :)

New Pope Tied to Argentina’s Dirty War

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires who was elected Pope by the papal conclave on Wednesday, was intimately involved in Operation Condor’s “Dirty War” in South America.

A product of Chile’s DINA secret police and five other national security states in Latin America — Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – Operation Condor was an intelligence operation designed to monitor, assassinate and disappear leftist dissidents who threatened the bankster economic operation in South America.

The brutal dictator of neighboring Chile, Gen. Augusto Pinochet, went so far as to export his murder operation to the United States. On September 21, 1976, a former minister of the Chilean Allende government — overthrown in a CIA sponsored coup — was murdered on the streets of Washington, D.C., along with his American aide, Ronni Moffitt.

Business Insider mentions an article by Hugh O’Shaughnessy posted on the London Guardian website on January 4, 2011. He takes the Catholic Church to task for the role it played in Operation Condor and, ultimately, the disappearance and murder of over 30,000 South Americans. He cites Argentine author Horacio Verbitsky, who documented the summary execution of thousands of political dissidents. The preferred method of murder was to push dissidents from airborne Argentine military planes into the waters of the Rio de la Plata or the Atlantic Ocean.

[Verbitsky] recounts how the Argentine navy with the connivance of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, now the Jesuit archbishop of Buenos Aires, hid from a visiting delegation of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission the dictatorship’s political prisoners. Bergoglio was hiding them in nothing less than his holiday home in an island called El Silencio in the River Plate. The most shaming thing for the church is that in such circumstances Bergoglio’s name was allowed to go forward in the ballot to chose the successor of John Paul II. What scandal would not have ensued if the first pope ever to be elected from the continent of America had been revealed as an accessory to murder and false imprisonment.

Biographer, Sergio Rubin, described Bergoglio’s behavior not so much as complicity as pragmatism. “Rubin said failing to challenge the dictators was simply pragmatic at a time when so many people were getting killed, and attributed Bergoglio’s later reluctance to share his side of the story as a reflection of his humility,” the Associated Press reported on Wednesday after the 76-year old “austere Jesuit intellectual” was elected pontiff.

Moreover, a human rights lawyer, Myriam Bregman, tried to bring Bergoglio to court for the role he allegedly played in the betrayal of two Jesuit priests kidnapped and handed over to an Argentine death squad. The priests were instructed “to leave their pastoral work” following divisions within the Society of Jesus, a Catholic order controlled by the Argentine elite. The Jesuits made the fatal mistake of criticizing the Catholic Church and its close relationship to the military junta (see Michel Chossudovsky‘s article on Pope Francis and the connection to Operation Condor and the Dirty War).

“Bergoglio twice invoked his right under Argentine law to refuse to appear in open court, and when he eventually did testify in 2010, his answers were evasive,” El Mundo reported in November, 2010

Read mire here : http://www.globalresearch.ca/new-pope-tied-to-argentinas-dirty-war/5326816

Sharon

[giovonni]

Thanks for sharing Learninglight ...

It does appear the new pontiff has been living something other than what the church hierarchy wants us to see and believe ...
Perhaps the image portrayed of him living a simple life as a humble cleric, really doesn't reflect him living as a loving and holy priest ?

[giovonni]

the latest damage control from the Vatican ...

***********

Vatican denies Dirty War allegations against Pope ...

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/66420000/jpg/_66420318_flag_getty.jpg

The Vatican has denied that Pope Francis failed to speak out against human rights abuses during military rule in his native Argentina.

"There has never been a credible, concrete accusation against him," said Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi, adding he had never been charged.

The spokesman blamed the accusations on "anti-clerical left-wing elements that are used to attack the Church".

Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, led Argentina's Jesuits under the junta.

Correspondents say that like other Latin American churchmen of the time, he had to contend, on the one hand, with a repressive right-wing regime and, on the other, a wing of his Church leaning towards political activism on the left...

Read more here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21802684

[ExomatrixTV]

MwOV8QF9d88

[giovonni]

MwOV8QF9d88

Thanks for sharing ~ John :thumb:
ExomatrixTV ~ http://www.youtube.com/user/EX0MATRlXTV


Researchers influenced ExomatrixTV meeting Bill Cooper 1993 London Global Deception Conference!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc1m-JNRyjU

[giovonni]

CrossTalk: Pope Francis


Published on Mar 15, 2013

"Pope Francis has been elected as the new leader of the Catholic Church. Is he the right man for the job? Will he be the one to recover the Church's reputation? And what kind of reform is needed, if any? CrossTalking with Myra Poole, Diane Dougherty and John-Henry Westen."


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqDbDkv1MMQ&feature=em-uploademail

[giovonni]

some heavy stuff ...

***********

Jesuit Pope Agenda – Meet The Templars, Knights of Malta And Blackwater/Xe Exterminators

http://www.zengardner.com/wp-content/uploads/new_pope_francis_the_black_jesuit_pope__1289141.jp g

by Zen Gardner

Mining for the Truth is like digging at the decrepit body of manipulated worldly information for real substance. A pile of petrified insanity, we’re chipping away at it until inner forms are revealed. That the new Pope is a Jesuit, the first one ever, is a very big deal. The Jesuits are no small force. People think they resemble innocuous Franciscan monks who focus on education.

Nothing could be further from the truth. They are the polar opposite. Of the worst sort.

Beware this new Pope. His roots are nasty and we’re in an age of increasing darkness and violence. This ruthless, militant Jesuit “society” has one hellish oath that should get you wondering and researching real fast...

Continue reading here - http://www.zengardner.com/jesuit-pope-agenda-meet-the-templars-knights-of-malta-and-blackwaterxe-exterminators/

[giovonni]

Criminal - a definition - A person who has committed a crime (an offense) against society.

Though i am extremely empathic towards those who have suffered physical and sexual abuse... For one to perpetrate it (again) against others of innocence in response to their suffered abuse, is not acceptable. Until this plague upon the human condition is eliminated (if even possible)... It is (and should always be) the responsibility of human society to protect all children from this evilness... Even at the cost of incarcerating those who cannot contain (control) this behavioral pattern.

giovonni

***********

From the BBC ...

'Paedophilia not criminal condition' says Durban cardinal ... http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/66427000/jpg/_66427932_66427906.jpg

The Catholic Archbishop of Durban, Wilfrid Fox Napier, has described paedophilia as a psychological "illness, not a criminal condition".

The South African cardinal told the BBC that people who were themselves abused as children and then abused others needed to be examined by doctors.

He was one of 115 cardinals who took part in the conclave at the Vatican to elect Pope Francis earlier this week...

Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21810980

[giovonni]

Argentina Debates Pope's Political Past

By MATT MOFFETT

BUENOS AIRES—After the initial national euphoria over the election of an Argentine pope, a debate over Pope Francis' actions during the 1970s military dictatorship has brought old scars to the surface of Argentina's society.

At issue is what the new pope did, or didn't, do to oppose the brutal juntas that ruled from 1976 and 1983, and, more specifically, what he did in the case of two priests from his order who were arrested and held for months in a torture center.

A prominent leftist journalist, with close ties to the current populist government, has denounced the pontiff for complicity in the case and for a broader failure to take a more vocal role in opposing abuses of the era. But in an authorized biography, published three years ago, the pope denied betraying the priests and said he "moved like crazy" to win their release...

Continue reading - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324532004578362632464607740.html?m od=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLE_Video_second

[araucaria]

Argentina Debates Pope's Political Past

By MATT MOFFETT

BUENOS AIRES—After the initial national euphoria over the election of an Argentine pope, a debate over Pope Francis' actions during the 1970s military dictatorship has brought old scars to the surface of Argentina's society.

At issue is what the new pope did, or didn't, do to oppose the brutal juntas that ruled from 1976 and 1983, and, more specifically, what he did in the case of two priests from his order who were arrested and held for months in a torture center.

A prominent leftist journalist, with close ties to the current populist government, has denounced the pontiff for complicity in the case and for a broader failure to take a more vocal role in opposing abuses of the era. But in an authorized biography, published three years ago, the pope denied betraying the priests and said he "moved like crazy" to win their release...

Continue reading - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324532004578362632464607740.html?m od=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLE_Video_second

Thank you Giovonni. Speking in general terms, I find the relentless search for the truth can sometimes lead us away from the compassionate values that we also hold dear. I have no idea as to the 'truth' of this case, but I listen to one of the two priests quoted in the above article when he says:


Father Jalics, the other kidnapped priest, issued a statement from Germany, where he lives: "I have nothing to say about the role of Father Bergoglio in these events."
He said after his release, he and Father Bergoglio once celebrated Mass together and "formally embraced each other. "I have found my peace with these events and, as far as I am concerned, have closed this chapter."

[giovonni]

And thank you araucaria ... :thumb:

In regards to the process of healing and releasing all the untold harm that has come about via the Roman Catholic Church, i myself have had to personally deal with the findings and discovery of new information still coming forth...

Recently my friend Alfred Webre posted an item in regards to St. Francis of Assisi ....
Though i feel most of it is historically true, i don't buy all of it via my personal research.

here is the article post in question...

http://cdn.ucadia.net/images/one-evil.org/images_navigation_people_large/people_13_Francis_of_Assisi.jpg

Evil People
Francis of Assisi

Read here - http://one-evil.org/content/people_13c_francis_of_assisi.html

__________________________________________________ _____________________


Here is a brief exchange between Alfred and myself in regards to his posting it on facebook:

Gio Vonni sorry ~ Alfred ~ don't buy it :)

Gio Vonni ~ Whereas there is with no doubt much myth attached to Francis life, i can't believe your posting this stuff !

Gio Vonni ~ Note ~ i do agree the new pope is of much questionable past behavior.

***

Alfred Lambremont Webre III Gio Vonni - Hi! Sorry the Search for the Truth makes you squeamish :)

Alfred Lambremont Webre III I HAVE ONE WORD FOR THE PAPACY, THE VATICAN = DISGUSTING :)

***
Gio Vonni ~ Alfred, i lived as a Franciscan ~ Some were holy and some not so holy... But what makes me squeamish is any one who tries to paint the church (the world) as either all good or bad. Remember Alfred ~ there is no man or women who walks upon this plane, who isn't without some human frailty. Blessings Gio

***
Alfred Lambremont Webre III Thank you Gio. I am not after the Church, but the Papacy and the Vatican, which is different from the communion of the faithful, as you know. I actually had a personal peak experience at Assisi, Italy, especially when I climbed the tower there and saw the frescos. The Papacy and the Curia/Vatican is a usurpation of the communion of the faithful first by the Roman empire and then by the monarchs/bloodline bankers, and must be exposed, IMHO. In Light, Alfred

***
In closing, i have to admit Alfred is totally correct and right in proclaiming all must be exposed to the light.

giovonni

[MorningSong]

So, ex-Pope Ratzinger was to take a back seat to leading the Church, huh? This was done before he left:


Pope Benedict changes rituals for new pope's inauguration
Written by Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
Friday, 22 February 2013 13:16

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has ordered several changes to the Masses and liturgies that will mark the inauguration of the next pope's pontificate.

Rites and gestures that are not strictly sacramental will take place either before a Mass or in a ceremony not involving Mass, Msgr. Guido Marini, master of papal liturgical ceremonies, told the Vatican newspaper Feb. 22.

One of the most visual changes, he said, would be the restoration of the public "act of obedience" in which each cardinal present at the pope's inaugural Mass comes forward and offers his allegiance.

When Pope Benedict celebrated his inaugural Mass in 2005, 12 people were chosen to represent all Catholics: three cardinals, a bishop, a diocesan priest, a transitional deacon, a male religious, a female religious, a married couple and a young man and a young woman recently confirmed.

Marini said Pope Benedict personally approved the changes Feb. 18; they include offering a wider choice of traditional Mass prayers in polyphony and chant, rather than the new musical repertoire composed for the 2005 book.

After having personally experienced the liturgical rites drafted by Marini's predecessor — and approved by Pope Benedict immediately after his election — the Pope suggested "a few changes aimed at improving the text" of the rites for the beginning of a pontificate, formally known as the "Ordo Rituum pro Ministerii Petrini Initio Romae Episcopi."

The changes, Marini said, "follow in the line of the modifications made in papal liturgies" over the course of Pope Benedict's papacy.

The previous edition of the ritual handbook also called for the new pope to visit the basilicas of St. Paul Outside the Walls and St. Mary Major within two or three weeks of his installation. The new book, Marini said, leaves it up to the new pope to decide "when it would be most opportune, even at some distance from his election, and under what form he judges best, whether it be a Mass, a celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours or a particular liturgical act" like the one found in the 2005 ritual book.

On the other hand, in an e-mail response to questions, Marini told Catholic News Service that no significant modifications had been made to the "Ordo rituum conclavis," the book of rituals, Masses and prayers that accompany the conclave to elect a new pope.

[giovonni]

Thanks Aileen ...

Changing masses ... or pledging allegiances ~ won't sure up this floundering institution ...

i sense back seat driving is probably optional with this Vatican State vehicle ... :rolleyes:

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRxnxGevaLijLsbtUpr8G6-Ewi9RCtRIvt7ocRSoADyMW70iwVw

[MorningSong]

The news is palpitating with news about the new Pope.... such a "breath of fresh air"..... his sermons are repeated every hour.... I'm almost convinced myself that there might be something "good" in this.... lol

I just saw this article on the reason the Italian Cardinals were poo pooed..... and on the "new government" he will be forming..... change is definately in the air... will it be "good"?


Italy sighs as unholy alliance scuppers the home favourite for pope, Angelo Scola

Infighting between senior Italian cardinals repelled Church figures from overseas
Rome

Thursday 14 March 2013

That many Italians – both inside and outside the holy city – were hoping for a return to a “traditional” Italian pontificate after a gap of 35 years is not in doubt.

The Italian Bishops Conference had even prepared a message congratulating the Italian favourite, Angelo Scola, which, to much amusement, it sent out in error on Wednesday evening.

But within hours of cardinals entering the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday afternoon to begin the laborious task of electing a new pope, it was clear the knives were out for Cardinal Scola, the Archbishop of Milan.

Cardinal Scola, the bookies’ choice and leader of the Catholic world’s largest diocese, was surprised, if not a little shocked, to have been beaten by an unfancied Argentinian Cardinal in the very first round, according to La Stampa’s Vatican correspondent. Jorge Mario Bergoglio didn’t have enough votes for outright victory, but by then, the die was cast.

An unholy alliance between two other Italian grandees, Tarcisio Bertone and Angelo Sodano, who by all accounts can’t stand each other, had set the ball rolling for Cardinal Bergoglio. Overseas conclave members determined to put and end to the warring Italians’ stranglehold on the Curia joined in. When the pragmatic and powerful American grouping led by New York’s Timothy Dolan backed the Argentinian’s cause it was all over for Cardinal Scola. Leading Vaticanologist Massimo Franco spoke for many pundits this morning when he said years of infighting between senior Italian cardinals had repelled Church figures from overseas. Instead, Pope Francis represented a fresh start – and a more global, inclusive Church. That fresh start needs a new government. Pope Francis’s most important appointment will be that of secretary of state – effectively prime minister to the Pontiff’s supreme monarch.

Choosing the occupant of this powerful post takes on a special significance this time around, given the dreadful mess the last Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, is considered to have made of it. Cardinal Bertone was seen to have accumulated too much power over the Vatican’s finances for himself and close associates, as well as presiding over the Holy See’s calamitous diplomatic relations, which in the past two years have broken down with Beijing and Dublin.

His power and the number of enemies he made – including powerful figures such as Cardinal Scola and Cardinal Sodano – were said to be at the heart of the infighting that has riven the Vatican in the reign of Benedict XVI.

Holy See spokesman Federico Lombardi said today that Francis might ask for the current Vatican administration to remain in place – but only for a few weeks to allow himself breathing space. Vatican expert Gerard O’Connell, who writes for La Stampa’s Vatican Insider noted: “He’s only just been elected. All his things are in Argentina. There’s holy week coming up. We can’t expect much to happen before Easter.”

But he was in no doubt that soon after Pope Francis would shake up the Roman Curia, the Vatican’s sclerotic administrative body. Mr O’Connell said under the new Pope there would be “a very new style of government” and that his new secretary of state – and de facto premier – “would be a very different sort of person”. He added: “Francis will lead by example. He will say to people, ‘We’re here to do the work of the gospel, not to promote ourselves’.” He also noted that some fresh faces and even some surprises might lie in store for the musty corridors of the Holy City.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italy-sighs-as-unholy-alliance-scuppers-the-home-favourite-for-pope-angelo-scola-8535348.html

[araucaria]

The news is palpitating with news about the new Pope.... such a "breath of fresh air"..... his sermons are repeated every hour.... I'm almost convinced myself that there might be something "good" in this.... lol

I just saw this article on the reason the Italian Cardinals were poo pooed..... and on the "new government" he will be forming..... change is definately in the air... will it be "good"?


Italy sighs as unholy alliance scuppers the home favourite for pope, Angelo Scola

Infighting between senior Italian cardinals repelled Church figures from overseas
Rome

Thursday 14 March 2013

That many Italians – both inside and outside the holy city – were hoping for a return to a “traditional” Italian pontificate after a gap of 35 years is not in doubt.

The Italian Bishops Conference had even prepared a message congratulating the Italian favourite, Angelo Scola, which, to much amusement, it sent out in error on Wednesday evening.

But within hours of cardinals entering the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday afternoon to begin the laborious task of electing a new pope, it was clear the knives were out for Cardinal Scola, the Archbishop of Milan.

Cardinal Scola, the bookies’ choice and leader of the Catholic world’s largest diocese, was surprised, if not a little shocked, to have been beaten by an unfancied Argentinian Cardinal in the very first round, according to La Stampa’s Vatican correspondent. Jorge Mario Bergoglio didn’t have enough votes for outright victory, but by then, the die was cast.

An unholy alliance between two other Italian grandees, Tarcisio Bertone and Angelo Sodano, who by all accounts can’t stand each other, had set the ball rolling for Cardinal Bergoglio. Overseas conclave members determined to put and end to the warring Italians’ stranglehold on the Curia joined in. When the pragmatic and powerful American grouping led by New York’s Timothy Dolan backed the Argentinian’s cause it was all over for Cardinal Scola. Leading Vaticanologist Massimo Franco spoke for many pundits this morning when he said years of infighting between senior Italian cardinals had repelled Church figures from overseas. Instead, Pope Francis represented a fresh start – and a more global, inclusive Church. That fresh start needs a new government. Pope Francis’s most important appointment will be that of secretary of state – effectively prime minister to the Pontiff’s supreme monarch.

Choosing the occupant of this powerful post takes on a special significance this time around, given the dreadful mess the last Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, is considered to have made of it. Cardinal Bertone was seen to have accumulated too much power over the Vatican’s finances for himself and close associates, as well as presiding over the Holy See’s calamitous diplomatic relations, which in the past two years have broken down with Beijing and Dublin.

His power and the number of enemies he made – including powerful figures such as Cardinal Scola and Cardinal Sodano – were said to be at the heart of the infighting that has riven the Vatican in the reign of Benedict XVI.

Holy See spokesman Federico Lombardi said today that Francis might ask for the current Vatican administration to remain in place – but only for a few weeks to allow himself breathing space. Vatican expert Gerard O’Connell, who writes for La Stampa’s Vatican Insider noted: “He’s only just been elected. All his things are in Argentina. There’s holy week coming up. We can’t expect much to happen before Easter.”

But he was in no doubt that soon after Pope Francis would shake up the Roman Curia, the Vatican’s sclerotic administrative body. Mr O’Connell said under the new Pope there would be “a very new style of government” and that his new secretary of state – and de facto premier – “would be a very different sort of person”. He added: “Francis will lead by example. He will say to people, ‘We’re here to do the work of the gospel, not to promote ourselves’.” He also noted that some fresh faces and even some surprises might lie in store for the musty corridors of the Holy City.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italy-sighs-as-unholy-alliance-scuppers-the-home-favourite-for-pope-angelo-scola-8535348.html

As I was saying on the Here&Now thread, I think this guy needs all the positive energy people like us can give him. This is what will empower him to perform the tasks we would like to see done. He has adopted a path similar to John Paul the First and we need to make sure the promise of March becomes concrete action in April and May and beyond, rather than see a remake of 1978 which led to the 35 years that we have just experienced.

[giovonni]

Many years ago i knew a Franciscan priest (from Argentina) who studied papal law, who once conveyed to me of the deep reverence the Franciscan Order evoked from the masses of followers from the South American continent...

With nearly 43 percent of the 1 billion Catholics faithful worldwide... there should be no real surprises into why (especially during this time) the name Francis was chosen.

***********


What’s in a papal moniker http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01394/VATICAN_POPE1_1394249f.jpg

When Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio took the name Francis on being elected the 267th Pope of the Catholic Church on Wednesday, the Jesuit from Buenos Aires was only following a papal tradition that began in AD 533 with Mercurius who chose the name John II.

Mercurius changed his name as he felt that his baptismal name was that of a Roman god and it would not augur well for a pope to be known by that name. Since then, all popes except Adrian 1V (1522 to 1523) and Marcellus 11 (1555) have changed their baptismal names and took the names of their predecessors, mentors or saints during their pontificate.

It’s decision tied up in history and tradition, and it has more than a little symbolic value. In papal tradition, newly elected pontiffs choose a name to identify themselves during their reigns. A papal moniker offers an early indicator of what his papacy might be like and it will reflect his own personal spirituality.

That Pope Francis has chosen a new name may signal that he wants to lead the church into a new chapter. Many see it as a tribute to St. Francis of Assisi, the 13th century saint who lived in poverty and heard a voice to “rebuild the Church.” Pope Francis being a Jesuit, the name could also be a reference to Francis Xavier, a co-founder of the Jesuits in the 16th century.

John was the most common name used by popes over the years. As many as 23 popes have taken the name. The names Gregory and Benedict have been chosen by 16 popes each. Fourteen popes have chosen the name Clement, Leo (13), Innocent (12), Pius (12), Stephen (9), Urban (8), Alexander (7), Adrian (6), Paul (6), and Martin (5), Nicholas (5) and Celestine (5). Four popes each have been known by the names Anastasius, Eugene, Sergius, and Honoriu.

The last pope to inaugurate a name was John Paul I, in 1978, who did so in honour of his two immediate predecessors, John XXIII and Paul V1.

He died 33 days later to be succeeded by John Paul II, a name taken in his honour by the Pole Karol Wojtyla.

Saint Peter the Apostle was the first pope and no pope after him had chosen the name Peter. They include even popes John X1V and Sergius 1V who had their baptismal names as Peter.

Telesphorus, Eleutherius, Zephyrinus, Eutychian, Miltiades, Hormisdas, Zosimus, Symmachus, Simplicius, and Vigilius are some most unique papal names.

Interestingly, it was the first pope Peter who remains the longest serving pope. According to the Catholic Encyclopaedia, he reigned for 35 years (Ad 32 to 67). But after that, it was Pope Pius IX (1846 to 1878) who was the longest serving pope, 31 years and seven months. Pope John Paul 11, who passed away in 2005, was the third longest serving pope: 26 years and 5 months.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/whats-in-a-papal-moniker/article4508851.ece

[giovonni]

Via ~ Alfred Lambremont Webre's ~ EXOPOLOTICS

Pope Francis: His Jesuitical, Extraterrestrial, “False Prophet”, and Political Identities

http://exopolitics.blogs.com/.a/6a00d8341c73dd53ef017ee96a4200970d-320wi

VANCOUVER, BC - Already controversial within hours of his nomination to the Papacy, Argentine-born Pope Francis I has now been identified by informed hermeneutics researchers as the possible "Petrus Romanus" or "False Prophet" of the Book of Revelation.

March 13 is a significant date, both in Exopolitics and in the hermeneutical interpretation of Pope Francis ...

Read more - http://exopolitics.blogs.com/exopolitics/2013/03/informed-hermeneutics-researchers-identify-argentinian-pope-francis-1-as-possible-petrus-romanus-or-.html

[araucaria]

Maybe Bergoglio made mistakes 35 years ago, I don’t know; someone says he merely lacked courage, I don’t know. Should we all be powerless to act today on account of mistakes we may have made 35 years ago? I hope not!

He makes a masonic hand sign. So what? He is a Jesuit, a conservative, so what? He has offered to help the poor, let us make sure he does that. He has got the leverage to do more good than any of the rest of us, if we put his mind to it. If he does nothing else, so what?

He corresponds to the prophesied ‘Petrus Romanus’ figure: so, do we really want to play out this ancient scenario to the bitter end? We can stop the whole thing right now.

We’ve been hearing from Carol Rosin for 20 years that the false alien invasion threat was the last card to be played. But remember who her source was. If we can overlook the fact that Wernher von Braun was a Nazi, can’t we give the pope a little slack?

Etc. etc.

[noxon medem]

..
-

Please, give the new Pope a chance ...
( where is J. Lennon when you need him ..)

He might just represent a different timeline
( the origin of jesuits are strong, but humble ..).

&
Be well

..
-

PS. ( Possibly Some music )


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqrypsYtHkE[/url]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqrypsYtHkE
Give Peace A Chance - John Lennon & Plastic Ono Band - Toronto 1969

:- )

[giovonni]

araucaria

i would like to believe what you say...

But not until i see a real conversion within the church itself ~ Say for starters finally allowing women full and equal membership (priesthood)... As well as fully implementing the true spirit of Vatican II !

Note ~ until i see some real change in Rome, i will remain a skeptic and a distracting force against its wayward ways. As i said before, during my religious vocational period 'i witnessed some men that were holy and then some who weren't so holy ... It is up to the new Pope Francis, to prove which path he will lead the faithful unto down or heavenly upward ?

[Lifebringer]

There goes the candlestick, not even the new POPE will be able to stop Christ.

[giovonni]

From my ancestral family home of San Giovanni of Flora Italia ~ a tidbit on my namesake ...

Hopefully this might help some here understand 'where i am coming from and going' ... :)


Joachim of Fiore, also known as Joachim of Flora and in Italian Gioacchino da Fiore (c. 1135 – March 30, 1202), was the founder of the monastic order of San Giovanni in Fiore. He was a mystic, a theologian and an esoterist. His followers are called Joachimites.

The mystical basis of his teaching is his doctrine of the "Eternal Gospel," founded on an interpretation of the text in Revelation xiv, 6.

His theories can be considered millenarian; he believed that history, by analogy with the Trinity, was divided into three fundamental epochs:

The Age of the Father, corresponding to the Old Testament, characterized by obedience of mankind to the Rules of God;

The Age of the Son, between the advent of Christ and 1260, represented by the New Testament, when Man became the son of God;

The Age of the Holy Spirit, impending (in 1260), when mankind was to come in direct contact with God, reaching the total freedom preached by the Christian message. The Kingdom of the Holy Spirit, a new dispensation of universal love, would proceed from the Gospel of Christ, but transcend the letter of it. In this new Age the ecclesiastical organization would be replaced and the Order of the Just would rule the Church. This Order of the Just was later identified with the Franciscan order by his follower Gerardo of Borgo San Donnino.

According to Joachim, only in this third Age will it be possible to really understand the words of God in its deepest meanings, and not merely literally. He concluded that this age would begin in 1260 based on the Book of Revelation (verses 11:3 and 12:6, which mention "one thousand two hundred and sixty days").[2] In this year, instead of the parousia (second Advent of Christ), a new Epoch of peace and concord would begin, thus making the hierarchy of the Church unnecessary.

Joachim distinguished between the "reign of justice" or of "law", in an imperfect society, and the "reign of freedom" in a perfect society.The mystical basis of his teaching is his doctrine of the "Eternal Gospel," founded on an interpretation of the text in Revelation xiv, 6.

His theories can be considered millenarian; he believed that history, by analogy with the Trinity, was divided into three fundamental epochs:

The Age of the Father, corresponding to the Old Testament, characterized by obedience of mankind to the Rules of God;

The Age of the Son, between the advent of Christ and 1260, represented by the New Testament, when Man became the son of God;

The Age of the Holy Spirit, impending (in 1260), when mankind was to come in direct contact with God, reaching the total freedom preached by the Christian message. The Kingdom of the Holy Spirit, a new dispensation of universal love, would proceed from the Gospel of Christ, but transcend the letter of it. In this new Age the ecclesiastical organization would be replaced and the Order of the Just would rule the Church. This Order of the Just was later identified with the Franciscan order by his follower Gerardo of Borgo San Donnino.

According to Joachim, only in this third Age will it be possible to really understand the words of God in its deepest meanings, and not merely literally. He concluded that this age would begin in 1260 based on the Book of Revelation (verses 11:3 and 12:6, which mention "one thousand two hundred and sixty days").[2] In this year, instead of the parousia (second Advent of Christ), a new Epoch of peace and concord would begin, thus making the hierarchy of the Church unnecessary.

Joachim distinguished between the "reign of justice" or of "law", in an imperfect society, and the "reign of freedom" in a perfect society. [3]


As i have come to call it ~ the new age of the christconsciousness :)

Obviously Joachim was a bit ahead of his time but offsetted a bit... Most probably due to the Church's patriarchal hierarchy hijacking and misinterpreting the true message and meaning of the 'the word' of God from His flock.

Please note:

Pope Alexander IV condemned his writings and those of his follower Gerardo of Borgo San Donnino and set up a commission that in 1263 at the Synod of Arles declared Joachim's theories heretical.

More here ~ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/explanation/joachim.html

also here - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08406c.htm

[sunflower]

Joachim's theory makes sense to me. Anyone condemned for heresy deserves a second glance.

[UpToLight]

Via ~ Alfred Lambremont Webre's ~ EXOPOLOTICS

Pope Francis: His Jesuitical, Extraterrestrial, “False Prophet”, and Political Identities

http://exopolitics.blogs.com/.a/6a00d8341c73dd53ef017ee96a4200970d-320wi

VANCOUVER, BC - Already controversial within hours of his nomination to the Papacy, Argentine-born Pope Francis I has now been identified by informed hermeneutics researchers as the possible "Petrus Romanus" or "False Prophet" of the Book of Revelation.

March 13 is a significant date, both in Exopolitics and in the hermeneutical interpretation of Pope Francis ...

Read more - http://exopolitics.blogs.com/exopolitics/2013/03/informed-hermeneutics-researchers-identify-argentinian-pope-francis-1-as-possible-petrus-romanus-or-.html



New World Pope = New World Order?

[araucaria]

Via ~ Alfred Lambremont Webre's ~ EXOPOLOTICS

Pope Francis: His Jesuitical, Extraterrestrial, “False Prophet”, and Political Identities

http://exopolitics.blogs.com/.a/6a00d8341c73dd53ef017ee96a4200970d-320wi

VANCOUVER, BC - Already controversial within hours of his nomination to the Papacy, Argentine-born Pope Francis I has now been identified by informed hermeneutics researchers as the possible "Petrus Romanus" or "False Prophet" of the Book of Revelation.

March 13 is a significant date, both in Exopolitics and in the hermeneutical interpretation of Pope Francis ...

Read more - http://exopolitics.blogs.com/exopolitics/2013/03/informed-hermeneutics-researchers-identify-argentinian-pope-francis-1-as-possible-petrus-romanus-or-.html



New World Pope = New World Order?

That is the kneejerk inference that this kneejerk piece of journalistic trash is designed to produce. We can do better than that.

[araucaria]

araucaria

i would like to believe what you say...

But not until i see a real conversion within the church itself ~ Say for starters finally allowing women full and equal membership (priesthood)... As well as fully implementing the true spirit of Vatican II !

Note ~ until i see some real change in Rome, i will remain a skeptic and a distracting force against its wayward ways. As i said before, during my religious vocational period 'i witnessed some men that were holy and then some who weren't so holy ... It is up to the new Pope Francis, to prove which path he will lead the faithful unto down or heavenly upward ?

Giovonni, I disagree that you can sit back and believe something when you see it: if everyone does that, then it ain’t gonna happen. This in my opinion is the mechanism for giving one’s power away, as opposed to focused intention, which correctly applied by such a large number, could make the papacy the most powerful force for good on this planet. See my posts below.





@Flash...who wrote:

"Strange that you link this to slavery Ulli, aren't we in a global planetary slavery right now?
If so, how can we expect the Elite or PTB or dracos to give us any freedom?
The door opening through them, i doubt it.
Their hand may have to be forced.
It makes me think of someone once telling me it was karma, and I answered that my karma was to stop her.
The job has to be done by us, wishfull thinking or magical happenings are not enough to have people as deeply ingrained in their ownerships change at what seems the flip of fingers. Lots of work usually is done prior by the slaves."To be honest, I think this is debatable. While there are definitely signs of slavery
there are also signs of freedom, and of possibility of escape,
as well as of "slave masters" who are generously offering amnesty.
There are many good people in positions of power who have the best of mankind at heart.
Who are loving and sincere.
Not only is the elite made up of 'black hats' and 'white hats',
but within each member there is a mixture of goodwill and need for personal survival.

No one person has all the power, and those who are identified with institutions
usually have less power than someone who has escaped the trappings of
material society, with it's status symbols, and lives a simple life.

For good example of a mixture of oversimplistic attitudes to good and bad in people, especially those with power, take the former Cardinal Bergoglio. As a Jesuit (bad), there is doubt over his role during the dark years in Argentina: maybe he didn’t protect some of his left-leaning order, who disappeared. So there were Jesuits on both sides of that conflict – this means that whatever side you take, some Jesuits are good people.



For some, the new pope is a good man, who looks after the poor and lives a simple personal life, taking the animal-lover Francis of Assissi as his role model. For others, if he is in that top job, then he cannot be a good man. And they will likely discover that Berg in German means mountain and oglio in Italian means eye, put two and two together and decide that he is the eye on the pyramid. They will likely speculate that he was smuggled away to Argentina in a U-boat at the end of the war as a 9-year-old fascist.

Let me put a more positive slant on all this. The major issue this time around was choosing between a pro-Curia cardinal and a reformist. The Curia are called the Romans, so the Petrus Romanus scenario could have been any one of those guys getting in; so possibly choosing a reformist from the other side of the planet was the best answer to derailing the apocalyptic game plan and inflicting an unexpected defeat on the divided Romans.

Given that the plan was/is to destroy the Church, it is worth looking at why we might want to preserve it in some form, and how it might be turned more unambiguously into a force for good. One obvious area of competence is prayer. When they say the conclave is inspired by the Holy Spirit, it means that over a hundred people gathered together with a single common focus, and with countless millions outside also focusing on that purpose, the outcome will be the right one for that particular situation. These are large-scale Intention experiments that didn’t wait for Lynne McTaggart to call them that. Hence choosing a pope is something that just about everyone is involved in to some extent, regardless of their views on popery: might as well do it consciously and positively. Since, regardless of our views on leadership, leaders do provide leadership to many (including many who claim otherwise), better have good leaders providing good leadership; which is done by using the same focus that got them elected to guide them every step of the way. A good leader knows that they are not towing people behind him, they are being pushed.


This is how it works, and has been working up till now. Ratzinger got in on this principle and was thrown out on this principle, when he no longer had this spiritual constituency to carry on. The mechanics of his resignation in relation to this or that scandal or agenda are ultimately irrelevant details. Collectively we went to the brink, had a good look down, and have now stepped back.






Pursuing my thoughts on leadership in an earlier post. If the leader is acting out on behalf of/driven by the grassroots, then we may take the counterintuitive view that politicians of late have been no exception, and have continued to fulfill voters’ expectations. As these expectations approached zero and worse, they have behaved accordingly. We do not get the leadership that we deserve or want, we get the leadership that we expect.

The key then is to expect what we really want (and deserve). This is a form of the ‘naïve optimism’ that is so decried on this forum and that some of us see rather differently. It cannot be truly naive since it is conscious. It is actually ‘sophisticated innocence’, which only sounds like an oxymoron to the extent that we haven’t fully understood the concept.

How do we get from where we are to where we want to be? Well some sophisticated innocents have been voting in a few politicians like forum member Simon Parkes, who are already acting upon these positive expectations. As our expectations gradually increase, their performance will follow. This will be so, just as surely as the same principle has so far applied in the opposite direction: the more corrupt we can imagine our politicians to be, the more corrupt they have shown themselves to be.

Unfortunately, I am not sure that forums like Avalon, yes Avalon, have turned this corner yet.

[giovonni]

araucaria

Good luck with that 'happening' thing' ...

And as far as sitting and waiting ... i've done (served) enough time within this dying institution to come to the realization that when its foundations were laid in Rome, it was not organized solely for the purpose of spreading the words of Christ Jesus ... In my shared opinion, there was and still is a very sinister set alternative agenda ?

Note - i heeded a call many years ago from within (prompted by a priest calling from the alter pew) responding to the outcry from the public media in regards to the onslaught of reported molestations within the Catholic Church then in the U. S. the pastor said that quote "if we (the congregation) felt disturbed- disgusted and disgruntled by these claims and accusations, then we should get up and do something about it." ... i later contacted that priest and informed him of my interest in his challenge, he seem annoyed and spoke briefly with me, he informed me that he was preparing leave to go on a vacation and did not have the time to talk with me. note, i did find a priest and congregation in assisting me in my pursuit... And soon not long after, i did begin a vocation within the church. Though it did not take long for me to see and realize that the change could not (would not) come from inside the institution, it had to come from the church's faithful (its members ) too finally say enough of this sickness. the Universal Catholic Church, is (and has acted) very much like a dysfunctional family, and we all (especially us adults) must finally end this sickness and denial.

The Catholic Church was (is) founded and based on the life and teachings of Christ Jesus. His 'Word' needs no building nor institution too shelter its truth. Those faithful who have learned-practiced and heeded that constant truth need never fear. It is those who have concealed the whole truth within the darkness from the light of day (in Jesus name) must deal with their deceitful ways. For the veil of unbelief is finally being lifted from upon this world... We as spiritual beings living as human beings are (and have always been) the true intended god like temples Christ Jesus first preached about.

***********

The latest from Argentina ...

Pope Francis was often quiet on Argentine sex abuse cases as archbishop

http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_404h/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2013/03/18/Foreign/Images/AP090610023211.jpg

HURLINGHAM, Argentina — Father Julio Cesar Grassi was a celebrity in the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. The young, dynamic, ­media-savvy priest networked with wealthy Argentines to fund an array of schools, orphanages and job training programs for poor and abandoned youths, winning praise from Argentine politicians and his superior, Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Grassi called his foundation Felices los Niños, “Happy Children.” ...

Read more - http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/pope-francis-was-often-quiet-on-argentine-sex-abuse-cases-as-archbishop/2013/03/18/26e7eca4-8ff6-11e2-9cfd-36d6c9b5d7ad_story.html?wpmk=MK0000200

[araucaria]

Thanks Giovonni,
I have seen some of the good and the bad in the Church and personally have no position to defend or objective to attain in this whole business. Ultimately some stage might be erached when the institution has outlived its usefulness - some would say it has already done so, others would say it was a mistake from the outset. I am not saying they are wrong.

The point is: it is no good for a problem solver to be saying 'I wouldn't have started from here'. This is where we are at, and so this is the starting point for getting wherever we are going. That is the best anyone can do, and also the least.

Thank you again for all your posts and best wishes to you.

[giovonni]

will share this here... for your inspection ...

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From The Corbettreport Report ...



Bitter Past: Pope Francis and Argentina's Dirty War

Published on Mar 19, 2013

Last week over a billion Catholics around the world watched as the Vatican conclave elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the next Pope. But now, as researchers like Professor Michel Chossudovsky of the University of Ottawa are pointing out, Bergoglio's past points to his likely involvement in crimes against humanity. This is the GRTV Feature Interview with your host James Corbett and our special guest Professor Michel Chossudovsky.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqM3WeRl7Z4&feature=em-uploademail

[araucaria]

Giovonni, you've been thanked 16,666 times, so I shan't thank you again, you're a bit of a devil yourself I see;)

It seems there is not one just man left on this planet. So, do we resign ourselves to the Sodom & Gomorrah scenario again, or do we try and clean up the mess with the less than perfect personnel that we all are? In an emergency, you cannot afford to have people in handcuffs sitting around doing nothing. You never know, if you forgive, they just might do something that makes you forget.

Also, we might pause to think that amid all the mudslinging there is a certain amount of collateral damage. Some people for instance think 'Bill Ryan, ah yes, Serpo', or 'Bill Ryan, scientology, enough said'. Here on Avalon, we know that view to be mistaken.

There are a whole lot more Bill Ryans out there.