Well, that explains it. They weren’t just pedophiles, they were profoundly stupid.
[A] retired Catholic Archbishop in the US is claiming in a soon-to-be-published memoir that he did not comprehend the potential harm to young victims or understand that the priests had committed a crime.
Said Rembert G Weakland: “We all considered sexual abuse of minors as a moral evil, but had no understanding of its criminal nature.”
Weakland, who retired in 2002 after it became known that he paid $450,000 in 1998 to a man who had accused him of date rape years earlier, said he initially: “Accepted naively the common view that it was not necessary to worry about the effects on the youngsters: either they would not remember or they would ‘grow out of it’.”
Weakland’s critics allege that, when he was Archbishop of Milwaukee, he had tried to cover up some of the widespread abuse that had taken place in the diocese – in particular by overseeing an evaluation in 1993 of Father Lawrence Murphy, one of those prosecuted for abuse.
I can’t believe you guys keep feeding the troll.
#47 – You are absolutely right. I’m heading to the bathroom now to give birth to another Alfred and then flush it.
Its very simple in law
Ignorance of the law is not an excuse
On top of that these were moral figures of great respect in their communities who most times used their power to threaten and coerce their young victims into acceptance
What this all shows is their culture and how all of this is perfectly acceptable as it has done for eons and most likely directed at them as well
40. “Its fun not being a drone…”
Well, your purely subjective and “do what ever I feel like” moral system sure keeps you and other Christians from being drones. I can’t imagine having absolutely no objective moral structure to live under. Free to kill whomever you wish, based merely on whatever feels right at the moment. Free to unleash ad homnium attacks on anyone trying to find the answers, merely to make yourself feel big.
Thinking about your “do what ever I feel like” life, I can’t help but feel sorry for you and your fellow Christians. Maybe some day you’ll find the moral certainty us atheists have.
47. “I can’t believe you guys keep feeding the troll.”
Like we have anything better to do.
>> Canuck said, on May 21st, 2009 at 2:46 pm
>> Alphie- don’t you realize that all religion is just a scam to extract money from stupid people. Do you remember the last time you were in church? Didn’t the congregation remind you of your high school slow learners class?
What a bigot!
My church has all kinds people with PHDs — and most would be smart enough not to make such ignorant generalizations as you do.
52. “What a bigot!”
Agreed. I’ve known plenty of religious people, who despite believing that an invisible “superman” and his justice league angels actually existed, were otherwise quite intelligent.
“#40 You proved my point. I gave you a reason from my conclusion…”
So you’re arguing with yourself now?!
Alfred1 continues to demonstrate why the asylums we call “churches” aren’t always the safe places you might think they are.
Fear him, just as you should fear the god of terror that he imagines to worship. There are more like him, but less willing to unveil their thought process.
By the way, Alfred1, I don’t like it when you call other people moonbats. I am a jealous moonbat, and thou shalt have no other moonbats before me!
But, but, when HE spoke these words, millions believed HIM
“I did not have sexual relations with that…”
If we stop feeding the troll, maybe he’ll move on to the next blog.
Alfred has gone full retard on us.
#58, by judging the priest guilty of a capital crime based on your opinion that molestation is somehow equivalent to murder, and fully willing to pronounce the death penalty based on that opinion, you are worse than any activist judge I’ve seen. You wouldn’t presume to legislate from the bench — you would prefer to legislate directly out of your ass. You must really favor judicial activism, because any other position would be hypocritical.
In your eyes, the definition of “Christian” also seems to be as malleable as the law.
The world could have used your righteous protest when your god pronounced the death penalty upon tens of thousands of children, but you would have been too cowardly to raise your voice.
“#58 A straw man…I never said molestation is equivalent to murder…”
He’s doing it again! He’s arguing with himself!
Alfred1 wrote “So God will make up the difference when He casts the vile person into hell.”
There’s that god of yours again, getting way too much credit for acting with fairness and justice, which he almost NEVER showed back in the early Bible days. If you’re giving him that much credit, can’t you just trust him to make up the difference when the child grows up and dies as well?
Learn to trust your god more, Alfred1.
Then trust your god if you dare, Alfred1. As I’ve said before, the expectation of justice in the afterlife is the expectation that your god will behave very differently from the Biblical record. For a long time, he really seemed to hate the Gentiles, but after a few thousand years, he began to warm up to them. You’d better hope he doesn’t change again 😉
You go, alfred!
I must say I admire someone who stands up to his convictions in the face of such opposition.
It makes things much more interesting!
BTW, I suggest the death penalty for this monster is much too easy. Let him live a long life sharing a cell with a victim of this kind of abuse.
Karma. What goes around comes around.
i’m glad my parents never made me go
to church.
-s
#69 soundwash, when I’m reincarnated, I hope my new parents don’t make me go to church. Indoctrination was a real bitch the first time, but I can’t imagine having to go through it all over again 😉
#40
After reading #37 and reading your pathetic response, I’d have to say that Alfred’s underside must hurt from the whiping of his tail between legs. We need a new level of “owned”. You were SN’d my friend. Hmm…still working on it.
#53
Nice! Do they wear their underwear on the outside of their spandex?
#58
So much for forgiveness. Christians are about as consistent as the weather.
I’ll give Alfred this, he’s as entertaining as a train wreck. “Logic be damned, God’s will (as I see him/she/it) will be done!”
#66
> Who says God won’t
> make it up to the
> child in the afterlife”
Now there is some sound logic. “Don’t feel bad Johnny. Just because the preacher bent you over, the Lord will give you extra scoops of ice cream in the afterlife.”
So comforting. So, I’m curious Alfred1 (thankfully there is only one), why the secular punishment? Why care if he gets the chair, life imprisonment or a spa date at the local resort? If “all” will be resolved in the end in the afterlife or by the Easter Bu…eh..your deity, why care about frying this sick bastard? It seems very un-Christian. AFAIK, your silly fairy tale states that your deity should handle such matters, not man.
#20 even if every church is a scam (im sure there are a few genuine, (the church of reality for example)) that doesnt make all other religion a scam.
#23 im not saying what should happen, im sayin what i think this guys deserves. seeing as im so sick, what do you think child abusers deserve? a pat on the back? do you abuse kids?
#72 you are correct that as a christian he should not judge this guy as that is up to God. However, Alfred is allowed to have an opinion of punishment as long as he doesn’t enforce it. From a religious point of view, God will judge this man, so us humans shouldn’t, but, if he is still considered a threat to society then he should be seperated from society to protect future potential victims.
I still think that he deserves to have his face broken in so that he can experience abuse himself.
Hey! He’s already been awarded the BRDDA for this quarter. BubbaRay can’t do much more. Maybe Hop can make it an exacta and award the UKKMA.
Or perhaps Hop’s waiting for a more propitious moment. Time will tell.
#58, Alfie, “is sounds like victory.” For someone who has no knowledge of grammar or spelling, you certainly have a way with words. FAIL!!
The priesthood protects its own, so potential new priests won’t be discouraged from signing up. Apparently, they’re so desperate for new priests, that they never screen out bad social behavior, like pedophilia. Or they’d be turning away new candidates in large numbers. We don’t expect priest to be flawless. But sheesh, they could at least not be sexual predators. How can they be advising others of morality, when half the time, these priests are obsessed with committing a sin themselves? It sounds like to me that the Church is only interested in appointing priests as figureheads. And more concerned with the collecting of money.
“Rembert G WeakBrain” !!!
See the Report if Abuse by the Catholic Church in Ireland.
The “Church” IS A CRIMINAL SYNDICATE !!!
STAY AWAY !!!
It is sad that those who are supposed to proclaim love and TRUTH are the ones who use this to mask themselves and hurt the most vulnerable: the children!
“Alfie has gone full retard on us.” === Hah, hah. Makes for an entertaining read.
We are all (well, mostly all) intelligent people here. I am struck that the highest goal of intelligent people is to “become kinder.” Its a challenge for me when being an acerbic nay sayer is so much easier, but there it is. I’m just not intelligent enough to figure out how to defend Alfie’s position–not to reread it again but he’s against this priest, so he’s basically on the right side of the scale, must we demand he be right for the right reasons?—-yeah, I guess so too.
Jag–I don’t see you in this thread, yet you rate a comment from Alfie. Sorry I have missed your interactions with him and hope you are still making those most interesting links.
In the meantime, yes==all kinds of corruption will occur to any “group” that excludes the women. Be it the Muslim Religion, or the Catholics, or the local civics lodge, country club, or Fortune 500. Thats not to say they are “right” necessarily about any given issue, but you know, someone has to say molesting little kiddies is wrong even without reference to mans law. Why? Only because their little brains haven’t formed yet and activities not done in full view of the rest of society are completely suspect–kinda like the openning of Gitmo if you saw Obama yesterday. Masterful==countered by the Priest of Darkness, the Cheney One.
All Amusing. People Isolated and Cloistered believing as they do.
Alfie–stop being silly.
#27
Never an anti-semite. I am neither against the Jews nor the Arabs. But I am against liars.
Eye for an eye was REMOVED for Christians. You believe in it, you are a Jew for that not a Christian.
The Death Penalty was removed for you(Matthew 18 Parable of A Certain King), but you refuse it to be removed from others. That means the King will send you to the tormentors. Have fun.
That is Judaism that you follow. You want retribution, you want death for crimes but not for yourself, you do not keep the Two Great Commands.
Spouting scripture and adhering to the Old Way. Levite! You love your Old Wine because it tastes better. Jew, not Christian.
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