F*ck you Catholic Church (& the media)

[Fidel_Castronaut]

So has anyone else noticed how the buggering and raping of children by priests has become old news in the media?

One word that sticks in my mind is 'misdemeanor'. I've seen and heard this word repeatedly used to describe the actions of priests and other officials who have been accused or found guilty of raping children.

So my question is, when did it become acceptable for priests to do this (which it has, judging by the rhetoric). When did priests become so blasé about their behavior and their rapey ways? It's almost like the rape of kids is now just another thing. Oh those wacky priests up their old ways again! When will they learn?  

Recently the head catholic in the UK , cardinal keith O'Brien, resigned after being accused of engaging in 'inappropriate behavior' (or attempting to) with other priests and men.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21572724

Now, he's not been accused of raping children, but still, 'inappropriate' to describe the actions of a man who is quite clearly a repressed homosexual and who is in denial thanks to his religion (I suppose it was inappropriate in his church).

"Oh, they guy I just killed? Ah don't worry about it man, its was just a misunderstanding. All sorted now".

[The Skeletal Atheist]

There are times when I think priests should just get vigilante justice for their crimes, but then I remember that no matter how long it takes, it'll be much more interesting to watch once the law gets them the higher ups.

Progress has been made, though. It wasn't too long ago that this type of abuse was absolutely hidden. Now people know it happens.

[BlackL1ght]

Are these people going to face charges eventually? It seems like we just hear about this and then it fades away and nothing is done. I have never seen the headline "Priest faced 20 years for sexual abuse". I'd like to.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Well, the shock has worn off, which means that the media is moving onto other topics.

[NitzWalsh]

I've been writing my member of parliament to have some of the Canadian Cardinals arrested. But they likely won't do anything about it.

[commonsense822]

They will eventually face charges, and I'd bet somewhere in the near future.  Look at it this way.  Ever since is was first made public that priests were abusing kids, support for the church has steadily declined.  And atheism and secularism has been on the rise.  I think that we should be coming to a tipping point soon, when the public will favor throwing these pedophiles in prison rather than just being complacent towards the obvious abuse.  And once we start throwing those priests in prison, it will mark the true decline of Church.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

It ain't just the Catholics.. Take into account baptists, eviljellicals and the moronmans..among others..

[Teaspoon Shallow]

Regardless of the popularity for the belief in supernatural claims, interfering with children in this manor is illegal in these countries (as should be all but I cannot project my ideals onto all).

I don't care for your profession, you are a criminal and should be brought to justice. Anybody resisting the law official representing the people should also be charged and made public.

There are a great number of good people in the church and I have many friends who are religious.  There is also a cancer of corruption that cannot be denied and for the protection of children needs to be addressed.

(First post and its a rant #-o )

[The Skeletal Atheist]

They will eventually face charges, and I'd bet somewhere in the near future.  Look at it this way.  Ever since is was first made public that priests were abusing kids, support for the church has steadily declined.  And atheism and secularism has been on the rise.  I think that we should be coming to a tipping point soon, when the public will favor throwing these pedophiles in prison rather than just being complacent towards the obvious abuse.  And once we start throwing those priests in prison, it will mark the true decline of Church.

This. With atheism and secularism rising, particularly in the younger generations, there will come a time when having a position of religious authority won't mean shit. It may be a few decades before that time comes, but as long as information remains free on the internet I'm confident it will come. Once that time does come we'll be able to throw those fuckers in cells to rot.

[Youssuf Ramadan]

There's still an undercurrent of tacit consent that religious office trumps the law, as well as areas where the laity are often in denial "Father O'Blivion is a good man of the cloth, he can't have done anything to those children."

You'd think that in the 21st century the church would be held accountable for the actions of its holders of office by a court of law, and any attempts to cover up their actions would result in charges commensurate with the gravity of the case, and assets seized at least.  But no.... we're still stuck in the dark ages in some respects.

[SGOS]

So my question is, when did it become acceptable for priests to do this (which it has, judging by the rhetoric). When did priests become so blasé about their behavior and their rapey ways? It's almost like the rape of kids is now just another thing. Oh those wacky priests up their old ways again! When will they learn?

Well, it was alleged at least 60 years ago, somewhat jokingly, by the Catholic boys in my neighborhood.  There were three Catholic schools in my area, and my cross section of friends represented all of them.  Even at that age, I had this vague feeling that there may have been some truth in the humor and that that sort of thing was just part of being a boy in the Catholic Church.  

Now if any parents were given these reports, which seems most likely from we now know about the history of child abuse in the Church, apparently parents were reluctant to get involved enough to report it to the proper authorities.  Certainly some parents would have gone to the church and voiced their concerns, and from what we now know, they would have been reassured by the church that it could never happen.  In some cases, parents may have been satisfied with a priest being transferred to another area.

It could have also been reported to authorities that may have also been reluctant to challenge the church.  It really was a different generation when we all believed that things like child or even spousal abuse were rare anomalies, and no one really wanted to rock the boat.  I would guess that what we are seeing now is a cultural change.

[leo]

It ain't just the Catholics.. Take into account baptists, eviljellicals and the moronmans..among others..

Moronmans . Ha ha ha

[Outnumbered]

PUT PERVERT PREiSTS in PRISON!!!!

This is a bumper sticker I have been tempted to produce.

[Zatoichi]

This is what happens when people who are born gay are forced to deny their nature. They either come out and deal though the pressures, commit suicide or become priests.

They are convinced that their "urges" are sinful and are told the only way to "cure" it is to get some Jesus... the ones that are just plain gay and in denial probably think they need a whooooole lotta Jesus so they become priests, thinking that's a good idea because priests don't marry. Of course, it doesn't work because you cannot "pray the gay away" anymore than you can pray away hair color or shoe size, so the "urges" don't go away. Eventually, they act on those urges... the more you suppress something, the stronger it gets.

If the church wasn't so hostile to gays, then I don't think this would be such a problem... we'd just have the normal amount of perverts of all sexual orientations, and probably no more than in any other profession. If these priests we're allowed to be the persons they we're born to be, I bet none of them would have been priests and they could live their lives as gay men and develop normal sexual relationships with adults of like disposition, rather than denying who they are and praying on whatever is available (kids).

[stromboli]

Just like on my thread about the cleric who got caught with child pornography on the Cloud. More concern was shown in the comments about the lack of security of stored data than about a pedophile clergyman. If we've become so able to gloss that over, we are in trouble.