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isabella R

Bilgrimage: Richard Sipe on Sexual Abuse as Product of Clerical Culture - 0 views

bilgrimage.blogspot.com/...n-sexual-abuse-as-product.html

richard sipe abuse abuse of power Roman Catholic Catholic

shared by isabella R on 23 May 12 - No Cached
  • "The context of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic bishops and priests is the culture of the priesthood."
  • clerical culture centers on the maintenance of a club whose boundaries are impermeable to non-ordained outsiders and are premised on the assertion that everything one does to keep those boundaries intact is done for God and the church--even when that "everything" comprises keeping noxious secrets, telling toxic lies, and maintaining absolute silence when faced with demands for transparency and accountability.
  • Sipe writes:  If a priest is apparently compliant with the demands of the culture he receives automatic status regardless of any individual merit. The culture provides an assurance of employment and continued material compensation for the duration of his life. The identification with the power system and subordination to it relives individuals of responsibility for the consequences of their individual actions. Truth telling is curtailed and subjected to the welfare of the organization (the good of the church). The prevailing rationale is that clerics’ first duty is to the higher law of God. Secrecy and loyalty are essential binding elements operative to the function of clerical cultural. Men within the clerical culture are labeled "special" since ordination confers an "ontological" superiority. Clerics thus incorporated into the culture often demonstrate qualities of dependency, entitlement, superiority/arrogance, variable degrees of psychosexual immaturity, but in many cases "they possess enormous powers of empathetic discernment—albeit for purposes of self-aggrandizement." And he concludes:
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  • The fundamental causes of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy are within the clerical culture.
  • That is, after the gentlemen running things get done with their bashing of Girl Scouts.  And gays.  And women in general and nuns in particular.  And abuse survivors.
  • Anybody but their own sweet selves.  And the super-rich right-wing men on whose behalf they are doing all this theatrical staging
isabella R

BATTLE FOR SOULS, THE | CABLEready.net - 0 views

www.cableready.net/...the-battle-for-souls

culture wars islam christianity global community justice conversion evangelism abuse of power

shared by isabella R on 07 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • isabella R on 07 Oct 12
     
    While the world is focused on Islamic fundamentalism, a similar revolution is occurring in the spread of Christianity throughout the world. We investigate the modern techniques being employed by Christian missionaries to convert entire communities. The program was shot on location in Nigeria where Christianity and Islam are facing off in a direct struggle for power, with often-violent results. Premiered on Discovery Times Channel, USA
isabella R

Following is the text of the settlement agreement between Paul J. Marcoux, Archbishop R... - 0 views

www.bishop-accountability.org/...Weakland-Marcoux-Agreement.htm

abuse of power abuse sexual-abuse child-abuse corruption catholic Roman Catholic bishops Archbishop Rembert Weakland hush money crime criminal

shared by isabella R on 26 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • isabella R on 26 Jun 12
     
    http://www.misconductinlatrobe.com/the-prophet/ This was in November 1992, long before a scandal over such abuse would erupt nationally, yet Weakland felt too much attention had been paid to the issue. He declared that sexual abuse by priests had "become almost a preoccupation in our society" and that "priests need to be reassured by the entire Catholic community that they are loved and supported." Only one sentence in the 800-word column acknowledged the victims: "My heart goes out to all victims and I am sincere in saying that the Catholic community wishes to do what is right in helping those so affected to regain full and productive lives." The column hit Isely hard. Brought up as a devout Catholic, Isely seemed destined to join the clergy. Isely had attended St. Lawrence, a seminary prep high school where he was sexually abused. Although he ultimately abandoned his dream of the priesthood, he was still a practicing Catholic who attended Mass weekly. He had tried to put the abuse behind him and consciously avoided stories on the subject. "I turned away when something was reported on television," Isely says. "I wanted to put it all behind me." But after reading Weakland's piece, Isely went immediately to his computer and wrote a response. "In a moment, I knew what I had to do," Isely recalls. "I hoped I could prod Weakland to take the lead in the church" and take on the clergy abuse issue. Journal Editor Sig Gissler received the response from Isely and decided the newspaper would run it the following Sunday, again on Page One. "We checked his credentials," Gissler recalls. "He was a psychotherapist and had a divinity degree from Harvard." And his "open letter to Weakland" was compelling. Isely called on Weakland and the church to not only banish the abusers but confront the culture that allowed the abuse to occur. "Root out the priest sex offender, yes; but also root out, when necessary, any attitude
isabella R

7th Most Powerful Person in the World and a Formidable Opponent of Obama « Th... - 0 views

opentabernacle.wordpress.com/...a-formidable-opponent-of-obama

abuse of power Roman Catholic catholic vatican Pope Benedict XVI 7th most powerful man in the world Pope Benedict XVI money_laundering bank fraud corruption influence_pedling vatileaks

shared by isabella R on 16 Aug 12 - No Cached
  • Ascension Health Alliance, sponsored bhe Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the Daughters of Charity and the Congregation of St. Joseph, is “planning to build a $2 billion ‘health city’ in the Cayman Islands with an India-based hospital group. ‘We’re not considering this a medical tourism facility. That’s not the intent at all,’ said Anthony Tersigni, president and chief executive…. But the system’s for-profit partner, Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals in India, has cast the project in sharply different terms. For years, Narayana’s founder, Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, has promoted the idea of building an offshore medical center to serve primarily American patients who cannot afford health care in the United States.”
  • A Mexican official admitted in 2007 that the Church accepted drug money.“ This appears to be so widespread that the spokesman used the customary term for this – “narco-alms.”
  • s ‘Octopus Dei,’ it created a financial empire…replete with offshore accounts, financial scandal and nefarious names.” Murder by digitalis-induced heart attacks is their preferred method of dealing with their enemies. This led Opus Dei, pledged to support and promote hegemony of the Roman Catholic Church, “to the jubilant arrival at the right hand of Catholic power.” “On its tightening Church ties, Hutchison sketches in how Pope John Paul II as archbishop of Cracow, Poland, and many other bishops, were brought into Opus Dei’s network, or net.”
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • The American fraternal society, the Knights of Columbus,
  • The modern day Knights of Malta
  • Opus Dei prelate
  • Neocatechumenate, Focolare, Legion of Mary for example – as well as the Knights of Columbus, the Legion of Christ’s lay group, Regnum Christi, and Opus Dei, turning out large crowds in St. Peter’s Square“to cheer the pope and his policies, and they have these people all over the world.”
  • According to a November 2011 study conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Catholics had 41 lobbying groups in Washington D.C. “
  • Mercy Health, with revenue of nearly $4 billion, “could qualify as one of the largest corporations in the St. Louis region.” But due its 501(c) (3) status “pays few corporate, income, property, capital gains or sales taxes…and is exempt for federal requirements to disclose certain financial data about its operations….Mercy Health oversees a network of more than 55 tax-exempt organizations, including fundraising foundations, physician groups and hospitals in Missouri and three other states.
  • The financial statements list “Social Development and World Peace” as an expense category which received only 8 percent of chancery (archdiocesan headquarters) spending from 1997 through 2009. Catholic Charities (CC), the only archdiocesan agency completely dedicated to helping the unfortunate, states year after year in its annual report that it receives only 3 to 4 percent of its income from the “archdiocese, parishes and other church” while 35 percent came from the government. Most people think that the Roman Catholic Church receives the bulk of its income from a percentage of parish collections forwarded to the (arch)bishop. From 1997 through 2009, only $54 million (21 percent) of $251 million in chancery income came from the parishes. For the archdiocesan entities combined, $312 million (34 percent) came from gifts. (The rest came from investment income, program fees, tuition, cemetary sales, etc.) The archbishop gave away $34 million in gifts. Some dioceses are not as wealthy as Denver; some more so. With 200 dioceses in the U.S., their numerous foundations and the USCCB also receiving millions in donations and government grants, that’s a staggering amount of money coming and going with no transparency or accountability.
  • A good example of how Roman Catholic money flows around the world is when the Los Angeles archdiocese had to pay a $660 million settlement to its victims of sex abuse, the Allied Irish Banks (AIB) provided a loan of $240 million in 2009.  AIB loans of up to $500 million were extended to four American dioceses in 2005-07 which had claimed bankruptcy. According to the Irish Daily Mail in 2011, the loans are being serviced and repaid “…from an unknown source.”
  • As noted in His Holiness, the Church fears exposure more than monetary loss
  • have fought so hard to prevent laws which extend the statutes of limitations on sexual abuse
  • The Church wants to prevent more lawsuits and, therefore, further exposure of their internal documents. And that’s also why there will probably never be another diocesan bankruptcy due to sex abuse lawsuits – because the debtors must provide the court with a list of their assets.
isabella R

America Magazine Fixing the System That Put Monsignor Lynn in Jail - 0 views

www.americamagazine.org/...entry.cfm

abuse of power Roman Catholic catholic abuse sexual-abuse scandal corruption bishops

shared by isabella R on 17 Aug 12 - No Cached
  • In this elite environment there are few priests who are willing to oppose the   bishop’s wishes for fear of falling out of favor
  • “You keep the rules and the rules will keep you.”
  • A great sign of success for a priest is to be invited to join the Diocesan   Curia, the bishop’s circle of collaborators in the administration of the diocese. The position of Vicar for the Clergy, the post held by Lynn from1990 – 2002, is just such a sinecure.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • “You keep the rules and the rules will keep you.”
    • isabella R
      isabella R on 17 Aug 12
       
      "You keep the rules and the rules will keep you."
  • Camaraderie is strongly impressed upon priests. We often refer to our fellow priests as our brothers. The fact is that we do have a real dependency on each other since we do not have an immediate family of our own.
    • isabella R
      isabella R on 17 Aug 12
       
      THIS is the sticking point of what the celibate culture creates....it has nothing to do with sex....it has everything to do with being so cut off from the whole community--its kind of a Stockholm Syndrome....you end up believing you have no choice but to go along with what you are told or you will be out in the cold with nothing, no one, homeless, friendless......and that is the harm of celibacy. "Camaraderie is strongly impressed upon priests. We often refer to our fellow priests as our brothers. The fact is that we do have a real dependency on each other since we do not have an immediate family of our own. "
  • Priests rely on each other for acceptance, for sharing the work load and even living arrangements. If a priest deems any of these to be inadequate or unjust he may be, rightly or wrongly, labeled a malcontent or a problem. This perception can follow   him throughout his priesthood.
  • Very often a priest, may have some very serious concerns, yet simply “Go   Along to Get Along.”
  • Because a priest’s circle is often limited to fellow priests his vision may   also be limited. Therefore, if there is a problem, in certain cases, the advice he receives from them does not always come from fresh or unbiased eyes. Defense mechanisms can also easily set in; denial, rationalization and silence for self preservation.   As one wizened old priest said about speaking up or speaking out, “Who needs the aggravation?
    • isabella R
      isabella R on 17 Aug 12
       
      So many parallels to the cycle that results in families that are imprisoned by domestic violence....how could he do what he did?  If you can answer that you will have the answer to the age-old question "why do women stay with men who clearly will end up killing them." "Because a priest's circle is often limited to fellow priests his vision may   also be limited. Therefore, if there is a problem, in certain cases, the advice he receives from them does not always come from fresh or unbiased eyes. Defense mechanisms can also easily set in; denial, rationalization and silence for self preservation.   As one wizened old priest said about speaking up or speaking out, "Who needs the aggravation?"
  • Therefore, I make the following suggestions:
    • isabella R
      isabella R on 17 Aug 12
       
      NOTherefore, I make the following suggestions: First, that Diocesan Pastoral Councils be given greater prominence in dioceses. This group is comprised of clergy, consecrated religious and laity elected by the people of the diocese. Second, that Diocesan Boards of Consulters (BOC), a canonically established group of priests who advise the bishop on administrative matters, include men and women religious and laity. Presently the BOC is comprised of a representation of   priests chosen by the bishop who are elected by their peers to serve on the Diocesan Presbyteral Council (Priests' Council). Third, that the priests and lay people of the diocese have recourse to the BOC in areas of   concern.... NO, NO, NO, AND NO.....IT IS ALREADY BEEN PROVED OVER AND OVER AGAIN THAT IT CANNOT BE HANDLED IN HOUSE.....YOU DON'T SEND THE PATIENTS WITH A LITTLE EXTRA "MORAL SUPPORT"EXPECTING THEM TO SUDDENLY BECOME A COHESIVE, EFFECTIVE TEAM OF DOCTORS....IT'S NOT MAGIC. ROOT OUT THE WHOLE INFECTION...ANTI-BIOTIC....NOTE THE ANTI-TOTALLY OTHER....EVEN VACCINES ARE MADE FROM A DEAD VIRUS
  • isabella R on 17 Aug 12
     
    "You keep the rules and the rules will keep you."
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