The current Pope, John Paul II, probably won't beat the record of Pius IX, one of the church's longest reigning and most confrontational popes, and one of his personal idols. "Pio Nono" -- as they affectionately call him in Italy -- is the pope who declared that when popes speak in their special capacity as God's substitute on earth (that's what "Vicar of Christ" means) they speak infallibly. And Roman Catholics believed that this man couldn't be wrong about this, because as he said, he was infallible! The Roman Catholic leaders in Rome hold "Pio Nono" in such high esteem that they are well on their way to making him a "saint", i.e. a model for Catholics to imitate.
In the light of recent developments, maybe they could make him "the patron saint of clerical pedophiles and / or kidnappers", as THIS is the example set by this "infallible saint" :
 In 1858, a six-year-old Jewish child, Edgardo Montara, was kidnapped by papal police in Bolognia on the pretext that he had been baptized "in extremis" ( i.e. when close to death) by a servant girl six years earlier. Placed in the reopened House of Catacumens, the child was forcibly instructed in the Catholic faith. Despite the pleas of Edgardo's parents, Pio Nono adopted the child and liked to play with him, hiding him under his soutane and calling out, "where's the boy?" The world was outraged; no less than 20 editorials on the subject were published in The New York Times and both Emperors Franz Joseph of Austria and Napoleon III of France begged the Pope to return the child to his rightful parents, all in vain. Pio Nono kept Edgardo cloistered in a monastery, where he was eventually ordained as a priest." . . . (p.11)
The notion of Jewish obstinacy was a crucial element in the case of Edgardo Montara. When the parents of the kidnapped Edgardo pleaded in person with the Pope for the return of their son, Pio Nono told them that they could have their son back at once if only they converted to Catholicism -- which, of course, they would do instantly if they opened their hearts to Christian revelation. But they would not, and did not. The Montaras, in the view of Pio Nono, had brought all their suffering upon their own heads as a result of their obduracy. (P. 27)
(from the book "Hitler's Pope, The Secret History of Pius XII", by the Catholic scholar, John Cornwell )
See some of the major points of the book at The REAL Roman Catholic Scandal
and major Reviews of "Hitler's Pope", by John Cornwell
or an entire book dedicated to
The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, by David I. Kertzer
An Example of One Archdiocese :
"The grand jury inquiry lead by Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly found the archdiocese's own records reveal that they received complaints from 789 alleged victims, involving more than 250 clergy and other workers. But he said, the number of victims, spanning a period from 1940 to today, probably exceeded 1000.
Introducing the 91 page report, he said: 'What we have documented in the course of this investigation borders on the unbelievable. The duration of it, six decades of the sexual abuse of children by members of the Catholic clergy. The magnitude of it is simply staggering.'
The attorney general said that Cardinal Bernard Law, bears ultimate responsibility for what he calls the 'tragic treatment of children.' But, he added, the Cardinal does not bear sole responsibility, saying: 'With rare exception, none of his senior managers advised him to take any of the steps that might have ended the systemic abuse of children.' "
http://www.cathnews.com/news/307/146.php
An article by ABC news has reported that
"Powerful Cardinal in Vatican Accused of Sexual Abuse Cover-Up
By Brian Ross
April 26 , 2002
A trusted ally of Pope John Paul II has been accused of sexually abusing boys a half-century ago at an elite seminary for the Catholic Church.
The alleged victims say the Vatican knew of the allegations against Father Maciel and chose not to pursue them. In fact, the pope has continued to praise 82-year-old Maciel, a Mexico native, as an effective leader of Catholic youth, despite detailed allegations sent to the Vatican four years ago saying the man was also a long-time pedophile."
Why does it take civil courts to force the Catholic Church to face the responsibilities that it doesn't have the conscience to assume willingly? Instead of calling lawyers names like "shysters", perhaps Catholics should respect such lawyers more and remember that its clerics who got the brunt of most of Jesus' anger. People we might call "men of God" Jesus often called "hypocrites," "vipers' offspring" and / or "whitened sepulcres".
When the pedophilia scandals were being uncovered in early 2002, Pope John Paul II's spokesperson, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, told the New York Times in a March 3 interview that the crisis had to do with homosexuality. "People with these inclinations," he said, "cannot be ordained." Here in America, that line was put forward by Msgr. Eugene Clark, filling in for Cardinal Egan in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral April 27, blamed America for being "very protective" of homosexuality. Bishop came to New York from the Bridgeport diocese in neighboring Connecticut, leaving behind successful suits against the church for several protected pedophile priests. Early in his career, Msgr. Eugene Clark was the secretary of New York's Francis Cardinal Spellman, who has been called "one of the most notorious, powerful, and sexually voracious homosexuals in the American Catholic Church's history".)
See http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RINVol5No2/gay%20press.htm |
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