Oppression, child abuse and outright torture & terrorism is all their good for imo.

If you think the priests were bad wait till you go down the nuns rabbit hole

Sexual Abuse of Nuns: Longstanding Church Scandal Emerges From Shadows

Francis recounted that Benedict, then known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the church’s doctrinal watchdog, marshaled all his evidence against the complicit order in a meeting with Pope John Paul II. Francis said Benedict returned defeated and told his secretary, “The other side won.” Francis added in an aside, “We should not be scandalized by this — it’s part of a process.”

His point seemed to be that pursuing justice in the church takes time and he said that when Benedict became pope he immediately told his secretary to get him the files “and he began.”

But his example confounded advocates for nuns abused by priests, who noted that the pope is the single person within the church with absolute authority to take action at any time.

...

Many members of the church, experts said, suffer from a medieval mind-set and consider the priests who commit abuse against nuns to be the victims of seductive temptresses. Since the victims in these cases are adults, the experts say, there is also a reflexive tendency to blame them. The reductive public image of the nun as existing to serve the priest and to pray quietly also undercuts those who speak up.

Often, the abuse occurs in a relationship of spiritual guidance, Professor Demasure said, with the priest grooming the victim over time, as is often the case in cases of child sexual abuse.

The apparent preponderance of such abuse in Africa and India has led some in the church to chalk the abuse up to cultural differences.

In many cases, sexual favors have been required of nuns who are financially dependent on priests, and traditions of subservience by women make them vulnerable to abuse.

Ms. Scaraffia said she subscribed to the pope’s critique of abuse, that it is rooted in a rot in clerical culture that leads priests to believe they are a higher authority, and thus entitled to do what they want with their parishioners. In developing countries, where the abuse of nuns seems more prevalent, priests tend to be put on even higher pedestals.

Professor Demasure said there is also the delicate issue that female superiors have covered up the abuse of their nuns to protect the reputation of the church, just as bishops have done with pedophile priests.

...

In 1994, Sister Maura O’Donohue sent the Vatican the results of a multiyear, 23-nation survey about such abuse, which was especially rampant in Africa where nuns were considered safe sexual partners for priests who feared infection by H.I.V.

One 1998 report focused on Africa observed that “sexual harassment and even rape of sisters by priests and bishops is allegedly common.”

“When a sister becomes pregnant, the priest insists that she have an abortion,” the report added. ‘‘The sister is usually dismissed from her congregation while the priest is often only moved to another parish — or sent for studies.”

African bishops briefed at the time decried the reporting of abuse as “disloyal.”

Among the private reports by nuns in the 1990s, which were published in a cover story by The National Catholic Reporter in 2001, one asserted that 29 nuns had become pregnant in one order alone.

Professor Demasure said there are firsthand testimonies about such abortions, which would break one of the central tenets of church teaching and potentially violate local laws, but she said there was no data about how widespread they are.

...

An investigation this summer by Nicole Winfield, the Associated Press reporter who asked the pope the question about abuse on the papal plane, documented abuse on at least four different continents.

I am even more amazed that people still let their sons be altar boys.

I grew up Catholic and worked from about 7th grade through HS at my local church rectory. There was one priest there who always hung out with the altar boys. He took them to WWF wrestling events at MSG. He would even have them in his room watching movies, while I was downstairs working in the office. Some were my classmates. He never tried anything inappropriate with me.

Many years later I read he got picked up soliciting teenage boys for oral sex. This was while stationed at a new parish. Cannot say with 100% certainty that he abused the boys from my parish, but I'd be very surprised if he didn't. He was a loud, boisterous, overweight, and (obviously in hindsight) flamboyantly gay man. Who was way too into hanging out with young boys.

The number of gay priests is huge. Cardinal Dolan of NYC seems like a very nice man, but it's fairly obvious he's gay. Or I should say, in my personal opinion I think he is gay. Church members know many priests are gay, but evidently they don't care all that much.

I grew up in inner city Boston. We were identified by not our geographical name, but what parish we were from. The church was everything. I did 8 years in a coed parish school, then 4 years at Jesuit Boston Collage HS. I was also an alter boy, worked at the rectory and was active in CYO sports and all church functions. Looking back, I dodge bullets baby.

One of our regular priests raped at least 3( 2 females and 1 male) kids I grew up with. My high school is featured in the movie Spotlight where the hockey coach is a rapist . I highly recommend this movie about the Boston Globe’s crack journalists bringing light to magnitude of pedophile mafia. That’s all the Catholic Church is.

It’s interesting that this thread popped up a day after I had an extensive conversation w a local blood gang member who has done 3 bits, but grew up in Catholic in Philly. It’s nuts how he was in with people w molested kids and they are trampled inside. If he ever did something like that, he would get life and it wouldn’t be easy. Catholic Priests get relocated. He said “ they just get rewarded with more and more little boy strange the more they rape .”
He last did 3 years on coke charges but I would let him baby sit ahead of any priest .

It’s rampant everywhere and very few see real time. When people tell me they support the Catholic Church I go off on them. I tell them keep putting money in the pockets of pedos that wanna suck your 9 year old nephews cock.
https://www.thelocal.de/20190104/hom...erman-cardinal

It went on
It goes on
It’s going nowhere unless I get terminal cancer.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/spe...S4N/story.html

I grew up with her .
https://www.bostonherald.com/2018/08...ure-not-alone/

He got a years probation lol

https://www.dw.com/en/illinois-accus...use/a-46811502

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/u...nsylvania.html

Move along, nothing to see here ... see u Sunday ...

The Catholic church has had worse scandals in the past and lived to tell the tale... but they didn't have the internet then, so cover ups were actually an option. Weirdly I kind of feel that if the church actually fails the cause of death would be the internet and not child sex abuse. Because ldo they've been doing the latter for a long long long time.

Also the culture changed. Child abuse is generally viewed much more negatively than it used to be. Their behavior looks a lot worse in a world where people are significantly less likely to be abusing their own kids. The only abusers left are the hardcore ones basically, and society has essentially cast them out.

i also read the god delusion in 2006, and...no

Is Yakmelk a priest? And how do you tag ppl on a forum post?

This very forum has had someone post in favor of pedophilia and didn't eat as much as a temp ban. Gl trying to stop the Catholic Church

For anyone who is interested and has a couple of hours to kill, here is a debate on the motion "The Catholic Church is a Force for Good in the World" with the formidable team of Chris Hitchens & Stephen Fry arguing against the motion.



There is also another one out there of Hitchens debating with Tony Blair one-on-one on a similar topic a few years later.

There's nothing to debate. Did you scroll past the link of priests abusing over 1000 kids in PA alone? Obv it's a cult for sexual abuse that many non-clergical Catholics are in denial about

Personally, I am against all religions for many reasons, including the above. However, clearly there is something to debate, as a large number of people disagree with you (and me).

If nothing else, watching these debates helps me sharpen my own ideas of exactly why I find religion so disagreeable and undesirable.

There's literally nothing to debate. The fact that millions of cultists disagree with us doesn't lend credence to the argument that there is a legitimate debate, it just shows millions are brainwashed and incapable of independent critical analysis, much akin to Trump supporters and their position on climate change (and nearly everything else but this one proves my point best)

I took a similar stance in this thread:

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...logic-1658971/

It didn't end in a particularly productive discourse, and, truth be told, probably made me look like a bit of a stubborn idiot to even those who were inclined to agree with my point of view.

So, you know, just trying to engage with the process...

Worldwide way over 10,000 allegations of little boy n girl rape. They are worse than average pedos cause they have established irrefutable trust and rep the papi, JmuthafukkinC and a “ Holy Ghost “ like Casper , friendly ....

You are with them or against them, there is no debate.

I'm beginning to wonder about something. Until recently I assumed that these incidents were independent events and their numerousness was simply a function that those who choose to become priests had a greater than average proclivity to be abusers. In other words the incidents were individuals who have their own private sickness. And that they were usually unaware or only vaguely of which colleagues were doing the same thing.
No collusion.

Was I being too generous?

It is 1000 times more likely that climate change deniers are substantially correct than those who believe in the tenets of Catholicism.

Will listen to this later but I’ll give a general shout out to intelligence squared debates, they’re usually very good

1000x of an infinitismally small positive number is still basically 0.

TAX FREE!







sub

No. #DIV/0.

Let’s roll tape on Sinead:

Pretty GOAT.

Not great, Joe.

You saved me typing the same thing.

Oh, and along with the abuse issues let's not forgot how quickly the Catholic leadership (and the leadership of a variety of Christian affiliations) just basically put God aside during WW1 and WW11.

Even with god as the almighty, it became a much more practical narrative to think about state first and god 2nd.

It was.... let's take a time out because it is God's will for some Christians to kill each other for awhile, and once the war is over we will resume regularly scheduled programming..

Somehow religion as some "situational" thing seems very strange.

With few exceptions, she was pretty universally vilified for it.

R Kelly is going to prison

Catholic priests get relocated

Thinking emoji