Catholic priests, scientists head to Rome to ponder alien life

[Juba]

I found this interesting article on: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/10/vatican_aliens/ Posted in Space, 10th November 2009

The Vatican may be a little closer to deciding how it deals with the tricky problem of extra terrestrial - and most likely non-Catholic - life forms, as it wraps up a conference on astrobiology this week.

The Vatican Observatory has been running a "joint study week" on Astrobiology this week together with the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

The Vatican has been already deemed 2009 to be the International Year of Astronomy, with the Pope kicking off proceedings last December by saying what a standup guy Galileo was, and musing on the pagan origins of the Roman cityscape.

According to Marc Kaufman at the Washington Post, the study week includes sessions on how life might have begun on Earth, what harsh environment microbes on earth point to on other planets, and how lifeforms on other planets could be recognised.

Of course, you might be forgiven for thinking the Catholic Church has many of these issues - particularly the first - licked. But the one true church can be broader than expected at times.

As Kaufman points out, NASA is already pondering how the news of extra terrestrial life might affect things down here on Earth.

Clearly, the Vatican is pondering some of the same issues. Some in the Catholic Church don't see a theological problem with the idea of extraterrestrial life per se. God, being omnipotent, would be perfectly at liberty to create other lifeforms.

Last year, Vatican Observatory boss José Gabriel Funes told Papal inhouse paper L'Osservatore Romano: "To say it with St Francis, if we can consider some earthly creatures as 'brothers' or 'sisters', why could we not speak of a 'brother alien'? He would also belong to the creation."

Funes even suggested aliens might not suffer from that human burden original sin. Which would arguably make it easier for the Vatican to accommodate alien life, as it wouldn't feel duty bound to covert any aliens it encountered.

But Kaufmann quotes one of the conference's speakers, Paul Davies, a theoretical physicist and cosmologist from Arizona State University, who believes the issue is being downplayed by religious leaders.

"The real threat would come from the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence, because if there are beings elsewhere in the universe, then Christians, they're in this horrible bind. They believe that God became incarnate in the form of Jesus Christ in order to save humankind, not dolphins or chimpanzees or little green men on other planets."

Whether we'll see a definitive statement on whether aliens can join the Church of Rome any time soon is debatable. After all, the Vatican has only just welcomed back a chunk of the Church of England, a mere 500 years after Henry VIII broke with Rome

OK, they ponder on alien life (aren't we all), but: "aliens might not suffer from that human burden original sin. Which would arguably make it easier for the Vatican to accommodate alien life, as it wouldn't feel duty bound to covert any aliens it encountered." Oh dear 7D, imagine:

1- confession for brother or/and sister of gray
2-The holly order of Grey robe
3-Catholic Church of Zeta Reticuli

Please forgive me for being a bit joky but if they decide there's life beyond the earth, I guess they'll have to set up with certain missionary and pastoral codex realted to "ETs".

 

[Eboard10]

And guess who's running all the Observatories for the Vatican? The Jesuits of course. The same Jesuit Order that spread the alleged video of Planet X. Has anyone wondered why the Jesuits are so interested in the field of astronomy and astrophysics?

Vatican Observatory boss José Gabriel Funes (from wikipedia):
In an interview in May 2008 he stated that the possible existence of intelligent extraterrestrials did not contradict church teaching and ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom. He has speculated that such alien life forms could even be “free from Original Sin … [remaining] in full friendship with their creator.” Funes' statements have clearly similar points to what the Vatican's Corrado Balducci also previously has expressed.

Look at what Wikipedia has to say about this guy:
Monsignor Corrado Balducci, (born May 11, 1923 in Italy died September 20, 2008 in Italy), was a Roman Catholic theologian of the Vatican Curia, a close friend of the pope, long time exorcist for the Archdiocese of Rome, and a Prelate of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. He has written several books about the subliminal messages in rock and metal music, diabolic possessions, and extraterrestrials. Monsignor Balducci often appeared on Italian TV to talk about satanism, religion, and extraterrestrials.

And who do we see together with Corrado Balducci?

This should give you an idea of where all the disinformation is coming from.

The article also reminds me of something the C's said which I believe is tied to the acceptance of alien life by the Vatican.

November 23, 1996
Q: (T) So, the powers that be are going to follow this time table and
present the Aryans as Martians?
A: No.
Q: (L) Are the Aryans going to present themselves as Martians?
A: Initially. In order for the Terrans to get used to the idea of EBEs.
Q: (T) But, they are not the good guys. Beware of Greeks bearing
gifts.
A: Some of the "good guys" are identical in appearance.
Q: (T) Is this a subterfuge on the part of the Aryans so that they can
slide in quietly and take over?
A: No, they do not need that at all. It is a way for the "government" to
introduce everyone to the new reality of the existence of intelligent
life all over the place, not just here.
Q: (T) So, they have their own agenda, but it is not what Courtney
presented in the book.
A: It does not matter. The book is a somewhat altered "New Reality
101."

 

[Juba]

Perhaps it's simple spin doctor agenda, turn focus of public interest from pedophilia to alien thematic, this would not be first time Vatican is doing something like this.

Anyhow here's a little more on Vatican alien thematic on: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/6536400/The-Vatican-joins-the-search-for-alien-life.html

For centuries, theologians have argued over what the existence of life elsewhere in the universe would mean for the Church: at least since Giordano Bruno, an Italian monk, was put to death by the Inquisition in 1600 for claiming that other worlds exist. Among other things, extremely alien-looking aliens would be hard to fit with the idea that God “made man in his own image”. Furthermore, Jesus Christ’s role as saviour would be confused: would other worlds have their own, tentacled Christ-figures, or would Earth’s Christ be universal? However, just as the Church eventually made accommodations after Copernicus and Galileo showed that the Earth was not the centre of the universe, and when it belatedly accepted the truth of Darwin's theory of evolution, Catholic leaders say that alien life can be aligned with the Bible’s teachings. end quote.


Now what to think when The Pontifical Academy of Sciences is holding a conference on astrobiology, the study of life beyond Earth, with scientists and religious leaders gathering in Rome, is is a big or just a spin?????

Even more of twists in Vatican politic I found in here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/4588289/The-Vatican-claims-Darwins-theory-of-evolution-is-compatible-with-Christianity.html


The Vatican claims Darwin's theory of evolution is compatible with Christianity. Published on: 11th Feb. 2009. To start with it I did not know should I lough or cry at loud. In article I found following:

Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said while the Church had been hostile to Darwin's theory in the past, the idea of evolution could be traced to St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas.

Father Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti, Professor of Theology at the Pontifical Santa Croce University in Rome, added that 4th century theologian St Augustine had "never heard the term evolution, but knew that big fish eat smaller fish" and forms of life had been transformed "slowly over time". Aquinas made similar observations in the Middle Ages.

Ahead of a papal-backed conference next month marking the 150th anniversary of Darwin's On the Origin of Species, the Vatican is also set to play down the idea of Intelligent Design, which argues a "higher power" must be responsible for the complexities of life.

The conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University will discuss Intelligent Design to an extent, but only as a "cultural phenomenon" rather than a scientific or theological issue.

Monsignor Ravasi said Darwin's theories had never been formally condemned by the Roman Catholic Church, pointing to comments more than 50 years ago, when Pope Pius XII described evolution as a valid scientific approach to the development of humans. End quote.

What else we could except from institution who tortured, killed, programmed so many people in last 2000 years, than to create THE TRUTH as they wish, I wonder should we wait for another 2000 years to find out from Vatican how pedophilia is unnatural and their priest did it and they although long death will be excommunicated from the church. SHAME.

 

[Eboard10]

The alien acceptance by the Vatican came prior to the sexual abuses scandal so I don't think they are related. To be honest, from the research I've made, I believe that this whole story about the sexual abuses by priests (which was well known for decades if not centuries) has been surfacing on the news on purpose for an upcoming event which will very likely involve Ratzinger and ultimately his resignation as Pope. However this is just speculation on my part.

Btw, it's ironic how the Church is "officially" starting to accept the Theory of Evolution while the C's have told us that we are actually the result of intelligent design :)

 

[Juba]

The alien acceptance by the Vatican came prior to the sexual abuses scandal so I don't think they are related. To be honest, from the research I've made, I believe that this whole story about the sexual abuses by priests (which was well known for decades if not centuries) has been surfacing on the news on purpose for an upcoming event which will very likely involve Ratzinger and ultimately his resignation as Pope. However this is just speculation on my part.

Btw, it's ironic how the Church is "officially" starting to accept the Theory of Evolution while the C's have told us that we are actually the result of intelligent design :)

Hmm, I believe sex scandals start to be pretty exposed in early 90s but real exposion of pedophilia cases happened in 2002,2003, 2004 and again last year. Does it have direct connections to present pope, I don't know, perhaps last pope was more popular than this one....,.... or all these cases made critical mass and simply exploded via TV and written mass media.

As per Wiki: The Catholic sex abuse cases are a series of lawsuits, criminal prosecutions and scandals related to sex crimes committed by some Catholic priests and members of religious orders, both under diocesan control and in orders which care for the sick or teach children,[1] that first rose to widespread public attention in the last two decades of the 20th century.[2] Although awareness of the widespread scope of these abuses first received significant media attention in Canada, Ireland and the United States, other cases were also reported in a number of other countries.


Most covered sex scandals in Roman Catholic Church are:

1985: Sex abuse by priests becomes a national issue in the US for the first time, as Louisiana priest Gilbert Gauthe pleads guilty to 11 counts of molestation of boys.
1992: US bishops meeting in South Bend, Indiana, admit attempts by some of their number to hide abuse
In 2002 the Catholic Church apologized for sexual abuses, including adultery, homosexuality and child abuse by two hundred priests over the previous 20 years, in Philipines
In 2003 at least 34 priests were suspended in a sex abuse scandal involving sexual harassment of women. 20 were from a single diocese in Philipines
Austria Vienna: In 1995 Hans Hermann Cardinal Groër stepped down as head of the Catholic Church in Austria following accusations of sexual misconduct. In 1998 he left the country. He remained a Cardinal.
In Belgium Antwerp: Former parish priest Bruno Vos of Nieuwmoer parish in Kalmthout was officially charged with rape of a minor by the Belgian judiciary. There are also allegations of possession of child pornography included in the charge
In Croatia Zagreb: Ivan Čuček convicted [6] in 2000 for sexual abuse of 37 young girls, sentenced to three years in prison, which was later reduced by Supreme Courtto [7] to one and a half year
In Croatia Rijeka: Drago Ljubičić convicted in 2007 was Catholic priest on the isle of Rab sentenced to three years in prison for molesting five teenage boys. He will be the first Catholic priest to serve prison time for sexual abuse in Croatia [8]. When asked by Catholic press agency Glas Koncila (prior to scandal) why children avoid going to church he blamed 'strong influence of communism on island Rab'
In Czeh Republic: In 2000 Fr. Frantisek Merta and Olomouc Archbishop Jan Graubner were charged after allegations were made by a theology student, Václav Novák, that Merta had sexually abused altar boys since 1995
In France: Henri Lebras sentenced to ten years for the rape of a twelve-year-old boy between 1995 and 1998
In Italy: hree former students have claimed abuse and 65 former students signed statements saying that they or other students were abused by Catholic priests when attending the Antonio Provolo Institute for the Deaf, a Catholic school for deaf children in Verona, Italy. The abuse is alleged to have occurred from the 1950s to 1980s, and was reportedly conducted by 24 priests including the late bishop of Verona
In Malta: 84 allegations of child abuse have been made to the church from 1999 to 2010
In Holland: Cases of sexual abuse by religious members of the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands can since 1995 be notified to a central church institution, called Secretariaat Rooms-Katholiek Kerkgenootschap (SRRK
n 1993, Father H.H.M. Jansen is denounced for sexual abuse during his activities as military pastor and as a faculty member of the seminary of Rolduc.[17]
On 13 March 1993, bishop Philippe Bär quits his post as bishop of Rotterdam and Dutch military bishop after allegations of multiple homosexual abuse.[17]
On 14 May 1998 damages of € 56.800 were paid by the diocese of Rotterdam to the victim of sexual abuse by a diocesan priest in order to avoid civil prosecution.[18]
Father J. Ceelen, pastor of the parishes of Lieshout and of Mariahout (municipality of Laarbeek) quits his post after allegations of sexual abuse on 1 September 2005
In Norway: Georg Müller, a former Catholic Bishop in Trondheim, Norway, has admitted to sexually abusing an altar boy in the 1980s when he served as a priest there. Müller, who retired as bishop in 2009, said there were no other victims
In Poland: In March 2002 the Archbishop of Poznań, Juliusz Paetz, stepped down following accusations, which he denied, of sexually molesting young priests
In early 2007 allegations surfaced that former Bishop Stanislaw Wielgus (later very briefly Archbishop of Warsaw) was aware that several priests in his former diocese of Płock were sexually abusing minors
In Slovenia: Franc Frantar - detained in 2006[25] for sexual abuse of up to 16 minors. He was later sentenced[26] to three and a half years in prison. He initially escaped prosecution by escaping to Malawi to work there as a missionary, but returned to Slovenia after Interpol warrant was issued
In Sweden: One child was sexually abused by a priest several years in the late 1950s. When the child raised the issue at the time, the priest was protected and the abuse was kept quiet by the church. The victim finally reported the abuse to the Stockholm diocese in December 2005. The victim demanded a public apology from the church. In June 2007 Sweden's Catholic church made a public apology in two newspapers
In 2004, former priest John Kinsey of Belmont Abbey, Herefordshire, was sentenced at Worcester Crown Court for 5 years for sexual assaults on schoolboys in the mid 1980
In Canada: In the 1990s, criminal proceedings began against members of the Christian Brothers in Newfoundland.
In Mexico: Fr. Marcial Maciel (1920–2008) founded the Legion of Christ, a Catholic order of priests originating in Mexico. Nine former seminarians of his order accused Maciel of molestation.[33] One retracted his accusation, saying that it was a plot intended to discredit the Legion. Maciel maintained his innocence of the accusations
In USA: In 2007, the Society of Jesus made a $50 million payout to over 100 Inuits who alleged that they had been sexually abused. The settlement did not require them to admit molesting Inuit children, but accusations involved 13 or 14 priests who allegedly molested these children for 30 years.[34]
In 2008, the Diocese of Fairbanks, a co-defendant in the case, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, claiming inability to pay the 140 plaintiffs filing claims against the diocese for alleged sexual abuse by priests or church workers during this period
Allegations of sexual misconduct by priests of the Archdiocese of Boston, and following revelations of a cover-up by the Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, became known in 2004, causing Roman Catholics in other dioceses of the United States to investigate similar situations. Cardinal Law's actions prompted public scrutiny of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the steps taken in response to past and current allegations of sexual misconduct by priests. The events in the Archdiocese of Boston became a national scandal
Daniel McCormack, a self-confessed sexually abusive priest was sentenced to five years in prison for abusing five boys (8–12 years) in 2001
Rev. Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul was charged with molesting two teenage girls at a Catholic church in Greenbush, Minnesota, a small rural town near the Canadian border. The abuse occurred in 2004, and charges were filed in 2006 and amended in 2007.[39] Without facing legal punishment, Jevapaul returned to his home diocese in Ootacamund, India, where today he works in the church’s diocesan office. A Roseau County, Minnesota attorney is seeking to extradite the priest from India in a criminal case involving one of the girls.[40] The Archbishop of Madras, India (Madras is now called “Chennai”) has asked Jeyapaul to return to the US to face the charges.[41] Jevapaul has said that he will not fight extradition if the US seeks it
In July 2008 the Archdiocese of Denver paid a settlement of $5.5 million dollars to 18 claims of alleged sexual abuse perpetrated by two clerics between the years of 1954 and 1981
Sexual abuse scandal in Dubuque archdiocese In 2006 the Archdiocese settled a number of claims of sexual abuse, and the Archbishop offered a personal apology
Father James Porter was a Roman Catholic priest who was convicted of molesting 28 children;[46] He admitted sexually abusing at least 100 of both sexes over a period of 30 years, starting in the 1960s.[47] Bishop Sean O'Malley settled 101 abuse claims and initiated a zero-tolerance policy against sexual abuse. He also instituted one of the first comprehensive sexual abuse policies in the Roman Catholic Church.
Reverend Joseph Bukoski, III, SS.CC., Honolulu, Hawaii, a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary was canonically removed in 2003 as the pastor of Maria Lanakila Catholic Church in Lahaina by Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo for allegations relating to sexual improprieties some 30 years earlier. Fr. Bukoski issued a written public apology to his victim on November 12, 2005.
Reverend Mr. James "Ron" Gonsalves, Wailuku, Hawaii, Gonsalves the administrator of Saint Ann Roman Catholic Church in Waihee, Maui, pleaded guilty on May 17, 2006 to several counts of sexual assault on a 12-year-old male. Bishop Clarence Richard Silva has permanently withdrawn his faculties and has initiated laicization proceedings against Deacon Gonsalves with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay out 60 million dollars to settle 45 lawsuits it still faces over 450 other pending cases. According to the Associated Press, 22 priests were involved in the settlement with cases going back as far as the 1930s.[49] 20 million dollars of this was paid by the insurers of the archdiocese. The main administrative office of the archdiocese is due to be sold to cover the cost of these and future law suits. The archdiocese will settle about 500 cases for about $600 million
Since 1966, the Archdiocese of Miami Insurance Programs have paid $26.1 million in settlement, legal and counselling costs associated with sexual misconduct allegations made by minors involving priests, laity and religious brothers and sisters
In 1981, the former Rev. Stephen Kiesle was convicted for tying up and molesting two boys in a California church rectory. From 1981 to 1985, former Bishop John Cummings, who oversaw Kiesle, contacted the Vatican to attempt to get him defrocked. Then-cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, responded by letter, "Consider the good of the Universal Church. It is necessary for this Congregation to submit incidents of this sort to very careful consideration, which necessitates a longer period of time." It should be noted that during this process the priest was already removed from ministry, and that the dispensation from priesthood for priests younger than 40 was very rarely granted.[56] In 1987, the Vatican defrocked Kiesle, who then was 40 years old. The letter is a strong challenge to the Vatican's insistence in April 2010 that Benedict played no role in blocking the removal of pedophile priests during his years as head of the Catholic Church's doctrinal watchdog office
Archbishop Elden Curtiss reassigned a priest despite pedophilia allegations that had first emerged in 1959. He later admitted to failing to examine the priest's personnel file.[60] In 1993, Curtiss confessed to removing letters documenting abuse from the file, acknowledging his "shortsightedness and misjudgment

And many more:

Diocese of Orange, California

Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic diocese of Orange

On January 3, 2005 Bishop Tod Brown of the Diocese of Orange apologized to 87 alleged victims of sexual abuse and announced a settlement of $100 million following two years of mediation.

Diocese of Palm Beach

Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic diocese of Palm Beach

Several Priests were found to have engaged in sexual misconduct and the Bishop was criticized for his handling of the cases.[citation needed]

Diocese of Peoria

Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in Peoria diocese

Coadjutor Bishop John J. Myers of Peoria was among the two-thirds of sitting bishops and acting diocese administrators that the Dallas Morning News found had allowed priests accused of sexual abuse to continue working.[61]

In 2005, Rev. Francis Engels pleaded guilty to molesting a Peoria altar boy on trips to Milwaukee in the early 1980s.[62]

Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Philadelphia

According to a 2005 investigation, while serving as assistant vicar for administration in 1996, Bishop Cistone was involved with silencing a nun who tried to alert parishioners at St. Gabriel parish about abuse by a priest. According to the report, there were several other instances of priest sexual abuse that Cistone was complicit in covering up.[63]

Diocese of Phoenix

Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in Phoenix diocese

On November 21, 2005, Monsignor Dale Fushek of the Diocese of Phoenix was arrested and charged with 10 criminal misdemeanor counts related to alleged inappropriate sexual contact with teens and young adults.[64]

Archdiocese of Portland

Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in Portland archdiocese

The Archdiocese of Portland filed for Chapter 11 reorganization on July 6, 2004, hours before two abuse trials were set to begin.[citation needed] Portland became the first Catholic diocese to file for bankruptcy. An open letter to the archdiocese's parishioners explained the archbishop's motivation.

Archdiocese of San Antonio

John Salazar was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting a 18-year-old parishioner.[65]

Diocese of San Diego

Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in San Diego diocese

On February 27, 2007, the Diocese of San Diego filed for Chapter 11 protection, hours before the first of about 150 lawsuits was due to be heard.[citation needed]

Diocese of Savannah

Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic diocese of Savannah

In October, 2009, the diocese of Savannah paid $4.24 million to settle a lawsuit which alleged that Lessard allowed a priest named Wayland Brown to work in the diocese when Lessard knew that Brown was a serial child molester who posed a danger to children.[66]

Diocese of Spokane

Under Bishop William S. Skylstad the Diocese of Spokane declared bankruptcy in December 2004. As part of its bankruptcy, the diocese has agreed to pay at least $48 million as compensation. This payout has to be agreed to by the victims and a judge before it will be made. According to federal bankruptcy judge, Gregg W. Zive, money for the settlement would come from insurance companies, the sale of church property, contributions from Catholic groups and from the diocese's parishes.[67]

Diocese of Stockton

Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in Stockton diocese

Fr. Oliver O'Grady molested multiple children in Stockton.[68] The 2006 documentary Deliver Us From Evil is based on accusations that Bishop Roger Mahony knew that Oliver O'Grady was an active pedophile.[69]

Diocese of Tucson

The Diocese of Tucson filed for bankruptcy in September, 2004. It reached an t reement with plaintiffs, which the bankruptcy judge approved on June 11, 2005, specifying terms that included allowing the diocese reorganization to continue in return for a $22.2 million settlement.[citation needed]
[edit] Oceania
[edit] Australia
Main article: Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Australia

Archdiocese of Sydney

* Ross Murrin - Catholic brother plead guilty to sexually abusing eight male students.[70]

Archdiocese of Melbourne

Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in Melbourne archdiocese

There were several cases of sexual abuse in the Melbourne archdiocese.

* Michael Charles Glennon - sentenced to at least 15 years in jail for sexually abusing four Aboriginal boys between 1984 and 1991[71]

* Wilfred James Baker - sentenced to four years in prison (parole after 2 years) for 16 counts of indecent assault and one of gross indecency, involving eight boys, aged 10 to 13, over a 20-year period between 1960 and 1979.[72]

* David Daniel - sentenced to six years jail, with parole after 4.5 years, for molesting four boys, a girl and an adult male.[73]

* Rex Elmer - abuser sentenced in 1998 to five years jail (with parole after 3 years 4 months) for molesting 12 boys at St Vincent's orphanage in South Melbourne.[74]

* Terence Goodall, convicted of indecent assault in 2006 for a crime committed in 1982.

* Paul Pavlou, convicted on 29 June 2009 of committing an indecent act with a child under 16 and of being knowingly in possession of child pornography. He was sentenced to an 18 month jail sentence suspended for 24 months and to a two year community based order. He will be registered on the Sex Offenders Register for 15 years. These offences occurred in 2005-2006 while he was the priest at Healesville in the Archdiocese of Melbourne.[75]

[edit] New Zealand
Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic diocese of Christchurch

The abuse scandal in Christchurch is an important chapter in the clerical abuse affairs in New Zealand.
[edit] South America
See also: Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Latin America
[edit] Argentina

* Julio Grassi was found guilty (by a three-judge panel of the Criminal Court Oral 1 Morón) of one count of sexual abuse and one count of corrupting a minor in the “Happy Children’s Foundation”[76].

Archdiocese of Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz

Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz archdiocese

Allegations of sexual abuse on 47 young seminarists surfaced in 1994.[77]
[edit] Brazil

Diocese of Anápolis

* In 2005 Brazilian priests, Fr. Tarcísio Tadeu Spricigo and Fr. Geraldo da Consolação Machado were convicted of child molestation while Fr. Felix Barbosa Carreiro was arrested and charged with child sexual abuse in the northeastern state of Maranhão after police seized him in a hotel room with four teenage boys.[78][79]

Archdiocese of Penedo

* In 2010 Authorities in Brazil began an investigation into three priests after a video allegedly showing a priest sexually abusing an altar boy was broadcast on the SBT television station.[80]

[edit] Chile

Archdiocese of Santiago

* José Andrés Aguirre Ovalle, aka "Cura Tato", was found guilty of nine sexual abuse charges by the highest court of this country. In 2004 Aguirre was sentenced to 12 years in jail. At the beginning of this trial, the Catholic Church was sentenced to pay 50 million in damages to the victims, but then this sentence was revoked by the supreme court.[81]

* Ricardo Muñoz Quinteros, priest of Melipilla, was charged in 2010 with eight cases of sexually abusing minors, including his own daughter. Also, is investigated for producing pronografic material involving children.[82]

* In 2010, the Catholic Church claimed to be conducting an ongoing investigation into sexual abuse allegedly committed by Fr. Fernando Karadima, after four people came forward with allegations of abuse.[83]

Diocese of Valparaíso

* Eduardo Olivares Martínez, was found guilty of a five sexual abuse against underprivileged minors. In 2006 was sentenced to 3 years in jail and to pay 15 million pesos in damages.[84]

* In 2010, Juan Henríquez Zapata was indicted for using minors for sex services.[85]

Diocese of Rancagua

* Jorge Galaz Espinoza, former Director of El Pequeño Cottolengo, was found guilty of repeated violations against two mentally disabled minors. In 2005 Galaz was sentenced to 15 years in jail.[86]

Diocese of Punta Arenas

* Jaime Low Cabezas, was found guilty of a sexual abuse against a 15 year-old minor. In 2009 Low was sentenced to 3 years in jail.[87]

* Víctor Hugo Carrera, was found guilty of a sexual abuse against one underprivileged minor. In 2005 Carrera was sentenced to 541 days in jail and to pay 2 million pesos in damages to the family of the victim. The case involved the bishop of the diocese, who was accused of protecting Carrera and facilitating his escape to Bolivia, where he lived for two years.[88]

[edit] Peru

In 2007, Daniel Bernardo Beltrán Murguía Ward, a 42 year-old SCV consecrated layman was found by the National Police in a hostel in Cercado de Lima with a 12 year-old boy, of whom he was taking sexually explicit pictures. The boy was initially lured by Murguía Ward in Miraflores, where he was given Pokémon figures in exchange for photos of his intimate parts. When Murguía Ward was caught, he had paid the boy 20 soles ($7 USD) for his services in the hostel. The police have reported that pictures of two other boys were also found on Murguía Ward's camera and that the boy has claimed he received oral sex from Murguía Ward. These charges have been denied by the accused. Murguía Ward has since been removed from the SCV for his alleged misconduct.

more on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_sex_abuse_cases_by_country

Related your quote: Btw, it's ironic how the Church is "officially" starting to accept the Theory of Evolution while the C's have told us that we are actually the result of intelligent design :)

Agree 100%, this is pretty strange, someone who supposed to acknowledge their own holly book, simply swap from Creationism to Darwinism, does it mean, genesis is no more DOGMATIC fact, what with other DOGMAS in bible?????

 

[Eboard10]

^^I was talking about this years' eruption of headlines in leading newspapers and news programmes about the sexual abuses which spread all over the world in a matter of weeks. It's the first time that these scandals involving priests get so much attention in the mass media.

 

[Juba]

^^I was talking about this years' eruption of headlines in leading newspapers and news programmes about the sexual abuses which spread all over the world in a matter of weeks. It's the first time that these scandals involving priests get so much attention in the mass media.

But Cannon Law from 1983 stated that Pope can't resign becuse of external presure, oh how convenient:

If a pope wishes to resign today, there are official steps that can be taken. According to the 1983 Code of Canon Law (Canon 332.2), “If it should so happen that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that he makes the resignation freely and that it be duly manifested, but not that it be accepted by anyone.”

What this means is that a pope merely needs to make his desire to resign clearly known and that it cannot be due to outside pressure or fraud, but it isn’t necessary that anyone “accept” his resignation. Ideally the resignation is given to the College of Cardinals, since they elected him in the first place and they can determine if the resignation is submitted freely. Regardless of who’s around, though, once he does it, it’s finalized.

What to say about this ??

 

[Eboard10]

^^I was talking about this years' eruption of headlines in leading newspapers and news programmes about the sexual abuses which spread all over the world in a matter of weeks. It's the first time that these scandals involving priests get so much attention in the mass media.

But Cannon Law from 1983 stated that Pope can't resign becuse of external presure, oh how convenient:

If a pope wishes to resign today, there are official steps that can be taken. According to the 1983 Code of Canon Law (Canon 332.2), “If it should so happen that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that he makes the resignation freely and that it be duly manifested, but not that it be accepted by anyone.”

What this means is that a pope merely needs to make his desire to resign clearly known and that it cannot be due to outside pressure or fraud, but it isn’t necessary that anyone “accept” his resignation. Ideally the resignation is given to the College of Cardinals, since they elected him in the first place and they can determine if the resignation is submitted freely. Regardless of who’s around, though, once he does it, it’s finalized.

What to say about this ??

Well, the Pope is not chosen by the people, he's "chosen" by God hence why he doesn't need to resign due to external pressure

 

[Jacques]

^^I was talking about this years' eruption of headlines in leading newspapers and news programmes about the sexual abuses which spread all over the world in a matter of weeks. It's the first time that these scandals involving priests get so much attention in the mass media.

But Cannon Law from 1983 stated that Pope can't resign becuse of external presure, oh how convenient:

If a pope wishes to resign today, there are official steps that can be taken. According to the 1983 Code of Canon Law (Canon 332.2), “If it should so happen that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that he makes the resignation freely and that it be duly manifested, but not that it be accepted by anyone.”

What this means is that a pope merely needs to make his desire to resign clearly known and that it cannot be due to outside pressure or fraud, but it isn’t necessary that anyone “accept” his resignation. Ideally the resignation is given to the College of Cardinals, since they elected him in the first place and they can determine if the resignation is submitted freely. Regardless of who’s around, though, once he does it, it’s finalized.

What to say about this ??

Well, the Pope is not chosen by the people, he's "chosen" by God hence why he doesn't need to resign due to external pressure

And we know what kind of God it is.

 

[Nawd]

I'm in a humor-ish mood but:

*ring*

Phone answerer running into Pope's room: "Pope, it's for you, says he is God and wants you to step down as the Pope!!"

Pope: "Let him know he has the wrong number."