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Pope Benedict XVI's pastoral letter to Ireland's Catholics has failed to arrest the scandal engulfing the church, with pressure growing for the resignation of bishops who were in positions of authority during the paedophile priest cover-up.Calls for bishops to step down came amid revelations of more abuse cases, including some in Germany.
Pope Benedict XVI's pastoral letter to Ireland's Catholics has failed to arrest the scandal engulfing the church, with pressure growing for the resignation of bishops who were in positions of authority during the paedophile priest cover-up.
Calls for bishops to step down came amid revelations of more abuse cases, including some in Germany.
Because it is media creation I am tired of all these stories of sexual abuse which some newschannels like CNN strangely put at the top of headlines. When they again and again repeat these allegations I just switch channel. And it is not about my religious beliefs, I despair these media machinations and manipulations when they try to give the story undue importance. There are so many more important things going on in this world, take just continuing blockade of Gaza by Israel for example. Yet the Western media simply is not relenting.
I am not a catholic and not a christian but I am dismayed by seemingly determined destruction of Western church by media. What, the Westerners would be much better without church which clings to outdated superstitions? Would Westerners stop their wars and occupations of other countries, abjure targeted assasinations, abductions and torture of suspects and give up support for apartheid style regimes like Israel? It's not the Roman pope who asked the Westerners to do all these things.
What the victims have been doing (in some cases for many decades) all the time? Why they did not contact the police and kept silence?
Even if, in other countries, the Catholic Church didn't hold such a strong grip on moral and secular power, it is still very, very difficult for young victims to turn against such an authority figure and powerful institution.
Would Westerners stop their wars and occupations of other countries, abjure targeted assasinations, abductions and torture of suspects and give up support for apartheid style regimes like Israel?
With an entirely secular government? I'd be surprised if at least some of these things didn't happen.
Tony Blair used his Catholic religion - the one he lied about and kept secret from the electorate - as an explicit excuse for the Iraq invasion.
Of course there's no guarantee an atheist would have thought differently, but 'god' does seem to have an odd habit of getting involved in wars everywhere.
Wow.
We're not talking about harmless Buddhist monks being broken by the Myanmar military junta here... The brainless should not be in banking -- Willem Buiter
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