Well, after already paying out in excess of $2.5 BILLION in America alone for legal fees, settlements and prevention programmes, one can understand a certain reticence.
It is worth reminding ourselves, however, that this is a self-inflicted wound to this institution and a wound made worse by it's own inability to self-medicate or to follow it's own rule-book!
The Olympus scandal was precipitated on 14 October 2011 when British-born Michael Woodford was suddenly ousted as chief executive of international optical equipment manufacturer, Olympus Corporation. He had been company president for six months, and two weeks prior had been promoted to CEO, when he exposed "one of the biggest and longest-running loss-hiding arrangements in Japanese corporate history", according to the Wall Street Journal.[4]
Spot the difference?
“Folks, it can and will get better,” Biden said. “There will come a day – I promise you, and your parents as well – when the thought of your son or daughter, or your husband or wife, brings a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye. It will happen.”
"Controversy erupted in Germany … with revelations about the Catholic Church’s ownership of Weltbild, one of the world’s largest pornographic publishing groups. The Church originally purchased Weltbild during the early years of the papacy of John Paul II (1978-2005) and gradually transformed it into one of Germany’s largest media companies that every year sells hundreds of thousands of erotic books from its 2500 titles. ‘To arrive at such a level, millions and millions of offerings and money transfers by the church have gone up in smoke. As far as the German bishops are concerned,‘Weltbild‘ represents a kind of bank; over the years, they have invested nearly 182 million Euros in church dues‘ (The Independent, November 13th, 2011).
Bishops buy-up pornographic publishing houses
In 1998, and with the help of millions of dollars in a Church tax levied on believers, the company merged with five publishing houses of the ‘Georg von Holtzbrinck‘ group and became the ‘Droemer&Knaur‘ publishing corporation that specializes in producing pornographic material. ‘German bishops currently hold 50% of ‘Droemer&Knaur‘, which means that they are no longer just peddlers of erotic and pornographic material (through ‘Weltbild‘), they are now also producers‘ (The Independent). Another Catholic acquisition was Blue Panther Books, which was excluded from the list of participating publishers at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair allegedly because of the pornographic content of its titles"
We are witnessing the self-destruction of a major world religious institution.
Quotations from an article concerning the calls for the resignation of Cardinal Sean Brady, the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland
In a statement it (the Church) said that in 1975 “no State or church guidelines for responding to allegations of child abuse existed in Ireland.”
Church read here: Matthew 18 v 6 "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
What other guidelines did you need?
“The commentary in the program and much of the coverage of my role in this inquiry gives the impression that I was the only person who knew of the allegations against Brendan Smyth at that time and that because of the office I hold in the church today I somehow had the power to stop Brendan Smyth in 1975,” he (Sean Brady) said. “I had absolutely no authority over Brendan Smyth.”
(note: it is implied in the Cardinal's statement that he was NOT the only one who knew)
Ergo, since there is no authority over a fellow priest, how can any priest claim any authority whatsoever? If you have not the authority of honesty, the authority of decency, the authority of knowing right from wrong, the authority of protecting children, the authority of the law….Ah. "I had no power to stop Brendan Smyth", it is said.
What, your arm was so weak you couldn't lift up the phone and report these crimes to the police?
This is not a case of the loss of the 'spiritual high ground', nor of the loss of the 'moral high ground'.
This is simply a case that the Catholic Church, in Ireland and elsewhere, has absolutely no ground upon which belief can be built. The shifting sand of dishonesty and betrayal of faith and doctrine is a quicksand that is swallowing the institution.
It is when we read such as this that we can know the absolute marvellousness and lovingness of the human spirit.
Sybrina Fulton talking to Rabbi Schmuley Boteach full article here
" I have no time for anger. I do not want to grant it a place in my heart"
I am not more gifted than the average human being. If you know anything about history, you would know that is so--what hard times I had in studying and the fact that I do not have a memory like some other people do… I am just more curious than the average person and I will not give up on a problem until I have found the proper solution. This is one of my greatest satisfactions in life--solving problems--and the harder they are, the more satisfaction do I get out of them. Maybe you could consider me a bit more patient in continuing with my problem than is the average human being.
Now, if you understand what I have just told you, you see that it is not a matter of being more gifted but a matter of being more curious and maybe more patient until you solve a problem.
Most times a tide of awareness will be disruptive, shattering the stillness of our pre-conceived ideas, sparkling with the radiance of it's truth
"Some documents that have been exposed in recent weeks have also shown what appear to be moves to scupper efforts by Italy’s interim technocratic government under Mario Monti to get the church to pay property taxes. The Vatican owns an estimated 20 percent of all real estate in Italy, and its tax bill is estimated to be about $100 million annually. Property owned by the Catholic Church is exempt from property taxes as long as the properties serve a religious function. That means hotels, schools, and other church property need only contain a chapel to be exempt from taxes".
Simply because a law says it is legal does not in and of itself make actions moral, ethical or conducive to higher spiritual values
