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Tag Archives: cover-up
“I’m shocked, shocked” says the Pope…
I had a rather peculiar feeling when reading how shocked and dismayed Pope Benedict XVI said he was over the report on Irish abuse. I was reminded in fact of a scene from the classic film Casablanca (1942). You know the one — the refugees in the bar beat the Germans in the “Battle of the Anthems” and so the head Nazi, the evil Maj. Strasser, orders the corrupt French cop Capt. Renault to shut the place down. Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds? Capt. Renault: I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on … More…
Posted in Black Collar Crime, Heretic's Pulpit, Priests of Darkness, Roman Circus
Tagged catholic church, clergy sex abuse, clericalism, cover-up, crisis, hypocrisy, inquisition, ireland, movies, ratzinger, scandal
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Where’s Perrault?
The time has come at last. My book is published and available online. I am finally getting a few good reviews — including one I truly treasure from none other than Fr. Tom Doyle, one of the true experts in the field and a sterling advocate for clergy abuse victims. All that’s left now is to announce it to the world. So, here then is the officious official Press Release. By coincidence, this is the anniversary season for the real beginning of the clergy abuse scandals in New Mexico, which started with a bang way back, a full seventeen years … More…
“So Dark the Con of Man”
The subject line is the first clue, I believe, from Dan Brown’s THE DA VINCI CODE, but it applies equally well to ANGELS & DEMONS, especially the cinematic version, which I saw this weekend. What a con job! The many disappointed reviews only tell part of it… This is a little odd. After all, Ron Howard is a very talented filmmaker, and the director of APOLLO 13 certainly knows full well how to craft a film like this. With his proven track record, he can call on enough money and talent to deliver thrilling action sequences in spectacular settings with … More…
Posted in Heretic's Pulpit, Pop Cult, Priests of Darkness, Roman Circus, Weirdload
Tagged angels, catholic church, clergy crimes, cover-up, da vinci code, movies, vatican
The Real Valentine
Everyone’s heard the sweet story of St. Valentine, a Christian martyr imprisoned by the Romans, who encouraged his followers while he waited for the chop by writing them messages on heart-shaped leaves. From this supposedly we get the whole Valentine’s Day thing. What the saint had to do with Cupid however, has never been really explained, except that in mid-February birds in England and France began to court. Of course, it doesn’t really matter as long as it gets the job done. In any case, as with most pious myths, it ain’t necessarily so. In the first place, there are … More…
Posted in Heretic's Pulpit, Holey Scriptures, Pop Cult, Weirdload
Tagged catholic church, cover-up, cults, gnosticism, saints, valentine
The Most Spectacular Case of All
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been doing a lot of historical research for a book about the history of sex and the clergy. Every time I think it’s just about done, something else drops into my lap that simply must be included. This amazing tale, for instance. It’s the latest, but I doubt the last… One of the most spectacular cases of all time involved a school for poor girls run by nuns in Florence as a prostitution ring and sex cult. The sisters’ highborn and well-educated confessor, Canon Pandolfo Ricasoli, held the ancient heresy that all things are permitted … More…
Posted in Black Collar Crime, Dark Rites, Holey Scriptures, Pop Cult, Priests of Darkness, Roman Circus, Weirdload
Tagged clergy crimes, clergy sex abuse, confessional, convents, cover-up, cults, florence, history, inquisition, jesuits, nuns, priarists, ricasoli, saints
Interesting Canons
When reading up on celibacy, the Council of Elvira (c. 305, Spain) is always cited as the first one to say bishops and priests shouldn’t have sex with their wives. Having located them, I found a number of other interesting rules. Just imagine what the Church would be like if these were still in effect. However, they’ve all be superseded by a thousand later rules, all just as useless. 18. Bishops, presbyters, and deacons, once they have taken their place in the ministry, shall not be given communion even at the time of death if they are guilty of sexual … More…
Turning Victims into Accomplices
During the clergy sexual abuse crisis, the Roman Catholic Church was confronted with the one thing it dreads the most: scandals. Jesus himself had warned his followers that scandals involving children would inevitably come. It’s just really too bad the disciples only picked up on the part about how awful scandal was and not his sayings about honoring, protecting, and saving children. A little humility would also have been good. When the Church finally realized that victims could no longer be intimidated by the prestige of the priesthood, threatened with hell, or placated by soothing but meaningless promises of the … More…