LONDON (Reuters) - Roman Catholic bishops in England and Wales rejected as false and misleading a BBC documentary about what it said was a cover-up of child sexual abuse under a system enforced by Pope Benedict XVI in his previous job.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, head of the Catholic Church in the two countries, plans to write to Mark Thompson, director general of the BBC this week to protest about the program, aired late on Sunday.
The documentary by flagship current affairs program "Panorama" examined what it described as a secret document written in 1962 that sets out a procedure for dealing with child *** abuse within the Catholic Church.
The document, called "Crimen Sollicitationis," imposes an oath of secrecy on the child victim, the priest dealing with the allegation and any witness. Breaking that oath would result in excommunication, the BBC said.
"The procedure was intended to protect a priest's reputation until the Church had investigated, but in practice it can offer a blueprint for cover-up," the documentary said.
"The man in charge of enforcing it for 20 years was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the man made Pope last year," reporter Colm O'Gorman said in the program "*** Crimes and the Vatican."
Ratzinger was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican department that enforces doctrine, from
The Vatican said on Monday it was studying the transcript of the show but had no immediate comment.
US scandal
The existence of the document is not new. It first surfaced publicly in 2003, when it was widely reported in the US media.
American lawyers representing alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests at the time used it in law suits against some American dioceses.
The US scandal, in which priests known to have abused minors were transferred from parish to parish instead of being sacked, was centered in Boston.
The scandal led to the resignation of the city's archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Law, in December 2002.
Responding to the documentary, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of
Birmingham, central England, said the BBC should be "ashamed of the standard of the journalism used to create this unwarranted attack on Pope Benedict XVI."
He said there were two strands to the documentary, one highlighting cases of child abuse by priests, a crime he said the Catholic Church dealt with seriously, carefully and with transparency, the other attacking the Vatican.
"This aspect of the program is false and entirely misleading," Nichols said in a statement endorsed by the bishops of England and Wales.
"It is false because it misrepresents two Vatican documents and uses them quite misleadingly in order to connect the horrors of child abuse to the person of the Pope." The second document cited by the BBC was a 2001 update of the original text.
The public broadcaster defended its documentary.
"The protection of children is clearly an issue of the strongest public interest," it said in a statement, responding to the bishops' criticism. "The BBC stands by tonight's 'Panorama' program, and invites viewers to make up their own minds once they've seen it."
Still trash is an apt name for you. What does this article about the Vatican have to do with the poor people who cross the border - most of whom have no idea of the Church's policies.
Child abuse has been covered up for years - by people of all faiths and belief systems. Even politicians as recently as this year are in cover up mode. Is it wrong - yes - and we must all work to eradicate those who harm children (and others who cannot defend themselves).
Still trash is an apt name for you. What does this article about the Vatican have to do with the poor people who cross the border - most of whom have no idea of the Church's policies.
You fool !
This is not about children. I see this article as a wonderful opportunity for us , unwavering, epic and heroically uncompromising hard-core anti-immigrants, to somehow link together the pedofiles of Vatican with barefeet border crossing Latino dirtbags - on the account of both being Catholics.
If we succeed in creating an image of murderous, pedofilous, rapicious, Vaticanous Latino-Catholic dirtbags , by whatever associative means we can, consider our great anti-immigrant cause to be assured of sound victory !
Yes, there should be an intense background check - but if they have never been convicted or arrested for the crime - who can tell. Those, however, who destroy their public trust should have to leave office immediately.
The additional kind of checks that Im talking about is questioning friends, neighbors co workers etc. the kind of check the FBI does when they come looking for you, whether it be tax evasion/returns not filed, or some other matter. USCIS used to investigate like this too.
Im sure plenty of people knew this guy was a little off colour but choose the course of if you dont ask, we wont tell. same with the priests. lots of you out there know people like this.... but you dont say anything.
Hey, folks, did you hear the latest news that Foley was molested as a child by a drunkard-g.ay-Catholic-Priest and that's why he passed the law to prosecute himself?
I always had suspicions that Latino migrants were pedofiles, but now I have no doubts !
You're right 4now, you're right. A whole investigation should be done because of the delicate nature of the issue where children are involved, on one hand, and on the other, the reputation of the priest. It is very fragile, especially in small communities. When there are suspicions circling around, and they are not confirmed, it is damaging to the priest and to the community. On the other side of the issue, I am only afraid that the Roman Catholic Church by giving a cover for the time of investigation, is also trying to cover up or hush the whole affair. There is the danger of it there. But at least the Church is aware of this issue and is doing something about it.
IMHO, I think its unnatural for a priest not to have a wife. And a lot of priests nowadays feel this way too, but are not outspoken. They treat it a sacrifice of their life for the Lord. I think that's the main source of the unnatural behaviour on the part of some priests. We are all human beings created to procreate. There are no exceptions in nature.
the day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution- paul cezanne
Originally posted by 4now: The additional kind of checks that Im talking about is questioning friends, neighbors co workers etc. the kind of check the FBI does when they come looking for you, whether it be tax evasion/returns not filed, or some other matter. USCIS used to investigate like this too.
Im sure plenty of people knew this guy was a little off colour but choose the course of if you dont ask, we wont tell. same with the priests. lots of you out there know people like this.... but you dont say anything.
am I right
I wonder if this would apply to President Clinton. What Rep Foley did pales in comparison to what President Clinton did, BTW!
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." John Adams on Defense of the boston Massacre
Originally posted by iperson: You're right 4now, you're right. A whole investigation should be done because of the delicate nature of the issue where children are involved, on one hand, and on the other, the reputation of the priest. It is very fragile, especially in small communities. When there are suspicions circling around, and they are not confirmed, it is damaging to the priest and to the community. On the other side of the issue, I am only afraid that the Roman Catholic Church by giving a cover for the time of investigation, is also trying to cover up or hush the whole affair. There is the danger of it there. But at least the Church is aware of this issue and is doing something about it.
IMHO, I think its unnatural for a priest not to have a wife. And a lot of priests nowadays feel this way too, but are not outspoken. They treat it a sacrifice of their life for the Lord. I think that's the main source of the unnatural behaviour on the part of some priests. We are all human beings created to procreate. There are no exceptions in nature.
The main problem or issue is that the accusers have waited at least several years up to a decade or two to report the incident. The reason for this is based on the law that give credence to the accuser when they first realized the alleged crime, not when the alleged crime actually occured. Thus, when the person now "remembers" the crime, that is when the statue of limitations start, which is usualy three years and in some cases seven years. Second, the Catholic Church, as a sovereign nation, conducted the investigations in which on clear cut cases, removed the priest from the duties and transferred the priest. In their eyes, the matter is closed.
Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox church, and several other religions do have beliefs in abstenence for the clergy. marriage is primarily a man-made concept.
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." John Adams on Defense of the boston Massacre
What Rep Foley did pales in comparison to what President Clinton did, BTW!
This is so true !!
For an adult to have a concensual act with an adult of opposite s.ex (o.ral s.ex, for instance) is so much more deplorable and graver thing to do than sending molestatious and salacious messages to little boys by an old man !!!
We should forget the fact that US is a Secular State where, under Constitution, it's none of my F-ing business what individuals do with their d.ick or p.ussy and who they have s.ex with for as long as they don't violate the criminal statutes.
Instead, may be we should return to advanced practices of Inquisition in Middle Ages, where adult men and women were condemned for committing such a deplorable and un-natural act as having consensual s.ex with one another outside of the Inquisition's rigidly mandated guidelines !
It's not YOU, moron, but Society (read - "ME") who owns your d.ick and your p.ussy !!! Now remember this !!!!
Obviously what Foley did with little boys pales in comparison to what Clinton did with an adult concenting individual of opposite s.ex, especially if you consider my great disdain for Democrats !!!
Actually, iperson, there are many exceptions in nature. And the choice to remain single or celebate is a personal choice - it does not make one abnormal or perverted. Thousands of people are married and are celebate within the marriage for many reasons.
Yes you're right dragonlady, there are many exceptions in nature and homosexualism is one of them. I should have worded myself in a better way. I mean the "mainstream" natural instinct is procreation. I still think priests should have wifes and families because it is only natural. Of course, it's very difficult to change and I doubt it will ever change. I've read something interesting lately, I can't speak about the source, but it is a sort of a survey which reveals that many, if not every young catholic priests had the feeling of love towards a woman, and a desire for her... This is a natural instinct and they are made to be ashamed of it or feel like betraying the institution of the Roman Catholic Church.
Btw, the Church is not a separate country. True, the Pope resides in Vatican, which is a city state but it doesnt mean all priests in the Catholic Church are Vatican residents and cease to be their country's residents. Vatican is a different state than most of the states in the world. The Church is all over the world, in all countries, not just Vatican, Hudson. The Church is not a nation.
the day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution- paul cezanne
Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox church, and several other religions do have beliefs in abstenence for the clergy. marriage is primarily a man-made concept.
Hmmm.. last time I checked , most christians were still accepting the bible as their guide where genesis scriptures read that God himself instituted the marriage by saying let the man and woman become one flesh. Did I miss something?
Hudson is on a roll. He says also: "I wonder if this would apply to President Clinton. What Rep Foley did pales in comparison to what President Clinton did, BTW!"
Do you really believe that a pedophile that lurks after young boys and girls is a small matter in comparison to a president going thru middle age crisis getting his organ stroked by a promiscuous young woman? Come on now.
I wonder if the story about being abused by the clergy is even true. Gotta admit though, its a good spin and a timely one. Great publicists at doing damage control. Hope the public doesnt buy into it . Dude is a freak.
Originally posted by 4now: Hmmm.. last time I checked , most christians were still accepting the bible as their guide where genesis scriptures read that God himself instituted the marriage by saying let the man and woman become one flesh. Did I miss something?
So, you are suggesting that the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church are not being guided by the Bible?
Clerical Celibacy is a matter of Biblical interpretation, and to some extent, tradition. Clerical Celibacy is based on the Matthew 19:12. The history and the tradition go back for over one thousand years. However reformers, Protestants, believe that the Church misinterpreted and argue that I Timothy 4:1-5, Hebrews 13:4, and I Corinthians 9:5 state celibacy is a degregation of marriage. The Catholic Church then counter argued that celibacy is not about marriage (in fact, the church never condemned marriage), and believe that because Jesus was celibate, so should the clergy.
quote:
Hudson is on a roll. He says also: "I wonder if this would apply to President Clinton. What Rep Foley did pales in comparison to what President Clinton did, BTW!"
Do you really believe that a pedophile that lurks after young boys and girls is a small matter in comparison to a president going thru middle age crisis getting his organ stroked by a promiscuous young woman? Come on now.
let me make myself clear, both what President Clinton did and what ex-Rep Foley did is totally reprehensible. What President Clinton did while he was President amounted to basically Sexual Harassment in the Federal Workplace and violated specific federal statues on relationships between a supervisor and a employee within the same department. President Clinton is a sexual predator while he governor and President. And he used his authority as governor and President to block any and all investigations into the allegations. That is what sets President Clinton's situation much worse than ex-Rep Foley. Foley did admit on television, resigned, and check himself in rehab. That took more guts than you can possibly imagine, conclude, and contemplate. Furthermore, if Speaker of the House did not act appropiately, I blieve he should resign as Speaker.
and since you politicize that event of an individual action, I only responded in kind. You will ignore your own political affilation while demonizing the other party, you will ignore the actions of your own party while demonizing the other, and you will ignore the scandals of your own party while demonizing the scandals of the other party. For me, I only look at the individual and could care less which party affiliation the person belong to.
quote:
I wonder if the story about being abused by the clergy is even true. Gotta admit though, its a good spin and a timely one. Great publicists at doing damage control. Hope the public doesnt buy into it . Dude is a freak.
Hudson... do you approve of pedophiles?
Since you are a Democrat or hold that Democratic Party in higher regard, perhaps you contribute to NAMBLA. You do know what they want to legalize don't you?
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." John Adams on Defense of the boston Massacre
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Background checks need to be done on all these guys. real ones.
and 
Pedolphile Congressman 
