Miscellanea Agnostica

The wizened, robed denizens of the Vatican continue to evade responsibility for how their own institution handled clergy who abused children in their care for decades in various countries. They continue to act as though they’ve done nothing wrong and are being unfairly maligned by insidious, vile forces who are out to destroy them. CNN reports on the latest example of this head-in-the-sand thinking, mouthed this time by the Catholic Church’s doctrinal enforcer (WebCite cached article):

A top Roman Catholic official opened a conference on protecting children from sexual abuse Monday by defending Pope Benedict XVI, arguing that he deserved thanks for his efforts.

Cardinal William Levada said Benedict, before becoming pope, enacted many of the reforms that followed the eruption of the church’s sex-abuse scandal a decade ago.

“But the pope has had to suffer attacks by the media over these past years in various parts of the world, when he should receive the gratitude of us all, in the church and outside it,” Levada said in his opening address to the conference.

All I can say to this is, boo fucking hoo, Cardinal. I call bullshit on this claim. Prior to becoming Pope, Benedict had been the doctrinal enforcer, and in that capacity had, in fact, ordered bishops not to cooperate with local authorities’ investigations of child abuse, and to continue the longstanding policy of silence and cover-up. He personally intervened to keep a known predator priest in active service. When Irish authorities discovered that this hideous policy of obfuscation and interference was still being followed as recently as 2009 — even after Irish bishops had promised to stop — the Pope was offended, and recalled the Vatican’s nuncio to that country.

No, Cardinal Levada. Pope Benedict is by no means innocent in this scandal, and is not being “unfairly” maligned by a vicious and evil “media.” Moreover, the Pope has most certainly not been “attacked” by anyone in the media. A punch in the face is an “attack.” Being called to account for conduct he engaged in and which was documented, is no “attack.”

Cardinal Levada’s lie about the Pope’s innocence places him in my “lying liars for Jesus” club.

Clearly the Cardinal is adhering to the notion — prevailing within the halls of the Vatican and in diocesan chanceries around the world — that the Roman Catholic clerical child-abuse scandal is a spiritual attack by the Forces of Darkness upon a totally-innocent and forever-saintly Church that has done nothing wrong. They’re convinced that it’s not the abusive clergy who are guilty of anything, but instead, the Devil within the child-victims who — somehow — forced those poor, virtuous souls into abusing them. Alternatively, it’s all society’s fault; the “sexual revolution” forced clergy to abuse kids in their care. The Church hierarchs continue to point the finger of blame everywhere but toward themselves.

Enough is enough. When does the Pope — or Cardinal Levada — or any other hierarch plan to finally “man up” and take responsibility for this horrific worldwide scandal? They won’t. They’re all a bunch of sniveling crybaby cowards.

Photo credit: Catholic Church (England and Wales).

Tags: benedict xvi, cardinal levada, cardinal william levada, catholic child abuse scandal, catholic church, catholic clerical abuse scandal, child abuse, child abuse scandal, christian, Christianity, christians, clerical child abuse, holy see, pope, pope benedict, pope benedict xvi, priestly pedophilia, roman catholic, roman catholic church, scandal, vatican, vatican city, william levada

Ultra-orthodox Jewish men in Israel apparently decided they’ve had enough of those insolent, “uppity” females who don’t believe as they do and whom they think can never be seen in public. They’re no longer resorting to bullying schoolgirls; instead, a bunch of them ganged up on and viciously attacked a lone woman in Beit Shemesh, as the Jerusalem Post reports (WebCite cached article):

Beit Shemesh resident Natalie Mashiach, 27, was hanging up flyers for the national lottery in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet on Tuesday afternoon, when she was approached by haredi man who she said cursed her and spat in her face.

According to Mashiach, she retreated to her car, when dozens of men started pelting her vehicle with stones, punctured her tires, poured bleach on her inside the car and stole her car keys. She then fled to a nearby building chased by the mob, before the police arrived and dispersed them.

Mashiach sustained a light injury from a rock which was thrown at her head during the incident.

How manly of these guys to attack one woman. What an accomplishment! Why, they must be so proud of themselves for having taken on such a mighty foe!

Fucking cowards … !

Photo credit: Alexbip.

Tags: assault, beit shemesh, beit shemesh bet, crime, criminal, haredi, haredim, israel, jew, jewish, jews, judaism, misognyist, misogynists, misogyny, nachman segel, natalie mashiach, ramat beit shemesh bet, refael ekstein, ultra-orthodox, ultraorthodox, vandalism, vandals, woman, women, yehoshua mordechai bloi

The latest example of what I like to refer to as “the Christian martyr complex” comes in this pronouncement by Pope Benedict XVI. The Catholic News Service reports that the Holy Father has declared Christianity — and even religion itself — to be in danger of extinction (WebCite cached article):

Christianity and even religious belief are in grave danger across the globe, risking oblivion, Pope Benedict XVI said.

“Across vast areas of the earth, faith runs the danger of extinguishing like a flame that runs out of fuel,” he said.

Last I knew, religious faith was still going strong. The vast majority of people in the world are religious, and while religious fervor is fading in a few places such as Europe, in most regions religion is going strong and is nowhere near dying out.

It almost goes without saying that, in those few places where religion is becoming less common, the Roman Catholic Church’s own conduct has very likely contributed to this trend. “Charity begins at home,” or so the saying goes, so maybe the Pope should look in his own mirror and figure out how he might try to reverse this trend that so alarms him? My guess is he’ll refuse to do so and continue to wail about the evils of “secular humanism,” rather than examine and ferret out the evils within his own Church.

The article includes an additional quote, though, which I find remarkable:

“Without faith, the whole ecumenical movement would be reduced to a form of ‘social contract’ that’s adhered to out of common interest,” the pope said.

I’m not quite sure what the problem is with a “social contract” that people embrace “out of common interest.” Wouldn’t that be the best thing … for people to get along with each other, because it’s in their own best interest? And isn’t this precisely how the Ethic of Reciprocity works — a principle which, ironically, none other than the founder of the Pope’s own religion promoted? If this is something Jesus taught, why would the Pope find it objectionable?

None of this should be news to any Vatican-watcher. As the clerical child-abuse scandal has hammered the Catholic Church around the world, the current Pope and his predecessor both staunchly refused to acknowledge any part in it; they both tried to prevent bishops from allowing abusive clergy to be investigated by local authorities; and Benedict remains committed to a policy of evading responsibility for it, becoming offended when he’s forced to face it. He could, in one moment, restore the credibility of his own Church — and by extension, that of Christianity and of religion generally — by dealing with the scandal in a contrite and moral manner. But he never will. Count on it.

Hat tip: CNN Belief Blog.

Photo credit: Catholic Church (England & Wales).

Tags: benedict xvi, catholic church, catholicism, christian martyr complex, christian persecution complex, ethic of reciprocity, golden rule, holy see, persecution, persecution complex, pope benedict, pope benedict xvi, religionism, religionist, religionists, roman catholic, roman catholic church, vatican, vatican city

Yesterday’s post on the latest reprehensible excuse for child abuse by priests — and for hierarchs doing nothing to stop it — offered by the Roman Catholic Church, got me to thinking about the number of excuses the Church has made over the years, concerning its handling of the vast worldwide child-abuse scandal that has dogged it for around a decade. Here are some of the ones I’ve blogged about:

1. What’s wrong with abusing children?
2. Claims are claims, so we don’t care
3. The Devil within the victims caused the abuse
4. The Devil lurking in the Vatican caused the abuse & the scandal
5. The scandal is a plot against the Pope
6. The Bible forbids anyone to “judge” the Church
7. The scandal was falsely cooked up by “masonic secularists” and “great newspapers”
8. The scandal is a conspiracy of the Jews
9. Admitting wrongdoing would cost too much money
10. The scandal is an attack by “the world”
11. Sexually assaulting children is not pedophilia & there’s nothing wrong with it
12. The priestly-pedophilia scandal is all society’s fault
13. The victims liked it, so it was OK

The above are all serious statements offered by current or former Church officials, accused clergy, or the Vatican’s defenders. In addition to all of these, there’s also a widespread assumption among lay Catholics that allegations of child abuse are all fabricated, made up in order to extort money from dioceses.

The aforementioned excuses are all depraved evasions of the truth, which is that Roman Catholic clergy around the world abused children in their care; they sometimes did so systematically; abusive clergy were aided and abetted by the Church’s hierarchs; and to date the Church still tries to keep its clergy from being prosecuted.

And yes, folks, the abuse absolutely did occur. While it’s not reasonable to assume each and every individual allegation is true, a long line of independent reports in many countries have all verified that the abuse happened, it happened on a wide scale, and it took place over the course of decades; see e.g. reports from Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands, to name just three.

I’m sure more excuses will be offered in the future, but at this point I expect they’re likely to be variations on the above … along the lines of “it wasn’t all that serious” or “it’s a conspiracy!” More’s the pity.

Photo credit: Demotivators blog (defunct).

Tags: catholic church, catholic clerical abuse scandal, catholic clerical child abuse, catholic clerical child abuse scandal, child sexual abuse, christian, Christianity, christians, conspiracies, conspiracy, conspiracy theories, conspiracy theory, excuse-making, excuses, holy see, papacy, pope, priestly pedophilia, roman catholic, roman catholic church, sexual abuse, vatican, vatican city

I already blogged about some ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel who bullied a girl because they subjectively interpreted her attire to be “immodest.” They then reacted to criticism over their behavior by hurling a reductio ad Hitlerum at their critics. In spite of the outcry against that, they’ve continued their assault on women in Isreal, as the AP reports via the Boston Globe (locally-cached article):

A small group of ultra-Orthodox Jews has prevented some women from voting in local elections in Jerusalem. It’s the latest step by the extremely pious Jews to try to force their practices on others.

Israel’s Channel 2 TV video showed the men screaming at a few dozen women, demanding that they leave a voting station Wednesday. Then the men pushed them away.

The article makes one final point:

The vast majority of Israel’s Jews object to such measures.

If this is truly the case, one wonders why this stuff is even happening at all, not to mention accelerating in frequency and militancy. Hmm.

Hat tip: Unreasonable Faith.

Photo credit: vicki wolkins.

Tags: democracy, elections, israel, jerusalem, jew, jewish, jews, judaism, misognyist, misogynists, misogyny, ultra-orthodox, ultraorthodox, voting, woman, women

I’m not sure how much this really has to do with “religion” per se or anything metaphysical, but here it is. The BBC reports that the Swedish government has decided to recognize a church whose sacrament is file-sharing (WebCite cached article):

A “church” whose central tenet is the right to file-share has been formally recognised by the Swedish government.

The Church of Kopimism claims that “kopyacting” — sharing information through copying — is akin to a religious service. …

The church, which holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V (shortcuts for copy and paste) as sacred symbols, does not directly promote illegal file sharing, focusing instead on the open distribution of knowledge to all.

Kopimism is less of a spiritual movement, and more like a transparent effort to protect file-sharing, as admitted by its founder:

It was founded by 19-year-old philosophy student and leader Isak Gerson. He hopes that file-sharing will now be given religious protection.

The effort here is to use laws religious-freedom laws as a facade behind which to share files. Not being a lawyer, I have no idea how well this will work.

In case you feel like finding out more about it, the Missionary Church of Kopimism has a Web site, with this introductory page in English. Photo credit: kopimi (aka “Copy Me”).

Tags: church of kopimism, computing, copy, copy paste, copying, file copying, file sharing, kopimi, kopimism, Religion, sweden, tech, technology

I blogged yesterday about ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel who’ve been harassing other Israelis who aren’t religionistic hard-liners like themselves. They’ve taken some heat lately, but apparently are not mature enough to handle the criticism. They’ve shot back by hurling the old reductio ad Hitlerum at those who dare tell them to keep their vicious religionism to themselves, as the Jerusalem Post reports (WebCite cached article):

Approximately 1,500 ultra-Orthodox men gathered at Shabbat Square in the capital’s Geula neighborhood on Saturday night to protest what they called the “oppression” and “incitement” of the “secular community” against them.

Dozens of men wore yellow Stars of David on their jackets with the word “Jude” in the center, and banners bearing slogans such as “Zionists are not Jews” and “Zionism is racism” were paraded at the rally.

They’ve even asked for protection, because this criticism — as they see it — is no different than a genuine, physical attack upon their persons:

“Orthodox Jews demand the presence of international forces to protect them,” another sign read.

So not only are these people hyperreligionistic and immature, they’re also delusionally paranoid. What a wonderful combination. (Not unlike the Religious Right in the US!). These ultra-orthodox Jews view the insolence of secular Israelis who won’t give up being secular and abide by their dour ultra-orthodox standards as the equivalent of an active campaign to destroy them.

Sorry people, but in this world, no one is entitled never to be criticized, and to be criticized is not the same as being physically attacked. Time to fucking grow the hell up, OK? Wah wah wah.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Tags: argumentum ad hitlerum, geula, haredi, haredim, israel, jew, jewish, jews, judaism, reductio ad hitlerum, religionism, religionist, religionistic, religionists, shabbat square, ultra-orthodox, ultraorthodox

I’ve blogged numerous times about religious extremism. Most of the examples I cite deal with Christian extremism, and less often, Islamic extremism. But that’s not to say that other religions don’t have extremists, or that I don’t mention them. The latest example I’ve come across, is one of Jewish extremism. The AP reports via USA Today that some ultra-orthodox Jewish men have been harassing a little girl as she walks to school in Israel (WebCite cached article):

A shy 8-year-old schoolgirl has unwittingly found herself on the front line of Israel’s latest religious war.

Naama Margolese is a ponytailed, bespectacled second-grader who is afraid of walking to her religious Jewish girls school for fear of ultra-Orthodox extremists who have spat on her and called her a whore for dressing “immodestly.” …

The girls school that Naama attends in the city of Beit Shemesh, to the west of Jerusalem, is on the border between an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood and a community of modern Orthodox Jewish residents, many of them American immigrants.

The ultra-Orthodox consider the school, which moved to its present site at the beginning of the school year, an encroachment on their territory. Dozens of black-hatted men jeer and physically accost the girls almost daily, claiming their very presence is a provocation.

The problem with harassing people over “immodesty,” of course, is that “immodesty” is both subjective and relative. Almost any kind of outfit can be labeled “immodest” if one wishes to do so. And the context in which an outfit is worn can make it seem more or less “immodest.”

The tension between the hard-line Haredi Jews of Beit Shemesh and their more moderate neighbors is not new, though:

Beit Shemesh’s growing ultra-Orthodox population has erected street signs calling for the separation of sexes on the sidewalks, dispatched “modesty patrols” to enforce a chaste female appearance and hurled stones at offenders and outsiders. Walls of the neighborhood are plastered with signs exhorting women to dress modestly in closed-necked, long-sleeved blouses and long skirts.

In other words, they’ve carried on a campaign intended to force others — not of their sect — to act as though they believe as they do.

(Gee, sounds a bit like the Religious Right here in the US, no?)

Christian readers of my blog have complained previously that they feel I don’t criticize other religions. This blog entry — like a number of others — proves them wrong on what score. Moreover, even if I only pointed out examples of Christian extremism, that in itself does not make me wrong. Extremism is not relative; it doesn’t become acceptable in one religion just because it happens in another; and I don’t have to talk about the extremism of other religions in order to remark on Christian extremism.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Tags: beit shemesh, charedi, charedim, haredi, haredim, immodesty, jew, jewish, jews, modesty, naama margolese, ultra-orthodox, ultraorthodox