FSTDT Forums
Community => Religion and Philosophy => Topic started by: Ultimate Paragon on November 09, 2014, 08:40:22 pm
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/09/pope-francis-excommunicate-priest_n_6122766.html (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/09/pope-francis-excommunicate-priest_n_6122766.html)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Pope Francis has excommunicated a pedophile Argentine priest, a move applauded by advocates for victims of clerical abuse.
Jose Mercau was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2011 after admitting to sexually abusing four teenagers. He spent 15 days in jail and was then held in a monastery in Buenos Aires province until he was released last March.
The pope's decision was made public Wednesday by the bishopric of San Isidro on the outskirts of the Argentine capital.
Many welcomed the news, but victims and advocates of clergy sex abuse said the Roman Catholic Church still needs to be more determined, effective and severe when it comes to punishing such crimes in Argentina.
"The church still has a long way to go," said Sebastian Cuattromo, director of an advocacy group called Adultxs for the Rights of Infancy.
The policies of Pope Francis "are being carried out because of the long fight by the victims," said Cuattromo, who was sexually abused by a priest in Buenos Aires at age 13.
It's sad that it's revolutionary for a Pope to excommunicate a damn pedophile. On the other hand, maybe this is a sign of change for the better.
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HOLY SHIT!
Ironbite-he did something to impress me.
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He excommunicated this guy only after he'd been serving jail time. Nice try, but next time try it on one of the ones who hasn't been caught due to the previous cover-ups.
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I want to call this a step in the right direction, except that seems to overstate the case considering all the other priests that haven't been excommunicated yet. The article mentions Grassi, probably the most high-profile local example, but he's far from the only one.
Fun fact: the Church has a provision in Canon law for automatic excommunication for certain acts, called latae sententiae excommunication (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latae_sententiae#Excommunications). It applies to things like performing an abortion or ordaining someone as a bishop without Papal mandate. It does not apply to child molesting. Priorities!
Oh well. It's not a step in the wrong direction, at least.
As an entirely unrelated aside:
Adultxs for the Rights of Infancy
The Spanish word "infancia" actually translates to "childhood", not "infancy". Also not sure why they kept the "gender-neutral x" in English. So that should be "Adults for the Rights of Childhood" or "Adults for Children's Rights".
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I'll be slightly impressed when the RCC starts complying with investigations by local authorities into sexual assault charges.
That's really the bare minimum they could be doing.
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Why do you people always bitch when the pope does good things?
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Why do you people always bitch when the pope does good things?
It's a very shallow PR move that's solely done to make the church seem like it's actually doing something about kiddy fiddling priests when in reality it's doing fuck all to actually fix the problem.
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Why do you people always bitch when the pope does good things?
It's a very shallow PR move that's solely done to make the church seem like it's actually doing something about kiddy fiddling priests when in reality it's doing fuck all to actually fix the problem.
/thread
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Why do you people always bitch when the pope does good things?
It's a very shallow PR move that's solely done to make the church seem like it's actually doing something about kiddy fiddling priests when in reality it's doing fuck all to actually fix the problem.
All I see is changing the goalposts. A while ago when pope Fransiscus did something else people said he should have excommunicated kiddy fiddlers and now when he is doing just that people are complaining about him not taking the next step.
The way I see it Fransiscus has done more than the previous popes and is slowly changing the Catholic church. If the change isn't as fast as you want it to be then say so rather than claiming that he isn't doing anything at all.
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Why do you people always bitch when the pope does good things?
It's a very shallow PR move that's solely done to make the church seem like it's actually doing something about kiddy fiddling priests when in reality it's doing fuck all to actually fix the problem.
All I see is changing the goalposts. A while ago when pope Fransiscus did something else people said he should have excommunicated kiddy fiddlers and now when he is doing just that people are complaining about him not taking the next step.
The way I see it Fransiscus has done more than the previous popes and is slowly changing the Catholic church. If the change isn't as fast as you want it to be then say so rather than claiming that he isn't doing anything at all.
Basically, he only excommunicated one paedo priest who's apparently been convicted and imprisoned. It' completelys meaningless, the guy's career in the church is already dead, hence why this is just a shallow PR move. When we say we want the church to do something about kiddy fiddlers, we mean actually do something about them. How about, for example, he excommunicate a few paedos that the church has actively covered for in the past? There would still be a hell of a lot more work to be but, but at least it would be an actual step in the right direction, rather than the mere facade of one.
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Actually, I shouldn't have been as harsh earlier, considering the priest was released from jail after serving only a couple of weeks. At least now he's not coming back to the Church for more.
But I'd still rather the Pope excommunicate someone who hasn't been caught by secular authorities yet.
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Actually, I shouldn't have been as harsh earlier, considering the priest was released from jail after serving only a couple of weeks. At least now he's not coming back to the Church for more.
But I'd still rather the Pope excommunicate someone who hasn't been caught by secular authorities yet.
And then turn the evidence over to the secular authorities.
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Actually, I shouldn't have been as harsh earlier, considering the priest was released from jail after serving only a couple of weeks. At least now he's not coming back to the Church for more.
But I'd still rather the Pope excommunicate someone who hasn't been caught by secular authorities yet.
And then turn the evidence over to the secular authorities.
Isn't that basically what they already declared to be doing? They set up a group to investigate accusations within the church. Hopefully they will also turn in all the evidence they obtain when they find a guilty priest and don't simply bury the cases like they used to...
Yeah, the Catholic church isn't even close to being perfect, I'm just hoping that it would be on its way to improve.
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Why do you people always bitch when the pope does good things?
It's a very shallow PR move that's solely done to make the church seem like it's actually doing something about kiddy fiddling priests when in reality it's doing fuck all to actually fix the problem.
All I see is changing the goalposts. A while ago when pope Fransiscus did something else people said he should have excommunicated kiddy fiddlers and now when he is doing just that people are complaining about him not taking the next step.
The way I see it Fransiscus has done more than the previous popes and is slowly changing the Catholic church. If the change isn't as fast as you want it to be then say so rather than claiming that he isn't doing anything at all.
He should establish an actual change of policy regarding kiddy fiddlers. One excommunicated priest is not a bad thing, but it's not significant if it's not a prelude to all such priests being excommunicated rather than shielded.
My main criticism of Bergoglio has always been that he focuses on PR rather than reform. Excommunicating one priest could be a prelude to reform, but until it does, it's just PR. I will withhold credit until evidence of reform actually appears.
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A one-at-a-time policy is of dubious value.
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Why do you people always bitch when the pope does good things?
It's a very shallow PR move that's solely done to make the church seem like it's actually doing something about kiddy fiddling priests when in reality it's doing fuck all to actually fix the problem.
All I see is changing the goalposts. A while ago when pope Fransiscus did something else people said he should have excommunicated kiddy fiddlers and now when he is doing just that people are complaining about him not taking the next step.
The way I see it Fransiscus has done more than the previous popes and is slowly changing the Catholic church. If the change isn't as fast as you want it to be then say so rather than claiming that he isn't doing anything at all.
He should establish an actual change of policy regarding kiddy fiddlers. One excommunicated priest is not a bad thing, but it's not significant if it's not a prelude to all such priests being excommunicated rather than shielded.
My main criticism of Bergoglio has always been that he focuses on PR rather than reform. Excommunicating one priest could be a prelude to reform, but until it does, it's just PR. I will withhold credit until evidence of reform actually appears.
I'd at least want child molestation added to the "do this and you're automatically excommunicated" list.
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Francis needs to be a lot more ballsy if he wants to impress me.
Unfortunately, anything ballsy would probably end up with him mysteriously dying.
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Well he just demoted a top US Cardinal who was a huge advocate of treating gays like hellspawn and the Cardinal said the Pope doesn't have the authority to change the Church's teachings on homosexuality.
Ironbite-uh....isn't the Pope your boss there Cardinal Bitchypants?
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Well he just demoted a top US Cardinal who was a huge advocate of treating gays like hellspawn and the Cardinal said the Pope doesn't have the authority to change the Church's teachings on homosexuality.
Ironbite-uh....isn't the Pope your boss there Cardinal Bitchypants?
The Pope only has power so long as his uses of that power align with the wishes of the people who put him on his throne.
Just ask John Paul II.