Category: Religion

Prince Charles: The Anti-Christ.

Well, I’ll bet Di called him worse.

And, y’know, with an author “chosen to be ‘him who has understanding’ (Revelation 13:18),” it’s got to be a hoot work of great importance.

(Via Quiddity)

Lileks devotes most of his column today to a Muslim youth chat room, “Clear Guidance.”

To say that it’s profoundly disturbing is an understatement. And just when you think discussions of jihadi gorefest flicks and Jew killings are the scariest, you run across the final thread he points to.

Blair Witch had nothing on this stuff for insane terror.

Here’s an enchanting little tale about various Christian sects who are feuding over holy sites in Jerusalem …

About 11 monks were taken to hospital after clerics from the rival sects that jealously share the courtyard on the roof of the Jerusalem shrine threw rocks, metal rods and chairs at each other in the latest chapter of a centuries-old dispute.
For the six Christian sects that jealously guard their rights at the church, enshrined in a 1757 Ottoman “status quo” law, the movement several weeks ago by one denomination of a chair into a spot claimed by another was a declaration of war.

Jesus wept.

Boston Cardinal Law yesterday told the media that he would not accept money raised by Voice of the Faithful, a grass roots organization that grew out of the church molestation cover-up scandal (to which scandal Law has been a major contributor).

Law, through the archdiocese, oversees the Cardinal’s Appeal, which is a major annual fund-raiser to garner money both for church operating costs and for various church charitable programs.

The Appeal has been way below targets so far this year. While economic hard times are part of it, it’s clear that a number of contributors are more than a little reluctant to donate directly to the archdiocese (in the name of the cardinal, no less), given the cover-up scandal and the failure by the archdiocese (and the cardinal) to deal with sexually abusive priests. Voice of the Faithful is setting up an alternative means for people to contribute money, to be provided directly to church charities without passing through diocesan hands (ensuring it doesn’t go to administrative functions like paying off the parents of abused children or defending abusive priests in court).

Apparently as clueless as ever, Law yesterday announced, Nuh-uh. I won’t take your filthy non-cardinal money. I’d rather let these programs fail and people suffer than let you bypass the diocese. I am the Cardinal. I am the diocese. I am the charities. L’etat c’est moi. If you won’t play with my ball, I’ll just go home. Or words to that effect.

Problem is, he overstated the case. A number of Catholic charities with their own boards of directors were, ah, nonplussed, and indicated today that they will accept contributions routed through VotP.

In furious backpedaling and miffedness, the diocese clarified its statements of yesterday, saying that Catholic charities with their own boards “may choose” to accept such donations, but that church-administered charities would not.

A diocesan spokesman said:

”Just as it is out of order for a bishop to carry out the pastoral work of the archdiocese without consultation with the laity, it is just as out of order for a lay church group to seek to carry out the pastoral work of the church without consultation with the bishop.”

Given Law’s cover-ups of abusive priests, arguing that the bishop would be “out of order” in his pastoral duties without “consultation” of the laity seems more than a bit hypocritical. And arguing, in effect, that only the cardinal’s office can rightly determine how people should be giving their money is unconscionable.

Law’s emblazoned words on the diocesan home page are “We are the Church;
together we are the Church.” But only, it seems, if we are directed by me.

Jerk.

The city council in Catania, Sicily, have placed cast-iron diaper on a large, bronze municipal statue of a stallion, so as not to offend anyone during an annual religious ceremony involving an effigy of the Virgin Mary.

A number of locals are incensed.

“It is almost inconceivable that in the third millennium, someone should cover a horse’s private parts for the Madonna,” said local animal welfare campaigner Alfio Lisi. “Didn’t God create all living creatures, including man? So why the scandal?” he told Ansa news agency.

Yeah, and it’s like Mary, raised in 1st C. BC Palestine, who gave birth in a stable fergoshsakes, never saw male animal genitalia?

After the “Lutheran Inquisition,” I was hoping not to be embarrassed by any Christians for at least a few days. Then I get to read this, in which an old biddy, having guilted a helpful gentleman into helping her change her tire, heaps abuse upon his head when she discovers that he’s (gasp!) a pagan … and then (as if not having plumbed the depths of being a nasty hypocrite already), she’s flabbergasted and outraged when he won’t put her tools away in her trunk.

As one person on Blogatelle‘s page suggested, “That’s not Christianity … that’s Ass-holiness.” And at the risk of (gasp) quoting Scripture here, I’d suggest that the lady in question might consider rereading the Parable of the Good Samaritan a few thousand times. On her knees. On the gravelly pavement.

Bitch.

The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is suspending the nefarious Rev. David Benke, and ordered him to apologize to all Christians.

The horrific crime Rev. Benke is guilty of? The stomach-churning perversion? The soul-searing blapshemy?

Participating in an interfaith 9/11 service at Yankee Stadium on 23 September 2001. The horror! The horror!

That the President of the LCMS pre-approved this makes no difference. He should have known that appearing on stage with Pagans and Other Sorts (“one Methodist, one Reformed, two Roman Catholics, one Episcopalian, one Armenian, and one Greek Orthodox”) would render him guilty of violating the First and Second Commandments by way of syncretism and unionism! The bastard!

JillMatrix has more commentary and detail (and has to get the credit for the headline), or you can read lots of detailed documents about why This Terrible Crime Cannot Stand Unanswered here.

And people wonder why Christians are thought of as, well, intolerant.

Tired of figuring out for yourself how close we are to the End Times and the Pre-Tribulation Rapture? Wonder no more, but visit the Rapture Index, where all of these things are wrapped up into a nice, neat number, a la the DJIA.

Of course, you have to accept that the Pope is the False Prophet and the EU is the Beast Government, but, hey, at least they spell it out. And I have wondered about the EU lately …

At any rate, it seems at least as scientific as the Doomsday Clock.

In case you’re wondering, the current index is at 165, which means “Fasten Your Seat Belt.”

(Via BoingBoing)

The USCCB (United States Council of Catholic Bishops) new policies regarding the abuse scandal came on Friday, just when I was dealing with other stuff in my schedule (and lack of easy Net access), so it’s taken me a bit to take a look at what they decided.

The Good

• The bishops let themselves get publicly roasted by victims and others on the first day of the meeting. It was an appropriate and refreshing act of humility on their parts, and whether it was heartfelt penance or just lip service, it was the right thing to do.
• Priests who are found to have abused will not automatically get defrocked (laicized). But they will be removed from any ministerial duties, prevented from wearing the collar or celebrating public Mass or other sacraments, and instead be retired to a life of “prayer and penance.” While this doesn’t altogether satisfy a number of abuse victims (and I can understand why), it is, in some ways, more effective, since it does not require Vatican intervention the way that laicization does. Defrocking is still an option; leaving the person in place is not.
• The policies on how to handle priests (see above) will be retroactive. Past abusers will not get a free pass. That seems at least fair, even if it means that some folks who have been “clean” for years or decades will now have a “new” punishment levied on them. So be it. Being spiritually forgiven for one’s sins does not mean that the temporal consequences of them go away, even if those consequences don’t come about until long after.
• A national audit will be held of dioceses to determine which ones conform to the various policies set forth by the USCCB meeting. While bishops answer directly to the Pope, the audit can at least put public pressure on non-conforming bishops. The audit will be held by a group formed by the USCCB, but with significant lay participation and leadership. The named head of this board, former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, said he would ask the Pope to remove bishops who have systematically shuffled around and sheltered abusers.
• Allegations of sexual abuse against minors must be reported to civil authorities. This is such a big “duh” that it’s hard to believe it wasn’t already the case. Folks who have been afraid by how the scandal of such allegations might hurt the Church have had amply demonstrated how the scandal of covering up such allegations has hurt her still more.
• Dioceses must set up programs to aid victims. Again, this would seem to be a no-brainer, especially for a church.
• Dioceses must set up review boards with a majority of lay members to assess fitness of priests who are accused, to determine whether the administrative retirement noted above is sufficient, or whether the bishop should ask that the priest be defrocked. This major entry of the laity into the discipline and disposition of priests is unprecedented in the Catholic Church, so far as I know. It’s certainly going to be a major sticking point with Rome. It’s also absolutely critical.
• Dioceses must not require confidentiality in future settlements with abuse victims, ”except for grave and substantial reasons brought forward by the victim [or] survivor.” Or, to quote someone else, “The truth shall set you free.”
• All dioceses will do background checks of diocesan and parish personnel who have contact with children and young people; currently (and amazingly) this is true in many but not all dioceses already.
• Bishops will be required, if making new assignments or transfers, to fully report a priest’s record.

The Bad

• No promise was made to turn over files of alleged past offenders. Surely there is concern about legal liability from a variety of sources. Still, this is a big lack, and will keep various grand juries busy for some time.
• Though future settlements will not require confidentiality agreements, there was no general release of past victims from similar settlement conditions. I say, screw ’em. Blab it to the high hills, and see if the Church has the balls to sue to get the money back.

The Ugly

• The policies were not adopted unanimously, but with a vote of 239 voting for, 13 against, 32 abstaining. A number of bishops were concerned over the breadth of what might be termed abuse. A number disliked the idea of “zero tolerance.” And a number objected to reporting all accusations to the authorities, wanting to use their own judgment as to the credibility of the accusations. I say, tough. You’ve shown your inability to do it on your own. Imposed rules are always tougher than they would have been if you’d had your own act together.
• There was no call for accountability for bishops who, until now, have desperately shuffled abusive priests between parishes, or shunted them off to other dioceses without a word. That had to come from the newly appointed lay leader of the auditing office. Of course, one would assume the bishops were aware or or believers in an Ultimate Accountability for their actions … but if that were the case, one would not expect that such a scandal would have erupted.
• There’s still no strict accountability for the future, particular where the bishops themselves are concerned. The USCCB and its auditors have no real authority — bishops answer directly to the Vatican, which has blown hot and cold on this whole scandal, and certainly is likely to frown on too much lay involvement in Church matters.

Conclusion? Hard to say. The steps declared are unprecedented, but the fundamental lack of temporal accountability remains worrisome. There’s a promise of major lay involvement in the process, which should help, but the Vatican’s reaction is difficult to predict. And, of course, there are signs that abuse of minors, particularly minor boys, is but a part of broader abuse problems which need to be addressed.

Stay tuned. And say a prayer.

The full text of the bishops’ policy charter is here.

Here are some heartfelt, powerful words from Andrew Sullivan that I think ring true for a lot of Catholic laity, and priests as well.

Does this mean that the church should take a poll on its doctrines, or change its rules on celibacy or sex overnight? Of course not. On this, some church conservatives are surely right. The church is not a democracy. Any change on administrative matters needs to be reflected on, examined in the light of Scripture and tradition. In the end, the hierarchy exists for a reason and will make the final call. Obedience matters. But real obedience requires respect; and until the hierarchy listens, makes its case, cleans up its own act, obedience will be difficult, if not indefensible.

But will the bishops listen?

(Via InstaPundit)

JillMatrix reports on the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in St. Louis. Always good for a laugh, except when they make you cry.

Some of the current highlights (aside from the entertaining internecine struggle over whether the Texas general convention is planning on seceding):