tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post6672369428413178596..comments2023-10-22T09:32:13.417-04:00Comments on Big Trial | Philadelphia Trial Blog: The Cardinal Sin: Disobeying the Big GuyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04116104602505815614noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-61667227429193463532012-05-04T14:12:00.033-04:002012-05-04T14:12:00.033-04:00Keep drinking the Kook-aid.The Catholic church is ...Keep drinking the Kook-aid.<br><br>The Catholic church is not God's church, and God couldn't make it clearer. It fragmented from Christ's "one, holy and apostolic church" long ago, and now<br><br>- raped 100,000+ children<br>- moved and hid known child rapists<br>- lied about it<br>- still bullies the victims<br>- keeps unparalleled riches<br>- gives its followers nothing but excuses<br><br>Jesus is trying to tell you to make the right decision and overthrow this church, but its much easier to follow a church that drops your standards so far you think you'r eliving a good life by comparison. <br><br>It IS the church itself that did this - the pedophile priests, the bishops who moved and lied about them, and the congregation (like you) that supports them regardless of their crimes.<br><br>You think about this - you never mentioned or cared about the victims, God's best children, who thought they were being stabbed to death by Christ on earth when they were 10 years old. That's how the Catholic church made you think, and God will make you pay for thinking like them.neilallen76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04966954580793318142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-85783704950968537962012-05-04T11:32:47.575-04:002012-05-04T11:32:47.575-04:00I hope and pray that Catholics are not too discour...I hope and pray that Catholics are not too discouraged by this whole atrocity. Just always keep in your minds and hearts that the offender are flawed and criminal individual offenders and not the Church itself. We lose sight all too often to the fact that human beings are flawed but Jesus is always with us until the end of the age.Paceshockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027201386842241884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-64566786584087155072012-05-03T23:01:07.436-04:002012-05-03T23:01:07.436-04:00I have seen this same post, trashing SNAP, at anot...I have seen this same post, trashing SNAP, at another website today. I believe that it was in an Irish newspaper, following calls for Ireland's Cardinal Brady's removal. Without SNAP, I believe that we would still be living in the Dark Ages, when it comes to the knowledge of Priest Pedophilia, the coverups by the Hierarchy and sexual abuse. Because stories of sexual abuse by priests, all over the nation were similar, in addition to their local parishes' responses and coverups, SNAP was able to identify a pattern before any other group did. If SNAP were on the Vatican's side of the fence, the US Council of Catholic Bishops wouldn't be fighting them in court right now, in Missouri. Jim, I don't think that you should believe everything that you read!JeannieGuzmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04822849361330012598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-51707538188251213192012-05-03T22:55:04.321-04:002012-05-03T22:55:04.321-04:00Kay: I have prayed for a Federal Investigation un...Kay: I have prayed for a Federal Investigation under the RICO Act for years. The coverups have been almost identical, not just in the United States, but all over the world. The bishops are using the same, Vatican playbook: "Crimen Sollicitationis!" The bishops of the United States have knowingly kept criminal Pedophiles in the ministry! This should be actionable under Federal Law. What is our government waiting for? A change in Administration, maybe?JeannieGuzmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04822849361330012598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-12034286496490162782012-05-03T14:31:37.158-04:002012-05-03T14:31:37.158-04:00Kay is so completely right. Ralph you seem to be a...Kay is so completely right. Ralph you seem to be a truth teller. That's just what is needed here. <br> You may want to look into another scandal created by the Church. It's called SNAP. Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests is not what it's title claims. Please google Victims of Silence@Bulletinboards.com and read the documents. We victims have been deeply betrayed again.jim robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11021237370520134041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-87664404022696463832012-05-03T11:47:54.415-04:002012-05-03T11:47:54.415-04:00Ralph Cipriano wrote: "If you're a priest...Ralph Cipriano wrote: "If you're a priest in the archdiocese of Philadelphia, you can "act out sexually" all you want. You can get away with it for years, even decades at a time, while they transfer you from parish to parish, in between recuperative stays." <br><br>So true, except not just for Philadelphia. In every city in the USA the priests and bishops responded to child sex crimes in the exact same way. <br><br>That's why we need a Federal Investigation and Prosecution of the bishops at a National Level. They belong in federal prison, not out here influencing politics and government. The Philadelphia DA is very brave to pursue this, now why can't this same level of indictment happen in other cities? <br><br>The same pattern of crimes in city after city apparently across the world. And every archdiocese has a "secret archive" so what more is there to find out? <br><br>Thanks, Ralph, this coverage is the best. Keep writing and keep expressing how you feel about what you are observing. It's important!Kay Ebelinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13753284586265566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-4143081428433238312012-05-03T10:35:34.753-04:002012-05-03T10:35:34.753-04:00Catholic priests are like the gang of losers that ...Catholic priests are like the gang of losers that are the pitiful, petty, freak fraternity from any high school. No one would care, except they rape children, lie about it, bully the victims, and try to convince people that they have the only free tickets to heaven, as if God would put these freaks in charge of tickets.<br><br>It isn't the military. Its a club of cowards, where one petty boss wants to make sure he keeps his power, since he has nothing else in life. If it were a military group, it would be one waging war on innocent children, killing them one at a time and covering up for their soul murdering assassins.neilallen76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04966954580793318142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-7656901220150700692012-05-03T09:51:46.649-04:002012-05-03T09:51:46.649-04:00From the archdiocesan website, www.catholicphilly....From the archdiocesan website, www.catholicphilly.com:<br><br>".....Our attorneys are committed to cooperating fully with law enforcement....."<br><br>Mark your calendars…..it’s May 3, 2012 and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and its attorneys are committed to cooperating fully with law enforcement.<br><br>Why the change? Is being "committed to cooperating" the same as "cooperating" with law enforcement?skiadvocathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163668976028769558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-68094753588917729012012-05-03T09:20:25.772-04:002012-05-03T09:20:25.772-04:00Just subscribing to comments this morning, nothing...Just subscribing to comments this morning, nothing to sayKay Ebelinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13753284586265566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-83254953801536383732012-05-03T08:47:15.131-04:002012-05-03T08:47:15.131-04:00Totally agree, Kopride! I still get the PI delive...Totally agree, Kopride! I still get the PI delivered every day. Even though it is not as good as it once was, I still think the journalists that are there are some of the best. My hub used to deliver the PI AND the Bulletin. I miss good print! Again, much thanks to Ralph for this comprehensive series of reports on the trial. Without them we would only know a partial story.Mommahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01356032565586798733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-81615907357756247672012-05-03T08:33:34.443-04:002012-05-03T08:33:34.443-04:00Great post and ties in perfectly consistent with y...Great post and ties in perfectly consistent with your "Hoover" post and the story of the poor Seminarian who was railroaded when he complained about being abused by Gana. It is also completely consistent with the Vatican's recent crackdown on the nuns. The Church leaders want obedient sheep --from their subordinate priests all the way down to the parishioners. Dissent cannot be tolerated and is promptly punished. Immorality, hypocrisy, criminal and deviant behavior, can all be tolerated, provided the person tows the party line. <br><br>If this is your own narrative you are pulling out of the trial, kudos to your reporting. It is the real story of an autocratic institution that is so concerned with its own power that it betrays basic moral values. If the ADA's are putting on this narrative, I give all props to them. WIth all this evidence and the varying stories, it is difficult to put together a common story that brings it all together. This is a very powerful narrative. The church that cares more about "backtalk" than child abuse. And unfortunately, all Bergstrom and Lindy have is the Nuremberg defense. <br><br>Great post. makes me miss the old PI before it became a collection of AP and Reuters stories with a few ridiculous human interest columns or stories that the reporter completed without doing any real reporting. Yes, this is what reporters used to do. They went to the actual event and found the Who, What, Where, Why, analyzed it objectively and reported it to interested people. Man I miss newspapers. I delivered the PI when I was also an altar boy; and to the folks who waited for it every morning, the service was just as sacred. Back then, your posts would have been on the front page and read by millions. Now newspapers deliver a sterile feed back from the courthouse that cannot offend the graying readership.<br><br>Thanks again. This piece and the Hoover piece are the best things written on this trial.kopridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14033734864815154844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-89367096337706693522012-05-03T04:12:49.429-04:002012-05-03T04:12:49.429-04:00(Part 2 of 2)To the doctrinal problem of accepting...(Part 2 of 2)<br><br>To the doctrinal problem of accepting homosexuality in the priesthood there was added the movement toward a ‘third way’ (reflecting the strong cultural tides running in this direction) that ‘sex’ was pretty much good in all respects, necessary for ‘healthy’ functioning, and concern about its indiscriminate or active employment merely demonstrated a ‘hang-up’. Which then devolved into some of the very derangements that have been demonstrated of late. <br><br>Whether such blatant Boss-ism is still the rule – especially in matters of abuse after the developments of the past 10 years – is another question, and one not likely to be considered in the case at bar. <br><br>And there still remains the problem of how the Church – or any large organization – responds to the need for change and the admission of management failures in the highly-charged (and legally dangerous) atmosphere of a Mania or a ‘panic’ (again, see my comment towards the end of the comments-section of the immediately preceding Post on this site); any organization is going to instinctively respond with some concern for its own protection. Public-education bureaucracies and unions, for example, vigorously reject the possibility of significant abuse-issues in their areas of responsibility, as does the medical profession. <br><br>But human nature is what it is, and human organizations run by humans are what they are. <br><br>How the Church has re-formed her praxis in the past 10 years is, as I have said, a significant issue – though not likely to be considered in the case at bar. <br><br>In that regard, it remains a question for me as to why the prosecution did not bring ‘recent’ rather than ‘historical’ cases to bar. Did the prosecution have no such sufficiently actionable ‘recent’ cases? If it did, why did it not choose to bring them? If it did not, then what does that mean? I have no answers to these questions, but they remain active and germane to any genuine historical comprehension of the matter.Pertinaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15407357930254142688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-36428069197219873622012-05-03T04:10:49.212-04:002012-05-03T04:10:49.212-04:00(Part 1 of 2)Now this is the type of stuff that ha...(Part 1 of 2)<br><br>Now this is the type of stuff that has exercised many Catholics for a long time – and rightly so. As in any organization, when a genuine problem mutates into a personal-power issue between the Boss and the subordinate instead of focusing on the problem itself then you are going to create even more problems than simple ‘obedience’ (and shutting-up) will solve. <br><br>The military always lives under the shadow of this corrosive possibility. Yes, it’s in military law that a subordinate need not – indeed cannot – obey an order he believes to be “unlawful”. But the chances of mounting a good defense are never good. The military tries to solve this problem by appointing only mature and competent commanders – especially at the general-officer level – but that doesn’t always pan out for a number of possible reasons. No doubt there were many – even of high rank – who disagreed with the Bush-Cheney plan (such as it was) for the Iraq invasion, and I have no doubt that those officers would have been tamped down – even by their peers – for ‘not being a team player’ and would have been urged to ‘get with the program’ and would most likely also have been warned gently but ominously that ‘the President wants this to happen’. This type of problem is built into organizations. (Surely, somebody at General Motors headquarters must have tried to suggest in 2000 that the Hummer as a civilian vehicle was a baaaad idea. – with all due respect to that vehicle in its military role,)<br><br>Comments looking to recent cultural history are well-directed, I would say. The Church, it has always seemed to me, was confronted with a rather hellish problem in this country in the past 40-odd years: given the tightness of the conceptual weave in its doctrine, homosexuality could not be condoned. <br><br>(The Catholic vision is actually a rather integrally structured thing, conceptually speaking: you can’t pull out one particular piece without generating consequences for the structural integrity of the whole conceptual system. It was for this reason that an otherwise scientifically supportive Church became tremendously hesitant in the face of the Copernican discoveries: the Church wasn’t opposed to the science of it – but rather Copernicus’s discoveries overturned the Aristotelian cosmology and the Church’s moral and ethical system was also based in Aristotelian and Platonic thought (synthesized with Christian theology and revelation by Aquinas). So the fear – and not unfounded – was that if you admitted the validity of Copernicus and thus admitted that Aristotle was wrong in his cosmology, were you not opening the door for the claim that Aristotle (and Plato and Aquinas) was also wrong in the ethics? It took a while to work through that, although – I would say – subsequent developments in Western philosophy proved the fear about the ethics to be well-founded. I don’t apologize for this mention here, since it seems relevant and the more pixels in the conceptual screen, the clearer the resolution. Although to ‘advocacy history’ (see my comment towards the end of the comments-section of the immediately preceding Post on this site) all this is merely ‘unnecessary’ introduction of irrelevant material, which if you grant the purpose of “law office history” or advocacy-history is true enough.)Pertinaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15407357930254142688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-55038747945268021542012-05-02T23:41:33.964-04:002012-05-02T23:41:33.964-04:00Much thanks, Ralph. As usual, you provide an accu...Much thanks, Ralph. As usual, you provide an accurate and detailed account of this ongoing trial. In your opinion, what does the jury look like, in terms of digesting all this information? Do they look engaged, frustrated, tired, shocked, apathetic? I know, just from keeping up with the trial, it is a LOT of information to rein in. Being a cradle Catholic, I am disheartened on a daily basis. How will they be able to piece all this together at the end?Mommahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01356032565586798733noreply@blogger.com