tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post7966056370836189925..comments2023-10-22T09:32:13.417-04:00Comments on Big Trial | Philadelphia Trial Blog: Former Priest, Now A Prisoner, Sets Himself On FireAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04116104602505815614noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-28213033647926702002013-01-23T15:27:19.027-05:002013-01-23T15:27:19.027-05:00This is simply outrageous:
Full Disclosure: Prose...This is simply outrageous:<br /><br />Full Disclosure: Prosecutor in Current Philly Abuse Trial Was Feted at Anti-Catholic Group’s Conference Only Last July.<br /><br />http://www.themediareport.com/2013/01/22/mark-cipolletti-snap-philadelphia/#comments<br /><br />As the commentator "Publion" points out in his observations below the above article, "Not only is this prosecutor of a major (such as it is) case not disposed personally to any sort of detached professionalism, but he (in this case) makes no effort to hide his partiality, not only openly attending a SNAP meeting but accepting an award (and most likely making some remarks formally to the attendees). Even though there was clear indication that there would be a second trial (currently going on in Philly) and he would most likely be involved....And this gives rise to the further observation that he clearly wasn’t stopped by any concern that the DA’s Office in Philly would forbid or even frown upon so clear and public a demonstration of connection with so publicly partial an organization as SNAP."<br /><br />And so the farce that masquerades as "justice" plays out in Philadelphia. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-22017738374389019982013-01-21T13:49:48.772-05:002013-01-21T13:49:48.772-05:00Ann Coulter is an shame to humanity.Ann Coulter is an shame to humanity.jim robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11021237370520134041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-84180084319552767402013-01-21T13:45:30.527-05:002013-01-21T13:45:30.527-05:00Kopride This guy had his day in court. No roastin...Kopride This guy had his day in court. No roasting going on here other than your mom's Sunday dinner.jim robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11021237370520134041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-1317078950049755972013-01-21T13:41:42.095-05:002013-01-21T13:41:42.095-05:00I also have to say this site is a stage set. a sta...I also have to say this site is a stage set. a stage set for a play between two opposing forces created to "act' out nonsense.<br />The nonsense being: The Church is under attack and SNAP represents victims. This little playlet is pure silliness. Based on a Nazi ploy i.e. if you tell a lie often enough it will appear to be the truth.<br />First, there is no attack on the Church.<br />Second, SNAP is the Church.Therefore it's "blasts" against the Church are just another part of the Church"show". <br />Third,This blog by Cipriano sponsored by a law firm, who may have connections to the Church, is merely the stage for a continuation of this show.<br />All for the Church's P.R. benefit. i.e. the burning priest (including a photo of burning Buhdist monk) who,in fact, wasn't. No padres on fire here. <br />And since the contradictions in this case are amazing and appear to be benefiting the Church's "keep the waters muddy to cover up" policies. This whole case appears to be a set piece too. Like the Nazi's burned the Rheichstag for their own benefit.<br />jim robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11021237370520134041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-74963288456655907372013-01-21T13:14:53.922-05:002013-01-21T13:14:53.922-05:00It isn't so much I hate Catholics. I don't...It isn't so much I hate Catholics. I don't. I hate the people who pretend they represent all Catholics. And push the bogus line that Catholicism is under attack. If Catholicism were under attack they better hide the art and gold and diamonds and arm themselves for a "Holy' war to defend themselves against the children they've raped.<br />Better hurry! Here come those awful children.jim robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11021237370520134041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-55731647754661770672013-01-19T22:08:19.665-05:002013-01-19T22:08:19.665-05:00My source is the 2012 CARA report and it counts fo...My source is the 2012 CARA report and it counts foreign students studying in US seminaries as well. The numbers I cited are catholic seminarians studying in US seminaries. The retention rate, ie, start to graduation is about 75%, and 2/3 of the post doc seminarians are foreign born. About 2/3 of all US seminarian graduates will actually work in the US, so that 3400 number represents less than 2000 priests who will ultimately graduate and work as active priests in the US. It's about 500 new priests per year, and only 1/3 of the number needed to replace retiring, sick, or deceased priests. To put it in perspective, the entire future of the US clergy is less than the graduating class of a single medium sized high school, again, a statistically insignificant group. If you are getting 7 new abuse claims out of such small numbers its significant. kopridehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14033734864815154844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-35869153042918291002013-01-19T21:45:53.235-05:002013-01-19T21:45:53.235-05:00Justone, in 1967-68, there were 8000 post college ...Justone, in 1967-68, there were 8000 post college seminarians, 13,400 in college seminaries, and 16,000 HS seminarians. There are 3400 total last year, which is up to 1988 levels and a reversal of a dramatic decline. So excluding the HS program, which is nonexistent today, there were 21,400 in 68 and 3400 in 2013, college aged seminarians. US population in 1968 was only 200,000,000 compared to 300,000,000 today. Yes, numbers increased slightly from very very low numbers a few years ago, but there were more seminarians in HS, college, and post college in 1968, than the total number of active priests today. The long term trend for the replacement of elderly sick priests from the boom years in the 1960s is not happening, particularly considering the fact that population has increased by 50% since that time. 3,400 out of a population of 300,000,000 is statistically insignificant. It's simple math. Seminary classes are and will continue to be below replacement level despite increases in population. Demographically, catholic priests will be such an obscure and elderly group, that you are not going to see many abuse cases relative to the overall population. Catholic school population is declining in absolute and relative population as well and school students represented virtually all of the victim pool. Worldwide growth is different. Most is occurring in Africa and the Third World. Clergy abuse will continue to be a problem there because there are actually clergy in close contact with children.kopridehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14033734864815154844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-35262184279443481532013-01-19T18:47:14.261-05:002013-01-19T18:47:14.261-05:00Justone, "the Vatican says" pretty much ...Justone, "the Vatican says" pretty much discounts your claim. <br /><br />Where are you getting your numbers? They aren't accurate. survivor's wifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14362521164577055443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-69231686588422721522013-01-19T16:49:53.044-05:002013-01-19T16:49:53.044-05:00"Vatican says number of Catholics, priests, b..."Vatican says number of Catholics, priests, bishops worldwide increased"<br />Sorry to disappoint you, but the numbers for the true Church are holding up nicely: "The number of Catholics in the world and the number of deacons, priests and bishops all increased in 2010...The number of seminarians around the world showed continued growth."<br /><br />Meanwhile, protestants are leaving their churches in droves in the US - with many coming home to the true Church. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-57701936925487551622013-01-19T16:16:09.681-05:002013-01-19T16:16:09.681-05:00So in other words the Prime Minister of Ireland an...So in other words the Prime Minister of Ireland and the Prime Minister of Australia are Catholic haters?SarahTX2https://www.blogger.com/profile/13127925134697324637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-88468938090778853522013-01-19T15:52:48.613-05:002013-01-19T15:52:48.613-05:00The Royal Commission has not yet reported – their ...The Royal Commission has not yet reported – their final report is not due until December 2015. And their remit is to investigate the history of educational institutions, religious groups, sporting organizations, state institutions and youth organizations – NOT just the Catholic Church. Australian journalist Andrew Boult reflected the concerns of many in Australia in his excellent recent article "Beware an anti-Catholic witch hunt in the royal commission." It warns against exactly the type of prejudice you display.<br /> <br />http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/beware-an-anti-catholic-witch-hunt-in-the-royal-commission/story-e6frfifx-1226516898647<br /><br />Mr. Boult states of the Commission: “Here are the three greatest dangers:<br />1.It becomes an anti-Catholic crusade<br />2.It treats allegations as proof.<br />3.It doesn’t stop the worst sex abuse today”<br /><br />With regard to point 1, this comment (in “Sylvia’s story”), from the “victims’ stories” section of SNAP’s Australian website is illuminating:<br />“When will the other churches come to the party? Why are they silent and letting the Catholics take all the heat? Aged 17 I was groomed and assaulted by an Anglican church official. Nearly 14 years after I first complained, they are still telling me to go away. In 1997, they said I had to withdraw my complaint from the Police before they would investigate…I am still waiting for any form of justice. This is despite a memo obtained from the Diocesan office that detailed his molestation of a 12 year old in the 1950s!”<br /><br />Point 2 is precisely the iniquitous cause of the widespread judicial failures of the last decade that have resulted in innocent Catholic clergy being wrongly convicted. <br /><br />On point 3 Mr Boult hits home: “We should be far more concerned with stopping the abuse of children today than with spending millions to recall the abuse by priests now dead, jailed or too old to be dangerous… Churches no longer are – if they ever were – where the worst child sex abuse occurs. Aboriginal communities are. Yet child sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities will almost certainly be excluded in this proposed royal commission into abuse in institutions only.”<br /><br />As for Ireland, there is a wave of hysteria and anti-Catholic rhetoric from secular fundamentalists and other Catholic haters – including many in the media – determined to use the shameful behavior of some Judas priests many decades ago to excoriate the Church today. 300,000 of them were suckered into reading – and believing – a book called “Kathy’s Story”, a tale of abuse and mistreatment that was subsequently exposed as a pack of lies. This hysteria is dying down as more reasonable people realize the over-reaction that has taken place, and see case after case of falsely accused priests (and nuns) and wrongfully convicted clergy – and as Ireland seeks to address its real child abuse problem – that within families.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-34225033856231958202013-01-19T09:17:22.432-05:002013-01-19T09:17:22.432-05:00Justine,
That's your argument? It's not j...Justine,<br />That's your argument? It's not just a Catholic problem? I don't know what you are reading, but I never suggested as such. <br /><br />I know the numbers, percentages, and stats on child sexual abuse. You may want to check your "percentages." If there are 10 priests total and 100 ministers total and there are 2 offending priests of the 10 and 10 offending ministers of the 100, then sure ministers have "more "offenders." But, when looking at the "climate" of the priesthood given the percentages, one would have to wonder what system supported, enabled, and allowed such a high percentage of men to offend. I do not discriminate...teachers abuse and unethical administrators look the other way and/ or pass them on. Families top the charts for child sexual abuse. We all get it. It's not just Catholic priests. But, there is a trial going on surrounding questionable men in a Catholic system AGAIN. It's not because they are targets, it's because they continue to lie and cover up and there's pressure on the judicial system to quit giving Catholic priests, bishops, and cardinals a pass when it comes to criminal behaviors against children. <br /><br />I'm not sure if the men will be convicted or not. I don't want innocent men going to jail. But, I'm sick of blind obedience and institutional loyalty at the expense of children. survivor's wifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14362521164577055443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-68635710598227793162013-01-18T23:38:21.224-05:002013-01-18T23:38:21.224-05:00You must be easily bilked. All child molesters in...You must be easily bilked. All child molesters in prison have to deny it. You actually bought that?SarahTX2https://www.blogger.com/profile/13127925134697324637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-75042952996517870352013-01-18T23:33:34.188-05:002013-01-18T23:33:34.188-05:00Not sure what an irrelevance is, but is the countr...Not sure what an irrelevance is, but is the country of Australia a duplicitous anti-Catholic group? Do you think their Royal Commission is swamped in cases from the 60's? No, Australia is swamped by the mass suicides of children raped by Catholic priests over the past several decades. Is Ireland an anti-Catholic group? You are woefully uninformed. SarahTX2https://www.blogger.com/profile/13127925134697324637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-58699199330860001472013-01-18T23:30:25.540-05:002013-01-18T23:30:25.540-05:00The RCC church in the US has only 41,000 priests i...The RCC church in the US has only 41,000 priests in orders and diocese, a third of whom are retired, sick, or absent. As a demographic group, with an average age of 60, the clergy abuse problem will fade more by the advancing age and reduced numbers of priests, than by any action by the church itself, courts, or law enforcement. In 1970, the average age of priests was 35 and there twice as many, many of them working in close proximity to children. The number of Protestant clergy is many times the number of priests and they are not old men. Violent crime and sexual offenses dramatically drops off after age 55. Very few priests work around children today, and very few parents would entrust their children to the care and custody of a priest. The AOP suspension resulted in a significant percentage, 5%, with credible allegations against them, and this was last year. Most of those allegations are from when these priests were younger. In thirty years, absent a huge increase in vocations, not only will clergy abuse be a thing of the past, but clergy will be a rare phenomenon. The projections that the church itself has made is that there will be about 12,000 priests in active ministry in 25 years, and the average age will be above 60. So, yes, if I were an insurer, given that the statute of limitations has run when most of this group was active, and there will be fewer, older, and not teaching, it is a fairly good risk. Claims will go down because there are just not that many younger, sexually active, healthy priests, and they don't work around kids. The same is not true for Protestant sects. kopridehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14033734864815154844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-16344750894168118172013-01-18T23:12:54.511-05:002013-01-18T23:12:54.511-05:00It's interesting because the church kicked Ave...It's interesting because the church kicked Avery to the curb in 2006 for credible allegations. if you go to the Archdiocese website you can see the names and pictures of all the priests who have been restricted or laicized. The Church finding them guilty did not involve the "anti Catholic " world of lawyers,judges etc.. I guess the Archdiocese must be anti Catholic? Now that is an interesting slant. Also interesting is that the United States Conference of Bishops estimates only 2-3% of allegations to be false..false differs from unsubstantiated. So I guess they are anti Catholic too. <br />fan of kopridehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08787894680957985931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-91596066275170597162013-01-18T20:44:40.956-05:002013-01-18T20:44:40.956-05:00You lost me at Coulter and Goldberg. I think Fordh...You lost me at Coulter and Goldberg. I think Fordham's Jesuit President pegged Coulter correctly.kopridehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14033734864815154844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-39775757021725453762013-01-18T19:54:35.122-05:002013-01-18T19:54:35.122-05:00The headline and picture are confusing. All he...The headline and picture are confusing. All he's doing is what every child molester in prison has to do, which is deny that he did it. It doesn't undo or change anything. He's a hostile witness but the prosecution still has his guilty plea in evidence. The thing that stood out most for me is that the defense lawyers apparently knew this silly plan a week in advance and actually encouraged Lynn to think his case might be undone. For that, the Judge might have to consider sanctions. At a point, they could begin to be perceived as making a mockery of Courtroom 304.SarahTX2https://www.blogger.com/profile/13127925134697324637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-31266805902792236202013-01-18T17:21:58.941-05:002013-01-18T17:21:58.941-05:00There is nothing blind about the accusations level...There is nothing blind about the accusations leveled at people representing the areas you list at the beginning of your post. There is plenty of evidence of everything from unethical behavior to corruption in regard of most of those professions. <br /><br />SNAP and their attorney friends are familiar enough to everyone. The malpractices of law enforcement have also been covered at length. <br /><br />A number of recent books and articles have been critical of the media. Ann Coulter’s book Slander (Crown Publishers) and Bernard Goldberg’s book Bias(Harper Perennial) are very good examples of the severe criticism of the media. Several writers as different as Richard Neuhaus and Andrew Greeley, as ideologically diverse as George Weigel and Peter Steinfels, and also of course William Donohue, have criticized the media for their handling of the clergy sex crisis. <br /><br />And you forgot to mention "psychiatrists" - you know, those "repressed memory" charlatans. <br /><br />It has been estimated that between 32% and 50% of all accusations against priests are either flat out false or grossly exaggerated. As for all the false accusations against innocent priests, there were some 173 over the last 3 years until 2012 in the US. The various drug addicts, criminals, fraudsters and extortionists who made the false accusations felt secure enough that the worst fate that could befall them was that they wouldn't get a free payout for zero effort or accountability on their part. <br /><br />Fortunately, as people are starting to sort fact from fiction, the wheels are coming off the Truth Abuse Scandal. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-76731720502528049872013-01-18T16:56:12.351-05:002013-01-18T16:56:12.351-05:00which perverts exactly? Dr King, were he alive tod...which perverts exactly? Dr King, were he alive today, would recognize that there is more abuse in Protestant denominations than the Church. Being a man who despised injustice and prejudice, he would call his own church to task, and others - as well as the unethical lawyers and "victims groups" and the myopic judges. And he would insist on putting the current worldwide epidemic of child abuse in perspective and holding a mirror to society. <br /><br />“We would be naive and dishonest were we to say this is a Roman Catholic problem and has nothing to do with us because we have married and female priests in our church. Sin and abusive behavior know no ecclesial or other boundaries." Rt. Rev. William Persell, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, Good Friday Sermon, 2002.<br /><br />Indeed, Baptist ministers, “Bible Church” ministers, Anglican/Episcopalian ministers, Lutheran ministers, Methodist ministers, Presbyterian ministers- not to mention Seventh Day Adventists, sects and cult groups, Jewish and even Hare Krishnas have been found guilty of abuse in recent years. <br /><br />The three companies that insure the majority of Protestant churches in America say they typically receive upward of 260 reports each year of young people under 18 being sexually abused by clergy, church staff, volunteers or congregation members. In 2011 there were 7 credible accusations against Catholic priests. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-14600881299423574322013-01-18T16:52:25.889-05:002013-01-18T16:52:25.889-05:00No. I am an attorney, and my only agenda is that f...No. I am an attorney, and my only agenda is that folks who have a blind allegiance to their religion, don't simply blindly accuse: judges, prosecutors, police, grand jurors, petit jurors, defense attorneys, the press, and accusers of misconduct or defamation simply because they participate in the legal process against the church. I have said repeatedly, that I think it is likely that Engelhardt and Shero will be acquitted because the allegations are remote and there is little corroboration. The accuser has some baggage. Avery pleaded guilty so that case is closed. Lynn has been convicted in what I believe was a legally flawed proceeding; but in proceeding that revealed the church to be a deeply flawed, reckless, and morally bankrupt institution in child abuse cases. The facts against Lynn were devastating. I'm just not sure that there is a legal theory that allows you to convict someone for turning a blind eye to abuse or being a toady to your superiors and blindly fulfilling their directives. Brennan's case was bizarre; but the jury was forced to choose between a very bizarre and immature adult who admitted to watching porn and sleeping with a young boy; and a very troubled young adult. They hung on the conviction. People are allowed to criticize the church and priests when they behave inappropriately. It doesn't mean that they are Snappers, ignorant, or church haters. I myself was raised catholic and count family members among the clergy. They don't rape kids. But they also don't sleep with kids, show them porn, wrestle them, live with them at convents, etc. If they did, I would be their sharpest critic. Nobody is ganging up on the church. They are simply being held accountable in the legal system like every other corporation whose members sleep with boys; or transfer members with a history of behaving inappropriately.kopridehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14033734864815154844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-70807894700858382312013-01-18T16:35:44.763-05:002013-01-18T16:35:44.763-05:00"open season" on priests? "guilty b..."open season" on priests? "guilty before innocent"? "find justice in their own way"? <br />We know Kopride is ignorant. Ignorant and vindictive. <br />And you are little different. <br />You claim not to be a SNAP employee. Given your despicable assertions, you might find welcoming arms there. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-35835738847202586622013-01-18T16:34:37.537-05:002013-01-18T16:34:37.537-05:00And even against Catholic youth. Dr. King is prob...And even against Catholic youth. Dr. King is probably rolling at what these perverts have done in the name of God. <br /><br />Lynn should be sitting in prison next to a long line of enablers. They sold him up the river. Perhaps when he breathes his last breath he will realize his "brotherhood" did what they've always done. Saved their own a**es. Don't blame a prosecution for the lack of integrity of the priesthood. <br /><br />And I'm not a member of SNAP...just a person who took the blinders off and quit drinking the kool-aid. survivor's wifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14362521164577055443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-26610801034700544552013-01-18T16:09:49.421-05:002013-01-18T16:09:49.421-05:00First, I want to make it very clear to everyone th...First, I want to make it very clear to everyone that I am NOT a SNAP employee. I am a survivor who wants to see justice for individuals who have been abused by clergy. I know first hand how the catholic church operates, and how they sweep things under the rug. You may call me a expert when dealing with the catholic church. I will be up front and honest and tell you I judge any wrong doings by the catholic church guilty before innocent only because of the past history of the church. To correct Kopride statement that most rape victims are hookers, hustlers or addicts is a uneducated statement and shows only his/her ignorance. Avery's statement yesterday did not do any harm to this case. His statement DID DO harm to himself and priests in general. He will not get out of prison and Lynn will also stay were he is. In my opinion he made it "open season" on any priest who abuses in the future. Victims and their families will not come forward and go through the judicial system but rather find justice in their own way. Avery's fear of dying in prison maybe a true reality for him when he is ordered to serve his full 5 year sentence, and if the report here is correct that Avery has spent the last 10 months in protective custody I will do everything I can do to see that he is placed into general population. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-34479509078780009452013-01-18T13:27:32.604-05:002013-01-18T13:27:32.604-05:00http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/trending/Cathol...http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/trending/Catholic-priestmeth-dealer-liked-sex-in-the-rectory.html<br /><br />I agree. This poor Monsignor just liked to have sex in the rectory, cross-dress, and sell meth; and now the feds are going after him. And all Bill Lynn did was try and protect AOP priests like this at the direction of the Cardinal; and persecute other good priests like Fr. Picard who dared question the wisdom of transferring these problem priests to other parishes. It's horrible. God himself made these people the instruments of his sacraments so they should be beyond reproach. And if they do act badly, judges, prosecutors and civil authorities should really look the other way out of deference to the good Cardinals. Wah, Wah, Wah, people are always picking on the poor church. kopridehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14033734864815154844noreply@blogger.com