Catholic sex abuse scandal - A Tippling Philosopher

What to do with a disused church: A quiet sign of Catholic surrender in the UK

Near my home in suburban UK sits a Catholic church attached to a primary school. Although we are less religious than our American cousins, who are themselves secular, our education system is still hugely under the influence of religion. About 37% of primary schools are faith schools. For just under

Baptism

On Catholicism, magic words, and double standards

For the religious, baptisms are important. They are, for most Christians, the door to church membership and entering into a covenant with Christ, an invocation of unity, and a symbolic cleansing. In fact, Catholics believe it cleanses the subject of original sin. Get in there early, or sin could take

By Milliped (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Catholic sex abuse scandal

Comments on the Catholic Sex Abuse Scandal

I recently ran a pretty big article on the statistics for paedophilia in the Catholic Church, which received a number of very interesting comments that I think are worth sharing with you. Thanks muchly to the readership for indulging. Astrin Ymris: Many years ago in an online debate I pointed

Catholic Church

Are Catholic Clergy more Likely to Be Paedophiles than the General Public? REDUX.

This has come up in a thread again, so I thought I would regale you with a piece I wrote now three years ago on the subject, but now with some updated tweaks. This is a question that has been kicking around ever since the child sex abuse scandal involving

Australia

Cardinal Pell Sexual Abuse Verdict: Will Australians Lose Their Faith?

Some time back, I reported a number of times on the case of Cardinal Pell and his involvement with institutional sexual abuse in the Catholic church in Australia. It as a pretty torrid affair with Pell trying his level best to extricate himself. With the wide-ranging Royal Commission looking into

Catholic sex abuse scandal

Catholic Commenters, the Pope, Nuns and Their Abortions

Our regular fervent Catholic commenter recently stated these gems: I don’t believe the words of the Bible. Nobody does. Bible believers believe what they think the Bible’s words mean. In other words, they don’t believe the Bible, they believe their interpretation of the Bible. I believe the

Australia

Is the Australian Church above the Law?

This is pretty staggering:

Catholic Church

'Shocking' sexual abuse of children by German clergy

It is no surprise that, given that this sort of thing has happened and been extensively reported on in the US, that it has also taken place elsewhere. As The Guardian reports, things are not looking good for the German clergy: A “shocking” report into the sexual abuse of children

Catholic Church

Saint Peterasty

Here is something a little different for you, kindly with permission from Robert M. Price. Saint Peterasty Robert M. Price The Roman Catholic Church reached the point of crisis some years ago. The ever-expanding scandal of priestly sexual abuse and, just as bad, the intricate and systematic cover-up by the

Catholic Church

Pennsylvania Catholic Abuse: "It's Your Word against God's"

As many of you will know, Pennsylvania State has released a massive report of the Catholic priest abuse that has taken place over the years. If not, The Guardian reports it as follows: More than 300 “predator priests” were found to have committed sexual abuse in Pennsylvania, harming more than

Catholic sex abuse scandal

Catholic priest caught driving 13-year-old girl to motel

The Philippines is an odd place at the moment. Duterte is invoking his wrath upon criminals. I wonder if this will include Catholic priests and their not uncommon predilection for things they shouldn't desire. This is from The Independent: A 55-year-old priest and head of a Catholic school

blogging

To Ban or Not To Ban, That Is the Question

I recently wrote a post answering a critique by fellow Patheos (albeit Catholic channel) blogger Dave Armstrong. Fairly quickly, a number of atheist commenters, some of whom were regular commenters here (and some not), came on to make it known that they had been banned by Armstrong. Many, if not

Catholic Church

Cardinal Pell Charged with Historic Sex Abuse

It's been a long time comin'. I have reported on this ongoing investigation before, several times. What is it with the One True Religion™? Here we have someone, Cardinal George Pell (Vatican treasurer), in one of the most senior positions in the church being accused of one

Catholic sex abuse scandal

Hundreds of child sex abuse complaints made against Christian Brothers

The Royal Commission has their work cut out for them in investigating historic sex abuse from clergy and religious institutions in Australia over previous decades. As the Guardian reports: In Australia, 853 people have made a claim or substantiated complaint of child sexual abuse against one or more Christian Brothers,

Catholic sex abuse scandal

Catholic bishops not obliged to report clerical child abuse, Vatican says

Ack. This just doesn't seem to go away. The Guardian reports: The Catholic church is telling newly appointed bishops that it is “not necessarily” their duty to report accusations of clerical child abuse and that only victims or their families should make the decision to report abuse to

Catholic sex abuse scandal

Offer to Help Cardinal Pell Appear at Sex Abuse Hearing

I reported that Australian Catholic clergyman Cardinal Pell was looking to be too ill to travel by plane to a crucial hearing into sex abuse by the Catholic church. Well, it appears it may be that he has to appear by video link. However, a seemingly kindly doctor from the

Australia

How Convenient: George Pell Too Unwell to Fly... Just Before Sex Abuse Commission

The most senior Australian Catholic, who you might have seen in debate, Cardinal George Pell, is too unwell to fly from Rome to address a Catholic organisation in the US. This might seem pretty innocuous, but it comes after he refused to fly to Melbourne in December mere days before

Catholic sex abuse scandal

1 in 50 priests are paedophiles, says Pope

Pope Francis has been quoted as saying that reliable data indicates that "about 2%" of clergy in the Catholic Church are paedophiles. The Pope said that abuse of children was like "leprosy" infecting the Church, according to the Italian La Repubblica newspaper.

Catholic sex abuse scandal

Los Angeles Catholic church files show decades of sexual abuse

As I am on holiday, I have scheduled a number of easy news repost for your delectation. From the Guardian: Court-ordered release of documents reveal what Catholic orders knew of sexual abuse by priests, brothers and nuns In therapy sessions, the priest confessed to shocking details he'd kept h

Catholic sex abuse scandal

Papal resignation linked to inquiry into 'Vatican gay officials', says paper - one shitstorm to another!

Well, I was just about to produce a big post on how the explosive, moving, powerful, revealing documentary, Mea Maxima Culpa, was behind the resignation of the Pope, as many have said. Well, the Guardian (reporting La Rupubblica) think otherwise. It's not "the paedophiles", it's "the gays"! One shi