There are a few of the
numerous articles from Internet here about the real nature of all
Religions:
Priest brawl
erupts in Bethlehem
Thursday, December
29, 2011 » 08:10am
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2011/12/29/Priest_brawl_erupts_in_Bethlehem_701582.html
A brawl has
erupted between rival clergymen participating in an annual cleaning
ritual at the church built at Jesus's traditional birthplace. Armenian
Orthodox and Greek Orthodox clergymen screamed at each other and beat
each other with broomsticks while cleaning up inside the Church of the
Nativity in Bethlehem. The two denominations each control sections of
the church and violence broke out when they accused each other of
crossing into each other's territory. Palestinian security forces broke
up the melee.
Pope
condemns sexual abuse
within Church
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/05/12/Pope_condemns_sexual_abuse_within_Church_461025.html
Pope Benedict the 16th has begun a four-day visit to Portugal with an
unusually strong condemnation of sex abuse within the Catholic Church ,
although his presence initially failed to attract massive crowds in
Lisbon.
In the evening, however, the Pope was expected to draw up to 200,000 to
a mass in central Lisbon.
'The biggest persecution of the church' did not come from 'outside
enemies, but is born from sin within the church,' the 83-year-old
pontiff told journalists on the plane from Rome to Lisbon.
The church needs to relearn penance, Benedict said, explaining that
forgiveness did not 'replace justice.'
His trip comes after the Vatican has been convulsed by months of
paedophile and abuse scandals in many of its most staunchly Catholic
heartlands - from Ireland to Germany.
The Pope had taken a 'strong stance' against covering up sex abuse of
children by priests, and expressed the need for the church to cooperate
with civilian justice, theologist Anselmo Borges said.
However, Benedict's admission came 'too late,' sociologist Boaventura
Sousa Santos complained.
Disillusionment over the ongoing sex abuse scandal may have kept some
faithful away from coming to see the pope, locals said near the
presidential palace, where less than 400 people showed up to see
Benedict enter the building to pay a courtesy visit to President Anibal
Cavaco Silva.
'The lack of people on the streets may be linked to the latest news
about paedophilia - as well as a lack of faith among the Portuguese,'
said Angelica Guiao, one of the people who came to see the Pope.
'I am disappointed, because the Pope did not even look at us,' Isabel
Tavares complained. Some people recalled Benedict's predecessor John
Paul II, who attracted bigger crowds.
Before visiting the palace, Benedict attended an official welcome
ceremony with Cavaco Silva at the 16th century Jeronimos monastery.
Earlier, thousands of people came to cheer the Pope as he rode in the
so-called Popemobile from the airport to the Apostolic Nunciature.
The ongoing abuse scandals have forced the resignation or suspension of
several bishops and priests in Ireland, Belgium and most recently, the
pontiff's native Germany.
On arrival at Lisbon's Figo Maduro military airport, Benedict stressed
the importance of Christianity in the history of Portugal, a country
where nearly 90 per cent of residents identify themselves as Catholics,
but where church attendance continues to decline.
With the supposed apparition of the Virgin Mary to three Portuguese
shepherd children in Fatima 93 years ago, 'heaven itself was opened
over Portugal,' Benedict said in the presence of Cavaco Silva, Prime
Minister Jose Socrates and church leaders.
Security surrounding the visit was described as the tightest ever in
Portugal. It included more than 8,000 security personnel, warplanes, a
navy frigate, and a police anti-terrorism unit.
Benedict's itinerary includes visits to Lisbon; the pilgrimage site of
Fatima; and the country's second-largest city, Porto.
The highlight of the trip will be the Pope's visit on Wednesday to the
Marian shrine of Fatima, marking the 93th anniversary of the first of a
total of six alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary to three Portuguese
shepherd children.
Benedict was expected to bring a message of encouragement to the
economically troubled country, where unemployment is running at 10.5
per cent and the public deficit has hit 9.4 per cent.
On the plane to Lisbon, Benedict also commented on the global crisis,
saying it demanded a global sense of responsibility and that a purely
pragmatic economic system without moral foundations would lead to
problems that could not be solved.
His visit met with some criticism, with hundreds of activists
announcing they would distribute 28,000 condoms in Lisbon. Another
group launched a music CD against the 'excessive pomp and consensus' of
the papal visit.
Portugal has liberalised abortion and divorce laws and parliament has
given preliminary approval to the legalisation of same-sex marriage,
albeit without the right to adopt.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 » 04:48am
Pope
announces papal envoy for reform
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2010/05/02/Pope_announces_papal_envoy_for_reform_457329.html
Pope Benedict XVI has cracked down on the scandal-plagued Legionaries
of Christ, announcing on Saturday that a papal envoy will take over and
reform the conservative order that has been discredited by revelations
its founder sexually abused seminarians and fathered at least one child.
Benedict also ordered a special commission to study the Legionaries
constitutions and said a Vatican expert would investigate its lay arm,
Regnum Christi.
The decisions were made after five Vatican investigators reported back
to Benedict and other Vatican officials about an eight-month global
inquiry into the order to determine its future after its founder was so
thoroughly discredited by revelations of his double life.
In a statement, the Vatican excoriated the late Reverend Marciel Maciel
for creating a 'system of power' built on silence, deceit and obedience
that enabled him to lead a double life 'devoid of any scruples and
authentic sense of religion' and allowed him to abuse young boys
unchecked.
'By pushing away and casting doubt upon all those who questioned his
behaviour, and the false belief that he wasn't doing harm to the good
of the Legion, he created around him a defence mechanism that made him
unassailable for a long period, making it difficult to know his true
life,' the Vatican said.
But rather than closing the order down, which some critics had called
for, the Vatican assured the Legion's current members that it would
help them 'purify' what good remains in the order and would not be left
alone as they undergo the 'profound revision' necessary to carry on.
The Pope's response to the Maciel scandal is being closely watched
because the Vatican is facing mounting pressure to aggressively
confront clerical abuse.
The Maciel case has long been seen as emblematic of Vatican inaction on
abuse complaints, since Maciel's victims had tried in the 1990s to
bring a canonical trial against him but were shut down by his
supporters at the Vatican.
In the end, it was only in 2006 - a year into Pope Benedict XVI's
papacy - that the Vatican ordered Maciel to lead a 'reserved life of
penance and prayer,' making him a priest in name only.
He died in 2008 at age 87.
The Vatican statement was remarkable in its tough denunciation of
Maciel's crimes and deception, but it placed the blame almost entirely
on him.
It made no mention of any complicity on the part of Vatican officials
who had held up Maciel as a model for the faithful.
The Vatican said the system of power, obedience and silence Maciel
created had kept 'a large part' of the Legionaries in the dark about
his double life.
That did raise questions about what would become of the current
Legionaries leadership since many have questioned how they couldn't
have known of his misdeeds.
Maciel founded the Legion in his native Mexico in 1941 and the order's
culture was built around Maciel.
His photo adorned every Legion building, his biography and writings
were studied, and his birthday was celebrated as a feast day.
Until recently, Legion members took a vow not to criticise their
superiors, including Maciel.
The order now claims a membership of more than 800 priests and 2,500
seminarians in 22 countries, along with 70,000 members in Regnum
Christi.
It runs schools, charities, Catholic news outlets, seminaries for young
boys, and universities in Mexico, Italy, Spain and elsewhere.
Sunday, May 02, 2010 » 05:53am
Malta hosts pope under sex
abuse cloud
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/04/18/Malta_hosts_pope_under_sex_abuse_cloud_452399.html
Pope
Benedict says the Catholic Church has been wounded by sin, as he flew
to Malta on his first foreign trip since a wave of priest sex abuse
scandals broke.
'Malta loves Christ who loves his Church which is
his body, even if this body is wounded by our sins,' he told
accompanying journalists on Saturday in a direct allusion to the
scandals.
The pope is scheduled to stay just over 24 hours in the deeply Catholic
Mediterranean island country.
Benedict
also referred to illegal immigration which has hit this tiny nation
hard, with people crossing from Africa to Europe in fragile boats,
calling it 'a great challenge for our times, to which we must respond'.
The visit comes amid near-daily allegations of child-molesting
priests in Europe or the United States, some homing in on the Pope's
role either as head of the Vatican's morals watchdog or earlier as
archbishop of Munich.
Under the pressure of increasingly hostile
opinion over claims that the Vatican hierarchy including the pope
himself helped protect predator priests, Benedict may hold an impromptu
meeting with Maltese abuse victims, but far from the media spotlight.
Malta,
where one in three children under 16 attend Catholic schools, has
itself been hit by allegations of abuse at an orphanage.
The
smallest member of the European Union with a population of about
443,000, Malta has also been scandalised by revelations that a
suspected pedophile priest has retired here from Canada.
Vatican
spokesman Federico Lombardi has said the pope will not bow to 'media
pressure' to meet with abuse victims, and noted that his program is
'already very tight'.
The Vatican's top official handling sexual
and physical abuse allegations against clergy, Charles Scicluna, is
expected to meet victims in June.
The Maltese Catholic Church
revealed recently that a pedophilia 'response team' it set up in 1999
had received allegations against 45 priests, of which nearly half had
been ruled groundless, adding, however: 'For the Church, every case is
one too many.'
Fuelling tensions, vandals last week defaced
billboards promoting the papal visit, daubing Hitler-style moustaches
on images of the embattled German Pope, who turned 83 on Friday and is
marking the fifth anniversary of his papacy on Monday.
The Maltese word for 'pedophile' was spray-painted on one of the
billboards.
Benedict
will pay a courtesy call on President George Abela and meet with young
people as well as visiting Rabat, in the centre of the archipelago's
main island, where tradition has it that the apostle Saint Paul took
refuge in a grotto after his shipwreck on Malta.
Abela called on the Maltese to welcome the Pope with 'enthusiasm and
arms wide open', in a radio and television message.
The
Vatican's ambassador to Malta, nuncio Tommaso Caputo said, 'We will
receive him with joy and gratitude' at a time when the pope is
'suffering' while keeping his 'calm'.
Against this backdrop, the
pope faces an uphill challenge in getting across the messages he had
planned for Malta - notably on immigration.
Malta, which lies
halfway between Sicily and the north African coastline, took in nearly
3,000 boat people in 2008, a record number.
Hundreds remain crowded into detention centres awaiting word of their
fate.
Benedict has called several times over the past few months for fair and
human solutions on the issue.
Another theme that is close to the pope's heart is the preservation of
Europe's Christian heritage.
Malta
has one priest for every 490 Catholics, compared with a global average
of one in nearly 2,900, according to Church statistics.
Abortion
is illegal and not even a matter of debate, though an increasing number
of Maltese are in favour of overturning the ban on divorce.
The trip is Benedict's 14th overseas since 2005 and the first this
year.
It is also the third time a pope has travelled to the island nation,
after John Paul II who visited in 1990 and 2001.
Sunday, April 18, 2010 » 09:06am
Dawkins
wants Pope put on
trial
Article: Vatican Male
Escort !
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2010/04/12/Dawkins_wants_Pope_put_on_trial_450487.html
Two leading atheists have hired lawyers to investigate if the Pope
could be arrested for crimes against humanity, when he visits Britain
in September.
Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens believe the Pope should face
charges, for the alleged cover-up of sex abuse in the Catholic Church.
Mr Dawkins has described Pope Benedict XVI as a 'leering old villain in
a frock whose first instinct when his priests are caught with their
pants down is to cover up the scandal and damn the young victims to
silence', in the Washing Post
'This former head of the Inquisition should be arrested the moment he
dares to set foot outside his tinpot fiefdom of the Vatican, and he
should be tried in an appropriate civil - not ecclesiastical - court,'
he said.
'That's what should happen. Sadly, we all know our faith-befuddled
governments will be too craven to do it.'
A letter written by the Pope in 1985, when he was still a Cardinal,
urged that a paedophile priest in the US not be exposed, for the 'good
of the universal church'.
Monday, April 12, 2010 » 06:24pm
British tourists as nuns
7:39pm UK, Monday May 25, 2009
A group of British
tourists have escaped punishment after being arrested on a Greek island
for dressing up in nun costumes.
The 17 men had been held
in police
custody on Crete since their arrest in the early hours of Sunday
morning in the seaside holiday town of Malia.
They appeared in court
still dressed
in their nun outfits and sexy lingerie to face charges of causing a
scandal by provocative acts and misrepresenting a uniform.
But the prosecutor
dropped the charges against the men and they were all released, the
British Embassy said.
The members of the group
were aged
from late teens to about 60.Malia has become a resort which is popular
with young tourists and is notorious for rowdy and drunken behaviour
during the summer.
Fed-up local residents
blocked a highway in Crete in 2007 to protest against the antics of
drunken tourists.
Misbehaving
holidaymakers have also caused problems for the Greek authorities on
the islands of Rhodes and Corfu.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/British-Tourists
Crucifixion causes
controversy (Australia)
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/National/2010/04/05/Crucifixion_causes_controversy_448009.html
Organisers of a graphic crucifixion re-enactment in Victoria have vowed
to tone down the event next year after police shut it down this Easter.
Police say they shut down the event after being told young children
were screaming in distress at the event which was staged in the middle
of a shopping precinct in Geelong on Saturday afternoon.
Police say they closed down the event for breaching the peace after
people in the shopping district became concerned by the re-enactment,
particularly by the man posing as Jesus covered in fake blood..."
Monday, April 05, 2010 » 11:17am
Offenders
could serve in
monastery
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2010/03/14/Offenders_could_serve_in_monastery_439745.html
Georgian criminals could be swapping prison uniforms for cassocks under
a new scheme to allow offenders to serve out their sentences in
monasteries.
The project, unveiled by penal and church officials, will allow
'convicts to have the possibility of serving sentences in monasteries
instead of prisons', the prisons ministry said in a statement.
A committee made up of representatives of the general prosecutors'
office, the prisons ministry and the Georgian Orthodox Church
Patriarchate will find and select potential candidates among convicts,
the statement said.
It said the scheme is in line with the government's policy of
'liberalising penal prosecution' and 'defining new methods of
re-socialisation' of convicts.
The project also appears aimed at addressing severe prison overcrowding
in Georgia, a mountainous ex-Soviet republic of 4.4 million people
bordering Russia and Turkey.
In a report last year, Prison Reform International said nearly 20,000
people were serving time in Georgian prisons, a 300 per cent increase
since 2004, and that many institutions were operating far above their
official capacity
Sunday, March 14, 2010 » 07:58am
Bishop
attacked with broom
mid service
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2010/04/05/Bishop_attacked_with_broom_mid_service_448012.html
German police say a man attacked the Roman Catholic Bishop of Muenster
with a broom handle during an Easter service in the city's cathedral.
Police said in a statement on Sunday that 60-year-old bishop Felix Genn
defended himself with an incense bowl and was unharmed.
A police spokesman tells the German news agency DAPD that 'courageous
church officials and other service attendants restrained the attacker
until police arrived'.
After the incident, the bishop continued celebrating the Easter service.
Police say the 44-year-old man stormed through the packed church to the
altar.
The man's motive was unclear but comes as Germany's Catholic Church is
facing intense criticism over a widening abuse scandal.
Monday, April 05, 2010 » 11:27am
Crucifixion
causes
controversy
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/National/2010/04/05/Crucifixion_causes_controversy_448009.html
Organisers of a graphic crucifixion re-enactment in Victoria have vowed
to tone down the event next year after police shut it down this Easter.
Police say they shut down the event after being told young children
were screaming in distress at the event which was staged in the middle
of a shopping precinct in Geelong on Saturday afternoon.
Police say they closed down the event for breaching the peace after
people in the shopping district became concerned by the re-enactment,
particularly by the man posing as Jesus covered in fake blood.
Monday, April 05, 2010 » 11:17am
Pope
urges 'moral conversion'
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/04/04/Pope_urges_moral_conversion_447809.html
Pope Benedict XVI has urged mankind to undergo a 'spiritual and moral
conversion' during his traditional Easter Sunday message as pedophile
priest scandals rock the Roman Catholic Church.
'Humanity needs... a spiritual and moral conversion,' the 82-year-old
Pope said. 'It needs... to emerge from a profound crisis, one which
requires deep change, beginning with consciences.'
The urging came as the Roman Catholic Church is buffeted by pedophile
priest scandals, which cast a pall over Easter Sunday and heightened
anticipation of the traditional 'Urbi et Orbi' message.
As Christians celebrated the day when Christ is believed to have been
resurrected, the Pope was under pressure to speak out on the scourge.
But Easter mass kicked off with an unusual greeting from the dean of
the College of Cardinals, who told the Pope: 'The people of God are
with you and do not allow themselves to be impressed by the idle
chatter of the moment.'
Cardinal Angelo Sodano was reprising the same phrase the Pope used a
week ago when he urged Christians 'not be intimidated by the idle
chatter of prevailing opinions'.
In Paris meanwhile, the archbishop of the city and head of the Catholic
Church in France, Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, said there was a 'smear
campaign aimed at the Pope'.
'And yet it was Cardinal Ratzinger who, as head of the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith, encouraged bishops to take action against
pedophilia by systematically informing Rome of such cases,' he told Le
Parisien newspaper.
However the top bishops in both Belgium and Germany issued forthright
condemnations of the Church's role in covering up for predator priests
in their Easter homilies.
Belgium's Andre Joseph Leonard, archbishop of Mechelen-Brussel, said
the Church had mismanaged the crisis 'with a guilty silence'.
German Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, for his part, said: 'Today
particularly we must set out together and examine inconceivable events,
awful crimes, the Church's dark aspects as well as our shadowy sides.'
Sunday, April 04, 2010 » 08:55pm
Pedophile
priest scandals
casts a shroud
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/04/04/Pedophile_priest_scandals_casts_a_shroud_447799.html
The pedophile priest scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church cast a
pall over Easter Sunday, heightening anticipation of Pope Benedict
XVI's 'Urbi et Orbi' message.
The traditional speech 'to the city and the world' is among few
occasions for the leader of some 1.1 billion Catholics to address a
global audience, and he often uses the spotlight to condemn war and
poverty.
But as Christians celebrated the day when Christ is believed to have
been resurrected, the Pope is under pressure to reiterate his
condemnation of predator priests.
The top bishops in both Belgium and Germany set the tone, issuing
forthright condemnations of the Church's role in covering up for
predator priests in their Easter homilies, provided to the media in
advance.
Belgium's Andre Joseph Leonard, archbishop of Mechelen-Brussel, will
say the Church has mismanaged the crisis.
'With a guilty silence, it often gave preference to the reputation of
certain men of the Church over the honour of the abused children,' his
homily reads.
He will point to a recent letter from the Pope to Irish Catholics as an
example of what needs to be done.
Germany's Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, for his part, will say: 'Today
particularly we must set out together and examine inconceivable events,
awful crimes, the Church's dark aspects as well as our shadowy sides.'
The text of the homily, posted on his diocesan website, adds: 'The
Church must not be inactive: we need a new beginning.'
The scandals have been gaining momentum relentlessly, putting the
Vatican on the defensive.
In the United States on Saturday, fresh allegations emerged in court
documents that Cardinal William Levada - now the head of the Vatican
department in charge of disciplining predator priests - had reassigned
an alleged child molester in the 1990s without warning his parishioners.
The Pope headed the same department - the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith - from 1981 to 2005, and himself faces allegations that he
helped to protect predator priests both in that role and when he was
archbishop of Munich.
The crisis took a new twist on Friday when the Pope's personal preacher
evoked a parallel between attacks on the pontiff and anti-Semitism.
Jewish groups and those representing victims of abuse by Roman Catholic
priests condemned Father Raniero Cantalamessa for quoting the comments,
which he said were made in a letter from a Jewish friend, in his Good
Friday sermon.
Cantalamessa issued an apology on Sunday, telling the Italian daily
Corriere della Sera: 'If I inadvertently hurt the feelings of Jews and
paedophilia victims, I sincerely regret it and I apologise.'
The child abuse scandal has drawn harsh critism even from other top
religious leaders.
Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the world's 70 million Anglicans,
apologised for comments recorded during the week in which he said the
Irish Catholic Church had lost 'all credibility'.
Diarmuid Martin, the archbishop of Dublin, said he was 'stunned' by
Williams's comments.
The Pope himself faces allegations that, as archbishop of Munich and
later as the Vatican's chief morals enforcer, he helped to protect
predator priests.
Leading prelates have rallied around the Pope, and the Vatican
newspaper Osservatore Romano has published messages of support from
around the world.
The paper denounced the 'slanderous attacks and the defamation campaign
surrounding the drama of abuse by priests.'
It cited the archbishop of Paris, Andre Vingt-Trois, calling it 'an
offensive aiming to destabilise the Pope and through him the Church.'
Sunday, April 04, 2010 » 08:40pm
Anglican
leader slams
Catholic church
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/04/04/Anglican_leader_slams_Catholic_church_447554.html
The leader of the world's Anglicans has expressed 'deep sorrow and
regret' for saying the Catholic Church in Ireland is 'losing all
credibility' over the pedophile priests scandal.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams apologised on Saturday to
Diarmuid Martin, the Archbishop of Dublin and one of Ireland's most
senior Catholics, for 'difficulties which may have been created' by the
remarks.
Martin had earlier said he was 'stunned' by Williams' 'unequivocal and
unqualified' comments, which were made in a BBC radio interview to be
broadcast on Monday.
Williams telephoned Martin to say that 'nothing could have been farther
from his intention than to offend or criticise the Irish Church',
according to a statement released by the Archbishop of Dublin.
A spokeswoman for the Archbishop of Canterbury confirmed he had spoken
to Martin and said he 'had no intention of criticising or attacking'
the Catholic Church.
She added: 'The Church in Ireland continues to work tirelessly to deal
with the scandal of abuse.'
Relations between the two churches have been strained since last
October when Pope Benedict XVI offered disgruntled Anglicans an easier
route to conversion to Catholicism.
Williams, the spiritual leader of more than 70 million Anglicans
worldwide, said in the interview that the Irish Catholic Church's
disarray over the child sex abuse scandal is a 'colossal trauma'.
'I was speaking to an Irish friend recently who was saying that it's
quite difficult in some parts of Ireland to go down the street wearing
a clerical collar now,' Williams said.
'And an institution so deeply bound into the life of a society suddenly
becoming, suddenly losing all credibility -- that's not just a problem
for the Church, it is a problem for everybody in Ireland.'
Martin said the timing of the comments on Easter weekend had been
particularly unhelpful.
'In all my years as Archbishop of Dublin in difficult times I have
rarely felt personally so discouraged,' he said.
Ireland, a strongly Catholic country, has been shaken by two major
investigations in the last year detailing child sex abuse by priests
stretching back decades -- and Church leaders' complicity in covering
it up.
The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, has
faced calls to resign after it emerged he had persuaded two child
victims of abuse to agree not to talk about their experiences.
Williams' comments are likely to raise suspicion between the two
churches ahead of the Pope's scheduled visit to Britain in September.
Allegations of abuse by priests have since emerged in other countries,
including the Pope's native Germany.
Sunday, April 04, 2010 » 05:20am
Pope
at centre of child
abuse storm
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/03/28/Pope_at_centre_of_child_abuse_storm_445006.html
The child abuse scandal rocking the Catholic Church has homed in on
Pope Benedict who's been labelled 'the biggest sinner' in one newspaper.
As allegations pile up of sexual molestation by priests in the scandal
that's opened up in the US and Europe, the media's expressed outrage,
accusing the church of failing to report the crimes and failing to
protect children.
The Tribune de Geneve newspaper quotes a Swiss national who says this
makes the Pope the biggest sinner in the church.
But Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi says the authority of the Pope
and the commitment of its morals watchdog, once headed by Benedict,
will come out of this strengthened
Sunday, March 28, 2010 » 03:43am
Boozing
Jesus image outrages
in India
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/02/22/Boozing_Jesus_image_outrages_in_India_431933.html
Christians in India's northeast are outraged after a picture showing
Jesus Christ holding a beer can and a cigarette was discovered in
primary school textbooks.
The image appeared in a handwriting book for children in church-run
schools in the Christian-majority state of Meghalaya, where it was used
to illustrate the letter 'I' for the word 'Idol'.
'We are deeply shocked and hurt at the objectionable portrayal of Jesus
Christ in the school book. We condemn the total lack of respect for
religions by the publisher,' Shillong diocese Archbishop Dominic Jala
told AFP on Monday.
Police said they were hunting for the owner of the New Delhi-based
publisher, Skyline Publications, who faces charges of offending
religious sentiment, local police superintendent AR Mawthoh told AFP.
The Roman Catholic Church in India has banned all textbooks by Skyline,
while Protestant leaders called for a public apology.
The state government also denounced the publication.
'We strongly condemn such a blasphemous act. Legal action has been
initiated against the publisher,' M Ampareen Lyngdoh, an education
minister in the Meghalaya government, said.
English-language daily The Shillong Times said Skyline had apologised
for 'hurting people's religious sentiments', but had offered no
explanation as to how the error occurred.
Efforts are underway to recall all copies of the book, the publisher
was quoted as saying.
AFP was unable to reach Skyline for comment.
Christians account for 2.3 per cent of India's billion-plus
Hindu-majority population. The main concentrations are in the
northeast, the eastern state of Orissa and in the southern states of
Kerala and Goa.
In 2008, anti-Christian riots in Orissa left more than 100 people dead,
according to Christian groups, after missionaries were accused of
killing a Hindu holy man.
Monday, February 22, 2010 » 06:21pm
Pope washes priests' feet in
ceremony
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/04/02/Pope_washes_priests_feet_in_ceremony_446973.html
Pope
Benedict XVI says Catholics are called to a 'constant examination of
conscience' but has made no mention of the scandals rocking his church
before he washed the feet of 12 priests in a ceremony marking Holy
Thursday.
The pontiff is celebrating Holy Week - the most solemn
period in the Catholic calendar - as allegations that the church
covered up clerical sex abuse spread across Europe, including his
native Germany, and the United States.
The feet-washing ceremony in
St John Lateran Basilica in Rome symbolises humility and commemorates
Jesus' last supper with his 12 apostles on the evening before his
crucifixion.
Wearing a white apron, Benedict poured water from a
golden pitcher over one bare foot of each of the priests, who were
seated in a row. With the water dripping on a golden basin, the Pope
dried the feet with a white cloth.
The pontiff did not directly
address the scandals during the Mass that included the feet-washing
ritual. He said Jesus, in his prayer after washing the feet of the
apostles, 'challenges us to a constant examination of conscience'.
'At
this hour the Lord is asking us: are you living, through faith, in
fellowship with me and thus in fellowship with God?' the Pope said. 'Or
are you rather living for yourself, and thus apart from faith?'
'As
we meditate on the Passion of the Lord, let us also feel Jesus' pain at
the way that we contradict his prayer, that we resist his love,'
Benedict said.
The Pope has several appearances until Easter Sunday,
when the faithful celebrate Jesus' resurrection. He will preside over
the Way of the Cross procession at the Colosseum on Good Friday -
commemorating Jesus' suffering in the hours before his crucifixion -
and then celebrate a late-night Easter Vigil on Saturday.
In a Mass
in St Peter's Basilica earlier on Thursday, the Pope had urged priests
to be 'men of peace' and oppose violence. The Mass was described by the
Vatican as a sign of strict union between the pontiff in his role of
pastor of the world's 1 billion Catholics and his fellow priests.
The
sex abuse scandal comes atop years of allegations and court cases
involving clergy abuse in schools, seminaries and other church
institutions from Australia to Canada. Benedict himself has come under
fire for his handling of clergy abuse cases during his tenure as
archbishop of Munich and as head of the Vatican office dealing with
disciplining priests.
Victims are demanding the Pope take
responsibility for what they say were decades of systematic cover-ups
by church hierarchy of clergy abuse. Church officials insist Benedict
has cracked down on sex abuse both as pontiff and in his tenure as a
top Vatican cardinal.
Friday, April 02, 2010 » 07:50am
German
Catholics angry at
pope's silence
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2010/03/16/German_Catholics_angry_at_popes_silence_440575.html
German Catholic groups have hit out at the pope's silence over a
snowballing paedophilia priest scandal rocking his native country's
Church.
The scandal 'affects people, whether they are religious or not,' said
Dirk Taenzler, head of the Federation of German Catholic Youth (BDKJ),
in the Berliner Zeitung daily.
'The Holy Father should make a statement about this.'
He added that the German Catholic Church, which has been hit by
allegations of child sex abuse dating back decades on an almost daily
basis in recent weeks, was in the midst of one of its 'biggest identity
crises since 1945'.
Christian Weisner from the German chapter of reform movement We Are
Church said meanwhile that the pope 'has not yet realised the full
extent of the unease' caused.
The recent statement from the Vatican alleging a campaign to target the
pope 'is the worst possible communication strategy thinkable,' Weisner
told the Munich regional daily TZ.
'Many Catholics who are faithful to the Church regret the fact that
Benedict XVI has failed to express a single word of sympathy,' Weisner
added.
The Catholic Church has been engulfed in a scandal since January when a
Jesuit-run school in Berlin admitted systematic sexual abuse of pupils
by two priests in the 1970s and 1980s.
Since then, there have been allegations at some two-thirds of the
country's 27 dioceses as more victims come forward.
With the Catholic Church hit by similar scandals in other countries,
Benedict has spoken out several times since the start of his papacy in
2005 on the issue.
In February, he described child abuse as a 'heinous crime' and a 'grave
sin'. But he is yet to comment directly on the scandal rocking his home
country, critics say.
One of those implicated is a boarding school attached to Regensburg
cathedral's choir. The pope's elder brother, Georg Ratzinger, who ran
the choir for 30 years, has denied all knowledge of sexual abuse.
On Friday the dioceses of Munich and Freising said that the pope, when
he was archbishop there, had approved in 1980 giving a suspected
paedophilia priest Church housing in the diocese for 'therapy'.
Two years later, by which time the pope had been transferred to the
Vatican, the priest was given pastoral duties in the town of Graefing.
He committed sexual abuse and was given a suspended jail sentence in
1986.
The vicar-general at the time on Friday assumed 'all responsibility'
for the 'bad mistake'. The priest concerned is reportedly still
employed by the Church.
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi went on the offensive on Saturday.
'It is clearly evident that in the past few days there are some who
have sought - with a dogged focus on Regensburg and Munich - elements
to personally implicate the Holy Father in questions of abuse,' he
said.
'It is clear that these efforts have failed,' he said on Radio Vatican.
'The Church's credibility has been badly shaken,' said Wolfgang
Thierse, deputy speaker of the German parliament and a board member of
the Central Committee of German Catholics, or ZdK.
'The Church should be more honest and more severe with itself, and that
goes for the pope too,' he said on public television channel ZDF.
Senior Church figures in Germany meanwhile called for priestly celibacy
to be reviewed, a tradition Benedict defended on Friday as a 'the sign
of full devotion' and of an 'entire commitment to the Lord'.
The Church 'should reflect on whether there are ... conditions that
favour abuse,' the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily cited ZdK head Alois
Glueck as saying, citing loosening celibacy regulations as 'one way'.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 » 09:16am
Xenophon
wants Scientology
inquiry
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/National/2010/03/14/Xenophon_wants_Scientology_inquiry_439743.html
Independent senator Nick Xenophon plans to make a fresh bid for a
Senate inquiry into Scientology.
Labor and coalition senators joined forces last week to vote against
Senator Xenophon's motion to set up an inquiry into the tax-free status
of religious groups.
But the South Australian senator who addressed a forum on cults in
Brisbane yesterday, says he plans to make another bid for an inquiry
when the Senate sits this week.
This time he'll propose terms of reference specifically dealing with
the Church of Scientology.
Senator Xenophon says he doesn't have a problem with what people
believe, but how they behave and he says Scientology has all the
hallmarks of a cult environment.
Claims of forced abortions imprisonment in boot camps and separation of
Scientologist families were aired last week on the ABC's Four Corners
program.
Sunday, March 14, 2010 » 07:54am
Church
criticises confession
phone line
Tuesday,
March 02, 2010
» 11:17am
A pay telephone line for French Roman Catholics to confess their sins
has drawn criticism from bishops.
'For advice on confessing, press one. To confess, press two. To listen
to some confessions, press three,' says a soothing male voice,
welcoming the caller to 'Le Fil du Seigneur', or 'The Line of the Lord'
service.
'In case of serious or mortal sins - that is, sins that have cut you
off from Christ our Lord, it is indispensable to confide in a priest,'
warns the 0.34 euros a minute service.
The Conference of French Bishops, which groups the country's Catholic
leaders, warned in a statement on Monday that the line had 'no approval
from the Catholic Church in France'.
The site was set up this month at the beginning of the Christian
fasting period of Lent by a group of Catholics working for AABAS, a
small Paris company that provides telephone messaging services, its
creator told AFP.
It does not offer absolution for sins, which only a priest can provide,
said the creator, Camille, who asked for her second name not be cited
because she had received threats about the service.
'The idea is to confess sins which are not capital sins, but minor
sins, directly to God,' she said, adding that the line received about
300 calls in its first week.
Callers do not talk to a person but are offered an 'atmosphere of piety
and reflection,' where they can listen to prayers, music and other
people's confessions and can opt to record their own.
The bishops said telephone services had a role to play in lending an
ear to the aged, isolated or those with disabilities, but 'it is
unacceptable to allow confusion over the notion of confession'.
'For the Catholic faithful, confession has a sacramental meaning and
requires the real presence of a priest.'
Camille said part of the money received for the calls goes to charity.
The service costs 0.34 euros ($A.51) a minute plus a connection charge
for mobile phones, though a cheaper non-charity line costs 0.12 euros.
The line says on its website that it aims to encourage youngsters to
confess at a time when church attendance is 'in free-fall'.
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2010/03/02/Church_criticises_confession_phone_line_435062.html
UK
church holds mobile phone blessing
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2010/01/12/UK_church_holds_mobile_phone_blessing_416648.html
A British church held an unusual ceremony when a vicar blessed the
mobile phones of workers in the City of London financial district.
The special service on Monday at the St Lawrence Jewry church,
which dates back to 1136, was attended by around 80 people who held
their phones and other gadgets in the air while vicar David Parrott
blessed them.
The idea came from a historic tradition where workers would bring the
tools of their trade such as ploughs to be blessed on the first Monday
after people return to work following Christmas.
'We decided to have the service with a modern twist - I prayed for the
people who support the technology, who use it,' Parrott said.
'As I prayed for God's blessing on the technology, they were holding
their phones in the air.'
Worshippers were even allowed to keep their phones switched on during
the service, given the nature of the blessing, Parrott said.
'On this occasion, I specifically invited people to keep their mobile
phones on, but put them on to silent,' he added
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 » 02:29pm
Sexy Church Billboard Shocks
Onlookers (New Zealand)
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2009/12/17/Sexy_church_billboard_shocks_onlookers_407468.html
A biblical billboard has provoked controversy in Auckland, New Zealand.
The saucy billboard shows Joseph looking down dejectedly and Mary
looking sad, with a caption saying
'Poor Joseph. God is a hard act to follow.'
Opinion is equally divided with about 50 percent saying they love it
and about 50 per cent finding it was offensive.
The billboard has already raised the wrath of the traditional values
pressure group Family First.
The Catholic Church says the image is inappropriate and disrespectful.
Thursday, December 17, 2009 » 02:10pm
Giant
NZ church ad shocks
onlookers
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2009/12/18/Giant_NZ_church_ad_shocks_onlookers_407791.html
A billboard depicting Jesus' mother looking dejected after unsatisfying
sex with Joseph has given Kiwi Catholics a nasty pre-Christmas surprise.
The huge ad erected in Auckland shows the unhappy couple in bed
accompanied by the slogan: 'Poor Joseph. God was a hard act to follow.'
In the fresco-style work, Joseph looks down red-faced while an
anguished Mary looks to the heavens.
The billboard, which has been vandalised by angry Christians who say it
is blasphemous, was erected by progressive Christian church, St
Matthew's
Its vicar, Archdeacon Glynn Cardy, said it was a cutting-edge strategy
to engage non-believers.
'Progressive Christianity is distinctive in that not only does it
articulate a clear view, it is also interested in engaging with those
who differ.
'Its vision is one of robust engagement.'
But the city's Catholic diocese said the implication that Mary and
Joseph had just had sex was 'disrespectful' and 'offensive' to
Christians.
Spokeswoman Lyndsay Freer said it was particularly inappropriate given
the inference was wrong.
'Our Christian tradition of 2,000 years is that Mary remains a virgin
and that Jesus is the son of God, not Joseph,' she said.
But statistics show New Zealanders may need such edgy advertising to
help spark interest in religion.
The 2006 Census showed that 32.2% - or 1.3 million Kiwis - profess to
have no religion, an increase of 270,000 on the previous survey.
A recent atheist fundraising campaign to put controversial 'No God'
posters on buses was overwhelmed with donations.
Organiser Simon Fisher said the campaign, which mimics one that ran in
Britain, was designed to break religious taboos.
'Religion should not be a taboo subject that no one brings up at dinner
parties,' he wrote on the NZ Atheist Bus website
Friday, December 18, 2009 » 10:15am
Religions can take any new form, like viruses and they are coming from
underground negative civilizations, named Agartha. Church of Scientology is one
of those religions. And here is a small
article about the criminal activity of that Church from Australian
Bigpond (meaning 'Pacific Ocean'). Only that could be said about any
church!
Rudd concerned about
Scientology (Australia)
Wednesday,
November 18, 2009 » 12:14pm
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Politics/2009/11/18/Rudd_concerned_about_Scientology_395452.html
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he has concerns about the Church of
Scientology but wants to see what material independent senator Nick
Xenophon has before committing to a parliamentary inquiry.
Senator Xenophon told parliament on Tuesday there was criminal activity within the
church and has called for a Senate inquiry into
Scientology's tax exempt status.
Senator Xenophon has also called for police
to investigate the church after being contacted by a number of former
Scientologists who accused the organisation of shocking crimes.
Senator
Xenophon said their
correspondence implicated the organisation in a range of crimes,
including forced imprisonment, coerced abortions, physical violence,
and blackmail.
Asked about the senator's claims, Mr Rudd described them as 'grave
allegations'.
'Many people in Australia have real concerns about Scientology,' Mr
Rudd told reporters at Bungendore in NSW on Wednesday.
'I share some of those concerns. Let us proceed carefully and look
carefully at the material he has provided before we make a decision on
further parliamentary action.'
Asked about the Church of Scientology's tax exempt status, Mr Rudd said
he was advised the High Court had dealt with the matter back in the
1980s.
'I am so advised, but I stand to be corrected,' he said.
'Therefore the true question is the actual nature of the operations
that involve Scientology now.
'I don't want to rush into any judgment on this, other than to say he's
(Senator Xenophon) raised concerns and made some serious allegations.'
Senator Xenophon told reporters on Wednesday that he would be meeting
with colleagues about the possibility of setting up a Senate inquiry
into the church.
'It is important there be a Senate inquiry into the Church of
Scientology and that is why over coming days I will be holding
discussions with colleagues on both sides of the Senate chamber so
there can be some consensus on the terms of reference,' he said.
Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce said while he didn't know much about
the Church of Scientology, he respected Senator Xenophon as a balanced
and considered individual..."
Grieving family urges
Scientology probe
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2009/11/23/Grieving_family_urges_Scientology_probe_397609.html
For three days leading up to soldier Edward McBride's suicide, his
family say he was bombarded by telephone calls and texts from Church of
Scientology members.
The family believe the church played a major role in his death but have
spent the past two years without answers or recourse.
Now they've urged the federal government to initiate an inquiry into
the controversial religious group, under fire following recent
allegations of blackmail, sanctioned beatings, forced abortions and
financial fraud.
Independent senator Nick Xenophon last week made a scathing
parliamentary attack on Scientology, accusing it of using religion as a
front for criminal activities.
He wants the organisation to be investigated by parliament - a call
which has so far won the backing of the Australian Greens, but not the
government or opposition.
Senator Xenophon and Greens leader Bob Brown on Monday flanked Mr
McBride's brother Stephen as he appealed directly to the prime minister
to support a formal inquiry.
Police investigating his younger brother's death in 2007 had been
stymied by the church, which failed to provide personal audit files as
requested, Stephen McBride said.
'Every time I think of Scientology I still get a real bad aftertaste in
my mouth,' he told reporters in Canberra.
'There's something just not right about it.'
Mr McBride was adamant the church contributed to his brother's suicide,
with the coroner reporting the telephone messages contained
intimidating statements, such as 'this behaviour is unacceptable' and
'you have missed your interview'.
He had spent $25,000 on Scientology courses in his time with the
church.
'The bombardment of 19 telephone messages backed him into a corner with
no room to breathe,' Mr McBride said.
'We've been through hell the last two years - please don't let my
brother's death be in vain.'
Senator Xenophon has yet to win the support of the government, despite
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd saying last week he also had concerns about
Scientology.
'It doesn't seem the numbers are there yet, but I will continue to
build my case,' he said, adding this was not a crusade against freedom
of religion.
'This is a hell of a week and I think we are distracted with other
issues, but I think it's inevitable there will be an inquiry one way or
the other.'
Senator Brown, who labelled Scientology a cult, said he would be angry
if the government and coalition quashed any move for an inquiry.
Monday, November 23, 2009 » 09:30pm