Another catholic bastard caught.

[Minimalist]

This time in Belgium.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/world/...TE&ei=5043

PARIS — The former leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Belgium urged a victim of serial sexual abuse by a bishop to keep silent for a year, until the bishop — the victim’s own uncle — could retire, according to tapes made by the victim last April and published over the weekend in two Belgian newspapers.

The tapes, which church authorities have verified as accurate, are among the more revealing documents in the continuing scandal of sexual abuse by clerics and subsequent cover-ups by the church. And having a record of a cardinal entreating an abuse victim to keep his silence is another embarrassment for the Catholic Church.

Cardinal Godfried Danneels, 77, who retired as the archbishop of Brussels in January after 30 years, met with the victim, now 42, and his uncle, Bishop Robert Vangheluwe, 73, on April 8 to press the victim either to accept a private apology or to wait until the bishop retired, according to the tapes.

“The bishop will resign next year, so actually it would be better for you to wait,” the cardinal told the victim. “I don’t think you’d do yourself or him a favor by shouting this from the rooftops.” The cardinal warned the victim against trying to blackmail the church and suggested that he accept a private apology from the bishop and not drag “his name through the mud.”

The victim responded, “He has dragged my whole life through the mud, from 5 until 18 years old,” and asked, “Why do you feel sorry for him and not for me?”

Why indeed?

[Entropist]

“The bishop will resign next year, so actually it would be better for you to wait,” the cardinal told the victim. “I don’t think you’d do yourself or him a favor by shouting this from the rooftops.” The cardinal warned the victim against trying to blackmail the church and suggested that he accept a private apology from the bishop and not drag “his name through the mud.”

The cardinal is worse than the bishop, playing on all kinds of guilt the victim has gone through (and still is).

And as for the proverbial "mud," this was mud of the bishop's own making. There's a difference between telling the ugly truth and slander. Not that the Catholic church has been interested in truth, ugly or otherwise.

[Minimalist]

The cardinal is worse than the bishop

Yeah but they both deserve a bullet in the head so such nuances are irrelevant.

[Shell B]

I'm always shocked that empathy is non-existent in so many of these cases. I would gladly lose my job to report child abuse of any form. It is the least we can do. That old saying "It takes a village to raise a child" means (to me) that every one of us is responsible for the welfare of the children we come across. I don't mean we have to pay child support for every poor kid in the world. What I do mean is, if you have knowledge of a child being abused, in any way, you have a responsibility to report it. I don't give a fuck who you are or what the risk is. People turn in their own family members all the time. Why can people do that, but Catholic authorities can't turn in a man who is essentially just a co-worker?

Another thing that shocks me is the lack of outrage. Sure, there are plenty of people (like many people here) who write about it, rail against it, etc. However, I have had conversations about this with people who were obviously disinterested. How the hell can someone not care about this? Grrrr.

[Entropist]

However, I have had conversations about this with people who were obviously disinterested. How the hell can someone not care about this? Grrrr.

Its so common now (this didn't really hit the news until 2001 or 2002). Sadly, after some eight years of the same thing perhaps one get conditioned to the hypocrisy. Besides, as long as it happens to someone else, in the news, it is all safely abstract.

None of this is an excuse, of course.

[Shinylight]

This is why I'm an 'antitheist'.

It's absolutely disgusting, an atrocity. The Pope should be whipped for every child that is molested by one of his religious nuts, then he might try to do something about it, because right now his church is almost condoning it.

[Minimalist]

This is why I'm an 'antitheist'.

It's absolutely disgusting, an atrocity. The Pope should be whipped for every child that is molested by one of his religious nuts, then he might try to do something about it, because right now his church is almost condoning it.

Fixed that for you.