Ongoing religious scandals

meryem

The link above is filled up with endless tales of evil acts committed by so called religious leaders who are roaming free on earth instead of hell.

goingpostal

I think that RTE's religious coverage is an ongoing scandal. How many members of Opus Dei are employed in that cesspool of nepotism in Donnybrook? I need an exact figure. All of them? This is just the latest example of their obsequious, craven, deferential PR hackery on behalf of Ratzinger's organised crime syndicate. I shall spend a week in jail before I give them a penny in TV Licence Tax.

CiaranMT

irishtimes.com

The Irish Times wrote:

Priest apologises to abuse victim

A court has heard an apology from a 79-year-old former priest to a woman for the "torture" of sexual abuse he subjected her to from the age of 11.

Paul McGennis, of Holy Cross Diocesan Centre, Clonliffe Road, Dublin 3, pleaded guilty to eight sample counts of indecent assault on the female at two locations in the city on dates between June 1980 and May 1984.

Judge Desmond Hogan remanded McGennis on continuing bail and will sentence him at the end of the month.

The court heard the abuse took place in the priest’s house in one Dublin parish and continued after he moved to another in the city.

Sgt Brian Lyons told Martina Baxter BL prosecuting, the ex-priest would always have chocolate in the house and would give the girl sweets and toys but when she began to get older he would give her money after having sex.

The woman said the abuse continued because she was a child and was scared.

She said she would “get messages” for McGennis and that the abuse began when she was late returning from an errand on one occasion and he “gave out” to her. The woman said the abuse would take place almost every fortnight in the bedroom of the parish house and in a waiting room.

She said when she would return from running errands a housekeeper would let her in and although not in the same room, was often present in the house while the abuse took place. She said the abuse continued after he moved to a different address and when she began having her period he started to use condoms.

Sgt Lyons said the girl would be crying during the abuse as he was hurting her and she could not breathe as she was asthmatic. She said that she would ask McGennis to stop but he continued.

She complained to gardaí a number of years ago after receiving counselling following a suicide attempt.

When interviewed by gardaí in 2009, McGennis denied the allegations but he pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court this year.

McGennis was called to the witness box, where he apologised for the "torture" he had put her through.

“I would like to apologise most sincerely to (the victim) and her family for the stress and torture I have put them through and for the fact that my initial denials must have made it worse. For that early denial I apologise profoundly to the family,” he added.

In her victim impact statement, the victim said he had “taken away my innocence, my childhood memories, my chance of an education and my prospects for the future”.

The abuse continued to threaten her marriage and denied her the chance to have children, she said. It left her without self-esteem or the ability to form and maintain relationships.

The court heard McGennis has four previous convictions for indecent assault and has served a prison sentence.

On June 24th, 1997 he was sentenced to 18 months for two indecent assaults for an offence in 1960 and received an 18-month sentence.

On June 27th, 1997 he was sentenced for two indecent assaults occurring between May 1977 and 1979 and received nine months concurrent to the other sentences. He appealed these sentences and served nine months for the offences.

I asked about this on the Christianity forum too, why such short sentences in '97?

Penn

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0705/1224300091100.html

MINISTER FOR Education Ruairí Quinn has said he is “not confident” the State will be able to recoup from the Catholic Church half the cost of the € 1.36 billion compensation bill to settle clerical child sex abuse claims.

The Ryan report, published in May 2009, recommended that the 18 religious congregations concerned pay half the cost and they agreed.

An announcement is expected this morning from Mr Quinn in response to unpublished proposals from religious congregations in relation to meeting the cost of the bill. The Department of Education said last April it was to ask the congregations to hand over title to properties, including schools, worth up to € 200 million, to make up the shortfall.

It would help bring the total contribution by the congregations named in the Ryan report to redress costs for survivors of institutions they ran, nearer to what was recommended they pay. To date those costs to the State have come to €1.36 billion.

The Ryan report, published in May 2009, followed an investigation by the Ryan commission into the abuse of children held in residential institutions run by the 18 congregations.

Following its publication the congregations met the then government and subsequently produced details of their finances.These were verified by an independent committee set up under Frank Daly, formerly of the Revenue Commissioners.

However, it emerged that only 16 of the congregations felt in a position to make any further financial contribution to redress costs in addition to the €128 million the 18 had agreed to pay over to the State in 2002 as part of a controversial indemnity deal.

The Rosminian and Good Shepherd congregations said they had nothing more to contribute.

The total the congregations have agreed to pay came to over €476 million.

As this is € 200 million short of the half share of what they agreed to pay over, proposals were sought from them as to how they might meet the shortfall.

Last April, the Department of Education confirmed that it was to ask the congregations to hand over title to property worth up to €200 million.

This morning’s planned announcement by Mr Quinn follows Cabinet discussions surrounding the Ryan report in recent weeks.

Yesterday he said he was “not confident” the State will be able to recoup from the church half the cost of the €1.36 billion compensation bill to settle clerical child sex abuse claims. He would soon re-enter formal negotiations with the congregations to review how they can meet the target of paying half the liability.

“Im not confident because I simply don’t know what the situation is at the present time and I’m not in a situation to make any forecast as to what possible contribution there might be,” he said.

“It has been my intention to resume negotiations as soon as possible,” said Mr Quinn.

How can they even begin to think that they can just not repay all the money? How can that even be an option?

axer

Every asset of the organisations should be sold until their debts have been repaid. At least Ruairi Quinn is trying not to let them get away with it - fair play to him for not being afraid of these pr!cks.

Penn

I just want Quinn to walk into a meeting with them, hold up that page of the newspaper, and say "So then... let's talk about how many schools you want to give us now..."

robindch

axer wrote: »

Every asset of the organisations should be sold until their debts have been repaid.

Haven't checked recently, but last time I looked, many of the religious orders (the sisters/daughters of charity, and the christian brothers) had asset-stripped their organizations, transferring hundreds of millions of euro into independent trusts whose boards they then stuffed with people who were sympathetic to their cause, and within which the assets were safe without a high court ruling that the transfer was unethical.

The cynicism was breathtaking, even by religious standards.

MrPudding

robindch wrote: »

Haven't checked recently, but last time I looked, many of the religious orders (the sisters/daughters of charity, and the christian brothers) had asset-stripped their organizations, transferring hundreds of millions of euro into independent trusts whose boards they then stuffed with people who were sympathetic to their cause, and within which the assets were safe without a high court ruling that the transfer was unethical.

The cynicism was breathtaking, even by religious standards.

High court bailiffs in the UK can seize assets transferred up to 6 years previously if it appears they were transferred in order to avoid them being seized. I am not sure what the standard of proof is for that, but j am sure there are similar provisions in Ireland n

Chris

Nodin

He's on the 6 news now (at time of writing) saying they should hand over the legal titles to schools in lieu of cash/realisable assets.

robindch

According to the Independent, he's threatened the church with the bailiffs, noting that after nine years, they've paid less than two percent -- 2%, FFS! -- of the total cash cost.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/minister-warns-church-on-abuse-irsquoll-send-in-the-bailiffs-2813555.html

axer

robindch wrote: »

According to the Independent, he's threatened the church with the bailiffs, noting that after nine years, they've paid less than two percent -- 2%, FFS! -- of the total cash cost.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/minister-warns-church-on-abuse-irsquoll-send-in-the-bailiffs-2813555.html

and claim to be the bastions of morals! If only there was a hell!

Nodin

THE Government will today discuss the fourth major report into clerical child sexual abuse when Justice Minister Alan Shatter presents horrific findings from the Cork diocese of Cloyne.
The report's findings are expected to be even graver than in Dublin and Ferns.
Last night sources indicated that the Cabinet will approve the 400-page report of the Murphy Commission of Inquiry, and order its immediate publication tomorrow.

(my bold)
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/report-on-sex-abuse-to-be-worse-than-ferns-2818576.html

The mind boggles.....

axer

The Cloyne Report has found that former Bishop John Magee falsely told the Government and the HSE that the Catholic Diocese was reporting all allegations of clerical child sexual abuse to the civil authorities.
It also found he had deliberately misled people by creating two different accounts of a meeting with an accused priest.
Bishop John Magee, whose resignation was accepted by the Vatican last March, is criticised for his handling of allegations.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0713/cloyne.html

What b@stards! How do people still give money to and support in other ways this rotten to the core organisation? I only wish there was a hell for people like these.

magicbastarder

sure they closed the NOTW and anglo irish for far less.

shares in the church are plummeting on the latest news.

goingpostal

axer wrote: »

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0713/cloyne.html

What b@stards! How do people still give money to and support in other ways this rotten to the core organisation? I only wish there was a hell for people like these.

I wish there was some way they could be held truly accountable for their actions in this lifetime. Their immunity from legal consequences for their crimes against humanity is sickening.

MOSSAD

I'd like to see the Taoiseach order armed garda units to apprehend and execute the bishops. Next, expel the Papal Nuncio, proscribe the Catholic Church in Ireland, outlaw the practice of the religion, and seize and nationalise all church assets and property.

Teddy_Picker

Just watching Mary Raftery talk about the report on Prime Time, apparently one nasty piece of work got himself a place on a primary school board of management, and tried to bully the principal into sending kids up to him by threatning to halt her pay! :mad:

philologos

From the word go these people should have been prosecuted. No other institution in the State would ever have been given this type of treatment. In the US they were brought through the courts. Why couldn't we have done that here?

Also, why is the taxpayer paying for the abuse payments? - It's completely mind boggling. There is one law for all people or at least that's what I thought. Admittedly, I'm pretty angry to hear this, and I think any right minded person would be.

axer

Teddy_Picker wrote: »

Just watching Mary Raftery talk about the report on Prime Time, apparently one nasty piece of work got himself a place on a primary school board of management, and tried to bully the principal into sending kids up to him by threatning to halt her pay! :mad:

That is crazy but the problem is that the parish priest is the chairperson on the vast majority of the primary schools in Ireland. For ****s sake they have shown that they cannot be trusted to be near children. Whatever about those that did not abuse children but surely every priest had heard stories of what was going on and did not act. These are the people that are acting as if they can be society's moral compass. :mad:

Was listening to one of the abuse victims' father this morning on RTE radio and he said the church was rotten from the core from top to bottom but he continues to remain a member. He even spoke about how he believes the priests still do not get it. How anyone can remain a member of such an bad organisation not alone those that were abused those in authority is beyond me. Is that what years of indoctrination as a child does to someone?!

Dades

FYI - Going to allow a seperate Cloynes thread stay open due to the weight of it's findings.

Arcus Arrow

Next Wednesday night TG4 will be showing a documentary about the Magdalene Laundries. I think it's on about 9 or 9.30 pm. According to one of the participants Daniel O'Donnell and Tommy Fleming among others lent their support and took part in the making on the film.....

Arcus Arrow

Outside Dail Eireann yesterday to mark the publication of the Cloyne Report there were about 6 or 7 demonstrators. They were swamped by the Special Needs Assistants demo.

The SNA (Special Needs Assistant) demo numbered what looked to be about 5 or 6 hundred.

During the afternoon 3 or 4 people chose to defend the CCL. The arguments were all along the lines of "it was a few bad apples" and "we'd have no education without them" as usual.



The report was published yesterday online. The paper edition should be available in about 10 days from Government Publications in Molesworth st.

This will all happen again. It will keep happening until the majority of people realise that the greatest enemy this country has is the Roman Catholic Church. If you tolerate this then your children will be next..

Bob Cratchet

MOSSAD wrote: »

I'd like to see the Taoiseach order armed garda units to apprehend and execute the bishops. Next, expel the Papal Nuncio, proscribe the Catholic Church in Ireland, outlaw the practice of the religion, and seize and nationalise all church assets and property.

It has been done before. Check out the history of Albania.

toby08

come on guys relax....you all seem to forget you are living in Ireland....Whatever the taoiseach government ministers etc. might say there is not and will never be accountability.Serious crimes by church officials bank officials etc will be punished as they always have been """give them a raise or a pension and move the culprits on."""" dont miss your bank payment or you go to jail..The church are still not paying for their crimes, the tax payer still is. I just noticed on a flyer put through the letter box earlier in the year showing parish accounts after paying huge sums for some repair work they still made a profit of near 200k.Earlier quotes still refer to a few bad apples...how can the roman catholic church be defended.....has anyone made a study is there a diocese out there that has not been affected...???????. Heres something interesting the excuses being used by anyone questioned in this instance and in some of the other investigations
are remarkably similar to the 20 odd criminals here http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/33d/projects/nurembg/NuremJudgement.htm so were some of these guys wrongfully punished because they turned a blind eye or because they were doing what they were ordered to do....I for one think not

robindch

TheJournal's asking whether Charlie Flanagan is right and the Papal Nuncio should be expelled from Ireland following the revelation that the Vatican had instructed bishops to ignore their own guidelines:

http://www.thejournal.ie/poll-should-the-papal-nuncio-be-expelled-from-ireland-177933-Jul2011/

Currently 93% of respondents believe he should be.

axer

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/17/us-germany-catholic-abuse-idUSTRE76G14E20110717

German priest arrested on abuse suspicion: report
(Reuters) - German police have arrested a Catholic priest on suspicion of sexually abusing a child, Der Spiegel magazine reported on its website, citing the prosecutor's office.

robindch

Seems that the 18 religious orders involved with the Residential Institutions Redress Board liability agreement may not co-operate with the government in paying their 50% share of the abuse settlement costs:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2011/0718/1224300885569.html

recedite

"They have been invited to the meeting to discuss a €200 million shortfall in an expected 50:50 contribution by them to costs incurred by the State in compensating former residents of the institutions.
The Government is asking congregations named in the Ryan report to transfer ownership of schools to the State to help make up the shortfall."


But if that happened, what would happen to guys like this;

Teddy_Picker wrote: »

Just watching Mary Raftery talk about the report on Prime Time, apparently one nasty piece of work got himself a place on a primary school board of management, and tried to bully the principal into sending kids up to him by threatning to halt her pay! :mad:

There would be nowhere left for them to be moved to. Unless they were allowed to keep just enough money to buy some craggy island off the northwest coast.

Paparazzo

Anyone listening to Joe Duffy over the last couple of days? Some nasty stuff, but here's a few stories to remind you of how bad the priests were, and not the usual beating and raping.

One girl was saying that the priests in one industrial school actually pimped out her brother to the local bank manager. Brother is now an alcoholic and has relationship problems.

Another was saying that the Artane Boys school got £12,000 a month from the state to help run it. The priests used 2k of the money and sent the rest to the Vatican.

Another guy was saying how he got in to Artane. Mum died and father lost his job, and then couldn't pay the mortgage, so he lost his house. So the kids were sent to Artane for 5 years. Father is basically homeless, but finally gets a place to live and a job, but on very little money. But it's enough to get his kids back. He takes them back a year early, so the Priests won't give the childerns allowance book back till the 5 years are up, even though the kids aren't even staying there! He said they had so little money that they didn't even have a second set of clothes.

Some other horiffic stories. I reckon if a film was made about it and some of the personal experiences were included in the storyline, a lot of people would find it hard to believe and think it was the director using artistic licence.

recedite

Paparazzo wrote: »

Anyone listening to Joe Duffy over the last couple of days? Some nasty stuff, but here's a few stories to remind you of how bad the priests were, and not the usual beating and raping.

One girl was saying that the priests in one industrial school actually pimped out her brother to the local bank manager. Brother is now an alcoholic and has relationship problems.

Another was saying that the Artane Boys school got £12,000 a month from the state to help run it. The priests used 2k of the money and sent the rest to the Vatican.

Another guy was saying how he got in to Artane. Mum died and father lost his job, and then couldn't pay the mortgage, so he lost his house. So the kids were sent to Artane for 5 years. Father is basically homeless, but finally gets a place to live and a job, but on very little money. But it's enough to get his kids back. He takes them back a year early, so the Priests won't give the childerns allowance book back till the 5 years are up, even though the kids aren't even staying there! He said they had so little money that they didn't even have a second set of clothes.

Some other horiffic stories. I reckon if a film was made about it and some of the personal experiences were included in the storyline, a lot of people would find it hard to believe and think it was the director using artistic licence.

If those stories were true, they would constitute serious (mafia style) crime and fraud. The storytellers should be talking to the Gardai, not Joe Duffy.