Vatican Bank Investigated For Money Laundering – Again.
I wonder which banking official will suddenly die during this investigation? Victor L. Simpson and Nicole Winfield report for AP:
VATICAN CITY – This is no ordinary bank: The ATMs are in Latin. Priests use a private entrance. A life-size portrait of Pope Benedict XVI hangs on the wall.
Nevertheless, the Institute for Religious Works is a bank, and it’s under harsh new scrutiny in a case involving money-laundering allegations that led police to seize euro23 million ($30 million) in Vatican assets in September. Critics say the case shows that the “Vatican Bank” has never shed its penchant for secrecy and scandal.
The Vatican calls the seizure of assets a “misunderstanding” and expresses optimism it will be quickly cleared up. But court documents show that prosecutors say the Vatican Bank deliberately flouted anti-laundering laws “with the aim of hiding the ownership, destination and origin of the capital.” The documents also reveal investigators’ suspicions that…
Pope Says Condoms Sometimes Permissible to Stop AIDS
Philip Pullella reports in Reuters:
VATICAN CITY — The use of condoms to stop the spread of AIDS may be justified in certain cases, Pope Benedict says in a new book that could herald the start of sea change in the Vatican’s attitude to condoms.
In excerpts published in the Vatican newspaper on Saturday ahead of the book’s publication next week, the pope cites the example of the use of condoms by prostitutes as “a first step toward moralization” even though condoms are “not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection.”
While some Roman Catholic leaders have spoken in the past about the limited use of condoms in specific cases to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS as a lesser of two evils, this is the first time the pope has mentioned the possibility himself in public.
The Vatican newspaper unexpectedly published significant excerpts from the book on Saturday night, days before…
Catholic Church Seeks Exorcists
Giotto's depiction of St. Francis exorcising demons.
Apparently America is overwhelmed by demons and a Catholic bishop says “each diocese should have its own” exorcist. Facing a shortage, the Church held a special training workshop in Baltimore this past weekend to teach clerics the esoteric rite, reports Reuters:
The church has signed up 56 bishops and 66 priests for the two-day workshop that began on Friday, seeking to boost the small group of just five or six American exorcists that the church currently has on its books.
“There’s this small group of priests who say they get requests from all over the continental U.S.,” Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, was quoted as saying.
“Actually, each diocese should have its own” exorcist, he added.
Paprocki did not say why there was increased demand for exorcisms, which he noted were rarely performed.
While solemnly regarded by the Catholic Church, exorcism is a staple of Hollywood fright films…
Homer Simpson Is Catholic
Jill Serjeant reports for Reuters via Yahoo News:
“The Simpsons” just got a blessing from the Vatican.
The official Vatican newspaper has declared that beer-swilling, doughnut-loving Homer Simpson and son Bart are Catholics — and what’s more, it says that parents should not be afraid to let their children watch “the adventures of the little guys in yellow.”
“Few people know it, and he does everything to hide it. But it’s true: Homer J. Simpson is Catholic”, the Osservatore Romano newspaper said in an article on Sunday headlined “Homer and Bart are Catholics.”
The newspaper cited a study by a Jesuit priest of a 2005 episode of the show…
Belgian Archbishop Calls AIDS ‘Inherent Justice’
What is it with Catholic clergy? These guys just don’t know when to zip it! From Reuters:
Belgium’s Roman Catholic Church, already reeling from allegations of sexual abuse, faced a new scandal Friday after its primate wrote that AIDS was “a sort of inherent justice.”
Many lawmakers condemned Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, the head of the Belgian church, for the remarks in a new book and Belgium’s center for equal opportunities received a series of complaints, including one by a lawyer who said his comments were incitement to hatred.
The Church is struggling to recover from the resignation of the Bishop of Bruges in April after he admitted sexually abusing a nephew.
In his book “Monseigneur Leonard – Conversations,” the archbishop referred to a remark by the late Pope John Paul II who said, when asked whether AIDS was a punishment from God, that it was difficult to judge God’s will.
“I would not at all…
Vatican’s Chief Exorcist Publishes His ‘Confessions’
By Lounge Daddy at Dateline Zero:
A new book is out from Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican’s chief exorcist. The title is Confessions of an Exorcist.
It’s in paperback, and … in French. This is a bummer; but I hope it’s only a temporary bummer. (Of course it’s in Italian as well, titled Memoirs of an Exorcist.)
For now the lucky French have this latest book to go alongside the first two Fr. Amorth titles that record his experiences with, and thoughts on exorcism. Good for them, those jerks.
However, I’ll be anxiously awaiting an English translation. If it sounds like I am committing the sin of envy, it is because I am.
This newest title is in an interview format; which sets it apart from the other two; which are more short essays, stories, and commentary on various points regarding his experience. (As I understand it however, this book is not in a Q&A…
Atheists and Agnostics Know More About Religion Than Protestants and Catholics
Photo: David Ball (CC)
Makes sense to me! From the Telegraph:
Many professed Christians questioned in a survey showed a lack of knowledge even of their own faiths.
Forty-five per cent of Roman Catholics who participated in the study didn’t know that, according to church teaching, the bread and wine used in Holy Communion is not just a symbol, but becomes the body and blood of Christ.
More than half of Protestants could not identify Martin Luther as the person who inspired the Protestant Reformation.
The survey conducted for the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life aimed to test a broad range of religious knowledge, including understanding of the Bible, core teachings of different faiths and major figures in religious history.
Respondents to the survey were asked 32 questions with a range of difficulty, including whether they could name the Islamic holy book and the first book of the Bible, or say what century the…
Deaf Catholic Sex Abuse Victim Sues Pope
Father Lawrence C. Murphy
Why did he wait 50 years though? From CNN:
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin – Terry Kohut has kept a dark secret for nearly 50 years. Now he is breaking his silence, becoming a key figure in the sex-abuse crisis in the Catholic Church and the growing controversy over what Pope Benedict XVI did about it.
When Kohut was barely a teen, and for years afterward, he says, he was sexually molested and assaulted by the headmaster and priest of the school where he lived, St. John’s School for the Deaf, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. What occurred there is one of the most notorious cases of sex abuse in the Catholic Church.
Kohut was not alone. From 1950 to 1974 the headmaster of St. Johns, Father Lawrence C. Murphy, raped and molested as many as 200 deaf boys, according to court and church documents.
Kohut has now filed the first sex-abuse lawsuit against the Vatican actually…
Vatican Astronomer: Aliens Have Souls, Can Be Baptized
One of the most important cosmological questions has been answered, with word coming directly from the Vatican. The Guardian reports:
Guy Consolmagno, who is one of the pope’s astronomers, said he would be “delighted” if intelligent life was found among the stars. “But the odds of us finding it, of it being intelligent and us being able to communicate with it – when you add them up it’s probably not a practical question.”
Speaking ahead of a talk at the British Science Festival in Birmingham tomorrow, he said that the traditional definition of a soul was to have intelligence, free will, freedom to love and freedom to make decisions. “Any entity – no matter how many tentacles it has – has a soul.” Would he baptise an alien? “Only if they asked.”
Vatican Bank Under Criminal Investigation
Not much of surprise really, although the Vatican issued a statement saying, “The Holy See is perplexed and astonished by the initiatives of the Rome prosecutors.” Presumably they mean they can’t believe that the police had the balls to question the Vatican’s dodgy activities! From the BBC:
The head of the Vatican Bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, is under investigation as part of a money-laundering inquiry, police sources say. Prosecutors also seized 23m euros ($30m; £19m) from the bank’s accounts with another smaller institution. The inquiry was launched after two suspicious transactions were reported to tax police in Rome.
The Vatican said it was “perplexed and astonished”, and expressed full confidence in Mr Tedeschi. The Vatican Bank, known officially as the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), was created during World War II to administer accounts held by religious orders, cardinals, bishops and priests.
Police intervention
Rome magistrates are looking into claims that Mr Gotti Tedeschi…
Pope Says Religion Has Been Marginalized Around The World
Photo: Fabio Pozzebom/ABr (CC)
I, for one, wouldn’t argue with Herr Ratzinger on this point. The BBC reports on his speech during his unwelcome UK visit:
The Pope has warned that religion – and Christianity in particular – is “being marginalised” around the world.
His comments came in his keynote speech to UK MPs, senior members of British society, and religious leaders at Westminster Hall in central London.
Pope Benedict XVI warned that there were some people who wanted to see “the voice of religion be silenced”.
He returned to the subject in a service at Westminster Abbey, asking Christians to speak out about their faith.
BBC correspondent Peter Hunt described the speech at Westminster Hall as “a rallying call, and a plea – for religion not to be squeezed out by secular society”.
The Pope was speaking as a sixth man was arrested as counter-terrorism detectives investigate an alleged threat to Pope Benedict XVI’s visit.
In his speech…
The Banned Pregnant Nun Ice Cream Ad Photo
Pregnant nuns? It’s not like it’s unheard of, but as the UK government tries to pretend it really wants the uber-expensive Papal visit this week, its Advertising Standards Authority has banned the ad. The ice cream maker couldn’t have asked for a better marketing coup!
The Daily Show on Obama’s “Wisdom” in the “Ground Zero Mosque” Media Circus
“Yes we can … but should we?” — Jon Stewart
Politics is often defined as the “art of the possible.” However it should also be defined as “you can’t please all the people all the time.” Especially the ones being idiots on the “ground zero mosque” media shitstorm.
Thankfully The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart (who recently George Lucas made a Stormtrooper) is on the money again about President Obama’s mixed public comments regarding this non-story.
I could not complete this post without mentioning the great Jon Oliver’s commentary:
“There is a difference, Jon, between what you can do and what you should do. You can build a Catholic Church next to a playground. Should you?”
The Skateboarding Priest Video
“Come on kiddies, you’re safe with me — I can skate!” … Hmmm, I’m not sure this Hungarian priest looks like someone I want my kids to skate with, but believe it or not Reverend Zoltan Lendvai, 45, who lives and preaches in Redics, a small village on Hungary’s border with Slovenia, has become a YouTube sensation!
Anne Rice: ‘Today I Quit Being A Christian’
Anne Rice tells NPR why she has rejected organized religion:
On July 28, bestselling author Anne Rice officially left the Roman Catholic Church.
The writer has had a fairly tumultuous religious history. Although she was raised Catholic, Rice rejected the church for the first time when she was 18.
But in 1998, Rice — who’s famous mostly for writing steamy, gothic, decidedly un-Christian novels such as Interview with the Vampire — had a religious awakening. She converted to Catholicism and began to write exclusively Christian-themed novels, like Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt.
In July, Rice decided she had had enough. She announced her decision on her Facebook page:
“For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being ‘Christian’ or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious,…
12 Evilest Photos Of The Pope
Why is the Pope so terrifying? And that’s even without taking the latest round of pedophilia scandals into consideration. Via Buzzfeed, some of the most horrifying, dream-haunting pictures of the current Pope:
Freaky…
Jesse Ventura Discusses Alternative Voting, Prosecuting the Catholic Church Under RICO Laws, Marijuana Legalization and More With Bill Maher
Jesse Ventura appeared on the April 16, 2010 episode of Real Time with Bill Maher to discuss a number of issues, including third-party politics and alternative voting. Ventura also called for the Catholic Church to be prosecuted under the “Federal RICO laws of organized crime” for its involvement in covering up child molestations. Ventura also said he wants to see pot legalized in America, which of course Bill Maher very much agrees with.
Pedobear Appears On The Pope’s Billboards
The Times of Malta reports that billboards advertising the Pope’s visit to the Mediterranean nation were defaced with “images of what looks like a panda. It is not clear why the ‘artist’ in question juxtaposed the bears with the Pope.” Can Pedobear be the Vatican’s new mascot?
Catholics Outraged Over German Cartoon
Scott Roxborough writes in the Hollywood Reporter:
COLOGNE, Germany — A German cartoon mocking the Catholic Church has sparked holy outrage among believers here who say it incites hatred against the Pope and the Catholic faith.
The caricature, published in the Good Friday edition of satire magazine Titanic, shows a priest apparently having oral sex with a crucifix of Jesus on the cross.
The crucifix cartoon is a barbed commentary on recent revelations that 250 people in Germany were sexual abused at Church-run schools in the past decades. The scandal has shaken the German Church. A recent poll said Germans’ trust in the Catholic Church had fallen to 17% from 29% in late January and approval ratings for Pope Benedict have dropped from 38% to 24%.
The German Press Council reported that some 100 formal complaints have been filed since the magazine came out, a level of protest not seen since 2006, when German…
Future Pope Stalled California Pedophile Priest Case
GILLIAN FLACCUS writes in the AP:
LOS ANGELES — Four years after a California priest and convicted child molester asked to be defrocked, his bishop pleaded with the future Pope Benedict XVI to remove the man from the priesthood. Then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger replied, urging caution.”
Consider the good of the Universal Church,” Ratzinger wrote in a 1985 letter to Oakland Bishop John Cummins. “It is necessary for this Congregation to submit incidents of this sort to very careful consideration, which necessitates a longer period of time.”
Two more years would pass before the Vatican acted on the Rev. Stephen Kiesle’s request to leave.
A copy of the letter, typewritten in Latin and signed by Ratzinger, was obtained by The Associated Press. It constitutes the strongest challenge yet to the Vatican’s insistence that Benedict played no role in blocking the removal of pedophile priests during his years as head of the Catholic Church’s doctrinal watchdog…
