Sex-Abuse Scandal in the German Church Touches Pope Benedict XVI’s Archdiocese – NYTimes.com

BERLIN — A widening child sexual abuse inquiry in Europe has landed at the doorstep of Pope Benedict XVI, as a senior church official acknowledged Friday that a German archdiocese made “serious mistakes” in handling an abuse case while the pope served as its archbishop.

The archdiocese said that a priest accused of molesting boys was given therapy in 1980 and later allowed to resume pastoral duties, before committing further abuses and being prosecuted. Pope Benedict, who at the time headed the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, approved the priest’s transfer for therapy. A subordinate took full responsibility for allowing the priest to later resume pastoral work, the archdiocese said in a statement.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said he had no comment beyond the statement by the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, which he said showed the “nonresponsibility” of the pope in the matter.

I’m posting this for two reasons: First, it’s topical and we’re interested in this sort of thing. Second, it’s good to know that Lynne Varney has been waiting in vain this whole time for someone to have “the guts to stand up for God.” Really? Didn’t realize your omnipotent omnipresence omnibenevolent Creator needed bucking up. Good to know the 9th Circuit can form the cheerleading kickline you’ve been hoping for. Thanks for outing yourself, Lynne. We hardly knew ye.

Ed cetera | Civil Disagreement: One Nation, Under God? | Seattle Times Newspaper

Lynne Varner: Bruce, I”m pleased by what was obviously a tortured ruling out of the 9th Circuit on the Pledge of Allegiance. The divided court said the pledge doesn’t violate the constitutional separation of church and state. Finally, some one has the guts to stand up for God. Now if they could just do so during the holidays when some try to ban Christmas trees at the state Capitol and forbid the word Christmas from being uttered in schools.

“By the year 2000, we will, I hope, raise our children to believe in human potential, not God”
— Gloria Steinem

“Tolerance is giving to every other human being every right that you claim for yourself.”

— Robert Green Ingersoll

“if you want to love, serve or help someone, you should never assume you know what they want, need or love.”

— KJ

“I am so far beyond atheism, there isn’t a word in the English language dictionary to describe me.”

— Harlan Ellison

“I was just looking at a study by an American sociologist (published in England) of comparative religious attitudes in various countries. The figures are shocking. Three quarters of the American population literally believe in religious miracles. The numbers who believe in the devil, in resurrection, in God doing this and that — it’s astonishing. These numbers aren’t duplicated anywhere else in the industrial world. You’d have to maybe go to mosques in Iran or do a poll among old ladies in Sicily to get numbers like this. Yet this is the American population.”

Source: The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many

“I am also atheist or agnostic (I don’t even know the difference). I’ve never been to church and prefer to think for myself.” — Steve Wozniak (from his website)

“One of the most frightening things in the Western world, and in this country in particular, is the number of people who believe in things that are scientifically false. If someone tells me that the earth is less than 10,000 years old, in my opinion he should see a psychiatrist.” — Francis Crick