Rockchopping With the Little Pebble: Mainstream, Fringe and Criminal (original) (raw)
'S P O T L I G H T' ON THE CHURCH: NO NON-SENSE & NO COVER UP
For years and decades, the bishops and clerics have been using women for their sexual appetites and swindling the church's money to lead luxurious life. In recent times, investigative journalism and those who want to set right the wrongs happening inside the church started exposing the so-called 'truth' hidden in the name of 'sacrosanct' and 'church as the agency of God'. The myth that has been created and therefore shall not be touched by the ordinary followers is now breaking. Those church—leaders and those who claim to be the 'custodians' with all sorts of titles and names are increasingly and quite regularly come to light not for good reasons, but for wrong reasons— child abuse, money laundering and rape of women. Almost day in and day out we keep hearing, reading in the news papers, periodicals and books and also viewing on TV visuals the horrors happening behind the curtains of the church. The following write ups reveals the sinister and diabolic mind sets of the bishops and priests and conveys that they are just fleshy men who could stoop down to such low levels: Over 1,000 kids molested by Catholic priests in 6 Pennsylvania dioceses: report AP PublishedAug 15, 2018, 11:42 am IST Most of victims were boys, but girls were abused, too. The abuse ranged from groping and masturbation to anal, oral and vaginal rape.
Sexual abuse of minors in the roman catholic church. Extended version. Part 1: The inquiry
Is the procedure followed by Hulp & Recht adequate and how has it functioned to date? 9 At present, what would most benefit the victims of abuse? What role can the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands play in this process and where do its responsibilities lie? Chapter 8 contains findings and recommendations, partly with a view to preventing further abuse. 10 What lessons can be learned? What preventive measures should be taken to make sure that these abuses do not happen again? 1.5.2. Follow-up reports In Chapter 8, the Commission of Inquiry makes suggestions as to the form and content of two possible follow-up reports. The proposal for the inquiry released on 7 May 2010 makes provision for these two follow-up reports. On Tuesday 15 May 2012 at the latest, the chairman and members of the Commission of Inquiry will receive a response from the Conference of Bishops and the Conference of Religious in the Netherlands regarding the implementation of the proposals presented to them. The Commission of Inquiry advises the commissioning bodies to make a public response to this report as soon as possible after publication. This should not only be addressed to the Commission of Inquiry but also to their own organizations and first and foremost to the victims. To this end, the Commission of Inquiry has included a recommendation in Chapter 8. On 15 December 2016 at the latest, the chairman and members of the Commission of Inquiry will receive a second response. In their turn, the chairman and members of the Commission of Inquiry will issue a public response. In the political arena, the Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP) was replaced by the Catholic People's Party (KVP) in 1946. This party was to be a permanent feature of ruling coalitions in the Netherlands from 1945 until the creation of the CDA in 1980. However, even this development did not mark the end of Catholic politicians' involvement in Dutch politics. Following the Van Agt government, Mr R.F.M. Lubbers established a parliamentary record. He became the longest serving Dutch Prime Minister of all time. Since 1945, the Netherlands has had a total of fifteen prime ministers, seven of whom had a Roman Catholic background. They appointed and led a series of governments (which bore their names) for well over 30 years. At the time of the 1947 census, the Netherlands had a total population of 9.6 million, of whom 3.7 million were Catholics (38.4%). This group of Catholics was characterized by a remarkably large degree of political consensus. In 1948, 88% of Catholic voters voted for the Catholic People's Party (KVP), although it is worth noting that voting was compulsory in the Netherlands at that time. In 1952 this figure was 80%, and in 1956 it was 87%. 5 In 2008, Borgman and Monteiro wrote that, until the mid-twentieth century, Dutch Catholics were regarded as the 'bearers of a rigid morality, a highly disciplined religious practice, and a powerful doctrine.' The authors believe that, in reality, the situation was rather less extreme. They also state that there 'a great deal of energy [was] invested in developing and maintaining a strong network of Catholic-based organizations'. This network 'spanned all areas of life, ranging from politics, through trades unions and pastoral councils, to leisure activities'. 6 This network was very tight-knit, especially in those places where being Catholic had all the traits of a monoculture. One example was Limburg, where over 90% of the population was Catholic. 7 In 1955, 79% of all Catholics read a Catholic newspaper and 85% were members of the Catholic Radio Broadcasting Organization (KRO), 90% of Catholic workers were members of the Catholic Federation of Dutch Trade Unions (NKV). The church leadership wielded enormous power within these organizations. With some justification, Marinus Ruppert, former president of The National Federation of Christian Trade Unions in the Netherlands (CNV), pointed out that, in the 1950s, the ´Catholic labour movement was effectively governed by the episcopate´. 9 It should be noted that concerns about moral decline were not restricted to the Catholic community. In 1936, the scope of Article 249 of the Dutch Penal Code was expanded by the addition of the categories 'step-parent', 'foster parent' and 'official'. In addition, the complaint requirement was dropped from the provision. In addition, this was no longer subject to the condition that sexual intercourse must have taken place. Other types of sexual contacts were also prohibited. Abuse resulting from a position of authority based on actual relationships was also brought within the scope of the provision. 35 After the Second World War, Catholic circles too were concerned about 'moral turpitude and licentiousness'. This prompted an urgent call for 'spiritual renewal' from the Dutch episcopate. 36 There was still a clear reluctance to address issues related to sexuality. For many people, the sin of lust loomed large. At that time, there was a particular focus on young working class people, especially 'factory girls' 37 and women. 38 People worried that there might be less fidelity within marriage, and that divorce rates would rise. 39 Sexuality centred around marriage and its associated bourgeois morality. 40 Due to its passionate nature, sexuality was 'suspect', while there was a taboo concerning its physical aspects. In 1952, the Ministry of Education, Arts and Sciences commissioned the Hoogveld Institute to investigate the issue of 'social licentiousness' among Catholics in the Netherlands. The institute's researchers found that, particularly among the 'unskilled', the period 'between childhood and marriage was, for many, an "empty time" in a social erotic sense'. 41 The recommended remedy was sex education for 'all young people leaving school to work in a factory or company'. Sexuality was seen as a duty linked exclusively to the institution of marriage. Only after the Second Vatican Council was sexuality discussed in terms of 'God's announcement of joy'. 42 According to Roman Catholic doctrine, homosexuality was a great evil. In 1950, the Catholic Educational Centre proposed (to no avail) that all sexual acts between adult men should be made punishable in the Netherlands (as they were in some other countries). 43 The Roman Catholic Church also had to deal with homosexual contacts between candidate priests and members of religious orders or congregations. At the same time it also became clear that, in reform schools and educational institutions, minors were being sexually abused by priests and the members of religious orders or congregations. In effort to face up to these issues, figures of authority within the Roman Catholic Church established psychiatric and psychological treatment facilities. 2.3 The endless 1960s Since the 1960s there has been a profound change in social views about the individual's relationships with all forms of authority. 44 The previously self-evident grip of religious and socio-political groups on the day-today life of their members disintegrated still further. 45 The diminished authority of the churches and the process of secularization tended to reinforce one another. This happened right across the board. As a result, less than half of those who referred to themselves as 'Catholic' still voted for political parties that included this term in their name. 46 The Second Vatican Council Pope John XXIII took the view that it was time for a more constructive approach. He convened the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the theme of which was the position of the Roman Catholic Church in a changing society. 47 The cardinals in Rome who were charged with preparing the worldwide council made a number of proposals. The various dioceses then had to respond. The Dutch bishops initiated a broad-based process of consultation among priests and the laity. They incorporated the results of this process into their response to the cardinals' proposals. The Dutch urged that a more open approach be adopted, one centred on the key concepts of dialogue and greater democracy. However, this position was rejected by an influential group of cardinals. They favoured a more conservative theological line. Nevertheless, those innovations that the Council did manage to push through had an impact in many areas. The decision to celebrate mass in people's native tongue rather than in Latin was an enormous change for the Catholic faithful. Other innovations were that priests should stand closer to their congregations, with their faces towards them. In practice at least, the Eucharist underwent further democratization. Both the priests and the faithful were largely free to modify the proceedings as they saw fit. The Pastoral Council and celibacy Bishops in the Netherlands asked the Pastoral Council to tailor the practical implications of the Second Vatican Council's decisions to the Dutch situation. Six 'plenary meetings' took place between 1968 and 1970, at 'De Leeuwenhorst', a former minor seminary at Noordwijkerhout. The Pastoral Council inspired widespread enthusiasm when it promised to give all of the faithful a voice in shaping the future. However, issues such as celibacy generated a great deal of controversy. The majority of the Pastoral Council urged that married people be admitted to the priesthood. Neither the bishops nor the cardinal rejected this out of hand, nor-being fearful of adverse reactions from the world church-did they give it the thumbs up. In a press release, the Dutch bishops expressed the view 'that it would be beneficial for their religious community if, in addition to a freely chosen celibate priesthood, the Latin Church were to admit married priests. This could be done by ordaining married people as priests and, in special cases, by restoring to the ministry priests who had left in order to marry.' 48 These events gave some observers the impression that they were dealing with a break-away collection of radicals....
2013
In the all-too-brief outline following there are two halves: a) issues of prolegomena and b) contributions to the construction of a theology of the child. 1 The first section, I believe, is particularly necessary so that we might be circumspect and accountable for our heritage which has sadly lacked an awareness of and sensitivity to the child in christian theology. The second section can be no more than distinct items of contribution and demands a more profound analysis. These contributions cover a range of traditional categories, pastoral theology, theological anthropology, theological ethics, christology and theology and await a more thorough integration. However, it will be clear that the basic premise of this entire paper is that, unless the 'child' is factored inextricably into christological and theological exposition, actual children will remain marginalised and forced to be dependent on fashions of adult concern and attention. Put as succinctly as I can, the primary emphasis needs to be redirected to the assertion that Jesus is the child of God, both in christological and Trinitarian expressions. This theological development is both the consequence of Jesus' emphasis on children in his ministry and self-conceptualisation and also the potential affirmation of the origin of such an emphasis.