Tag Archives: child abuse

Shitty priest says he didn’t know child abuse was illegal

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Did you ever try to use the old “I didn’t know it was a illegal” defense when caught breaking the law? I’ve never been arrested, but I assume it’s pretty normal some people would try and use this lame excuse in order to avoid doing jail time. There are, however, certain times when this type of defense will do more harm than good. Case in point: retired Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland and his statements that he had no idea child abuse was a crime. Weakland apparently “accepted naively the common view that it was not necessary to worry about the effects on the youngsters: either they would not remember or they would ‘grow out of it.”

This is the same guy who in 2002 paid $450,000 to a man who had accused him of date rape, so his credibility on the issue of child molesting is somewhat hurt by this inconvenience. The fact this monster thinks kids can ‘grow’ out of being sexually abused just demonstrates the kind of willful ignorance and deception that is part of the Catholic Church’s modus operandi. How can the devout keep believing in light of such tragic and despicable representatives? I’ve got news for you: if these guys are closer to divinity than the rest of us, we all need to collectively jump off this religion bandwagon right fucking now. Who’s with me!?

Catholic reform schools in Ireland home to abuse, humiliation, and rape

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If you listen to Christians talk about their religion, you could swear their members must all be saints, blessed with a greater gift for compassion than their fellow man. If a person is devout, people automatically assume they are dedicating their lives to some higher purpose, and their connection with God makes them moral pillars of society.

It’s a perception that survives despite the countless times priests, monks, nuns and bishops are caught in a variety of scandals, ranging from embezzlement to child abuse. The latest incident involves the Catholic-run reform school in Ireland, where a 2900 page report painted a most unflattering picture of a huge variety of abuses dating back all the way to the 1930′s.

The schools were little more than slave labor camps, where children, living in constant terror, would be beaten, humiliated or raped for failing to manufacture rosaries in the workhouse style reform school. Amidst the controversy surrounding the report, the Church sought to bury the names and identities of the serial child molesters, either dead or living, and won the right to do so. It seems like identifying the abusers isn’t as important as protecting known child rapists. Can’t you just taste the justice?

When are we going to stop allowing these monsters to get away with these kinds of atrocities? Here you have a powerful religious institutions literally raping kids, and nothing is being done about it. If this had been any other organization angry mob wielding torches would have burned the place down. But because a religion is involved, everyone is putting on their kid gloves.

I find it insulting and mortifying that religions still get such special treatments with regard to human rights offenders. Just who is supposed to be the moral guides in this world? Does anyone want to listen to a bunch of child molesters tell us how we need to get into heaven? If there was a hell, these guys would have booked a first class flight there when they die.

Belief is not innocuous

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A few months ago I wrote about the plight of Nigerian children who are accused of being witches. These kids are often beaten, abandoned, or killed because their parents or members of the community accuse them of being possessed by Satan. The problem is only getting worse, with an estimated 15,000 kids in Nigeria alone accused of being witches.

Even though there are a number of organizations working to undo the damage caused by such accusations, in truth this will continue to be an issue so long as the population remains ignorant. They believe witches are real, and no one so far has done enough to dissuade the population of this superstition. Why would they? Most of the organizations over there are missionaries, and a Christian priest trying to tell someone their beliefs are incorrect would only be faced with uncomfortable questions regarding his own superstitions. It’s the blind leading the blind.

The problem is also exacerbated by the fact no one seems willing to put their foot down and work on a campaign to abolish the belief in witchcraft:

“It is not the belief in witchcraft that we are concerned about,” Foxcroft said. “We acknowledge people’s right to hold this belief on the condition that this does not lead to child abuse.”

How can you ignore the elephant in the room here? Obviously it’s the belief that’s the problem. The intellectual lazy position that “everyone is entitled to their own beliefs” is not helping anyone here. No one lives in a bubble where their own personal beliefs won’t interact with reality. That’s obvious from the fact that thousands of kids will face persecution for the rest of their lives simply because their family believes in the childish notion of witchcraft.

If you want this kind of thing to stop, we’ll need to be serious about teaching the native population of Nigeria that their superstitions are in fact false. It may be unpopular, but if you can think of a better way to stop human beings from harming and killing one another, I’d love to hear it.

Confused article accuses atheists of being boring

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It seems like every time I read an article about atheism from an obviously religiously motivated individual, I’m always looking for the punchline. We’ve been accused of everything from spoiling everyone’s good time to being overly dramatic, and now in this LA Times article, of being terribly boring. Charlotte Allen is the writer of the book: The Human Christ: The Search for the Historical Jesus. The title should already indicate just how fair and unbiased she must be towards atheism, does it not?

The whole article itself is the typical fanfare we’ve become used to over the past few years: that atheists are making a big deal out of nothing, and that this whole “prosecution” thing is really all in our minds. No one hates atheists, even though this entire article is nothing more than a big middle finger to anyone who has ever had to hide their non belief out of fear of lost job opportunities, family hardships, or simple acceptance from the community.

Charlotte seems as though she’s never actually had a proper debate with a non believer, so I’ll answer some of her basic complaints concerning our refusal to debate the ‘metaphysical’ aspects of God’s existence. She believes the claims made by theologians need to be addressed, such as free will and the problem of evil. She does not seem to understand, however, that the problems of evil, free will and all the religious hoopla is easily solved when one accepts the fact that extraordinary claims made without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. And when the concept of God becomes so broad one can no longer make any meaningful predictions about his existence, the subject now becomes impossible to describe, and therefore not worthy of debate. One might as well try and argue as to the meaning of the ‘perfect dessert’.

I’ve been accused of many things as an atheist, but never of being a bore. I make a living thanks to the fact I’m entertaining, so I really take offense to that statement. What the hell does she know of “‘un’ anyways. Does arguing God exists and he had sex with a virgin to produce a man/god who was later tortured and crucified somehow make you the life of the party or something? I’m sorry we tend to annoy you so much, Charlotte. Obviously you feel as though we are ruining everyone’s good time with our logic, our reason, and our sensible world view. We’ll try to keep it down so the mean atheists won’t hurt your feelings anymore, promise!

The Good Atheist Podcast: EP 056

This week we muse on Orson Scott Card speaking ill of atheists, our thoughts on Alberta’s Bill 44, how Atheists in prison face a new kind of discrimination, Scientology’s creepy copyright rules, and more Child molestation charges.

The Good Atheist
The Good Atheist
The Good Atheist Podcast: EP 056
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Holding priests accountable

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There are some passionate people out there with plenty of time on their hands. Most of them channel it by watching shitty television programs that slowly rot their brains. Luckily, a few of them end up trying to devote their lives to a worthy cause; and what could be better than trying to hold priests accountable for molesting children? Literally, I can’t think of anything that would rival it.

This site does not fuck around. Unlike most sites that seem to be lost trying to identify their purpose, BishopAccountability.org goes for the jugular. It’s a huge (though obviously passionately cluttered) database of written material dealing with everything pertaining to the Church’s involvement in child molestation.

It pleases me greatly there is an organization that takes this issue so seriously. Not only that, but their righteous indignation goes far beyond simple priestly accountability; they also have a huge beef with Google over censorship issues in China. Man, talk about fighting the power! If any of you feel generous, I suggest giving them a hand.

Sunday school teacher accused of murder and rape

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Proving once again that religion has no special vanguard against immoral behavior, Melissa Huckaby, whose grandfather is a Baptist minister, was arrested today when the body of Sandra Cantu was found stuffed in a suitcase. The little girl was apparently also raped, which only makes the whole thing even more disturbing.

In typical ‘I know the killer but never really clued in’ fashion, her family describes Huckaby as having a strong religious upbringing, which leads me to believe any potential mental illness was probably disguised as simple religious faith. The criterion for crazy is a little different with religious people, so it never really surprises me anymore when one of them pops and takes a few victims with them. How tragic it had to be an innocent and beautiful little girl.

Christians have a hard time identifying why human beings occasionally do bad things. If you understand that unethical behavior can be heavily influenced by mental disorders, you’re in a better position to help avoid these kinds of tragedies. On the other hand, when you put your fate in ‘God’s Hands’, you can’t be surprised when everything goes terribly wrong.

Montreal pastor gets a taste of justice

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Here’s a disturbing story for you: a pastor who operated a small church in my hometown of Montreal was arrested for having married and engaged in sexual relations with a 10 year old. The now 57 year old Father Daniel Cormier insisted he was in love with the victim, who rightfully told the court she had no real understanding of what was happening at the time, apart from the physical abuse. He has now been convicted and will be spending a meager 5 years in jail.

His congregation was small, but many remember him as a father figure who was there to help people. I have to believe all his motives weren’t simply to abuse others. He must have convinced himself the relationship was something other than traumatic abuse. Only the most twisted logic could still convince the man there was anything consensual about this most egregious behavior.

This priest was given far too much power, and it is obvious he allowed his status in the community to completely cloud his judgment. It is becoming more and more obvious the status of priest is too great a responsibility to most men. The cloth is really actually a shield, and it protects people who should never benefit from such reverence. A priest is just as fallible and corruptible as any other, and the automatic respect and servility his congregants give him create a dangerous combination that make these kinds of tragedies often inevitable.