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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Pope Benedict, It is Time Resign - guest post by PPR

Impeaching the Pope



German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed parliament on Wednesday as concern grows from Germany's Roman Catholics for the pontiff to address an abuse scandal in his homeland. Some 300 former Catholic students have come forward with claims of physical or gender abuse. "I think that we all agree that gender abuse of minors is a despicable crime and the only way for our society to come to terms with it is to look for the truth and find out everything that has happened," Merkel said. "The damage suffered by the victims can never fully be repaired." Things are growing rather awkward as the Popes brother and his own history of silence and concealment are being openly discussed in relation to these cases. Things are growing rather awkward in the latest gender abuse scandal within the Catholic Church, as the Pope's brother and own history are being discussed in relation to those cases emanating from Germany. In 2002, he said he was "personally convinced that the constant presence in the press of the sins of Catholic priests, especially in the United States, is a planned campaign" since abuse was no more an occupational hazard in the priesthood than in other professions. While the brother, Father Ratzinger has escaped severe criticism by a prompt apology distancing himself from these unseemly events, the other brother Pope Ratzinger, Pope Benedict, may not be so fortunate. The Popes silence is noted, in the wake of Ireland's highest ranking church member, Cardinal Sean Brady, apologizing to Irish Catholics at a St Patrick's day mass concerning the gender abuses that have recently rocked Ireland. Brady has faced calls to resign and has confirmed he will do so only at the behest of the Pope. Potentially fleeting, for the first time in living memory, albeit remote is the possibility of a Pontiff resignation. If it hasn't already, it will be crossing the minds of not just the faithful but the heathen too. Depending on revelations, this issue can escalate for the 87 year old, fondly nick named the "Rottweiler of God."

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So what would a step down from the pontificate entail for an outgoing Pope, should he fall on his staff? Would an executive resignation, all too common a remedy in Japan, yet mandatory in Russia suffice the growing dismay at the endless orgy of paedo-mania streaming from the catholic priesthood? Though it would be very unlikely, in this age of surprise and change it cannot be quickly dismissed. The act would have some viability. It would achieve final closure to all the mounting abuse claims against the church and yet equally become a modern form of martyrdom and merchandising potential (looking on the bright side). The "Fall down Pope" toy could be a very hot sell in China. Interchangeable accessories for a "plain clothes pope" and "martyr pope" all coming separately of course and battery would be optional.

Could the Pope make the semi-ultimate sacrifice of laying down his white cassock for the sins of his clergy? On becoming Pope 5 years ago, Benedict XVI promised a clean up of the Catholic Church. Charisma not being his style, purification and piety, not expansiveness would become his focus. So only weeks after the Pope came out in a rare display of condemning the historic heinous acts of pedophilia among priests in Ireland, the stone projectiles are boomeranging back to the Pope, his kin and his homeland. How uncanny that the Irish now cower beneath the merciful timely benevolence of their nations celebrated patron: St Patrick and as patron saints do, perhaps fending the stones back to the Holy See all the while a very bitter sweet smell of Black Guinness is still wafting in the air. The faithful offering prayers at this point would not be untimely, for the prospect looms of the next worst thing: a pending pontiff impeachment. Who dares cast the first stone?

by PPR

I say any and all priests accused, investigated and found to be abusing kids gender should be excommunicated and handed over to local authorities. I say if a priest is found to having gender with adults, he should be defrocked. If you can't keep your vows to God, then you don't need to be a priest at all. How can you study and teach the word of God, then turn around and break your vows. Yes, Jesus forgives, but there were always still consequences for actions. Forgiveness never meant "get out of jail free". Yes we forgive the priests for their sins, but they must suffer the consequences of their actions, just as their victims suffer. They no longer need to be priests. The consequence of alcoholism is self imposed. The consequences of gender abuse is imposed on another. One, you repent to God and confess to him. The other you repent to your victim and confess to them. The Catholic church is so afraid of the backlash of admitting these men are doing something wrong that they instead try to keep it hush hush? They have to realize in America we out everything. As a Catholic I am angered beyond belief at this. Admitted there are other molesters in the world, but it needs to be delt with severely in our church. If the pope isn't going to do it, then he needs to be defrocked as well. God cannot tolerate sin. As the voice of God, there is no way he is doing God's work.

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8 comments:

Spaz said...

I tried to make a point of this last week on my facebook and this girl did not seem to get the point I was trying to make.

My boyfriend and I are getting married this year, I called three churches back in January, I wanted to have a wedding in June. All three churches told me I cannot this year, that I had to tell them a year in advance because we have to do 6 months of pre cana. (Also it would be harder cause my baptism records were destroyed in a fire.)

Another couple we know are going through pre cana as we speak and day one they watched Oprah.

The point I tried to make on my post was, they make it so hard for us to get married but let these pedophiles slip by so easily.

Here was my exact post;

"Wow if the Pope really knew there was abuse going on in the 70s and 80s and kept it a secret then... shit... I don't even know what to say.... So disgusted by all these people.... They tell us I have to wait a year to be married and force people to watch shit such as Oprah and this crap goes on.... Gods hate hypocrites."

My friend only replied and talked about the Oprah thing. She kept missing the point, it drove me nuts. Eventually I gave up trying to explain myself.

I'm sure you know what I was trying to get at. :/

Shakaama said...

Seriously? Wow. Go to a Black church, slip the minister a 20 and have the deacons witness it. DONE AND DONE. LOL

But seriously, that's just silly. Why a year? Is there a waiting list?

This pope has so many secrets it's not even funny. First the Nazi thing, then he called for a one world government ruled by God, which is not biblical at all; then this whole child sex abuse stuff. I can hear the people running from the Catholic church by the buttload. If they just stood up for what is actually right... people might side with them. Instead they try and keep things hush hush. That's not Godly. Even a heathen can see that.

Spaz said...

LOL Then I just might look for a black church. :)

Well this all started in 1970s when divorce was on the rise. What you do is join a church go every Sunday but for the next 6 months every weekend meet and talk with priests and nuns. And meet other engaged couples and discuss topics and learn how to deal with raising kids etc.

So its for 6 months every Sat. and Sun. and at the end you "graduate" and get a little certificate saying you passed THEN you can get married.

One church said we would have to spend a weekend retreat LOL. My grandpa is pretty much old school but even him, my mom, and my boyfriend's grandparents are disgusted by this pre cana.

For them back in the day it was, "Are you both baptized? Good lets go!" Not any more. :/

Shakaama said...

I can see their point. But, I think they are jumping the gun a bit. If you've read my blog, you know the actual divorce numbers. Should a church be concerned, yes. Should they install defcon 3? No. It is not that bad. The media paints it to be 50%, which is a lie.

In fact the church should come out and call the news on the rug and prove that the divorce rate is more like 20% - 30% depending on race. Churches should be concerned with why so many people aren't GETTING married, which is a much larger number. But, who wants to talk about that right? Better to just run around like a chicken with your head cut off, talking about divorce rates.

Spaz said...

Yea. I just sent you a link about the pope, no one under any reason can remove him from his position.

Anonymous said...

Please note

Typically when we read about papal resignations, media “experts” tell us that the only pope to ever resign was Celestine V in 1294. This is untrue in many ways: Celestine was not first pope to resign, nor was he the last. Celestine is, however, the pope who created the official procedure by which a pope can resign, so singling him out is somewhat justified.

The ability of a pope to resign was made official by Pope Boniface VIII who placed by decree into canon law:

“Our predecessor, Pope Celestine V, whilst he governed the Church, constituted and decreed that the Roman Pontiff can freely resign. Therefore lest it happen that this statute should in the course of time fall into oblivion, or that doubt upon the subject should lead to further disputes, We have determined with the counsel of our brethren that it be placed among other constitutions for a perpetual memory of the same.”

If a pope wishes to resign today, there are official steps that can be taken. According to the 1963 Code of Canon Law (Canon 332.2), “If it should so happen that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that he makes the resignation freely and that it be duly manifested, but not that it be accepted by anyone.”

What this means is that a pope merely needs to make his desire to resign clearly known and that it cannot be due to outside pressure or fraud, but it isn’t necessary that anyone “accept” his resignation. Ideally the resignation is given to the College of Cardinals, since they elected him in the first place and they can determine if the resignation is submitted freely. Regardless of who’s around, though, once he does it, it’s finalized.

Anonymous said...

also note

Determining just which popes have resigned is actually difficult because the records of church history are in such disarray for so many centuries. Some place the number as high as 10, some as low as four — it all depends upon how one defines a “resignation” and how the data is interpreted.



Pontian (230-235) was the first pope to resign and his case is clear. Pontian had the misfortune of being caught up in the severe persecution of Christians under emperor Maximinus Thrax and was sent to the mines on Sardina, a place from which few evidently managed to return alive. Pontian knew that he would almost certainly die on Sardina and didn't want there to be a long-term power vacuum in the church, so he decided that abdication would be the best course of action. Pontian's abdication also gives us the first certain date in the history of papacy: September 28, 235.

Marcellinus (296 - 304) didn’t actually resign, but his actions probably caused him to cease being pope. During the Diocletian persecutions of 303, Marcellinus handed over scriptures to Roman authorities and burned incense to the pagan gods. Such actions would have disqualified him from the priesthood and, therefore, the papacy. His name was kept off the official list of popes for a while, but today he is there and his papacy is marked as ending with his death.

Silverius (536 - 537), son of Pope Hormisdas, was deposed and exiled by empress Theodora of Constantinople, brought back by emperor Justinian to stand trial, convicted, and forced by his successor Pope Vigilius to abdicate again. He starved to death on an island in the Gulf of Gaeta.

John XVIII (1003 - 1009) didn’t do much that survived in the records, but it is believed that he resigned and lived out the last years of his life in a monastery.

Benedict IX easily had the most confusing pontificate in history. He served as pope three times: he was elected, ejected, returned, abdicated, deposed, returned again, ejected again, and eventually excommunicated. Presumably at least one of his resignations may have been canonically valid, possibly even two.

Celestine V (1294) tried to rule while under the control of Charles II of Sicily, something he quickly determined wouldn’t be possible. Rather than serve as little more than a figurehead for secular powers, he simply abdicated the papal office after only 5 months. This resignation helped establish as a matter of church law that a pope may freely resign his office.

Gregory XII (1406 - 1417) was another pope who resigned for the greater good of the church. He reigned during the Western Schism and at the time there were two other rivals claiming the papacy, both with genuine support among various churches and secular powers. He agreed to abide by the decision of the Council of Constance with just one condition: that he be permitted to officially convene it. This condition was granted, thus establishing the validity to his claim to the papacy, and he resigned so that the council could elect Martin V as his successor. Gregory was the last pope to resign his office.

Shakaama said...

I wish you would write your name, so I can see who you are. I appreciate your comments a lot, regardless.

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