Comments on The Pensive Quill: The Crippling Power of Silence

SMH, Wait for it. We will soon get the guff that ...

2012-07-30T19:57:00.028+01:00

SMH,

Wait for it. We will soon get the guff that he is really John Piranha who is pretending to be dead just to take a bite out of the reputation of the good men of god. It is all his fault. He should never have seduced the holy priest.

John,

‘Can you supply ANY evidence to back this up? ANY at all? Or is this just another uninformed comment?’

Like angels exist you mean?

Go to the work of Elaine Pagels, Professor of Religion, and her take on Gnosticism. The quote in particular from the gospel of Mary in which she says to Jesus, ‘Peter makes me hesitate; I am afraid of him, because he hates the female race.’

Wouldn’t be like him, now would it?

AM, "I find it hard to suppress a smile any ...

2012-07-28T18:59:22.848+01:00

AM,

"I find it hard to suppress a smile any time I hear of that misogynist Peter being referred to as the rock upon which the Church was built."

Can you supply ANY evidence to back this up? ANY at all? Or is this just another uninformed comment?

Boyne Rover ‘kids have been abused by freaky men...

2012-07-28T18:35:28.027+01:00

Boyne Rover

‘kids have been abused by freaky men who believe in Jesus.’

That seems to encapsulate it so concisely and brilliantly. A very apt description.

SMH,

I think what has been demonstrated by the hate filled attack on you was that John would rather defend the vile Church than stand up for your rights. Over here years ago when people were being tortured by the RUC the cops began to say that people in custody were beating themselves up in bid to tarnish the good name of the RUC. Now we have the same old tosh being reverted to when the institution is in trouble. It is the classic institutional lie.

‘The usage of Whore of Babylon is metaphor.’

Wasting your time. The biblical literalist can’t comprehend metaphor and allegory. That’s why they believe the earth is 6000 years old. Hence the Gnostics had such an intellectual advantage over them and for that reason had to be repressed.

It amazes me that anybody can have the audacity to claim that the Catholic Church stands on the two pillars of Faith and Morals. Faith certainly based as it is on no evidence. But morals? What position is the Catholic Church in to prescribe morals for anyone after its moral hari kari on child rape? As for the fools that believe in hell, it is not enough for them to fear it themselves, they want to threaten others with its violence.

Disreputable Christian thugs.
Every excuse will be found to absolve the Catholic Church of responsibility but Nuala nailed that very precisely.

I find it hard to suppress a smile any time I hear of that misogynist Peter being referred to as the rock upon which the Church was built.

Thanks to u all who see & stand with us. Speci...

2012-07-28T09:17:48.444+01:00

Thanks to u all who see & stand with us. Special thanks to Anthony for letting me put this up on blog. I just feel undescribable sadness re John Pironas death. It is almost unbearable reading what his wife was saying but felt it important to highlight it here. He is free now from it all...

2012 Australia - RIP John Pirona John - Catholic c...

2012-07-28T09:08:35.724+01:00

2012 Australia - RIP John Pirona John - Catholic clergy abuse victim - 45 y.o. has been found dead - suicided.

His wife stated ‘It was always on his mind,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s like a poison inside of them that eats away at every part of their soul. They just want the pain to go.’’

Mr Pirona, a NSW Fire Brigades officer, was sexually assaulted by the priest, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in 1979. He was 13.

In a statement to police in 2008 he described the school as brutal, where he feared being bashed if people knew he had been abused.

‘‘Every day to me was just survival,’’ Mr Pirona said.

http://www.theherald.com.au/news/local/news/general/victim-of-paedophile-priest-missing-wife-fears-worst/2635826.aspx

Nuala, true. But he could also have said that Mar...

2012-07-26T19:25:33.697+01:00

Nuala,

true. But he could also have said that Marxism was the opium of the Marxists!

Mackers, When Marx declared religion to be the opi...

2012-07-26T18:16:57.259+01:00

Mackers,
When Marx declared religion to be the opium of the people he was on the money. 'The meek shall inherit the earth, blessed are the poor, blessed are the peace makers.'
It was as if we were predisposed from birth to expect nothing but accept everything thrown at us.
The more you suffered the more likely you are to get a place at the right hand of the boss, could have been written for a sinn fein ard fheis.
Is it any wonder Calvin thought, fcuk this!

Having said that, I still believe as do many others that religion has a place within our society today.
I know some very decent Catholics who find what happened to Mary and all the other children and their families unbelievably abhorent.
I also know some incredible Priests who probably should not be wearing dresses, on the other hand I know some secular men who should.

What I find very disturbing about the Catholic Church and all churches where this dirt has slithered in.
Why have they not conducted a global study. A study which might go someway to providing the church, its flock and most importantly the victims with some explanation as to how and why this happened.
Like what traits and characteristics particular abusing priests had. Smyth looked the personification of evil, he was a rampant paedophile and yet the church saw fit to keep him, why?

Unless they open this up on a global tooth-comb nothing will ever change.
Young lives sullied and broken and mother church will sail on regardless.

SMH,

I think you left us all feeling more than a bit priviliged by the fact you felt you could share this with us.

You are incredibly brave and the fact you have taken that bravery to places where other hurt people can be touched by it is so lovely to read.

I would have loved to have read this to my mother, as she always had something very philosophical and soothing to say like, it is amongst the dirt and the syringes and the vomit that you are more likely to see the face of Christ.

I won't say it, but I sincerely wish that somewhere in all of this you see the face of hope.

Marty, hope you enjoyed the break. Always good to...

2012-07-26T09:35:20.419+01:00

Marty,

hope you enjoyed the break. Always good to get away. Mary did a very good piece. I don't think it is easy to be so forthright when so much hurt is involved. Credit to her

Mary I have just read your post, been away laughin...

2012-07-26T09:29:10.207+01:00

Mary I have just read your post, been away laughing at the system thanks to Frankie Boyle, thank fuck there are people like yourself willing to speak out and expose those men in dresses,and the dickey dodgers who serve them,now we all know why the main facilitator Benny the bad runs around in an ice cream van. good post hon you are stronger by far than the weak bastards who abused you,the squirming and weasel words from those in the church here must at least give you a small bit of comfort, personally I,d put the fucking lot against a wall.

Priest convicted of covering up abuse – but not in Ireland

@ Fionnuala followon to what i wrote.. forgot to a...

2012-07-25T04:35:55.914+01:00

@ Fionnuala followon to what i wrote.. forgot to addin I used (was a prolific addict IV etc) from 14 to 28 years of age. Got clean at 28. U know trying to blockade the pain/memories... That is why what i shared is so important to be told and i know too u will hear it properly. Stuff like that just rips me up that so many victims have self destructed with no letup. The Vatican MUST be tried for crimes against humanity.

@ Fionnuala RE: 'All our lives we have listene...

2012-07-25T04:31:51.928+01:00

@ Fionnuala RE: 'All our lives we have listened to their dictates, their repressive teachings.'

Yes u truly see it all in all how it worked/still seeks to work... Not so long ago I was speaking with older Aboriginal Australians who were drinking themselves to death on the streets. Part of my job back then was to engage them into health services. Most of all i just sat and listened... u know the most important thing is to listen. Ignore the sryinges, bottles, punchups, piss, vomit & bullshit...

One day this woman called out to me "Sis do you believe in God?" Now that aint an uncommon question when u r in the role of a do gooder social work stuff... But i knew instinctively what she was going to tell me... And the rage... So i just says i am ex catholic.

and then it ripped forth... She shouted those Catholic priests & nuns they destroyed us kids... etc... Screw professional boundaries/never disclose personal stuff i usually rigidly adhere to...
I walked over to her and said It happened to me too and you are my sister. Told her never have I suffered like her & her people the depth of racism perpetrated by White Australia policy. And i held out my hand...

She took me hand and there was just silence all around in the group. Just silence U know the kind where everyone is crying but none of our tears can come out anymore... Fionnuala there are literally thousands and thousands of victims all over the world and what stands out to me is we are often native/Indigenous individuals. The most vulnerable groups.

Boyne Rover, I only ever react when the Catholic ...

2012-07-24T20:26:56.710+01:00

Boyne Rover,

I only ever react when the Catholic Church is attacked. It is not my intention to try to convert anyone. In fact I prefer, as I have said before, to argue points outside of religion. The reason I prefer this is there has to be a shared ground of some sort for people to thrash out a response and I am very uncomfortable using Catholic reasoning among those who, in general, do not accept the Church. That is one reason why I tend to use Biblical quotations only when replying to SMH as she accepts the authority of Scripture. It would be pointless for me to quote the Bible to those who reject it, other than to use it merely as a historical document, which carries equal weight with any other. Having said that, I am notorious for forgetting all this in the heat of an argument and will sometimes contradict what I state here.

“One of your main aims is trying to convince me that there is a difference between what the priests get up to and this thing called the Catholic Church.”

We accept this distinction in every other sphere, so I don’t see why you don’t here. We don’t say that because McGuinness, Adams and others are traitors that the Republican Movement was a con. We see them as traitors who abandoned the cause they claimed to follow. Why does this not also apply to the Catholic Church? We are sustained in the Republican Movement by the memory of the leaders of 1916, the hunger strikers, and the tens of thousands of wonderful heroes who have given their all for Ireland. In the Catholic Church we have our saints and our countless numbers of devoted, selfless people who have given up everything to follow Christ. Right now the wolves seem to have got the upper hand, but they will be chased out, they will be seen as traitors who all but destroyed everything.

“My personal view would have been that the Pope was the boss man and what he says goes, the buck stops with him,…”

That is how it should be, but since the 1960s the Pope has become a mere ‘constitutional monarch’ and for this reason he has not acted. That is the scandal of what we are going through. Is it an excuse? No. Personally I do not accept Benedict XVI as being the Pope, on the grounds that he does not act like one. I suppose I regard the movement led by Benedict XVI as a counter-Church. If I were SMH I might be tempted to call it the ‘whore of Babylon.’

A prayer I learned in school God made man and man ...

2012-07-24T18:35:28.803+01:00

A prayer I learned in school
God made man and man made money
God made bees and bees made honey
God made hares to run along the grass
God made greyhounds to catch them by the ASS

John I have always admired the way in which you p...

2012-07-24T18:32:11.430+01:00

John
I have always admired the way in which you put in so much effort to read and then reply to comments posted on The Quill, but I really don’t understand why you feel the need to try and convert and educate people to ways of the Catholic Church. One of your main aims is trying to convince me that there is a difference between what the priests get up to and this thing called the Catholic Church. Looking at the whole debacle from the outside I find it very difficult to understand. My personal view would have been that the Pope was the boss man and what he says goes, the buck stops with him, but oh no because they have spent hundreds of years perfecting the con they have cottoned on and decided if we can convince people that the pope and Vatican doesn’t know what’s going on we will get away with it, The perfect con

monsters in clerical garb

John, whatever rows your boat. As long as we don&...

2012-07-24T18:11:23.011+01:00

John,

whatever rows your boat. As long as we don't have to sail in it with you, you can do your own thing.

Irish religious orders €400m short in abuse redress payments

SMH, Scandals in the Church Jeremiah 32:32-35 - ...

2012-07-24T16:14:14.530+01:00

SMH,

Scandals in the Church

Jeremiah 32:32-35 - Old Testament leaders and priests offered child sacrifices
2 Kings 23:7 - Old Testament cult prostitutes in the temple of the Lord
Matthew 13:24-30 - parable of the weeds among the wheat
Matthew 13:47-48 - parable of the net that collects good and bad fish
Mark 14:43-46 - Judas betrayed Jesus
Mark 14:50 - they all left him and fled from the garden of Gethsemane
Mark 14:66-72 - Peter denied Our Lord, three times.
John 4:22 - In spite of their infidelity, salvation is from the Jews
John 20:24-25 - Thomas refused to believe in his resurrection from the dead
Romans 3:3-4 - will their infidelity nullify the fidelity of God? No!
2 Timothy 2:13 - if we are all unfaithful, God remains faithful

SMH, Matthew 16:13-20 - Upon this rock I will bui...

2012-07-24T16:12:28.783+01:00

SMH,

Matthew 16:13-20 - Upon this rock I will build my Church
Matthew 18:17-18 - if he refuses to listen even to the Church ... (shows the importance of obeying and consequences of disobeying the Church)
Matthew 28:18-20 - Go Baptize and teach all nations ...(the Church's mission)
Mark 16:16 - Go to the whole world and proclaim the gospel.
Luke 10:16 - Whoever hears you, hears me, he who rejects you, rejects me.
John 14:16,16, 26 - Holy Spirit will be with you always to teach and reminder you of everything.
John 16:12 - the Spirit of Truth with guide you to all truth.
1 Timothy 3:15 - Church is the pillar and foundation of truth

Fionnuala, Boyne Rover, AM, The Catholic Church s...

2012-07-24T16:05:32.617+01:00

Fionnuala, Boyne Rover, AM,

The Catholic Church stands on the two pillars of Faith and Morals. In the 1960s elements within the Church began to question and then dump elements of both of these. Those who did this reached very high in to the hierarchy, (up as far as Paul VI), and as a result of whatever decisions were taken there it was decided to downplay the teaching in regard to hell and also to mitigate the canon laws which dealt with those accused of abuse.

It is high time that those within the Church realised that malign forces are occupying its positions of authority. I personally have not contributed one penny to their coffers since I realised in the 1970s that things were amiss, nor do I participate in anything they organize.

Many modern priests don’t even believe in God, let alone Heaven, Hell or the necessity of saving your soul. These are the ones who have insinuated themselves in to high positions. I have no problem with Brady and every Bishop in Ireland being held to account over this; or even others higher up, but I will never accept that it is the fault of the Catholic Church.

I use the analogy of 1986. PSF threw out their Constitution, (in this case Vatican II was 1986 in the Republican Movement) and thereby expelled themselves from the Republican Movement. Even if 95% of Republicans defected that did not mean the Republican Movement was to blame. In the case of the Church, the fact that 95% ripped up their constitution and threw in their lot with the world is a tragedy that is still being played out.

There are still some good priests who have been misled, just as there are still some Republicans left in PSF, but it is high time that both realized they have been duped and renounce the supposed hierarchy of each organization and rebuild. This will be done by going back to the Faith and Morals of all-time in the Catholic Church and reverting to the traditional Republican principles in the Republican Movement. Time is running out for those who blindly follow the tainted 'leadership' of each.

Now is the time for Real Catholics to emerge and reclaim the Church founded on Peter by Christ, without which we cannot be saved. Continuity not compromise!

Sally Ride has died. One of the great women pionee...

2012-07-24T13:09:41.526+01:00

Sally Ride has died. One of the great women pioneers of space travel. Sally was gay and as such would have been targeted by the hate homo gang. Greta Christina had this to say on her blog.

Mitt Romney on the death of Sally Ride

July 23, 2012 at 8:28 pm Greta Christina

“Today, America lost one of its greatest pioneers. The first American woman in space, Sally Ride inspired millions of Americans with her determination to break the mold of her time. She was a profile in courage, and while she will be missed, her accomplishments will never be forgotten.”

Mitt Romney on the death of Sally Ride

Note: Ride’s partner of 27 years will be denied any federal benefits she might have gotten if they’d been an opposite-sex married couple.

Memo to Mr. Romney: If you don’t support our most fundamental relationships — if, in fact, you dedicate a significant amount of your political career to undermining those relationships, and make political hash out of marginalizing us and playing on people’s fears and hatred of us — you don’t get to speak about us with sentimental gushing after we’re dead.

Second memo to Mr. Romney: Fuck you.

Sometimes, the only way to say it

Nuala, you have a much better comprehension of w...

2012-07-24T12:58:27.643+01:00

Nuala,

you have a much better comprehension of what the Church is than those who try to make it eel like so that it can avoid any censure.

It is a human institution that has been shaped historically by men. There are more histories of the Church than what Literalist Christianity put out. The Gnostic history is fascinating. A good quick read if you are ever interested is The Jesus Mysteries. The questions it raises and the manner in which it frames the issue in terms iof history are very good. Read the reviews too as there are criticisms of the book. But anybody who thinks this is the first time the Church of Jesus trick has been played will get a good eye opener.

Boyne Rover, you obviously do not know what you a...

2012-07-24T12:52:35.118+01:00

Boyne Rover,

you obviously do not know what you are talking about. Good priests have been seduced by evil children. It is all the work of the devil. Mother Church can't be blamed for the evil that Lucifer gets some individuals to do. Nor has Mother Church recycled offending priests. That is a trick worked by the devil to deceive us and you have fallen for it.

Look to your local priest for spiritual guidance on these matters

"And kids have also been abused by those who ...

2012-07-24T12:05:15.022+01:00

"And kids have also been abused by those who do not believe in them. Most abusers are fathers, uncles, brothers, baby-sitters, teachers, taxi-drivers, painters, window-cleaners, etc. The one common denominator among those who abuse is that they reject the teachings of the Catholic Church"

But John all the above you have mentioned do not have the luxury of a massive cover up that will be put in place when they are caught abusing the poor kids , unlike the guys in the catholic club whose punishment will be, that they are moved onto pastures new for more kids to be abused.
What that bastard Brady done to those 2 young kids back in the 70’s by threatening them to keep their mouths shut and do not tell a soul is beyond comprehension , and his reward , he is now head of the club that covers for paedophiles.
Can people not see through the biggest scam in history, even when the bastards are convicted and the abused are awarded damages these same evil bastards who run the institution that is the Catholic Church want us the tax payers to pay their debts, while they sit on a fortune in Rome. They are reported to be worth 300 billion and yet they want us to let them keep their ill gotten gains while we suffer the loss
Unlike fictional characters, John I am real , I just use my nickname as that is what all my friends call me, perhaps like me God and Jesus are the nicknames of Albert Stroller and Mickey Bricks ( Channel 157 )