Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Pope's Butler Arrested in Vatican Leak Scandal. In Other News: Pope's Got a Butler!?
What?...No, not THAT one.
I mean, geez, how many times must the Vatican barely acknowledge the church's long standing practice of both harboring and enabling pedophiles by shielding them from prosecution and paying victims to keep their mouths shut, before you, insensitive, immoral heathens, stop harping about it? [What sarcasm?] No, this time it's something - apparently- even more, embarrassing, scandalous, and inconvenient to admit, than the fact that the religious cult on which your city-state is built, is filthy with pedophiles and the men who love to help them get away with it.
Saturday, the Vatican charged the Pope's personal butler Paolo Gabriele, with aggravated theft, in connection with the so-called Vatileaks scandal -Ya, I know. But at least the media's not making everything a "gate" anymore- after claiming to have found him to be in possession of confidential documents. Encouragingly -where public perception of the Vatican's credibility is concerned- many seem to feel Gabriele is not actually the man behind the Vatican leaks, but, rather, a scapegoat in the organization's attempt to save face. Which seems likely, given the circumstances. Me personally, I'm still just trying to process the idea that the pope has a butler. When did he become Batman?
For those of you unfamiliar with the whole Vatileaks thing: For several months now, the Italian media has been publishing leaked letters from the Vatican concerning various conflicts, power struggles, and potential corruptions, within the church-state. As usual, the holy state has done it's best to try and minimize damage from the leaks, and challenge the validity of the claims made within them, by painting itself as the victim of an insidious plot designed to undermine the church's authority and moral standing. But that task got a lot harder this week, with the publication of; Your Holiness: The Secrete Papers of Benedict XVI.
Published by journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, Your Holiness, is filled with even more leaked documents and letters from within the Vatican city walls, including some directed to Cap'n pointy-hat himself. And following the book's publication, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, head of the Vatican Bank, opted to step down from his position, due to information in the book regarding his mismanagement of said financial institution.
As for the feelings of the man in the silly hat on the subject. Pope Palpatine didn't actually address the scandal or his butler's arrest directly in today's pentecost Sunday address. But he did have the following to say:
"Communication between people is becoming more superficial and difficult. We see daily events in which it appears men have become more aggressive, confrontational, they seem to be concerned only with themselves, their own interests,"
Translation: It's getting way harder for us control information, and people are starting to actually question what the Vatican, as well as the church, say and do, rather than blindly following whatever I say out of fear- and that makes pope-y all sad and junk.
We can only hope he's right, and the current level of distrust surrounding his silly little country spreads to his religion and grows, and grows, until finally- no one cares what he, his alleged country, or his church, has to say about anything, anymore.
In closing:
Posted by YouTube user: fraserdldavidson
-CAINE-
VIA: www.telegraph.co.uk (and various others)
Friday, February 24, 2012
Florida Church Protects Sex-Offender Pastor by Banning Kids From Service
Christ Tabernacle baptist church, in Jacksonville Fl, recently decided to ban children from Sunday services. No, not because they're unruly or disruptive. But for the sake of pastor Darrell Gilyard, who just so happens to be a registered sex offender not allowed unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18, as a condition of his parole. Though Gilyard's lawyer is currently working to alter those conditions so that children can again attend his services. So, ya know, if you were somehow harboring some hope that the church was trying to protect the kids rather than the creep, you can go ahead and let that go.
In a text message to a Jacksonville reporter, Gilyard had the following to say about his current circumstances:
"Somehow I will prove that life isn't over when one has committed a crime for which he receives this heinous label,"
Presuming Gilvard was using the term to imply it was somehow unfair for him to be labeled a "Sex offender", which, he clearly was. I think it's safe to say that, while there may arguably be a number of ways in which one could end up labeled a sex offender in a "heinous" or unfair way -public urination, nudity, ETC- being convicted of having had sexual contact with a fifteen year old, is not one of those circumstances. Particularly when you admit to having committed the crime in question.
Not surprisingly, allegations of "sexual misconduct" against Gilyard, didn't begin with the crimes for which he was ultimately convicted. According to the website, The Christian Post, the first accusations of "sexual impropriety" against Gilyard, came in 1993, while he was serving as pastor for Victory Baptist Church in Texas, one of the nation's 10 fastest-growing congregations.
After successfully dodging the bullet at Victory babtist, Gilyard then went on to Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, in Jacksonville Florida. Where, by 1996, a new sexual misconduct allegation made against him, presumably for the acts of which he was ultimately convicted, had to be settled.
In 2004, Darrell Gilyard allegedly admitted to having fathered a child with a woman who accused him of raping her during a counseling session- though the pastor was never actually charged with any crimes relating to this particular incident.
And finally, in 2009, after admitting to having molested one fifteen year old girl in his congregation, and sending a dirty text message to another. Darrell Gilyard plead guilty to one charge of Lewd conduct, and another of "Lewd" molestation -which is presumably worse than, well, whatever other kind of molestation Florida apparently thinks exists.
So why would a church choose to hire a registered sex offender, and then go so far to try and preserve his freedom, as banning children from church services? Members of the church insist of course that Gilvard's presence is all about forgiveness and second chances. But that's all pretty much standard operating procedure whenever any church is caught harboring a known and repeated sexual predator.
Sadly, yet predictably. The real reason for Darrell's new position at the church seems much simpler than any quest for redemption. Cause everyone seems to agree, He's a real good preacher. Why, he even preached on Jerry Falwell's TV show once! In fact, despite any objections from the community. Since the self-confessed-molester's arrival late last month, weekly attendance at the church has jumped from a mere 5-10 parishioners at a time, to a far more respectable 150 plus. Which, it should go without saying, means not only a lot more people to preach to, but a lot more cash in the collection plate.
Oh, and BTW, those increased donations also represent how the church plans to pay Darrell in order to avoid actually having a registered sex offender on the church payroll.
-CAINE-
Source: Reality Check
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