As cardinals gather for the election of a new pope, the Vatican was sharply critical of a wave of reports in the Italian media. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.
The Vatican on Saturday accused the Italian media of spreading "false and damaging" reports in what it condemned as a deplorable attempt to influence cardinals who will meet in a secret conclave next month to elect a new pope.
Since Pope Benedict announced his resignation on February 11, Italian newspapers have been full of rumors about conspiracies, secret reports and lobbies in the Vatican that they say pushed the pope to abdicate.
"It is deplorable that, as we draw closer to the time of the beginning of the conclave ... that there be a widespread distribution of often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories that cause serious damage to persons and institutions," a Vatican statement said.
The Italian reports have painted an unflattering picture of the Vatican's central administration, known as the Curia, depicting it as being full of prelates more concerned with their careers than serving the Church or the pope.
Some Church officials, speaking privately, have said foreign cardinals coming to Rome to choose the next pope have been alarmed over reports of corruption and might be inclined to elect someone not connected with the Curia, which is predominantly Italian.
The Vatican statement said the Italian media reports were an attempt to influence the outcome of the conclave through negative public opinion much like states and kings tried to influence papal elections centuries ago.
The pope has announced that he will step down on February 28, becoming the first pontiff to abdicate in some six centuries.
The 85-year-old Benedict said his failing health no longer enabled him to run the 1.2-billion-member Roman Catholic Church as he would like.
In a separate statement, Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said the reports were trying to "discredit the Church and its government" ahead of the conclave.

Osservatore Romano / Reuters
Pope Benedict XVI prays in a private chapel during the closing day of the Spiritual Exercises at the Vatican February 23, 2013.
Italy's Repubblica newspaper ran a series of unsourced stories this week about the alleged contents of a secret report prepared for the pope by a commission of three cardinals who investigated the so-called Vatileaks scandal last year.
Paolo Gabriele, the pope's butler, was convicted of stealing personal papal documents and leaking them to the media. He was jailed and later pardoned by the pope.
The documents alleged corruption in the Vatican and infighting over the running of its bank, which has been at the heart of a series of scandals in past decades.
On Friday the Vatican denied Italian media reports that Benedict's decision to send a senior official to a new post in Latin America was linked to the secret report about leaked papal papers.
The Vatican said the transfer to Colombia of Monsignor Ettore Balestrero, an Italian who holds a post roughly equivalent to deputy foreign minister, was a promotion and had been decided weeks ago. Balestrero will be promoted to archbishop and made ambassador in Bogota.
Those reports said Balestrero was being sent away from the Vatican because he figured in the secret report.
On Saturday, as part of his last activities before his resignation in five days, Benedict ended a week-long Lenten spiritual retreat in the Vatican and held a farewell meeting with Italy's president.
On Sunday he will hold his last Sunday blessing. He will hold his last general audience on Wednesday and meet with cardinals on Thursday morning before he resigns on Thursday.
He will first go to the papal summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo south of Rome and then move to a convent inside the Vatican in April after the building is renovated.
Related:
- LA's Cardinal Mahony calls himself 'scapegoat' ahead of deposition, conclave
- US Catholics like Pope Benedict but many ready for new direction, married priests
- Boston's sandal-wearing Cardinal O'Malley getting papal buzz


So the pope's valet might get the last laugh after all. He did a great public service by bringing needed transparency to this corrupt institution. Transparency is the only thing that will force reform.
How much longer does the Catholic Church believe that they can live in denial ??? They have lost any remaining modicum of credibility. It is no wonder that parishioners are leaving in droves.
I couldn't agree more. Whatever credibility the Vatican may have. If they had any in the first place. Is long gone. I just hope the Italian President doesn't cave in, and don't grant Benedict diplomatic immunity from criminal prosecution as far as his role in the church's cover up of cases of child sexual abuse incidents is concerned.
Did you notice that the Vatican statement said "often unverified, unverifiable or " ? Sounds like several of the stories are true or partial true.
Yeah, I would put my money on the Vatican for this one..../s
They have always been so honest.
Bring on the clowns!
Most of us know that the Roman catholic Church within the hirearchy is flawed. No need to go into that.
I want to draw your attention to the picture at the top of the article and see the kind of oppulant riches they live in. This is just a very small part of the Vatican Palace. Most of what we can see there is far too expensive for any but the very rich. That plate to his right is solid gold.
People give money to the church thinking their prime reason for being is to care for the poor and sick. What we see instead is a display of wealth that is staggering. What is not in that picture runs into the billions to create and maintain for a bunch of con men.
Does that appear to be Christ like?
"...that cause serious damage to persons and institutions," a Vatican statement said.
Yet they don't give a damn about the lives they have destroyed through their continued preotection of child rapists.
bishopaccountability.org "survivor's accounts"
B I G P E T E R
"Serious damage" has been done to the Vatican institution, by Pope Benedict XVI!
Quo Vadis? Where are you going? How can there be two living Peters?
Will the Real Big Peter, please stand up....
CELESTINE BENEDICT QUO VADIS?
blast away...
YEAR OF OUR LORD TWENTY 13
Jacques de Molay, Templar Grand Master arrested on OCTOBER 13, 1307.
CURSE 2013
I who have been baptized in the Roman Catholic Church, demand The Truth and nothing but The Truth, so help us Father of ALL!
Hello folks, people are finally waking up to their enslavement and the Vatican has been a big part of the control paradigm structure. These control institutions are going the way of the dodo bird, thankfully!
Evil flushes in the darkness. The Vatican needs to open everything to the light and confess its sins. Not to do so only continues the spiral into destruction.
I beg your pardon! I do not know of one self respecting Gay Person that would willingly wear any of the outfits that the Vatican could offer - OK, maybe one or two of the hats. Yes, most Gay people will gladly let you kiss their ring but to be asked to kiss someone else ring, FORGET about it.
I can just see it now - FAUX FEAR News Headline:
" SHOCKING SCANDAL - The Benevolent Order of the Holy Sphincters have PUSHED the POOPE (sic) out.”
Don't feed the trolls- esp MC
As a Catholic, I am quite disgusted with all the goings on we hear about the Vatican and cover-ups inside the Church. What the Church needs is new leadership, a younger Pope, a Pope who can lead not only Catholics but win the respect of others religious leaders in the Hebrew and Protestant houses of worship around the world. Unless the Church wins the hearts of people around the globe, I do not foresee Catholics flocking to attend the Catholic Church.
The rcc is a Pedophile Protection Program. Roman catholics who continue to support it are supporting continued rape and abuse of children.
bishopaccountability.org "survivor's accounts" Leave the rcc. Protect children.
I know. Let's elect a pope that will do away with the cruel and medieval requirement for celibacy. Do you think that might allow normal, as opposed to sexually weird, people to become priests? Nah. The church has to preserve its ancient traditions, no matter how cruel and unusual. I don't give this church more than 100 years to survive.
KNOW GNOSTIC HOLOCAUST
Only the Father of ALL Knows how many Ancient Christians were murdered by the Vatican.
The fingerprints of the murdered can be found in the books of the New Testiment.
Was the first pope Peter, or James?
Was the true meaning of marriage, once known as 'Bridal Chamber'?
Is the 'other disciple' found in the Gospel of John, actually Mary Magdalene?
MUST KNOW: Mary Magdalene: Author of the Fourth Gospel?
Other answers hidden by the Vatican; can be found in the Nag Hammadi Library at GNOSIS.ORG
"The Truth is not the same, without the Lies that were made up" Bono
I can understand hate groups falling for all this crap but if you're a true Catholic it's time to wise up. Fact, child abuse is the same in every organization, faith and walk of life. Read "Mean Men" in the Daily Beast an article from Newsweek or read in insurance. com " Report: Protestant Church Insurers Handle 260 Sex Cases a Year." How about the Boys Scouts of America or the fact 4 children die of abuse and neglect per day. Sadly, child abuse is everywhere and is Not limited to the Catholic Church.
What you are asking for is coming! The Great Whore will call her daughters home. If it were possible the whole world would be deceived. A woe! A woe! A woe!
It is now quite obvious that the Roman Catholic Church and Christ's true Church are quite distinct entities!!!!!!!
www.catholicarrogance.org
JimS, I am NOT a Roman Catholic but I do consider myself to be a "friendly outsider." If there's one thing on which you and I both agree, is that this world desperately needs a healthy, vibrant R.C.C. To that end, the R.C.C. needs to allow its priests to marry (but only to the opposite sex). If it does this, you'll see, within a generation it will have regained its vigor. If it does not, it will continue on its downward spiral.
Looks like they better fight birth control some more. They need more little Catholics to grow up to fill the collection plate.
As a survivor of priest rape and torture, I condemn all Parishioners of the Unholy Roman Catholic Church of Pedophile Pimps, Priests and the Parishioners who love, support, defend and protect them.
If you as a Parishioner do not demand the immediate resignation of Cardinals Timothy Dolan, William Leveda, Roger Mahony, Justin Rigali, Bernard Law, John Krol, Richard Cushing, Anthony Bevilacqua, Humberto Medeiros and the many Bishops who participated in the cover up of child rape, and demand they submit to prosecution in the civilian courts instead of the Vatican court, then you are just as guilty for the crimes against the children and humanity as they are.
Conkal2
Child sex abuse is much more widespread throughout rcc parishes than anywhere else. It has been going on for hundreds of years. There are documented accounts as far back as 500 years ago.
Other organizations do not cover up for the pedophiles and relocate them to new fresh innocent victims over and over and over again like the rcc does.
The rcc elected as the HEAD OF ITS ORGANIZATION the man who developed the policy of covering up for pedophiles and sending troubleshooters to the parishes of the victims to keep them quiet. He KNEW he was relocating criminals to fresh victims and CONTINUED to do it and DIRECTED OTHERS to do so as well.
And YOU ARE SUPPORTING AND DEFENDING THEM. Because they have brainwashed you.
bishopaccountability.org "survivor's accounts"
Frank
You are speaking out to help the children to whom THIS IS STILL HAPPENING. Please don't forget them. The rcc can be stopped. Please continue to help people realize what they are supporting.
You are not alone, either.
bishopaccountability,org "survivor's accounts"
The Vatican is its own separate state. It is therefore, by definition, no different than any other sovereign state, subject to the same political posturing by its rulers and underlings, no matter what they may profess to represent.
TomD, you are correct, the Vatican is indeed its own separate state. Because it is its own separate state, the moron who posted of his desire that the Italian president arrest and prosecute the resigning Pope Benedict XVI as an accessory to child abuse, is a 24-carat imbecile. The president of Italy has no more "standing" to arrest the Pope or any other member of the Curia, than does the president of Ireland or the president of Egypt or Marvin the Martian.
Ahhh another protector and defender of the Unholy Roman Catholic Church of Pedophile Pimps, Priests and the Parishioners who love, defend, worship, support and protect them.
I as a survivor of priest rape and torture, condemn you for your stance in support of your evil church, its leaders and its priests.
As soon as your Head Pedophile Pimp resigns, he is in fact subject to arrest and prosecution for he no longer enjoys immunity as a Head of State. Of course the Vatican will protect him by offering him sanctuary in their building and make sure he never gets arrested and prosecuted for his part in the cover ups.
Funny though isn't it? I heard you Roman Catholics screaming loud and clear, during the Penn State and Jerry Sandusky problem that all of them who covered it up should be prosecuted and that Jerry deserved life in prison. Yet we do not hear from your mouths the same for the ones who covered up the crimes of child rape in your own church.
What does this makes you all? A bunch of real hypocrites bound for an eternity in hell, being gang raped by the demons of hell.
"As soon as (the Pope) resigns, he is in fact subject to arrest and prosecution for he no longer enjoys immunity as a Head of State." Did you bother to even read what I wrote? Just what part of "The Vatican is a separate state" do you fail to comprehend? Arrest by whom? Whose jurisdiction? Only the Holy See ("The Vatican state") has jurisdiction over activities and/or alleged crimes committed within its boundaries. FYI, it is not MY church, and I do not "support" it, never donated a dime to it and do not intend to. I do enjoy, however, pointing out when people act with hysteria and a villagers-with-pitchforks mentality, which is a menace to the rule-of-law in general and to the legal principle of "ex-post facto" in particular. Go buy yourself some Preparation H and get over it, sonny.
Frank LaFerriere
Keep it up. You need to be the voice of the other victims, especially those who are afraid to come forward.
You know what they face- not support, sympathy and retribution. They face ridicule. They face condemnation for exposing their perpetrators.
I admire and applaud your bravery in speaking out.
bishopaccountability.org "survivor's accounts"
is it just me or is "secret conclaves" something that smell bad on the surface and under the surface.....
It's just you. As a Catholic, I fullheartedly approve of the conclave.
It's hard for me to understand, as a protestant, why there is a need for the "conclave" and all the politicking that goes with it, when there is this myth that the pope is appointed by God, and has some kinda magic power, the "Papal Presence". Sorta like the old-time kings of England, Spain, France, etc claiming to be ordained by God.
jerryb... The old time kings of England, Spain, and France came up with the notion that, " God was too important of a concept to be left to The Church ". The Church was the Catholic Church. Thus once the Reformation transpired, you had for instance, a King of England, linked directly to God, and head of the Anglican Church. This gave cause for various conflicts between the Catholic French and Spanish with the English. The problem which the Pope faces now, isn't the Italian press, but the internet. The problem the Pope had during Reformation was the printing press. A news follower in this day and age can find out about scandals in the Catholic Church in the US, Ireland, and Belgium, as well as the Pope's butler, or aging nuns, in a very short time. Since the Catholic Church itself is not set up for other than very long term change as would have occurred during the old time kings, whoever gets elected to become the new Pope ( another old guy ) still won't be able to influence the Church's decline. With information available for "the believers" to make a choice about their faith, antiquated information is not conducive for growth. There is too much " anti-belief " information available and competitive to a Papal stand on any issue.
Tranparency is the rcc's greatest fear. Transparency makes it much more difficult to protect the pedophiles, thieves, and hypocrites. Roman catholicism only works if the masses memorize what they are fed and do what they are told whithout question. It's time these men lose their power.
bishopaccountability.org "survivor's accounts"
the italian is very right about the conspiracy i do not believe a pope will jus resign without something the last pope who did it did for a reason n it was not for health something is definatly fishy
What I don't get is why so many people on here are up in arms about a religion they know nothing about and do not believe in... but they suck the teat of BHO and allow him to destroy our Country. I mean, do you really care THAT much about who is the Pope compaired to if we will have a free nation if BHO has his way?
More like MSMBC is doing the Wizard of OZ again... "Don't look behid the curtain..."
Actually, it seems to be YOU who are doing the wizard of oz.. never mind the pope and the Vatican. ALL news articles should be only about politics so I can bash the president. Go play, sad man, there are plenty of articles out there for you to vent your spleen on.
Beware of trolls
As a Catholic I am thoroughly disgusted with the media's attempts to discredit everything about my faith without knowing the facts. The media prefers to print anything and everything they can find which would have any effect on destroying the Church (it won't happen, so give up.) Protestants for the most part love this too and immediately jump on the anti-Catholic bandwagon. You would never do this if it was a "scandal involving Islam. At least print some articles which are fair, UNBIASED, and factual. Thanks.
Sorry PattyGo. But the church of rome did that all by themselves. Discredit themselves through their actions of deceit and concealment of what was going on behind closed doors surrounding allegations of child sex abuse incidents.
The people of the world are thoroughly disgusted with the Catholic Church's constant cover-up of their crimes throughout the ages. The Church loves blame the media, Protestants, or anyone they can think of to protect their empire and pretend they are relevant . The secret Church cabal is accountable to no one and are masters of blaming everyone but themselves and their own self-inflicted actions. Islam, Judaism, and Christianity have much in common - three peas in a pod that perpetuate great lies for gain of money, power, and control over the people. Thanks
I'm a Catholic.....so Patty you think the Vatican doesn't have any dirty laundry?.....secret conclaves make for dirty laundry..........
What I find deplorable is the fact that the Pope and his Cardinals live in the lap of luxury while, many, if not most of their followers suffer in poverty. What I find deplorable is that the Catholic Church, or any Christian, Muslim or Jewish Church still exists in this day and age and still continues to lie, rewrite history, cover up the truth and manipulate the political system for the sole purpose of continuing the longest running scame in history.
"
Jesus was a plagiarized version of Joseph and Joseph was a
plagiarized version of Horus and Horus a plagiarized version the solar deity
who came before him.
Horus was born on December 25th to a virgin
mother Isis-Meri
His birth was accompanied by a star in the east, and upon
his birth he was adored by three kings.
At the age of 12, he was a prodigal child teacher, and at
the age of 30 he was baptized by a figure known as Anup and thus began his
ministry.
Horus had 12 disciples he traveled about with, performing
miracles such as healing the sick and walking on water.
After being “betrayed” by Typhon, Horus was “crucified,”
buried for three days, and thus, resurrected.
These attributes of Horus, whether original or not, seem to
permeate many cultures of the world, for many other gods are found to have the
same general mythological structure. Attis of Phrygia, born of the virgin Nana
on December 25th, “crucified,” placed in a tomb and after three days, was
resurrected.
Dionysus of Greece, born of a virgin on December 25th, was a
traveling teacher who performed miracles such as turning water into wine, he
was referred to as the “King of Kings,” “God’s Only Begotten Son,” “The Alpha
and Omega,” and many others, and upon his death, he was resurrected.
Mithra of Persia, born of a virgin on December 25th, he had
12 disciples and performed miracles, and upon his death was buried for three
days and thus resurrected, he was also referred to as “The Truth,” “The Light,”
and many others. Interestingly, the sacred day of worship of Mithra was Sunday.
The fact of the matter is there are numerous saviors, from
different periods, from all over the world, which subscribe to these general
characteristics. The question remains: why these attributes, why the virgin
birth on December 25th, why dead for three days and the inevitable
resurrection, why 12 disciples or followers? To find out, let’s examine the
most recent of the solar messiahs. Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary on
December 25th in Bethlehem.
First of all, the birth sequence is completely astrological.
The star in the east is Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, which, on
December 24th, aligns with the three brightest stars in Orion’s Belt. These
three bright stars in Orion’s belt are called today what they were called in
ancient times: The Three Kings. The Three Kings and the brightest star, Sirius,
all point to the place of the sunrise on December 25th. This is why the Three
Kings “follow” the star in the east, in order to locate the sunrise—the birth
of the sun.
The Virgin Mary is the constellation Virgo, also known as
Virgo the Virgin. Virgo is also referred to as the “House of Bread,” and the
representation of Virgo is a virgin holding a sheaf of wheat. This House of
Bread and its symbol of wheat represent August and September, the time of
harvest. In turn, Bethlehem, in fact, literally translates to “house of bread.”
Bethlehem is thus a reference to the constellation Virgo, a place in the sky,
not on Earth.
There is another very interesting phenomenon that occurs
around December 25th, or the winter solstice. From the summer solstice to the
winter solstice, the days become shorter and colder. And from the perspective
of the northern hemisphere, the sun appears to move south and get smaller and
more scarce. The shortening of the days and the expiration of the crops when
approaching the winter solstice symbolized the process of death to the
ancients. It was the death of the sun. And by December 22nd, the sun’s demise
was fully realized, for the sun, having moved south continually for six months,
makes it to its lowest point in the sky. Here a curious thing occurs: the sun
stops moving south, at least perceivably, for three days.
Now, probably the most obvious of all the astrological
symbolism around Jesus regards the 12 disciples. They are simply the 12
constellations of the Zodiac, which Jesus, being the Sun, travels about with.
In fact, the number 12 is replete throughout the Bible.
This is why Jesus in early occult art is always shown with
his head on the cross, for Jesus is the sun, the “Sun of God,” the “Light of
the World,” the “Risen Savior,” who will “come again,” as it does every
morning, the Glory of God who defends against the works of darkness, as he is
“born again” every morning, and can be seen “coming in the clouds,” “up in
Heaven,” with his “Crown of Thorns,” or, sun rays.
Do you remember the game you played in school where you sat in a
circle and one child would whisper a phrase in the next ones ear and then it
would continued to be whispered around the circle? Well when the phrase reached
the first person that uttered it, it no longer resembled the original phrase.
That is all our modern day religion is, a plagiarized, bastardized version of
an ancient oral tradition that spoke of the original solar deity, THE SUN. And it is kept alive by some very evil men who us it to control the masses and con them out of their money.
And then there is the plagiarized story of Moses. Upon
Moses’s birth, it is said that he was placed in a reed basket and set adrift in
a river in order to avoid infanticide. He was later rescued by a daughter of
royalty and raised by her as a Prince. This baby in a basket story was lifted
directly from the myth of Sargon of Akkad of around 2250 B.C. Sargon was born,
placed in a reed basket in order to avoid infanticide, and set adrift in a
river. He was in turn rescued and raised by Akki, a royal mid-wife.
Furthermore, Moses is known as the Law Giver, the giver of
the Ten Commandments, the Mosaic Law. However, the idea of a Law being passed
from God to a prophet up on a mountain is also a very old motif. Moses is just
another lawgiver in a long line of lawgivers in mythological history. In India,
Manou was the great lawgiver. In Crete, Minos ascended Mount Dicta, where Zeus
gave him the sacred laws. While in Egypt there was Mises, who carried stone
tablets and upon them the laws of god were written. Manou-Minos-Mises-Moses.
And as far as the Ten Commandments, they are taken outright
from Spell 125 of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. What the Book of the Dead
phrased “I have not stolen” became “Thou shall not steal,” “I have not killed”
became “Thou shall not kill,” “I have not told lies” became “Thou shall not
bear false witness” and so forth. In fact, the Egyptian religion is likely the
primary foundational basis for the Judeo-Christian theology.
Over the centuries, with each successive telling of the
story, and as cultures drifted apart and began their own civilization, they twisted
and manipulated the stories, transferring the attributes of past beliefs to
characters they created to form their belief system.
In fact, the aspect of transference, of one character’s
attributes to a new character, can be found within the book itself. In the Old
Testament there’s the story of Joseph. Joseph was a prototype for Jesus. Joseph
was born of a miracle birth (Gen 30:22-24), Jesus was born of a miracle birth
(Mt 1:18-23). Joseph was of 12 brothers (Gen 42:13), Jesus had 12 disciples (Mt
10:1). Joseph was sold for 20 pieces of silver (Gen 37:28), Jesus was sold for
30 pieces of silver (Mt 26:15). Brother “Judah” suggests the sale of Joseph
(Gen 37:26-27), disciple “Judas” suggests the sale of Jesus (Mt 26:14-15).
Joseph began his work at the age of 30 (Gen 37:28), Jesus began his work at the
age of 30 (Mt 26:15). The parallels go on and on."
Deprogrammer, Fascinating!!
PattyG0
What more proof do you need? I can tell you from personal experience that they are corrupt, lying bunch of con men.
I was the fly on the wall in a Catholic boarding school where we all knew a boy was murdered by a priest who was a noviciate at the time but rose to become the director of the school. That man was raping him on a regular basis. I secretly witnessed his confession, the cover up and learned much more about how they operate.
I have made a complete discloser in a screenplay including pictures of the place and all those involved.
There is no reason for any to dump their beliefs in their God, only they should wise up to the scam that has been going on for centuries with these so-called men of God. Yes, there are the good ones which make up the majority but it is difficult to believe most of them don't eventually discover who they really serve.
The Church is a franchise business with a tax free deal and a permit to beg and a law unto itself.
FACE IT!
Jrae- Here is the companion source guide to the original Zeitgeist movie which you can find on youtube. Of course Christians, Muslims and Jews will label this as nonsense as they have any evidence that disputes the mythology they continue to believe in. This is the main reason most of our past historical records have been destroyed (the library or Alexandria for example), so they can cover up the fact that they stole their religion from ancient astrological beliefs. If you have the time watch all three movies in the series, they are well researched and well worth watching, the companion source guide goes much deeper into the ancient Egyptian writings that prove the Judeo-Christian religions are nothing more than a plagiarized version of earlier belief systems.
http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/Zeitgeist,%20The%20Movie-%20Companion%20Guide%20PDF.pdf
Sorry Pattygo, they have you brainwashed. The catholic church is a crooked religious organization that pays no taxes on the money they collect from the poor by using doom and gloom fear tactics to do so. They own billions of dollars worth of property, real estate and gold. People are wising up, business is dropping, and like any other large corporation they need to regroup. The first step, replace the CEO.
Pattygo, you're siding with the pedophiles. That's exactly what I would expect from a devout Catholic. Your 'faith' outweighs them raping kids.
In persecutione extrema S.R.E. sedebit. Petrus Romanus, qui pascet oves in multis tribulationibus, qibus transactis civitas septicollis diruetur, & judex tremedus judicabit populum suum. Finis. (Prophecy of St. Malachy for Bishop of Rome number 112.)
Mr. Deprogrammer, you fail to understand that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Yosef was a real person. Those who know see the physical evidence of His life, His death by torture, and His resurrection.
If Cardinal Tarcisio Pietro Bertone (from the Romano District of Turin) is elected, then the world may see in our lifetimes just how wrong you are.
@PattyGo...It's not your faith that folks are put off about. It's the administration of that faith that is corrupt to the bone. And it's not just in the present. Popes in the past have been tres corrupt. They used to hold political power over nearly all of the western world. Henry VIII started his own church because the pope wouldn't allow him to annul his marriage to or divorce Catherine of Aragon. Look at the blood shed that caused through the years and even today in Ireland.
These days, the pope has no credibility. He keeps telling you females not to use contraception. Yet, the latest study of sexually active catholic women in the USA shows that 90% of them do use contraception. So why even have a pope with all the money it takes to keep him comfortable, if you're not even going to pay attention to his edicts?
I fail to understand nothing! I spoke not one word about this Rabbi you speak of. Whether he was real or not is of no concern to me. His predictions mean about as much as Nostradamus's predictions, or any other prophecies for that matter. They can be read to mean what ever you want them to mean. The Jews are as bad, if not worse than the Christians at manipulating our history to keep their childish belief system in control. The end of humanity is coming, not because someone predicted it thousands of years ago, but rather because those who believe in that prophecy are doing everything in their power to make it happen.
James Watt, Reagan's Secretary of the Interior replied when asked why he was destroying all the environmental regulations and restrictions put in place by the EPA just a decade before, "we do not need to concern ourselves with saving the environment because the second coming is at hand." Religious fanatics will do everything in their power to hasten the return of their fictional father figure, and that includes starting religious wars and destroying the very environment that sustains our lives.
Most religious prophecies are self fulfilling because those who truly believe WANT them to come true.
Mr. Deprogrammer, You think that you know so much, but you don't even understand who the great Rabbi Yehoshua ben Yosef was. And you pass yourself off as an educated person! The truth is that virtually everything that you spoke about concerns this one Rabbi. At least we agree on one thing: the end of the world not withstanding, we need to do the right things in regard to our enviorment.
Pattygo
I guess the truth hurts. Free yourself from the brainwashing. They have fed and continue to feed you lies in order to protect their power. This has been going on for hundreds of years.
The rape and abuse continue. The stealing from the collection baskets continues. Their rules are made up. They are lying when they source the bible for those silly rules they make you follow.
They should be prosecuted for their crimes. As long as you support them you are suppoerting pedophilia.
bishopaccountability.org "survivor's accounts" Why do you protect priests instead of innocent children?
Pattygo, I support that great Rabbi whom I have spoken of. Certainly you are correct in saying that those who have sought to make money from His teachings and, even worse, committed sexual abuse ought to be condemned. And as for church law, our Rabbi Himself condemned the "silly rules" enforced by His contemporaries. All of the many failings of the Christian churchs can not erase the fact that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Yosef existed and was exactly who He claimed to be: the Messiah.
Pattygo,
You are part of the problem. How dare you give a backhanded compliment to an organization that hides sexual violence against thousands of children.
Your post is despicable. The solution is to not hurt children in the first place. Something tells me a priest could boil and eat an infant and you would find a way to defend him. Shame on you.
Child abuse is the same percentage everywhere. If you think it's limited to the Catholic church your delusional.
PattyG0 As a survivor of priest rape and torture, I condemn YOU for standing up, defending and protecting the Unholy Roman Catholic Church of Pedophile Pimps, Priests and the Parishioners who love, defend, support and protect them.
Conkal2: I think you have your head up your butt. See I am working on a book, Our Father Who Art in Hell. Part of it is what happened to me at St Thomas More parish in Durham NH. The second part will name all the names of those priests and nuns who were credibly accused, convicted, or died before they could be convicted or the statue of limitations ran out so they could not be prosecuted.
You say that child abuse is the same percentage everywhere? Really?
Then why is my list, for the United States alone, of the Pedophiles of the Unholy Roman Catholic Church have over 3,700 names? If I add the rest of the countries like Ireland, Brittan, Germany, Italy, Romania, and South America and Africa, the total comes to over 12,000 names.
Understand that? Over 12,000 priests, members of organizations like the Jesuits, Fransicans, Redemptorists and nuns who raped and abused children.
Now you name one other organization that has that many child rapists within their midsts.
Oh and if you do not believe me? Search for my name and blog Rape Victims of the Catholic Church. So far I just have the surnames of A, B and part of C on the list. I still have a long way to go to finish the list. Look at the list, see the evil there and then come back, both of you and try to defend the Unholy Roman Catholic Church of Pedophiles to my face.
Frank
And bishopaccountability.org "survivor's accounts"
They don't want to see. They want to deny. They have been taught that to leave the rcc is to face eternal damnation because it is the "one true church"
Keep speaking out.
No one is, and shouldn't be above the LAW. Even the Catholic Church hierarchy. They're as much subject to punitive actions for crimes against humanity than any war criminal.
No disrespect intended, but I'm still wondering if they've figured out what to do with a second-hand Pope.
He'll die a mysterious death sometime this year...
I hear he is in talks with Bravo....Queer Eye for the Hate Guy...or something
I'm still wondering if they've figured out what to do with a second-hand Pope.
He'd make one heckuva greeter at WalMart. ("Bless you, my son, and thank you for shopping at WalMart.")
Bigger he would be standing at the bathroom door of the WalMart waiting to greet the children as they go into the bathroom.
And don't anybody say "eBay"
As a state they have lobbying just like any other government. The conclave is open to suggestions just as much as our congress. I don't care if they say they are not, it would be a lie. Aren't most of the cardinals in the conclave for Europe? How is that fair to the rest of the catholic world.
ANY group or organization that excludes external review of its systems and how they perform invites what is currently happening to those who determine the direction of the Church!
Man will ALWAYS be inclined to gloss over or hide the bad!
Breaking News >>>
IN THE IMAGE OF DEMIURGE
"Man will ALWAYS be inclined to gloss over or hide the bad!" historian-3411811. If GOD the DEMIURGE, has been said to be jealous, angry, and vengeful, how can the Men who keep this dogma be expected to act differently?
It is up to the individual soul, Called, or Elect, to find one's Truth. The Roman Catholic Church is only a part of the Matrix, that allows personalized GNOSIS.
'KNOW THYSELF"
Isn't what they are complaining about the same thing that they were saying when they got their hands caught in the children's underpants. If someone is proud to say they are Catholic, I'd keep it to myself if I were you. This is not a deal whereby only a few are guilty. In order for them to thrive, there had to be a cover up. And if you didn't go along there was some kind of retribution. The longer, as in centuries, it went on the more it became the norm. This has nothing to do with God and Jesus or any other part of our beliefs. This is about sick criminals who want to maintain the status quot and I feel this Pope was against them. I'm just wondering if he will live to write a book or just disappear. This is heresy. Our Children are the targets and the bullets are honey coated with God. Sick BASTARDS.
Anyone who supports the rcc is an accessory to child rape. You are supporting ongoing pedophilia.
All the riches in that picture should be sold to provide ANYTHING the victims need to get some semblance of a normal life back.
bishopaccountability.org "survivor's accounts" Read them. They will shock you. Should they get away with this brutalization?
As a survivor of priest rape and torture, I am now working on a book about what happened to me and about this evil within the Unholy Roman Catholic Church of Pedophile Pimps, Priests and the Parishioners who love, support, defend and protect them.
I am calling it Our Father Who Art in Hell: A Priest Rape Survivors Story. Why this title? Because while the degenerate, perverted priest was raping me anally he forced me to say the Our Father and Hail Mary over and over again and even to this day I cannot say these prayers without wanting to puke. So instead of Our Father who art in heaven, I choose to say Our Father who art in hell because as I cried and begged God and Jesus to make him stop, they ignored me.
I have gotten a lot of help from the people at Bishops Accountability as the second part of the book will name names. So far, just for the United States branch of the Unholy church, we have over 3,700 names of priests and nuns, who there is outstanding, credible evidence that they raped and abused children. The second list names all of the Popes, Cardinals and Bishops who had a hand in the cover ups. That list contains over 200 names.
So yes, I suggest you who are a Parishioner of the Unholy Church to go to bishopsaccountability.org and not only read the survivors accounts, but also read the Database of Publicly Accused Priests in the United States. Just be ready for some real horror if you do.
bunch of things in life are certain. One, people will keep writing more and more space alien conspiracy books using bunches of doctored photos and unmarked "official" documents, and best of all testimony of non existant strange former this or thats who give out the old ultra top secret information like it is candy. And the books/documentaries will always end with "Why doesn't the government let these people tell their stories?" If you don't get that, then you just don't get it. Another is that people who make "documentaries" and "investigative" reporters like to make money, and they have to twist and prop up their game by whatever means they can. Never mind, if you don't get it, you don't get it.
Why is he going to a convent, and not a monastery? I'm not a Christian, and don't understand this. I thought that celibate religious orders had to remain segregated...........
He's going for the 5-star service he will get from all those second-class catholics - nuns.
Why do people always have hate and contempt for things they know nothing about, don't care to understand, and put down through their own hypocrisy? I know, someone told someone who told someone... and you want to be part of the getting told crowd.
Maybe he is undergoing the "change" and becoming a nun.
ALL women in the rcc are second class citizens.
bishopaccountability.org "survivor's accounts"
ok so I think the city of lantana,lakeworth and Boynton beach are a holy si territory,but ultimately belongs to the semioles
I think it would be good if o mally gets voted in -it would be good for the irish
maybe the pope can then come here and oversee this place
I thought religion was about god -I passed 4 churches the other day that had jesus all over them
thought we were one nation under god not jesus
also pretty sure he would just want us to have fun
the knights and saints were warriors what did they do after battle -they were soliders not priests
even jesus fought the devil-
sword of light
light sabre verse darth maul in star wars see the resemblance of the devil it's in the stories
also s.americans use jesus and they are faithful is it not pronounced hey ZEUS would they be disrespectful using his name or honoring him
also hallowed be thy name-or something
hello be thy name maybe
just some thoughts
so if you believe in god you have to believe in sprits and ghosts-if they exist so must he and the devil-lets hope they are reasonable
I believe in God and I don't believe in spirits and ghosts. According to the Bible, spirits and ghosts couldn't possibly be of human origin. The Bible tells us that the human dead are all sleeping, waiting to be raised to face God's judgement. Maybe the apparitions that some people believe they see are of angelic or demonic origin. Or maybe they're really aliens from a different dimension.
BrianNky - Yeah that all makes just perfect sense.
Can you hear yourself at all?
The next pope will have @antichrist as his twitter handle.
SEAL Team Six the Vatican Compound when they are gathered for Conclave and bring those wicked criminals to moral secular justice.
The Princes of the Church are mere men. I don't care what vows they take or what precepts they preach they are as susceptible to human failings as you or I. It is in man's nature to look after himself and his own first. Few are so altruistic as, for example, a Mother Teresa to forsake all earthly luxuries to give all to the poor, the unwanted, the sick and the dying.
For the Vatican to complain about being bad-mouthed is ridiculous in light of its history of sins and crimes in every country the Catholic church has existed. If they could be tried for their predecessors' crimes against humanity, armed robbery, extortion, genocide, brutal murders of non-believers, and so on up until their sexual crimes in this era, there would be no one left to run this secret organization. The Vatican probably has more historical records stored in their vaults than Google has on the Internet. Few scholars know the truth about the early church and how it got so powerful in both the secular and spiritual domains.
Auction him off to the lowest bidder.
You are a good man deprogrammer
Don't worry vatican ..fox has got your back...
Fox News Reporter Hired as Vatican Media Adviser
June 24, 2012
ROME — In an effort to shore up its communications strategy amid a widening leaks scandal in a troubled papacy, the Vatican has hired the Fox News correspondent in Rome as a senior communications adviser.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/25/world/europe/vatican-hires-fox-news-correspondent-as-media-adviser.html?_r=0
God is great...............his cheer leaders; not so much so.....
Pretty much seeking (verb) by association....
Or,...maybe (noun).....
As the old saying goes, "the best defense is a good offense," but what the Vatican is doing is just plain offensive, and there is certainly nothing good about it. Too many supposedly holy men in the ranks of the Roman Catholic Church are guilty of "offsides and holding," and "backfield in motion," in the worst possible way, and they need to be severely penalized. By throwing a flag on the media instead of cleaning house and starting over with a new team, the Vatican is running the same old play it always has, attempting to blame decent Catholics and non-Catholics who have simply had enough of the Vatican's junior league antics.
There is no reason that the Catholic faithful should have to endure this sort of garbage from their "leadership." That the men in the cloth dresses and gold jewelry actually think anyone believes them at this point only serves to reinforce how delusional they really are. It's time to throw the book at these miscreants, and I don't mean the bible. If this were a strictly American organization, it would be appropriate to bring up the Vatican on RICO charges, as in Racketeer Influenced Crime Organization.
but its not an American institution...its Italian....and what would they know about organized crime anyway?.....geesh....
Very good Mike. And why would Italian newspapers have to make up damaging evidence when there's quite enough to go around.
Ring-a-Ding-Ding! Tsk tsk, pity! Who cares? The largest cult in the world, Roman Catholic Church, is always having problems it brings upon itself.