Blowing smoke out of their A****. The next pope is going to be old and have the same BS ideas. This church

is not going to change, and the "candidates"all look like pedophiles under those big dresses.

what would Jesus think?

I can see where southern Baptist would not see anything in this story but as a very young man I learned that even though it never affected me in other ways, naming a pope was big news in the world. Probably more people care about who will be named the next pope than who cares about whether the federal budget is going to be balanced.

dissapointed and ashamed

Believe me, more people in the world care about what the Kardashians

So why you care making comments?

By the way, do you thing people in the world care about Kardashians..........

dissapointed and ashamed

So, back to my point. If you support the vatican, then guess what? You support all of the activities that go along with it. Boy touching included. Sorry. Truth hurts, I know

All Catholics are also ashamed of the priest that did those horrendous crimes, however it does not make them less Catholic. Those priest abandom Jesus comiting those crimes. However Catholics around the world do more for the poor and the needed that the people that attack them. Catholic Church their run Hospitals in Africa where people get help for free, Schools in remote towns , and also provide help when big disasters happened .

In the US....Catholics also run not-for-profit hospitals ...homeless shelters... food kitchens... day care (at no cost to the needy)...free stores... free clinics and much of the community outreach that local governments cannot afford. They have programs to assist with rent and heat and job hunting skills...and a lot more...and, you don't have to be a member for them to help.

So... for those who don't see a need for the Catholics...or the Catholic faith... They do much to care for those that society turns a blind eye to...

Roman Catholicism is the largest and most diverse religion in the world. Naturally, its adherents are interested in knowing when a new Pope is elected. That said, I'm tired of the mainstream media referring to the Cardinals as "so called princes" and talking about Benedict's "so called Prada shoes." 11 times out of ten, the mainstream media does not correctly report non-secular news and they hardly kowtow to the Vatican. Did you see Norah O'Donnell jump down Cardinal George's throat during their pre-Conclave interview? I think the media kowtowing is equivalent to Catholics in U.S. government kowtowing to the Vatican. It doesn't happen. If anything, Biden and his girlfriend would be excommunicated along with Pelosi and most of the "so-called Catholics" in U.S. government office.

Actually, it was several incidents at the hands of Sandusky, which MANY of the people in his coaching staff knew about and helped cover.

And how many years is "countless?" A decade? Two decades? Yeah, it's legitimate to judge an entire church that's been around for over 2,000 years based on the wrong doings of a select few.

And please, don't call me dumb when you continue to misspell words, use incomplete sentences, and fail to realize that the first word in a sentence is supposed to be capitalized. I have trouble believing you have anything beyond a high school education, so please don't insult MY intelligence.

And again, I think it's important that you stop lumping entire groups of people together. Not all Catholic priests are child abusers. Just like not all people who have profile pictures of cars and don't know how to form sentences are inbred hicks who live in their mothers' basements. You see what I did there? I stereotyped you based on a few baseline facts. I'm sure it hurt and it made you a little bit angry, and for that, I apologize. I just want you to realize that it's hurtful to say that an entire group of innocent people condone such terrible actions when they absolutely do not.

I am no longer a practicing Catholic. However, that doesn't mean that I blame the Church for anything; I'm just not at a place in my life where I feel I need it. One thing I will say though, is that I have NEVER met a priest who would even think about touching a child, and the ones I do know, have done more for this planet and for their communities than you and I could ever dream. There are so many great Catholics out there, and they deserve better than what people are saying on here. So please, stop being so blinded by hatred and stereotypes.

Grammar and mechanics are important because they help you maintain credibility. If you're going to be debating on such a hot topic, credibility is EXTREMELY important. I assure you, if you are ever in court against one of these people you hate so much ... you better know how to properly debate them. It all starts with being credible. Being credible starts with being educated.

On another note, YOU are the one who called me dumb, and I was simply saying that if you are going to call someone else dumb, look in the mirror first. Anyway, I'm off to go do something that is more useful than spewing ignorant, hateful garbage at entire sects of people, and I will not be wasting anymore of my precious time on here. I will give you one last piece of advice though: if you want to change the world, change yourself first. Get a proper education, find a group of people who are in need, and start helping them with what you have learned. Keyboard hatred will get you nowhere. Have a nice day!

How brainwash are the people in this forum can be? Just be grateful that the Catholic Church is the ONLY church fighting for a real cause and very tolerate of anti-catholic hate. I don't care if you tell me that you're not hating rather you're expressing your "opinion", hate is hate.

Wow ... thank you so much for toning down your position a bit. I know I said I wasn't going to comment again, but I have to respond to the nice postings :) lol. I was not expecting you to be so reasonable about this. Nothing against you; it's just that I'm used to internet trolls who refuse to see both sides of the argument. Obviously, I underestimated you. All apologies.

Also, I don't want you to mistake what I meant about your finances. That part was PURELY for demonstrative purposes because it was meant to be a typical stereotype. I can't say a damn thing about anyone who is poor because I grew up in a household with several siblings and parents who only made about 30K a year combined. I'm 22, I work full-time, pay rent, and have nothing to my name but two degrees and $28,000 in student loan debt. Honestly, I sometimes feel like those who could get by without the education are better off, so if you didn't go to school ... sorry for throwing that in your face.

Thanks for the debate! Just remember from someone who grew up with Catholics, they are not all bad. The organization as a whole has some faults but so does every organization. The problems can be fixed though, and every good Catholic is working diligently to fix those problems.

Get Real,

I agree with everything you said in comment 1.37. Yes, I can be guilty of being ignorant. I have bad days. I grew up poor, not dirt, but close. I appreciate everything I earn more than most. But, I'm flawed man. I make mistakes and dumb choices. Wow, you make me want to have a beer with ya, lol. Take care man. Good luck with your life. You'll be alright

Agreed, plus, could this get anymore like witchcraft? Christ, it's like an episode of Charmed. I have my powers, I don't have my powers. lol. We are on the verge of discovering the multitude of planets in our galaxy alone and, hence, the multitude of other beings and civilizations. Must we constantly adhere to childish ideas that were being kicked around TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO to control Humanity? I have to update my computer every freaking day let's update our minds by keeping them open!

When I think of the Pope these days the Wizard of Oz comes to mind....

"Shut off from the outside world without access to phones or television, the cardinals spent Tuesday night in their accommodation at Casa Santa Marta before returning to to the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday."

Said one cardinal, "It is no great hardship being shut off from the real world. All religions have operated that way. If the heads of religious organizations were ever exposed to the outside world, and forced to react to it, our religions might become relevant and inclusive to the world's people. We couldn't have that. All religion relies on it's exclusivity in order to remain financially viable. Who wants to pay for a country club where everyone can be a member? And irrelevancy ensures that only the unquestioning lemmings will follow us over the cliff."

Was that the Holy Spirit, or just a scavanging seagull?.............

Goodness bless and best of luck to the new Pope, whoever he may be - from someone who has no dog in the hunt, or as is painfully evident on this thread of juveniles, FIGHT.

Latest news, the new Pope is.....Pope Bandit-3097615 the 1st! Bless you, bless all of you!! Now lets all get along.

new pope named..."pope-arazzi" swarm vatican for first pictures..navajo smoke signal readers say it's cardinal dolen...new pope schedules lunch with dennis rodman...justin bieber denies claim he was chosen...vatican artwork to be sold to pay for meals for poor and starving....new pope accepts responsibility for child molestations by parish priests...pope's first trip will be to disney world...

Who actually thought up all these absolutely stupid rituals? Even Jesus would be shaking his head at all this pomp and circumstance.

All Catholics are also ashamed of the priest that did those horrendous crimes, however it does not make them less Catholic. Those priest abandom Jesus comiting those crimes. However Catholics around the world do more for the poor and the needed that the people that attack them. Catholic Church their run Hospitals in Africa where people get help for free, Schools in remote towns , and also provide help when big disasters happened .

AMEN! I believe someone posted that just because you are white doesn't mean you own slaves.....so don't be lumping all Catholics together. And yes the Catholic charities help thousands of people without asking for a penny in return. I don't judge people by their religion, I judge them by how they treat other people and what is in their hearts. Remember the old saying, "you can't judge a book by it's cover."

Get Real

The difference between PennState and the rcc is that the cover-up of the child rape and abuse by priests was devised and implemented by a man who was then ELECTED THE HEAD OF THE ORGANIZATION AFTER HE EXECUTED THE COVER-UP. This makes ALL CATHOLICS WHO SUPPORT THE RCC GUILTY. They are supporting continued rape and abuse because it goes on now and is still covered up. In addition, the names of hundreds more perpetrators are being witheld by the rcc in order to CONTINUE TO HARBOR AND PROTECT CRIMINALS in lieu of helping its victims.

And, yes, eveyone who knew and participated in the cover-up of Sandusky's rapes should be condemned. The student body has LOUDLY PROTESTED the actions of those involved UNLIKE THE MEMBERS OF THE RCC.

bishopaccountability.org "survivor's accounts"

I guess what appalls me the most is the fact that the good ole USA was founded on freedoms that people could not express in the countries that they had come from...By the reading of some of these posts it seems like we are heading down the same road as those countries. If you like it good if not good that's all that really matters. The bigotry is unreal

Some don't see why this should be headline news.

Even though I am not a Catholic, I can understand why over a billion followers would want to see a front page story about it.

Remember, you don't have to click the link, let alone take time to post a comment. Next time, just ignore the story and click a link you're interested in.

Good luck to him and I really hope he can help bring in world peace.

ben - you're understanding of how America was founded, is about a 3rd grade level.

Greed, was the reason America was founded...

nothing more, and nothing less...the religious persecution was a nice story though (a real story, just not the actual, WHOLE story).

Vincent - thanks for the good laugh! World Peace! That's rich!

Too Bad. An Election of a Pope and everyone has to diss it. This is Historical, and Traditional.

What Tradition do most of you have in your lives?---Nothing---that's why everyone is "floating", trying to "find" themselves. Just look in the Mirror--there is a Higher Power than the weaklings on this post.

Atheists, other non-religious types, Catholic haters, etc., if you don't like stories about the Catholic religion, then don't bother yourself reading them. Was that so hard? Otherwise, deal with it, you're in the SMALL minority. By the way, I'm not Catholic.

Those of you trying to compare the child sex abuse scandal in the CC to other similar incidents in much smaller yet as tragic scandals are way off the mark. Firstly in none of those other scandals were the community's highest spiritual leaders involved in what would appear to be sexual abuse of their parishioners with the tacit agreement of the Vatican.

The point is that the CC did nothing about the scandal until it became public knowledge because of legal actions. They, the hierarchy, had for decades upon decades, and really centuries upon centuries, simply shuffled offending priests around to locations where their crimes were unknown; allowing them to continue their perversion and damage countless children. Even when this became known to everyone via news media, the Catholic congregants, for the most part were silent, assuming that the problem would be taken care of from the top down. Even after is became very clear that this was not the case, they continued to support this vile organization.

That is not painting EVERYONE with a broad brush. That is saying if you continue to support corruption, after you are made very aware of the corruption, then you are corrupt as well.

The CC needs to seriously clean house, purge their ranks, make amends to those who were damaged and make a sincere plea to their followers for forgiveness. As for me, I can find no forgiveness and I hope they all burn in the hell they are so fond of threatening everyone else with.

I almost wish for a female pope. But then the frontrunners would all be Sarah Palins. What a nightmare.

"In the US....Catholics also run not-for-profit hospitals"

Well -- that depends on what you mean by not-for-profit. Yes -- the Catholic Church has done a tremendous amount of good over the centuries. Bur that same church has done a tremendous amount of harm and evil and the tire for cover-ups is over.

Bill and kaybe...

It must mean something to the two of you, why else would you post? Congrats on tying for the SIASD award today.

Lisa from WaylandIn the US....Catholics also run not-for-profit hospitals ...homeless shelters... food kitchens... day care (at no cost to the needy)...free stores... free clinics and much of the community outreach that local governments cannot afford.

And they also run some of the MOST EXPENSIVE hospitals that NO ONE can afford to use but do anyway.

I look forward to our new pointy hat leader of the mass. Can we upgrade the popemobile to a flying saucer? Really, I think his entrance would be 1000 times better.

Jessica-11..., you seem to be a very unhappy person. Better look into that. God Bless you.

By the way, I'd argue that freedom in general was the reason America was founded. Tell me where wanting to better ones self ends and greed starts. I'll ask you and 300,000,000 million other people. With virtual certainty, there will be 300 million different answers. So what makes your definition so much better than anyone else?

In honor of the new Pope, WalMart has announced a Special Sale...

Young Boy's Pants are Half Off

Hardtostarboard,

I seriously doubt that we (athiests, non-religious types, etc.) are in the minority. I don't have any hard figures to throw out, but just by reading posts on a daily basis regarding religious topics, I really think it's the stone-age religious types that are archaic and out of touch - the minority.

76.5 years old. Sure, he's going to implement change as a 76.5 year old is not set in his ways......when will these guys learn? Obviously never.

Adapt or die. Said it before, will say it again. 50 years from now the catholic church will be gone....

A Jesuit

A man for the poor

Don't get snarky because they didn't choose YOU

I just did a GIS for "Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio". There's a pedophile if I ever saw one.

A super conservative, huh, just what that screwed up church needs!!!!! More monk-@!$%# to come from a Jesuit. They are about as much removed from reality as possible.

The whole crap is a scam anyway. Read about the 10 million $ settlement in LA? Jesuit my ass.

1.81

You are really promoting your ugliness.....how sad that your mind and heart allows such evil comments.

The whole process is cloaked in secrecy and ritual. No one can talk about Pope Club.

Almost 77 years old. They'll be going through this again in a few years. I thought they were going with a youth movement - someone only about 60 or so.

Hardtostarboard - unhappy? nope...just the opposite. your ability to "judge" is not so great. better look into that. Ha-Chu.

Greed is why Europeans found America, Greed is why Europeans tricked people into coming to America to work as indentured slaves, and Greed is why the new people in America fought the very people who financed the exploration and settlement of the "new americas" for their "freedom".

Yes, some people came here to escape religious persecution, while others came on the promise of never ending gold...and others came here because they were criminals and it was a nice way for european nations to rid themselves of such miscreants...

the list goes on and on, as you say, why people came here.

but how it was founded was based in greed, control, and power.

same story, all over the world, century after century.

the more things change, the more they stay the same.

But ya know, we recoined genocide of the natives into Manifest Destiny...

im sorry if im a fan of reality, rather than the version you're more comfortable with.

FREEDOM! HELL YEAH! oh it sounds so romantic, doesnt it? Freedom, it's all about freedom!

Brainwashed, in your post at 1.59 you said "The student body loudly protested the actions of those involved." That, of course, happened AFTER THEY BECAME AWARE of the extent of Sandusky's molestation and its coverup. Prior to that, they protested Sandusky's DISMISSAL because he was such a big 'hero.' The key here is BECOMING AWARE. Are you saying that there wasn't a hew and cry over molestation of young boys by church clergy after they became aware of the extent and coverup? I don't think so. So don't say every Catholic is guilty of condoning such behavior if they were not aware of it.

Viva il Papa!!!!!!!!!

Viva il Papa !!!!!!!

Viva Franchesco I !!!!!!!!!!!!

Forgiveness to the bigots forgiveness to the haters.

WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM THE NEW POPE BASED ON PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE....BUSINESS AS USUAL

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio couldn't prevent Argentina from becoming the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage or stop its president, Cristina Fernandez, from promoting the availability of contraception and artificial insemination. When Bergoglio argued that "gay adoptions discriminate against children", Fernandez compared his tone to "medieval times and the Inquisition."

Critics accuse Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of failing to stand up publicly against the country's military dictatorship from 1976-1983, when victims and their relatives often brought first-hand accounts of torture, death and kidnappings to his attention and he failed to react.

Obviously, Francis I is more concerned about gays adopting children than governments torturing and killing their own people. Jesus would be turning over in his grave....if he had one. Once again the Catholic Church fails to select a leader that truly espouses the teachings of Jesus Christ, and opts for a geriatric knucklehead....

Lisa from Wayland

In the US....Catholics also run not-for-profit hospitals ...homeless shelters... food kitchens... day care (at no cost to the needy)...free stores... free clinics and much of the community outreach that local governments cannot afford. They have programs to assist with rent and heat and job hunting skills...and a lot more...and, you don't have to be a member for them to help.

So... for those who don't see a need for the Catholics...or the Catholic faith... They do much to care for those that society turns a blind eye to...

Lisa,

First off, I worked for not for profit hospitals. I've written their billing software, dealt with their compliance issues, and do analysis for clinical outcomes.

I'm an atheist. The office I work in 4 of 6 are atheists. In one of those "catholic" non profits healthcare systems. I assure you, as I sit here doing the average length of stay, case weight, tier 1,2,3 comorbidity calcs, they are very much concerned with contribution margin.

There is absolutely none of what you said that can only be achieved by the church, in fact, tell a priest you are starving and ask him for a sandwich. When he points you to one of those homeless shelters, remind yourself who really performs charity.

Men on thrones, inside palaces do not perform charity.

Furthermore, the catholic faith is the same that keeps the aids pandemic going in africa telling africans that condoms are bad, they actively thwart scientific research, and push themselves into government.

The church is has way more points against it being evil than any good it's ever had.

Hello @Jessica, nice posts! Many people have been so indoctrinated that they are literally afraid of the truth as it would crash their world view. If they could only sum up the courage to look reality in the face they would be set free. Man made religion is nothing more than a control mechanism.

“You can bend it and twist it... You can misuse and abuse it... But even God cannot change the Truth.”

Michael Levy quotes

The Prophecy of St. Malachy

St. Malachy (Maelmhaedhoc Ó Morgair) lived in 12th century Ireland and was the Archbishop of Armagh, now a town of 14,000 in Northern Ireland. Attracted to the monastic life, Malachy established the first Cistercian abbey in Ireland in 1142. He also reformed the Irish Church and aligned it more closely with Rome.

What St. Malachy is more known for is the so-called Prophecy of the Popes, which is attributed to him. The prophecy is a list of 112 short phrases that supposedly describe each of the Roman Catholic popes beginning with Pope Celestine II (elected in 1143) and concluding with the successor of Benedict XVI.

This last pope is described in the prophecy as “Peter the Roman,” whose reign as pope will see the destruction of the city of Rome.

The prophecy did not hold much interest among Catholics up until the mid-20th century because it

Pope #268 – The Last Pope — In persecutione extrema S.R.E. sedebit Petrus Romanus, qui pascet oues in multis tribulationibus: quibus transactis ciuitas septicollis diruetur, & Iudex tremêdus iudicabit populum suum. Finis. (“In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people. The End.”)

Proponents of the prophecy say that it is interesting that at least one pope had a similar mystical vision to the “Last Pope” part of the prophecy. During a papal audience in 1909, Pope Pius X claimed he had a vision of the pope leaving Rome, and in leaving the Vatican, he will have to “walk over the dead bodies of his priests.”

What a coincidence that this new pope is Italian. Jorge Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, one of the five children of an Italian railway worker and his wife[3

With any luck, this guy will offer new leadership in a radically changing world.

But, looking at his wiki profile and seeing that he's a homophobe who loves social hierarchy, I seriously doubt it. "A man for the poor". Great, if true. Who am I kidding? This is same-old same-old.

Ok ... now all the worlds' problems would be solved now that we have a pope ... well all except

pedophilia

terrorism

poverty

violence

health

.....

oops ... sorry!

When we get a new Easter bunny or santa then i will care .... maybe

Bill-1496592 Comment collapsed by the community

Hey MSNBC, The world is not catholic, nor does it care who, what where when or how that religion votes to elect its next symbol. STOP MAKING THIS YOUR HEADLINE STORY. There are way more important relevant things happening in the world than this

So you speak for every one else on these forums and the world now ? Seeing how there are 1.2 billion catholics in the world, i think they far outnumber you small anti religious atheists who practice your hate speech against people of faith.

What would you rather read about ? Shootings ? Space aliens ?

GetReal:

Oh, and If you're going to call out over a billion people because of their beliefs, then you need to at least do it with a properly spelled screen name (only one "s" in disappointed and there are two t's).

Grammar and mechanics are important because they help you maintain credibility. If you're going to be debating on such a hot topic, credibility is EXTREMELY important.

Yes, and speaking of the importance of grammar and how it relates to credibility, disappointed only has one "t", not two.

@ Spencer up there... wonder why it's so easy for you to spot a pedophile. I just don't get all this disdain for a religion most of you on here can't understand, did not grow up in, you just jump on here to make hateful comments, and it affects you how? That's what I thought. If it doesn't concern you, leave it alone. All you people on the pedophile bandwagon, go over to the other story from this morning about LA County Schools case. This happens in all walks of life and not JUST in the Catholic faith. The offending priests' hearts were never in the priesthood in the first place, it was just a place they thought it safe to find kids to abuse. Same as any other pedophile. It's not every priest in every parrish so stop blanketing my whole religion for your misunderstandings.

Thing is...Jesus is very personal. His relationship with you depends on you. Not a pope, a priest, a minister or pastor, etc. Seek Him, and you Will find Him. For he knows your heart.

If you don't know Him...just ask Him to show you that he is real, in a way that you will understand it is Him. Then ask Him into your heart. There, is your salvation and peace.

Hello Marmaduke and PBgeorgia, so you support the Vatican, right? I grew up as a Roman Catholic and when I reached the age to reason I gladly left the church as it is only there to brain wash and control the masses. Your support includes a church that has paid at least 2.6 billion to settle sexual abuse cases. In 2007 alone the Los Angeles Archdiocese on July 15 agreed to pay more than 500 alleged victims a total of $660 million. The abuse continues and the wealthy Vatican is easily able to cover these claims. The Vatican even has insurance policies to cover these operating costs.

The minor victims of priest abuse are overwhelmingly boys and teenagers, which is
contrary to the pattern of abuse in the general population.

The problem is not just with the number of priests who molests young children, but in
a Vatican power structure which harbors and conceals pedophiles, hides other
sexual behavior patterns among its clerics and uses the strategies of duplicity
and counterattack against the victims.

If you support this structure with all the evidence that has come to light, you better hope someone is praying for your soul. Your support only enables and promotes continued crimes against humanity.

God bless you Pope Francis. You'll be in my prayers. I pray you stay strong!!

Its not surprising to me that the special people condemning the diocese pope and practices are the same ones that fill the postings and make it difficult for me to follow..Why are you here ?

If I didn't like hockey or cooking I wouldn't go to games, read about it, or make up recipes, what a bunch of hypocrites..

Why am I not surprised with all of the negative comments. Does it make you feel better about yourself? You are a sinner like everyone else. What makes you better? Most christians are HYPOCRITES. Say one thing and do another. Do not hide behind your religion, actually practice it.

Does this mean we can get on with our miserable lives now?

I just don't get all this disdain for a religion most of you on here can't understand, did not grow up in, you just jump on here to make hateful comments, and it affects you how?

I know the church well. Both of my great grandfathers were married Greek Catholic priests. Once they immigrated from Europe to the U.S., the pope accused my great grandmothers of being "legal mistresses" and ordered all property be turned over to the church, or they would be ex communicated, although they were allowed to remain married. Always follow the money.

I know the church well. It does affect me because we are not seeing justice done enough by having all priests, bishops and up to and including the pope, put on trial who were involved or had knowledge and allowed/ordered the cover up of the pedophilia.

I know the church well. Jesus would be appalled.

Marmaduke49

So you speak for every one else on these forums and the world now ? Seeing how there are 1.2 billion catholics in the world, i think they far outnumber you small anti religious atheists who practice your hate speech against people of faith.

What would you rather read about ? Shootings ? Space aliens ?

Um, 1.2 billion divided by 7 billion is about .14 or 14% of "the world", up to 2.1 billion if we lump in all Christians.

So if I did my math right. 70% of the world does not prescribe to Christianity or Catholicism.

Oh, and that "small atheist group" you mentioned is the worlds 4th largest religious grouping of "none".

Roughly 20% to 25% of the planet does not believe in a god. That's only 5-10% less than total christians.

Oh, and that number is growing annually.

Great. (sarcasm) Another pope to lead the people away from what the Bible truly teaches.

1.97 Yes but the coverup was by everyone in the church hierarchy in every Parish all the way up to Ratzinger. So yes, it does implicate the entire church. But this is not new of course. Popes have a record of concubines and fathering bastards that is centuries old. The church was founded as an arm of the Roman Army and after the fall of the empire took on the role of the enforcing mafia. It is a criminal organization that spawned the colonial armies that killed hundreds of millions of people. That the pope is a "white guy" from Argentina is irony by itself since South America was the place of their greatest destructiveness. The church has as much to do with Jesus as Hitler does (yes, the Catholic raised Hitler).

LOL- the libs certainly hate the fact this is a conservative being elected pope

Signs of the times- people are sickened with the past four years of liberal ideologies that don'twork in the real world. Enjoy! LOL

Lusitania

Its not surprising to me that the special people condemning the diocese pope and practices are the same ones that fill the postings and make it difficult for me to follow..Why are you here ?

If I didn't like hockey or cooking I wouldn't go to games, read about it, or make up recipes, what a bunch of hypocrites..

That would be because there is no "...under hockey" in my pledge of allegiance. No "in hockey we trust" on my money.

No attempts to force learning hockey in public schools. No Hockey pucks and goal posts erected in publicly funded court houses..

No self righteous hockey fans judging non-hockey fans (well maybe in Canada).

That this is given any sort of respect affects all of us. It's like watching a celebration of a unicorn shepherds.

Anyone that has a modicum of understanding of the history of this church and what it really represents can only express contempt and disdain for this farce.

Hello folks, for those that say church pedophilia incidents are far and few between. Enclosed is a partial list of pedophilia incidents and settlements. This partial list only covers the United States. These don't include smaller settlements. If after all the over whelming evidence of pedophile criminality and you still support the church you better take a long hard look into the mirror because you are contributing to these heinous crimes.

Partial List of Settlements and Awards in Chronological Order

BishopAccountability.org has identified specific, mostly large settlements and awards totaling $2.49 billion, paid out by dioceses and religious orders and by their insurers to survivors of sexual abuse by clergy in the United States. These settlements are listed in the table below with links to sources. Note:

• The table includes few of the many smaller settlements under $1 million (less than 1% of the table)

• The table includes few pre-2002 settlements (less than 5% of the table)

Is it possible to estimate the total value of those other settlements?

As part of the John Jay College project, many bishops issued their own reports on abuse 1950-2002, including the settlement costs in those years. We have totaled the settlements in those local John Jay reports. The bishops count almost $750 million in settlements before 2002.

If we add the total of our big table and the bishops' pre-2002 number:

$2,486,897,033
+ 749,600,189
$3,236,497,222

we get over $3 billion. This very large number still leaves out the many small settlements done since 2002 but not yet included in our table, as well as any pre-2002 settlements that the bishops didn't include in their John Jay numbers.

Hence the total value of sexual abuse settlements in the United States is well over $3 billion. This $3 billion number far exceeds the dire prediction of Doyle, Peterson, and Mouton in 1985. And $3 billion is certainly an underestimate. Our table shows payouts to 5,048 survivors, only 33% of the 15,235 survivors who the bishops say have come forward.

I had to the line items because the format would take up to many pages. I will try and reformat and repost. But you get my drift.

Alan, if you are basing your belief that those who are atheist, non-religious types on just the segment of society that use MSNBC, I concede your point. However, I was looking at from the entire global population, its not even close, non-believers of any religious faith, are outnumbered 10-1 by those who believe in a god. I may be off by + or - 1/2 billion but of all the world religions, I think all Christian denominations combined account for 2-3 Billion people, now chunk in the Jews, Muslims (Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions all have the same starting point in the book of Genesis), then your Hindu, and other Eastern religions and you account for around 6 billion people who believe in a god. At any rate those who don't believe in any god are far, far outnumbered by those of us who do.

TrustVerify:

Thank you for posting facts. Catholics who continue to support the church are only interested in hailing their god who wears the gold hat, fancy dress and Prada shoes, not the facts.

Treating the pope as their god will not gain them any more points for entry to heaven.

So, Trust Verify, you are now the King of Wasted Thread space. Honestly, this looks like to me a big cash grab. They sued OJ for damages after he was proven innocent and they got money. I'm betting some of your post is much the same. You don't see individuals suing their attackers, why? No money.

Back on topic. Prayers and best wishes to Pope Francis, may you bring new insight to the Church.

And to the haters, so sorry you waste so much time and energy on your hatred. You'd be much happier if you left your hate behind.

Let's not judge; speculate; predict; bemoan....

None of us has a real clue on how Pope Francis will affect ...change . . . or be effective.

Putting a blanket condemnation over an entire Church, is disingenuous.

I'm saddened by the mean comments.... this rush to pronounce this man as a reflection of all that is wrong is without merit.

I had wanted a visionary... and I hope he has an ear to the 21st Century and whatever is in that damn secret memo...

to make faith relevant fir GOODNESS.

It's about f**king time. Now, was that so hard?

Congratulations to Argentina and their new Pope.

They were probably getting so loopy from all that smoke they elected an Argentine. LOL

hardtostarboard

Alan, if you are basing your belief that those who are atheist, non-religious types on just the segment of society that use MSNBC, I concede your point. However, I was looking at from the entire global population, its not even close, non-believers of any religious faith, are outnumbered 10-1 by those who believe in a god. I may be off by + or - 1/2 billion but of all the world religions, I think all Christian denominations combined account for 2-3 Billion people, now chunk in the Jews, Muslims (Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions all have the same starting point in the book of Genesis), then your Hindu, and other Eastern religions and you account for around 6 billion people who believe in a god. At any rate those who don't believe in any god are far, far outnumbered by those of us who do.

I'm not sure where you got your numbers from, but according to the Pew group, 20-25% of the world population.

Christians 2.1 Billion, all abrahamic religion, roughly 3.5 billion or 50% of the population. Hindus about 13% which does not prescribe to western god head concepts, Buddhists around 6% and the rest either "other or none" making up 26%.

According to real sources, your numbers are whats "way off".

What I like is that many if not all Christian religions came off of the Catholic religion. They didn't like following the rules ( Henry VIII on an annulment= Church of England etec) So People still do it, they don't the rules start your own. Jealous just like small kids try to run Catholics down. Every large organization has had child molester in them. It is not right, but, it is true. So punish the bad and keep the good.

Ok folks, I tried to post the list of settlements the church has paid out to conceal their pedophilia, granted it was only a partial list, doesn't go back that far in history and only includes the US but I couldn't change the format to condense it. It would have been 18 pages long.

If you go to (http://www.bishop-accountability.org/settlements/) you can see the vast and I mean vast numbers of pedophilia settlements the church has paid out.

It lists names, amounts, totals everything the Catholic's don't want you to see.

THE MEDIA KEEPS MAKING A BIG MISTAKE!!!They keep assuming St. Francis of Assisi.

Bergoglio is a Jesuit and he is named after the co-founder of the Jesuits......St. Francis Xavier! If you're a Catholic and you haven't thought of that yet, how embarrassing. Because I thought of it first and I'm an evangelical.

Do you think this is an inordinately high percentage? If you had a country with 1.2 billion people in it, how many crimes of this nature would you think there would be over the last 35 years? Blow it out your a--!!!!!!!!

Oh the bigots are out today, slamming the catholics. Hey everyone with the anti-catholic nonsense, did you guys burn jews today too?

Bunch of bigots.

Rut Row... HERE WE GO AGAIN...!

Catholic parents... hide your little boys. Or...

Teach your little boys to quickly jab at the nuts if a guy from church, the one wearing the dress, gets to within half an arms-length.

It's better to be ex-communicated than to be some church pedo's long-term Maytag. There is a trend of immoral sexual behavior in the clergy, people... it's High Time you quit denying that trend, and guard your family against the immoral behavior.

To those of you, who would assign the worst attributes to an organization for the actions of a few.

OK, how does YOUR favorite organization look painted with the colors of its worst.

Left, right, center, up, or down, judging a large group of people by the acts of just a few, is simple minded.

..

But, at least we readers of newsvine now know who the simple ones are.

I would just like to make an observation, this may be as good as anyplace for people to talk about the Catholic church and the abuse scandals, I am made to relive everything that i know of the priests when i was twelve, Im my church alone we had Two priests that were excommunicated from the church, a third that nobody knows about and the guilt I carry knowing that. Thats three out of four priests. If i feel i have a problem with the catholic church i should be able to have a debate without anybody speaking out being silenced, Yeah, its funny how the church was dsilent all those years, and come here and comments are being shut down over and over, like its some kind of embarrassment for all the people that still love this church, though they were lucky enough to not see the bad side. well alot of you wouldnt, these priests i knew preyed on the weak, The three favorites all had missing or dead fathers( real fathers) and were weak before they picked who they wanted and then befriended them while taking time to get very close emotionally with who they waned, then one day they want to wrestle, then take pictures, always had to have pictures, I am posting this so the people that want to ignore this and act like this never happened get a tiny tiny look at what happened, and the way a kid grows up into an adult with a very twisted view about things, but manages to still be a good person in the end, ive said enough, sorry if this upsets all you, it sure upsets me.

"Jesus, guys!"-(not trying to be funny). I'm not religious, but regardless if you're atheist or any other Religion- including Muslim - this person is an elected "Emperor" of over a billion people in the world.

The Vatican is considered an independent country with lots of power throughout the world.
It doesn't matter what Religion you belong to, this isn't just "American news", but (all over) world news. Get outside your own enclosed shell and take a look around the world, that might help!

In my personal "moral" opinion, "priests" as well as secular folks have and always had biological and psychological malfunctions. This fact is not limited to members of any group or Religion, just human nature. Please accept that we're all imperfect and that even new and unknown personal problems might show up at any time. Wow! All of a sudden like that??? Look no farther than the mirror.

Greek Mythology was once a religion and then it was taken over and as time passes so will the religions of today.....

Only the Catholic Church would replace a German Nazi with an Argentinian Fascist. Such progress...

Wow @lilirocks, are you serious? These are just normal "biological and psychological malfunctions"?

The sexual abuse that has been perpetrated by the Catholic Church on tens of thousands of innocent children is on a scale that lends itself so that even the casual observer has to wonder if it is an accepted ritual within the church. Many people come to the defense of the church stating that it is the celibate role that has lent itself to the wide spread abuse. If so, why are the majority of victims boys?

What other organization can continue to operate after it is caught raping children over and over again. WalMart couldn't continue to sell rakes if they did the same thing. What are they going to say, sorry folks we had a little problem in aisle 3 in the children's half pants off sale but everything is ok now! They would be shut down in a heart beat!

President Obama hailed Francis as a "champion of the poor"

Just what we need, more champion's of the poor! Hey Obama, and Pope - how about championing the people who make our societies possible?!

Brainwashed, in your post at 1.59 you said "The student body loudly protested the actions of those involved." That, of course, happened AFTER THEY BECAME AWARE of the extent of Sandusky's molestation and its coverup. Prior to that, they protested Sandusky's DISMISSAL because he was such a big 'hero.' The key here is BECOMING AWARE

Tess,

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Although this is off this discussion, somebody did bring it up, and you commented on it. The students did not protest Sandusky's dismissal. Sandusky had not been a coach at Penn State since 1999. They were protesting Paterno's dismissal, especially the way it was done - by phone at 10:00 at night. And to address another misconception fueled by the press: it was not a riot. A couple of thousand students milled around downtown for a while. Nothing was set on fire, no windows were broken, no businesses were damaged or looted, no big-screen TVs or expensive sneakers were grabbed. The only damage was to a news van.

Sorry for getting off the subject.

GetReal:

11,000 cases (8,000 of them substantiated) in the US alone, involving a full 4% of an organisations priests is hardly an isolated problem. That the Catholic Church was aware of, and failed to remove these predators from their positions is abhorrent. The Catholic Church was complicit in a majority of these crimes, and should be held responsible. Perhaps it is time that we start to tax churches as businesses, considering they use an awful lot of our community resources, and do not pay a dime for them.

@TrustVerify

Yes, lots of damage can be inflicted unto others by just one person, like a serial killer or nutcase in a particular school.

Some of these folks spend their whole lives from Catechism to adult University classes but you never know what will be coming next. Some, will give plenty of free and very powerful psychological advise to folks who need them because they have to study psychology as a dogmatic requirement. Do you think secular Psychologists are free of any crime?

amazing how they fit so much anger and hate into one simple blog.

I just have one question: Is the new one going to be like the old one?

Why do they keep elect old a** men to be popes in another 8 to 10 year they are goin to be electing another one. Just a waste of time.

Isn't that lovely. 1.2 billion people have a new dictator leveling moral dogma unto the masses.

It would be more beneficial if more people were moral regardless of religion. And it would be even more beneficial if those that followed religion actually practiced morality instead of trying to determine and legislate how others should live.

... and when he comes to New York City. I want to be the first one to say:

"Yo! Uncle Frankie!"

JMangum,

A: BETTER. The New One is going to be bigger, faster, longer, harder.

Some, will give plenty of free and very powerful psychological advise to folks who need them because they have to study psychology as a dogmatic requirement. Do you think secular Psychologists are free of any crime?

1. Secular psychologists are not considered the "holy see" and treated as god's right hand man.

2. Secular psychologists don't require confessing your sins with the threat of hell and damnation for eternity if you don't.

3. The Board of Psychology does not cover up sexual abuse. If a psychologist is accused of a crime and convicted, they go to jail and are not transferred to another location.

4. Secular psychologists pay taxes.

whut is mangum.

Losghost said, "I'm not sure where you got your numbers from, but according to the Pew group, 20-25% of the world population.

Christians 2.1 Billion, all abrahamic religion, roughly 3.5 billion or 50% of the population. Hindus about 13% which does not prescribe to western god head concepts, Buddhists around 6% and the rest either "other or none" making up 26%.

According to real sources, your numbers are whats "way off".

Losghost, my original statement several posts back made the claim that athiests and non-believers were in the small minority. OK so I'm off by 15%. 75% who believe in a god VS 25% who don't, not even close.

TrustVerifyHello Marmaduke and PBgeorgia, so you support the Vatican, right?

No i dont. WHy would you think I support the Vatican or Catholic faith ? It does fall into the pale of orthodoxy for Christianity , but I dont care for people worshipping the pope like he is some God. Nor do i like people going to priests asking for forgiveness when a priest can not do what only God can do.

Im merely defending the blatant attacks against Christianity and all the hate speech towards it.

n 2007 alone the Los Angeles Archdiocese on July 15 agreed to pay more than 500 alleged victims a total of $660 million.

It does disgust me, and I dont condone anything they do. But they are human beings like any other person. You also like to single out the church and its sexual abuses, but there are plenty of people out there who are not in the church, and the numbers are far greater. But I understand that people want to attack the church and anything that goes wrong is a shoe in for an argument.

losghost

Marmaduke49

So you speak for every one else on these forums and the world now ? Seeing how there are 1.2 billion catholics in the world, i think they far outnumber you small anti religious atheists who practice your hate speech against people of faith.

What would you rather read about ? Shootings ? Space aliens ?

Um, 1.2 billion divided by 7 billion is about .14 or 14% of "the world", up to 2.1 billion if we lump in all Christians.

So if I did my math right. 70% of the world does not prescribe to Christianity or Catholicism.

Oh, and that "small atheist group" you mentioned is the worlds 4th largest religious grouping of "none".

Roughly 20% to 25% of the planet does not believe in a god. That's only 5-10% less than total christians.

Oh, and that number is growing annually.

Those numbers dont quite fit the latest polls. The majority of the world is religious in some form. Atheism being the smallest religion of about 3 to 5 % .

Marmaduke49

Those numbers dont quite fit the latest polls. The majority of the world is religious in some form. Atheism being the smallest religion of about 3 to 5 % .

Where are you getting your numbers from?

Religious statistics from the pew forum in the US alone atheists are at 16% and that's considered a skewed number.

Looking at world stats, where countries like sweden has almost 23% atheists, and 53% non-theist it would appear that you are simply pulling that number out of your rear end.

hardtostarboard

Losghost, my original statement several posts back made the claim that athiests and non-believers were in the small minority. OK so I'm off by 15%. 75% who believe in a god VS 25% who don't, not even close.

No, it's not 75% that believe in god. That's 75% that believe in mysticism. Buddhists, Silkhs, Zoroastrianism, Jaines, Taoists, Shintoists, Cheondoists, et al do not prescribe to your god, or even the concept of a god head.

Oh, and 15% of 7 billion is about a billion people. So you were only off by about a billion people or so.

Marmaduke:

But they are human beings like any other person.

Sorry to jump into your discussion, and yes, you and I know they are human beings like any other person, but that's not how they present themselves to their followers. They present themselves as what we mere mortals are to aspire to in order to attain heaven, etc. They act as intermediaries between us and god by hearing follower's private miscues in confession. The pope is referred to as the "holy see". If he's considered human like the rest of us, why the "holy" title? Hell, you'd better hope there's a priest near when you're dying in order to give you Last Rites, or you may not make it into heaven.

They act and see themselves above human, which is why you're witnessing so much outrage when after over 1400 years of sexual abuse/cover up (maybe longer if they would allow the outside to read their archives) perpetrated by them, nothing changes and they continue the same sin over and over again. That's not just human, it is downright evil.

I left the church as soon as I was legally able to and have never looked back. The church and those who continue to support its life truly disgusts me, but how they continue to affect me is their use of the public services I pay for and they don't have to contribute a dime, while the pope worries about the color of his Prada shoes.

Debi-1314897

Marmaduke:

But they are human beings like any other person.

Sorry to jump into your discussion, and yes, you and I know they are human beings like any other person, but that's not how they present themselves to their followers. They present themselves as what we mere mortals are to aspire to in order to attain heaven, etc. They act as intermediaries between us and god by hearing follower's private miscues in confession. The pope is referred to as the "holy see". If he's considered human like the rest of us, why the "holy" title? Hell, you'd better hope there's a priest near when you're dying in order to give you Last Rites, or you may not make it into heaven.

Last rites ? That is not required to get into heaven. It blows my mind to hear someone say I might not make it to heaven because I dont confess my sins to another man. The only person who can forgive sin is Jesus. Not some priest, not some pope. Its ridiculous that he is being worshiped like a God, to me that is border line idolatry. In the end , yes they are human beings like the rest of us. There is nothing that makes them special, they dont bedazzle me, im not brain washed by them and I surely dont need to confess anything to them to be saved or forgiven. Please show me in full context of the bible where it says that another man can forgive my sins, or allow me into heaven. Only one man can do that, and that is Jesus Christ.

Marmaduke:

But they are human beings like any other person. You also like to single out the church and its sexual abuses, but there are plenty of people out there who are not in the church, and the numbers are far greater. But I understand that people want to attack the church and anything that goes wrong is a shoe in for an argument.

The reason I made my point is you appear to somewhat make an excuse for the church pedophiles by almost saying "everybody else does it, why just pick on the church".

The church holds themselves to a higher "closer to god" standard then "everyone else" and they deserve the added scrutiny and criticism.

No , my point is that people act like priests or church going people are incapable of such sins..my point was meant to say that anyone and everyone is indeed capable of sin no matter what position they are in, no matter how religious they may be.

I dont condone any of it of course. Yes Church people should be higher standard , but it doesnt make them immune to sin.

Yes Church people should be higher standard , but it doesnt make them immune to sin.

Which is why I don't take advice (preaching) from another sinner. Lol

1. Secular psychologists are not considered the "holy see" and treated as god's right hand man.
2. Secular psychologists don't require confessing your sins with the threat of hell and damnation for eternity if you don't.
3. The Board of Psychology does not cover up sexual abuse. If a psychologist is accused of a crime and convicted, they go to jail and are not transferred to another location.
4. Secular psychologists pay taxes.

Secular psychologists "treat" the majority of patients not only in the U.S. but everywhere in the world for a profit. The psychological help of Catholic priests don't involve "confession", but it is given free of charge to church members. And yes, Churches are exempt of taxes in the U.S. Churches are not for profit, but they survive on the WILLING contributions of members.

The Board of Psychology doesn't deal with legal matters, and neither does the Catholic Church. If a member is legally convicted, he (or she) is punished by the law of the land.

I repeat, I'm not Religious, and in fact my husband and I are both Liberal. I was raised within the Catholic religion by my family, for generations.

Churches are not for profit,...

Au contraire, maybe in name only and for tax benefit. What non profit do you know of that doesn't have to open their books and hoards at least $170 billion? Non profit is as alien to the church as is their religious dogma.

If a member is legally convicted, he (or she) is punished by the law of the land.

The important word here is "if". The law rarely interferes when the church is involved. How many of the known pedophiles and their conspirators have gone to jail? Very few.

I was raised within the Catholic religion by my family, for generations.

I too was raised catholic, within families which also go back generations. Both of my great grandfathers were Greek catholic married priests. I have the writings between one of my great grandfather's, who was an expert in canon law, and the Vatican battling for priests to be able to marry and not have their wives considered "legal mistresses". The Vatican does not want any heirs. My great grandfathers were told to turn over their property to the church or they would be ex communicated.

You may keep your "Pollyannish" view of the church, but I've learned when it comes to the church, always, follow the money. That is their true holy grail.

Debi-1314897

Yes Church people should be higher standard , but it doesnt make them immune to sin.

Which is why I don't take advice (preaching) from another sinner. Lol

WHy not ? we are all sinners, every person on this earth. YOu never took advice from your parents ? Counsuler ? A friend ? Loved one ? All sinners ...

One of my best friends is a preacher at a baptist church if he gave me advice, which he does, of course I would test it to Scripture.

Not sure who taught you but you are dead wrong. The Pope is NOT Jesus Christ on earth and I stay because of something called Faith. You do not have to agree with the Catholic Church but you have NO right to condemn those that do. I do not condemn you, I pray for you and hope that you have a peaceful and spiritual day. Atheism is very "cool" and "trendy" right now so for many it will pass, for those that it doesn't-I ask God to have mercy on your soul.

As for the sexual abuse-it discusts me but it also does when it happens in our schools, day care centers, government, police, boy scouts, girl scouts, places of work, other places of worship, little league and so on and on......but we cannot give up on all of these organizations we have to try to make change and repair. If not we would be left with NOTHING!

First. You clearly didn't read my response. I stand by it. Perhaps you should google "vicar." Secondly, who taught you that faith was above ridicule or condeming? Do you live in a country with a theocracy like Iran or the Vatican? In the USA, I have freedom of speech. Bad ideas exist to be destroyed and I have a protected right to speak my mind. You DO NOT have a right to not be offended. Do you understand the difference?

Atheism is cool and trendy? Really? How about just saying it's reasonable? I mean, you are an atheist when it comes to the god of lightening (Thor) right? Of course you are. Look, I don't care about cool or trendy. I'd join a religion or a rock band if I wanted that. A 2012 British Columbia and University of Oregon study released data that puts atheists on the same level of respect as that of rapists. Do you know that atheists are the smallest demographic in US prisons and Christians are the vast majority? Do you have any idea how insane the world looks to an atheist? When was the last time atheists rioted in the streets? I can't speak for all, but the atheists I know are peaceful people who focus on LIFE before DEATH. Anyway, I don't feel to be part of a trendy group. Instead I am forced to watch people of faith continually attempt to put religious bias into American Law which is a no-no. There are six US states where it is illegal for atheists to hold public office. Just think about that.

You know what disgusts me? Your backhanded defense of the Catholic heirarchy by comparing them with other groups who DO NOT claim to be global moral arbiters for all people. Your Church had a global policy authored by a now retired pope on how to suppress child rape allegations acrross a land area greater than the surface of the Moon.

Catholics, like you, are far too silent. You remind me off the billion Muslims who remain silent while cartoonists are killed for blasphemy crimes. Did you know your Church partners with Muslims at the UN to try an enact blasphemy laws worldwide?

What have you done lately to effect change in your Church? Are you aware not a single bishop has been defrocked for hiding men who raped children? Some of those kids committed suicide from the shame. Your priests are also guilty of manslaughter. Not one bishop defrocked. And we have a KNOWN pedophile protector in Rome right now have a crack at PROMOTION to the top job in his office. Will he be elected? Who knows. I hope not. But the mere fact he is up for promotion is despicable.

and which carinal is this? I would like to know his name please

It's Mahoney or something like that.

I'm certain that God too is anxiously sitting on the edge of his heavenly throne with a bag of Doritos and a sixer of Redbull at His side. I'll bet He also holds the Catholics above all other religions because of all the nice costumes and endless meaningless rituals. I'll bet He is also ecstatic about the garish opulence of the places of worship that are worth more than all their parishioners combined. I'll also wage He's just thrilled that his representatives here on earth take seriously Christ's mandate to, "Suffer the little children to come to unto me." It's too bad their clergy takes it a bit too seriously. In any case the sheep will have a new bellwether right after the burn the CLEAN smoke. By the way, that pipe-cam is the most fascinating thing on TV...far better than American Idol or Oparah. Too, maybe all the molestation would come to an end if those poor priests and nuns could get laid once in awhile.

I remember my devout Catholic days

Most atheists were once Catholics!! Somehow every person that was a catholic has a good memory of this church, and several bad ones. Some have memories that are worst than nightmares.

Anybody that has attended "catholic schools" knows that some of those nuns are nothing, but a bunch of angry, frustrated females that decided to be "nuns" because they did not have a better option, or have some serious psychological problems, just like most of the PRIESTS.

Wow, IRESPOND- those are not my memories at all....so sorry for your bad experience. I left Catholic school and went to public later and someone I knew was raped by a public school employee...Guess we should do away with all public schools too!

oh, and by the way, we are not above ridicule and condemnation-just taught not to do it to others and in my response about the speck of dust forming-that is not ridiculing you, I just believe that atheist believe everything formed from a speck or particle....if not enlighten me as i do not know.

neither atheist nor catholic, and with no disrespect to the devout catholics, i believe, as with any other religion, that most of the devout followers are true in their beliefs. the heirarchy and power structure within the church, however, wreaks of corruption. as previous posters mention, where are we and our children free from darkness and evil ways? certainly not in our government, not in the boy scouts, not in our schools, our coaches are raping children in the showers, our policeman rape and pillage, as do our soldiers, preachers, teachers, bus drivers. my son wasn't even safe in the marines!

i will answer my own question above; Jesus would be ashamed of us all, and would likely throw them out of His House just like He did the money changers (can you say banksters, wall street?) of His day. Christians and catholics are no different as a whole than the rest of us, some good, some bad. some worship God, too many worship their "leaders".

madMarinedad,

Jesus would be ashamed of me, but not because of what you said. I'm a good person. Jesus would be ashamed of me because I don't like or support slavery! I've got way better morals than the person who supposedly lived 2,000 years ago. I suspect you do too.

Sorry about your kid. I can't imagine. Thanks for your story.

Jesus had nothing to do with the Catholic Church, which was founded long after his death.

He was born, raised, lived and died a Jew.

They don't mention that in the RCC. Truth isn't their strong suit.

"Most atheists were once Catholics!!"

I don't know if that true nationwide but in my circle of friends it's true.

What a joke - who the hell cares if there is black smoke. I am sickened by the fact that they give up 10 Million dollars like it's "candy" to victims and then carry on as usual. And the saddest part of all is that the ducks keep tithing their money and following these corrupt deities.

Kaybe, the Catholic Church does teach that Jesus was a Jew and about our Jewish roots in Christianity. Sorry if i ruined another talking point for you to pass judgment on almost 1 billion people world wide.

Carl, I don't need to pass judgment on your church. The truth is evident for anyone who cares to see it.

Those who stay are mostly frightened by the threat of hell. Those who see the truth have no such fear.

I left Catholic school and went to public later and someone I knew was raped by a public school employee...Guess we should do away with all public schools too!

I don't see the relationship between what happened in the public schools and the catholic church or any other church for that matter. A crime is a crime and it should not matter where it is committed. If what you are saying is true, that person was most likely punished for the crime since a person in a private school is accused of rape or having sex with a minor they are tried and if found guilty are punished. If a pastor is accused of sexual misconduct they are removed from the church. Now what happens to a priest when they are accused of sexual misconduct?

What would Jesus do?

IRESPOND-2315268

Anybody that has attended "catholic schools" knows that some of those nuns are nothing, but a bunch of angry, frustrated females that decided to be "nuns" because they did not have a better option, or have some serious psychological problems, just like most of the PRIESTS.

If that is true ,why Catholic Schools are considered the best for education, just compare the average of graduates , the average of students that go college , I guess some Catholic nuns will make our public schools much better.

their is no question about their being a creator..top scientists who were atheists who saw that everything in nature can be coded...when they saw this they changed...but the problem with the catholics is who said they speak for the creator? they just give themselves the title? If I worship you can I speak for you??

Someone commented that Catholics are taught not to condemn those of other religions. I'm not so sure about that. I can still remember the Catholic children in my neighborhood coming home from church on Sunday and taunting the other children with:

"You're not going to heaven. Only Catholics get to go to heaven... our Sunday school teacher said so. We get to go to Heaven and you don't! People who aren't Catholic go to Hell instead."

To me, as a child, this was the only condemnation I was aware of... being told I was excluded from Heaven because I wasn't Catholic. In just a few short sentences, I was eternally condemned to Hell right along side everyone else in the world who wasn't Catholic. I personally don't know enough about the Catholic church to know if this is the lesson taught to all members of the church but it certainly is what I had to listen to every Sunday until my friends finally grew up and left the Catholic church... one by one; in their own due time.

Well, Bill, by your logic, the media should never report on anything major which happens in China or India. They each have populations the size of the worldwide Catholic population - 1.2 Billion. That's just too big to ignore.

Kaybeetoys hit the nail on the head. If Jesus were here he's burn the Vatican to the ground.

I think its gonna be the black guy.

saneg - I never knew atheism was "cool" or "trendy"...

I just know that GOD has no room in heaven for a lesbian like me.

Secondly, GOD values people worshipping him...not being a good person, doing good deeds, and treating people with love, kindness and respect.

You can be ALL THOSE THINGS x 10, but if you choose not to worship GOD, you just arent welcome in heaven.

Clearly, GOD's priorities are worship...not good people. Thats a sick club up there if you ask me, sounds a lot like a CULT.

Religion is cool, it's like saying "Hey, you don't have the same ideas as me so I'll try my best to convince you otherwise. If you don't break then I'll simply condemn and hate you."

"Atheism is the trendy thing right now." Now that's a not even a matter of debate, "Atheism" is the disbelief of any deities. I'm pretty sure throughout all of time there were people who didn't believe in certain deities. In fact it would be more accurate to say that Christianity and all of it's other spin-off religions are the cooler trendier thing right now. It's only been around for what, a few thousand years? There were plenty of other religions before Christianity. During it's conception it was mocked and ridiculed, alot like some of the more recent religions that are around now like Scientology.

holly888- Oh how I had to laugh about your comment. My parents were fundamentalist Christians, they and their church taught me that all others were going to hell, ESPECIALLY THE CATHOLICS. I was not even allowed to play with the Catholic kids in my neighborhood lest thier idol worshipping sin rub off on me.

Joseph-1686110 you don't have a clue about science. There is nothing in any science at any point in time that even slightly indicated a "creator". Myth believing nut nut.

Joseph...what absolute nonsense. Of course everything can be coded. Any scientist switching from Atheism to a religion or belief in God because of this, couldn't have been that smart to begin with.

Anyways, as an Atheist, I don't have any issue with the news covering this. I understand that it is a big deal to many Catholics, and does have ramifications for the entire world. I would hope for a more progressive leader for the church than Pope Benedict.

I knew it wouldn't be the black guy

Jessica sounds bitter.......she also has a flawed understanding of Christianity. Her's comes from a me, me, me, me, me perspective. Try learning it again, Jessica, but care more for others than yourself this time....you just might get it right.

In the Middle - not bitter, and perhaps my understanding of christianity is flawed.

So you think my understanding of Christianity comes from a "me me me" perspective, how?

Because I know im a lesbian and dont plan to change that reality?

and because I think worshipping a GOD isnt as important as being a good person?

*scratches head

I get the feeling youre thinking of yourself when talking about me...

But ya know, i do care a great deal about myself...as does most everyone else. It's not a bad thing to care about yourself, just as long as thats not all you care about.

And you're a pretty sad example of christianity if you TRULY think that of me, without even knowing me.

Judge lest ye be judged, my christian friend. Try sticking with your own beliefs...before calling someone you dont know BITTER, SELFISH, UNCARING.

Atheist, “If you were blind, you would not have sin, but now you say, 'We (I) see.' Because of this, your sin stands.”

Pope Francis I

Accused of kidnapping priests who preached rebellion against a state that was torturing its own citizens. For more information, read Nunca Mas.

Ah, Atheists. The terrible sin of having morality for the sake of morality. The sin of caring for other human beings regardless of their political and religious affiliations. Guilty guilty guilty.

It is such an embarrassing moment when you read through post such as these and realize that the rest of the world is reading them too - no wonder they think Americans are idiots.

Jessica is awesome and cares about others a great deal. Hence her desire to do good without being promised a reward in heaven.

@Kaybee, you are grossly misinformed about the beginnings of the Catholic church. I love all of this "knowledge" on this thread. You are judging a book by the cover, without further investigation. I'll leave you with that. Oh, it's called reading.

@kaybee- what? Everyone is supposed to bow down to YOUR truth? Typical pin-head liberal spewing nonsense filled hatred.

Like so many Catholics in the "New World," I am overjoyed to have as Pope, Francis I.

However....Like so many Catholics, I was hoping for a Pope the that would address not only the New World, but the Modern World as well.

My church has always been about 500-years (give or take) behind in both thought and action. So, we continue to wait, and wait. Cardinal Bergoglio is both a safe, and not unexpected, choice on the part of the Holy See.

May God Bless his papacy.

You know what disgusts me? Your backhanded defense of the Catholic heirarchy by comparing them with other groups who DO NOT claim to be global moral arbiters for all people. Your Church had a global policy authored by a now retired pope on how to suppress child rape allegations acrross a land area greater than the surface of the Moon.

You obviously didn't read his statement!! Why do separate any other pedophile from a "Catholic"

Teachers, coaches, and most anyone who want to be trusted with children are all leaders, what a hypocrite..

It would be far fetched if Atheism actually became popular, I'm sure pedophilia would become popular right with it, but it won't, to retarded..

He may be from Argentina but he is still Italian, that's probably why he got elected.

Strtocumulus;

So you will do just fine with out them, will you. Unless you need to go to one of their hospitals, unless you need the services of one of their clinics, unless you find yourself one the street because government cares nothing about you and you need their food and shelter. Unless you die alone, I think likely, without family or friends and need to be buried free of charge. The Catholic church feeds billions around the world every day, it schools millions every day, they provide shelter for the homeless every day. They assist people with medical bills, utility bills, rent clothes and furniture every day. All without having to convert to or attend their church's.

What the hell have you done for anyone other than yourself,,,, Ever? If you don't adhere to religion fine, no one, especially the Catholics, are twisting your arm. Unlike some other religions, the Catholics don't set off bombs to convince you to join or die. They don't ask if you are a Jew, Gentile, Muslim or atheist before giving the help asked of them.

So, Mr. "I don't need no Catholic church", the next time your down on your luck, need food to feed your kids, or money to keep the lights on or a place to sleep when your friends and family are too busy to be bothered with you, just remember what a sinister thing the Catholic religion is and you don't need them. Everyone knows you are perfect, right? I would be willing to bet, if misfortune finds you, you would show up to take advantage of the help they freely offer. I've seen it before. In the mean time, be glad you are able to make your own way. But give the douche bag attitude a rest. Clearly, you know very little of the church beyond the sensationalist headlines from the Communist News Network. And no, I'm not a Catholic. But, you malign those who do far more good than any government on earth to help those in need through your own ignorance.

@atheist comment 2.2

You seem very proud of your freedom of speech so I assume that you are thankful for the great country that has given you that right, so why would it be a "no-no" for religion to be incorporated into our government when this country was formed around religion and faith in god? The problem with our crumbling nation is not that we are trying to "put religous bias into American law", the problem is that so many are trying to remove it. I don't care how "peaceful" you think you are, if you don't have the faith to believe that there is something bigger and more meaningful than your own individual life, then you are part of the problem and not the solution. I don't see why so many people cannot realize that the best way to re-establish America as the greatest country in the world is to go back to the basic principles that it was built on in the first place.

YOU ALL SCORED AN F ON THIS. He is a jesuit! The 1st pope that is a jesuit!

If you are unfamiliar with the jesuits let me give you a short primer. The jesuits are the KGB of the vatican. We are definitely in the end times.

Nicodemus,

Wow. You seem to know a lot about me. But you know, you must be right. I suppose all that time teaching special needs kids was just a part of my imagination. Or that time I set up an afterschool club for kids who were being bullied and left out of sports teams. Or the times that I've babysat for free. Or the times that I donate to charities dedicated to helping disaster victims. Or any of the other simple things that I do, like everybody else who lives in this world and has a conscience. I am not actually an atheist, or a christian or a muslim. But I guess to you if I am not exactly what your dogma wants me to be then I must be evil. Well, I have made hateful comments about the church, but usually when it is deserved.

And my destiny to die alone and unwanted. Oh, woe is me.

You do have a point about the good works that many individuals in the church have accomplished. Mother Teresa is an example of the same spirit that effuses the hearts of many Christians. However the church has been responsible for great suffering as well, and it is that of which I am critical.

I admit that

"if you don't adhere to religion, fine. no one, especially catholics, is twisting your arm"

Unfortunately, that statement has never been true, in my case. Or in the case of many people who have grown disillusioned with the church. Especially the boys who were sexually abused, and were called liars when they complained to their communities.

I don't want the church to be destroyed. I would like to see it change for the better. Nicodemus, when you hear me speak out and you feel oppressed or whatever, imagine what people of different beliefs must endure when they grow up in a world full of zealots. If you want to be blind to the contradictions at the heart of the church as an institution, then there is little I can tell you that will change your mind. But there is no call to assume that I am selfish. I am opinionated, as are you.

If Jesus was a Jew...where do the Catholics fit in?

According to the "Ancient Alien" folks, our God was mistaken for an alien-or god's and aliens. And so mythology was REALLY just stories our "ancient" ancestors told of "celestial" beings (or aliens) of what they "thought" they saw and wrote about. Hmmm...OK. So God isn't really the pictorial figure the Bible shows to be? No long white, flowing hair, no white beard, no resemblance to the Gandalf of Lord of the Rings? So God isn't even a MAN? Well I guess not, if we ARE made in the image of God; then God must be both a Woman and a Man.

My suggestion? Think for yourself. "For where I am, there you may be also."

Well, as reported, this newly elected pope will maintain the same old intransigent conservative values that a majority of Catholics want changed. Like staying out a woman's reproductive rights, allowing marriage among the clergy, recognizing same sex marriage and allowing women to become priests. Reminds me of the GOP, they didn't learn from their past mistakes along with their unwillingness to change with the times. Seems the GOP and the RCC are synonymous with each other.

The next time the UFO Aliens come to visit and abduct, they'll hear the news "...and the newly selected Pope..", to which the Aliens will react with "are they still doing that Pope thing down there??"

Funny.

KAybee we are all member of the body of Christ, Protestant and Catholic.

12For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

14For the body is not one member, but many. 15If the foot says, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 16And if the ear says, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. 19If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20But now there are many members, but one body. 21And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." 22On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; 23and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, 24whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 25so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

KAybee we are all member of the body of Christ mythical cult, Protestant and Catholic.

Please name one of the voting cardinals (you can find the list on the web), who according to you is a child molester. Please name just one.

God bless you

And which one of these cardinals is a child molester? If you would please name one!

If I had to guess, since you asked, my unexpert opinion would be to pick Cardinal Dolan as a candidate for being a pedophile. Many people think the rabid anti-gay Cardinal, the one from Ghana, might be a child predator. I don't think so. I think he's just a plain old repressed homosexual. It's almost as if you can set your clock to the time it takes for rabid-homophobes to come out of the closet themselves. Tick, tock, tick, tock.

But Dolan, if I had to guess, and I am guessing, I would guess that he is a candidate for being a young pee-pee toucher. That's just my opinion. Pedophiles are experts at lying. That's the difficulty. Perhaps psychologists in the FBI can spot a pedophile, who knows.

If I am wrong about candidate Dolan, I do apologize. I am just making the claim that pedophiles are hard to spot because they are good liars. Perhaps Dolan is a good (if delusional) person. I'm just speculating. I have been told I can be quite perceptive and I do get a creepy vibe from him.

Anyone else?

at least I don't throw out names based on speculation! Where does this perception you possess come from? hmmmm maybe a speck of dirt that formed in the air and landed in your brain. Not trying to be funny but just wondering.

Atheist, unless you have 100% proof, your "guess" borders on defamation and is uncalled for. You have no business slandering someone with your so-called "guesses".

saneg,

I'll say no more about my opinion about Dolan. But I am a little perturbed that you too defend your Church by saying there is a comparison between the moral call to fire priests/bishops/cardinals/pope emeritus with closing down schools because of a school employee raping a kid.

If the Secretary of Education had a written policy to all superintendents across the nation to hide pedophiles and this policy was also known by the President, then would you want those people fired? It's the same thing with Catholicism. Yet no bishop was fired. Shame on all of them!

Ah Sue, I can guess all I want. Dolan is my guess. Considering the scope of pedophilia and the policies to hide it which came from a sitting pope, I don't think it is unreasonable to think there are pedophile Cardinals. They created this mess. Dolan is creepy.

Of course ALL the Cardinals are creepy in a certain sense because they have sworn to not bring scandal to the Church. This is an immoral position to take. Evidence, no matter how evil, should never be hidden. The Cardinals have a history and a mandate to do otherwise. I'm not sure what is worse, a pedophile Cardinal or an entire College of Cardinals sworn to protect them.

Sue, do me a favor. Put me on ignore. It will do us both good.

dear atheist

you seem to base your vision of the world on instinctive and unsubstantiated "creepy vibes" - sounds pretty much like a kind of irrational belief to me... )))

Are you sure you are a real atheist? Because your last post sounded more like one written by a kind of mystical visionnary shaman...

Atheist, just as you can guess all you want, I have every right to tell you exactly what I think of your guess. If you don't like what I have to say- maybe perhaps because you recognize there is some truth in what I said when I told you that your guesses border on defamation-I politely suggest that you follow your own advice and place me on ignore.

maciej,

There is pretty good evidence for so called "vibes" or perception being spot on in some circumstances. But you're right, the word vibe does come with an unscientific sound to it. Good catch. I will use perception in the future.

Am I an atheist? Of course! Aren't you?

PS: to Sue, I'll think about the ignore button. Maybe someday you'll merit it! All it takes is a repeated defense of the indefensible. I have yet to come across a Catholic who comes on and says, "the crimes of all the clergy and the coverup are beyond dispute and are indefensible and I am doing my best to consider why exactly I choose to remain part of this organization that clearly puts Church first rather than victim first. Furthermore, as a Catholic I must resign myself that in principle there must be an action within my Church that would make me leave immediately."

Where are those Catholics?

dear atheist

answering to your first question - no, last time I looked, I was not an atheist and I do not think it likely to become one in the near future

answering to your second question - there is no question that the Church greatly sinned by its calamitous management of the whole question of abusive priests; but it is not the reason for leaving the Church, but to atone for the wrongdoings, fix what is wrong and carry on

Priests, bishops, cardinals and Popes come and go and they commit mistakes and sin, because even they serve God, they are simply people - but the Holy Universal Catholic Church is of God and endures

Best regards

Jim,

It is not so much about the ones who did/does these awful things, It is the fact that they cover it up. What saddens me most is that these men are suppose to be men of God and teach his (Gods) word (the Bible). Instead (in my opinion) they teach how to rape young boys and get away with it or cover it up.

I am NOT Catholic, but I am a Christian born and raised in the church. One more thing is that I AM NOT putting the Catholic religion down because it also happens in other types of churches as well. It seems to me that there is always one bad apple in the bunch, but with the Catholic church there are way too many.

Also the sad thing about all this is the young boys that they rape usually end-up doing it to others because they think that is the way it is suppose to be or they kill themselves out of shame.

maciej,

God isn't necessary for me to live a moral life. I find no use for Yahweh. Superfluous. And that's being charitable! My experiences tell me slavery is immoral, but I would never learn that from the Bible or Yahweh, or even Jesus! Don't you find it downright weird that your God is cool with slavery?

This makes sense considering the bible was written during a period of time when cultures used to bury children in postholes to protect buildings from demons. But it doesn't make sense if you are also claiming that Yahweh is omnibenevolent. It's illogical. The primitive culture hypothesis is more reasonable. Don't you agree?

dear atheist

It is indeed not necessary to believe in God to live a moral life - but finding God is a reward in itself and a most enlightening experience. I speak of experience having renounced my christian fiath during my teen age rebellion and having found it again some years later.

I sincerely wish you to share this experience a day.

And even if you do not find any use for Yahweh, be certain he finds some use in you. And no matter how superflous you consider God, well, He never considers any of his children superflous... And this is a recomforting thought.

Best regards

The Catholic hierachy all the way up to the pope himself was aware of the pedophilia and turned a blind eye.

In my book, that makes them just as guilty as the actual perpetrators.

To molest a little child is bad enough, but to simultaneously destroy a child's faith and innocence is an even greater crime.

The corrupt church should close its doors. The foolish sheep who support it are the reason it continues on with its evil.

There are far better ways to find spiritual fulfillment and do good in the world.

Kaybee, when is Penn State going to close its doors? Everyone in management knew what was going on, but did nothing about it.

Now I'm not saying the Church was right, but neither was Penn State.

They are men. Human beings. Just like the rest of us. We all do things that are wrong.

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Are you without sin? I know for sure that I have sinned.

God Bless the Cardinals during their election of our new earthly leader.

Myself I'd like to see Sean O'Malley be Pope. About time we had an American Pope.

kaybee:

Your are right. If they do not change their ways and their doctrines they need to close shop. The changes needed to be made are as follows: allow priests to marry, get rid of there praying to Mary BS, get rid of their apostles creed BS, get rid of their transubstiation BS, Get rid of their pagan holy days BS, get rid of their Sunday worship BS, get rid of confessing their sins to a priest BS, get rid of their idol worship BS, get rid of their Peter founded this church BS, get rid of the title "The Holy Catholic Church" BS and I'm sure I missed a few things

Janine-1645002

Kaybee, when is Penn State going to close its doors? Everyone in management knew what was going on, but did nothing about it.

Oh, I FULLY support the indictment of anyone in authority at Penn State who knew what was going on there... including Tom Corbett, the current governor of Pennsylvania.

Now I'm not saying the Church was right, but neither was Penn State.

They are men. Human beings. Just like the rest of us. We all do things that are wrong.

You are missing the point entirely! Priests represent themselves as god's representatives on earth, as holy men, as moral and spiritual guides and models. Instead, these men preyed upon the innocence and faith of little children, forever robbing them of the ability to trust another person. Their own parents in many cases were too blinded by the church and its phony holiness to see what was happening.

If these pedophiles would admit their crimes and submit themselves to the justice system, then they could be forgiven. If the church hierarchy had put a stop to the pedophilia instead of systematically covering it up and transferring the pedophiles to other parrishes where they continued to molest children, all might be forgiven. But that is not how it happened.

Take the blinders off.

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Are you without sin? I know for sure that I have sinned.

We are all sinners, but we aren't supported in our sin by a corrupt organization. At least I'm not.

Why would you be an apologist for an evil cadre of men who robbed children of their innocence and faith...the very things they pretended to be teaching????

Okay Atheist-6939529 - Just to alleviate any concern you may have for Cardinal Dolan, I'm a St. Louis native, Cardinal Dolan is a family friend. I know him personally, and I will tell you, he is certainly no child molester, or "young pee-pee toucher" as you referred to him.

And if you are so anti-Catholic, why are you wasting your precious time here blogging on this story?

kaybeetoys, should we all leave and fund the heathen Protestant "so-called churches"? I think not.

Also, I agree with lilmorts regarding Cardinal Dolan. He was our Archbishop for many years and you couldn't ask for a more pious, humble and good-humored man to serve God. We were all proud of him when he was named a Cardinal, but we were very sad to lose him as our Archbishop.

Ah... there she is... Meara Feely Harrington... she was also taught that non Catholics go to Hell and she gets to go to Heaven. Must be so since the Protestant churches are filled with heathen. I knew it couldn't be just an isolated teaching from only my childhood friend's Catholic church. The great and all knowing Meara is condemning Protestants.

You're a GOOD Catholic, Meara. What wonderful and merciful Christian values you have. Open Heaven's Gates right away... here comes Meara!

Meara Feely Harrington

kaybeetoys, should we all leave and fund the heathen Protestant "so-called churches"? I think not.

Do as you wish. I'm not advocating any particular religion. Catholicism has been corrupt for centuries. You were obviously indoctrinated to believe non-Catholics are inferior, but your attitude of moral and religious superiority isn't helping anyone, least of all you.

Read the Ninety-five Theses which Martin Luther wrote in 1517, sparking the Protestant Reformation... learn why he protested the corruption of the Catholic Church and what reforms were needed.

Nothing has changed.

Roger Mahony, the Cardinal of Los Angeles, over his cover-up of child sex abuse cases. Don't try to tell me he's not a pedophile because covering it up is worse than doing it so either way he's guilty.

Two child abuse cases involving a cover-up by one of the cardinals electing the next pope have been settled as part of a $10m (£6.6m) out-of-court deal in Los Angeles.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles will make the payouts to victims of a now-defrocked priest who told Cardinal Roger Mahony nearly 30 years ago that he had molested children.

This is just one example of his coverups. Note the 30 YEARS AGO and still no repentance from Mahony. He was still trying to cover it up. That's pathetic. It's even more pathetic people would let him be involved in picking a pope.

There's no proof that these men raped little boys but they absolutely knew of it and protected the pedophiles which is just as evil.

@ JimRead: any thoughts on the child sex abuse cases with the Los Angeles county schools going on right now? Anything? I just don't get why that doesn't enrage you as well. It's NOT just in the church! I don't defend any of the offending priests, don't get me wrong. If this bothers you so much, have the DA re-open the case and have this man sent to prison. Spouting hatred will solve nothing. Be a part of the solution or quit whining and get out of the way. That goes for the rest of you on here that the election of a new pope will not affect in any way, shape, or form. Everyone has so much bad to say about the church. Is there anyone out there, non Catholic, that knows of any one good thing done by anyone in the church? Does anyone remember Mother Theresa? She made a difference in this world. She helped the sick and the poor. People most of you wouldn't wipe your feet on. I look up to people like her. Just think, if we all spent the time we were on here arguing our points to donate some time to the sick, the poor, make a clothing or food donation for the homeless, it would be time better spent than all this well I've got to get my pedophile joke in, or wonder if the new pope is this or that or argue the points of religion and atheism. This world can only change for the good by one good deed at a time. Not hateful words.

Yes, they finally elected a new pope!!! We might be able to broadcast some other news now. I was really starting to worry, that the smoke was never gonna change. They should use that same system with politicians, cause they are always blowing smoke.jk

PBgeargia99 Get real. Of course it bothers me. What else bothers me is when people try to change the subject. This article is about the Catholic church selecting a new pope. I'm sorry if I missed the part where it was about LA, the Boy Scouts, or any other organization. You should go read the article again and quit trying to change what it's about. You should also go take a class in psychology so you can tell the difference between disgust and hatred. Similar to your sanctimonious comments disgust me but I don't hate you. I don't care if you think so or not but the new pope is going to be a product of all the people that voted for him. That being said I don't think it's a good idea to let pedophiles pick him. If you consider that whining so be it but let it be clear that as far as I'm concerned you're the little whiner on here. You're such a hypocrite too. You start your comment calling me names then at the end you say "This world can only change for the good by one good deed at a time. Not hateful words." You're pathetic. You need to just go back and lay down in the corner you came from.

Be careful not to idolize your religion.

J Magnum:

We are not allowed to idolize our "Religion". Question ourselves, and our Religion---We are not allowed to idolize a "Person" such as Jesus---There are many religious beliefs, and all of them should be respected for their Thought of Traditions and Practice. Not having a Religion; Agnostic, and Atheist are accepted. Organized Religion cannot be "painted with a broad brush", or Stereo Typed.

Jimread: what name did I call you? I didn't resort to name calling, there goes your reading comprehension I guess. I just pointed out that all you want to do is complain (whine) and not be part of the solution. I don't feel that you making up the fact that I called you a name makes me a hypocrite. I didn't come from a corner, wasn't lying down anywhere, I don't know where you got that. I'll make a guess that you are not even Catholic and this article will not affect your life in any way.

PBgeorgia99 Are you really that stupid? You really want to talk about comprehension? In your own words "I just pointed out that all you want to do is complain (whine) and not be part of the solution." I'll stick with you're a hypocrite and need to listen to your own advice. Now go back and lay down in the corner.

New Gawker I'd say it's more evil than the one that did it. Not only does he protect them but he puts them in a position to go out and do it again and again and again. Which they did. He is much worse than the one that molested the child. Every child molested after his knowledge is his fault.

I understand that Obama is getting involved in the papal election; that's why they can't make a decision.

As long as he keeps up the protection of child rapists the church will be happy.

I understand DC isn't exactly a holy place either.

jazz.,#4.1,

Laughed at that one, didn't expect a funny Obama reference.

Thought there would be one about BHO thinking of himself as god or something.

If you don't believe in God then what are you left with? Little green men?

JMagnum - - - - Naw! Where have you been? They're not little green men; they are little grey men, with big eyes.

I wouldn't think this is a prideful bunch of men, there may be a few wolves in sheeps clothing, but for the most part, not prideful. There are many wolves in sheeps clothing among us, running this country right now. And they are the prideful lot.

The only thing that matters to the Cardinals regarding the Pope is that he is not named Peter, will not take the name Peter and is not Italian...oops.

i'm not a cardinal, but, hey cheesy puffs and bourbon gets my vote, especially if we can watch the ball game (any ball game) instead of listening to all that scripture and sermon nonsense...

LOL! Very funny. Please tell him that for me.

To IRESPOND-2315268: Here we have he first Jesuit Pope and the first from outside Rome in the modern era which I foresee as a path to church doctrine allowing marriage in the priesthood.

squire., #7.3,

Ah, no. You might want to google the fella first. While not the curia's favorite, big changes, no way.

I bet you make everything about race, don't you.

So you are perfect, without sin, rude man. Good to know. Answer this for me, what did you mean by "cardinals pick the pope they didn't even win the world series last year" huh?

I was pulling for Juan de Torquemada.

The St. Louis Cardinals, is a baseball team, "PB". Lord, do you live under a rock?

Shucks! Even Pope John Paul II knew who the St. Louis Cardinals are. He mentioned them when he was here a number of years ago. BTW, the late Augie Busch, owner of the Cards had an interesting practice of awarding every new St. Louis bishop a Cardinals Red Hat.

It's ok to hate religion and faith when those things hold back humanity by teaching lies as facts. I'm starting to see most Catholics in the same way people saw Hitler's willing citizenry who went along with the power and patriotism of the Third Reich rather than rise up and clobber him.

Catholics aren't rising up. They are playing the waiting game. This is what Catholics do. Mark my words, in a few centuries there will be saints proclaimed from this age who will be said to have led the fight against pedophilia. In other words, the Catholic Church will switch it around. They will probably say the Catholic Church was the leader in fighting pedophilia around the globe. This is what they do.

I don't have tolerance when faith claims affect my world. If you can't keep it in your head, you deserve to be attacked for foisting nonsense upon children and the ignorant.

Faith is a dangerous tool, it justifies absurdity which is a direct pathway to violence.

wow, funny, look at the world we live in today. And you think that too much religion has caused this? I guess we just have to agree to disagree. I will ALWAYS believe and you will not. so lets leave it at that and may you have a wonderful and peacefilled day...

It's not that anybody really hates religion but it is a reality check. If you have or had kids, would you let them play near a house where a Pedophile was living? Of course not, but in the name of religion it's okay. That is not only hypocritical but ridiculous. The Catholic religion is not a religion, it's a political party that will defend its existence no matter what. Just like the two major Political Parties in America. As Atheist basically stated, Catholics are becoming these willing citizens that can take reality and sweep it under the bed to make their belief right. They either are brainwashed or cannot comtemplate that their ancestors and themselves have followed a faith that has been a fraud for centuries.

uunder your pretense, then I wouldn't let my kids go to public school, boy scouts, girl scouts, little league, Penn State for sure, heck, they couldn't go anywhere because pediphiles lerk everywhere and yes, they are covered up. Please do not condemn an entire group because of some bad....Enough said, have a great day Paul 784155 I truly do wish you a peace filled day

One big difference saneg.....the catholic church has paid out over $1 BILLION in sexual abuse money....Name me one other organization, that's had to do that. Sorry, but pedophilia is rampant in the catholic church and it's still a haven to pedophiles and will be until the victims get tired of it and do something about it, other than accept hush money.

are you aware that ministers of other faiths when grouped (is as much as the numbers go) there are more cases of child molestation than in the Catholic church...Look it up, I am NOT CONDONING molestation people, just asking that you understand that we have Faith in our religion and I truely believe there is more good than bad and It unnerves me when people say that these priest can not be prosecuted. Of course they are, when and if the accusors come forward to the PROPER authorities. I just don't judge entire groups by what some do. I also don't make fun of people for what they believe. At least that is what I was taught. I truely wish you a wonderful day!

saneg,

That's not true. One of the most rewarding experiences a human can have is to have their position completely changed because of new evidence. So I could change, all I need is evidence. I don't expect any but I'm not in principle against it.

You, on the other hand, have spoken in a manner that is utterly foreign to me. You said you would never change. You'll ALWAYS believe is how you put it. I find that disheartening, tragic even. I have a hard time accepting you really mean that but I'll certainly take you at your word.

Who do you think is the open-minded person between us?

I will never stop believing in GOD. I am sorry you don't understand that but that is just the way it is. And you call it tragic- I call it FAITH. again, lets just agree to disagree Have a great day Atheist 6939529

Ok saneg, let's do that.

saneg, here's a book for you: The End of Faith by Sam Harris.

You might not be ready to read it yet, but maybe some day.

Saneg, the thing you must try to understand is why are these priests Paedophiles? it is because they are raised by catholic parents and the catholic church in a strict catholic setting where the child who is most likely a homosexual, but is not able to express himself because of these catholic parents who want there son to be a priest so he must be pure. They probably tell him its a sin to masturbate and the fix is on. Young boys are his thing and like what a nice figured women does to a man's pulse rate a boy does it for the priest's. Its sad but its this religion that breeds them by there up bringing.

John..... where are your PhD's?.....what qualifies your statements?... And, don't come back with "common sense".... Celebacy is a matter of choice and some can do it very well. Put religious conviction along with it and non-sexuality isn't really hard. I have been celebate... by choice... for 24 years... quite serenely so.

If your a women does that mean it is all right for you to fondle young girls? If your a man does that mean it is all right for you to fondle young boys? I do not need a PhD to know why these priest like to fondle young boys. Its very easy, they are born homosexuals and raised in a strict catholic house hold that does not understand anything about homosexuality beside that it is a sin in GODS eyes. These naive parents start forcing there religion upon these young boys who become confused about there sexuality and there brain gets hard coded into sexual uncertainly. Later after there parents brain wash them into wanting to be priests they come across young boys and theystart to have weird sexual feelings and by putting together a brainwashing technique they know so well they can use GOD'sname to act out there sexual tensions on young boys. if you have something better I'd like to hear it

You know I agree what you say about tolerance and live and let live, and you are welcome to your faith but also keep it to yourself. It is people with "faith" that so often seem to feel the need to shove their beliefs down the throats of others. You don't want to use birth control fine but don't tell other people not to. See what I mean? Also, if you have lots of kids then you pay for them OK, I paid for my 2 if you want 6 then you be taxed that way

Athiest, same goes for you, keep it in your head. Simple. So since you can't keep it in your head, do you deserve to be attacked for it? Two way street.

DM57, are there Catholics with multiple children beating down your door for money or assistance? You, also can keep your opinions to yourself by following what you would like to not hear from others. For you too, two way street. I grew up in a Catholic family as the youngest of 7 children, we were never on public assistance, neither was my father's baptist family of 10 children. Just so you know that not every large family has to go for gov't money. Don't use blanket statements like that when you don't know what you are talking about.

"John189..."; Dude, YOU, my friend, need to talk to someone who understands you...right now.

I think it's disheartening that Catholics are so willing to forget about the crimes that your leaders commit and cover up. Like Benedict 16, and you cheered him. This sex abuse by so called emissaries of god are not new. They have existed since the creation of the church. The slaughter of millions of innocent lives inspired by Urban II to wedge the Great Western Schism...the Inquisitions that murdered thousands of innocents. This sounds more like the work of another...not Jesus. Open your eyes to the truth. You are not immortal, so deal with it.

Anti-Gun?!?! There is NO need to have assault rifles and or large capacity drums/magazines in the hands of the general public. Period. Not for hunting (Need distance? Use a .308; Elephants? Not here in the U.S. and besides, they're protected and come with a $10,000-$20,000 fine); Rhinos? Use a "Big Bore Rifle", although there aren't any rhinos running around loose here in the U.S. The only reason to own an assault rifle is just for "fun" or people intent on killing a lot of people in a short period of time.

jmagnum, #11.1,

Pity you do not understand.

There is NO need of religion, yet it is a RIGHT. Just as firearm ownership is a RIGHT.

Personal opinions and fears do not negate inalienable rights.

Pity you didn't receive an education....at a Jesuit school. Then you could reason for yourself.

Oz <<<~~~ ~~~ ~~~ >>> Do your research before shooting off your mouth (Uh, keyboard). Pope Benedick XVI did a great deal in cleaning up the child abuse scandal. It might be valid to question whether or not he did enough, but it s either a lie or ignorence to claim he did nothing.

united states should make their own vatican and make it like willy wonka and the chocolate factory

Great, now I have the oompa loompa song in my head. >:( Thanks a lot! LOL

Sort of what England did...all so their king could get a divorce without killing her. (which I think he eventually did)

With Bloomberg on the loose, it would be more like bottled water and celery sticks.

Just so you know, so do priests. The problem is-these families must not be reporting to police. Our priests are not protected by law. That is a grave misconception.If they are reported they are prosecuted and jailed just like the ones in the "general population" It is wrong to protect them ALL of us agree with that but I have to keep saying, don't condemn an entire religion because of some bad-if that were the case we would have NOTHING as almost all groups have some bad members who molest or do other things that are covered up. Have a wonderful day!

Saneg, I hate to burst your bubble, but the Vatican has payed out more then 100 million dollars to keep the victims quiet. The parents were getting the money to convince the deaf boys not to go to the police. The deaf boys that were part of the catholic school are just now coming out with law suites against the vatican for 30 years of molestation by priests, however this one will cost the vatican upwards of a billion dollars to pay them off. Pope Benidict is right in the middle of this lawsuite and you ask why because when he was cardinal all the allegations against priests for molestation came to his desk and only his desk. This molestation was being done all over the world at these catholic schools for the deaf.

Hate to burst YOUR bubble but the pedophelia rate in the Catholic church is the same rate as the general population. You realise there are 1.2 BILLION right?

>Hate to burst YOUR bubble but the pedophelia rate in the Catholic church is the same rate as the general population. You realise there are 1.2 BILLION right?

I have heard this a lot. Do you have any reliable source to back this statement. And also, if they are just as good as everyone else, why bother with this whole nonsense. Why do you need the paraphernalia of the old white guys hierarchy and what is this heaven they are taking you to.

Sco, remember Sandusky, Los Angeles county schools payout going on right now.

These guys need to hurry before they use up all their EU carbon credits on smoke signals. My inside source reports the group has ordered more Zig Zags, Pizza and Cheetos, so this could take a while.

I love the TV coverage of this event. I have never seen a lonely little chimney on camera for that long.

I think in this day and age when we can see all the poverty in the world first hand via TV and internet, this display would put off most people. Or at least have them questioning it. Gold trim, lace, and giant pistachio nut like hats must have dazzled at one time, but now it's just obscene decadence. When I see skin stretched over bones and wonder how that vehicle can support life, let alone walk miles for water over the African planes, this hoopla is glaringly self-indulgent.

Catholics do good works. All my charitable contributions go to either the catholic ran food bank, Brother Benno's or a huge catholic charitable community, Father Joe's Villages both here in San Diego county. So, I'm far from anti-catholic. But this circus is dreamed up by men to glorify men. I get the same feeling of hope when I send in my anonymous contribution as these nuns have standing in the rain waiting to find out which man will now lord over them. Is this institution really necessary today? Is it so inspiring that Catholics just can't live without it or is it just antiquated tradition on the same level as the English Royal family.

Edit above -- before anyone jumps on me, African plains, not African planes.

thank god i'm done watching the lonely little chimney. now i can go back and resume watching the fireplace.

Yay. someone to oversee all the hush money paid to victims of pedophile priests. Rest Well Catholics.

expect papal financial appeals on church pews in the coming weeks.

you will just have to wait to see if you see black or white smoke !!! If its yellow we are totally screwed

I would love to see this happen. First a Black President, then a Black Pope...Murrica's Christian Taliban would have a meltdown!

You can bet it will NOT be a woman. Don't these guys know that smoking is bad for the health? If the smoke is pink did they finally elect an openly gay pope?

God forbid!

Hey SP, giving preference to someone because of their skin pigmentation is called racism.

Hey John Smith, I see what you did there, and it's neither clever, nor effective.

After they saw how Obama has ruined the U.S., the chance of electing a black pope was nil.

People like you that ruined this country, Mormon.

After they saw how Obama has ruined the U.S., the chance of electing a black pope was nil.

Hard to ruin something that was already broken when you recieved it...

real funny since president obama is actually fixing something a white guy, with white powder under his white nose destroyed. just like this pope is trying to fix something alot of white guys with their white hands did.

You must be the one shoving "white powder" up your own nose, since you make absolutely no sense. Get some help, man.

Read "Oxford Dictionary of Popes". It lists every pope, from St Peter to John Paul II and a few facts about each one. Also read "The Legend of Pope Joan" by Peter Sanford, it tells the story of Pope Joan around the year 900 AD. Her existence is NOT a legend but is treated as one by the Church. For hundreds of years her existence was treated as common knowledge until the Church changed it's view on how the history of the Catholic Church should be presented.

So, there have already been black ( North African ) popes and one woman pope.

Why do you have to even mention Obama,,, This is about the New Holy Pope not the anti-christ of a so called president. FN Media cool-aid pushers!

Don't pay any attention to "Jack." He's a rube.

they have their own country, Vatican City is a country, they make their own rules, duh

Yes, they do...and Vatican City has the lowest age of sexual consent of ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD !!! 12 years old !!! Shut these perverts down , NOW !!

@gman791780: Do you mean a persecution of the Church? If that's what you mean, I'm your huckleberry. If you are not trying to pick a fight with a Catholic and are refering to the Churh's need to root out scandal and corruption A Jesuit's the man to do the job. Remember this particular Cardinal has had to stanfd up to fascists, communists, and Peronists for his faith. What have you done to defend anything you believe in other than to utter fighting words on the web you'll never have to back up?