Catholic Church:Transnational Criminal Organization?

[darkbeaver]

Kevin Annett: Roman Catholic Church is declared a Transnational Criminal Organization


On July 11, Pope Francis formally and publicly incited criminal behaviour among all Roman Catholics by prohibiting the reporting of child abuse within his church, and threatening excommunication against those who speak about such abuse.
By his action, the Bishop of Rome, Jorge Bergoglio, faces arrest and indictment as the head of a Criminal Organization, under terms of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Criminal Organizations (2000).
"Pope Francis is telling every Catholic in the world to break the laws of their own country and give aid and comfort to child rapists. That's not simply a grossly immoral act but a war crime, since he's attacking the laws and sovereignty of other nations, and threatening the safety of their people" commented George Dufort, the Belgian-based Secretary of the International Common Law Court of Justice, which successfully prosecuted former Pope Benedict and other Vatican officials last February.

 

[karrie]

Really..... his article reads like he didn't quite understand the article he read in the NYTimes about the revamped laws and how they bring the Vatican into the current millennia, and up to par with UN standards.

Perhaps someone with more legal background can correct me if I'm wrong here, but..... the Vatican law against leaking documents is a law pertaining to confidential documents. As far as I know, by all international legal standards, abuse is NEVER granted the status of confidentiality, thus the law pertaining to leaking documents, does not apply to what Kevin Annett thinks it does.

 

[captain morgan]

It reads like drunk-logic.

Wonder if Mr. Annett was one of these kids (Study finds marijuana use among teens may cause permanent brain durrrrrrrrr)

 

[Goober]

Really..... his article reads like he didn't quite understand the article he read in the NYTimes about the revamped laws and how they bring the Vatican into the current millennia, and up to par with UN standards.

Perhaps someone with more legal background can correct me if I'm wrong here, but..... the Vatican law against leaking documents is a law pertaining to confidential documents. As far as I know, by all international legal standards, abuse is NEVER granted the status of confidentiality, thus the law pertaining to leaking documents, does not apply to what Kevin Annett thinks it does.

Any so called law that prevents a person from reporting a crime would in itself not stand up under the law. Just my opinion.

Also appears the Vatican is updating an archaic judicial system.

From the link.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/07/11/world/europe/ap-eu-vatican-pope-laws.html?_r=1&

Sexual crimes did exist in the previous law, but in a general form in the archaic code as a crime against "good customs."

The new law defines crimes against children under age 18, including the sale of children, child prostitution, recruiting children, sexual violence, sexual acts with children and the production and possession of child pornography.

In the old code, such general crimes would have carried a maximum penalty of three to 10 years, the Vatican said. Under the revision, the punishments go from five to 10 years, with aggravating circumstances bringing the maximum up to 12 years and a fine of 150,000 euros.

Codifying that law answers one of the questions posed to the Holy See last week by the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, which will evaluate the Holy See's implementation of the core U.N. treaty protecting children in early 2014.

Other questions will be more problematic for the Holy See to answer, including a request for "detailed information on all cases of child sexual abuse committed by members of the clergy, brothers and nuns" that have been brought to the Vatican's attention over the years.

The Vatican has long considered cases of clerical sex abuse to be the responsibility of local bishops, not the central authority of the Catholic Church.

Vatican officials said it would be wrong to assume that just because these new laws criminalize certain behavior that the behavior previously was legal. It merely means that, 100 years ago, child pornography was not specified as a crime in either the Italian legal code or the Vatican's.

 

[gerryh]

Kevin Annett: Roman Catholic Church is declared a Transnational Criminal Organization


On July 11, Pope Francis formally and publicly incited criminal behaviour among all Roman Catholics by prohibiting the reporting of child abuse within his church, and threatening excommunication against those who speak about such abuse.
By his action, the Bishop of Rome, Jorge Bergoglio, faces arrest and indictment as the head of a Criminal Organization, under terms of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Criminal Organizations (2000).
"Pope Francis is telling every Catholic in the world to break the laws of their own country and give aid and comfort to child rapists. That's not simply a grossly immoral act but a war crime, since he's attacking the laws and sovereignty of other nations, and threatening the safety of their people" commented George Dufort, the Belgian-based Secretary of the International Common Law Court of Justice, which successfully prosecuted former Pope Benedict and other Vatican officials last February.

He never said anything of the kind....good luck with your bullshyte.

 

[Goober]

Regardless of the crap of the OP the facts are the Vatican has known and protected, transferred sent for whatever help known pedophiles.
Up to and including the last Pope.

 

[Spade]

Vatican officials said it would be wrong to assume that just because these new laws criminalize certain behavior that the behavior previously was legal. It merely means that, 100 years ago, child pornography was not specified as a crime in either the Italian legal code or the Vatican's.

From this logic, may the gods preserve us!

However, let's give Francis the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Hey, Spade! Wanna join me in establishing the International Tribunal for Investigation and Inspection of Boob Jobs?

Apparently DIY "international tribunals" are all the rage these days.

 

[Spade]

"I think I shall never see
A boob as lovely as a tree."
-Joyce Kilmer
PS
Is it a paid position?

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

"I think I shall never see
A boob as lovely as a tree."
-Joyce Kilmer
PS
Is it a paid position?

Depends on how many suckers we can get to pony up cash. My track record is pretty good in that area.

 

[gerryh]

Regardless of the crap of the OP the facts are the Vatican has known and protected, transferred sent for whatever help known pedophiles.
Up to and including the last Pope.

and so has the United Church, Jewish synagogues, Anglican, Boy Scouts, to name but a few. Never see them brought up though.

 

[Spade]

Editorial: Church leaders need to re-examine response to sex abuse | National Catholic Reporter

 

[gerryh]

Editorial: Church leaders need to re-examine response to sex abuse | National Catholic Reporter

Yup, Catholics are questioning.

 

[Spade]

Change must be driven by the laity. Authority protects authority.

 

[captain morgan]

Regardless of the crap of the OP the facts are the Vatican has known and protected, transferred sent for whatever help known pedophiles.
Up to and including the last Pope.

It seems to me that many posters here on CC know (knew) of these 'facts' in the past - at least you'd think so considering all of the vitriolic horse sh*t that graces these forums.

That said, are those here on CC that knew of this in the past also guilty?

Ya want to talk the talk - you willing to walk the walk?

and so has the United Church, Jewish synagogues, Anglican, Boy Scouts, to name but a few. Never see them brought up though.

Don't leave out the medical profession, teachers and any other recognized organization..... Makes you wonder why the do-gooders here are so quiet about these, eh?

 

[karrie]

Regardless of the crap of the OP the facts are the Vatican has known and protected, transferred sent for whatever help known pedophiles.
Up to and including the last Pope.

Yup, it's happened.

But, is this the same? Or is this a step forward in the right direction?

See, I've heard a LOT about what present day people are because of people like them who came in the past. For example, 'Indians used to kill eachother, so don't tell me the people on the reserves deserve social service.' 'Mohammed was a pedophile, Muslims are evil.' 'Australia was a penal colony, they're all only one step removed from their past of crime.' 'Germany had Nazis, Germans are just waiting for the chance to repeat history.'

Benedict was a pope most Canadian Catholics I know never embraced. They didn't like his politics, they didn't like his policies, and at a time where they expected better of their church in terms of tackling child abuse, he went backwards. And the end of his term, let's be honest, reflects that fact.

But, this OP is asserting that we are STILL on that path. So, you can't just say 'regardless of the crap in the OP'. You can't point to the past and say it means this pope is doing nothing.

 

[damngrumpy]

As far as I understood this the Pope is referring to the documents not talking about
allowing abuse. We may be splitting hairs here but there is no war crime because
it has not happened in the context of a war.
In any case the Vatican has a lot to account for that is true and perhaps with the
actions of the last Pope they could have found themselves in international legal
problems so he resigned.
Here is the problem we give exemptions for religion Why? The don't pay their full
fair share of taxes. they don't have to preside over wedding for gays etc yet they
get tax breaks for their services to humanity. The list goes on with excuses and
permission to opt out.
Well its like this the churches and all religions should be subjected to the same law
as everyone else and in that the laws of interpol should apply.

 

[karrie]

The don't pay their full
fair share of taxes. they don't have to preside over wedding for gays etc ...

Neither one of these things applies to every church. For example, try to define 'fair share of taxes', when your church runs a large portion of the social services available in your province. And 'don't have to preside over weddings for gays'.... while I support gay marriage, that is an exceedingly narrow defining characteristic, no? For example, I am Catholic. My church does not preside over weddings for anyone but Catholics. That precludes MANY more people from marrying in the Catholic church than just gays. Why are gays special in your desire to see them married in the church? Why do they want to marry in a church that they don't belong to? Don't agree with? And don't follow? Should all churches have to essentially open themselves up like Justices of the Peace and marry anyone and everyone regardless of religion? That makes no sense to me, given that marriages are available outside of churches, and the validity of a marriage has no bearing on what a church says about it.

 

[Nuggler]

Please protect us from churches running social services. It's fukke dup enough the way the govt. does it now.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Benedict was a pope most Canadian Catholics I know never embraced. They didn't like his politics, they didn't like his policies, and at a time where they expected better of their church in terms of tackling child abuse, he went backwards. And the end of his term, let's be honest, reflects that fact.

I've never understood that. As far as the Catholic church goes, I'm just an outsider observing, but Ratzenburger met with victims of sexual abuse, which Wojtyla never did. Not once. Further, when Ratzenburger was High Inquisitor, he was tough on abusive priests, which again is more than you can say for Wojtyla.

Now, it's none of my business, and I don't care, who or how the Catholics pick to be their team captain, but I think I'm seeing just a touch of the halo effect for Wojtyla (in this case, literally) when Ratzenburger, while maybe not the most inspirational quarterback the Catholics ever had, was better on the sex abuse thing.

Meh. The guy who has to follow a superstar never gets any love.