Cops Drill Holes In
Priests' Tombs
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Blind Eye SyndromeOnce again, as in the U.S., Ireland and elsewhere the Bishops response is to ignore the suffering of the children and turn a blind eye to protect paedophile priests and the reputation of Mother Church. |
Vangheluwe resigned on April 23, admitting that he had repeatedly abused his teenage nephew in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Devillè, 65, served for thirty years as the pastor of the Church of St. John Bosco in Buizingen, in the southern zone of Brussels. In 1992, Devillè began collecting information on charges of sexual abuse by priests. Today he claims that an association he founded, “Rights and Liberty in the Church,” has more than 300 files on such cases.
In the wake of the recent police raid on church offices and residences in Belgium, the Italian newspaper La Stampa interviewed Devillè, 65, on June 27. Devillè described the raids as a “ good thing,” saying “it’s about time that the justice system seeks out the guilty.”
The following is an NCR translation of that interview.
The Belgian church instituted its own commission to investigate charges of abuse, the Adriaenssens Commission. Is that not enough?
The problem was its connection with the Archdiocese, and the absence of either a lay component internally or a connection with the civil authorities. I always hoped that a truly independent commission would be formed, an organism whose objective was to help justice take its course. That must be the way. It’s not up to the church to decide who violated the law and who should be punished.
Do you believe that Belgium is a special case? Or is the plague of sexual abuse by clergy a common evil?
It happens everywhere, believe me. Belgium believed itself to be an exception because no case ever came to light. Yet as early as 1994, I had collected 82 accusations. The victims wanted to be heard by the church, they wanted to break the curse. It’s been useless, at least up to now.
Priests Keep Shtum As Police Chase Illusory Satanic AbusersPaedo Hunter Deville was cataloguing 82 cases of Priestly Child Abuse in 1994 but nobody would listen. They were too busy chasing imagined Satanic Abusers. |
Brussels - Belgian authorities have raided offices of the Catholic Church and the home of a recently retired cardinal as part of an investigation into child sexual abuse claims. Thirty police officers swooped down on the palace of the archbishop of Brussels-Mechelen, sealing off the building and removing a variety of documents, while another raid took place at the home of Cardinal Godfried Danneels, 77, where police officers seized the personal computer of the former head of Belgium's Catholic Church.
In addition, another raid took place in the city of Leuven, where police officers searched the office of the Adriaenssens committee, a so-called independent body set up by the Church to investigate abuse allegations. At these offices, more than 450 files containing abuse allegations were confiscated and will now be studied by investigators for clues of abuse.
The move comes after new charges have emerged of child sex abuse at the hands of priests, which is just another blow to the scandal-plagued church. Other sources say that the present investigation is centred on the resignation, in April, of Roger Vangheluwe, the bishop of Bruges. The bishop stood down after admitting to having sexually abused a young boy during the time when Cardinal Danneels was the head of the Belgian Church. Source and full story
Belgian authorities on Thursday heightened pressure on the Roman Catholic Church in a sexual abuse scandal, raiding the Belgian church headquarters, the home of a cardinal and the offices of a commission established by the church to handle abuse complaints.
Police officers arrived at the church headquarters, the palace of the archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, on Thursday morning while the monthly bishops meeting was in progress, a church spokesman said. The police questioned all of those present, from bishops to staff members like cooks and drivers.
A raid was also conducted on the home of retired Cardinal Danneels, police confiscated his computer. Not to be criticized for lacking thoroughness, the police drilled holes into the tombs of deceased Cardinal Suenens and his predecessor Jozef-Ernest van Roey to look for any secreted and potentially incriminating documents in their graves using fiber optic cameras.
Spokesmen from the Vatican and the Belgian Archdiocese protested these search methods. Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, Belgium’s current archbishop, condemned the raids, calling it the purview of “crime novels” and “The Da Vinci Code.”
Again the “pedophilia” scandal among Catholic priests rears its ugly head: this search follows in the wake of the resignation in April of Roger Vangeheluwe, Bishop of Bruges, following an admission of child sex abuse. His replacement, Bishop Jozef De Kesel was announced by Vatican sources yesterday.
We have seen it now in Brussels, in Milwaukee with Archbishop Weakland, in Chicago with Cardinal Bernardin, in Los Angeles with Cardinal Mahony, in Boston with Cardinal Law, the rogues gallery of Episcopal malfeasance and abuse of power grows with each revelation of priestly sex abuse and one begins to see a pattern. Source and full story
It's Not Just Belgium and Ireland:
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Claims that a ring of paedophile priests used
liberal teachings on sexuality to 'groom' children for abuse are being made at the heart of Europe.
Believe it or not, the illustration right is taken from a church picture-book used in 'catechism training' for children.
Following the thousands of shocking cases of priestly abuse in the United States, Canada, Ireland and now breaking in Belgium the SAFF's prediction of a world-wide threat to children from paedophile priests has been proven correct yet again. The report below from The Brussels Journal clearly shows that our claim of a world-wide network of tens of thousand of priests has substance with claims that there are over 300 cases in Belgium and that they may be continuing to prey upon small children whilst governments, police and local authorities defer to Mother Church as the Irish Police were guilty of doing.
It is vitally important not to lapse into a knee-jerk reaction to these vile acts. We are not clamouring for hard-line puritanism and do not want children to be made to think that sexual parts of their bodies are dirty or evil. Biological Sex Education is not the province of the churches and priests should not be involving themselves in it, particularly if it is being misused as a gateway for paedophile priests.
The article below is written by a committed evangelical Christian, not by us. Alexandra Colenon does not like the liberalisation of the Christian churches and objects to same sex marriages, homosexuality, abortion and many other fundamental aspects which are against 'Holy Writ'. She would probably disagree with everything the SAFF stands for. yet at least she is one of the few dissenters who is ready to attack the unquestioning acceptance that it is undignified or somehow unfair to accuse the church of allowing if not condoning the abuse of children by its priests.
In Belgium, today, police searched the residence of the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and the crypt of the Archbishop’s cathedral in Mechelen. They were looking for evidence of cover-ups in the ongoing investigation into widespread pedophilia practices within the Belgian church in the decades during which Cardinal Godfried Danneels was Archbishop. Danneels retired in January of this year. Police also confiscated 450 files containing reports of pedophile offences by members of the clergy, that had been submitted to an investigation committee which was established within the church to deal with pedophilia cases.
Since the revelation in April that Cardinal Danneels’s close friend and collaborator, Mgr Roger Vangheluwe, the Bishop of Bruges, had been a practicing pedophile throughout, and even before, his career as a bishop, victims have gained confidence that they will be taken seriously, and complaints have been pouring in, both to the courts and to the extra-judicial investigation committee of the archdiocese. The new archbishop Mgr. André-Joseph Léonard, has urged victims to take their case to the courts.
His predecessor, the liberal Cardinal Danneels, who was very popular with the press in Belgium and abroad, was Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and Primate of Belgium from 1979 until 2010. The sympathy for pedophile attitudes and arguments among the Belgian bishops during this period was no secret, especially since 1997 when the fierce controversy about the catechism textbook Roeach made the headlines.
The editors of Roeach were Prof. Jef Bulckens of the Catholic University of Leuven and Prof. Frans Lefevre
of the Seminary of Bruges. The textbook contained a drawing which showed a naked baby girl saying:
"Stroking my pussy makes me feel groovy"
"I like to take my knickers off with friends"
"I want to be in the room when mum and dad have sex."
The drawing also shows a naked little boy and girl that
are 'playing doctors' and the little boy says:
"Look, my willy is big."
The drawing also showed three pairs of parents. Those with the “correct” attitude reply:
“Yes, feeling and stroking those little places is good fun.”
This “catechism textbook” was used in the catechism lessons in the catholic schools, until one day I discovered it among the schoolbooks of my eldest daughter, then 13 years old. On 3 September 1997, I wrote a letter to Cardinal Danneels, saying:?
“When I see this drawing and its message, I get the distinct impression that this catechism textbook is designed intentionally to make 13 and 14 year olds believe that toddlers enjoy genital stimulation. In this way one breeds pedophiles that sincerely believe that children actually think that what they are doing to them is ‘groovy', while the opposite is the case.
I told Cardinal Danneels that, although I was a member of Parliament for the Flemish-secessionist
party Vlaams Blok, I was addressing him as a Catholic parent
“who wishes to remain faithful to the papal authority and also wishes to educate her
children this way.”
I insisted that he forbid the use of this book in the catechism lessons:
"This is why I insist “ yes, the days of meekly asking are over; “ that you forbid the use of this
˜catechism book' in our children's classrooms."
Today this case, that dates from 12 years ago, assumes a new and ominous significance. Especially now that I know that Mgr Roger Vangheluwe, the pedophile child molesting Bishop of Bruges, was the supervising bishop of both institutions – the Catholic University of Leuven and the Seminary of Bruges – whence came the editors in chief of this perverted 'catechism' textbook.
Monsignor Vangheluwe not only entertained pedophile ideas, but also practiced them on his
11-year old nephew. Hundreds of children who were not raped physically were molested spiritually
during the catechism lessons.
After I started my campaign against the Roeach textbook, many parents contacted me to voice their
concerns.
Stories of other practices in the Catholic education system poured in. There were schools where children were taught to put condoms over artificial penises and where they had to watch videos showing techniques of masturbation and copulation.
Because Cardinal Danneels refused to respond to requests to put an end to these practices, I and hundreds of concerned parents gathered in front of his palace on 15 October 1997. We carried placards with the text “Respect for parents and children,” and we said the rosary.
Cardinal Danneels refused to receive a delegation of the demonstrators. I shall not be pressured, he said in the libertine magazine Humo on 21 October 1997. The Archbishop's door remained closed when we demonstrated again on 10 December 1997. When we demonstrated at the palace of the Bishop of Antwerp on 19 November 1997, Mgr Paul Van den Berghe received a delegation of mothers that included a local councillor from the Christian-Democrat party and myself. Mgr Van den Berghe, who was the Episcopal supervisor for education, listened to the mothers, wept and promised to investigate the practices in the sex education and catechism lessons. He also announced this intention in a declaration to the press.
He must have been reprimanded by his colleagues, because on 24 November, after a meeting of the Bishops’ Conference, in a press release to the press agency Belga, the Bishop of Antwerp announced that, in spite of his promise, there would be no investigation. Today we know that one of the colleagues present at the Conference was the child molester Vangheluwe, which makes that incident, too, very unsavory indeed.
On 18 February 1998 we were at Cardinal Danneels’s door again, myself and a group of parents. Again the door remained closed. So on 18 March 1998 a group of two hundred parents went to the Papal Nuncio, the ambassador of the Vatican, in Brussels. But the Nuncio, who was a friend of Danneels, also refused to meet us. He had, however, alerted the police, who had several water canons at the ready just around the corner. Meanwhile Danneels’s friends in the press started a campaign against me. Colen continues to pester the bishops, was the headline in Gazet van Antwerpen. One evening Toon Osaer, Danneels’s spokesman at the time, phoned me to tell me that as a Catholic I had to “be obedient” to the bishops. In Humo Danneels insinuated that I was “conducting my election campaign..
On 5 January 1998 the daily newspaper Het Volk interviewed Patrick Vanhaelemeesch, a catechism teacher in the diocese of Bruges and one of the co-authors of Roeach. He gave some details about the illustration concerning masturbating toddlers in the catechism book. He said that the illustration was intended to convey the message that 'toddlers experience sexual lust.' Vanhaelemeesch revealed that the committee of bishops had mentioned this illustration in an evaluation report of the catechism book. The report stated: 'The presentation of the sexual-pedagogical attitudes is rendered ridiculous in the eyes of the pupils by the text balloons.' According to Vanhaelemeesch this criticism 'indicates that the bishops had no objections at all to the message conveyed [i.e. toddlers experience sexual lust], but feared that the pupils would not take it seriously.'
When I had exhausted all possibilities and it was clear that the Belgian church did not want to hear the parents, I decided to sever all ties with the Catholic education system. I took my five children out of school and set up a homeschool together with other parents, so our children would be educated in a Catholic environment.
I sent a letter to all the cardinals in the world to inform them about the contents of the Roeach
textbook.
“Please be assured that this Dicastery will give your report all due consideration,
answered Mgr. Clemens, Cardinal Ratzinger’s personal secretary, for the Congregation of the Faith in
Rome;
Cardinal Gagnon from Rome appreciated 'the just battle which you are conducting'
The matter which you raised is very important', wrote Cardinal Arinze from Rome.
I received letters of support from cardinals from all parts of the globe.
“I share your concern. It is important that you do not leave the matter uncontested,”
wrote Cardinal Meisner of Cologne;
“You have good reasons to be concerned,”
wrote Cardinal Wamala of Uganda;
“I feel strongly enough to write to Cardinal Danneels in the hope that he may enlighten me,
wrote Cardinal Vidal of the Philippines;
'If I have the opportunity to discuss with Cardinal Danneels the matter you have drawn to my attention, I
will do so,"
wrote Cardinal Williams of New Zealand;
'I shall try to do something in order to help you,'
wrote Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez of Santo Domingo;
'I am aware that your concerns have been brought to the attention of Cardinal Laghi,
Prefect for the Congregation for Catholic Education,'
wrote Cardinal O'Connor of New York.
On 27 February 2010 the daily newspaper De Standaard wrote that these letters “enhanced Rome’s perception of the weak church leadership in Belgium.” Hence, the liberal Danneels was replaced by Mgr Léonard. Rome hopes that he will be able to restore the church in Belgium. I share this hope. However, it is a pity that it has taken so long. The damage that has been done is greater than anyone could have imagined.
Dr. Alexandra Colen MP is a member of the Belgian House of Representatives.
Church Paedophile Mystery DeepensDe Standaard, 06 July 2010"Investigators are grilling Cardinal Danneels," reads the headline of De Standaard. Suspected of hushing-up paedophilia cases, the archbishop of Malines is being questioned today as a witness in paedophilia cases involving the Church. The daily's website has also announced that during searches of the archbishop's residence on June 24, the police discovered secret documents that are part of official criminal investigations, including photos of the bodies of Julie and Melissa, two young girls murdered by paedophile Marc Dutroux in 1996. For investigators, it is a "mystery how these documents landed in the basement of the archbishop's residence." A mystery on which the cardinal may now be able to shed some light.
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Paisley Jumps on SRA Bandwagon
Whilst Turning a Blind Eye to Child Abusing Protestants |
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Mr Paisley, who has a history of denouncing the Catholic Church, said abusing priests were "anti-Christ". "We have had a terrible happening in Ireland with the priests and monks and nuns all taking part in acts of disgraceful behaviour with young people, and we haven't seen the Catholic Church taking a strong stand on this," he told the BBC World Service.
He added: "A person, like some of the priests we've had, destroying the lives of young people
and then going out and saying 'I can forgive sins', it's only right that be called what it is.
You go and ask a question of any minister and he says he doesn't want to have anything to do with it.
That is anti-Christ in teaching and in doctrine."
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Well here's some news for you Mr Paisley - The Anti-Christ had nothing to do with any of it
and it was bigotry of that kind which caused the police and authorities to waste tens of millions of
pounds of taxpayers' money on the wild-goose chase of Satanic Ritual Child Abuse. This allowed
thousands of working priests (Catholics AND Protestants) to continue to abuse children
in their spare time. So blaming it on the 'anti-christ' won't wash. It makes it look like
some Christians are ready to blame anyone to avoid having to admit the fact that key people
in their own churches have aided and abetted the abuse of children.
In psychology this is
known as being 'In Denial'. Cases indicate that an equal number of children are abused by
Protestant vicars and ministers.
See here for hundreds of Stateside cases.
And see here for our groundbreaking Black Museum of Clergy Abuse.
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