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Old 06-09-2012, 09:12 AM   #1
Urbane Guerrilla
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Tw would like us to believe he never crabs at anyone or anything that isn't "extremist" in his eyes.

I read your little prediction up-thread, tw. Consider it unfulfilled.
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Old 06-09-2012, 11:07 AM   #2
tw
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Originally Posted by Urbane Guerrilla View Post
I read your little prediction up-thread, tw.
You can read? Thomas Barnett will appreciate learning that you got past chapter two.
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Old 08-20-2012, 02:07 PM   #3
tw
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Racketeering in pedophilia means other corruption and questionable practices are being exposed in the Catholic Church. The Church is one of America's largest employers at 1 million. And a major contributor to charity. But its money is so vast that the majority of funds that reconstructs Vatican City comes from the US. Probably 60% of Vatican funds come from the US.

Most states in America still have laws that all but protect pedophilia. The few who changed laws include California and Delaware (adjacent to the Philadelphia Archdiocese that was proven to be protecting pedophiles). As a result, courts have now discovered massive fraud or outright financial mismanagement in dioceses in CA and DE.

For example, priest pension funds are commingled into accounts also being used to lobby state legislatures to not change the pedophile laws. Bishops are now "suppressing" parishes to transfer parish funds to a diocese that would otherwise face bankruptcy. Diosceses need those funds to settle civil court judgments for protecting pedophiles. Otherwise they must open their books to bankruptcy proceedings.

St Ann's Parish in Wilmington DE was wiring money to a Mellon Bank account specifically to keep funds away from the diocese account in Citizens Bank. To keep money even in a separate state.

Since the church is not required to submit to audits, then funds are being diverted from use intended by donors to frustrate creditors with legitimate claims including nuns and priests. So questionable are Church finances that the US Treasury forced all US banks (ie JP Morgan) to close all Vatican accounts. The San Diego special investigation found priests removing major funds from banks and storing them in the rectory safes - to keep money from pedophile victims.

Documents leaked by the Pope's Butler (and probably many high Vatican officials) suggest this fiscal irresponsibility goes well beyond negligence. That fraud at the highest levels may be routine.

Civil suites have resulted in $3.3 billion in settlements for pedophilia. We know that if the church had to pay the equivalent of what Penn State was fined, then the settlements probably would exceed $700 billion. That addresses a national debt that needs to cut $1trillion over ten years.

Only eight dioceses (including San Diego, Tuscan, and Milwaukee) have filed for bankruptcy; forcing them to open their books. Only 10 states (Arizona, Illinois, New York, Florida, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Ohio, and California) are considering laws to make pedophilia prosecutable. Hawaii recently passed reforms. The diocese of Honolulu may be applying for bankruptcy due to a court decision in May. Other diocese are estimated to be spending from $100,000 to over $1 million a year in lobbying to stop pedophilia law reform. CA passed reforms. Then found pedophilia so rampant as to now be considering further reforms.

We know GM claimed profits ($tens of millions) by simply shorting their pension funds ($billions). Same has been ongoing in the Boston archdioceses from 1986 to 2002. Boston even ran a special charity drive that raised between $70million and $90 million only for clergy retirement funds. Even that money never went into pension funds. Even Satan does not short his employee pension funds?

Wilmington DE surrendered its entire $77million pension fund to a pedophile case it quietly settled in February 2011. So why are shenenigans acceptable? First, the Church is not regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Clergy has no legal recourse to protect themselves or their pensions from a Church exempted from responsibility. Estimates say 75 to 80% of clergy retirement funds are underfunded. By a Church that is inventing new income streams (see muni bonds below) and is still suffering increasing debts - even while most pedophilia cases cannot be prosecuted.

Who is the largest owner of Manhattan real estate? The Church. That is also actively manipulating the books to hide their assets. As exposed by a special commission created by a San Diego judge. She was so "vexed by this and other shenanigans on the part of the diocese that she ordered a special investigation into church finances" - The Economist. As a result, the church suddenly found $200 million. If not, the bishop, chancellor of the diocese, and its lawyers all faced contempt charges. After all, the purpose of the Church is to protect its top management. god said so.

In Wilmington DE, a judge said parishes have the right to sue the diocese for breach of fiduciary duty. Fiscal responsibility in the Wilmington diocese was just as questionable. However what clergy will sue his employer. After all, just down the road from The Cellar, Sister Strange was fired from a Catholic run home for boys because she reported on continuing sexual activities of a priest assigned there after the Church 'cured' him of pedophilia. Why would any priest sue when his training and future employment is 100% defined for and determined by the Church?

Prosecutor are reporting frustration. Obviously church finances are irresponsible - probably fraudulent. But whistle blowers will not step forward for obvious reasons. Its like asking a hit man to blow the whistle on those who put out the contracts. He would have no job and no retirement funds.

Another trick. An insurance policy is an asset. To hide money, the Catholic Mutual Group sells the insurance. CMG policies are setup to not be an asset in bankruptcy proceedings. Another trick used by the Church to hide funds from their victims.

Philadelphia is the only jurisdiction that has actually gone after the source of pedophilia - the church itself. Most all claims against the church have only been civil suits. Philadelphia not only published the Church's list of known pedophiles (none can be prosecuted in Pennsylvania). "In March the former chief financial officer of the archdioceses of Philadelphia was arrested and charged with embezzling more that $900,000 between 2005 and 2011. Hundreds of priests have been disciplined for taking more than a little "walking round money"... " This was after Lyn Abraham should have put the fear of god into that archdiocese. But then, such investigations and prosecutions also do not scare the mafia. Another racketeering operation.

Now the Church is using State and Municipal bonds to finance their increasing debts. How can a religious institution use government bonds? This is now permitted in 50 dioceses in 30 states. In part, because the same 'powers that be' that have refused to reform pedophile laws have also deemed many church assets as government or public-sector projects. "Local and Federal authorities are loth to investigate mainstream religious groups for fear of the political consequences." Catholic institutions have raised $12 billion through municipal bonds this past decade when George Jr said it was good for government to contribute to religious institutions.

"In one case, in San Jose, the money went to buy chancery offices for the bishop." - The Economist.

Why do so many entertain their emotions rather than view facts. This was asked in another thread. Why is pedophilia all but legal? We who are emotional will ignore the widespread criminal activities of Church institutions. After all, its a Church. So we feel it must be good - despite decades of evidence to the contrary.

Well, not all diocese may be this corrupt. We only know about the few who were exposed because pedophilia forced public scrutiny. We also know the Philadelphia Archdiocese is only exposed because Philadelphia prosecutors had balls. This is not an honest institution. How corrupt? We don't know. Church institutions are protected even from private audits. The institution just in America is so large that it should be audited by one of the big four accounting firms. Because so many of us feel rather than make demands based in facts, then the Church could easily be one of the largest criminal enterprises in America. Having even condoned pedophilia and having all but ten states refuse to reform the laws.

Last edited by tw; 08-20-2012 at 02:37 PM.
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Old 09-07-2012, 10:23 AM   #4
Lamplighter
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NY Times
JOHN ELIGON and LAURIE GOODSTEIN
9/7/12

Kansas City Bishop Convicted of Shielding Pedophile Priest

Quote:
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Roman Catholic bishop was found guilty on Thursday
of failing to report suspected child abuse, becoming the first American bishop
in the decades-long sexual abuse scandal to be convicted of shielding a pedophile priest.

In a hastily announced bench trial that lasted a little over an hour, a judge found the bishop,
Robert W. Finn, guilty on one misdemeanor charge and not guilty on a second charge,
for failing to report a priest who had taken hundreds of pornographic pictures of young girls.
The counts each carried a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine,
but Bishop Finn was sentenced to two years of court-supervised probation.

The verdict is a watershed moment in the priest sexual abuse scandal
that has plagued the church since the 1980s.
Bishops have been eager to turn the page on this era and have put in place
extensive abuse prevention policies, which include reporting suspected abusers
to law enforcement authorities.

But the Kansas City case has served as a wake-up call
to Catholics that the policies cannot be effective if the bishops do not follow them.
<snip>
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Old 09-13-2012, 08:42 PM   #5
tw
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Originally Posted by Lamplighter View Post
Kansas City Bishop Convicted of Shielding Pedophile Priest
If American DA finally start prosecuting, will Vatican City become a sanctuary for pedophiles? How many kids live in Vatican City?
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Old 09-14-2012, 11:55 AM   #6
Happy Monkey
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Originally Posted by tw View Post
How many kids live in Vatican City?
(age of consent: 12)
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Old 09-14-2012, 12:41 PM   #7
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Ew
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Old 05-16-2013, 05:20 AM   #8
xoxoxoBruce
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They've just been carrying on tradition.
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Old 05-16-2013, 08:39 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by Happy Monkey View Post
As much as I can be considered anti-Vatican, your link suggests nothing of the sort:
Quote:
While the Vatican State has not made its own complete separate criminal code, and generally uses the Italian criminal code that was in effect at the time of the Lateran Treaty, there are exceptions to this rule. The "Law of the Source of Law" of the Vatican State requires that any Italian laws must first defer to divine law, to Papal decrees, and to canon law. As the Vatican understands divine law, all sex outside of marriage is illicit, and therefore the only lawful consent that may be made for sexual relations is the consent between a husband and a wife. Canon 1083 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law states that "A man before he has completed his sixteenth year of age and a woman before she has completed her fourteenth year of age cannot enter into a valid marriage." Thus, assuming the couple is married, the minimum age of consent for lawful sexual relations according to Vatican law is 14 for females, and 16 for males.
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