Pope Benedict XVI: Vatican Calls Attacks Regarding Sex Abuse Crisis Unfair - ABC News

Unfair? Has the Vatican and its Vitiated Paisanos opened all hidden records to prove innocence? No, and they never will!

"Facing the most serious crisis since Pope Benedict XVI took office, officials inside the Vatican describe the recent focus on the pope and abuse as unexpected and unfair in light of recent efforts to prevent such abuse.
Over the weekend Pope made a reference to the sex abuse crisis.

'We have really understood what a terrible crime and sin the sexual abuse of minors is and we will really do all that is needed to avoid this in the future,' Father Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, told ABC News.

'We have to protect children in every place, particularly in educational institutions, and I think the church is aware of this and is already on the right path to avoid [abuse].'"
Pope Benedict XVI: Vatican Calls Attacks Regarding Sex Abuse Crisis Unfair - ABC News:

Is a Biometric Identify Card the Key to Immigration Reform? - TIME

Two Senators, New York Democrat Chuck Schumer and South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham, certainly seem to think so. They recently presented an immigration-bill blueprint to President Barack Obama that includes a proposal to issue a biometric ID card — one that would contain physical data such as fingerprints or retinal scans — to all working Americans. The 'enhanced Social Security card' is being touted as a way to curb illegal immigration by giving employers the power to quickly and accurately determine who is eligible to work. 'If you say [illegal immigrants] can't get a job when they come here, you'll stop it,' Schumer told the Wall Street Journal. Proponents also hope legal hiring will be easier for employers if there's a single go-to document instead of the 26 that new employees can currently use to show they're authorized to work.

But with a congressional skirmish over comprehensive immigration reform on the horizon, skeptics from the left and the right have raised numerous concerns about the biometric ID — some of which pop up every time a form of national identification is proposed, and some that hinge on the shape this plan ultimately takes.

The sheer scale of the project is a potential problem, in terms of time, money and technology. The premise of using a biometric employment card (which would most likely contain fingerprint data) to stop illegal immigrants from working requires that all 150 million–plus American workers, not just immigrants, have one. Michael Cherry, president of identification-technology company Cherry Biometrics, says the accuracy of such large-scale biometric measuring hasn't been proved. 'What study have we done?' he says. 'We just have a few assumptions.'

Schumer estimates that employers would have to pay up to $800 for card-reading machines, and many point out that compliance could prove burdensome for many small-to-medium-size businesses. In a similar program run by the Department of Homeland Security, in which 1.4 million transportation workers have been issued biometric credentials, applicants each pay $132.50 to help cover the costs of the initiative, which so far run in the hundreds of millions. 'This is sort of like the worst combination of the DMV and the TSA,' says Chris Calabrese, legislative counsel for the ACLU, an organization that has traditionally opposed all forms of national ID. 'It's going to be enormously costly no matter what.'" ...more

Legion of Christ is haunted by past

Worldwide, the Legion of Christ is struggling with the fallout of revelations that its late founder sexually abused boys, had affairs and had been addicted to drugs. But in Mexico, support is strong.

The Rev. Marcial Maciel is blessed by Pope John Paul II in 2004. Maciel was able to avoid sanction for decades, despite scandals and allegations of abuse, because the pope admired the Legion of Christ for its ability to generate wealth and recruit seminarians. (Plino Lepri / Associated Press / November 30, 2004)

"Reporting from Mexico City - He hobnobbed with Mexico's rich and famous, cut lucrative real estate deals and was rumored to travel on occasion with a briefcase full of cash. He fathered at least one child, molested seminarians and boys and is said to have boasted that he had the pope's permission to get massages from young nuns.

And all the while the conservative priest was building one of the most influential organizations in the Roman Catholic Church.

Two years after the death of the Rev. Marcial Maciel, a Mexico native, scandals continue to unfold: Just the other day in Mexico City, two brothers came forward, claiming tearfully that not only was Maciel their father, he had also sexually abused them.

Buffeted by the string of revelations, Maciel's powerful Legion of Christ is fighting for its survival in Rome, the headquarters of the church. But here in Mexico, where the Legion has long-standing ties with the ruling class and an expansive network of elite schools, the organization remains strong.

Rather than the desertions that some branches of the Legion have experienced in the United States and elsewhere, student enrollment in Legionary schools in Mexico grew by 6% to 8% last year, spokesman Javier Bravo said.

The order's assets are estimated by some to be worth $20 billion.

'Obviously there has been a lot of suffering and surprise from what we have learned about the founder,' Bravo said. 'Obviously Father Maciel was a great part of our founding period. But he will have to be reconsidered as an instrument rather than a model.'

A few days after Bravo spoke to The Times, the Legionaries issued their most comprehensive apology to date for Maciel's 'reprehensible' behavior. 'Though it causes us consternation,' the statement says, 'we have to say that these acts did take place.'" ...more

Muslims Burn A Christian to Death, Police Rapes His Wife

"Washington, D.C. (March 23, 2010)–International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that a Christian man, Arshed Masih, died yesterday after Muslims burned him alive for refusing to recant his faith. Additionally, a Muslim policeman raped Masih’s wife.

Masih and his wife, Martha, worked and lived at the house of Sheik Mohammad Sultan, a powerful Muslim businessman in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, since 2005.

In January, Muslim religious leaders and Sheik Sultan asked Masih and his family to convert to Islam. Masih and his family refused to convert and informed Sheik Sultan that they were going to quit working for him. The Sheik became furious and warned Masih that he would kill him if he quit. Masih told his family and friends about the entire incident. Christian leaders tried to persuade the Sheik to let Masih and his family leave his house.

On March 14, Sheik Sultan`s house was robbed. He filed a case of theft of 500,000 Rupees ($ 5,952) against Martha. After taking them for questioning, the police assaulted Masih and raped Martha. Two days later, Sheik Sultan told the couple that he would ask the police to release them if they converted to Islam. The couple refused to recant their faith.

On March 19, Masih was set on fire in front of the police station. At the time, three Muslim religious leaders and three policemen were present at the scene. The perpetrators have not been identified.

Masih was taken to the Holy Family Hospital where he received treatment for three days before finally dying today.

Masih’s children Mary, 12, Nasir, 10, and Neha, 7, are deeply traumatized after witnessing acts of brutality against their family at the hands of Muslims.

ICC’s Regional Manager for South Asia, Jonathan Racho, said “We are outraged and deeply saddened by the murder of Masih and the rape of Martha by the police. As this case clearly indicates, Pakistani Christians are treated as less than animals by the Muslims. We urge the president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zadari, and other high level government officials to bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice.”

Please call the Pakistani Embassy in your country and politely ask the officials of Pakistan to thoroughly investigate the heinous crime committed against Masih and Martha and bring all the perpetrators to justice.

Pakistani Embassies:

USA: (202) 243-6500
Canada: (613) 238-7881
UK: 0870-005-6967"
...source

Senators push Obama for biometric national ID card

"Two U.S. senators met with President Obama on Thursday to push for a national ID card with biometric information such as a fingerprint, hand scan, or iris scan that all employers would be required to verify.

In an opinion article published in Friday's edition of the Washington Post, Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) say the new identification cards will 'ensure that illegal workers cannot get jobs' and 'dramatically decrease illegal immigration.'

Schumer and Graham pitched the idea to President Obama during a private meeting Thursday at the White House. Graham said afterward that Obama 'welcomed' their proposal for a new ID card law; the White House said in a statement that the senators' plan was 'promising.'

This push for a national ID is part of what the senators say is a necessary overhaul of immigration law, including additional border security, more temporary workers, and a form of amnesty for illegal immigrants already in the United States. It comes just two days before a rally in Washington, D.C. sponsored by groups including the AFL-CIO, Farmworker Justice, and the National Council of La Raza that also calls for amnesty.

Linking national ID cards to immigration reform is a popular idea in Washington political circles. After all, if every U.S. citizen has a biometric-equipped cards, the thinking goes, it's easy to order employers not to give a job to someone without one.

But concerns about privacy, security, and federalism have torpedoed each one of these proposals so far. A similar national ID plan--which also required that employers do verifications--sunk President Bush's broader proposal for immigration reform in 2007. A proposal three years earlier by Rep. David Drier (R-Calif.) to create federal ID cards with Americans' photograph, Social Security number, and an 'encrypted electronic strip' with additional information was even less successful.

Then there was the controversial Real ID Act, which tried unsuccessfully to compel states to standardize their drivers' licenses. But a libertarian grassroots revolt, including an anti-Real ID vote a few weeks ago in the Utah legislature, has halted Homeland Security's plans. (Rep. Ron Paul, the former Republican presidential candidate, argued it would do little to curb legal immigration.)

Under the Schumer-Graham proposal, extracting biometric information from hundreds of millions of Americans is no trivial task. It could mean extraordinary lines at regional Social Security offices--and an inconvenience for Americans switching jobs who haven't had their retina or DNA scanned in and stored on the ID card.

'We would require all U.S. citizens and legal immigrants who want jobs to obtain a high-tech, fraud-proof Social Security card,' the senators' opinion article says. 'Each card's unique biometric identifier would be stored only on the card; no government database would house everyone's information. The cards would not contain any private information, medical information or tracking devices.'" ...more

Schwarzenegger considers monitoring devices to track in-home health care - Politics AP - MiamiHerald.com

"The Schwarzenegger administration is considering buying $5,000 high-tech devices to photograph and fingerprint Californians who get subsidized in-home care for the elderly and disabled.

The MorphoTrak 'mobile biometric identification' device can fingerprint, snap a photo and transfer data to government systems, according to state social service officials.

Officials say legislators authorized and budgeted money to invest in tools to curb fraud and save millions of dollars.

The fingerprinting applies as of April 1 to any new recipients of the In-Home Supportive Services program.

Sacramento and San Diego counties are experimenting with cameras on loan from the manufacturer." ...source

The Controversy Magnet: PositiveID (Verichip) "Chips" Alzheimer's Patients, Quite Possibly Without Permission

"When is a medical experiment in which you implant microchips in 200 old people with Alzheimer’s disease not a medical experiment? According to PositiveID (PSID), it’s when you forget to get permission from an institutional review board, which oversees medical experiments on humans.

The omission will be seized upon by the company’s legion of critics, writing yet another gloomy PR chapter for a company that can’t do anything without triggering negative headlines.

The murk surrounding whether PositiveID got proper permission — either from a panel of experts or the patients themselves — for implanting the Florida senior citizens with microchips linked to their healthcare records was revealed by Penn Bullock in a story on James Randi’s web site for pseudoscience skeptics." ...more

Lesbian bishop approval by US church causes outcry

 "Conservative Anglicans have condemned a decision to approve the election of another openly gay bishop in the US Episcopal church.

Last night it was confirmed that the Rev Mary Glasspool, who has been with her partner, Becki Sander, for 22 years, had received the required number of votes from bishops and standing committees. Her consecration will take place on 15 Mayin Los Angeles.

Glasspool, from Baltimore, welcomed the news but admitted that not everybody would share in her happiness.

'Not everyone rejoices in this election and consent, and [I] will work, pray, and continue to extend my own hands and heart to bridge those gaps, and strengthen the bonds of affection among all people.'

The archbishop of Sydney said the US church had 'committed itself to a life contrary to scripture' and that the communion had reached 'another decisive moment'.

Her victory underscores a continued Episcopal commitment to accepting same-sex relationships, despite enormous pressure from other Anglicans to change their stand.

The Episcopal church, the Anglican body in the US, caused uproar in 2003 by consecrating the first openly gay bishop in the communion, Gene Robinson. His consecration took place at an ice-hockey stadium in Durham, New Hampshire, and he wore a bulletproof vest under his gold vestments because he had received death threats.

In 2004, Anglican leaders asked Episcopalians for a temporary ban on electing gay bishops as they tried to prevent a permanent schism in the fellowship.

Since the request was made, some gay Episcopal priests have been nominated for bishop, but Glasspool is the first to be elected.

Breakaway conservatives last year formed a rival church, the Anglican Church in North America, and appealed to the archbishop of Canterbury to officially recognise the new entity.

Dr Rowan Williams has yet to comment on this latest development but called for 'gracious restraint' among warring factions when news of her election was announced in December. He said it raised serious questions for the divided church." ...source

TV Game of Death

CNN's Nic Robertson reports that the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic

Vatican Official Says Rising Number of Sexual Abuse Cases Could Overload Staff - NYTimes.com

"ROME — As hundreds of new allegations of sexual abuse surface in the German church alone, a top Vatican official acknowledged Tuesday that, with only 10 people handling such cases, his office might not be adequate for the task."
But the official, Msgr. Charles J. Scicluna, who is effectively the Vatican’s internal prosecutor, said the church was working to bring more “transparency” to the delicate and emotional process of settling allegations of abuse by priests that have severely damaged the church’s moral standing.
“We have to get our act together and start working for more transparency in investigations and more adequate responses for the problem,” Monsignor Scicluna said, adding that this should happen “on every level of the church.”
His comments, rare for an official in the famously reticent Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, were part of a broader Vatican defense against a rising abuse scandal in Germany, including a case that happened on the watch of Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. Over the weekend, Monsignor Scicluna told L’Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian Bishops Conference, that his office had examined 3,000 abuse cases in the past decade, most of them from the United States.
The ratio of 10 people handling 300 cases a year did not go over well in some quarters. “It seems like an extraordinarily paltry effort, given the scope of the crisis,” said David Clohessy, the national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.
In a rare interview, by telephone on Tuesday, Monsignor Scicluna acknowledged the concern. Asked if he wanted reinforcements, he said with a laugh: “I would hope we have less work. That’s my hope. Not more people, less work.” ...more

Blair chooses America for launch of faith offensive to unite the religions

Roman Catholic Blair courts controversial US pastor Rick Warren in bid to unite faiths

Former prime minister builds network of Christian allies as he prepares to launch a religious 'offensive' in North America

Tony Blair is preparing to launch a 'faith offensive' across the United States over the next year, after building up relationships with a network of influential religious leaders and faith organisations.

With Afghanistan and Iraq casting a shadow over his popularity at home in Britain, Blair's focus has increasingly shifted across the Atlantic, to where the nexus of faith and power is immutable and he is feted like a rock star.

According to the annual accounts of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, a UK-based charity that promotes cohesion between the major faiths, the foundation is to develop a US arm that will pursue a host of faith-based projects. The accounts show that his foundation has an impressive – and, in at least one case, controversial – set of faith contacts. Sitting on some £4.5m in funds as of April last year, mostly gathered through donations, it is now well placed to make its voice heard.

The foundation's advisory council of religious leaders includes Rick Warren, powerful founder of the California-based Saddleback church. It attracts congregations of nearly 20,000 and is reportedly one of the largest in the US. Warren, who has addressed the UN and the World Economic Forum in Davos, has been named one of the '15 world leaders who matter most' and one of the '100 most influential people in the world'.

His influence was confirmed in December 2008 when Barack Obama chose him to give the invocation at his presidential inauguration. But the decision angered many liberals, who see Warren as an opponent of gay rights and abortion on demand; a prominent alliance with Warren is likely to attract similar attacks on the former British prime minister." ...more

Catholic church sex scandal rocks faithful in Brazil

"Child sex scandals roiling the Roman Catholic church spread to Brazil Tuesday after the Vatican said three priests were under investigation following allegations of child abuse.

The Vatican's acknowledgement takes controversies that have rocked the church in the United States and more recently in Europe to the country with the largest Catholic population in world. About 74 per cent of Brazil's 140 million people identify as Catholics.

SBT television last week aired video from a hidden camera showing father Marques Barbosa, 82, having sex with a 19-year-old boy in the northeastern state of Alagoas.

After the act, the priest's face is identified as he looks toward the camera and says 'Who's there?' 'Who is it?'

The report on the program Conexao Reporter also included charges by three former altar boys that they too had been sexually abused by local priests.

After the show was aired, Alagoas bishop Valerio Breda ordered the removal from church work of priests Luiz Marques Barbosa, Edilson Duarte and Raimundo Gomes.

'One was removed from his parish and faces charges in the civil justice system,' Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told AFP, adding that the other two had been suspended from their duties pending an investigation.

Graphic video of Marques Barbosa's abuse last year with a victim identified as Fabiano is being sold on the streets of the town of Arapiraca, website Alagoas 24 horas reported." ...more

Huffington Post Promting Biometric ID Cards

"The notion that enhanced paper-based ID cards might solve such problems as employment of undocumented aliens, transportation vulnerability, or identity theft are based on illusions that yesterday's obsolete technology can be effectively used to solve tomorrow's problems.

The first illusion is that we can establish the identity of an individual with paper-based documents like driver's licenses, passports, or any other form of ID card. But the fact is that IDs are not worth the paper they are printed on. Efforts to make driver's licenses more secure with 'Real ID' start by assuming continued use of obsolete technology when they should be asking what technology is appropriate to solve a larger problem. Proposals to expand use of IDs in other areas have the same weakness.

The science of verifying the identity of individuals by relying on paper-based technology is inexact at best. Any form of ID is subject to fraud or mistake in its creation, in its use, or in its review. It is unreliable when all concerned act in good faith, and near worthless when any act in bad faith, which is the main reason we have looked to IDs to begin with." ...more

The pope's entire career has the stench of evil about it. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine

The pope's entire career has the stench of evil about it

"On March 10, the chief exorcist of the Vatican, the Rev. Gabriele Amorth (who has held this demanding post for 25 years), was quoted as saying that 'the Devil is at work inside the Vatican,' and that 'when one speaks of 'the smoke of Satan' in the holy rooms, it is all true—including these latest stories of violence and pedophilia.' This can perhaps be taken as confirmation that something horrible has indeed been going on in the holy precincts, though most inquiries show it to have a perfectly good material explanation.

Concerning the most recent revelations about the steady complicity of the Vatican in the ongoing—indeed endless—scandal of child rape, a few days later a spokesman for the Holy See made a concession in the guise of a denial. It was clear, said the Rev. Federico Lombardi, that an attempt was being made 'to find elements to involve the Holy Father personally in issues of abuse.' He stupidly went on to say that 'those efforts have failed.'

He was wrong twice. In the first place, nobody has had to strive to find such evidence: It has surfaced, as it was bound to do. In the second place, this extension of the awful scandal to the topmost level of the Roman Catholic Church is a process that has only just begun. Yet it became in a sense inevitable when the College of Cardinals elected, as the vicar of Christ on Earth, the man chiefly responsible for the original cover-up. (One of the sanctified voters in that 'election' was Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, a man who had already found the jurisdiction of Massachusetts a bit too warm for his liking.)" ...MORE

Mandatory national ID cards?

Ron Paul chimes in on a proposal that would require all working Americans to carry biometric ID cards containing fingerprint records and other personal information.

Your Neighbour Is a Terrorist if He uses Cash, Keeps to Himself and Keeps his Curtains Closed.

The Insanity Continues...

GPS tracking of students a big success

"San Antonio -- At some districts the truancy problem is so bad, GPS technology is being used to handle the more serious offenders. Some students are being asked to keep a hand-held tracking device with them at all times. It may sound a little far fetched, but three San Antonio school districts that use the system said News 4 WOAI it works.

'Kids need to be in school. It's the law,' one parent told us.

Every parent we spoke with today told us keeping kids in school is a big priority. But how to do it seems to be the tough part for some parents.

'Every school has challenges with keeping students in school and getting them to cross the stage at graduation,' Northside I.S.D. spokesperson, Pascual Gonzalez, said.

Gonzalez told us his district, like most, was looking for a solution. So they tracked down a pilot program that gave them 25 GPS units and 12 weeks to try them out. They started in the fall and almost immediately saw results.

'The students have been going to school,” Gonzalez noted. “It appears to be a very successful pilot and we're looking to expand it.'

A local judge that handles truancy cases decides who gets one.

We had the company that makes the GPS device show us what it looks like. It's not much bigger than a cell phone.

Justin Thompson says a student is required to send messages back to his company throughout the day. Special number codes can tell them where a student is and what they're doing at all times.

All three districts that use the GPS system, Northside, San Antonio, and Judson, just decided to make this a permanent program. They are even looking to buying more GPS units." ...source

Chief exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth says Devil is in the Vatican -Times Online

 "Sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church are proof that that 'the Devil is at work inside the Vatican', according to the Holy See's chief exorcist.

Father Gabriele Amorth, 85, who has been the Vatican's chief exorcist for 25 years and says he has dealt with 70,000 cases of demonic possession, said that the consequences of satanic infiltration included power struggles at the Vatican as well as 'cardinals who do not believe in Jesus, and bishops who are linked to the Demon'.

He added: 'When one speaks of 'the smoke of Satan' [a phrase coined by Pope Paul VI in 1972] in the holy rooms, it is all true – including these latest stories of violence and paedophilia.'

He claimed that another example of satanic behaviour was the Vatican 'cover-up' over the deaths in 1998 of Alois Estermann, the then commander of the Swiss Guard, his wife and Corporal Cedric Tornay, a Swiss Guard, who were all found shot dead. 'They covered up everything immediately,' he said. 'Here one sees the rot'."

A remarkably swift Vatican investigation concluded that Corporal Tornay had shot the commander and his wife and then turned his gun on himself after being passed over for a medal. However Tornay's relatives have challenged this. There have been unconfirmed reports of a homosexual background to the tragedy and the involvement of a fourth person who was never identfied.  ...more

Waterboarding.Torture 101

Internal CIA documents reveal a devilish protocol that was far more brutal than Dick Cheney's "dunk in the water"

"Self-proclaimed waterboarding fan Dick Cheney called it a no-brainer in a 2006 radio interview: Terror suspects should get a 'a dunk in the water.' But recently released internal documents reveal the controversial 'enhanced interrogation' practice was far more brutal on detainees than Cheney's description sounds, and was administered with meticulous cruelty.

Interrogators pumped detainees full of so much water that the CIA turned to a special saline solution to minimize the risk of death, the documents show. The agency used a gurney 'specially designed' to tilt backwards at a perfect angle to maximize the water entering the prisoner's nose and mouth, intensifying the sense of choking – and to be lifted upright quickly in the event that a prisoner stopped breathing.

The documents also lay out, in chilling detail, exactly what should occur in each two-hour waterboarding 'session.' Interrogators were instructed to start pouring water right after a detainee exhaled, to ensure he inhaled water, not air, in his next breath. They could use their hands to 'dam the runoff' and prevent water from spilling out of a detainee's mouth. They were allowed six separate 40-second 'applications' of liquid in each two-hour session – and could dump water over a detainee's nose and mouth for a total of 12 minutes a day. Finally, to keep detainees alive even if they inhaled their own vomit during a session – a not-uncommon side effect of waterboarding – the prisoners were kept on a liquid diet. The agency recommended Ensure Plus." ...more

Pope's brother linked to new claims of child abuse by clergy

"A series of allegations in Germany and Holland have plunged the Catholic Church into a renewed crisis over how it has dealt with child abuse after it emerged that the Pope's brother ran a renowned choir at the centre of some of the latest claims.

Reports of systematic historical abuse by clergy have surfaced at three schools in the Regensburg diocese in Bavaria. One of them is the much-heralded Regensburger Domspatzen, a thousand-year-old male choir and boarding school, whose choral master for 30 years was the Pope's older brother, Georg Ratzinger."

Monsignor Ratzinger has agreed to testify in any eventual prosecutions – but says that he knew of no abuse. And last night the German Justice Minister, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, joined a growing chorus of politicians in Berlin to criticise the church over its attitude to the investigation, accusing Catholic institutions of a policy of secrecy.

"In many schools there was a wall of silence allowing for abuse and violence," said Ms Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, a prominent critic of the church. She pointed to a Vatican directive from 2001 which required that even the most damaging allegations should be first investigated internally and then reported to the authorities. A church spokesman called her criticisms "absurd".

A separate sex scandal has also enveloped the Catholic Church in the Netherlands after three people said they were abused at a boarding school run by priests in the 1960s. Since the allegations were published on Friday more than 200 people have come forward to a designated helpline claiming that they were also abused by monks and priests. ...more

BBC News - Dutch church orders inquiry into sex abuse allegations

BBC News - Dutch church orders inquiry into sex abuse allegations: "Dutch religious leaders have ordered an independent inquiry into alleged sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests.

Earlier, the Vatican defended its response to child sex abuse allegations in a number of European states, saying it had reacted rapidly and decisively.

In the latest revelations, the head of an Austrian monastery confessed to abusing a boy more than 40 years ago.

Separately, Pope Benedict's brother said in an interview he slapped pupils in the face at a German choir school.

The Dutch investigation will be opened 'as soon as possible', it was announced after Dutch bishops met to discuss abuse claims by about 200 alleged victims, some from several decades ago.

Monastery resignation

The Dutch Catholic Church offered its apologies to the victims: 'To the victims of abuse in Catholic boarding schools, the religious leaders and bishops offer their deep-felt condolences and apologies,' a statement said.

Allegations first centred on a school in the eastern Netherlands, with people saying they were abused by Catholic priests. This prompted dozens more alleged victims from other institutions to come forward in recent days."

FOXNews.com - 5 Reasons Why America Should Steer Clear of a National ID Card

"The Senate is working toward a ghastly compromise on immigration reform that includes a biometric national identification card for all Americans. The stated purpose of this national ID, which an employee must present before getting a job, is to prevent undocumented workers from being employed. Back in December I warned that a national ID is the inevitable conclusion of the anti-immigration movement. The failure of E-Verify to catch 54% of undocumented workers is only accelerating the call for a national ID.

A national ID hurts American workers while pretending to help them.

First, every worker would have to ask permission from the federal government to get a job. American workers shouldn’t have to beg or plead to anybody to get permission to work. Being employed should be a private agreement between an employer and employee. Period. The government should get out of the way.

Second, carrying around government papers with biometric identification on it conjures up images of a more technologically savvy Oceania or East Germany. No thanks.

Third, the system will exclude millions of legal workers by accident and fail to catch the majority of undocumented immigrants. For instance, if E-Verify were instituted nation-wide 3.6 million Americans would be denied employment each year and have to visit the Social Security Administration to correct their records. The employer either fires them or delays training. Will a biometric ID card make this system better? How does that help American workers?

Fourth, it will cost businesses up to $800 to buy a scanner. Or as Senator Chuck Schumer says, employers can just go down to the DMV. Senator Schumer doesn’t know squat about running a business. The last thing an employer wants to do is spend time at the DMV when he could be spending it improving his business. And all this during an economic slump!

Fifth, it would treat every American like a criminal by requiring them to enter their most intimate and personal data into a government database. One of the benefits of not having committed any crimes is that my information is not in a government record office. I’d like to keep it that way.

Has the very notion of liberty been so diluted in this great nation that no-one is willing to decry this as the naked government power grab that it is? Must every American now ask government permission to get a job? Think what you will about undocumented immigration, is ending it so important that every single American must be entered into a massive government database and given an ID they must present when applying for a job?

It most emphatically is not.

Alex Nowrasteh, is an analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute." ...source

Biometric ID Card for American Workers on the Way

"Lawmakers working to craft a new comprehensive immigration bill have settled on a way to prevent employers from hiring illegal immigrants: a national biometric identification card all American workers would eventually be required to obtain.

Under the potentially controversial plan still taking shape in the Senate, all legal U.S. workers, including citizens and immigrants, would be issued an ID card with embedded information, such as fingerprints, to tie the card to the worker.

The ID card plan is one of several steps advocates of an immigration overhaul are taking to address concerns that have defeated similar bills in the past.

The uphill effort to pass a bill is being led by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), who plan to meet with President Barack Obama as soon as this week to update him on their work. An administration official said the White House had no position on the biometric card.

'It's the nub of solving the immigration dilemma politically speaking,' Mr. Schumer said in an interview. The card, he said, would directly answer concerns that after legislation is signed, another wave of illegal immigrants would arrive. 'If you say they can't get a job when they come here, you'll stop it.'" ...more

500 Christians Slain in Muslim Jihad Attack in Nigeria

Most of the victims are women and children

 

Washington, D.C. (March 8, 2010)–International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that  yesterday, Nigerian Muslims murdered 500 Christians in village of Dogo Nahawa, near the city of Jos. Most of the victims are women and children.

 

The Muslims invaded the village yesterday at 2 AM local time and slaughtered the Christians with machetes. In some cases the Muslims wiped out entire members families. They also burned down the homes of several Christians.

 

A local government official told ICC that around 380 Christians were buried in one mass burial space. He added that other victims were buried by their families and there are still bodies being collected. The official, who requested to remain anonymous, also said that police have arrested 93 people and recovered guns, knifes and other types of weapons from the suspects. 

 

“The genocide committed by Muslims against innocent women and children is another clear demonstration of Muslims brutality and intolerance of Christians in northern Nigeria. The Nigerian government must bring those responsible to account for this evil crime against humanity. The right to freedom of religion must not just be written in our Constitution but must be seen to be in practice. We are appealing to Christians all over the world through ICC and continual prayers for believers in Northern Nigeria,” said Reverend John Hayab. Reverend Hayab is the Secretary General of Christian Association of Nigeria in Kaduna State.

 

This latest anti Christian Jihad came on the heels of a conflict between Christians and Muslims in Jos in January of this year. During that conflict, over 300 people were killed. Over 13, 750 Christians have been killed by Muslims in northern Nigeria since the introduction of Sharia laws in 2001.  

 

ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa and South Asia, Jonathan Racho, said, “We condemn in the strongest words this latest Jihad attack against Christians. It’s both unconscionable and extremely heinous for the Muslims to slaughter women and children in the middle of the night simply because of their religious belief. This is yet another example of danger of Islamic fundamentalism. The international community must assist the victims and their families. Nigerian officials must be held accountable for their failure in protecting Christians from Muslim aggression.”...source

 

U.S. Adding Full-Body Bomb Scanners at 11 Airports "Yes the Insanity Continues"

"March 5 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. is installing full-body scanners that can detect bombs under passengers’ clothing at 11 more airports following an attempted Christmas Day attack, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said.

Scanners will be added at airports including Chicago’s O’Hare, and in Boston, Los Angeles and Charlotte, North Carolina. The Transportation Security Administration said it plans to install 1,000 machines by the end of next year.

“We are enhancing our capability to detect and disrupt threats of terrorism across the nation,” Napolitano said in a statement today. The agency already has 40 machines at 19 airports.

The government is accelerating use of the scanners after Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight on approach to Detroit Dec. 25 by igniting explosives in his underpants.

The agency purchased 150 machines last year for $25 million from OSI Systems Inc.’s Rapiscan unit of Hawthorne, California. They will be deployed to the 11 airports, starting today with Boston and within a week in Chicago. The devices already in place are made by New York-based L-3 Communications Holdings Inc.

OSI rose 28 cents to $30.56 at 4:06 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. L-3 climbed 69 cents to $93.16 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

Airports also getting the scanners are San Diego, San Jose and Oakland, California; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Cincinnati; Kansas City, Missouri; and Columbus, Ohio, according to the Napolitano statement." ...more

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Sinead O'Connor says Christ would burn down the Vatican -- and she would help him

"Controversial singer Sinead O'Connor has stated that 'If Christ was here he would be burning down the Vatican. And I for one would be helping him.'

She made the remarks to the Irish Independent after the Bishop of the Wexford diocese of Ferns had asked parishioners to help pay the costs of compensation for child abuse cases.

The Bishop of Ferns, Denis Brennan, enraged abuse victims by appealing for funds to pay the $1.2 million owed to the victims.

Ferns in County Wexford was among the worst for child sex abuse by Catholic priests, with more than 100 allegations of made between 1962 and 2002 against 21 priests in the diocese.

In the letter published in the Independent , Sinead O'Connor wrote about her absolute shock that the Bishop was asking parishioners to pay for child sex abuse claim.

She said says the Vatican always put its 'business interests before the interests of children.'

Meanwhile, another bishop, the Bishop of Killaloe Willie Walsh, has also said he would consider asking parishioners for money to pay abuse victims

'Bishop Walsh would be prepared to consider such an option in the diocese in consultation with parish pastoral councils and finance committees if it became necessary,' a spokesman said." ...Source

Vatican hit by gay sex scandal

"The Vatican was today rocked by a sex scandal reaching into Pope Benedict's household after a chorister was sacked for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting.

Angelo Balducci, a Gentleman of His Holiness, was caught by police on a wiretap allegedly negotiating with Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, a 29-year-old Vatican chorister, over the specific physical details of men he wanted brought to him. Transcripts in the possession of the Guardian suggest that numerous men may have been procured for Balducci, at least one of whom was studying for the priesthood.

The explosive claims about Balducci's private life have caused grave embarrassment to the Vatican, which has yet to publicly comment on the affair.

While Catholicism does not condemn homosexuality outright, its teaching is that homosexual acts 'are intrinsically disordered'. The Catechism of the Catholic church states unequivocally: 'Under no circumstances can they be approved.'

Balducci was arrested on 10 February, suspected of involvement in widespread corruption. A senior Italian government official, he is alleged to have to steered public works contracts towards favoured bidders. He has not been charged.

It was during this investigation into corruption that wiretaps revealed his alleged sexual activity. In one conversation, Ehiem tells Balducci: 'I saw your call when I was in the Vatican, because I was doing rehearsals … in the choir … in St Peter's.' He then suggests Balducci meet a man who he describes is 'two metres tall … 97 kilos … aged 33, completely active.'

Balducci is also a senior adviser to the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, the department that oversees the Roman Catholic church's worldwide missionary activities.

Since 1995, he has been a member of one of the world's most exclusive fraternities – the Gentlemen of His Holiness, or Papal Gentlemen, the ceremonial ushers of the papal household. In the words of a 1968 ordinance, they are expected to 'distinguish themselves for the good of souls and the glory of the name of the Lord'." ...more

One in four Germans wants microchip under skin: poll

"HANOVER, Germany -- It sounds like something from a sci-fi film, but one in four Germans would be happy to have a microchip implanted in their body if they derived concrete benefits from it, a poll Monday showed.

The survey, by German IT industry lobby group BITKOM, was intended to show how the division between real life and the virtual world is increasingly coming down, one of the main themes of the CeBIT trade fair that kicks off Tuesday.

In all, 23 percent of around 1,000 respondents in the survey said they would be prepared to have a chip inserted under their skin 'for certain benefits.'

Around one in six (16 percent) said they would wear an implant to allow emergency services to rescue them more quickly in the event of a fire or accident.

And five percent of people said they would be prepared to have an implant to make their shopping go more smoothly." ...more

Spanish exorcist addresses claims of Satanic influence in Vatican :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

"A renowned exorcist in Rome recently released a book of memoirs in which he declares to know of the existence of Satanic sects in the Vatican where participation reaches all the way to the College of Cardinals. A second demonologist, also residing in Rome, entered the debate this week, clarifying the origins of the information and defending the Vatican's clergy as an 'edifying and virtuous' collection of prelates.

In a book of memoirs released in February, the noted Italian exorcist Fr. Gabriele Amorth affirmed that 'Yes, also in the Vatican there are members of Satanic sects.' When asked if members of the clergy are involved or if this is within the lay community, he responded, 'There are priests, monsignors and also cardinals!'" ...more