Other times, same crimes

Reading what went on in Pennsylvania, ( read my recent  Blog entry ) hearing the Pope's apologies about the crimes perpetrated by Catholic Priests in Ireland, and so many other places, reminded me of an entry I had made in this Blog, some time ago, and which I think bears repeating

                                   *********************

They sang like a jubilation of nightingales.

Their voices had been filling the cavernous expanse of the Cathedral of Regensburg, in Bavaria since 975 A.D.

They were called the “Sparrows of the Cathedral of Regensburg.” 

The Regensburger Domspatzen.

Some people insisted that they were as good as, or better than the “Vienna Sängerknaben”, the singing boys of Vienna.

When the “Sparrows” had completed their part of the High Mass on Sunday morning, they, however, returned to their quarters with trepidation.

Because there, hell awaited them.

It is now documented that sexual molestation, rape and physical beatings for the slightest transgression awaited them. The Priests, assigned to the young boys, knew no love, nor mercy. They did know brutal repression.

The first revelations appeared in 2010 with accusations going back to 1958.

Who knows what happened between 975 and 1958.

It is most interesting to note that between 1964 and 1994, Georg Ratzinger, the older brother of Pope Benedict XVI, was the famed “Kapellmeister” of Regensburg and in charge of the Choir.

He admitted to have known about the physical beatings, but denied any knowledge of sexual transgressions.  That, within the space of 30 years, he knew nothing of the multiple sexual transgressions is, to say the least, difficult to believe.

He also admitted to have remained silent in spite of his knowledge and asked for forgiveness from the victims.

This is the beauty about the Roman Catholic Church. You may do as you like, as long as afterwards you ask for forgiveness and go to confession. Then all is well.

Except for the victims of these crimes, who likely remain traumatized for the rest of their lives.

Can we truly say that we are surprised? Of course not!

After the drive to survive, the sexual drive is the second most firmly embedded drive in the human mind and body. When this second most important drive is suppressed, and is classified as sinful, it is no wonder that feelings of blame, shame and fear beset the victims of such suppression.

Priests of the R.C. Church are, indeed, challenged and ordered to suppress all such impulses, which seems inevitably to lead to sexual excesses, including pedophilia. It is, of course, difficult to say which came first: 

The chicken or the egg.

I wonder whether George told his younger brother about all of this and whether this or the knowledge of similar transgressions lead to the Pope's instructions that such abuse is not to be reported to the authorities ( police ) but is to be dealt with within the administration of the church.

This usually resulted in the transfer of an offending priest to a new parish, where he could find new victims.

Apologists for the RC Church will say that there are pedophiles in all walks of life.

True! These are, however, not protected by their association, but are, in most cases, dealt with by the courts.

By the constant protection of priests, bishops and other members of the clergy, in regard of sexual transgressions, by the demonstrated practice of “money laundering” through the Vatican Bank, by the avoidance of payment of various taxes, the Church, as a total administrative body, is guilty of serious criminal activities, no different from the Mafia and should under the law be treated like the “Cosa Nostra”.

Instead we sign and continue to respect “Concordats” and behave as if the Church were man's best friend.

The current Pope, Franciscus, has loudly condemned the perpetrators and the act itself and it seems, that he is encountering stiff opposition from the ultra-conservative  wing of some of the highest ranking Church officials.

Mealymouthed Bishops and Cardinals, as well as some of the rank and file of church-goers will find excuses for the crimes or, at worst, pretend that they never happened.

I feel sorry for Franciscus and wonder how low the hierarchie will sink in their attacks on and criticism of the man they elected "in God's name".

Bertstravels

has many Catholic friends

who share his dismay and disgust

My Home Town

Braunau am Inn

Two important people come from this beautiful little town on the Austrian side of the border to Bavaria.
I, Bertstravels, and one other man, about whom we shall not speak.                                                 (:- ))

This is the front of "Stadtplatz 22".

The building I called my home from my age of 4, until the ripe old age of 23.

This was then and still is now "My Home". although my family had moved  elsewhere.

The sign on this old tower

tells of the naming of Braunau as a town

in the year 1260

"City Hall"

Note the man with the long long beard.

His name was "Hans Steininger"

and in 1567 he was the popular mayor of Braunau.

Rushing to a fire, he, unfortunately, stepped on his beard,

fell down a flight of stairs

and broke his neck

which killed him

dead.

This is the building in which "this other man" was born,

(about whom we shall not speak.)

His beard was not long enough for him to have stepped on it.

If only he had and broken his neck.

RICO

R.I.C.O.

These initials stand for a Federal Law in the USA named:

“Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.”

RICO has been useful in prosecuting organized crime and, so experts think, could come into play in the Pennsylvania Child Abuse case.

So far only Civil Suits have been launched against the Roman Catholic Church which have resulted in billions of dollars in settlements for victims of abuse.

No Criminal charges have yet been filed, listing the institution of the Roman Catholic Church as defendant.

Until the perpetrators of these sex-crimes and those who aid and abet them serve some serious jail time, nothing will change.

Some Priests will continue to rape children, some Bishops will continue to hide the facts,

the R.C. Church, one of the richest organizations in the world, will pay “settlements” to the victims and the broken spirit of the victims will remain broken.

Perpetrators as well as those who assist in hiding these crimes, thereby preventing proper prosecution of all involved, must be held criminally liable under the “aiding and abetting” provision of all criminal law.

There is now a push for an amendment to RICO which would allow Federal Authorities to start full scale, nation wide investigation into all systematic cases of rape and other sexual violence and against the subsequent cover-up by the Roman Catholic Church.

The number of documented Priest-Abusers who were simply transferred to other Dioceses is too large to be listed here.

Only if charges against the R.C.Church as an institution could be successfully prosecuted and leading members who enabled or actually arranged such transfers were incarcerated in Federal Institution could some headway be made in the effort to eradicate or at least reduce the number of these crimes.
While Pope Franciscus ( am man I respect and feel sorry for) talks about the need to "spare no effort" to root out predator priests and "church cover-up", he has yet to indicate his preparedness to publicly name and sanction offending Bishops and thereby put an end to the criminal actions of those high ranking church officials.

Why do prosecutors and elected officials hesitate to bring such charges?

Because they fear a backlash from the Church and its fanatical non-thinking members at the polls.

Bertsravels

is awaiting further News.

Who is ultimately responsible ?

Catholic's Crimes

I wrote about the systemic abuse of over 1000 children by hundreds of Priests and the “playbook” cover-up by the Catholic Hierarchy of these heinous crimes.

Unfortunately in many cases prosecution of these Criminals is difficult, if not impossible, due to the Statute of Limitation.

There is, for example, no such Statute in cases of murder and there must be none for Child abuse.

It is ridiculous that a Catholic Priest, ( age 73 ) who now lives in Boca Raton, Florida and who is accused of sexual child abuse should be allowed to live there, safe from all prosecution under the Law, enjoying retirement, while his victim may suffer for the rest of his life from the Trauma inflicted upon him by this criminal. (This Catholic Priest forced a 9 year old boy to perform oral sex, and then washed out his mouth with holy water.)

Not only must this Statute of Limitations be abolished in cases of Child Abuse, sexual or otherwise, but criminal charges must be laid against the highest members of the Catholic Church.

The Bishop knew or should have known,

The Cardinal knew or should have known,

The Pope knew, or should have known, about the criminal activities of his employees and should therefore be held responsible and charged with complicity to a crime or whatever other charge can be laid against him.( them )

Bertstravels

will say more about this in future postings.

A Catalog of Sins

A catalog of sins

It happened in Pennsylvania.

If it happened there, why not in Alabama, Arkansas, Massachusetts and maybe in 46 other States?,

In fact why not in Australia, Zambia, Austria, Belgium and Azerbaijan as well as in uncountable other Jurisdictions?

For the time being we heard only about the findings of the Grand Jury of Pennsylvania.

And what did this Grand Jury find?

Thousands of victimized children;

300 predatory Priests,

Seven decades of abuse and cover-ups.

And now, one denial by Cardinal Wuerl.

Is the Cardinal really trying to tell the world, that neither he, nor any other church leader had any, even faint, inkling of what was going on under their noses in the churches of their faith?

They really did not know about the ring of Priests, taking pictures and exchanging photographs of a nude boy, crucified, posing as Christ? Who are they trying to kid?

The Priest of Allentown (Penna) who forced a young boy to perform oral sex on him and then washed out the boy's mouth with “holy water”

The teen-aged boy who was sodomized so aggressively that his back was injured?

Unfortunately many of the accused have died and, according to their teaching, have gone straight to hell.  Almost all of their crimes fall under the statute of limitations.

Cardinal Wuerl stands accused of the cover-up of these heinous crimes.

His denial came promptly.

What else do we expect from one so high in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church?

He has indeed been transferred from the position of Cardinal of Pennsylvania, to the position of Archbishop of Washington.

There is, unfortunately, no justice for the thousands of victims.

There is no healing of the injured (in body and spirit) children.

There is no justice in the world of Roman Catholicism.

The truth is: You sinned?

Got caught at it?

We'll have to transfer you to a new set of victims.

Be smarter this time: don't get caught AGAIN::

The Organization, called “The Holy Mother Church” has once again been shown to be a well organized Crime Syndicate.

And “Don Corleone” protects his own, just like in the motion picture,

“The Godfather”.

This Revelation made by Time Magazine (27^th August 2018) ends with the following paragraph:

That knowledge is hard to bear , but there is a measure of justice for the victims. As the members of the Grand Jury write of the abuse:

“Now we know the truth: It happened everywhere”

Bertstravels

feels anger and frustration.

And astonishment that there are

still so many unthinking adherents of this Syndicate.

Sailing Reflections

Thinking about

Two Sailboats

Wiesenmarkt in Bleiburg, September 1st to 3rd 2018

In 1492, Columbus sailed the Ocean blue....
so goes a children's rhyme, talking about the discovery of America.
100 years before that feat the farmers around the settlement of Bleiburg
received permission from the then ruling Count to show and sell their produce on a large meadow at the foot of Castle Hill.
Thus, 625 years ago, in 1393 the first "Bleiburg Wiesenmarkt" took place.
For sale was offered, I assume, Eggs and butter and Ham and Cheese, and maybe a cow or a bull.
Today, 625 years later, you can purchase anything, from a sewing needle to a heavy duty truck and everything in between. Over 350 exhibitors vie for your Euro. For the kids and for the kids in all of us there is plenty of amusement. Mary Go Round, Autodrome, Ferries Wheel, and Shooting Gallery.
Music, music, music....
It all starts with the posting of the "Freyung" exactly 14 days prior to the opening of the "Wiesenmarkt"

Led by the Mayor and other dignitaries

the "Freyung" is carried onto the Main Square. 

The "Freyung" is a long, red and white staff, 

wound by a garland and topped by a fist, holding a large sword.

The sword symbolizes the might of the ruling Duke

 and the Law and Order which must reign during these festivities.

The customary drink is "MET" a honey-wine

produced not only for this occasion, but all year long

by the town's intrepid Sweetbaker ( Konditor ), Gottfried Stöckl.

May we assume an assumption?

The Assumption of the Virgin Mary

On the 15th day of August, most of the Christian world celebrates the "Assumption of Mary, mother of God"

There is, unfortunately, no mention about this in the Bible.

But rumors were rife since about the 5^th Century, and maybe earlier, that Mary, the Virgin Mother of Jesus ascended to heaven, either immediately after or even before her death.

Well, poor Mary had to wait almost 2000 years before, in 1950,

Pope Pius XII declared that she was taken to heaven by God.

Pope Pius XII then said and wrote:

“By the Authority of our Lord, Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma, that the Immaculate Mother of God, the “Ever Virgin Mary”, having completed the course of her earthly life was assumed, body and soul into heavenly glory.”

There is indeed some dispute whether Mary “just fell asleep” and in this trance but still alive was transported into heaven, or was she “assumed by God” after her death?

I assume that this makes a whole lot of difference to some people.

If one begins to read even a little bit about this “Mariology” one is confronted with such trivial gobbledygook that one begins to wonder why something, for which there is not even a single mention in the Bible should engender so much debate.

In fact, and you will find it difficult to believe, one may even obtain a “Doctorate in Mariology” from the University of Dayton, Ohio, and, I would not be surprised, from other so-called “Institutes of Learning”.

Mary, the mother of Jesus was, of course, a very extraordinary woman and received special considerations from God.

1. Immaculate Conception: which means that she was born without original sin.
   God, evidently, having removed from her the concept of “Original Sin”, which women bore, and handed on, since Eve.

2. Virgin Birth: Which declares that Mary conceived her son, Jesus, without having had sexual relations with her husband Joseph.
3. Perpetual Virginity: which assumes that throughout her life, Mary remained a virgin. Therefore the biblical references to “the brothers of Jesus” must mean “brothers in the extended sense.”

So you see, Catholics have always managed to have it both ways, in fact, every which way.

If it fits, they find a passage in the Bible which “proves” their point.

If it does not fit, then our interpretation of the contradictory or blatantly nonsensical passage is wrong.

If there is no mention in their “Holy Book” they make it up and their Chief Honcho, the Pope, simply declares it as a divinely revealed“Dogma” and...

….quick as the wind, it has become an unchangeable verity, an unchallengeable Truth.

You see? … that's the way you run your business.

That's, anyway, how

Bertstravels

sees it.

Strassenfest

It's called a "Strassenfest", literally translated, a "Street Festival"
Every year on this date,  they celebrate "Mary's Ascension" to commemorate when Maria, the mother of Christ went to heaven.
One way Austrians celebrate  is by having a great party. On this day it always is a Street Festival, where stands are erected to sell sweets, fruits, handmade toys and a million other things.
Of course there are benches and tables where Fried Chicken, Wiener Schnitzel, and Sausages, along with other delicacies are being served. Everybody, well almost everybody goes there, many dressed in local garb and some carry a camera.

handmade toys and furniture

as well a silly. cute decorative items.

This is the man from whom you'll get the best "sweets"

dressed in different length "Lederhosen"

straight from the farm. 

a couple in genuine "Tracht"

 she's a bit more modern

pretty... pretty

one of dozens of "Bier tents" where fried chicken, Wiener Schnitzel

and other goodies are served.

The Bluesbrakers

A great Quintet of great local musicians:
There is the vocalist, Dieter Themel.
On "blues harp" also known as mouth organ 
and accordeon, we hear Arthur Ottowitz.
Joerg Foressnegg plays a mean guitar,
Helmut Spreitzer on Fender Bass
and last. but not least, Kiki Oswald lays down
a fierce rhythm on drums.

Last night they performed on a jam packed Main Square in Bleiburg.
The first tune established a joyful mood among the crowd, which lasted almost to midnight and to their last offering.

The music was great,
The night was dry and mild.
The crowd was enthusiastic
No better environment could be imagined.
It was, as they would say along the Mississippi, a blast.

:

Here is an interesting (to me) side light. 

The above are persons who live on the main square

and who simply listen to the music through their open windows.

In German they are called "Zaungäste", literally translated: "Fence Guests",

meaning that they are on the other side of the fence and therefore need not pay any admission.

The best translation I can find, however, is: "Onlookers"

But an Onlooker may also be someone who has paid admission and sits in the audience.

Does the English language really not have a special name for a "Zaungast"???

Yes, they said that too:

Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Supérieure de Guerre said:
"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value"

"Popular Mechanics", forecasting the future of computer science, in 1949 said:
"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons"

Why do Theologians shake their heads?

Theologians can only talk to the Believers. 
Only to the non-questioning minds can they expound their dogmatic utterances.
As soon as they encounter serious questions, as soon as someone points out the contradictions inherent in their belief system, they are reduced to "shaking their heads".
Once you present them with the dilemma of a cruel, murdering God,  (O.T.) and one who bans forever to hell with eternal suffering and pain for even minor unconfessed transgressions (N.T.) any so-called sinner, on one side and the claim that "God loves you"  on the other, they are stymied, beyond words and reduced to a "shaking of their heads."

When I make a controversial statement on this Blog or elsewhere, I rarely get an intelligent discussion from Believers. Only preaching about the error of my ways. The issue I raised will never be talked about, argued against, or explained from their point of view.
They really come across as a sad lot.

Bertstravels
is sorry for them

Talk about "taking it easy"

They really said that ?

In 1899, Charles H Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents:
"Everything that can be invented, has been invented"

In 1943, Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM:
"I think there is a world market for maybe  five computers"

Just another try to post a video onto my Blog. Will it work?

Adding and Subtracting ?

The Bible, Old and New Testament, so Believers will tell us, were written by mortal men, but each word in it is true and beyond doubt, since the writers were inspired by God and directed by him.

If Believers run into problems of believability, due to innumerable contradictions, they quite boldly suggest that these contradictions must not be taken literally. They then are “Parables” or “Similes” or whatever other excuses they can come up with.

Quite aside from all the murderous cruelties, racism, savagery, murder and rape, which God ordered Moses to perform, and despite Jesus' condemnation of all doubters and sinners to an everlasting Hell,they tell us: 

“God loves You” …. Some Love.

God evidently wants us to believe that the Bible is “the Whole Truth and Nothing But The Truth”, since in many places he warns us

not to Add, nor Subtract anything from these texts.

(See. Revelations 22:18-19, Proverbs 30:5-6 , Deuteronomy 4:2 and many many more )

I have just a simple question:

What is the RCC (Roman Catholic Catechism) if not an addition to the Bible?

Unless someone can explain to me that this is not an “addition” to the Bible

I suggest that the R.C. Church has disqualified itself from any claim to be a follower of this Book.

Bertstravels

has questions-

YOUTH .....YOUTH

Johannes, one of Christin's Grandsons does a backward Salto.

I am glad to be able to do a header from a running start.

Not necessarily of Olympic Quality,

but a daring flip, nevertheless.

Is this Sexism ?

The 9th commandment says:
"You shall not covet your neighbor's Wife....?"

Should there not be a commandment 9a.) which states.
"You  shall not covet your neighbor's husband...) ?

The 9th and 10th forbid the "coveting" of many things, including your neighbour's cattle, his manservant, his maidservant, his house....and so forth.

Nowhere, that I could find, does it say anything about not coveting your neighbor's husband.

what exactly does this mean? Does it mean that women are beyond sinning and no prohibition needs to be issued? Not likely!!!

or does it mean that all of this was written by a bunch of old men?

Bertstravels
is full of idle curiosity.