Perhaps there are signs of moving with the times. Prior to Pope Benedict bowing out there was a report that some German Catholic hospitals might be permitted to issue certain types of morning-after pills for women who have been raped.
Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne suggested changing the policy after two Catholic hospitals refused to assist a rape victim due to prohibitions on issuing the pill. He reasons some pills rather than induce abortion actually prevent fertilisation.
Might all sound like angels dancing on the head of a pin type reasoning to those of us not the slightest interested in theological jabberwocky but at least the clerics are bowing to the pressure of a public opinion concerned that the de facto rights of the rapist to force his victim to bear him a child are considered greater by the Catholic Church than the rights of the rape victim to terminate. The refusal by the Catholic hospital in Cologne caused a public outcry in Germany leading to an apology from the Cardinal who said the refusal to help rape victims "shames us deeply because it contradicts our Christian mission and our purpose".
Inappropriate
Shame is not something Cardinal Keith O’Brien was much given to prior to his outing as someone who liked to try it on with fellow priests once he had downed a few drinks. Priests banging priests is okay by me if it is consensual and they don’t pester those not inclined towards sex with the sexton.
For long enough O’Brien attacked the gay community for promoting and practicing same sex relationships. It earned him a bigot of the year award from the Charity, Stonewall.
Since then four men, three of them priests and one a former priest, have made complaints to the Vatican about o'Brien behaving 'inappropriately' towards them while they were young ckerics. O’Brien was the spiritual director of one of the men when an inappropriate relationships developed. Seems spiritual erection concerned him more. The men made their complaints just prior to the resignation of Pope Benedict.
They later expressed fears that feared that ‘if O'Brien travels to the forthcoming papal conclave to elect a new pope, the church will not fully address their complaints.’ One of the men making the allegations stated.
It tends to cover up and protect the system at all costs The church is beautiful, but it has a dark side and that has to do with accountability. If the system is to be improved, maybe it needs to be dismantled a bit.
O’Brien consequently was not permitted to travel.
But Cardinal Sean Brady was allowed to travel. Whatever O’Brien’s transgression it did not involve the failure to protect children. How he was considered an inappropriate delegate and Brady appropriate.
Little Red Biting Hood
Luiz what big teeth you have got!
All the better to eat you up with.
Luiz Suarez is protesting that press criticism might drive him away from Liverpool FC.
It is regrettable .... that it takes the media to do the job that the fans should be doing. Suarez should not be allowed to feature in a Liverpool shirt ever again. A talented player but a thug who thinks nothing of sinking his teeth into the arms of an opponent. Perhaps he has been watching too much of The Walking Dead.
My seven year old son says of himself that he is ‘zombie mad and soccer mad’. But at least he knows what his teeth are for. He watches soccer avidly and there is no way that he should see a role model savaging an opponent. Even Norman ‘bites yer legs’ Hunter of the famous but physical Leeds United side never took the description literally.
If Lupine Luiz wants a taste of Spanish soccer opposition let him have it. It might take the bite out of the English game. Hardly a bad thing.
Have to say I was surprised to see Luis Suarez make the Quill but since you brought it up Anthony I think I'll throw in my tuppence worth! To call the man a thug is a gross overreaction if you ask me, people do things in the heat of battle and unfortunately for Luis Suarez such is his commitment when he takes the field he plays on the edge and is liable to do anything as a result. But when the games over it's over, what happens on the pitch stays there. Take that out of his game and what are you left with? A crowd of lady-boys. Give me Suarez any day, a flawed genius he may well be but a genius none the less
ReplyDeleteSean,
ReplyDeletepeople doing things in the heat of battle sometimes get charged with war crimes!
Anybody biting another person is a thug. These are pampered millionaires setting a terrible example for children to follow. Messi is a true genius.
Well I can certainly agree on Messi, everything a footballer should be! He shoots he scores! The same as for the comment on pampered millionaires. But when it comes to Suarez we'll agree to disagree. I love a man who plays with that type of passion, there hasn't been a player of that ability in the Premier League since Eric Cantona - also a similarly flawed genius! If he goes he'll be missed, players of that class are few and far between
ReplyDeleteOn another unrelated note I suppose we shouldn't be shocked by anything at this stage but I was amazed to hear Seanna Walsh come out with some tripe last night along the lines of "the Hungerstrikers died for a new agreed Ireland..." I was ready to throw the remote. Sinn Fein's revisionism seems to have no bounds
ReplyDeleteAs Paul Bew said many years ago an agreed Ireland by definition can not be a united Ireland because the unionists would never agree to it.
ReplyDeleteI could put up with Cantona because I don't suppport Utd! Suarez is brilliant but ruins it with this behaviour
ReplyDeleteYet we agree to everything, it's one thing after another. On all the issues that really matter we've come out with a poor deal. But to make up for this what we have is a leadership skilled at dressing such failure up as victory. As you say an agreed Ireland is a unionist position, that's unionist with a small 'u'. Hardly what the Hungerstrikers gave their lives for.
ReplyDeleteAs for Cantona he was something else, like Suarez you just know they're not fully 'wise in the head' so to speak. I'd say that's probably what makes them so special
Saurez , must have been born of a Vampire, It's not the first time he has gotten his teeth embedded in the veins!. He is a fantastic footballer, but he is also a brawler
ReplyDeleteAnthony, I am really shocked, "YOU DON'T SUPPORT UNITED"!!!. I wonder why?.
Anthony:
ReplyDeleteWith reference to Paul Brew (Baron Brew), I knew The name right away and went through my little archive's and came up with this one.
Terrorism is back in Northern Ireland
Paul Bew says that the young police recruits in the province now find themselves facing the sort of armed confrontations they assumed were a thing of the past. makes you think?.
I'm back unto the football.
ReplyDeleteTo me the greatest player in modern times was ,Edison Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele. I was fascinated by his skills , football on the streets with a tennis ball in Northwick drive, Ardoyne, everyone wanted to be pele.
Memories are forever, but I never made it , but my youngest brother Martin could have made it, Played for Cliftonvile,Ballymena Utd, taken on by Man city , scored two goals on his debut in the second team, Colin Bell used to pick him up every morning for training from my late sisters house in Bury in England , he got home sick, The troubles brought him home , the feud cost him a lot through disability, refused to surrender. he was a stickie to the end,Dumped across the border! .He should have kept playing football, at least he is still alive, he still abhors Adams and his Cronies , just like the rest of my family.
If you ask me Pele was the business but Maradona is the greatest player the game has seen. That's terrible about your brother IJM, just shows how the Troubles impacted on ordinary people. Your story made me think of Sean Loughran, who's 40th anniversary is later this month. Sean returned to his native Dungannon when the Troubles broke out, having emigrated to England during the 60's. He died on active service with his comrades Paddy Carty and Dermot Crowley outside Omagh town on 25th June 1973 after a bomb exploded prematurely in the car they were travelling in. Were it not for the Troubles he could well have settled in England like so many Irishmen of his generation and went on to do God knows what with his life - and that's the real tragedy of what happened in our country because behind it all are human beings with human stories. Sean Loughran had a wife and two children who never got to see him grow old and that to me is just so sad. I fondly recall as I write this singing a song in his memory at a get-together one evening in Derrytresk round the time of the 25th anniversary in the company of his brother Gerry who also has sadly passed. Great men the both of them and great servants of their country, may they rest in peace
ReplyDeleteFella's a bit of solidarity. Whats wrong with putting George Best up there? Can you imagine Ronaldo or Messi, ankle deep in mud, kicking around a rain soaked leather ball with Chopper Harris looming? They'd be running scared or dive..
ReplyDeleteLiverpool V Man Utd Streams will be up around 1hr before kick off (midnight).... it's the final of the International Championship Cup. Means nothing in the grand scheme of things but Utd V Liverpool matches are rarely dull...
ReplyDeleteDon't forget all EPL matches, European matches...Every major sporting event (snooker, boxing, darts, horse racing, motor sports, NFL,... )are streamed free on WIZIWIG. No need to for Sky, BT or other...I've yet to find a decent 'droid app that works!!!!!!!
From experience most if not all 'Flash streams' work flawless...I haven't installed any software such a Sopcast, Ace....Deffo no virus, malware or other..