In answer to these stupid comments!

Back in January, Catholic League President and frequent Fox News contributor Bill Donohue called victims of priest abuse and their advocates and supporters a “pitiful bunch of malcontents” and “professional victims.”

Now Donahue is calling for victims to be ‘fought one-by-one’ so the church can save money.

He claims that Catholic bishops are reaching the conclusion that “they had better toughen up and go out and buy some good lawyers to get tough.” “We don’t need altar boys,” he told the New York Times.

This appalling attitude of "victim blame" is one of the more despicable games that the church plays. And typical of ignorance of the facts. The reason why there is an "epidemic" of people coming forward to tell their stories of sexual abuse by clergy is because they now can!

 It is not that many years ago when it was unthinkable for abuse victims to talk about what happened to them, they were far too afraid, ashamed, embarrassed, and often threatened into silence.I suspect there will be many more thousands of abuse survivors who will now feel brave enough to speak, not because they have false memories, or because they are "jumping on a bandwagon" but because other brave survivors have paved the way! It has been our  secrets that kept us sick.

 I find it offensive to be refferred to as a pathetic malcontent! I am vehemently opposed to "professional victims"and I don't see any in my organisation, we are very much about empowerment! I was abused by a catholic priest from the age of ten until 13 when he raped me in my own home.My Mother who caught him in the act, did nothing and told me to "pray for him" that it must be part of "god's plan". It ruined a lot of my life,I was an alcoholic, addict, serious self harmer, and had an eating disorder. But I am NOT a victim! I have managed to become a respected professional in the field of substance misuse, have taught over 8 thousand health care workers, and have received an award for my contrution to the treatment of addiction. I have managed to transform that shit into manure, to grow something more beautiful.

 Some of our members are 70 deaf and speech impaired Italian survivors , all of whom were systematically abused by the priests and nuns in their institution One man by sixteen priests! another man was forced to perform oral sex on a nun for punishment -he was eight years old. They are not victims! They are brave and dignified survivors of the worst betrayal of body and trust. We know that our strength comes from our connections with each other, and with honourable ,decent, like minded people who know that these were appalling criminal acts. We have an annual "celebration of survival day" and last year we danced in front of the vatican and set off hundreds of Chinese lanterns to show them that we are surviving DESPITE them, certainly not because of them! We know that if we wait around for the church to do the right thing, we will be dead and gone before that happens! So we will support and empower each other! The comments above are from people who clearly do not understand the nature of clergy abuse, and I am very pleased for them that they don't.But do not be fooled by the churche's obsequious apologies, staged sorrow, and promises about "psychological testing" or safeguarding. They sound great on paper but the reality is VERY very different. 

If you really want to see survivors bravery come to Verona on June 30th! dance with us and show the World that you support decency and justice. Sue Cox Survivors Voice Europe

The delia effect!

I didn't know wether to laugh or cry today when I read of the latest "secret weapon" being launched by the catholic church in a vain attempt to revive it's flagging reputation. None other than "St." Delia Smith! She of the smug,patronising cookery programmes, she of the mispronunciations of practically everything she utters, she of the drunken rant in front of thousands at Norwich City Football club. It seems that since Waitrose have usd her for their campaign, she is starting to believe her own hype!
The "Delia effect" as it has become known, refers to the fact that she can influence vast sales of food items, especially unusual ones, by simply mentioning them in her kitchen.(not quite water to wine but hey) Of course, that does say far more about her audience than it does of her!
So not content with directing our eating habits, she now has turned her latest crusade to that of "defending the church"! (didn't joan of arc do something like that?) and in true Delia fashion, gets her facts wrong, opening her mouth long before it occurs to her to engage her brain.
She refers to the very thorough Ipsos Moris survey commissioned by Professor Richard Dawkins MA DPhil FRSA FRLA and the Dawkins Foundation as "cheeky" and "not true"! presumably that kind of playground response  suggests that she hasn't come across the idea of "evidence" before, apart from perhaps the fact that you can prove that eggs are fresh by placing them in water, or if you put your hand on a stove it probably might burn.
Totally missing the point of secularism and the call for the end to religious priveleges, she rants on (again) about what she calls a running battle by " millitant neo-atheists"and suggests that christians  are "under the cosh"
She goes on to pontificate on how "one thing we all should stand united on is our common belief in human life and human flourishing" - I totally agree, and perhaps we should start by educating the pope and his heirarchy, they clearly have "human lives and flourishing" way down on their list of priorities. perhaps she should tell that to the AIDS orphans, the clergy abuse survivors, womens rights organisations, and  the oppressed in all the countries where the church has a stranglehold.
Perhaps because she is second only to Jamie Oliver in cookery book sales, she should take a lesson from him, who, having put on an enormous amount of weight is looking increasingly stupid when he tries to teach everyone about healthy eating!
I am tempted to say she is a prime example for why a women should stay in the kitchen! but I wouldn't insult my sisters that way!
She tells us she will have "more to say on the matter" (maybe when she has talked to someone who can tell her what to say)    I can hardly wait!

pope and his latest insult

O.K. here we go again! The latest Ratzinger insult aimed at decent honourable people, and further offending the rest of us who struggle to make sense of a world where narcissistic hypocrites get to hold themselves up as a moral benchmark for others.
It appears that his attacks on the gay and lesbian community for simply requiring that their loving commitments should be as valued as everyone elses,  are not at all about the rantings of a homophobic bigot, but in fact his concerns about " the children"!  and I quote:
"Let me conclude by recalling that all our efforts in this area are ultimately concerned with the good of children, who have the right to grow up with a healthy understanding of sexuality and it's proper place in society"YEAH RIGHT!
He went on to say " Children are the greatest treasure anf the future of every society:truly caring for them means recognising our responsibility to teach, defend and live by the moral virtues which are the key to human fulfillmet" WHAT? 
You couldn't make it up could you? I could spend all day saying what I feel about these disgusting remarks, coming as they do from someone who disregards his part in the cover up of  hundreds of thousands of crimes against children.Who shields and defends his pedophile legions of priests but  wages war on a group of caring thoughtful people who show more morality than three quaters of his clergy.
Every time this man pronounces yet another "pearl of moral wisdom" from his place of audacious arrogance, he insults me! He insults me as a survivor of catholic clergy abuse, as a woman,and  as a very proud Mother of a gay son, and as a human being.
My children are grown up now, but  who  would I feel I could safely leave the example of morality of my grandchildren  and everyone elses children to ? The gay community who show their  integrity by wanting to make a public and morally binding commitment of love? or an immoral old man who wears a dress, thinks that "  homosexuality   is as damaging to the World as the destruction of the rainforest" that lies to uneducated people  about the use of condoms, condeming many of them to death. That enables criminals to still have access to children in their "care".Who flatly refuses to make amends to the thousands of survivors who have been damaged by his church, while saying that to allow same sex marriage is an attack on "justice"
There is no contest.!!
A While ago I  was criticised for using a swear word in my writing, I was told it was " unprofessional," but then my critic did go on to say that "you are of course entitled to your opinion" well if you are reading this look away now:
Benedict you are a dick.