| "Widely respected." "A wise jurist." The US news media heaped on the praise, but was purposefully vague about who this extraordinary judge was and what he actually did. The early and oft-repeated media claim "the judge was just in the wrong place at the wrong time" doesn't ring true for several reasons, the most important being how the heck would they know and know so quickly? Equally as suspicious, why did they feel the need to repeat this statement over and over again from the very beginning of the reports? Who inserted this into the news stream? Judge Roll was an opponent of the Federal government overreaching its authority. Specifically: 1. He ruled against federal imposition on states rights in gun law matters, 2. He ruled against elements of the Patriot Act (the part where federal "law enforcement agents" can seize your bank account without cause), and 3. He ruled against the newly announced FEMA Governor system in which the federal government plans to take the power of elected state Governors and put in in the hands of federally-appointed "regional" governors in the case of an "emergency." It's a rare judge these days that stands up to this BS or shows any interest in the Constitution at all. And he ended up dead in the parking lot of a Safeway Supermarket at the hands of a "lone nut" who local law enforcement allowed to run wild publicly making violent threats against employers and school administrators. |
Website by Tommy Richards Spirituallysmart.com is 25 years old. Overt Psyops #OvertPsyops OvertPsyops.ai
The real assassination target in Tucson?
This info was taken from here. I always recommend everyone verify all things. Let this sort of be a disclaimer. Several times I have found info connected to Alex Jones to be wrong. Even in matters such as this. I believe he does this on purpose to incite revolution and extremist behavior for the goal of harming the reputations of truth-seekers. The Alex Jones Operation (Project Alex Jones) has many purposes. One purpose is to be a "straw man sock puppet" meant to discredit the whole grass roots, alternative media, constitutionalists, ect ect movements ... -T.R.
Meet Judge John Roll
Link to page with video
EU and Vatican criticised
The People's Assembly launched a scathing attack against the European Parliament accusing it of disseminating false reports about the "repression of Christians" in Egypt, reports Gamal Essam El-Din
Egyptian MPs, belonging to the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and opposition, opened fire on the Brussels-based European Parliament, accusing it of interfering in Egypt's internal affairs. Speaker of the People's Assembly Fathi Sorour told MPs in a session on Monday morning that he condemned the way in which the European Parliament had "tried to exploit the attack which hit the Two Saints Church on the New Year's Eve in order to imply that there is a systematic policy of repression against Coptic Christians in Egypt". Sorour said that in a meeting with a delegation from the Bundestag (German parliament) yesterday, he had stressed that "the terrorist attack against the Alexandrian church targeted Muslims and Christians alike and the European Parliament's statements about repression of Christians in Egypt are entirely unfounded".
Supporting Sorour, senior NDP MPs accused the European Parliament of propagating lies about Egypt. Abdel-Ahad Gamaleddin, NDP spokesman in the People's Assembly, insisted that "the European Parliament's statement claiming that Coptic Christians face persecution shows how most European institutions are completely ignorant of the situation in Egypt."
Chairman of the assembly's National Security and Defence Committee Amin Radi urged the European Parliament to exercise restraint before publishing false statements about religious conditions in Egypt.
"The European Parliament should fully understand that the bomb attack against the church was aimed at sowing discord between Christians and Muslims in Egypt," Radi said.
The Ghad Party's Ragab Hilal Hemeida accused the European Parliament of offering money to its clients in Egypt to spread lies and instill a kind of "creative chaos in the country".
MPs also attacked Pope Benedict XVI for issuing a statement that reflected "the spirit of the Crusades". "Please, Pope of the Vatican," pleaded independent Coptic MP Gamal Assad Abdel-Malak, "stop recalling the spirit of the Crusades. Copts in Egypt do not face repression and are not in need of the protection of the Christian West."
"Since Napoleon Bonaparte's French Expedition and until the Zionist colonialist campaigns of today the West has been trying to exploit what it calls the Coptic issue and other religious minorities to interfere with the internal affairs of Egypt. Yes, there are some discriminatory policies against the Copts but these are nowhere near a systematic policy of persecution."
Abdel-Malak urged the government "not to dig its head into the sand like an ostrich and assume everything is OK with Egypt's Copts". He asked the ruling NDP to enter into "open discussion" of Coptic grievances "so as to close the door to foreign meddling".
Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, was also singled out by MPs for attack. Saad Al-Gammal, chairman of the assembly's Arab Affairs Committee, charged that both "the Mossad and the extremist Islamist organisation Al-Qaeda are seeking to inflame sectarian strife in countries like Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen."
"Mossad now serves the interests of Al-Qaeda and vice-versa. Neither will be able to break the national unity of Egypt."
Raafat Seif, spokesman of the leftist Tagammu Party, refused to join the anti-European Parliament tirade, saving his criticism for the proliferation of policies that allowed the growth of the kind of intolerance that culminated in the Alexandria bombing.
"Such policies include the growth of extremist education in private and government schools, the use of television and print media and mosques to spread hate against others, including Copts, describing them as infidels," said Seif.
NDP MPs tried to stop Seif from continuing until Sorour intervened. He went on to denounce "the extremist ideology of Wahabi Islam which had imposed itself on Egypt at the expense of the moderate and centrist ideology of Al-Azhar, which calls for tolerance, freedom of religion and inter-faith dialogue".
In response, Sorour urged MPs not to link Coptic grievances with the Alexandria bomb attack. "In so doing," he argued, "MPs are repeating foreign allegations that the bomb attack is somehow linked to Coptic grievances and the repression of Christians in Egypt."
Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Moufid Shehab reiterated the argument that the bombing was an attempt to sow divisions among Egyptians. He warned MPs against confusing issues "by connecting the crime to Coptic grievances".
NDP MPs also criticised coverage of the attack on television channels. "Coverage of the bombing was at odds with the national interest," said Abdel-Ahad. "Channels which refuse to toe the national line should be closed."
Zakaria Azmi, chief of the presidential staff and a heavyweight NDP MP, accused daily newspapers of being so desperate to obtain a scoop that they had published conflicting reports about the results of the investigation into the Alexandria attack.
"Such irresponsibility could force citizens to lose confidence in the investigating authorities," he said. Newspapers should remember that the penal code criminalises all forms of intervention in ongoing investigations," said Azmi.
Supporting Sorour, senior NDP MPs accused the European Parliament of propagating lies about Egypt. Abdel-Ahad Gamaleddin, NDP spokesman in the People's Assembly, insisted that "the European Parliament's statement claiming that Coptic Christians face persecution shows how most European institutions are completely ignorant of the situation in Egypt."
Chairman of the assembly's National Security and Defence Committee Amin Radi urged the European Parliament to exercise restraint before publishing false statements about religious conditions in Egypt.
"The European Parliament should fully understand that the bomb attack against the church was aimed at sowing discord between Christians and Muslims in Egypt," Radi said.
The Ghad Party's Ragab Hilal Hemeida accused the European Parliament of offering money to its clients in Egypt to spread lies and instill a kind of "creative chaos in the country".
MPs also attacked Pope Benedict XVI for issuing a statement that reflected "the spirit of the Crusades". "Please, Pope of the Vatican," pleaded independent Coptic MP Gamal Assad Abdel-Malak, "stop recalling the spirit of the Crusades. Copts in Egypt do not face repression and are not in need of the protection of the Christian West."
"Since Napoleon Bonaparte's French Expedition and until the Zionist colonialist campaigns of today the West has been trying to exploit what it calls the Coptic issue and other religious minorities to interfere with the internal affairs of Egypt. Yes, there are some discriminatory policies against the Copts but these are nowhere near a systematic policy of persecution."
Abdel-Malak urged the government "not to dig its head into the sand like an ostrich and assume everything is OK with Egypt's Copts". He asked the ruling NDP to enter into "open discussion" of Coptic grievances "so as to close the door to foreign meddling".
Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, was also singled out by MPs for attack. Saad Al-Gammal, chairman of the assembly's Arab Affairs Committee, charged that both "the Mossad and the extremist Islamist organisation Al-Qaeda are seeking to inflame sectarian strife in countries like Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen."
"Mossad now serves the interests of Al-Qaeda and vice-versa. Neither will be able to break the national unity of Egypt."
Raafat Seif, spokesman of the leftist Tagammu Party, refused to join the anti-European Parliament tirade, saving his criticism for the proliferation of policies that allowed the growth of the kind of intolerance that culminated in the Alexandria bombing.
"Such policies include the growth of extremist education in private and government schools, the use of television and print media and mosques to spread hate against others, including Copts, describing them as infidels," said Seif.
NDP MPs tried to stop Seif from continuing until Sorour intervened. He went on to denounce "the extremist ideology of Wahabi Islam which had imposed itself on Egypt at the expense of the moderate and centrist ideology of Al-Azhar, which calls for tolerance, freedom of religion and inter-faith dialogue".
In response, Sorour urged MPs not to link Coptic grievances with the Alexandria bomb attack. "In so doing," he argued, "MPs are repeating foreign allegations that the bomb attack is somehow linked to Coptic grievances and the repression of Christians in Egypt."
Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Moufid Shehab reiterated the argument that the bombing was an attempt to sow divisions among Egyptians. He warned MPs against confusing issues "by connecting the crime to Coptic grievances".
NDP MPs also criticised coverage of the attack on television channels. "Coverage of the bombing was at odds with the national interest," said Abdel-Ahad. "Channels which refuse to toe the national line should be closed."
Zakaria Azmi, chief of the presidential staff and a heavyweight NDP MP, accused daily newspapers of being so desperate to obtain a scoop that they had published conflicting reports about the results of the investigation into the Alexandria attack.
"Such irresponsibility could force citizens to lose confidence in the investigating authorities," he said. Newspapers should remember that the penal code criminalises all forms of intervention in ongoing investigations," said Azmi.
Family of late Polish president accuses Moscow of crash plot
The family of late Polish president Lech Kaczynski who died with 95 others in an April 2010 air crash in western Russia said on Monday that Moscow may have plotted to assassinate him.
"Today the hypothesis of an assassination plot against the Polish president is more plausible than ever," Marcin Dubieniecki, the husband and lawyer of the late Kaczynski's only child, daughter Marta, told Polish media on Monday.
"There are many things indicating that (the Russians would have wanted) to assassinate Lech Kaczynski," Ms Dubieniecki told Poland's commercial TVN24 news channel.
Kaczynski was known for his deep suspicion of Poland's Soviet-era master Moscow and for holding a staunch policy line against Russian moves in the region.
According to Ms Dubieniecki, Moscow may have been motivated by "the possible re-election of president Lech Kaczynski, revenge for (his backing) Georgia and by Russian interests in relations between Moscow and the European Union."
In its final report issued last Wednesday in Moscow, Russian investigators blamed the catastrophe on the incompetence of the plane's Polish pilots and pressure from senior officials on the flight to land despite dangerous weather warnings.
Ms Dubieniecki accused Russian investigators of ignoring an attempt by Polish pilots to regain altitude and abort the landing 22 seconds prior to the crash.
The attempt "failed because the crew was misinformed about the plane's altitude and about the position of the landing course and path," Ms Dubieniecki charged.
The Russian crash report stirred controversy in Poland, with liberal Prime Minister Donald Tusk saying Poland would present its own version after he termed the Russian findings "incomplete".
Meanwhile Kaczynski's surviving twin and conservative opposition leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said Moscow's report "made a mockery of Poland."
The report clears local air traffic controllers and the technical condition of the regional airport in Smolensk of having been a factor in the crash.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Polish counterpart Bronislaw Komorowski pledged on Friday to continue dialogue.
The attempt "failed because the crew was misinformed about the plane's altitude and about the position of the landing course and path," Ms Dubieniecki charged.
The Russian crash report stirred controversy in Poland, with liberal Prime Minister Donald Tusk saying Poland would present its own version after he termed the Russian findings "incomplete".
Meanwhile Kaczynski's surviving twin and conservative opposition leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said Moscow's report "made a mockery of Poland."
The report clears local air traffic controllers and the technical condition of the regional airport in Smolensk of having been a factor in the crash.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Polish counterpart Bronislaw Komorowski pledged on Friday to continue dialogue.
New Provincial Named for California Province of the Society of Jesus
Los Gatos, CA—Fr. Michael F. Weiler, S.J., has been appointed by Fr. General Adolfo Nicolás, S.J, as the next provincial of the California Province of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). Fr. Weiler succeeds Fr. John McGarry, S.J., who has served as provincial of the California Province since 2005. Fr. Weiler will take office on the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola, July 31, 2011.
Fr. Weiler currently serves as Director of Novices and Superior of Ignatius House Novitiate, a position he has held since 2005.
Fr. Weiler is a graduate of Bellarmine College Preparatory, Loyola Marymount University, Gonzaga University, Jesuit School of Theology, and California School of Professional Psychology. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1975, was ordained in 1988 and received his final vows in 2005. Following ordination, Fr. Weiler served as an associate pastor at Dolores Mission in Los Angeles and then as an instructor in counseling psychology and a psychologist at Santa Clara University.
For more information about the California Province of the Society of Jesus, see www.jesuitscalifornia.org, or contact the Advancement Office at advancement@calprov.org.
Years of harassment by Feds may have lead to threats
Vincent McCrudden - CEO of Alnbri Management, LLC has been arrested for alledgedly making threats against federal regulators.The article in the Long Island Press reads,
"FBI agents arrested Vincent McCrudden, 49, of Long Beach, Thursday at Newark Liberty International Airport as he returned from Singapore. Federal prosecutors believe McCrudden had been there for the past several months.
He is accused of threatening 47 employees of the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission and other agencies. Many of the messages included profanity laced tirades against the regulators, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Central Islip.
McCrudden was ordered held without bail at an initial court appearance Friday. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Jan. 27.
“Although bad tempered and at times ill-mannered, he is a good and decent man. He does not pose a true threat to anyone,” said defense lawyer Bruce Barket. “Vulgar language, bad use of metaphors and very poor timing are not crimes.”
Prosecutors said that in addition to death threats posted on his website, McCrudden posted a $100,000 reward seeking personal information about several government officials.
“In this day and age, there is no such thing as an idle threat,” U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said in a statement. “Those who threaten injury or worse to the lives of others will be promptly investigated and vigorously prosecuted.”
The threats against the regulators followed a a CFTC civil enforcement lawsuit filed against McCrudden in December, prosecutors said. The complaint alleged McCrudden has been the subject of various enforcement or disciplinary proceedings over several years.
But even before the CFTC action, he allegedly sent an email to an employee of the National Futures Association, stating: “It wasn’t ever a question of if I was going to kill you, it was just a question of when. And now, that question has been answered. You are going to die a painful death.”
His website also allegedly included an “execution list” with the names of 47 current and former federal regulators, prosecutors said, including the chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
But Mr. Vincent McCrudden States on his web site:
Mr. McCrudden worked on Wall Street for over 20 years. He started his career on the floors of the New York Commodity Exchange executing orders for some of the largest institutions in the world including hedge funds and Commercial & Investment Banks. He then ran Global Desks in such areas as Foreign Exchange, Credit Derivatives & Equity Derivatives. He taught derivatives courses at the New York Institute of Finance.
Mr. McCrudden is a former soccer player at the University of Rhode Island, and then played professionally for the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Minnesota Strikers of the NASL. He also was an amateur boxer and has raised money over the years for the NYPD for slained [sic] and disabled officers. He has two beautiful children.
Mr. McCrudden has spent the past 13 years and counting combating a colluded Government attempt to discredit and harrass Mr. McCrudden through repeated bogus procedures. Mr. McCrudden has sought relief by suing multiple agencies and officials for $1 Billion. But this has not stopped certain higher ranking officials because they know that Judges are Government employees too. In order to stop the libel, slander and harrassment at the hands of these entities, and with no available forum in the US justice system, Mr. McCrudden has started a process to enact payback for years of Government abuse. As a twice survivor of the WTC bombings, Mr. McCrudden knows all too well what the Government can do in the "name of public interest". Mr. McCrudden believes the 23 friends he lost on 9-11-2001 would have had their full support. Wake up my fellow citizens and middle class and go look into the mirror, because you my friends are the face of the new Al Qaeda! Civil disobedience can be a start for justice. Its us (middle class) against them (Government officials and the Bourgeosie). Start acting now before its too late!
Government employees should be individually accountable and not be able to hide behind the veils of their entities. If they are sued for bad behaviour, they should have to use their own resources and money like any other citizen.
So what's the story? Government corruption, intimidation and harassment? Or is this man doing what people sometimes do and try and hide from their crimes by making accusations against the government? By what I've read he seems very angry and appears to believe he's truly being harassed. If convicted he faces up to five years in prison for each of the two counts.
Additional Links:
Here's The "Execution List" Posted By The Crazed Money Manager Who Threatened To Kill 47 SEC, CFTC And FINRA Members
and
Vincent McCrudden
McCrudden was ordered held without bail at an initial court appearance Friday. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Jan. 27.
“Although bad tempered and at times ill-mannered, he is a good and decent man. He does not pose a true threat to anyone,” said defense lawyer Bruce Barket. “Vulgar language, bad use of metaphors and very poor timing are not crimes.”
Prosecutors said that in addition to death threats posted on his website, McCrudden posted a $100,000 reward seeking personal information about several government officials.
“In this day and age, there is no such thing as an idle threat,” U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said in a statement. “Those who threaten injury or worse to the lives of others will be promptly investigated and vigorously prosecuted.”
The threats against the regulators followed a a CFTC civil enforcement lawsuit filed against McCrudden in December, prosecutors said. The complaint alleged McCrudden has been the subject of various enforcement or disciplinary proceedings over several years.
But even before the CFTC action, he allegedly sent an email to an employee of the National Futures Association, stating: “It wasn’t ever a question of if I was going to kill you, it was just a question of when. And now, that question has been answered. You are going to die a painful death.”
His website also allegedly included an “execution list” with the names of 47 current and former federal regulators, prosecutors said, including the chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
But Mr. Vincent McCrudden States on his web site:
Mr. McCrudden worked on Wall Street for over 20 years. He started his career on the floors of the New York Commodity Exchange executing orders for some of the largest institutions in the world including hedge funds and Commercial & Investment Banks. He then ran Global Desks in such areas as Foreign Exchange, Credit Derivatives & Equity Derivatives. He taught derivatives courses at the New York Institute of Finance.
Mr. McCrudden is a former soccer player at the University of Rhode Island, and then played professionally for the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Minnesota Strikers of the NASL. He also was an amateur boxer and has raised money over the years for the NYPD for slained [sic] and disabled officers. He has two beautiful children.
Mr. McCrudden has spent the past 13 years and counting combating a colluded Government attempt to discredit and harrass Mr. McCrudden through repeated bogus procedures. Mr. McCrudden has sought relief by suing multiple agencies and officials for $1 Billion. But this has not stopped certain higher ranking officials because they know that Judges are Government employees too. In order to stop the libel, slander and harrassment at the hands of these entities, and with no available forum in the US justice system, Mr. McCrudden has started a process to enact payback for years of Government abuse. As a twice survivor of the WTC bombings, Mr. McCrudden knows all too well what the Government can do in the "name of public interest". Mr. McCrudden believes the 23 friends he lost on 9-11-2001 would have had their full support. Wake up my fellow citizens and middle class and go look into the mirror, because you my friends are the face of the new Al Qaeda! Civil disobedience can be a start for justice. Its us (middle class) against them (Government officials and the Bourgeosie). Start acting now before its too late!
Government employees should be individually accountable and not be able to hide behind the veils of their entities. If they are sued for bad behaviour, they should have to use their own resources and money like any other citizen.
So what's the story? Government corruption, intimidation and harassment? Or is this man doing what people sometimes do and try and hide from their crimes by making accusations against the government? By what I've read he seems very angry and appears to believe he's truly being harassed. If convicted he faces up to five years in prison for each of the two counts.
Additional Links:
Here's The "Execution List" Posted By The Crazed Money Manager Who Threatened To Kill 47 SEC, CFTC And FINRA Members
and
Vincent McCrudden
Spanish king Juan Carlos to visit Russia in February
King Juan Carlos of Spain is expected to visit Russia on February 25, Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez said on Monday.
The king will visit St. Petersburg, accompanied by the country's foreign minister and industry minister, Jimenez said at a meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov.
Juan Carlos is expected to meet with top executives of leading Russian companies, she added.
Zhukov recalled that 2011 is the Year of Spain in Russia and the Year of Russia in Spain.
"It is very nice that the Year of Russia in Spain and the Year of Spain in Russia is starting against the backdrop of very good ties between our countries, both on the political and economic level," he said.
MOSCOW, January 17 (RIA Novosti)
 |
| King Juan Carlos and President Dmitry Medvedev |
The king will visit St. Petersburg, accompanied by the country's foreign minister and industry minister, Jimenez said at a meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov.
Juan Carlos is expected to meet with top executives of leading Russian companies, she added.
Zhukov recalled that 2011 is the Year of Spain in Russia and the Year of Russia in Spain.
"It is very nice that the Year of Russia in Spain and the Year of Spain in Russia is starting against the backdrop of very good ties between our countries, both on the political and economic level," he said.
MOSCOW, January 17 (RIA Novosti)
Stephen Hawking With Pope Benedict at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
Pope Benedict "blesses" Stephen Hawking at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Vatican, 2008
Video:
Pope picks Protestant to head Vatican's sciences academy
Benedict XVI chose Werner Arber, a Swiss molecular biologist who shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1978, as president of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. A Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini, said Sunday it is the first time a non-Catholic heads the academy in its four centuries of history.
The academy help pontiffs understand scientific advances in fields ranging from genetics to nuclear physics. Arber became a member in 1981. Other non-Catholics who have been prominent academy members, but not president, include Rita Levi Montalcini, an Italian Jew and 1986 Nobel winner for medicine.
From wiki: "He is member of the World Knowledge Dialogue Scientific Board and of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences since 1981. Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on January 2011, making him the first Protestant to hold the position.[2]"
Jesuits take D.C.
Don't forget, this isn't just talking about Roman Catholics. This is just individuals who graduated from a Jesuit University or College. Roman Catholics make up a much bigger percentage than this. This page is a mirror of this blog (it's been scrubbed from the internet)
Fifty-three members of the 112th Congress are alumni of the nation's twenty-eight Jesuit colleges and universities. Thirty-five attained graduate or professional degrees from Jesuit universities. Twelve serve in the Senate and forty-one in the House.
Here are the Senators:
Georgetown University leads the way with eighteen alumni, followed by Boston College (7), and the College of the Holy Cross (4). Four schools (Creighton University, Fordham University, Marquette University, and the University of Detroit Mercy) each have 3.
Not bad. Unfortunately, neither my alma mater not current employer make the list.
At least another thirty alumni serve in the Obama administration including
Fifty-three members of the 112th Congress are alumni of the nation's twenty-eight Jesuit colleges and universities. Thirty-five attained graduate or professional degrees from Jesuit universities. Twelve serve in the Senate and forty-one in the House.
Here are the Senators:
- John Barrasso, (R-WY) Appointed 2007, Elected 2008, B.A. Georgetown University (1974) and M.D. Georgetown University (1978)
- Scott Brown, (R-MA) Elected 2010, J.D. Boston College (1984)
- Robert P. Casey, Jr., (D-PA) Elected 2006, B.A. College of the Holy Cross (1982)
- Richard J. Durbin, (D-IL) Elected 1996, B.S.F.S. Georgetown University (1966) and J.D. Georgetown University (1969)
- Michael (Mike) Johanns, (R-NB) Elected 2008, J.D. Creighton University (1974)
- John F. Kerry, (D-MA) Elected 1984, J.D. Boston College (1976)
- Patrick J. Leahy, (D-VT) Elected 1974, J.D. Georgetown University (1964)
- Mark Steven Kirk, (R-IL) Elected 2010, J.D. Georgetown University (1992)
- Robert Menendez, (D-NJ) Appointed & Elected 2006, B.A. Saint Peter's College (1976)
- Barbara A. Mikulski, (D-MD) Elected 1986, B.A. Loyola University Maryland (1958)
- Lisa Murkowski, (R-AK) Appointed 2002, Elected 2004, B..A. Georgetown University (1980)
- Jim Webb, (D-VA) Elected 2006, J.D. Georgetown University (1975)
Georgetown University leads the way with eighteen alumni, followed by Boston College (7), and the College of the Holy Cross (4). Four schools (Creighton University, Fordham University, Marquette University, and the University of Detroit Mercy) each have 3.
Not bad. Unfortunately, neither my alma mater not current employer make the list.
At least another thirty alumni serve in the Obama administration including
- Department of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates (Georgetown University, 1974, PhD)
- Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano (Santa Clara University, 1979, BA)
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Leon E. Panetta (Santa Clara University, 1960, BA)
- White House Chief of Staff William Daley (Loyola University Chicago, 1970, BA)
First, how does the percentage of Jesuit alumni serving in Congress today compare to previous sessions? Is ten percent high? low?
Second, do individuals interested in public service choose to attend Jesuit colleges and universities or does the Ignatian experience cause them to pursue a life of public service? Maybe we're doing something right.
You can see a global list on Wikipedia that includes Externado San Jose and UCA alumnus Mauricio Funes.Finally, how important is the Jesuit alumni network (current and former congressmen) in getting elected? Are members of congress, in any way, more likely to work with each other because of their shared college experiences?
ROTARY, FREEMASONRY AND THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
ROTARY, FREEMASONRY AND THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Mirror of This Web Page
You can perform your own search at http://www.historysearch.org/
As the General President, Harry Rogers declared at the International Convention at Ostend, no tie has ever existed, exists, or will ever exist between the two associations. As President of Italian Rotary I declare that I would not remain in this position one hour if I had any doubts on this subject.
In this extract from an article in 'Rotary Wheel' in December 1928, Prince Conti hints at the problems Rotary was encountering in Italy as it was in Spain and Ireland.
From RGHF senior historian Basil Lewis, UK, 15 July 2008
Pietro Brunoldi (with help from Wolfgang Ziegler) writes on 22 July 2008:
Prince Piero Ginori Conti was NOT a President of the Rotary in Italy, but simply District Governor in 1928-29 (District 46), representing the district newborn in the year 1925. So, probably there was a misunderstanding (or bad translation) when he wrote District Governor..... probably by someone who didn't know the meaning of DG and interpreted it as President.
This badge was found by our historian colleague, Dr. Wolfgang Ziegler and triggered off a search for its origin which has not yet been resolved. The central part of what is otherwise a normal Rotary lapel badge, seems to show the symbols of Freemasonry, the set square and compasses, while the letter 'G' in the centre is also an indication of the Scottish Rite of Masonry. We know that many of the early Rotarians were Masons and that, according to C.R. Hewitt in 'Towards My Neighbour', some Rotary clubs recruited exclusively from Freemasons until the practice was banned in the 1920s. To date, no precise details of these links have been found in the archives of either body.
The relationship was a matter of some discussion and in February 1923, an article in 'The Rotary Wheel' sought to allay fears among Rotarians who might think that their membership of the one could cause problems in the other.
However, many people who did not know much about these organisations, thought that Rotary was a form of Masonry. This eventually led to a much more serious problem when the Catholic Church, which had long been an antagonist of Masonry, classed Rotary as a similar organisation. Also see the Ziegler Collection
G.K. Chesterton who was often a vocal critic of Rotary, was a Catholic convert. and his adherence to the sectarian line may have coloured his views.
The problems seem to have started in Spain about 1928 when the Bishops of Almeria, Leon, Orense, Palencia and Tuy laid charges that Rotary is "nothing else but a new satanic organisation with the same background and teachings of masonry" and that "according to documents and reliable sources, Rotary is a suspected organisation, and should be considered as execrable and perverse". The Church also criticised and condemned Rotary for showing a concept of life and of service without reference to church teaching. Indeed, it seems that they believed it a secret society with quasi-religious overtones as many in the Church thought was the case with Freemasonry. For whatever reason, the Vatican took up the reins and in 1929 issued a decree that "it is not expedient" for Catholic priests to participate in Rotary either as members or guests. This decree and its implications were worrying to the many Catholics in Rotary not the least the then President Tom Sutton who was himself a Catholic, and former Chancellor Germany Wilhelm Cuno, a member in Hamburg.
The relationship was a matter of some discussion and in February 1923, an article in 'The Rotary Wheel' sought to allay fears among Rotarians who might think that their membership of the one could cause problems in the other.
However, many people who did not know much about these organisations, thought that Rotary was a form of Masonry. This eventually led to a much more serious problem when the Catholic Church, which had long been an antagonist of Masonry, classed Rotary as a similar organisation. Also see the Ziegler Collection
G.K. Chesterton who was often a vocal critic of Rotary, was a Catholic convert. and his adherence to the sectarian line may have coloured his views.The problems seem to have started in Spain about 1928 when the Bishops of Almeria, Leon, Orense, Palencia and Tuy laid charges that Rotary is "nothing else but a new satanic organisation with the same background and teachings of masonry" and that "according to documents and reliable sources, Rotary is a suspected organisation, and should be considered as execrable and perverse". The Church also criticised and condemned Rotary for showing a concept of life and of service without reference to church teaching. Indeed, it seems that they believed it a secret society with quasi-religious overtones as many in the Church thought was the case with Freemasonry. For whatever reason, the Vatican took up the reins and in 1929 issued a decree that "it is not expedient" for Catholic priests to participate in Rotary either as members or guests. This decree and its implications were worrying to the many Catholics in Rotary not the least the then President Tom Sutton who was himself a Catholic, and former Chancellor Germany Wilhelm Cuno, a member in Hamburg.
Critical and at times disparaging articles regularly appeared in Catholic newspapers, especially in the 'Civilta Cattolica' in Italy, and Tom Sutton went off to Rome to try to convince the Papal authorities that Rotary was not Masonic, and that it was a movement which was not in conflict with any Catholic teaching.
Sutton's attempts to convince the Secretary of State in the Vatican, Cardinal Gaspari, were fruitless and the anti-Rotary articles continued to be published. An even more virulent article later appeared in Paris in 'La France Catholique' making allegations about both Paul Harris and the links between Rotary and Freemasonry, which were later reprinted in the Baltic paper 'Rytas'.
The factual errors could be, and promptly were shown to be false, and by 1933 there was a mood swing in the Vatican, perhaps partly occasioned by the number of prominent and influential Catholics throughout the world who were joining Rotary. Priests were now allowed to use their discretion about attending or even joining Rotary. Nevertheless, one of the results of the Church's attitude was the slow development of Rotary in some predominantly Catholic countries such as Ireland.
This uneasy peace continued until 1951 when another Vatican decree warned priests that they should not join Rotary and that "the faithful should be aware of seditious and suspected organisations".
By then, however, the world had changed and the decree caused an immediate angry response, among others from the then Catholic President of RI, Arthur Laqueux, and from the Rotarian Catholic Bishop of Fort Wayne, Indiana, who publicly declared the decree "quite incomprehensible".
Fairly soon, the Vatican began to retract. The official newspaper 'Osservatore Romano' wrote "In some nations, because of a prevalent Masonic influx, the action of Rotary Clubs has conflicted with the activity and the needs of the Church. It must be said, however, that such has not been the case in other nations where the attitude of Rotary has shown itself in practice tolerant and benevolent towards religious interests."
Fairly soon, the Vatican began to retract. The official newspaper 'Osservatore Romano' wrote "In some nations, because of a prevalent Masonic influx, the action of Rotary Clubs has conflicted with the activity and the needs of the Church. It must be said, however, that such has not been the case in other nations where the attitude of Rotary has shown itself in practice tolerant and benevolent towards religious interests."
By the end of the decade, the Catholic Truth Society was able to declare that "Rotary is neither secret nor seditious". It was nevertheless still regarded as a "society banned under pain of sin only" and not of "sin and excommunication". Gradually there was a thaw in relations between the Church and Rotary. In 1970 Pope Pius VI addressed Rotarians in Italy, and in 1979 Pope John Paul II spoke to the International Convention in Rome, praising some of Rotary's humanitarian programmes at a special audience in the Vatican. Later he accepted a Paul Harris Fellowship and a World Understanding and Peace Award from Rotary, while Catholic priests throughout the world were taking positions of authority, even serving as District Governors.
As Alvarez points out, it was not only Rotary that was condemned during the 1930s and 1940s. The Lions Clubs and even the YMCA incurred the wrath of the Vatican. In fact, the condemnation of the Y.M.C.A. was even earlier in 1920 when it was described as "White Masonry", on the grounds that "such organisation, while showing special concern for the youth, corrupted their faith, teaching them a conception of life dispensing with the Church and all religious teachings. The Y.M.C.A. is contributing to the decay of the youth's faith, by affirming that its purpose is to show them a conception of life without churches or religious confession".
Basil Lewis Based on Nicholl's 'The Golden Wheel', Juan Alvarez's excellent analysis of 'Masonry in Latin America', RIBI's 'The Rotary Wheel' and other published works. Also see, Rotarian Lodge #4195
A letter on this subject from Paul Harris (left) The following was provided by RGHF historian Calum Thomson: 18 May 2006 Paul Harris said the following: "fraternity without rituals, passwords and secrets". Source - Jeffrey Charles: 'Service Clubs in American Society' chapter 1 entitled "From Fraternity to Service".
As Alvarez points out, it was not only Rotary that was condemned during the 1930s and 1940s. The Lions Clubs and even the YMCA incurred the wrath of the Vatican. In fact, the condemnation of the Y.M.C.A. was even earlier in 1920 when it was described as "White Masonry", on the grounds that "such organisation, while showing special concern for the youth, corrupted their faith, teaching them a conception of life dispensing with the Church and all religious teachings. The Y.M.C.A. is contributing to the decay of the youth's faith, by affirming that its purpose is to show them a conception of life without churches or religious confession".
Basil Lewis Based on Nicholl's 'The Golden Wheel', Juan Alvarez's excellent analysis of 'Masonry in Latin America', RIBI's 'The Rotary Wheel' and other published works. Also see, Rotarian Lodge #4195
A letter on this subject from Paul Harris (left) The following was provided by RGHF historian Calum Thomson: 18 May 2006 Paul Harris said the following: "fraternity without rituals, passwords and secrets". Source - Jeffrey Charles: 'Service Clubs in American Society' chapter 1 entitled "From Fraternity to Service".The quote is derived from Paul Harris' promotional brochures which were distributed to the early (potential) members of ROTARY/One.Charles concludes his paragraph by stating "Harris' organization promised an informality and exclusivity that fraternalism could not match."
Further to the piece about Masons and Rotary
Prince Conti, District Governor of D46 (Italy) in 1928 wrote: "Lately a few Catholic papers have shown doubts as to the origin and the work of our Association; and worse than that, they have tried to trace relations between Rotary and Masonry. These doubts of the Catholic press are not in the least just, and many Catholic priests belong to Rotary. We are sorry that such doubts exist, but we are not troubled, because we know perfectly well that no tie exists between the two Associations, and that in all our manifestations there is not one single thing that is not compatible with our consciences as Catholics and Italians and Fascists.
As the General President, Harry Rogers declared at the International Convention at Ostend, no tie has ever existed, exists, or will ever exist between the two associations. As President of Italian Rotary I declare that I would not remain in this position one hour if I had any doubts on this subject.
In this extract from an article in 'Rotary Wheel' in December 1928, Prince Conti hints at the problems Rotary was encountering in Italy as it was in Spain and Ireland.
From RGHF senior historian Basil Lewis, UK, 15 July 2008
Pietro Brunoldi (with help from Wolfgang Ziegler) writes on 22 July 2008:
Prince Piero Ginori Conti was NOT a President of the Rotary in Italy, but simply District Governor in 1928-29 (District 46), representing the district newborn in the year 1925. So, probably there was a misunderstanding (or bad translation) when he wrote District Governor..... probably by someone who didn't know the meaning of DG and interpreted it as President.
Tony Alamo grovels to three Presidents in new public display of duplicity and hypocrisy
Tony Alamo is squirming like a worm caught in the hot sun and has published on his web site three letters to the current and two former Presidents of the United States.
Although in the past 30 years he has blamed all Presidents and Government agencies for being papal puppets, accusing Bill Clinton of being a crypto Catholic and blaming Bush for 9/11 and a papal inquisition in Iraq Alamo is now stating that they are doing a work of God.
He says of Bill Clinton, "Clinton, my friend, I know how much time you dedicate to our country. I know you made a lot of sacrifices. God will always bless you for what you did for our country." He continues, "Never before did our people enjoy happiness and economic prosperity as they did while you were our president. You made a lot of progress on the home front. You were faced with tough issues on the international front, such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. As a believer in Jesus Christ, I truly believe you, as a mediator in these negotiations, did more than any other person in this conflict. Things did not work well in the pursuit of peace, despite your best efforts to mediate a solution, and the breakdown of Camp David led to the bloodshed in the Holy Land, the land of Christ."
This is easy for Tony Alamo to do isn't it? Now that he's in the federal pen with a 175 year sentence. Who cares how much heat and suspicion and anger he has brought on his followers by his insistent flooding of every major city in this country with his "gospel" tracts which blamed the government for every major news event from the JFK assassinations to 9/11. And saying that all government agencies were simply extensions of the Pope in Rome.
http://www.alamoministries.com/content/english/Gospel_literature/another_pearl_harbor.html
 |
| Picture from Tony Alamo's web site |
Although in the past 30 years he has blamed all Presidents and Government agencies for being papal puppets, accusing Bill Clinton of being a crypto Catholic and blaming Bush for 9/11 and a papal inquisition in Iraq Alamo is now stating that they are doing a work of God.
He says of Bill Clinton, "Clinton, my friend, I know how much time you dedicate to our country. I know you made a lot of sacrifices. God will always bless you for what you did for our country." He continues, "Never before did our people enjoy happiness and economic prosperity as they did while you were our president. You made a lot of progress on the home front. You were faced with tough issues on the international front, such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. As a believer in Jesus Christ, I truly believe you, as a mediator in these negotiations, did more than any other person in this conflict. Things did not work well in the pursuit of peace, despite your best efforts to mediate a solution, and the breakdown of Camp David led to the bloodshed in the Holy Land, the land of Christ."
This is easy for Tony Alamo to do isn't it? Now that he's in the federal pen with a 175 year sentence. Who cares how much heat and suspicion and anger he has brought on his followers by his insistent flooding of every major city in this country with his "gospel" tracts which blamed the government for every major news event from the JFK assassinations to 9/11. And saying that all government agencies were simply extensions of the Pope in Rome.
http://www.alamoministries.com/content/english/Gospel_literature/another_pearl_harbor.html
Tony Alamo 'Enforcer' Found Dead
Tony Alamo 'Enforcer' Found Dead
KSPR - - 1 hour ago
A man connected to convicted child molester and evangelist Tony Alamo has been found dead after Fort Smith police had been searching for him for two years. ...
Wanted Man Affiliated With Tony Alamo Ministries Found Dead
KHBS-KHOG Northwest Arkansas - 1 hour ago
Fort Smith Police say FBI notified them that John Erwin Kolbeck was found dead in Kentucky. More FORT SMITH, Ark. -- Fort Smith police said the Federal ...
Jesuit display of Leadership
A print of Jim Sinegal, president and CEO of Costco, is carried into the Jesuit's Seattle University Alumni and Admissions building to be installed in the space’s Mission in Action gallery. The gallery, open to the public, features images shot by staff photographer Chris Joseph Taylor that showcase and celebrate the accomplishments of students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the university who make a difference on campus, in the community and beyond. Check out the images in the A&A Building, on the corner of 12th and Marion.
The Jesuit School of Law's annual Red Mass
The School of Law’s annual Red Mass honored the contributions of the legal community, and a special ceremony afterward honored the memory of the late Norm Maleng, longtime King County Prosecutor. Professor from Practice John McKay, Mike McKay, Maleng’s son, Mark, and widow, Judy Maleng, Dean Annette Clark and President Stephen Sundborg, S.J., gather in front of a painting of St. Thomas More, patron of statesman, politicians, judges and lawyers. The painting was a gift from the firm McKay Chadwell PLLC.
Learn more about Red Mass and view photos from the event.
Here is my extensive info in regards to who Thomas More was and what the Red Mass is really all about!
And here is an additional page I put together on the subject.
Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli receives Jesuit "Honor"
Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, '72, a four-star general and 32nd Vice Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army, is honored by President Stephen Sundborg, S.J., as 2010 Alumnus of the Year at the 25th anniversary of the Alumni Awards. With a long and decorated military career Gen. Chiarelli is a graduate of the ROTC program and the highest ranking member of the military to have ever graduated from Seattle University.
Trouble in Amish Paradise
Last night I found this video about an Amish family who began questioning their Amish roots steeped in traditions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhoz_nLqMlI
Turns out that the Amish do not read the bible for themselves because their tradition allows them to only have a bible in German which most of them don't even understand anymore. But this Amish man began questioning the traditions after reading the Bible in English. It's amazing how God is setting this man free from the rules of the sect he belongs to.
I saw some similarities between the Amish and Alamo's. The Alamos might as well have their bibles in German as well because they've allowed so much other foreign teachings (Alamo's false prophesies and heresies, Apocrypha, Pentecostal heresies and false testimonies like "A divine Revelation of Hell" by Mary Baxter) to come in and obscure the Word of God that it's weakened the Word of God in their souls and watered it down with all the extra unbiblical teachings and false prophecies. It's crystal clear that Alamo's teachings have departed from Biblical Christianity. There's not just a little leaven in Alamo's camp.
But maybe a current Alamo member will watch this and be encouraged in this Amish person's testimony and remember their first love. Who is Christ who loved them first and taught them what love is. And maybe they could be reminded about the simplicity there is in Christ Jesus. Remember the light burden and that easy yoke which has since become the most horrible burden? Throw off that yoke of bondage to Alamo Ministries and turn to God with all your heart. I know God will help you as He has helped me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhoz_nLqMlI
Turns out that the Amish do not read the bible for themselves because their tradition allows them to only have a bible in German which most of them don't even understand anymore. But this Amish man began questioning the traditions after reading the Bible in English. It's amazing how God is setting this man free from the rules of the sect he belongs to.
I saw some similarities between the Amish and Alamo's. The Alamos might as well have their bibles in German as well because they've allowed so much other foreign teachings (Alamo's false prophesies and heresies, Apocrypha, Pentecostal heresies and false testimonies like "A divine Revelation of Hell" by Mary Baxter) to come in and obscure the Word of God that it's weakened the Word of God in their souls and watered it down with all the extra unbiblical teachings and false prophecies. It's crystal clear that Alamo's teachings have departed from Biblical Christianity. There's not just a little leaven in Alamo's camp.
But maybe a current Alamo member will watch this and be encouraged in this Amish person's testimony and remember their first love. Who is Christ who loved them first and taught them what love is. And maybe they could be reminded about the simplicity there is in Christ Jesus. Remember the light burden and that easy yoke which has since become the most horrible burden? Throw off that yoke of bondage to Alamo Ministries and turn to God with all your heart. I know God will help you as He has helped me.
Nazi Victims Ask EU to Probe Vatican on Looted Assets
Holocaust survivors from the former Yugoslavia accused the Vatican of helping Nazi allies launder their stolen valuables and have asked the European Commission to investigate their claims.
“We are requesting the commission open an inquiry into allegations of money laundering of Holocaust victim assets by financial organs associated with or which are agencies of the Vatican City State,”
Jonathan Levy, a Washington-based attorney for the survivors and their heirs, wrote in a letter dated Oct. 20 to Olli Rehn, the European Union’s economic and monetary affairs commissioner. Levy provided the letter to Bloomberg.
The request follows a decade-long lawsuit in U.S. courts on behalf of Holocaust survivors and their heirs from the former Yugoslavia and Ukraine. That case, basing its claims on a U.S. State Department report on the fate of Nazi plunder, alleged that the Vatican Bank laundered assets stolen from thousands of Jews, gypsies and Serbs killed or captured by the Ustasha, the Nazi-backed regime of wartime Croatia. The Vatican repeatedly denied the charges and the findings of the 1998 U.S. report.
Amadeu Altafaj, Rehn’s spokesman, said in Brussels today that the commission had received Levy’s letter and contacted Vatican authorities about it. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi declined to comment on Levy’s request to the commission.
Vatican Immunity
The U.S. case, which sought as much as $2 billion in restitution, was dismissed last December by a U.S. appeals court in San Francisco on grounds that the Vatican Bank enjoyed immunity under the 1976 Foreign Service Immunities Act, which may prevent foreign governments from facing lawsuits in the U.S.
The commission should have the authority to probe the Institute for Religious Works, or IOR, as the Vatican Bank is called, according to Levy’s letter. It cites a monetary accord signed on Dec. 17 of last year. Under the agreement the Vatican, which uses the euro and issues euro coins, pledged to implement EU laws against money laundering, counterfeiting and fraud.
Rome prosecutors have also sought to show that the Vatican bank is covered under European law. Last month they seized 23 million euros ($32 million) from an Italian account registered to the IOR as they opened a probe into alleged violations of money-laundering laws by the Vatican Bank.
“We looked at all the places where the Vatican may have surrendered sovereignty,” Levy said in a telephone interview. “The only place we could find was with the euro, where they placed themselves under the jurisdiction of either the European Central Bank or the European Commission.”
Swiss Payout
Levy initially contacted the legal office of the Frankfurt- based ECB and was told to take the claim to the commission, he said. An ECB spokeswoman confirmed that after being contacted by Levy, the central bank advised him to go directly to the EU’s executive arm.
The U.S. lawsuit was first filed in 1999, one year after an official Swiss commission concluded that Switzerland received three times more gold taken from Nazi victims than previously estimated by the U.S. government. The same year, UBS AG and Credit Suisse AG, the biggest Swiss banks, agreed to pay $1.25 billion in compensation to Holocaust survivors and their heirs.
In his letter, Levy said “gold and other valuables” stolen in the “genocidal” murder of 500,000 Serbs, Jews and gypsies “were deposited at the Vatican in 1946,” according to “contemporaneous documents authored by Allied investigators” and “the sworn testimony of former U.S. Special Agent William Gowen.” He interviewed and investigated the Ustasha involved in transferring the loot while stationed in Rome after the war.
Euro Coins
Under its agreement with the commission, Vatican City State, a sovereign nation outside the EU, may issue a maximum of 2.3 million euros in coins in 2010 through the Italian mint, not including a further variable amount. The Vatican also pledged to implement EU legislation against money laundering by year-end.
Rehn said the Vatican has submitted its first draft laws “on the prevention of money laundering and the fight against fraud and counterfeiting” and the commission is analyzing them, according to his reply to a question from a member of the European Parliament, posted on its website on Sept. 9.
Lombardi on Oct. 23 declined to say whether the Vatican intends to meet the Dec. 31 deadline for implementing the EU legislation.
“We are requesting the commission open an inquiry into allegations of money laundering of Holocaust victim assets by financial organs associated with or which are agencies of the Vatican City State,”
Jonathan Levy, a Washington-based attorney for the survivors and their heirs, wrote in a letter dated Oct. 20 to Olli Rehn, the European Union’s economic and monetary affairs commissioner. Levy provided the letter to Bloomberg.
The request follows a decade-long lawsuit in U.S. courts on behalf of Holocaust survivors and their heirs from the former Yugoslavia and Ukraine. That case, basing its claims on a U.S. State Department report on the fate of Nazi plunder, alleged that the Vatican Bank laundered assets stolen from thousands of Jews, gypsies and Serbs killed or captured by the Ustasha, the Nazi-backed regime of wartime Croatia. The Vatican repeatedly denied the charges and the findings of the 1998 U.S. report.
Amadeu Altafaj, Rehn’s spokesman, said in Brussels today that the commission had received Levy’s letter and contacted Vatican authorities about it. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi declined to comment on Levy’s request to the commission.
Vatican Immunity
The U.S. case, which sought as much as $2 billion in restitution, was dismissed last December by a U.S. appeals court in San Francisco on grounds that the Vatican Bank enjoyed immunity under the 1976 Foreign Service Immunities Act, which may prevent foreign governments from facing lawsuits in the U.S.
The commission should have the authority to probe the Institute for Religious Works, or IOR, as the Vatican Bank is called, according to Levy’s letter. It cites a monetary accord signed on Dec. 17 of last year. Under the agreement the Vatican, which uses the euro and issues euro coins, pledged to implement EU laws against money laundering, counterfeiting and fraud.
Rome prosecutors have also sought to show that the Vatican bank is covered under European law. Last month they seized 23 million euros ($32 million) from an Italian account registered to the IOR as they opened a probe into alleged violations of money-laundering laws by the Vatican Bank.
“We looked at all the places where the Vatican may have surrendered sovereignty,” Levy said in a telephone interview. “The only place we could find was with the euro, where they placed themselves under the jurisdiction of either the European Central Bank or the European Commission.”
Swiss Payout
Levy initially contacted the legal office of the Frankfurt- based ECB and was told to take the claim to the commission, he said. An ECB spokeswoman confirmed that after being contacted by Levy, the central bank advised him to go directly to the EU’s executive arm.
The U.S. lawsuit was first filed in 1999, one year after an official Swiss commission concluded that Switzerland received three times more gold taken from Nazi victims than previously estimated by the U.S. government. The same year, UBS AG and Credit Suisse AG, the biggest Swiss banks, agreed to pay $1.25 billion in compensation to Holocaust survivors and their heirs.
In his letter, Levy said “gold and other valuables” stolen in the “genocidal” murder of 500,000 Serbs, Jews and gypsies “were deposited at the Vatican in 1946,” according to “contemporaneous documents authored by Allied investigators” and “the sworn testimony of former U.S. Special Agent William Gowen.” He interviewed and investigated the Ustasha involved in transferring the loot while stationed in Rome after the war.
Euro Coins
Under its agreement with the commission, Vatican City State, a sovereign nation outside the EU, may issue a maximum of 2.3 million euros in coins in 2010 through the Italian mint, not including a further variable amount. The Vatican also pledged to implement EU legislation against money laundering by year-end.
Rehn said the Vatican has submitted its first draft laws “on the prevention of money laundering and the fight against fraud and counterfeiting” and the commission is analyzing them, according to his reply to a question from a member of the European Parliament, posted on its website on Sept. 9.
Lombardi on Oct. 23 declined to say whether the Vatican intends to meet the Dec. 31 deadline for implementing the EU legislation.
Vatican body asks UN to 'end Israeli occupation'
Vatican body asks UN to 'end Israeli occupation'
In final statement of two-week conference, bishops' synod urges international community to take 'necessary legal steps to put an end to the occupation of the different Arab territories'
Reuters Published: 10.23.10, 14:00 / Israel News
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3973590,00.html
Israel cannot use the Biblical concept of a promised land or a chosen people to justify new "settlements" in Jerusalem or territorial claims, a Vatican synod on the Middle East said on Saturday.
In its concluding message after two weeks of meetings, the synod of bishops from the Middle East also said it hoped a two-state solution for peace between Israel and the Palestinians
could be lifted from dream to reality and called for peaceful conditions that would stop a Christian exodus from the region.
"We have meditated on the situation of the holy city of Jerusalem. We are anxious about the unilateral initiatives that threaten its composition and risk to change its demographic balance," the message said.
US-brokered peace talks have stalled since Israel rejected appeals to extend a temporary moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank that expired last month.
Since the freeze expired, Israel has announced plans to build another 238 homes in two east Jerusalem neighborhoods, drawing the condemnation of Palestinians and world leaders.
In a separate part of the document -- a section on cooperation with Jews -- the synod fathers also took issue with Jews who use the Bible to justify settlements in the West Bank, which Israel captured in 1967.
"Recourse to theological and biblical positions which use the Word of God to wrongly justify injustices is not acceptable," the document said.
Many Jewish settlers and right-wing Israelis claim a biblical birthright to the West Bank, which they call Judea and Samaria and regard as a part of historical, ancient Israel given to the Jews by God.
Asked about the passage at a news conference, Greek-Melchite Archbishop Cyrille Salim Bustros, said:
"We Christians cannot speak about the promised land for the Jewish people. There is no longer a chosen people. All men and women of all countries have become the chosen people.
"The concept of the promised land cannot be used as a base for the justification of the return of Jews to Israel and the displacement of Palestinians," he added. "The justification of Israel's occupation of the land of Palestine cannot be based on sacred scriptures."
The synod's concluding message repeated a Vatican call for Jerusalem to have a special status "which respects its particular character" as a city sacred to the three great monotheistic religions -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Jerusalem remains a key issue of dispute. Palestinians want east Jerusalem for capital of a future state. Israel has annexed the area, a move never recognized internationally, and has declared Jerusalem to be its "united and eternal" capital.
Israel did not include east Jerusalem as part of its 10-month building freeze, though most plans there were put on hold in March, when the U.S. protested reports of a new housing project leaked during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden.
East Jerusalem was also captured by Israel in 1967.
While recognizing "the suffering and insecurity in which Israelis live" and the need for Israel to enjoy peace within internationally recognized borders, the document was much more expansive and detailed on the situation of Palestinians.
It said Palestinians "are suffering the consequences of the Israeli occupation: the lack of freedom of movement, the wall of separation and the military checkpoints, the political prisoners, the demolition of homes, the disturbance of socio-economic life and the thousands of refugees."
It urged Christians in the region not to sell their homes and properties. "It is a vital aspect of the lives of those who remain there and for those who one day will return there."
It condemned terrorism "from wherever it may proceed" as well as anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and discrimination against Christians.
SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)
Bishop Accountability Org
MESSIAH IN BOTH TESTAMENTS- FRED JOHN MELDAU-1967 CLASSIC
In final statement of two-week conference, bishops' synod urges international community to take 'necessary legal steps to put an end to the occupation of the different Arab territories'
Reuters Published: 10.23.10, 14:00 / Israel News
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3973590,00.html
Israel cannot use the Biblical concept of a promised land or a chosen people to justify new "settlements" in Jerusalem or territorial claims, a Vatican synod on the Middle East said on Saturday.
In its concluding message after two weeks of meetings, the synod of bishops from the Middle East also said it hoped a two-state solution for peace between Israel and the Palestinians
could be lifted from dream to reality and called for peaceful conditions that would stop a Christian exodus from the region.
"We have meditated on the situation of the holy city of Jerusalem. We are anxious about the unilateral initiatives that threaten its composition and risk to change its demographic balance," the message said.
US-brokered peace talks have stalled since Israel rejected appeals to extend a temporary moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank that expired last month.
Since the freeze expired, Israel has announced plans to build another 238 homes in two east Jerusalem neighborhoods, drawing the condemnation of Palestinians and world leaders.
In a separate part of the document -- a section on cooperation with Jews -- the synod fathers also took issue with Jews who use the Bible to justify settlements in the West Bank, which Israel captured in 1967.
"Recourse to theological and biblical positions which use the Word of God to wrongly justify injustices is not acceptable," the document said.
Many Jewish settlers and right-wing Israelis claim a biblical birthright to the West Bank, which they call Judea and Samaria and regard as a part of historical, ancient Israel given to the Jews by God.
Asked about the passage at a news conference, Greek-Melchite Archbishop Cyrille Salim Bustros, said:
"We Christians cannot speak about the promised land for the Jewish people. There is no longer a chosen people. All men and women of all countries have become the chosen people.
"The concept of the promised land cannot be used as a base for the justification of the return of Jews to Israel and the displacement of Palestinians," he added. "The justification of Israel's occupation of the land of Palestine cannot be based on sacred scriptures."
The synod's concluding message repeated a Vatican call for Jerusalem to have a special status "which respects its particular character" as a city sacred to the three great monotheistic religions -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Jerusalem remains a key issue of dispute. Palestinians want east Jerusalem for capital of a future state. Israel has annexed the area, a move never recognized internationally, and has declared Jerusalem to be its "united and eternal" capital.
Israel did not include east Jerusalem as part of its 10-month building freeze, though most plans there were put on hold in March, when the U.S. protested reports of a new housing project leaked during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden.
East Jerusalem was also captured by Israel in 1967.
While recognizing "the suffering and insecurity in which Israelis live" and the need for Israel to enjoy peace within internationally recognized borders, the document was much more expansive and detailed on the situation of Palestinians.
It said Palestinians "are suffering the consequences of the Israeli occupation: the lack of freedom of movement, the wall of separation and the military checkpoints, the political prisoners, the demolition of homes, the disturbance of socio-economic life and the thousands of refugees."
It urged Christians in the region not to sell their homes and properties. "It is a vital aspect of the lives of those who remain there and for those who one day will return there."
It condemned terrorism "from wherever it may proceed" as well as anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and discrimination against Christians.
SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)
Bishop Accountability Org
MESSIAH IN BOTH TESTAMENTS- FRED JOHN MELDAU-1967 CLASSIC
The guiding principle of Pope Gregory was, “Ignorance is the mother of piety.”
After you read about Pope ("Saint") Gregory the Great you'll understand why Rupert Murdoch was made a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great.
"The guiding principle of Pope Gregory was, “Ignorance is the mother of piety.” According to this principle, Gregory burned the precious Palestine Library founded by Emperor Augustus, destroyed the greater part of the writings of Livy and forbade the study of the classics."
Read Article
My research
Then do your own research!
"The guiding principle of Pope Gregory was, “Ignorance is the mother of piety.” According to this principle, Gregory burned the precious Palestine Library founded by Emperor Augustus, destroyed the greater part of the writings of Livy and forbade the study of the classics."
Read Article
My research
Then do your own research!
It’s Official: Southern Poverty Law Center Is Now Part of DHS
(From the Oath Keepers Web site)
(From the Oath Keepers
As
the below document makes clear, Southern Poverty Law Center is Now
Officially Part of DHS. The CEO of SPLC now sits on the DHS “Working
Group on Countering Violent Extremism” along with the leaders of other
So-called Non Government Organizations (but can we really call them
such now that they are part of the government?) And select “law
enforcement” officers such as the Clark County Nevada Sheriff, Doug
Gillespie. What does the working group do? Make recommendations on
training and how to use all of the local resources – police, social
services, media, NGO’s, you name it – to fight “extremism. So, now no
need to file a FOIA request to discover that SPLC is writing the
reports naming constitutionalists as possible terrorists. Now it is in
your face and the mask is off.
When you read the below document, keep in mind the current ordeal of the Irish family where their newborn baby was taken
based on an affidavit that notes the father’s “association with a
militia group known as Oath Keepers.”. Pay attention to who sits on
this panel (see pages 26-30), to who DOESN’T, how they plan on reaching
DHS tentacles down into every level of society, and how they talk
overtly about the need to utilize local SOCIAL WELFARE and MENTAL
HEALTH agencies to counter “violent extremism.”. In other words, what
is now being done to the Irish family will be done all over.
This is the overt politicization of DHS, to use it against political enemies.
I will post more on this later today.
Stewart Rhodes
Republican candidate for Senate Ron Johnson Testified To Protect Catholic Church From Sex Abuse Lawsuits
As a member of the finance council for the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay until he resigned to run for Senate this year, Ron Johnson served alongside a bishop named Robert Morneau who, as a Church leader, had been made aware over two decades ago of the abusive tendencies of Rev. John Feeney.
Rev. Feeney was convicted in 2003, before Johnson joined the council, for sexually assaulting two brothers in the late 1970s. But according to documents obtained by the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests (SNAP), the Church sought to cover up his crimes, which one reverend called "sexually very inappropriate."
Seven years later, Johnson testified before the Wisconsin State Senate against legislation to eliminate the statute of limitations for such crimes, making it easier for victims of sexual abuse to seek damages from the Church or any other culpable institution.
The testimony first arose in the context of the race in a June article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and has been dogging Johnson more or less ever since. His connection to Morneau raises questions about how familiar Johnson (who is not a Catholic) was with the diocese's hidden scandals. Those questions couldn't come at a worse time for the GOP hopeful, who leads Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) in the polls ahead of the November election.
TPM contacted numerous attorneys, advocates, and other members of the finance council of the Diocese of Green Bay to explain the finance council's role at the church, and the information it was privy to with respect to sexually abusive clergy. What we learned suggests that it's very difficult to separate Johnson's role as finance committee member from his role as legislative witness seeking to protect the Church from future lawsuits, when he told the panel, "I urge you to defeat this legislation."
Johnson insisted at the time that he testified as an active member of the business and non-profit community -- not specifically, and most pressingly, as a representative of the Catholic Church. But the road he took to testifying at the Madison statehouse in January of this year belies that contention.
Deacon Tim Reilly, Director of Administration for the Diocese of Green Bay told TPM that the Church played a significant role in getting Johnson to the state capital. According to Reilly, the Church didn't support the legislation and wanted to raise public awareness of its objections. So the diocese arranged for a meeting with Randy Hopper, the state senator in the Oshkosh area who sits on the panel that was deciding whether this legislation would go to the floor for a vote. Some 20 people met at St. Rafael's Parish in Oshkosh, several of whom spoke -- including Johnson. His arguments were among the most articulate and persuasive to the group, so Hopper asked him to go to Madison and testify -- the sort of not-quite-lobbying that happens in Washington and in state capitals around the country all the time.
Reilly reiterated to TPM that Johnson was not speaking specifically on behalf of the church. "He was speaking on his own behalf, as a concerned citizen, that this would adversely affect the Catholic School System and the Boys and Girls Club and the YMCA and other non-profits without government protection."
That beggars belief, according to experts and clergymen.
"He can't be testifying just as a concerned citizen," says Father Tom Doyle, a priest who presciently warned the Catholic Church about the looming sex abuse scandal years ago. "If he was a member of the finance council of the diocese, the senator picked him out not because he was concerned about the Boys and Girls Club.... I don't know of any instance where a layperson, on his own, without any connection with the Church administration has come forward to testify."
Doyle admonished that, though many finance councils around the country are intimately familiar with diocesan secrets (both good and bad), they are in some instances left in the dark by their bishops. He has no direct knowledge of what the finance council knew in Johnson's case.
After learning of Johnson's testimony in news reports a former Johnson supporter named Todd Merryfield -- one of Feeney's victims -- appeared on MSNBC to announce that he'd renounced his support for the Tea Party-backed candidate.
For Merryfield and others who advocate on behalf of abuse victims, legislation extending the statute of limitations in child abuse cases was and remains a key legislative goal, and Johnson's successful attempt to kill it is a nearly unpardonable sin. But in addition to seeking penance from Johnson, and calling on him to press the Church to release information about priest abuse, they want to know what he knew when he testified in January.
"We don't know exactly what he knew," Merryfield told TPM in a phone interview. "It just seemed a little strange that he was in a position of knowledge being on the finance council, having to sign the checks to everyone being paid."
The issue has taken on greater salience as Johnson's lead over Feingold has grown. But for victims, the question of whether Johnson was acting as a dispassionate citizen and member of the business community, or as an agent of the Church, is the most crucial.
"These pedophiles that they have hidden away, they pay their room and board, living costs," Merryfield said, speculating that Johnson "has to know who they are because he has to write the checks to somebody."
According to Peter Isely, SNAP's Midwest Director, "It's something of a mystery what this finance council does," though, he says, it's one of the most important positions in the diocese.
Jim Stang, an attorney for official committees of abuse survivors in six Catholic affiliated bankruptcy cases, told TPM that these finance committees -- mandated at every diocese in the country -- are well-positioned to know about the skeletons in the Church's closets. When a case is settled, for instance, it would be in the financial interest of the Church, and therefore the council, to know of any other potential victims, and therefore lawsuits.
"It would certainly be in the area of finance committee's appropriate inquiry to ask," Stang said.
Ultimately, though, Stang said it should come as no surprise that Johnson's testimony so closely mirrored the Church's position.
"I think you'd have to live in some kind of plastic bubble to not make the association between statute of limitations reform and the financial impact on the diocese," Stang said. "It's certainly the argument the Church has been making for years."
According to the 2004 John Jay Report, commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Diocese of Green Bay received 59 allegations of sexual abuse by 35 diocesan priests during the 52 year period of the inquiry, 1950-2002.
Furthermore, the diocese is currently involved in two lawsuits, which, according to Reilly, is just the sort of potential liability the Church would bring to the attention of the council. "I also would say we have two lawsuits going on and depending on how they're settled, depending on whether the judge rules in our favor and how the jury rules, this is the potential financial risk that might be out there in the future," Reilly said. "In the case of the two litigations that we're involved in right now, I feel very strongly that we are on the correct side of the truth, but I said to the council, I need to make everybody aware that there are two lawsuits coming on so it's not a surprise. Nobody likes surprises."
In the past several days, Johnson has claimed in statements to reporters in Wisconsin that he never argued the legislation should fail -- only that he cautioned against some of its provisions. "I sought to warn legislators of those consequences in order to correct legislative language so that any bills that passed would punish the perpetrators," he insisted. In fact he urged state senators to vote down the legislation, claiming that, among other things, it would benefit trial attorneys and do more harm than good to children left in the lurch when organizations get sued and go under.
Now, under attack, he is demanding full transparency from the Diocese of Green Bay.
"I call upon the Green Bay Diocese to provide the utmost transparency in order to answer any lingering questions or doubt among victims of child abuse and those who seek to prevent child abuse in the future," Johnson said.
The Johnson campaign did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
Article Source
Jesse Ventura was never a USN Seal?
Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/jesseVenturanotaSeaI
Website: http://cursor.org/venturawatch/dangerous_game.htm
From September 11, 1969 to September 10, 1975 Jesse Ventura served in the USN attached to UDT 12, an underwater demolition team. UDT 12 existed at the same time the SEALS existed. The UDTs were later broken up and some of the frogmen as they were called got additional training and became SEALS, some became SDVT and others became NDU and Navy Salvage Divers; but that was in 1983, 8 and a half years after Jesse Ventura, (then Jim Janos) left the US Navy.
Because he CONSTANTLY claims to be a SEAL, a real SEAL Commander Bill Salisbury, a 16 year SEAL team veteran and San Diego attorney wrote an article for the San Diego Reader that basically called him a liar and a phony. Here's the original article:
http://tinyurl.com/yczf3cu
This got reporters asking questions that Ventura tried to brush off or stonewall, finally, on a Minnesota public radio interview on December 14, 1999 Governor Venturas spokesman confirmed that Ventura was never a member of the Navy SEALs and his stated that the "Governor has never tried to convince people otherwise".
http://tinyurl.com/3y49upa
But that didn't stop Jesse. Oh no. After going on and on about how he had "hunted men" in Vietnam when he was a SEAL a TV station got a hold of a copy of his dd-214 discharge papers and noticed that he didn't have a combat action ribbon which was awarded to "those involved in a firefight or who went on clandestine or special operations where the risk of enemy fire was great or expected". The transcript is here:
http://tinyurl.com/yaebr2q
FINALLY, in January 2002, Ventura ADMITTED to the Pioneer Press and the Minnesota Star Tribune that he did not see combat:
http://tinyurl.com/ydmwbjp
Now he is back to ranting about his non existent SEAL service like nothing ever happened. Why is this important? Because during the time Jesse Ventura was in UDT 12 SEAL team one lost 34 men to combat in Vietnam. UDT 12 lost 1 man to a training accident in the Philippines.
http://tinyurl.com/y9to2m4
Website: http://cursor.org/venturawatch/dangerous_game.htm
From September 11, 1969 to September 10, 1975 Jesse Ventura served in the USN attached to UDT 12, an underwater demolition team. UDT 12 existed at the same time the SEALS existed. The UDTs were later broken up and some of the frogmen as they were called got additional training and became SEALS, some became SDVT and others became NDU and Navy Salvage Divers; but that was in 1983, 8 and a half years after Jesse Ventura, (then Jim Janos) left the US Navy.
Because he CONSTANTLY claims to be a SEAL, a real SEAL Commander Bill Salisbury, a 16 year SEAL team veteran and San Diego attorney wrote an article for the San Diego Reader that basically called him a liar and a phony. Here's the original article:
http://tinyurl.com/yczf3cu
This got reporters asking questions that Ventura tried to brush off or stonewall, finally, on a Minnesota public radio interview on December 14, 1999 Governor Venturas spokesman confirmed that Ventura was never a member of the Navy SEALs and his stated that the "Governor has never tried to convince people otherwise".
http://tinyurl.com/3y49upa
But that didn't stop Jesse. Oh no. After going on and on about how he had "hunted men" in Vietnam when he was a SEAL a TV station got a hold of a copy of his dd-214 discharge papers and noticed that he didn't have a combat action ribbon which was awarded to "those involved in a firefight or who went on clandestine or special operations where the risk of enemy fire was great or expected". The transcript is here:
http://tinyurl.com/yaebr2q
FINALLY, in January 2002, Ventura ADMITTED to the Pioneer Press and the Minnesota Star Tribune that he did not see combat:
http://tinyurl.com/ydmwbjp
Now he is back to ranting about his non existent SEAL service like nothing ever happened. Why is this important? Because during the time Jesse Ventura was in UDT 12 SEAL team one lost 34 men to combat in Vietnam. UDT 12 lost 1 man to a training accident in the Philippines.
http://tinyurl.com/y9to2m4
Riggs Bank News
| Law firm vice president sells Burleith 2BD Blockshopper Prior to that, he was the trust officer at Riggs Bank, NA He graduated from United States Military Academy in West Point. He earned his master's degree in ... |  Blockshopper |
| Anti-financial crimes business network - US Patent 7805369 Description For example, AmSouth Bank was fined $50 million for failure to file SARs as required by laws; Riggs Bank was fined $25 million for failure to file SARs; UBS was fined $100 million for failure to comply with the requirements set by the ... PatentStorm -> Patents -> Data... - http://www.patentstorm.us/rss/class/patents/rss-705.xml | ||
| Facts about Equatorial Guinea | Africannewslive By Newslive A 2004 US Senate investigation into the Washington-based Riggs Bank found that President Obiang's family had received huge payments from US oil companies such as Exxon Mobil and Amerada Hess. Observers say the US finds it hard to ... Africannewslive - http://africannewslive.com/ |
Geoffrey Robertson vs Pope Benedict XVI
Geoffrey Robertson would like to see Pope Benedict XVI be made accountable for years of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.
The Australian-born QC's new book, The Case of the Pope, says the Pope is morally responsible for a crime against humanity.click to listen to audio
"What we're dealing with is tens of thousands of rapes of children. When you investigate the particular areas in Ireland three judicial reports have said endemic in Catholic intuitions - wide spread and systematic.
"That happens to be the definition of a crime against humanity."
He believes the Vatican have caused the widespread nature of the abuse.
"They were moving paedophile priests from one country to another and covering up paedophilia in the church by a medieval process of canon law, where bishops don't hand over priests to the police to prosecute. They deal with them in private, where the punishment is to go and do penance."
Mr Robertson wants to see the system of canon law changed.
The QC refutes the claims from various publications and commentators that the numbers of priests sexually abusing children have been sensationalised.
"The Church itself accepts up to five per cent which is twenty thousand. A paedophile priest throughout their life will molest dozens of children. An Austrian Cardinal is said to have molested thousands of children in a sixty year life."
While Mr Robertson doesn't blame the Pope for any actual abuse personally.
"All I'm saying is that the Vatican should comply with the convention of the Rights of the Child, which every country except America has ratified.
"The Vatican must adopt a zero tolerance attitude towards the abuse of a child and a mandatory reporting policy, handing over evidence of abuse to police and a protection for whistle blowers."
He thinks the Pope will make these changes.
"He's come along way. In Easter he was passing this off as petty gossip. Last week in England he apologised for what he called 'the unspeakable crimes of my clergy'.
"I'm pushing at an open door."
article link: http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2010/10/05/3030034.htm
'If you tell, you go to hell'
"As Pope Benedict continues his visit to Britain, Channel 4 News north of England Nick Martin meets three clerical sex abuse victims who tell him their harrowing stories." Read More
**Update** It seems that channel 4 News decided to take down this story. I wonder why.........
Here's another link to the story.
But if you click it you'll see that the story has been removed. The video was very important and damaging to the Vatican. That is why it was removed.
Here's the text of the article at least:
"As Pope Benedict continues his visit to Britain, Channel 4 News north of England Nick Martin meets three clerical sex abuse victims who tell him their harrowing stories. Therese Albrecht looks me straight in the eyes and says: “I planned the whole thing; I was going to buy a gun, go see the priest who abused me, shoot him in the head and then kill myself – that’s how bad it got.” She did not, because she feared she would go to hell for killing the priest. Ms Albrecht is a straight talker. A former New York cop, she was abused at the age of eight by her parish priest.
”The priest who abused me controlled me through fear,” she said. ”There was a rhyme: ‘If you tell, you go to hell.’ It worked. I didn’t tell. Not for a long time.” Life’s work to protect children I am spending two days with three women who have made it their life’s work to prod and pester the Vatican. They want the Pope to do more to protect children who come into contact with priests intent on abusing them. And they are not satisfied with the Pope’s expressions of regret on the first day of a four-day state visit to the UK. “We have heard the apologies, now we want action,” said Barbara Blaine, the president and founder of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). ”I was abused by my priest from the age of 13. My family looked up to him, the whole community looked up to him. It was horrendous, embarrassing but I was just a child and I didn’t understand what was happening,” she said. The pair have travelled from the US to be in Edinburgh for the papal visit. With them is Barbara Dorris, a retired gym teacher who was raped at the age of six by her parish priest.
“The priest told my mother to put me in my best dress and send me to church to help out,” she said. ”My mother was so proud that I had been chosen. I was a special chosen one. She didn’t know that he was raping me.” SNAP says the way the Catholic church is dealing with emerging cases of child abuse at the hands of priests is inadequate and it is looking to the Pope for action.
The Catholic church says there has been radical changes to the way they deal with this issue and that priests found guilty of abusing children should never have access to youngsters again. But SNAP wants to see a register formed so that priests who they say have been “credibly accused” of child abuse could be named and shamed so that parents can protect their children."
**Update** It seems that channel 4 News decided to take down this story. I wonder why.........
Here's another link to the story.
But if you click it you'll see that the story has been removed. The video was very important and damaging to the Vatican. That is why it was removed.
Here's the text of the article at least:
"As Pope Benedict continues his visit to Britain, Channel 4 News north of England Nick Martin meets three clerical sex abuse victims who tell him their harrowing stories. Therese Albrecht looks me straight in the eyes and says: “I planned the whole thing; I was going to buy a gun, go see the priest who abused me, shoot him in the head and then kill myself – that’s how bad it got.” She did not, because she feared she would go to hell for killing the priest. Ms Albrecht is a straight talker. A former New York cop, she was abused at the age of eight by her parish priest.
”The priest who abused me controlled me through fear,” she said. ”There was a rhyme: ‘If you tell, you go to hell.’ It worked. I didn’t tell. Not for a long time.” Life’s work to protect children I am spending two days with three women who have made it their life’s work to prod and pester the Vatican. They want the Pope to do more to protect children who come into contact with priests intent on abusing them. And they are not satisfied with the Pope’s expressions of regret on the first day of a four-day state visit to the UK. “We have heard the apologies, now we want action,” said Barbara Blaine, the president and founder of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). ”I was abused by my priest from the age of 13. My family looked up to him, the whole community looked up to him. It was horrendous, embarrassing but I was just a child and I didn’t understand what was happening,” she said. The pair have travelled from the US to be in Edinburgh for the papal visit. With them is Barbara Dorris, a retired gym teacher who was raped at the age of six by her parish priest.
“The priest told my mother to put me in my best dress and send me to church to help out,” she said. ”My mother was so proud that I had been chosen. I was a special chosen one. She didn’t know that he was raping me.” SNAP says the way the Catholic church is dealing with emerging cases of child abuse at the hands of priests is inadequate and it is looking to the Pope for action.
The Catholic church says there has been radical changes to the way they deal with this issue and that priests found guilty of abusing children should never have access to youngsters again. But SNAP wants to see a register formed so that priests who they say have been “credibly accused” of child abuse could be named and shamed so that parents can protect their children."
Father Marcial Maciel, was my dad, and he sexually abused me, Raul Gonzalez claims in lawsuit
Tuesday, June 22nd 2010, 8:52
AM
Lepri/AP
Pope John Paul II is seen
giving his blessing to Father Marcial Maciel in 2004. Maciel has been accused of
sexually abusing children, including his own, in a lawsuit. He died in
2008. 
Mone/AP
Raul GonzalezBut Father Marcial Maciel had secrets, which included illegitimate children and sexual abuse, according to a lawsuit filed in Connecticut on Monday.
Raul Gonzalez claims the Vatican protected the man he knew as his father for decades, chiefly because of his efforts with the highly profitable Legion of Christ.
"My dad told my mom that he was a CIA agent," Gonzalez told ABC News' "Nightline." "He always told my mom that he was a really busy man. That he was always flying on his trips because of the business of his company."
It wasn't until he saw Maciel on the cover of a magazine, dressed in priest garb, that he learned the truth.
In the lawsuit, Gonzalez claims he, and other children, were sexually abused by Father Maciel during his time as director of the Legionaries of Christ, a congregation he founded in 1941.
"He is one of the many, many kids, and others abused and deceived by Maciel," says Jeffrey Anderson, Gonzalez's lawyer.
Gonzalez alleges the abuse began when he was 7 years old during a trip to Colombia. He told "Nightline" that his half-brother, Omar, also was abused.
"He told me that his uncle sometimes made him masturbate him and, basically, the idea of my dad was to transmit that idea to me," said Gonzalez, according to ABC News.
Gonzalez described many different kinds of abuse he claims Maciel committed.
"He always told us we had to kiss him because that was how we would learn how to kiss a girl when we grew up," he said.
In the lawsuit, he alleges Father Maciel was protected by the church -- including Pope Paul II -- because of his efforts in raising money, as well as providing gifts and benefits to Vatican officials.
"My dad told my mom that when John Paul II dies, he was going to be in trouble," Gonzalez said.
After the death of Pope Paul II, Maciel was stripped of his authority and the Legion of Christ was taken over by the Vatican. Father Maciel was still a priest when he died in 2008.
The Vatican and the Legion of Christ did not comment on the ABC News report. Gonzalez says he has met with officials several times regarding a settlement, and has demanded $26 million.
msheridan@nydailynews.com; or follow him at Twitter.com/NYDNSheridan
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/06/22/2010-06-22_father_marcial_maciel_my_dad_sexually_abused_me_raul_gonzalez_claims_in_lawsuit.html#ixzz0rcwg0Nr2
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**All δόξα (doxa - glory) to Ιησούς Χριστός (Iēsous Christos - Jesus THE Christ) and Theos Pater, ὁ λόγος (ho logos - THE Word) who opens ...
