crabrice
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![[*]](./images/Pinky/default_icon.gif) posted on 4.13.2012 at 06:06 AM |
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This Story Truly Emphasizes Brotherly Love, Care and Concern!!!
The Monk Who Endured
This Story about True Brotherly Love Inspired me this morning. If We all Personally Could Live Our Lives Day in and Out like this Our World Would be
much better Place to live in for All of Us:
"When faced with humiliation this monk chose instead to consider other people's situations instead of just his own problems... Much can be learned
here.
Click the link to read the story:
http://www.shenyunperformingarts.org/learn/article/read/item/eMCglK2dNMI/leve...
http://cocoalounge.org/viewthread.php?tid=58892&page=1#pid672587
I am the way, the truth and the life- Jesus
John 14:6
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Tea_Honey
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| posted on 4.13.2012 at 09:05 PM |
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The Monk's story was a nice one, written like a fable for many important elements were not addressed, such as 'why did he "take in" the child? Why
did its mother give it to him? How was the child treated by its peers - was s/he ridiculed, scorned, shunned? How old was the child when the
biological parents returned and why did the monk so willingly give the child to parents - a base liar for a mother and a deadbeat dad - that
most would consider "unfit?"
What I thought of when reading the thread title: This Story Truly Emphasizes Brotherly Love, Care and Concern!!!.... was a former Cardinal in
Chicago. I forget his name, but even though he was Catholic, and I'm NOT!, I was mightily impressed with him. Then the national, soon to be
world-wide, scandel of priestly sexual abuse of young Catholic boys exploded onto the scene.
A young man came forward and accused the Cardinal of sexually molesting him when he was a teenager. By that time having heard so many such stories, I
was pretty sure I could 'intuit' who was lying and who was telling the truth. Secure in my "divining" abilities (but fearful, since I thought the
Cardinal was an exceptionally fine man, an exemplary human being), I listened carefully as the young man told his story of betrayal and abuse. When he
was done, I was crestfallen. My "spidy senses" said he was being 100% truthful.
Later on, I got to hear the Cardinal's side. Again, "spidey senses" on alert, for even though I believed the young man, I felt the Cardinal was due
his side of the story. With trepidation, I listened to what he had to say about the young man's allegations.... the young man I had found troubled
(who wouldn't be in his situation?), but utterly sincere and truthful. Once the Cardinal finished the telling of his story wherein he denied having
ever even met his accuser, I was amazed. My 'intuition' told me the Cardinal was, as well, 100% TRUTHFUL! How was this possible? How could BOTH be
telling the truth when their stories were polar opposites?
A few weeks later, the young man recanted. Said he didn't believe the Cardinal was one of the priests who molested him at seminary (there were
several). He was visually upset, chagrinned and remorseful. The Cardinal, with the same calm, gentle and "concerned for the young man" demeanor as
when through the telling of his story, he proclaimed his innocence, sought out the young man in a spirit of empathy for what he had endured, and
forgiveness for besmirching his formerly spotless character.
And it was no act. It turned out that the Cardinal knew something the rest of us didn't, not even his accuser. In the Catholic Church, as in any
powerful enterprise, for every one who rises through the ranks (of the priesthood), two of the many "left behind" will hate them for it. A priest on
the fast track, the Cardinal had powerful enemies within the Church. It was to THEM that the young man first approached with his story of betrayal and
molestation. It was they, who with malice aforethought, planted "false memories" in the impressionable young man's mind (which is why he could tell
and absolutely believe every word of his story, thus come off as 100% truthful) before he went public with allegations of sexual abuse in the
seminary. As it turned out, the Cardinal was an instructor or something in the seminary during a point in time that the young man attended. The
Cardinal's enemies couldn't get him legitimately, so they USED the young man's fuzzy recollection of exactly which priests (it was more than one)
molested him to throw the foulest of dirt/accusations on the good Cardinal about whom, interestingly, there was talk at the time of being
promoted to the Vatican.... and, finally, derail his career and take him down.
The Cardinal's reputation for good works, kindliness, empathy for the downtrodden and religious piety and scholarliness had propelled him not only
through the priest ranks, but earned him the love of his peers, congegregants and the respect of non-Catholics, like myself. Tens of thousands of
non-Catholics, I might add. It had also earned him friends in high places. The petty, the jealous, the mean-spirited and petulantly resentful
glowering from the shadows were kept at bay by his friends in high places. But those friends were powerless in the face of the young man's "false
memories" allegations. Skillfully, the (what else can I call them?) "evil" priests manipulated the young man's memories by planting the good
Cardinal square in the middle of them.... by name and as the principle molester.... and by making sure the media was aware of and had access to the
young man.
Yet through the whole ordeal (for him and for those of us who really liked him), the Cardinal never once damned the young man, never once said the
young man was a liar, a charleton, a puppet, a fool, nothing. He was his consistently compassionate self. He spoke HIS truth - "I'm innocent." He
gave no alternative scenarios (ex., "maybe he saw me coming down the hall once and my name stuck in his mind"). No. He expressed concern (not
"undue", just enough) for the young man, sorrow for the wrong done him, and when his accuser realized he had been manipulated by evil priests and
recanted, he expressed no bitterness, no recrimination. Brotherly love, care and concern was exemplied by the Cardinal before the vile accusations,
during, and after them.
And when he died a few years later, I shed a tear. 
ADDENDUM:
The Cardinal's name kept escaping me. I googled, found this (that I did not even know!) about him in WikiPedia:
| Quote: |
Archbishop Joseph Bernardin was among the first U.S. Cardinals or Bishops to confront the issue of sexual abuse by clergy. He also adapted a strong
stance on sexual abuse cases within the clergy by implementing the strongest, most comprehensive policy concerning priests accused of sexual
misconduct with minors. Bernardin’s reforms concerning this issue soon served as a model for other dioceses across the nation. [1]
Bernardin himself was accused of sexual misconduct. His accuser, former seminarian Stephen Cook, claimed to have been abused by Bernardin and another
priest in the 1970s. However, Cook subsequently dropped Bernardin from his lawsuit, being no longer certain that his memories (which had emerged while
he was under hypnosis) were accurate.[2]
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Do you see now how utterly vile Cardinal Bernardin's enemies were? Read again:
| Quote: |
Archbishop Joseph Bernardin was among the first U.S. Cardinals or Bishops to confront the issue of sexual abuse by clergy. He also
adapted a strong stance on sexual abuse cases within the clergy by implementing the strongest, most comprehensive policy concerning priests accused of
sexual misconduct with minors. Bernardin’s reforms concerning this issue soon served as a model for other dioceses across the nation.
[1]
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The petty, the jealous, the NO TALENT BUMS of the Catholic Church hated this man of vision, compassion, mercy and Justice, and sought to destroy him.
To destroy him by painting HIM to be the cheap hypocrite they were. 
Oh, and not once did he publicly condemn them (or should I say, "stoop" to uttering their foul names).
Out of Love, you can speak with straight fury
Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it
Choose your hypnotist well.....
Ergo, the blue pill (illusion), or the red pill (reality)
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Tea_Honey
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| posted on 7.27.2012 at 02:20 PM |
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This is the world Cardinal Bernadin lived in (i.e., corroboration of my 'on the outside, looking in' observations)
A series of embarrassing leaks has exposed conspiracies, corruption, backstabbing, and bitter rivalries within the Catholic Church's hierarchy
posted on July 27, 2012, at 10:50 AM
What is the scandal about?
A steady stream of leaked documents since the beginning of the year has revealed the Holy See to be an unholy nest of conspiracies, backstabbing, and
ambition. "Vatileaks," as the scandal has been dubbed, has smashed the Vatican's code of silence to reveal a long-standing tradition of
bitter rivalries and corruption (  ). The leaks point to at
least three shadowy, interlocking plots: an anonymous campaign to undermine Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone (just as the
"evil" priests attempted to undermine Cardinal Bernadin), the Vatican secretary of state and Pope Benedict XVI's top deputy; a struggle over
the future of the Vatican bank; and an effort by Italian cardinals to gain more influence over the choice of Benedict's successor. "This is
a power struggle," said Notre Dame theology professor Lawrence Cunningham. "People are leaking information to the press to discredit one
person or another."
Who is doing the leaking (like the "disturbed" guy's sexual abuse allegations were 'leaked' to the
press)?
The sole official suspect is the pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele, 46, who was arrested in May after he was found with stolen papal documents; held for
months in a small cell at the Vatican, he was granted house arrest last week. His lawyer insists Gabriele acted alone, but the leaks have continued
since his detention. The real culprits are suspected to be disgruntled prelates inside the Vatican bureaucracy, or Curia, who view Bertone as an
obstacle to church reform (like Bernadin was an "obstacle" to the "evil" priests' ambitions). The
77-year-old cardinal, a longtime ally of the current pope, has consolidated his power by promoting former associates from his native region of
Piedmont to influential posts; they now include the governor of the Vatican City State, the head of the Vatican treasury, and the Holy See's top bank
regulator. There are growing rumors that the health of the 85-year-old Benedict is failing, feeding suspicion that Bertone's ultimate goal is to gain
control over the next papal conclave — the meeting of the College of Cardinals that selects the pope.
Out of Love, you can speak with straight fury
Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it
Choose your hypnotist well.....
Ergo, the blue pill (illusion), or the red pill (reality)
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Tea_Honey
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| posted on 7.27.2012 at 02:40 PM |
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Might as well get the whole story....
What role does money play?
Charges of financial impropriety figure prominently in the scandal. Though Catholic priests take a vow of poverty, the Vatican presides over a
closely held $6 billion empire, including the troubled Vatican bank, known as the Institute for Works of Religion, or IOR. Some of the first leaks
early this year were confidential letters from an archbishop to Pope Benedict warning of "corruption and abuse of power" in Vatican finances,
including millions of dollars in padded contracts. Bertone ordered the archbishop silenced and removed from his post, but the day after the pope's
butler was arrested, the IOR's president — appointed in 2009 to clean it up after decades of allegations of money-laundering and infiltration by the
Mafia and Italian Freemasons — was summarily fired amid charges of negligence. The bank's latest efforts at transparency have so far failed to meet
the expectations of European banking officials, who last month gave it failing marks in seven critical areas, including measures to combat the
financing of terrorism. (Infiltration by the Mafia? See why I labeled the  priests, "evil?")
How has the Vatican reacted?
Angrily and defensively. Critics say the Holy See has been far more vigorous in investigating the leaks than the patterns of corruption and
influence-peddling they allege. Bertone accused journalists of "pretending to be Dan Brown," author of The Da Vinci Code, and decried "a will to
create division that comes from the devil." But he also hired Fox News' Rome correspondent, Greg Burke, as a "senior communications adviser" to
handle damage control. (Faux News? oooo-kay....)
What damage has been done?
The Vatican has been left looking like a den of snakes. (Talk about an "understatement."  ) One leaked memo charged the ousted Vatican bank president
with "psychopathological dysfunction"; other documents allege that Bertone conspired to force the editor of a Catholic newspaper to resign by
falsely accusing him of a homosexual affair. (For an organization RUN by gay MEN, they sure love to label the
"heterosexuals" among them homosexual.... like the good Father Bernadin who fought the "evil" AND predator priests!  ) Among the tawdry financial misdeeds detailed was the
overpayment of $350,000 for a Nativity crèche. The Italian media also revealed that a mafioso was buried in a basilica among popes and
cardinals after his widow made a substantial donation to the church. There were even details of Bertone's unseemly friendship with disgraced
former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. (In the power and money-hungry Catholic Church, a mafioso buried amongst
the "holy men" seems to be par for the course.)
Has the pope's reputation been harmed?
The revelations have made it clear that Benedict, who was once expected to bring German efficiency to his role, is not actively managing the Vatican.
"He's a solitary scholar and he's not interested in the bureaucracy," said Chester Gillis, a theology professor at Georgetown University. Critics
say Benedict has been ill served by Bertone, whom they blame for the pope's 2006 speech suggesting Islam is inherently violent, and for lifting the
excommunication of a renegade bishop who denies the Holocaust. The Vatileaks scandal — coming on the heels of the sex-abuse scandal, which many
critics say Benedict handled defensively and poorly (Ya think?! )— is further evidence of "a tin-ear papacy," said Christopher Bellitto, a church historian at
Kean University. "This all seems to be a power game that matters only to the power players. It seems to be a church hierarchy
further distancing itself from the people in the pews."
A history of secrets
The Vatileaks scandal is just the latest chapter in a long history of Vatican intrigue. In 1958, Pope Pius XII's doctor snapped pictures of the
prelate on his deathbed and tried to sell them to gossip magazines; in 1982, Roberto Calvi, known as "God's Banker" for his close ties to the
Vatican, was found hanging from London's Blackfriars Bridge, a murder that remains unsolved. But even those lurid episodes pale before the
transgressions of Renaissance popes, who bribed their way into office, kept mistresses, and appointed relatives to high church positions. Pope Sixtus
IV built the Sistine Chapel, but appointed six of his nephews cardinals. One of them, Julius II, patron to Michelangelo and Raphael, raised a fortune
by selling indulgences — or exemptions from eternal punishment for sinners. The practice so shocked Martin Luther that he broke with Rome and launched
the Protestant Reformation.
"Those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. 
Out of Love, you can speak with straight fury
Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it
Choose your hypnotist well.....
Ergo, the blue pill (illusion), or the red pill (reality)
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