Category: Why I’m Not A Catholic Anymore

Gangsta, Gangsta!

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Gangstas protecting their own:

New Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput says he isn’t likely to change his mind about creating a window to allow some past victims of sexual abuse by priests to file lawsuits after the statute of limitations in their cases has expired.

Chaput, in a discussion Thursday with the Inquirer Editorial Board, said statutes of limitations exist for sound legal reasons, and that exceptions should not be made just to allow litigation against the Catholic Church.

The problem with this, as the article points out, is that it can take years or even decades for a child sex abuse victim to come to terms with what has happened to him or her, at which point the statute of limitations may be up. On top of that, I think we’ve all seen the lengths the Church hierarchy will undertake to protect and shield their abusive priests. And on top of that, we have the particulars of the Philadelphia archdiocese (pardon the pdf), which (to me at least) demonstrates not only the extent of the criminality in our city, but that the clergy were anything but repentant.

Archibishop Chaput is no differet from any other gangster, if you ask me.

It feels weird clicking the “why I’m not a Catholic anymore” tag, because I’ve never been one.

Oy

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

This is just unbelievable. The pastor “didn’t see any cause for concern”? Here in Philadelphia, Catholic school teachers sign a contract that they won’t do anything that contradicts Catholic values.

I wonder if that pastor is saying he thinks bigotry is a Catholic value.

Class

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Via Historiann, who says this really chaps her ass. I have to agree:

Check out this pickup from Flavia last week featuring some public boo-hoo-hooing by one of suburban Philadelphia’s tragically overlooked and underprivileged, those who didn’t get into their top choice college:

The following letter appeared on today’s NYT letters page in response to a recent Times article about the lack of economic diversity at elite colleges and universities:

To the Editor:

David Leonhardt forgot about me. I grew up in suburban Pennsylvania and attended private school before Bryn Mawr College, the University of Pennsylvania and now the University of Oxford. And yes, my parents paid for it all.

I realize that not needing to work at 7-Eleven afforded me more time to study, read and learn. But I used it. Acceptance letters don’t come because my parents foot the bill; kids like me get in because we are responsible, passionate and talented.

In theory, hard-working, low-income kids deserve help; in practice, their 1,250 SAT scores’ counting for more than my 1,300 doesn’t reflect meritocracy.

College admissions are a zero-sum game. Universities putting their “thumb on the scale” for a South Bronx applicant’s 1,250 lessens the weight of my achievements. His 1,250′s win is my loss.

J***** A**** K****
Philadelphia, May 27, 2011
.       .       .       .       .
Continue reading “Class” →

37 priests

~ susie

Accused of molesting children in the Philadelphia archdiocese are still serving, unidentified to anyone but the church.

I’m very happy that I supported D.A. Seth Williams, who’s showing real courage in going up against the archdiocese. They’re known for stonewalling anyone who goes up against them, burying people in legal paperwork and dragging cases out for decades. They’re famous for never, ever, ever settling a case if they can help it. They play dirty.

Well, they’re paying for that attitude now. Hopefully justice will finally be served.