Monday, April 20, 2009

Catholic Abuse: Any Surprise Here?

I just read an article in the Los Angeles Times about yet another Catholic Priest abusing his authority over the parishioner. And of course, the victim has finally come out about it much later than when the incident took place. Only this time, the victim himself had joined the service as a priest, even working for his abuser. Read the story here

The account is pretty horrendous, albeit short.

In a lawsuit filed in Santa Ana Superior Court, Ben Rodriguez, 45, said he was molested numerous times between the ages of 15 and 18 in the priest’s church apartment. On some occasions, the priest gave him muscle relaxants and sleeping pills before the abuse, Rodriguez alleged.


Rodriguez was given muscle relaxants and sleeping pills? The priest was obviously sure of what he was doing. And no “attack of the devil” excuses here, that's hogwash. 

Rodriguez alleges that Pillon, then an assistant pastor at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in La Habra and Rodriguez’s spiritual advisor, took advantage of him while his parents were going through a divorce, eventually persuading him to sever his ties to his family and enter the seminary. Several years later, the two wound up working together at churches in Illinois, during which time Rodriguez served as an assistant pastor to Pillon.


Of course, another example of a religious leader taking advantage of a person in a poor position. Not that this sort of thing isn’t to be expected. That makes me sick.

Pillon said he was removed from active ministry by the bishop in Peoria while Rodriguez’ allegations were investigated by Catholic officials. That investigation is ongoing, said Pillon, who is now a part-time college professor in Prague.

Catholic officials are doing the investigation. How damning. At the very least, he was removed from ministry.  Now he's a part time college professor.  Which, in my opinion, is actually a better job title.

Rodriguez said that in response to his report on Pillon, the Illinois diocese gave him six days to leave his parish and the state. He said he was ordered to report to a treatment center in Pennsylvania to undergo therapy.


The Illinois diocese gave him six days to leave his parish and the state? Now, if they told him to leave the parish, it’s on them. I suppose if it’s their club, it’s their rules. But they can’t ask him to leave the state, can they? How horrendous, them believing they have that sort of power and authority. Please, somebody tell me they don’t!

One final quote from Rodriguez struck me as a bit chilling.

"When I gave the report, I knew this would be the end of my ministry," Rodriguez said. "I told friends, ‘I am denouncing a priest and I will probably have to leave the priesthood as a result.’ The priesthood is a fraternity. If you go against it, you are in trouble."


The devil’s water isn’t so sweet.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Just in case you cared...

If you want to spruce up a bit of fiction, it may not be such a bad idea to include zombies next time you revise or rewrite it. Just look at Of Pride and Prejudice.  The thing is, though, that I'm not much of a zombie enthusiast.  I'm just not into them.

But, this new bible "translation" caught my attention...Stinque Zombie Bible.  Of course, with the addition of zombies, this creation story might be worth a bit more of my time.  Even if it's just a few minutes...

Oh, but just in case of any "rapture"...

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

SoulWow

The epitome of cheesiness. Believe me. 



[Via Friendly Atheist]

Monday, April 13, 2009

YouTube Christian Commits Suicide and Takes Own Life

If you don't already know by now, a YouTube user who repeatedly spoke out against atheism killed himself and took one more life.
Here is an article.

Fellow blogger, The New Atheist has a post about it here.

Go check it out and leave a comment.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Favorite Church Signs

As mentioned in my previous post, being a non-religious person doesn't excuse me from having a good laugh due to seeing an extraordinarily cheesy church sign every once in a while.  But I want to ask the reader, meaning you, if you enjoy seeing corny phrases on church signs or bulletins as well (if anything, for a good laugh. Some of these people are serious).  If so, mind sharing any memorable quotes or slogans?

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Slate shares my interest in Church Signs

Although it is plain that I myself am not a believer in a god, it still doesn't diminish my love for Church Signs. (It's mainly for novelty value, and a good laugh.)
I live in an area that includes many churches within walking distances, many within a 5-10 minute walking distance from each other. In fact, two particular churches are across the street from each other. 
I get to see plenty of signs, so it's plain to see where I get my weird fascination from.

Well, Slate Magazine has run an article with photos of Church Signs. 

Click here to view the slideshow



Wednesday, April 8, 2009

A "Blitter"

You know, sometimes I feel like making up my own words to use around my blog. Just to make things interesting. I got the idea from the New York Times blog Schott's Vocab.

My first one being "Blitter", a combination of twitter and blog. A blog twitter. Only without the twitter.

Basically, a short update every once in a while (aside from regular posts). 


Sunday, April 5, 2009

Left Behind isn't Christian fiction, it's Sci-Fi.

Yesterday I spent most of the day volunteering at the local library's book festival packing boxes and being around older people who smell of cigarette smoke. All the books were placed in their respective sections, such as Fiction and Mystery. (Just for the record, I bought a few books there- The Fundamental Liberties of a Free People  being one of them...)

Anyway, while browsing around, I found the entire collection of the Left Behind series adaptation for kids. Conveniently titled, Left Behind: the Kids. The whole collection was being sold altogether. And fortunately, no real reader thought it was worth their time.

When I arrived to the poor excuse of a Sci-Fi/Fantasy section, I realized the collection of thick books with a similar look and feel to all of them, and I realized that the Left Behind books had been placed in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section. Obviously, where they belong...

Unfortunately, it seems to me that many of the readers of this series (or subscribers of the faith) do indeed believe it to be fact...

Friday, April 3, 2009

The Pigasus Awards- 2008

It's that time of year. James Randi (ahem, the noted skeptic) has announced the winners of his Pigasus Awards. Check out this video from the man himself... Oh, and if you haven't already subscribed to the JREF Channel on YouTube, get at it. 


Gmail turns 5

So, apparently Google's email service has been around for 5 years now. That is, according to google. How do we know it's true? Because Google would never lie.

Happy birthday, Gmail.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Today, from Pharyngula...

I learned that it is Cthulhu Day

For a more relevant article, click here


The NY Times has an interactive feature up right now dealing with Darwin's Origin of Species. It wouldn't hurt to read some of the articles there, if you're into biology (especially Evolutionary Biology) or have some time to give.