I have gone through the second periodic report ("Report") by the Committee on the Rights of Child ("Committee") on the crimes against children by the Holy See's priests.
But before I share my views on the Report, I wish to highlight on a few historical analysis on the state of the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century.
(1) King Henry VIII
For those who are not aware of Henry the VIII, he was the King of England from 21 April 1509 until 1547.
Henry VIII was known for his 6 marriages. He wanted to divorce his first marriage and became well known in how he separated the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church to manouver his ways in being divorced from Catherine of Aragon (the first wife) in order to marry his second wife, Anne Boleyn.
However, a divorce was not a simple issue. In fact, it was a very complicated one. Henry VIII was a Roman Catholic and the head of this church was the pope based in Rome.
The Roman Catholic faith believed in marriage for life. It did not recognise, let alone support, divorce. Those who were widowed were free to re-marry; this was an entirely different issue. But husbands could not simply decide that their marriage was not working, divorce their wife and re-marry. The Roman Catholic Church simply did not allow it.
This put Henry VIII in a difficult position. If he went ahead and announced that as king of England he was allowing himself a divorce, the pope could excommunicate him. This meant that under Catholic Church law, your soul could never get to Heaven. To someone living at the time of Henry, this was a very real fear, and a threat which the Catholic Church used to keep people under its control. [via http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/reformation.htm]
Henry VIII initiated the English Reformation.
The English Reformation was a series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church.
Once his marriage to Catherine was annulled, he was able to marry Anne and Rome was separated from Church of England. It was only when Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, the Church of England's independence from Rome was restored.
My understanding and observation of Henry VIII
Henry VIII separated himself from the Roman Catholic and became Head of the Church of England. The English Reformation was carried out in order to legally marry another lady. Classic case of abusing his power for his sexual gains. Even during the 16th century, there are cases of blatant abuse. I guess it is not surprising to continuously have cases of abuse (sexually related or not) up until the 21st century.
The Archbishop of Canterbury granted Henry VIII his divorce - against the wishes of the Pope. But what else could the archbishop do if he wanted to remain on good terms with Henry?
This event effectively lead to England breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church based in Rome. Henry placed himself as head of the church and in that sense, in his eyes, his divorce was perfectly legal. In 1533, few were brave enough to tell him otherwise! [via http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/reformation.htm]
Has anyone seen the series Borgias? Since I love history, any series concerning history would make me addicted.
It is set around the turn of the 16th century, and follows the Borgia family, an Italian dynasty of Spanish origin. It stars Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander VI. Please do watch for some understanding on politics / abuse of power back then.
I seriously feel the grandeur of abuse has not changed one bit. Only the clothes and technology has replaced the olden days. Greed, abuse of power, lust and murder remains!
The Borgias are the most infamous family of Renaissance Italy, and their history normally hinges around four key individuals: Pope Calixtus III, his nephew Pope Alexander IV, his son Cesare and daughter Lucrezia and the family name is associated with greed, power, lust and murder.http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/italyandthecitystates/a/The-Borgias.htm
Pope Alexander VI, born Roderic Llançol i de Borja (1 January 1431 – 18 August 1503) was Pope from 11 August 1492 to his death on 18 August 1503. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes. Pope Alexander became an Italian dynasty but was of Spanish origin.
He was one of the most outstanding popes since St. Peter (the First Pope). His reputation rests more on his considerable skills as a diplomat, politician, and civil administrator rather than as a pastor.
Of Alexander's many mistresses the one for whom passion lasted longest was a certain Vannozza (Giovanna) dei Cattani, born in 1442 and she bore him four children whom he openly acknowledged as his own: Giovanni, afterwards duke of Gandia (born 1474), Cesare (born 1476), Lucrezia (born 1480), and Goffredo or Giuffre (born 1481 or 1482).
Three of his other children, Girolama, Isabella and Pedro-Luiz, were of uncertain parentage. However, his son Bernardo, a product of his liaison with Vittoria (Victoria) Sailór dei Venezia in 1469, is much less known.
He obviously gave up hiding his many children after he fathered four more.
Before his elevation to the papacy Cardinal Borgia's passion for Vannozza somewhat diminished, and she subsequently led a very retired life. Her place in his affections was filled by the beautiful Giulia Farnese (Giulia Bella), wife of an Orsini, but his love for his children by Vannozza remained as strong as ever and proved, indeed, the determining factor of his whole career. He lavished vast sums on them and lauded them with every honour. The atmosphere of Alexander's household is typified by the fact that his daughter Lucrezia lived with his mistress Giulia, who bore him a daughter, Laura, in 1492.
My understanding and observation of Pope Alexander the VI & on adultery
It was blatantly obvious that having affairs / being promiscuous / committing adultery was seen as permissable under the eyes of a Pope in the 16th century. This seems to go against the teachings of Christianity as seen in the Old and New Testaments given below. For what it is worth, I would also comment that adultery is prohibited under a lot of religions and it is even criminalized in a lot of countries around the world
Adultery is criminalized in many African countries, often with harsh penalties, especially in those countries that are Muslim majority. For instance, stoning sentences have been given in Sudan and Somalia.
"You shall not commit adultery", one of the Ten Commandments, is found at Exodus 20:12 of the Tanach (or Old Testament).
The New Testament supports the sanctity of marriage and affirms the gravity of the commandment:
Let marriage be honored among all and the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.— Hebrews 13:4 (New American Bible Revised Edition)
Based on the above, you may now have a brief understanding of persons with power and more so persons deemed to be the protector of Christianity to abuse his power for his sexual gains in the course of their respective ruling as the King of England and as a leader of the Catholic Church.
Please do not be alarmed at the extensive sexual acts committed by the priests of the 21st century deduced from the Report by United Nations.
However, before I proceed on the Report. Please have a look at the link below and the articles provided on reports of abuse by the Pope and the priests of the Holy See in the past years which may soften the blow of what the Report would explain on. I am unsure of the veracity of each article.
Always read anything with a pinch of salt. Never take anything at face value (Disclaimer on my part: However I would take Al-Quran at its face value and only the Al-Quran and nothing else)
.... Please click on link above....
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