Vatican Responds to Irish Criticism: 25-Pages of “Nope, not our fault”

by

The Vatican has finally responded to the scathing criticism directed at them by the Irish Taoiseach, Enda Kenny. A few months ago the findings of the Cloyne report revealed on-going abuse and cover-up,  so caused considerable anger. In response the Taoiseach (the head of the Irish government) stood up in the Dail (the Irish Parliment)  and gave a speech in which he described “the dysfunction, disconnection and elitism” in the Vatican and accused them of interferring by blocking the reporting of abuse to the Irish Authorities.

A 25 page reply from the Vatican has now been issued in which they state:

“… significant reservations that the speech made by Enda Kenny… in particular, the accusation that the Holy See attempted to frustrate an inquiry in a sovereign democratic republic, is unfounded.”

Read more

Atheists and Sex Offenders

by

Many of you might have already seen the video by the Thinking Atheist that is a response to Florida “pastor” Michael Stahl’s blog suggestion that a national register of Atheists should be compiled. Least you missed the fuss about his crazy suggestion, I blogged about it here, but fret not, he is a complete kook and is pastor of nothing at all except a web site. In reply, he was flooded with so many objections that he has closed his Facebook page and locked down his blog.

Anyway, here is the Thinking Atheist’s great video that lists some very famous Atheists who would be on any such list. The point of course is to highlight that non believers include some of the most influential folks and highly respected people on the planet …

Read more

Irish Religion vs Irish Law

by

This one is of specific interest to me because I was born and educated in Ireland. OK, so here is what has happened so far. Cardinal Sean Brady, Ireland’s most senior Catholic cleric voiced vehement opposition to Irish government’s plans to criminalize priests who do not report sex abuse admitted in the confessional. In other … Read more

Catholic Loon – Another daft “One Truth” claim

by

Not too long ago I blogged about a truly silly rant within the National Catholic Register by Catholic convert Frank Cronin. Well that was only part 1, and so today we have part 2 to laugh at and mock. Last time it was all about the “Blind Irrational Faith” of Atheism, a title that was highly ironic and laughable when you consider that this was coming from a Catholic apologist. As for actual evidence or a logically reasoned argument – none, it was just a collection of straw men arguments. So is this latest article the same? lets see. It opens with …

In the Church of the One Truth there are no ceremonies, no sacraments, no saints. There are no cathedrals, no worship, no mass. There are no sacred books, sacred music, sacred creeds. There is no morality, no accountability …

Read more

The Diamond Planet

by

Now this is cool … University of Manchester astronomers think they’ve found a once-massive star that’s been transformed into a small planet made of diamond.

The researchers first detected a pulsar using the Parkes radio telescope of the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

Read more

The Homeopathic poll – Justifying how you should vote.

by

The UK’s Guardian is running a homeopathic poll in which they ask you to vote “yes” or “no” in response to the question, “Should homeopathic treatments be available on the National Health Service?”.  Perhaps you have already had this pointed out and have been encourage to vote “no”, but have you really thought about it?

Hey it’s an easy question, the answer is obvious … or is it? (Don’t panic, it is, I just want you to think through the arguments and to also explain why the NHS still has it on offer)

Read more