1. Comment #435988 by CaptainMandate on November 28, 2009 at 11:41 am

get in!

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2. Comment #435993 by Lithium_joe on November 28, 2009 at 12:01 pm

Beautiful!!

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3. Comment #435997 by bendigeidfran on November 28, 2009 at 12:28 pm

Here's a comedy Pope impersonator having a revelation:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEZHZHNByCs

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4. Comment #436014 by UncleNasty on November 28, 2009 at 1:49 pm

What a fantastic video!

This was linked over in the blog comments at pharyngula:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ9sJVJMiYM

I had a major coffee/keyboard event...

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5. Comment #436025 by Mark Smith on November 28, 2009 at 2:35 pm

Brilliant. Titles are important and she makes a very good case. I was willing the bishop to thank her and say he would give serious consideration to her point, particularly whether priests should be called 'father', because this must surely automatically give them some degree of respectability and trustworthiness in the eyes of some children and so make abuse more possible.

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6. Comment #436028 by A on November 28, 2009 at 2:37 pm

Your highest and most reverend grace, I see you have been caught raping children again.

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7. Comment #436029 by larson80 on November 28, 2009 at 2:40 pm

That lady's dynamite!
And still, the Catholic church evades their responsibility and cling on to their claims for superiority and holiness. What a (very bad) joke.

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8. Comment #436030 by Logicel on November 28, 2009 at 2:43 pm

When Chris Matthews referred to that nutty American bishop as Your Excellency, I wondered how intelligent adults like Matthews can do that kind of ass kissing with a serious face. Your Excellency? Of What? Of regarding yourselves to be so moral as to be above the law and/or you can write the law?

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9. Comment #436031 by Sandra S on November 28, 2009 at 2:45 pm

How can they protect child rapist? That's almost worse than the act itself! They shouldn't have any fancy titles pretending like they have an important position in society. They rape children and then cover it up.

Think I might have to throw up.

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10. Comment #436032 by Logicel on November 28, 2009 at 2:49 pm

I watched the vid now. Wow, she is a terrier, got her teeth into the lying hypocrisy of those squirming bastards and would not let go. Renounce your pomp needs to virally spread, via teeshirts, blog posts, hell, use it like the A symbol has been used.

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11. Comment #436033 by j.mills on November 28, 2009 at 2:50 pm

"Look look look. This savage, long-lasting and widespread abuse of children was committed and covered up by clergy right across Ireland and all the way up to the pope. But you must beware of tarring with the same brush the many good priests who, cognisant of what was happening then, and certainly now, chose and still choose to represent and promote this filthy organisation. Can't you see the difference between nice, decent colluders and collaborators like myself, and those nasty rapists who we're still helping to get away with it scot free?"

Is that about it, or did I mishear him?

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12. Comment #436034 by Logicel on November 28, 2009 at 2:51 pm

From now on, if I ever am in a position of addressing a Catholic clergy, after hearing their title, I will scream: RENOUNCE YOUR POMP!

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13. Comment #436039 by MarcCountry on November 28, 2009 at 3:01 pm

The Cat. Church should be sued into nonexistence.

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14. Comment #436044 by adangelo15 on November 28, 2009 at 3:15 pm

Religion is abusive in general. You can still get a degree in this BS in college. How do we let this happen in our schools and yet can't teach evolution as a fact?

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15. Comment #436056 by Demotruk on November 28, 2009 at 3:56 pm

@Logicel

I saw that video of Chris Matthews, I thought he was deliberately overusing the phrase "your excellency", while arguing aggressively with him, in a way that highlights the ridiculous titles that they give themselves.

I haven't talked to a clergyman in a long time, but if I do again, I'll be mindful not to address them with their ridiculous titles. "Mr" will do.

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16. Comment #436059 by TinyRobot on November 28, 2009 at 4:04 pm

While this is a good takedown, I would hate for people to think that Nell McCafferty is anything other than a self-righteous windbag. I had the misfortune of speaking with her at a debate in my university several years back. Turns out she's a bit of a closet theist, albeit with no love for the church.

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17. Comment #436065 by DocWebster on November 28, 2009 at 4:17 pm

I am in love with a wild Irish lass who displays a wealth of Irish sass and is going to war to slay the self important Irish Father's ass

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18. Comment #436066 by Nercury on November 28, 2009 at 4:17 pm

Vatican's channel on youtube :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMi2QaiddCQ

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19. Comment #436086 by prettygoodformonkeys on November 28, 2009 at 5:11 pm

I wished, and hoped, that she would say that it was institutionally systemic, and bless her Irish heart she said almost those exact words, right to the face of those pompous asses! Lovely, lovely woman!

I can't wait to show this to my wife (also Irish) when she gets back from 'Solstice shopping'.

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20. Comment #436087 by prettygoodformonkeys on November 28, 2009 at 5:12 pm

Also, can I get a "Hell Yeah!" for stridency?

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21. Comment #436088 by fsm1965 on November 28, 2009 at 5:14 pm

How about calling you "Prisoner number 282186"?

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22. Comment #436092 by masubi on November 28, 2009 at 5:42 pm

What a bunch of hypocrites:

Matthew 23:9 "And do not call anyone on earth 'father', for you have one Father, and he is in heaven."

Live a good life,

Masubi

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23. Comment #436104 by Rodger T on November 28, 2009 at 6:33 pm

The shot of the halfwit sputtering ,blinking and gasping like a guppy whilst feebly saying "don`t tar all priests". Pathetic.

As if any of those maggots will give up their comfortable lifestyle and unearned benefits.

Renounce your Pomp

Renounce your Pimp

Renounce your Bling

Renounce your Pope

Not much chance ,but we can all live in hope.

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24. Comment #436107 by Animavore on November 28, 2009 at 6:56 pm

I love it. Someone with the balls to stand up to the Catholic Church. I have a form here to deflect from the Catholic Church and as soon as I can get a witness signature its being sent off.
None of my friends will touch it (too afraid or something) but I noticed there is an atheist Ireland meeting on the second Thursday of December. I'll get someone there to sign it and it'll posted straight out.
I'm not sure how much longer they can be sustained with dwindling new recruits, parishioners and soon they will have to pay out big for all this.

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25. Comment #436141 by Inside centre on November 28, 2009 at 8:16 pm

She was armed with facts and a good point, so obviously they struggled to deal with her. They had to cower behind the 'we're not all bad' line, which of course is an argument that holds no water when you're talking about a systematic organisational cover-up. They may not all be bad, but they are all (to varying extents) culpable for doing turning a blind eye and doing nothing.

Ah, the joys of the catholic church. Obsessed with moral absolutes but entirely without a backbone amongst them.

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26. Comment #436161 by superwolf on November 28, 2009 at 9:05 pm

You know, when I was a Protestant believer I thought that all that pomp with the high and mighty names was ludicrous. I still do, except not because I hold a less ludicrous, groundless belief.

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27. Comment #436175 by rod-the-farmer on November 28, 2009 at 9:57 pm

I think a perfectly good question she could have asked is as follows...

"Tell me Father, if as you say, not all Catholic priests are child abusers and sexual deviates, how do we in the general public tell the good ones from the bad ones among you ?"

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28. Comment #436176 by j.mills on November 28, 2009 at 10:01 pm

Seems to me the honourable thing for an Irish catholic priest to do at this point is leave the church. Keep your faith privately if you must, but how can you think you're doing god's work by defending this relentlessly vile institution through scandal after scandal? What would jebus do? If the biblical god did exist, he would surely have scourged the vatican from the face of the Earth as he [allegedly] did Sod-'em & Begorra.

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29. Comment #436178 by mjwemdee on November 28, 2009 at 10:03 pm

Comment #436175 by rod-the-farmer

Spot on!

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30. Comment #436185 by Simon Wilson on November 28, 2009 at 10:21 pm

One way of cutting the ground from beneath the feet of the church is to argue that cases like this (which isnt a one-off by any means) shows that the only true way to God is directly, from your bedside. Dont challenge their beliefs, just try to undermine the organisation that uses them.

Without this large organisation sucking the money and votes of all those 'believers', a secular society would be an easier achievement. And belief would probably fade away, as well.

It may be better (and safer) to cut it away one branch at a time, rather than try to take the whole rotting tree down in one go.

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31. Comment #436364 by Veronique on November 29, 2009 at 3:37 pm

TinyRobot

So she's a culturally conditioned religite. I looked up her wiki entry - not half bad, I must say. Strident: yes, articulate: yes, Take no nonsense: yes.

This video clip made me grin fiercely. That's good enough for me

I don't have a problem with her - maybe I wouldn't enjoy a tongue lashing from her though :-)

Cheers
V

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32. Comment #436365 by Jonathan Dore on November 29, 2009 at 3:40 pm

This was one thing the Church of England got right in its quiet way: if you read Austen or George Eliot you'll see that Anglican clergymen never expected to be addressed as anything other than "Mr".

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33. Comment #436583 by retep57 on November 29, 2009 at 11:07 pm

refreshing dose of honest criticism, you go Nell, good girl, tell them what for !

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34. Comment #436605 by Kmita on November 30, 2009 at 12:14 am

Have to love it.

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35. Comment #436632 by Alternative Carpark on November 30, 2009 at 1:57 am

Renounce your circumstance too, while you are at it.

I should get some "renounce your pomp" t-shirts printed.

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36. Comment #436790 by Shiva on November 30, 2009 at 9:51 am

Oooo, she's on fire!!!

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37. Comment #436863 by nalfeshnee on November 30, 2009 at 12:27 pm

Bloody hell :=)

I bet that was an angle they hadn't thought of.

Nell just thought up another set of clothes that don't exist.

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38. Comment #436873 by hungarianelephant on November 30, 2009 at 12:44 pm

"Don't call me Len, you little prick. I'm a bishop!"

"Oh right. (pause) Well done."

(With thanks to Messrs Linehan and Mathews.)

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39. Comment #437156 by Shuggy on December 1, 2009 at 3:26 am

22. Comment #436092 by masubi on November 28, 2009

Matthew 23:9 "And do not call anyone on earth 'father', for you have one Father, and he is in heaven."

I was just about to look that one up. Are there any recovering Catholics here who can say what the official church bullshit answer is to that? They must - or at least they ought to - get it flung at them every day.

(Don't tell me it's "When you say 'Father', you're not calling me that, you're speaking to God through me, because my priesthood is from God." If so, that's just pathetic.)

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