So what accounts for this ovine behavior by Mexicans? Is it superstition? Stupidity? Is it some sort of sacrificial act to a not so benevolent God?

Of course I remember during the Affaire d'Urell that he had his die-hard Caucasian apologists. But at least he wasn't convicted of trysting with a teenager he had tried to get drunk.

What gives?

I think I'll follow Saint In The Making Gustavo's lead, and start a column, within a column, or blog: ASK A MURDERED POPE!

Dear David:

I'm Italian, or was, until an unfortunate lacing of my heart medication with poison, aka "A Romano Prescription" (Read 'IN GOD'S NAME' by David Yallop - 100% Factual).

I cannot authoritatively speak for all Mexicans, but I am from a corrupt "Bella Face" Italian latin culture, and I suspect the "what gives?" has to do with a deep knowledge, that in point of fact, the culture is corrupt to the core, and more so, among Banditos like Noberto Rivera and the Mexican Chruch, in general.

For the moment we will not digress into lower levels of HELL where Rog "Mahal" Mahony belongs.

This having been said, the best WAY to educate all your fellow laity, as to how their PESOS or DOLLARS are being diverted, to overt curia aid & abetting criminality, is not only to read ASK A MEXICAN? or NAVAL GAZING, but also the empircal logging of daily verfied domestic & global coverage at:

www.bishop-accountability.org/abusetracker

Edmund Burke (not Mexican or Italian) may have correctly said it best: "The only condition for the triumph of EVIL, is for good men (or women) to do NOTHING!"

St. Paul (not Mexican or Italian, but JEWISH) reminded the Ephesians (TURKS) in 5:11: "Do Not Deal In the Fruitless Deeds Of Darkness, But Expose Them"....I like my version better though: "Expose Fruits" ;-) !

Speaking of gays blackmailed by pedophile rings in most of the Church; that brings us back to unpunished Bishop Tod Brown of the Diocese Of Orange, and his swishy minon, taken off to Sacramento, Jaime Soto.

Until these type of maligent cancers in The Body Of Christ (The Church) are REMOVED, for their CONTINUED serial criminal and felonious enabling, nothing will improve.

The KEY is for all Latinos, Mexicans, Italians, Greeks, Turks, Slaves, Free, etc., to as St. Peter Damien suggested, "STOP DONATING LAITY!"

No Curia Accountability? No Laity Monies! It Remains THAT Simple!

Comprende?!

Ciao e pace,

Albino
NOT Smiling From Heaven

Why, Gustavo?

What will it benefit SNAP to antagonize the parishioners of Our Lady of the Pillar Church this weekend?

You don't know whether these people knew the whole truth before sending 2,000 letters of support. So, to protest the kid glove treatment of Ramirez - and I agree, it was indeed - instead of assembling outside the Anaheim DA's office, the perpetrators of the kid glove treatment, or even the Bishop's residence, who might have had influence in obtaining the kid glove treatment, you are encouraging them and anyone else to go and distrub a bunch of folks with no say in this matter just trying to go to church.

I am no apologist for Brown but why bedevil the parishioners at Our Lady of the Pillar? All it serves to do is make SNAP look like a bunch of racist bullies.

Stephanie: Since you're a self-professed fan of mine, you know very well my pleadings to pile on Mexis is satire. Besides, the SNAP people are too nice to do such a thing. And I oversimplified the event: the SNAP people is urging any other victims to come forward and telling the Pillar people the truth that Bishop Brown tried to obfuscate.

Dave: You'll remember in 1986, when parishioners of St. Simon and Jude in Huntington Beach wrote thousands of letters in support of Andrew Christian Andersen--this even as a judge gave him a suspended sentence and he later on went to kidnap a kid while still on parole. Catholic pedo-apologist is almost redundant, but Mater Dei folks are still the worst; Mexicans are second. Why Mexicans? I blame the Spaniards.

Careful, Gustavo, I said I enjoy your writing, which is different than saying I am a fan of yours. I can enjoy the style of Burroughs, too, but that isn't to say I would want to ahve lunch with him. Or you. (Actually, you would probably have better ideas for dining choices, so maybe I would rehtink that).

But looking at the reaction of David Zenger above, I am not sure it always plays as satire.

If you're at the International Street Festival in Orange this weekend, stop by the margarita booth outside of Wells Fargo, as I will likely be there pouring that flavorful contribution from Mexico to the American drinking scene.

You obviously don't know Dave, a fine Weekly commentator who many times has bashed agitators of county Mexicans--Shawn Nelson, our keepers of the Gunkist memories, and other posts I'm sure he can add. His question was perfectly legit.

Hey, if you don't care to have food with me, your loss--after all, I've been covering the county's best restaurants much longer that writing satire on my raza or exposing Bishop Brown and his acolytes for the Pharisees that they are.

The SNAP People are not doing this to anger parishioners. It has become a proven fact that Clergy Abuse Survivors will speak to, and seek help from, other Victims. Why? Because no one understands the sufferings of Clergy Abuse Victims, more than other Clergy Abuse Victims. A Howling Mob of Catholics Mad Drunk On Religion (of whatever ethnic background) does not offer comfort or hope to Victims who are suffering in silence; Not exactly encouraging to Victims who want to speak out, but are afraid.; And not exactly the way Catholics should be behaving. Whatever happened to, "The Love of Christ and The Fellowship of The Holy Spirit"?

I have a dream, that one day.........

Gustavo, well, we do agree on one thing - the use of the term Pharisee and Bishop Brown in the same sentence. Or my own pet name for him, "Lord Voldemort."

Gustavo, it's a curious fact that just as Spain was emerging as the first world power in the 16th Century its culture indulged itself in a weird kind of crypto-masochistic/mystical Catholicism - just as most of Europe was Renaissancing itself. You can see it in their art (naturally their best art was done by a Greek import). This Spanish attitude was no doubt superimposed on mesoamerican people - the ones they didn't exterminate, that is. Maybe it was even congruent with preexisting a mindset in indigenous cultures.

It's not hard for me to imagine some deep cultural current that is willing to turn a blind eye to priestly abuse as a kind of darkside propitiation to a capricious. Deity.

BTW, the closest thing to the Spanish outlook is that of the Irish (my people) who also wallowed in an ignorant, superstitious serfdom (after having help save Western culture). Of course we (at least) had the excuse of the Occupation.

Spain created the Jesuits; the Irish gave them another field to sow,

Stephanie A, Richer, you are misinformed. SNAP People do not protest. This is an informational leafletting; and an out reach to other Victims who are seeking help and support. Why not invite Victims to speak at your parish? It is the only way to learn the TRUTH about these terrible crimes against children. In the mean time, Stephanie, what are you doing to protect the children? The only reason the children of the Roman Catholic Church are safer than they were six years ago is due to the courage and out reach of the Victims who vowed that the sexual butchery of children MUST STOP; not just in the Catholic Church, but everywhere. Victims have the courage to take the howls and insults of people who lack the courage to hear the truth. Do you have the courage to look into the eyes of pain and listen to what the Victims have to say?

Stephanie -

I am the person organizing the event at Our Lady of the Pillar this weekend. It is not a protest ... the last thing that we want to do is scare victims.

We will be handing out a flyer - in SPANISH and English - that:

- Tells victims that it is safe to come forward and report abuse,
- Asks parishioners to pray for everyone involved,
- Urge parishioners to support the victim and his family.

The flyer also has the phone numbers for law enforcement and support groups.

I encourage you to join us ... and please, I may be many things, but racist is not one of them (I hope). I have done this exact leafleting at at least 30 English-speaking parishes and schools in LA and Orange Counties. I support all victims, no matter their language or ethnic background.

You are welcome to come along.

Joelle

Victoria,

"That's where SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) members will be leafleting outside from 9 a.m. through 11 p.m. to protest the kid's-glove treatment of convicted boy molester Father Luis Eduardo Ramirez." If I am misinformed, then your beef is with the author of the original posting, since he used the term "protest." Second, you assume that my disagreement with SNAP proecdures is a blanket denial of the abuse that has occurred in the Catholic Church and immediately attack me as some uncaring person, demanding to know what I am doing about it. The fact is I am doing nothing about it as I have other issues to deal with, plus I do not have the authority to invite victims to speak at my parish. I'll leave that to SNAP or other people who are personally involved with victims of priestly sexual abuse. Mind you, if you feel that my support of GOOD priests and being a person proud to say that I am a Catholic is somehow being unfeeling towards the victims, then I guess I'm on your shit list, okay?

Joelle, thank you for your invitation but I will be helping to raise money to support my parish by volunteering my time at the street festivel in orange. That money goes to various uses, of which is tuition assistance for students at our parish school. Unfortunately, ours is a low income parish and that means that quite a few families rely on subsidies for education. I consider that a worthwhile endeavor, given the public school system in Santa Ana sucks so bad. So, let's divide and conquer, and you go and save the kids from the sexual rapaciousness of predatory priests and I will help to give low-income Santa Ana kids a chance at going to college.

Richer is obviously one of those convenient Catholics that talk a big talk about how bad sex abuse is from her religion's priests, but won't even meet with victims. Hey, Stephanie: ever wonder why Brown and his priests live in beautiful homes, yet your stuck selling margaritas (and how holy is THAT?) on a weekend to send kids to school?

MRS. RICHER: But you see, Stephanie, You , and all the other members of the Faithful at your parish, DO have the right, the authority and the duty to tell your pastor, as well as your bishop, that you want Clergy Sexual Abuse Victims to speak at your church. You must remind the priests and the bishops that they do not own our Church; they only manage HER. They are paid (and in many cases, over paid) to act as trustees; but they serve at our pleasure and are, strictly speaking, OUR EMPLOYEES. If you read the Blog, "ABUSE TRACKER", sponsored by bishopaccountability.org, you will see that Catholics back east and in the mid west are speaking out and fighting back to keep their parish churches from being closed. It was the people who brought down the failed and heartless administration of Cardinal Bernard Law, in Boston. Stephanie, we are no longer "Sheep" to be led and sheared and slaughtered. The time has long passed when the clergy and hierarchy (lowerarchy, really) can do with us as they please. You are stronger than you know My Friend. I never thought I could stand before a bank of reporters and television news people and give interviews, but I could, did and can. Even if you only write one letter a week to Bishop Brown and tell him you want clergy abuse victims to speak at your parish, you are doing something. You can contribute that, I'm sure.

And Stephanie, I have many good and faithful Catholic Priests (two of them are Bishops) and nuns whom I am proud to call my friends. I support them, as they support me. But we can't do all your work for you in the Catholic Church, Stephanie. I suppose you, like so many other Catholics will never understand until your child, or grandchild is raped and/or sodomized, not just by clergy, but by anyone. That's why SNAP works so hard to get the truth out, so that the things that we suffered will never happen to another child. If we had not leafletted Carholic Parishes and Schools and told our stories to the press, then children would still be getting raped in church sacristies, basements, choir lofts, rectories, school rooms and parked cars. No, Honey, you're not on my shit list; but to say you're too busy to save your own Church, is passing the buck; because, The Living Body of Christ, which IS the Church, is bleeding to death. We'll do our best to save the children, you'll have to save the rest.

Everyone here is being prejudice against a Man you dont even know! You guys dont know him or anything he did for us!

YOu guys have to understand NO ONE in this world is PERFECT!!!

I knew this man and he is very trustworthy and a man of great faith and character!

I am underage and not ONCE i have doubted in him.

I have known him for a long time. I am not backing him up because i am a catholic but because i know him well.

So do us a favor and do something with your lifes instead of starting scandals that aren't true.

You guys have no idea what so ever of what youre saying!