#catholic sex abuse

[bethanythebogwitch]

I know I think differently than a lot of people, but it is astonishing to me that the child sex abuse scandal didn't destroy or severely damage the Catholic church (this applies to other organized religions that have similar scandals too, like Mormons, the southern baptist convention, and Jehovah's Witnesses). To me it would seem like anyone who believes in god seeing this happen would have to realize one of two possible explanations for this. Either:

A) god does not approve and therefore the Catholic church cannot actually speak for him, or

B) God either approves of child sex abuse or does not care enough to step in and stop it, which would make him undeserving of worship

But not only did nothing really end up happening to the church, it seems like most dissenters leave over stuff like not speaking Latin anymore or being slightly less horrible to gay people. Make it make sense.

Anyway, here Tim Minchin's correct take on the situation

[internetcatholicism]

Guys, I deeply need your prayers. Something has come up with just the smallest glimmer of a chance in finding answers to my sexual abuse/trafficking case. The chances are so slim, but they are there. Please pray that it be God's will that something truly comes from this.

[perenlop]

people pearl clutching about preteens knowing what sex is is so wild as someone who was given the talk at age 6 because i asked my mom if she bought me from target���s secret baby compartment. and literally just took it like “oh okay. gross. :(“ being more sad that it affected my fantasy of being bought from target

[badolmen]

People love ragging on Catholics on this site (fast free and easy like river water socks) but I think it’s extra funny y’all seem to think Catholics are some sort of sex prudes. Like, if a Catholic man does not give his wife an orgasm he is failing his sworn duties as a husband. I did not endure polite insinuations that my parents fucked often and well to have as many kids as they have for you to act like any self respecting Catholic is a celibate virgin. Laypeople have sex in this denomination Kaitleign. What are we, Calvinists? Jansenism is soooo 17th century Protestant Reformation-informed heresy.

[vamphorica]

kinktober day xxiii: worship

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Fandom: Death Note (Anime & Manga)

Relationship: Matt | Mail Jeevas/Mello | Mihael Keehl

Characters: Matt | Mail Jeevas, Mello | Mihael Keehl

Additional Tags: Worship, Church Sex, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Religion Kink, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Catholic Prayers, Kissing, Altar Sex, Top Mello | Mihael Keehl, Bottom Matt | Mail Jeevas, Canon Compliant

Series: Part 23 of Death Note Kinktober 2024 | @dnkinktober

Summary: When Mello goes missing again, Matt goes to church.

────────────────────────────

When Mello doesn’t return to the flat for several days, Matt drives down to the Catholic church about an hour away. It is said to be favoured by the Mafia, with the security it provides ensuring that it can remain open for twenty four hours every day. Matt is reassured at the very least that regardless of Mello’s proclivity to mania, his tendency to drink a little too fast and sometimes snort one too many lines of coke, that shit doesn’t fly in the house of God. By the time Matt collects him, Mello is usually cold hard sober.

He pulls up outside of the building, grinding his cigarette butt into the ashtray on his dash as he acknowledges the bright red neon cross glowing above the doorway. At three in the morning, it haloes in the dark, a stark reminder of God. Matt has inherited the Wammy’s atheistic outlook of the world, all that is unexplainable now presumed to be understandable at a later date. He envies Mello’s ability to remain in close proximity with the discomfort of ignorance. To believe that everything happens for a reason greater than himself. It is pleasantly naive. Matt gets out of the car and slams the door behind him.

“Mello here?” Matt asks the two mafiosos who guard the doors.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Friend of his.” Matt digs deep into his jean pockets and pulls out a purple chocolate wrapper. British imported chocolate was hardly uncommon if you knew where to find it, but no one was as picky about brand consistency as Mello and as the two men look at one another momentarily, Matt knows they have little to challenge him on.

“He arrived yesterday. He’s the only one in there right now.”

Matt gives a brief nod and walks into the foyer. Leaflets and posters neatly line the walls, declaring solutions to societal woes through God’s omnibenevolence. Matt considers whether Mello looks at this selection of material, decrying homosexuality as a sin and drug use as an abominable act, and feels himself to be lesser. Perhaps he seeks refuge in the exclusionary nature that organised religion encourages; a reminder of the House in its intolerance of anything deemed inadequate.

The church is rather underwhelming for one that is so obviously revered by the local crime syndicate. Large, stained glass windows dominate the walls, the darkness of the early morning muting their colours, the saints condemned to a fate of mundanity until the sun rises. The pews hide in the shadows cast towards the back of the chapel, dusty hymn books and bibles remain neglected. It is the altar which is afforded the blessing of light, a variety of candles carefully positioned to carve out an invitation to prayer at the foot of the platform, before a model crucifixion.

This is where Matt always finds Mello kneeling, with his head bowed in such a manner as to let his hair veil his face. His ungloved hands are clasped together before his chest, almost earnest. Slowly, Matt approaches him from behind listening for his hushed voice in the silence. He had interrupted Mello during prayer one too many times to know such a risk was never worth the blonde’s subsequent irritation. As Matt arrives close enough to reach out and touch his shoulder, Mello’s silence is unmistakable.

“Hey, time to go.”

Mello looks up at Matt, his eyes red as if he has been crying, or as if he’s high. There is still something hauntingly beautiful about him, even in this erratic state, and Matt feels an urge to run his fingers through his soft golden hair, before guiding him out of the church and back into the car. To make him promise that they’ll leave this city and forget about the Kira case to find another purpose in life. An ambition that doesn't rip him to shreds like this.

“Matt… My guardian angel.” Mello whispers, nearly too quiet for Matt to hear.

“You alright?” Matt asks in response – Mello was typically vexed by Matt by the time he would come to fetch him, as if his arrival broke some kind of fantasy of divine salvation he had erected in his head. Matt never expects the softer language or the affection to return for a few days as Mello confronts lingering hangovers and whatever religious revelations he endured during his periodic hysteria. Even then, such affections are small, quiet things whispered in the bedroom. Matt has never known Mello to speak to him in such a way in public.

Mello takes Matt’s hand as a means to pull himself up onto his feet, “I am now that you are here.” His breath smells like booze, and Matt wonders if the men on the door had been covering for him.

“Come on, man, we need to get you cleaned up.” Matt sighs. He never judges Mello, as often as Mello would take the opportunity to act morally offended by the redhead’s crack pipes and needles. However, there is something increasingly exasperating about how Matt so often chases Mello, as if it is a given that he will be there to take him home. Matt swallows his fear to enter those dark spaces Mello frequents to pull him out every time. Matt can never say Mello returns the favour.

Damn right, I am your guardian angel.

“No… Let’s stay.” Mello pulls Matt’s sleeve. It is a small gesture, but one that was reminiscent of something more. That silent pull of a sleeve in the dark. Two boys in a dormitory.

A kiss.

Matt feels Mello’s lips on his, soft and full. An apology, or at least an appeal to their relationship. A declaration of love in a sacred space. Matt takes Mello’s face in his hands and gently eases him away from his own.

“Here, Mels?”

“Where else can I worship you?” God, he really is fucked. Matt shook his head. Mello is bound to regret this. Matt opens his mouth to object but Mello cuts him off, “I thank God for you everyday, Matt.”

Matt blushes, despite himself. His frustration at this stupid bastard for scaring him so often aside, he cannot deny how his heart aches when hearing such a sentiment from Mello. Matt is not well acquainted with God, but there is something about the manner in which Mello’s devotion flows out of him, Matt can taste something close to a miracle on his lips.

Matt’s eyes dart to the entrance, to which Mello smirks, “They know not to come inside.”

Fuck it. Matt leans back in and the two press their bodies close as they fall into the deepness of the kiss. They stumble up onto the platform until Matt feels himself being pressed up against the altar table. He plants a hand behind him, in an attempt not to fall upon it.

Mello has other ideas. He disengages before shoving Matt onto the table so that he lies flat along the surface, his face contorting slightly on impact. Even Matt feels they are engaging in a rather overt expression of blasphemy here, but as Mello crawls on top of him, his hair hanging down and framing his face, Matt understands what is meant by omnibenevolence. Unconditional love is the best way Matt can describe how he feels about Mello.

“Thank you, Lord, for the blessings you have bestowed onto me.” Mello begins unbuckling his belt, and Matt swallows, his dick tight against his underwear in anticipation of what the blonde intends to do to him here. He finds his own hands peeling his jeans down beneath Mello as they both expose themselves hurriedly. Spiritual consequences be damned.

“You have provided me with more than I could imagine, more than I ever deserve, in Mail Jeevas.” Matt doesn’t know whether it is Mello pressing his erection against his own or the way in which he says his real name that sends a shockwave of sensitivity up his spine, causing him to moan quietly. His hands grab Mello’s hips as he spreads his legs, arching his back as a means to push himself closer to Mello’s body.

Mello spits on his palm and begins to rub his own cock, his other hand gently caressing Matt’s face, “Lord, I am a sinner, and yet you have extended your mercy and grace by bringing an angel into my life.” Matt closes his eyes and hums gently against Mello’s thumb stroking his cheek, smiling when the blonde plants a kiss there.

“We praise you and give you glory.” Mello moves his hand down to grab Matt’s thigh, and with his other hand, directs his dick against the rim of Matt’s ass, thrusting his hips so it goes in all at once. Matt gasps, his nails digging into Mello’s hips as he processes the sharp sting of being entered.

“Amen.”

[allthegeopolitics]

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880m to 1,353 people who accused priests of abusing them as children in the largest payout by a United States diocese over decades-old claims that have rocked the church globally. Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez expressed sorrow for the abuse while announcing the settlement on Wednesday.

Continue Reading

[star-spangled-man]

me and the gang when like a prayer is on (bonus points for the choir vers)

[ravnlghtft]

[eileennatural]

you don't realize how many people are genuinely crazy until you let one single conspiracy theory tiktok play put in full before scrolling. genuinely alarming

[internetcatholicism]

PLEASE contribute to the cause of fighting child sex trafficking! Over the last 11 days we have raised close to $5000! Lets hit that mile marker! None of the proceeds from Sound of Freedom are going to Tim Ballard's organization. But we can help!

[rickmctumbleface]

I'm shocked. This is my shocked face. 😐

But please... DO go on about how the church should be the arbiter of morality for all of us, whether we're members or not.

[immaculatasknight]

Nothing sacred to the CIA

[10cities10years]

Sound of Freedom: Across the QAnon-Verse

Is the Sound of Freedom good? Can it help end child sex trafficking? Well, like that issue, it's complicated.

So, here it is: my post on Sound of Freedom, the movie that is storming the charts and doing decent enough business to get a lot of press, both positive and negative. If you don’t live in the U.S. and haven’t heard of this movie, that’s not surprising. It’s only playing Stateside (for now). If you’ve never heard of Sound of Freedom, just know it’s an action film about a paramilitary group taking…

[gaykarstaagforever]

Imagine an organization tolerated the rape of 600+ children over 80 years, and one of the two major political parties is demanding the entire country live by their rules about sex practices and reproductive health.

[westiec]

Listen, I didn't even realize they'd made a movie about these two, but I'm reading the wiki summary, and the ending is apparently:

One year later, Pope Benedict XVI delivers his resignation to the world. Bergoglio is elected as his successor in the 2013 papal conclave and becomes Pope Francis. The two popes watch the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final between their national home teams, Germany and Argentina, together.

I THINK THE FILM ITSELF DOES THE SHIPPING

I cannot stress this enough & cant believe it has to be said: DO NOT SHIP THE TWO POPES (Francis and Benedict) IN “the two popes”.

I mean it. Firstly, they’re both real people. Secondly, they’re popes. Thirdly, they’re real popes.

[giantkillerjack]

Christ's sacrifice on the cross fulfilled prophecies, freed us from the old covenant (that would be what your friend was talking about with the animal sacrifices), and reconciled us in our fallen nature to God our heavenly Father. Why would God want to prevent the fulfilment of a prophecy of our redemption through his Son? You can find really clearly broken down explanations with simple Google searches. or even on Youtube, if reading isn't your thing.

[Continued in second anon]:

also, catholics don't believe that people capable of change are condemned to hell... that's sort of the whole shindig of purgatory.

it seems like the issue wasn't that you were "too much of a fag" to stay, but rather when the questions you had weren't addressed by those in your immediate circle of influence you decided it was all bogus. cause these are good questions! good questions that have been answered hundreds of times over hundreds of years beginning with the early church fathers

[This is in reference to a post I made about how I feel Jesus died for no reason and that my childhood in Catholic school failed to explain it to me. I wrote "thank goodness I was too much of a fag to stay."]

I mean I very much was too much of a fag to stay - the Catholic Church is not kind to queers, and there's a reason every one of my queer friends who grew up Catholic is no longer part of the Church. Lil Nas X knows what's up! Better to rule in Hell and all that. My girlfriend often talks about how she believes if she was raised Catholic as an autistic queer, she would not have lived to adulthood. I agree with her. The shame of it all would have destroyed her. So I very much was and AM too faggy to be a Catholic, and I am immensely grateful for this because I was very very unhappy in the Church.

But actually, the initial reason I had a long agonizing crisis of faith and then dropped it entirely was actually a thought that occurred years before my realization of my own queerness would have forced me either out of the Church anyway or else deep into dangerous self-loathing.

I think the actual heart of the question that destroyed my faith is this:

Is God omnipotent, or not? And if yes, why does he need us to suffer?

Because if he's not omnipotent, then all of this makes sense to me. The whole theology, I mean. Horrible sacrifices had to be made to stop every human soul from going to Hell for all eternity. A long painful battle against the Adversary waged by the good God and his people! It would make sense that he had to suffer if there are other powerful forces at play that established the prophecies he is fulfilling!

But... if he wrote the prophecy..... then....... why? Someone has to write the prophecy in the first place, right? It's not impressive to fulfill your own prophecy, and it doesn't explain why he made one.

If God is not omnipotent, then of course child abuse exists in this world on a massive scale. He hates it and is doing his best to fight it! This fits with the picture of a loving and merciful God that I was taught in school.

But... if he IS omnipotent, then I need to know why child abuse exists. "Mysterious ways" won't cut it because that just means "it doesn't make sense and also maybe that suffering is actually necessary." Which is not an answer I will accept.

The thing that killed my faith was the idea that God cannot be both all-powerful AND kind.

And everything I have experienced about God's Love has been through threats of Hell. I don't think it's kind to save someone from Hell if you condemned them in the first place and also you created Hell. That sounds a lot like an abuser saying you ought to be grateful they didn't hit you and will let you make it up to them. It's a warped version of mercy.

The Catholic church has historically relied on and continues to rely on shame, fear, and social ostracization in order to gain funding and influence. These are very powerful weapons that they use very liberally - shame, fear, isolation - and as long as that Central Paradox I mentioned above continues to exist, then their claim to power and righteousness sounds awfully hollow.

Which brings me back to the concept of martyrdom. I was taught, in no uncertain terms, that sacrifice was something inherently holy. Even when it didn't help anyone! Lent was just a practice in self-denial. It was never clear why Jesus needed it from us.

I was told the only way to 100% be a good person is to never stop sacrificing myself, and even after I stopped believing in a god, this attitude remained deeply, poisonously rooted. (Thanks, Capitalism!) When I was 25, I worked myself nearly to death, and I'm still dealing with the permanent health consequences of that. So ingrained is this mindset in me.

Being gay helped me to avoid falling back into the Church because they hate queers so much, and I am so so grateful for that.

The day I decided God didn't exist, I remember feeling like I could breathe for the first time. I was free! I was loved! I was no longer alone! I no longer had to define my life around shame and guilt! It was terrifying, but also like going from a world full of gray to one full of color!

I think in the end, little 11-year-old me decided that if God was not kind, then I don't know what the point of him is.

And as much as it hurt, knowing that going back wasn't an option for me also helped me stay safe!! Thank goodness I am a dyke!!!