What do you do if you

1) have a background in canon law, 2) know how and where the church keeps records, 3) know where church money comes from and where it goes, 4) speak Italian and Latin, and 5) are tired of hearing your parishoners confess that they should have known better, they should have spotted abuse by priests, beating themselves up for perceived sins when the abusers are getting away time and time again?

You leave the priesthood and become an expert consultant in civil and criminal cases against those protecting the molesters.

Onetime priest crusades for abuse victims suing Catholic Church

Via @almightygod on Twitter, who tweeted 'Here's a priest actually doing my work'.

Well, isn't that nice of him?

I don't recall anyone particularly asking to be exonerated, though, especially for the 'crime' of 'killing' a figure that may or may not have existed. Oh, and then there's the fact that no one's been leading pogroms against the Romans all these years. Glad he can clear up a few things, I guess, not that I expect it will do one bit to lessen anti-Semitism, but I also wouldn't expect anyone to be overly grateful. Granted, I'm not Jewish (although if he existed, Jesus WAS), so I can't speak for an entire people. I'm just saying...

In new book, pope exonerates Jews for Jesus' death

Good grief

Catholic Church Issues Guide on How to Convert Witches

Five hundred years ago, the Catholic Church had a simple way of dealing with witches: It burned them alive. The Vatican still views these broom botherers as a danger, but is now calling on Catholics to eliminate the neo-pagan problem in a more moderate manner.

According to a new booklet from the Catholic Truth Society -- the U.K. publishers for the Holy See -- the faithful can convert Wiccans by following a few simple steps. The pamphlet, titled "Wicca and Witchcraft: Understanding the Dangers," suggests that Catholics spark up conversations with these unbelievers about shared concerns such as the environment, The Telegraph reports.

(all links from the article)

Because of course, Harry Potter makes all little girls and boys want to be Wiccans when they grow up. No, really:

The Daily Mail says that the church is afraid the dark arts are becoming ever more tempting thanks to the success of Harry Potter. Dodd [the author of the pamphlet, a former Wiccan] says that any youngster who dabbles in magic risks long-term problems.

Bear with me; it's 2 am as I write this and I have to get up in three hours, so I may ramble a bit.

I will agree that dabbling in magic is something that is unwise to do, because it can have consequences and, like anything, can be used for good or evil, or somewhere in the middle. I will also point out that there is a difference between Wicca and witches, the former being a pagan religion and the latter being a practice of magic. The two are not the same, although many Wiccans call themselves witches, often erroneously, whether they practise magic or not. Also, witchcraft can, indeed be practised by those who are not even pagan. I've known true practioners of magic, and I've known Wiccans and other neo-pagans, reconstructionists, and people on the fringe of paganism (which is pretty far out there). I've also met Christian mystics who practise ritual magic, and see no problem with that in their faith. I have over 21 years of experience in paganism and the pagan community, including heading a local pagan group, attending gatherings, reading both neo-pagan and ancient pagan authors, and have been a worshipper and priestess of the Goddess Hekate for about seventeen years, so I think I know what I'm talking about here. I don't personally practise witchcraft, but I know some of the principles. I've only known one person who was pagan who is so enamoured with Catholicism's trappings that he tries to mix the two religions, and I think when it comes down to it's the hats and pomp and circumstance he loves, not the actual beliefs of Catholicism. So I don't know how effective their pamphlet will be. Many of today's pagans have left other (mostly Christian) faiths and therefore have a bit of baggage when it comes to Christianity. I personally of am of the you-don't-bother-us-we-won't-bother-you mentality when it comes to Christianity, but I've known pagans who were very anti-Christian because of their experiences as Christians. So it's a complex sort of thing.

But in the grand scheme of thing, I agree with the person who posted the link on a list I read that the Church should be more concerned with the more numerous faiths it's losing members to, or indeed secularism itself, rather than the activities of a minority religion that really isn't bothering anyone and who, unlike Christianity, is not evangelical and therefore doesn't try to convert anyone. But I guess I should be happy they're not trying to burn, hang, or press people they perceive as witches under stones like in the old days.

Adrift with only history behind them

After 146 Years, a Brooklyn Convent Is Closing

Behind the red-brick walls encircling the Convent of Mercy in Brooklyn, generations of nuns have taught the illiterate, sheltered the homeless and raised orphans. They are known as the Walking Sisters, ministering in the community as well as inside their convent.

Now, after 146 years, it is time for the small band of sisters, most of them retired, to walk away from the convent. The leadership of their order, the Sisters of Mercy, decided to shutter the place and scatter the sisters to other homes and nursing facilities after realizing it would cost more than $20 million to fix serious structural and accessibility problems in the fortresslike building on Willoughby Avenue in Clinton Hill.

The building is not considered a landmark (although judging from the photos, the interior of the chapel is lovely and the exterior is interesting), so there's a good chance that if sold it would be 'developed' (read, torn down and something put in its place).

The Walking Sisters cared for a lot of children in their years in Brooklyn, and they refused to stay confined in the safety of their convent, but went out into the community to deal with issues like poverty and disease. They touched many lives and I'm sure that many people will remember them fondly.

The problem in this case, of course, is the building. It's a shame that the women will be scattered to the four winds, when this has been home to them for so many years. But even though I'm not Catholic, I find it also sad that so few young women are entering the orders to help sustain their vitality. I have great respect for nuns, sisters, monks, and priests. If I were Catholic, I'd be very tempted to become a nun (although I'm a little short on obedience sometimes). :) I wish the ladies well.

Okay, we all know I oppose the war

but this is a looney and tasteless way to protest, and no way to get a message across:

War protest mars Holy Name mass: Demonstrators spatter selves and worshipers with fake blood

According to the Cardinal who was performing the mass:

'We should all work for peace,' George said, 'but not by interrupting the worship of God. It's an act of violence to come among a group of believers and try to manipulate worship to your own purposes, no matter how noble and good they are.'

Hear, hear.

Here's a gem

Got $8,333 plus the ability to compete with the other 798 people and institutions in the world vying for the soon-to-be-published court documents of the trials against the Knights Templar in the 14th century?

Knights Templar win heresy reprieve after 700 years

So detailed as to include stains on parchment, the documents are to be published in a leather case with a large book including reproductions of original parchments in Latin, scholarly commentary, and replicas of the wax seals used by 14th-century inquisitors. Only 799 numbered copies are available.

The Knights Templar have many legends that grew up around them, particularly after the French king persecuted them to cancel his debts to the order. Since some went into hiding, many people think that the order continued in secret with esoteric knowledge. Many people had never heard of the order until Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code came out.

These documents do not shed light on the occult activities of the Knights, but there is one that was miscatalogued (bad librarian!) until 2001 that showed that the Pope absolved the Knights of heresy, the charge for which many were burnt by the king's men. He acknowledged there were those among the order who had sinned, but did not endorse the heresy charge. The Knights Templar were eventually disbanded officially by the Church, however.

Anyway, the mediaeval historian in me goes, wow, this is so cool! And I could read it so long as I had time and a good dictionary. I wonder if UK could even hope to acquire this? Somehow I doubt it. They'll go to universities with very strong mediaeval programmes, I'm sure. Still...wouldn't it be great to see?