Brazilian president slams excommunications over minor’s abortion

[Meshuga]

This is related to the active thread about the pregnant 9-year-old who was raped by her stepfather.

Rio de Janeiro, March 7 (IANS) Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has criticized a Catholic archbishop for excommunicating the mother of a nine-year-old girl who had an abortion after being raped by her stepfather, EFE reported Saturday.

Gomes Sobrinho, the archbishop of Olinda and Recife, has also excommunicated the doctors who had performed the abortion on the girl, who was 15 weeks pregnant, with twins.

“As a Christian and a Catholic, I deeply regret that a bishop has had such conservative behavior,” Lula said.

The archbishop excommunicated the mother of a nine-year-old girl and the doctors who performed the abortion but the stepfather who raped the little girl got a free pass. Apparently, the stepfather's sin was not serious enough for excommunication in his opinion.

According to O Globo (newspaper article in Portuguese), the archbishop said: "Ele cometeu um crime hediondo, mas não está incluido na excomunhão. Existem tantos outros pecados graves. Mais grave do que isso, é o aborto, eliminar uma vida inocente."

Which translates to "He committed a repulsive crime, but he is not included in the excommunication. There are more serious sins. More serious than this is abortion, to eliminate an innocent life."

I mean, for fuck sake!

[Renew Deal]

1. The Vatican will be apologizing for this one soon.

I'd bet on it.

[Goblinmonger]

5. I might take some of that action. n/t

[JerseygirlCT]

7. I'm not holding my breath

It seems there is only one sin, and only one concern. And all those knotted up old men will do whatever it takes to insure that women and girls stay firmly under their thumbs.

[54anickel]

13. And the Vatican checks in.....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3772798

Vatican backs abortion row bishop

snip>

Cardinal Re, who heads the Roman Catholic Church's Congregation for Bishops and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, told La Stampa that the archbishop had been right to excommunicate the mother and doctors.

"It is a sad case but the real problem is that the twins conceived were two innocent persons, who had the right to live and could not be eliminated," he said.

"Life must always be protected, the attack on the Brazilian Church is unjustified."

[JerseygirlCT]

14. Life must always be protected

Unless of course, it's an actual, not possible life. And if it's a female life, well then we can talk a bit. Or children. Once born, they don't quite count as much, you know?

As I guessed... this doesn't surprise me in the least.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. More serious than ruining an innocent life?

When I hear things like this, I'm glad I was never a Catholic, especially one in Brazil!

Does anyone know if this rapist has been charged with a crime? Will he have a trial and do some serious prison time?

[Meshuga]

4. The authorities are doing their part

The rapist is in prison and he has been charged with the crime. The issue I see here is with the fucked up values of this archbishop.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

9. Oh, I agree

but in all these threads I didn't see anything about what was being done legally to the rapist. Thanks for letting me know.

[Dorian Gray]

11. Good

I hope he stays in jail for the rest of his life. Sick son of a....

[moobu2]

3. I just excommunicated Archbishop Sobrinho,

he no longer has any power on this earth.

[JerseygirlCT]

8. I can't help but think that's what will happen in the big picture

There was a day when the RCC was everything: judge and jury, gov't, the whole works. There was one recognized religion and being excommunicated meant some dire consequences in your day to day life.

Now? I think they've gone too far. And no one gives them the sort of importance they'd like to think they still have. I do hope this mother and child find themselves a new church home, pronto. One where they're welcomed and embraced and shown the love of God that these evil men have never shown them.

And as for these men? I think they may be having some interesting conversations with the boss someday. Whatsoever you do and all that.

[JerseygirlCT]

6. Oh... just too too horrible

That evil man, attacking a poor little girl and her poor mother, and doctors who are doing what doctors should be doing: caring for their patient.

And to say that about this child's abuser? The only thing you can think is that they really don't much care about rape and child abuse; since so many of them have been complicit in the same, or in covering it up.

Disgusting. Just horribly disgusting.

[Dorian Gray]

10. Wow?

The Archbishop really said that?

Wow.

[54anickel]

12. So if "the church" doesn't come out against this archbishop's stance, can we find it complicit and

demand the death penalty (for the church that is)?
Man, I can't believe I just called for the end of organized religion.....

edit to clarify

[JerseygirlCT]

15. They really lack any sense of irony over there at the Vatican

you know?

Mother trying to save her child's life - excommunication. Mother dying so a child will be born - HERO, SAINT!

Child horrifically abused for years - well, folks, that's life. And a matter for the civil authorities. Child undergoes medically and emotionally necessary procedure - excommunication.