Diocese of Regensburg Wins Libel Case against the 'Spiegel'

The Spiegel may from now on may no longer maintain or awaken the impression that the Diocese of Regensburg desired to conceal cases of abuse and to criminally intend to make monetary payments.

Regensburg (kath.net) The Diocese of Regensburg has won a case against the news magazine "Spiegel".  According to the Bishop.  In the main the conflict concerned whether a damage claim could be considered hush money.  The Spiegel may no longer maintain this or give the impression that the Diocese of Regensburg  has concealed cases of abuse and did this with the criminal intent to make payments.  This decision came from the Federal Court of Hamburg on Friday.

Diocesan spokesman Clemens Neck said in an statement:  'The legal case was necessary because in all of Germany this was being described as concealing abuse.  For this reason authors are reproved as an example in the case of the Diocese of Regensburg and the article by Spiegel as well as other publications.  All documents -- like the writings of parents and their attorneys -- prove however unmistakeably that in no moment was any attempt made to effect anyone's silence.  This legal battle concerned the question if the Spiegel may have published an untruth.  It doesn't have this privilege. And it is good that this is so."

The Diocese published information about the case on Friday background information as well,  the following, an excerpt from the written meeting between the parents of the children concerned, the perpetrator and the Diocesan Ordinary on 30.06.1999.  The excerpt is the following words:  "Between the participants there is agreement that negative psychological consequences for the children concerned ... will be treated as possible, respectively, ameliorated through therapy.  In the considered interest of the children and the expressed desire of the parents that silence shall be respected".  And further: "Mr ... [name of the perpetrator omitted] is bound, to that which originated from the event of 31.3.1999, and where applicable, to compensate for material and immaterial damages.  He is bound also to pay the following damages..."

In another excerpt from the writing of the attorney of the family to the legal representative of the Diocesan Ordinary of 18.05.1999 is indicated: "1. The Episcopal Ordinary  expressly manifested that it will not stand in the way of an assessment for punishment against Mr. .....   The proceedings of 31.03.1999 could and should therefore, if the offended children and their parents desire, be brought before the responsible state authorities and completely revealed.  2. With a view to the well-being of the children, ...,  the husband and wife prescind from the possibility of a criminal complaint. This occurred from their own desire, not on the request or pressure of the Diocesan Ordinary.  The right of criminal complaint is expressly reserved..."

Translated from the German, kreuz.net....

The Pope Talks About Duty and the Good, Everyone Else is Fixated Upon Condoms

 Men are not allowed to think freely about chemistry and biology: why should they be allowed to think freely about political philosophy?
Auguste Comte

Augustus Comte Founder of Sociology

The past few days have reinforced our notion, oft repeated, that the world envisioned by Augustus Comte has come to pass, and that information has been compressed and distorted by the various media, which transmit the findings of the new priest-class to the masses, and they respond predictably.  Some people have even implicated the Holy Father in this game, much as they did at Regensburg when he was accused of causing world-wide riots after he quoted a Byzantine Emperor's statement about Islam being a religion of "violence".


One of the German blogs made the following citation, and it verily touches on the media contortion of past few days, and as with his Regesburg speech, it was twisted, misinterpreted and projected upon by various malcontents, ne'er-do-wells and perhaps a few decent people who were struck by the way the media handled this.  Many people, too many people, have more faith in the infallibility of the media than they do the Pope, but I should hope that we here at least would give His Holiness more than the benefit of the doubt:

Die bloße Fixierung auf das Kondom bedeutet eine Banalisierung der Sexualität [...]
Papst Benedikt XVI. in “Licht der Welt”

It translates into: The very fixation on the condom means a banalization of sexuality [...]
Pope Benedict XVI in "Licht der Welt"

Media stolen from, here.

Regensburg Gymnasium Must Remove its Cross

The Cross in the classroom was removed in the Albert-Magnus Gymnasium after a protest from parents.  Even the morning school prayer was reduced to a good morning meditation prayer circle.

Regensburg [kath.net]  As one father weighed in, the cross was removed from Albert-Magnus Gymnasium's classroom and the usual school prayer was mangled into a neutral good morning circle meditation. This was reported in the Mittelbayrische Zeitung.  With this we see the effect Crucifix-ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court.

The driver of the Cross removal, a physics professor from the University, sat in a circle of parents and made an unofficial determination. This had made him the class leader, according to his own determination,  the atheist told the Mittelbayerische Zeitung.  Accordingly, he mentioned that this situation  with the Cross had only been a "byproduct". He had originally upset that his son had been praying for two years in class.  He refused to take that in talks with the school leadership. "And when one is already on the way, naturally the cross is going to come down at the same time."

In the initiation of the Cross removal, six pairs of parents made a statement through a spokesperson: "The Cross simply was removed, irrespective of the other 32 parents and children, and we don't find that okay.  We are not even in church every Sunday."  Four parents formulated a letter thereupon to those opposing the Cross.

There are four to five cases of Cross removal registered in the Bavarian Internal Ministry pro year, with a number of 33,000 classrooms with a population of more than a million, reported Mittelbayrische.  In the Diocese of Regensburg there have been a number of cases brought into effect and registered, not all receive publicity.


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Bishop Williamson to Appear in Court Against his Alleged Holocaust Denial Conviction.

Editor: kath.net is not friendly to Traditionalists very often, and their editors are almost invariably hostile to the FSSPX.One of the other news services had already covered the story in English, but kath.net is Catholic (and very reliable) and the other news service isn't, so we translated the article you see now.


Munich (kath.net/KAP) British Bishop Richard Williamson will stand before the court for the judgment he received from the Regensburg Court for sedition and "trivializing" the Holocaust. The appeal against the April fine of 10,000 Euro is set for the 29th of November. The speaker of the National Court of Regensburg, Johann Piendl, verified this for the German Catholic News Service, KNA. "I am pretty certain, that my client will participate", explained Williamson's attorney, Mattias Lossmann, on Thursday.

In April Williamson, who belongs to the Society of Pius X, which is not recognized by Rome [kath.net just had to throw that in there], has been living in London and had not personally appeared at his trial. Representatives of the Society had ordered him not to come. According to Lossman's estimate this will not happen again, because the Society had "not captured any good press".[For not allowing him to appear]

The Bishop, not recognized anywhere in the world, had an interview with a Swedish TV-Station where he estimated the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust at 300,000 and doubted the existence of gas chambers. The interview happened at the end of 2008 at a priest seminar of the Society in the Bavarian town of Zaitzkofen.

The Regensburg court evaluated it as a fact that Williamson had denied the Holocaust on German soil and also trivialized it. The Judge saw this and accorded that the Bishop with the publication of his ideas in Germany and that with these he attested that he had appealed to Germans. Williamson's attorney, Lossmann will appeal to his client's free speech, that this "had been denied". After the judgment he filed an appeal. The State Prosecutor also did the same, which now seeks a penalty in the amount of 12,000 Euros.

Link to kath.net...

Bishop Mueller Accuses Justice Minister's Organization of Promoting Child Abuse

Ex-Communist Federal Chairwoman, Rosemarie Will, is trying a sorry diversionary maneuver against the just reproaches of the Bishop of Regensburg. Despite her denials that her organization promotes sex with children, there is already a unanimous decision by her organization in 2000 that states the opposite, being concerned that criminal prosecution of sex crimes with minors could lead to greater state oppression [(!)Kath.net].

Here's what Kreuz reports about how Bishop Mueller responded to this organization.

The Regensburger Bishop has publicly portrayed an anti-Catholic Organization as having much sympathy for child molesters. The reaction shows that the Bishop has hit the bull's eye.

(kreuz.net) The Anti-Church 'Humanistic Union' threatened Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller of Regensburg with the law, reported the German "Catholic News Agency".

On Saturday, the German ‘Süddeutsche’ from an interview with the Turin newspaper 'La Stampa', accordingly Bishop Mueller said:

The German consultant of the anti-Church Union and Justice Minister "Sabine Leutheusser-Schanarrenberger

"belongs to a kind of Freemasonic-Society, where pedophiles are portrayed as normal, which should be criminalized.

Otherwise she's lied, in the manner she has defamed us. For neither the Holy See nor the German Church has ever given the directive to the clergy to frustrate the norms of Justice."

The Church-hater is now demanding by Monday a retraction of his supposed "slander".

Otherwise, "she intends to take legal steps."

The Communications Director of the Diocese of Regensburg, Clemens Neck, maintains for 'Katolischen Nachrichtagentur', that Bishop Mueller has authorized no interview with 'La Stampa'.

The Dicoese views the possible lawsuit with "unreserved calm".

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