Man, this shit just goes on and on and on. The denomination doesn't matter, the setting doesn't matter. All that matters is a man who puts on a certain type of collar which supposedly gives him a presumed type of authority, whereupon he uses that authority to seduce and abuse men or women or boys or girls. And this hasn't just gone on for years or for decades but for CENTURIES. And people let it happen, because they think that the offender's "calling" or however he cares to label it is somehow special or reserved or [spare me!] "sacred."
And I am sick to death of it ... and I want to know what more we can do to STOP IT.
Keep your kids away from men of faith is the safest route, it would appear. But also not raising them in purity culture or to defer to men or base their value on something imaginary, like virginity.
Also, I'd say teach kids to report any sexual behavior to parents, regardless of being urged by the perpetrator to keep it quiet. Let them know they can talk about this without judgment or repercussion; it's not their fault, the adult is the guilty one, and we don't want this to happen to other kids like you, do we?
Also teach kids that if their parents don't take it seriously, they can tell a teacher, a school counselor, or even call the police themselves. I still remember how Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar covered up their son's molesting of his sisters. It's too bad those girls didn't know they could call LE themselves.
Yes, I'm still mad about how so many states have mandated reporting loopholes for pastors. Now combine that with shit like Texas trying to replace guidance counselors with ministers and see the problem?
And we all see the results. Josh Duggar is currently serving time for child pornography because his 'church rehab' was so effective. These people are repulsive.
That's why they hate public schools teaching "stranger danger" And "good touch/bad touch". It robs them of victims, if children realize they have bodily autonomy.
Just about all we can do right now to stop it is exposure. Spread stories like this far and wide, and show the rubes badly riddled with this cancer their religion is.
Stipulated. Daylight is a great cleanser of disease and disorder, and the more people like Morris get exposed (and preferably indicted, tried, and convicted!), the better I feel.
In the Catholic Church and in all churches there are only two kinds of priests those who abuse and those who enable the abuse. Those who abuse will never come forward and those who enable don't give a flying f so there MUST be laws in the churches themselves. Or some kind of committee overseeing this kind of thing. But if it's only made of priests? It will continue to spread until there are no more churches anywhere for the abuse to spread to.
I have a tough time believing that the Church will EVER police itself. If it were to actually do so in a thorough and unbiased manner, it would eviscerate itself faster than you could say, "Boo." And to date, our secular authorities will not fully investigate and engage them for the reasons I've outlined elsewhere in this post. "Holy! DO NOT DISTURB!" It is a mindset with an enormous amount of social inertia behind it.
And until that inertia is overcome, the current situation will continue to obtain.
DM was listening to a true crime show about the murdering of a Romanian prostitute this morning, I was very surprised the French gendarmes and Swiss cops went nuclear on the murderer since he was a reservist gendarme. Maybe training about feminicides works sometimes.
Wow. It's good to hear that the "Thin Blue Line" (meaning police) can be not just crossed but properly corrected, now and then. I don't know about Romania, but we could use a LOT more of that here in the US.
The murdererโs lawyer argued she was killed by her pimps. There was a slight problem, Romanian and Swiss authorities were cooperating to get them, and others, for forcing prostitution on naive young women, the pimps phones calls and texts were recorded which they didn't know. And her pimps were looking for this woman in Switzerland and Romania since she was one of their best. Ooops.
EXACTLY! The more these horrible crimes are uncovered the more people will leave so the Church had BETTER get it's act together and be in reality what it is on paper. It's too late, I think. I hope.
The Church will never properly police itself because at a certain point, any attempt to shine a light runs up against the darkness in which the Church has long operated. Anything designed to shine the light of truth can't get very far before the Church leadership puts the kibosh on it.
Imagine, for instance, if you somehow managed to shine enough truth on the Catholic Church that every single rapist priest was exposed and removed. The PR damage to the Church would be incalculable, the lawsuit payments in the billions, and half the clergy would vanish. It would be a devastating crisis for the Church. They can never allow that -- so instead, they sweep everything under the rug and just quietly shuffle abusive priests to new parishes, where they can continue preying on innocent children.
The Church thrives in darkness. It embodies the exact opposite of what Jesus said: "I have come as a light to shine in this dark world."
Well they might not want their gravy train derailed --- but for some it's their last trip. If I knew my Pastor did something to harm a 12 year old I would never go back. Hopefully people with enough sense will take their donations elsewhere.
And the other reason they let it continue is "forgiveness". This concept is baked so deeply into the religion that when these church leaders do bad stuff, everyone just immediately forgives them, and the problem doesn't get properly addressed, and it just continues.
So much evil has been swept under the rug by "forgiveness" that I'm beginning to think it's a bad idea.
I can answer thatโanswer what to do about them. Let commune with our holy father โฆโฆ..
I have communed with our holy father and through me he sayers to you:
I am your holy god and you are my flock. Iโm a jealous god and those who do not obey me will be smitten. I am your lord, your Shepard and you are my flock. You shall not violate the purity of any ewe as they belong to me. I condemn any ram tamping my ewes to be buried in the ground up to the head for three days, during which time you will confess your sins against me. Once your confession to your god and merciful Shepard is complete you shall be stoned to death by my ewes. If you do not confess honey will be poured on your head so that you will be slowly devoured by the insects I have placed on this earth. After being devoured I will cast you into the fiery lake of hell. I am your god, I am your father. I have genitals Iโm a lonely god. Do not touch my ewes.
Ok that is what our most high loving god communicated to me. He was very angry. He let me know that if we do not obey this command and do not punish the wicked his punishment shall be upon us. We are his children and he loves us and we must be severely punished until we can live with the grace of his bountiful life. So letโs start rounding up all these false religious leaders and do godโs will.
Only those communing with Satan would be nauseous.
I am a messenger of our loving God and not nauseous.
I can tell you more of our fatherโs message if you prove your willingness to submit to our most forgiving father. You can prove yourself worthy by sending me copious amounts of money that I will use for the glory of god by buying a mansion and an Italian sports car.
So, this pedophile has been counseling other adults and families about moral behavior, chastity, the sanctity of the "traditional" family, how sacred the lives of (unborn) children are and I'm guessing how the purity and innocence of women (and their submission) are central to their value in God's eyes? But this moral midget and criminal hypocrite accuses a 12 year old girl (in a conservative Christian home, in 1982!?) of being FLIRTATIOUS?! My dog shits less toxic garbage after she eats trash and cat turds than this man is made of. He groomed and abused a child, refuses any actual accountability, continues to make a living by telling others how to be as Christ-like as he, lies about it in a way to flatter his pretend biography about his self-righteous life, tries to get the now adult former 12 year old he abused, sexually assaulted and traumatized to sign a NDA by offering her a laughable settlement and all he's got is that he admits "inappropriate sexual behavior" "with a young lady"?! AND he helped Trump?! Of course Trump thinks he's good people, We all know Trump is a bastion for having elevated sexual coercion, rape, degrading misogynistic language and appalling statements about how fuckable he finds his own daughter, this is the part that makes perfect sense. Garbage human beings. I dearly hope someone facilitates "inappropriate sexual behavior" with a rusty tree pruner and every orifice he needs to consider keeping private, and maybe make a few new ones. I have no sympathy for grown ass men that rape children and then blame the children. I lack language for the hurt and anguish I want this man to suffer. That's unusual for me.
She upon whom his gaze rests when he pops a woodie ALWAYS did something to make him naughty. In this case, breathing inside her own home was her โflirtationโ.
It's not horribly different from the Islamic fetish of wrapping their women in hijabs or niqabs, so that NOTHING CAN SHOW that would cause a man to become sexually excited. Men can't control themselves, so women have to bear the burden of preventing that excitement.
No insulted as I recognize there is some truth in this generalization. Even though the percentages may be low they appear to be high enough to be worrisome if female.
And these are always the assholes calling other people groomers. The ACTUAL groomers and pedophiles. I just can't, they are so transparent. These kinds of men. The gall.
I am all in favor of the value and even the occasional sincerity of repentance. And forgiveness is good for both the perpetrator and the victims. But everything is cheapened when the perpetrators downplay the seriousness and criminality of their behavior. By highlighting the fact that this occurred 35 years ago, by saying a 12 year old was โflirtatious,โ by minimizing sexual assault because there was no โintercourse,โ by calling the preteen a โyoung ladyโโฆโฆ all of these things draw into question the sincerity of that โrepentance.โ
I'll rate the chances of there being only one victim somewhere below the chances of Jesus personally knocking on my door to scold me for being an atheist.
Anyone who wants to try to "scold" me for being an atheist will discover with mind-blowing rapidity that they've walked into a buzz saw. I decided a long time ago that I wasn't going to take crap like that from anyone.
Unfortunately, you are most likely 100% correct. Once his rape of the 12-year-old becomes more common knowledge, more victims will come forward. Knowing predatory clergy are protected by the hierarchy and self-serving snippets from holy books is and always will be nauseating.
There are always more. That is how they are. I eat there were many young girls that he council. Ask the wife, she knows what he did and what he did, every single time he did it. They know, but a godly woman stands by her husband. Even if itโs her own daughter being abused. The look on her child face tells her everything she needs to know. She does laundry, she makes the beds, she smells him on her child. Women knows how to tells the signs when her husband does his dirty little secret.
I'm usually not one to judge based on appearances, but seriously, Morris is hands down the worst looking drag queen I have ever seen, it's like she put in zero effort.
You would think that someone who has been doing drag since... *checks notes*... wait a second... *frantically shuffles papers*... this can't be right, I don't see any mention of Morris being a drag queen anywhere. Surely this must be a mistake!
Not to take anything away from the pain his victim is suffering, but as a news item these things have become so common the public has become desensitized to them. Nothing ever demonstrated the disconnect between religion and morality quite like the evangelical preachers pledging their unconditional love for Donald Trump. The most grotesquely corrupt, incompetent, and immoral President in American history. Human beings have been conditioned to delegate an important part of their thinking to people claiming a link to the supernatural. It has not served humanity well.
Speaking as the old woman that I am I don't find these reports desensitized at all. In fact they bring back long forgotten (or suppressed) memories of pastors and priests and other so-called ministers who were way too touchy-feely.
Same here. Members of the clergy always creeped me out to an extent even before I was old enough to understand why. I was referring to the public in general.
I was at a party once a couple Xmas ago. One of the guests was some high level mucky muck from the local Catholic diocese. Now, there was a kid's table set up, and I swear he said this with absolutely no self awareness, "I'd rather be sitting at the kids' table." I heard that and thought, "Woah." And it sounded like Keanu Reeves in my head, lol.
If ANYONE asks why people like Morris get away with this crap, there it is. Faith as a virtue, faith as a positive concept, or more aptly, unsupported belief in an incredible supposition, and the elevation of those who promote it to undeserved positions of authority and trust. People (not us!) have put them on pedestals.
People who make their living off of pushing faith, the worldโs worst decision-making method, are desperate to conflate it with other, worthier methods of arriving at conclusions. Thatโs one way they keep the suckersโ fannies in the pews and their bux in the collection plate.
In order of reliability, top to bottom, youโve got logic, reason, confidence (in things), trust (in people), chance, obedience, hope, and faith. Faith is the process of believing things without any evidence whatsoever, and frequently despite evidence to the contrary. It is an atrocious way of deciding how to live your life, which is why itโs the method most highly favored by the priest class, because otherwise theyโd have nothing at all to sell you.
Creationists claimed to have faith in their young earth fantasies because they cannot admit there's no trace of evidence found confirming their fantasies to be fact.
Open and forthright? Bullshit. Moral Failure? Bullshit. Shared publicly the steps in his restoration process? Mostly bullshit. If he had ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ confessed his criminal behavior, the lynch mob that is conservative Christianity would have had him out of any position of authority. Instead, he made the generic Public Apology to the Ceiling, and all is forgiven.
The victim blaming when details came out only spreads the foul stench of his actions.
Moral failure? Is that newspeak for raping a minor? Putting fingers into persons who are unable to protest* is rape. Grownups who teach others of moral behaviour knows that. He just ignored it.
*When the person raping you seems to be a friend of your family it is very hard to protest and fight to stop it. But it is still rape.
"Moral failure" is an extremely large set ranging from say eating too much ice cream (gluttony) to being a mass murderer so it is weasel words when used in statements like this. What happened to the girl is a serious felony which unfortunately cannot be prosecuted because the statute of limitations has run out (Oklahoma, the state in question, has removed the limit for child sexual abuse but the action was not retroactive to cases where the statute had already run out). The parents should have reported it to the police and not just the church back when it happened in the 1980s, but, they may have been cowed by the church into not reporting [the church would handle things] and they may have been concerned about the repercussions on their daughter and themselves given they were living in a small probably Christian conservative town in Oklahoma.
Well also the pressure on their daughter having to testify with the defense attorneys trying to break her testimony.
It also turns out that some of the assaults took place in Texas. Texas law passed in 2019 sets the current civil lawsuit statute of limitations to 30 years from turning 18 (previously it was 15 years) but again not retroactive and also insufficient even if retroactive. Criminal statute of limitation is 20 years from age 18 or none depending on the level. Note that proving assaults in Texas rose to the no statute of limitation level might be tricky (her family home was in Oklahoma and I suspect most took place there); I suspect that he will deny the events in Texas happened or else did not rise to the level for which he can still be tried.
I still remember when the CBS Evening News led with that ridiculous act of his. I was disgusted with Swaggart then and no less so with him or his cronies now!
This guy takes the Academy Award for spin: "Kissing and petting a young lady" sounds so much nicer than "Groping, fondling and sexually assaulting a child."
By portraying his victim as 'a young lady', he's trying to give the impression that she was near his own age and probably not a minor rather than a very scared young child too afraid to say 'no' to mommy and daddy's preacher friend.
Something I forgot in my previous comment. Like the one who fled to Australia and was ultimately caught in Philippines (๐), it's doubtful he raped only one girl. I hope other victims will find the strength to speak up.
I've considered many times just how lucky I've been in this respect. I never suffered though sexual abuse from church members growing up and this article reminds me yet again to be grateful for it.
Mr. Morris (well, okay, apparently Mr.Morris's attorney) had the nerve to complain that a child was being flirtatious with him and use that statement to turn around and pretend that makes Miss Clemishire responsible for the abuse that followed. As Hemant noted repeatedly, Miss Clemishire was a child under the age of consent at the time of the abuse, while Mr. Morris was well over that age. ๐ด๐. ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. It does not matter if Miss Clemishire was flirtatious, if she was stripping clothing off, or even if she was bouncing on his lap; Mr. Morris is the adult and it is his job and obligation to prevent such without sexually abusing a child. Mr. Morris's behavior demonstrated a complete lack of self-control and a horrific disregard for Miss Clemishire's welfare that by rights should have rendered him completely ineligible for any sort of leadership position in any organization claiming moral authority.
None of the arguments presented by Mr. Morris, his attorney, or Gateway Church qualify as valid logical reasons for Mr. Morris's leadership position. The lack of outrage combined with this pathetic defense of the sexual abuse of a child is frustratingly expected from the Christian community at this point. This behavior in particular was one of the major reasons I left Christianity and by the the looks of the numbers I'm not alone even if I didn't suffer the abuse personally.
In 20 or 30 years of high school teaching, of course I had students flirt with me. As my head of department put it when I told him โ they're just practising. You basically just have to find a way of dealing with it without hurting their feelings, and getting on with your profession. So even if it were true ... Jesus what comes after that I don't know. Perhaps they should be trained how to deal with it in a sympathetic way. But they often claim that don't they? And it's only true in their mind.
If the father was considering killing the shitbag (A feeling I certainly understand, and in a similar circumstance, would almost certainly consider myself), why didn't he go to police.
If the shitbag received *professional* counseling, the professional had an obligation to go to police.
Cindy was failed multiple times by multiple people, including her own father, sad to say.
It varies but a lot of these denominations tend to view children as property to be hammered into what ever mold the church deems appropriate. I've seen plenty of Christian families I would not want to have any part of.
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐ค๐๐๐๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐คโ๐๐ก โ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ โ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐โ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐๐กโ ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ.โ
Or, in plainer language, RAPE.
Man, this shit just goes on and on and on. The denomination doesn't matter, the setting doesn't matter. All that matters is a man who puts on a certain type of collar which supposedly gives him a presumed type of authority, whereupon he uses that authority to seduce and abuse men or women or boys or girls. And this hasn't just gone on for years or for decades but for CENTURIES. And people let it happen, because they think that the offender's "calling" or however he cares to label it is somehow special or reserved or [spare me!] "sacred."
And I am sick to death of it ... and I want to know what more we can do to STOP IT.
Keep your kids away from men of faith is the safest route, it would appear. But also not raising them in purity culture or to defer to men or base their value on something imaginary, like virginity.
Also, I'd say teach kids to report any sexual behavior to parents, regardless of being urged by the perpetrator to keep it quiet. Let them know they can talk about this without judgment or repercussion; it's not their fault, the adult is the guilty one, and we don't want this to happen to other kids like you, do we?
Another reason republicons are so against education.
GMTA!
Or fools* seldom differ.
* republicans, conservatives, christians
Also teach kids that if their parents don't take it seriously, they can tell a teacher, a school counselor, or even call the police themselves. I still remember how Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar covered up their son's molesting of his sisters. It's too bad those girls didn't know they could call LE themselves.
Yes, I'm still mad about how so many states have mandated reporting loopholes for pastors. Now combine that with shit like Texas trying to replace guidance counselors with ministers and see the problem?
Sane people see the problem. Christians and Republicans see the opportunity.
That's a GREAT point, Rachel. Religious leaders were explicitly carved out from being mandatory reporters.
Thanks!
Those poor victims don't know anything, they deliberately keep them ignorant.
And we all see the results. Josh Duggar is currently serving time for child pornography because his 'church rehab' was so effective. These people are repulsive.
I just read an article on a murder: https://magazine.atavist.com/anatomy-of-a-murder-grand-marais-minnesota-larry-scully-levi-axtell/
Reading it, I am angered by the "victim's" friend's dismissal of substantiated accusations of sexual molestation of his sisters.
Absolutely, of course.
That's why they hate public schools teaching "stranger danger" And "good touch/bad touch". It robs them of victims, if children realize they have bodily autonomy.
Hence their desperate need to indoctrinate young.
Bingo!
Not just men of faithโฆ The sexual abuse history of the Boy Scouts of America is something to keep in mind
Just about all we can do right now to stop it is exposure. Spread stories like this far and wide, and show the rubes badly riddled with this cancer their religion is.
Stipulated. Daylight is a great cleanser of disease and disorder, and the more people like Morris get exposed (and preferably indicted, tried, and convicted!), the better I feel.
In the Catholic Church and in all churches there are only two kinds of priests those who abuse and those who enable the abuse. Those who abuse will never come forward and those who enable don't give a flying f so there MUST be laws in the churches themselves. Or some kind of committee overseeing this kind of thing. But if it's only made of priests? It will continue to spread until there are no more churches anywhere for the abuse to spread to.
I have a tough time believing that the Church will EVER police itself. If it were to actually do so in a thorough and unbiased manner, it would eviscerate itself faster than you could say, "Boo." And to date, our secular authorities will not fully investigate and engage them for the reasons I've outlined elsewhere in this post. "Holy! DO NOT DISTURB!" It is a mindset with an enormous amount of social inertia behind it.
And until that inertia is overcome, the current situation will continue to obtain.
DM was listening to a true crime show about the murdering of a Romanian prostitute this morning, I was very surprised the French gendarmes and Swiss cops went nuclear on the murderer since he was a reservist gendarme. Maybe training about feminicides works sometimes.
Wow. It's good to hear that the "Thin Blue Line" (meaning police) can be not just crossed but properly corrected, now and then. I don't know about Romania, but we could use a LOT more of that here in the US.
The murdererโs lawyer argued she was killed by her pimps. There was a slight problem, Romanian and Swiss authorities were cooperating to get them, and others, for forcing prostitution on naive young women, the pimps phones calls and texts were recorded which they didn't know. And her pimps were looking for this woman in Switzerland and Romania since she was one of their best. Ooops.
God damn I'm still waiting for LMPD and the mayor to sign the Consent Decree. I'm getting pissed. The chief is suspended at the moment also.
I want to do a newsletter about LMPD but I am still writing the first one because where do I begin, and where do I end? It's an endless shit sandwich.
The Romanian authorities arrested professional misogynist Andrew Tate for human sex trafficking so sometimes miracles do happen. He's out now, though.
Her pimps were arrested and sentback to Romania. 12 years of jail for one, 15 for the other.
Dang. I hoped he'd just die in there.
Then Church has run it's course. It must go out of business. Simple.
๐ฏBullseye.
EXACTLY! The more these horrible crimes are uncovered the more people will leave so the Church had BETTER get it's act together and be in reality what it is on paper. It's too late, I think. I hope.
The problem is that a lot of people are followers who have to believe in something. If its not religion its the latest conspiracy theory.
The Church will never properly police itself because at a certain point, any attempt to shine a light runs up against the darkness in which the Church has long operated. Anything designed to shine the light of truth can't get very far before the Church leadership puts the kibosh on it.
Imagine, for instance, if you somehow managed to shine enough truth on the Catholic Church that every single rapist priest was exposed and removed. The PR damage to the Church would be incalculable, the lawsuit payments in the billions, and half the clergy would vanish. It would be a devastating crisis for the Church. They can never allow that -- so instead, they sweep everything under the rug and just quietly shuffle abusive priests to new parishes, where they can continue preying on innocent children.
The Church thrives in darkness. It embodies the exact opposite of what Jesus said: "I have come as a light to shine in this dark world."
and he remained a Jew.
They're not looking to derail their gravy train.
Well they might not want their gravy train derailed --- but for some it's their last trip. If I knew my Pastor did something to harm a 12 year old I would never go back. Hopefully people with enough sense will take their donations elsewhere.
Shorter reply: "never go back".
Trust me. There is nothing for me to go back to. When and if I choose to I will do my church at home.Safer
A lot of dead bodies on the grounds of those old Religious orphanages. Just sayin'
And the other reason they let it continue is "forgiveness". This concept is baked so deeply into the religion that when these church leaders do bad stuff, everyone just immediately forgives them, and the problem doesn't get properly addressed, and it just continues.
So much evil has been swept under the rug by "forgiveness" that I'm beginning to think it's a bad idea.
Yes the ultimate "stay out of jail free card" to paraphrase the monopoly card.
"You have been forgiven! Advance to PULPIT and collect a tithe of $200."
So. It's $400 bucks for a pair on 'em?
Forgiveness is pretty gender specific. Had an abortion? Go to Hell. Raped a twelve year old repeatedly? You poor, lost sinner.
I can answer thatโanswer what to do about them. Let commune with our holy father โฆโฆ..
I have communed with our holy father and through me he sayers to you:
I am your holy god and you are my flock. Iโm a jealous god and those who do not obey me will be smitten. I am your lord, your Shepard and you are my flock. You shall not violate the purity of any ewe as they belong to me. I condemn any ram tamping my ewes to be buried in the ground up to the head for three days, during which time you will confess your sins against me. Once your confession to your god and merciful Shepard is complete you shall be stoned to death by my ewes. If you do not confess honey will be poured on your head so that you will be slowly devoured by the insects I have placed on this earth. After being devoured I will cast you into the fiery lake of hell. I am your god, I am your father. I have genitals Iโm a lonely god. Do not touch my ewes.
Ok that is what our most high loving god communicated to me. He was very angry. He let me know that if we do not obey this command and do not punish the wicked his punishment shall be upon us. We are his children and he loves us and we must be severely punished until we can live with the grace of his bountiful life. So letโs start rounding up all these false religious leaders and do godโs will.
what...the...flock?
I assume this is snark, right?
Of course. However, with all the MAGA CRAZIES I certainly understand checking.
Only those not pure would be nauseous.
Only those communing with Satan would be nauseous.
I am a messenger of our loving God and not nauseous.
I can tell you more of our fatherโs message if you prove your willingness to submit to our most forgiving father. You can prove yourself worthy by sending me copious amounts of money that I will use for the glory of god by buying a mansion and an Italian sports car.
An ITALIAN sports car? Hmph. I guess a Porsche 911 GT3 RS isn't good enough for you, eh?
Me think Maltnothops and Holytape just got a serious rival.
What can I say? I'm a gearhead! ๐๐
The very worst people hide behind religiosity. Itโs not faithโitโs cover.
The very worst people hide behind religiosity. It[โs not faithโitโs cover.
So, this pedophile has been counseling other adults and families about moral behavior, chastity, the sanctity of the "traditional" family, how sacred the lives of (unborn) children are and I'm guessing how the purity and innocence of women (and their submission) are central to their value in God's eyes? But this moral midget and criminal hypocrite accuses a 12 year old girl (in a conservative Christian home, in 1982!?) of being FLIRTATIOUS?! My dog shits less toxic garbage after she eats trash and cat turds than this man is made of. He groomed and abused a child, refuses any actual accountability, continues to make a living by telling others how to be as Christ-like as he, lies about it in a way to flatter his pretend biography about his self-righteous life, tries to get the now adult former 12 year old he abused, sexually assaulted and traumatized to sign a NDA by offering her a laughable settlement and all he's got is that he admits "inappropriate sexual behavior" "with a young lady"?! AND he helped Trump?! Of course Trump thinks he's good people, We all know Trump is a bastion for having elevated sexual coercion, rape, degrading misogynistic language and appalling statements about how fuckable he finds his own daughter, this is the part that makes perfect sense. Garbage human beings. I dearly hope someone facilitates "inappropriate sexual behavior" with a rusty tree pruner and every orifice he needs to consider keeping private, and maybe make a few new ones. I have no sympathy for grown ass men that rape children and then blame the children. I lack language for the hurt and anguish I want this man to suffer. That's unusual for me.
She upon whom his gaze rests when he pops a woodie ALWAYS did something to make him naughty. In this case, breathing inside her own home was her โflirtationโ.
It's not horribly different from the Islamic fetish of wrapping their women in hijabs or niqabs, so that NOTHING CAN SHOW that would cause a man to become sexually excited. Men can't control themselves, so women have to bear the burden of preventing that excitement.
More patriarchal bullshit.
Allegedly, Saudi men do everything they can to see an ankle and get overly excited if they prevail...
The bunny in the Middle East version of Playboy shows both ankles.
If I were a man, I would be offended that they think men's default status is "rapist".
I'm a bisexual man and I've NEVER forced myself on anyone or raped them. But then, I'm not a Christian.
I forced myself on myself this afternoon, but I knew I really wanted it.
My right hand is a slut and was asking for it.
๐
No insulted as I recognize there is some truth in this generalization. Even though the percentages may be low they appear to be high enough to be worrisome if female.
Generalizations are useful, and grossly misunderstood.
But I'm with you. Women need to be wary of the possibilities. They shouldn't have to, but that's not the current state of society.
And these are always the assholes calling other people groomers. The ACTUAL groomers and pedophiles. I just can't, they are so transparent. These kinds of men. The gall.
It is IMAX level projection, always.
IMAX wishes it could project that magnificently.
Indeed!
It's called "witchcraft."
But he apologized to Jesus. What else do you need?
His guts for garters.
I like your style.
Certainly not. You don't know where they have been
His testicles for earrings.
I think that was last year's fashion.
I'm never on trend anymore!
I know. If I can't keep up with the Joneses, I can't keep up with the Jones's kids even more..
This is so sarcastically true, the humor makes me want to scream.
Typical of religious organizations; itโs not a bug, itโs a feature.
๐ฏ
The very worst people hide behind religiosity. Itโs not faithโitโs cover.
I am all in favor of the value and even the occasional sincerity of repentance. And forgiveness is good for both the perpetrator and the victims. But everything is cheapened when the perpetrators downplay the seriousness and criminality of their behavior. By highlighting the fact that this occurred 35 years ago, by saying a 12 year old was โflirtatious,โ by minimizing sexual assault because there was no โintercourse,โ by calling the preteen a โyoung ladyโโฆโฆ all of these things draw into question the sincerity of that โrepentance.โ
Saying it was no intercourse is a lie. Putting your finger into a minor absolutely is intercourse and rape in Norway. It should be in US too.
I know it is in Uranus.
She wasn't a minor but it is called, sexual assault, like trump did to E. Jean Carroll.
Spot-on Bonnie Boyce. Spot-on.
I'll rate the chances of there being only one victim somewhere below the chances of Jesus personally knocking on my door to scold me for being an atheist.
Jesus doesn't knock, he comes down the chimney. Or is that the other guy?
That is Death stepping in for Hogfather. Everybody knows that. Hah.
Squeak?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d9e2aab88c0ad37dcfc82b090885588c46efb575a2733e9456a3ada77e1d57bd.jpg
Yes, there is never just one, hopefully now the rest will come forwartd.
Anyone who wants to try to "scold" me for being an atheist will discover with mind-blowing rapidity that they've walked into a buzz saw. I decided a long time ago that I wasn't going to take crap like that from anyone.
And I DON'T.
Unfortunately, you are most likely 100% correct. Once his rape of the 12-year-old becomes more common knowledge, more victims will come forward. Knowing predatory clergy are protected by the hierarchy and self-serving snippets from holy books is and always will be nauseating.
Thisโ๏ธabove.
There are always more. That is how they are. I eat there were many young girls that he council. Ask the wife, she knows what he did and what he did, every single time he did it. They know, but a godly woman stands by her husband. Even if itโs her own daughter being abused. The look on her child face tells her everything she needs to know. She does laundry, she makes the beds, she smells him on her child. Women knows how to tells the signs when her husband does his dirty little secret.
I'm usually not one to judge based on appearances, but seriously, Morris is hands down the worst looking drag queen I have ever seen, it's like she put in zero effort.
You would think that someone who has been doing drag since... *checks notes*... wait a second... *frantically shuffles papers*... this can't be right, I don't see any mention of Morris being a drag queen anywhere. Surely this must be a mistake!
Post of the day.
Not to take anything away from the pain his victim is suffering, but as a news item these things have become so common the public has become desensitized to them. Nothing ever demonstrated the disconnect between religion and morality quite like the evangelical preachers pledging their unconditional love for Donald Trump. The most grotesquely corrupt, incompetent, and immoral President in American history. Human beings have been conditioned to delegate an important part of their thinking to people claiming a link to the supernatural. It has not served humanity well.
Speaking as the old woman that I am I don't find these reports desensitized at all. In fact they bring back long forgotten (or suppressed) memories of pastors and priests and other so-called ministers who were way too touchy-feely.
Yeah. I'm glad I am of the age where I become invisible, like most older women. It will help immensely should I decide to take up being a hit-crone.
Want! I would love that in a novel or a video game. "Hit-crone" she's so invisible you never see her coming!"
Same here. Members of the clergy always creeped me out to an extent even before I was old enough to understand why. I was referring to the public in general.
I was at a party once a couple Xmas ago. One of the guests was some high level mucky muck from the local Catholic diocese. Now, there was a kid's table set up, and I swear he said this with absolutely no self awareness, "I'd rather be sitting at the kids' table." I heard that and thought, "Woah." And it sounded like Keanu Reeves in my head, lol.
We've only been talking about this openly, without snickering or justifying it, since 2017, and you are already over it?
๐ผ๐ ๐ผ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐โ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐๐, ๐๐ก ๐ค๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐กโ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐โ๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐โ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ ๐คโ๐๐ก ๐๐ก ๐๐ : ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ , ๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ค๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ค๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ค, ๐ค๐๐กโ ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ก๐ฆ, ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐คโ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ โ๐๐โ๐๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ข๐๐๐ข๐ .
-- Christopher Hitchens
If ANYONE asks why people like Morris get away with this crap, there it is. Faith as a virtue, faith as a positive concept, or more aptly, unsupported belief in an incredible supposition, and the elevation of those who promote it to undeserved positions of authority and trust. People (not us!) have put them on pedestals.
It's time those pedestals were torn down.
People who make their living off of pushing faith, the worldโs worst decision-making method, are desperate to conflate it with other, worthier methods of arriving at conclusions. Thatโs one way they keep the suckersโ fannies in the pews and their bux in the collection plate.
In order of reliability, top to bottom, youโve got logic, reason, confidence (in things), trust (in people), chance, obedience, hope, and faith. Faith is the process of believing things without any evidence whatsoever, and frequently despite evidence to the contrary. It is an atrocious way of deciding how to live your life, which is why itโs the method most highly favored by the priest class, because otherwise theyโd have nothing at all to sell you.
Creationists claimed to have faith in their young earth fantasies because they cannot admit there's no trace of evidence found confirming their fantasies to be fact.
Not a drag queen
โ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก โ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐กโ๐๐๐โ๐ก ๐๐๐๐ข๐ก ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ โ๐ โ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ 35 ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐คโ๐๐ โ๐ ๐ค๐๐ ๐๐ โ๐๐ ๐ก๐ค๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ โ๐๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐ก๐๐ค๐๐ฆ ๐ถโ๐ข๐๐โ. ๐ป๐ โ๐๐ ๐ โ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ก ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ โ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ โ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐กโ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ,โ ๐กโ๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐๐๐.
Open and forthright? Bullshit. Moral Failure? Bullshit. Shared publicly the steps in his restoration process? Mostly bullshit. If he had ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ confessed his criminal behavior, the lynch mob that is conservative Christianity would have had him out of any position of authority. Instead, he made the generic Public Apology to the Ceiling, and all is forgiven.
The victim blaming when details came out only spreads the foul stench of his actions.
Moral failure? Is that newspeak for raping a minor? Putting fingers into persons who are unable to protest* is rape. Grownups who teach others of moral behaviour knows that. He just ignored it.
*When the person raping you seems to be a friend of your family it is very hard to protest and fight to stop it. But it is still rape.
"Moral failure" is an extremely large set ranging from say eating too much ice cream (gluttony) to being a mass murderer so it is weasel words when used in statements like this. What happened to the girl is a serious felony which unfortunately cannot be prosecuted because the statute of limitations has run out (Oklahoma, the state in question, has removed the limit for child sexual abuse but the action was not retroactive to cases where the statute had already run out). The parents should have reported it to the police and not just the church back when it happened in the 1980s, but, they may have been cowed by the church into not reporting [the church would handle things] and they may have been concerned about the repercussions on their daughter and themselves given they were living in a small probably Christian conservative town in Oklahoma.
I suppose she may have been considered "ruined" or "damaged goods" in their virginity cult. How would she get a "good" husband?
Well also the pressure on their daughter having to testify with the defense attorneys trying to break her testimony.
It also turns out that some of the assaults took place in Texas. Texas law passed in 2019 sets the current civil lawsuit statute of limitations to 30 years from turning 18 (previously it was 15 years) but again not retroactive and also insufficient even if retroactive. Criminal statute of limitation is 20 years from age 18 or none depending on the level. Note that proving assaults in Texas rose to the no statute of limitation level might be tricky (her family home was in Oklahoma and I suspect most took place there); I suspect that he will deny the events in Texas happened or else did not rise to the level for which he can still be tried.
โTo the ceilingโโฆ.. remember the tears streaming down Jimmy Swaggertโs face when he was outed? There is nothing new under the sun!
I still remember when the CBS Evening News led with that ridiculous act of his. I was disgusted with Swaggart then and no less so with him or his cronies now!
This guy takes the Academy Award for spin: "Kissing and petting a young lady" sounds so much nicer than "Groping, fondling and sexually assaulting a child."
By portraying his victim as 'a young lady', he's trying to give the impression that she was near his own age and probably not a minor rather than a very scared young child too afraid to say 'no' to mommy and daddy's preacher friend.
Something I forgot in my previous comment. Like the one who fled to Australia and was ultimately caught in Philippines (๐), it's doubtful he raped only one girl. I hope other victims will find the strength to speak up.
They never stop at just one.
I've considered many times just how lucky I've been in this respect. I never suffered though sexual abuse from church members growing up and this article reminds me yet again to be grateful for it.
Mr. Morris (well, okay, apparently Mr.Morris's attorney) had the nerve to complain that a child was being flirtatious with him and use that statement to turn around and pretend that makes Miss Clemishire responsible for the abuse that followed. As Hemant noted repeatedly, Miss Clemishire was a child under the age of consent at the time of the abuse, while Mr. Morris was well over that age. ๐ด๐. ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. It does not matter if Miss Clemishire was flirtatious, if she was stripping clothing off, or even if she was bouncing on his lap; Mr. Morris is the adult and it is his job and obligation to prevent such without sexually abusing a child. Mr. Morris's behavior demonstrated a complete lack of self-control and a horrific disregard for Miss Clemishire's welfare that by rights should have rendered him completely ineligible for any sort of leadership position in any organization claiming moral authority.
None of the arguments presented by Mr. Morris, his attorney, or Gateway Church qualify as valid logical reasons for Mr. Morris's leadership position. The lack of outrage combined with this pathetic defense of the sexual abuse of a child is frustratingly expected from the Christian community at this point. This behavior in particular was one of the major reasons I left Christianity and by the the looks of the numbers I'm not alone even if I didn't suffer the abuse personally.
In 20 or 30 years of high school teaching, of course I had students flirt with me. As my head of department put it when I told him โ they're just practising. You basically just have to find a way of dealing with it without hurting their feelings, and getting on with your profession. So even if it were true ... Jesus what comes after that I don't know. Perhaps they should be trained how to deal with it in a sympathetic way. But they often claim that don't they? And it's only true in their mind.
Morris walks in โpurityโ like my hymen grew back and Iโm a virgin. What a piece of shit. That stain should haunt him forever.
๐ฏ
If the father was considering killing the shitbag (A feeling I certainly understand, and in a similar circumstance, would almost certainly consider myself), why didn't he go to police.
If the shitbag received *professional* counseling, the professional had an obligation to go to police.
Cindy was failed multiple times by multiple people, including her own father, sad to say.
"freedom ministry counseling"
What the actual fuck is that? Is it like Freedom Fries?
It's a tool to escape the law.
And where is the freedom from abuse for the child(ren)?
It varies but a lot of these denominations tend to view children as property to be hammered into what ever mold the church deems appropriate. I've seen plenty of Christian families I would not want to have any part of.
Not in the churches, that's for sure.
Not mentioned in the Constitution, so like privacy, as far as our Supreme Court is concerned it doesn't exist.