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"Chicago Billboard Urges Catholics to 'Value Children Over Dogma' and Quit Church"

Skwim

Veteran Member
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"A new billboard in Chicago encourages people to leave the Catholic Church and “value children over dogma.”


ChildrenDogmaBillboard.png


The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s text may not even be the most interesting thing about the ad. It was actually paid for by a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest… with the settlement money he received from his diocese.

The billboard went up yesterday on the Kennedy Expressway west of Montrose and will be up for another month.

It couldn’t come at a better time. As we learned in December, the Attorney General’s office is investigating abuse in the Church and announced that the state’s six dioceses had been covering up allegations involving more than 500 priests and other clergy members. Another 185 priests credibly accused of abuse had already been publicly identified by the Church.

Since the Church can’t police itself, it’s up to Catholics to force their hand by walking out and taking their money with them. It’s the only way the harm against children will ever be taken seriously.
source

WOW!
 
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Altfish

Veteran Member
Unfortunately, it speaks the truth.
Look at the shambles in Rome at the moment, the Pope has to call all his cardinals together to tell them pedophilia is wrong.- if they don't know that already they shouldn't be in positions of responsibility.
 

Skwim

Veteran Member
Unfortunately, it speaks the truth.
Look at the shambles in Rome at the moment, the Pope has to call all his cardinals together to tell them pedophilia is wrong.- if they don't know that already they shouldn't be in positions of responsibility.
"Hey guys. You know all those kids you've been pokin'? Apparently it ain't such good thing to do after all, particularly for our image. In fact, now they say it's against the law, and even have a name for it ; "pedalfeelya" or something."

.
 

ADigitalArtist

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
I have no doubt this will be entirely counterproductive. Not reaching people who need to be reached and coming off as emotional blackmail to people in the middle.
 

BSM1

What? Me worry?
"Hey guys. You know all those kids you've been pokin'? Apparently it ain't such good thing to do after all, particularly for our image. In fact, now they say it's against the law, and even have a name for it ; "pedalfeelya" or something."

.


"Pedophelia is wrong, M'kay...."
 

ADigitalArtist

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Why would people in the middle, whatever they are, feel emotionally blackmailed?
Because it's a 'leave the church or you're tacitly responsible for child abuse' argument. As if there's no other option for reform than being 100% in or 100% out. Plus the FFRF is using the kids as political leverage to enact their goal. It feels disingenuous and skeevy. And I'm 100% an atheist and in no way affiliated with the catholic church.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Because it's a 'leave the church or you're tacitly responsible for child abuse' argument. As if there's no other option for reform than being 100% in or 100% out. Plus the FFRF is using the kids as political leverage to enact their goal. It feels disingenuous and skeevy. And I'm 100% an atheist and in no way affiliated with the catholic church.
Never got into the habit, eh.


Someone was going to say it.
 

ADigitalArtist

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
The people in the middle are enablers by showing up for service and filling the coffers. Oh, and supplying the children.
This is another unhelpful statement.
In the US and abroad, the largest groups responsible for the most child abuse scandals are social workers by a country mile, and public schools. The solution is not to nuke these institutions, or to say that if you remain on in these institutions you're accomplices to the abuse. That's wildly inaccurate and will, as I said, only slow actual productive efforts to reform from outside and within.
 

metis

aged ecumenical anthropologist
Not that this makes it right, but I got news for some people, namely that child abuse and sexual scandals can be found in every denomination and every religion and in just about any secular organization. For example, in the Protestant church I grew up in there were three scandals there of one type or another, including an associate pastor that was trying to get into the panties of some teenage girls. Did that make the national news? No. Not even the local papers. The assoc.pastor was dismissed, but I don't know what happened with him after that.

I can understand the frustration and anger, and I've had more than enough to share let me tell ya, but let me just say that the Church finally is getting it right, and the numbers are verifying this as we now only have a small fraction of such abuse cases here in the States in recent years as compared to decades previous. However, I can't speak for what's happening in other countries as I've seen no stats from them.

Forty years ago our youngest daughter was sexually molested by the choir director at our Catholic church, and he was dismissed only for us to find out later that he got hired in another Catholic church. Talk about anger in spades when we found that out.
 

ADigitalArtist

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Stating the facts is emotional blackmail?
It wouldn't be if it were stating facts. It's the argument equivalent of me saying "if you care about LGBT people you will won't register as a Republican or vote for Republicans." It's an all or nothing argument which tries to emotionally guilt you for others who may not share those views and actively looking to address those views while still remaining within that group
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
I'd prefer a message encouraging reporting abuse to the cops.
That would be more likely to inspire specific & productive action (IMO).
Perhaps, and I do not disagree that there will be quite a bit of a negative reaction to this ad. But it will cause far more discussion than a polite ad would. It is also much harder to ignore, whether one agrees with it or not. A "feely touchy ad" (ooh, that does not sound right considering the topic) is easily ignored.
 
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