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Thursday 29 December 2022

WHEN PELE SCORED AGAINST PLYMOUTH ARGYLE IN DELAYED FRIENDLY

 


Pele sadly passed away today at age 82 following the greatest world cup since 1970 when Brazil beat Italy 4:1 In the final. Then in 1973, the great man scored from the penalty spot during the friendly game at Home Park, Plymouth. My father Cecil Leonard was in the crowd and reported that the Brazilian football was exquisite . Please click on:

                                PLYMOUTH ARGYLE 3 SANTOS 2

Upon observing the unexpectedly large crowd (37639), the Santos players had delayed the start of the game until they'd been reimbursed with large amounts of cash!! Plymouth promptly went three nil up before conceding goals to Pele and Edu.


Argyle: Furnell (Aleksic), Provan, Sullivan, Hore, Saxton, Hague, Dowling, Rickard; Hinch (Davey), Latcham, Welsh.

Santos: Claudio, Alberto, Murias, Hermes, Leo, Marcal, Jair, Brecha (Pitico), Pitico (Vincente), Alcindo, Pele, Edu.

Scorers: Argyle - Dowling, Rickard, Hinch -- Santos - Pele (pen), Edu

Referee: Mr CNicholls (Plymouth)

Attendance: 37,639


Manager: Pepe (Santos) Tony Waiters (Argyle)


                                                                 







Tonight Argyle beat Wycombe by one to nil. They therefore moved four points ahead of Ipswich at the top of Football League One.

                                             
 

Wednesday 28 December 2022

RATZINGER (GOD'S ROTTWEILER) AND CHILD ABUSE (ROUGH DRAFT).



Update: New Years Day 2023. Much to their discredit, some Scottish churches seem to be celebrating this reprobate's achievements along with far more humane personalities who passed away during 2023.










                                      EMERITUS POPE BENEDICTUS

                               who is reportedly about to finally meet his maker

                                Virulent enemy/scourge of LGBT People everywhere

                                as Head of the "Roman Inquisition"


 (I was convenor of Integrity-Dignity of Madison during the late 1980s, before which Cardinal Ratzinger had thrown Dignlty USA (founded in 1969) off Holy (Roman) ground. See:  October 1, 1986, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Catholic body charged to "spread sound Catholic doctrine and defend those points of Christian tradition which seem in danger because of new and unacceptable doctrines",[6] issued a letter entitled On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons. In it, the Catholic Church affirmed its position that homosexuality was an "objective disorder" and that all support should be withdrawn from any organization that undermined the Church's teaching or were ambiguous about or neglectful of it.

According to writer Neil Miller, an immediate effect of the document was the decision by several American bishops to order that DignityUSA no longer be allowed to hold Mass in Catholic churches. Dioceses in AtlantaMinneapolisBuffaloBrooklynPensacolaVancouverWashington, D.C., and New York City all rescinded permission for the organization to hold services on church property. In some cases the group chapters had been holding Masses for a decade or longer)



Ratzinger's much vaunted theologies distort Christ's teachings by seeking a make democracies less democratic and more right wing

                               Horrible views concerning rampant child abuse (see below)

                                Opposition to condoms caused millions of deaths from                                          AIDS/HIV e.g. in Africa

                                As evil as they come


                                         new yorker.com

                                                           economist.com



                                                                     





 In January 2022, a report written by German law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl and commissioned by the Catholic Church concluded that Cardinal Ratzinger failed to adequately take action against clerics in four cases of alleged abuse while he was Archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977–1982. The pope emeritus denied the accusations.[188][189][190] Benedict corrected his former statement that he had not been at a meeting of the ordinariate of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising in January 1980, saying he mistakenly told German investigators he was not there. However, the error was "not done out of bad faith", but "the result of an error in the editorial processing" of his statement. According to Reuters, lawyer Martin Pusch said that "in a total of four cases, we have come to the conclusion that the then Archbishop Cardinal Ratzinger can be accused of misconduct in cases of sexual abuse."[191][192]

In February 2022, former Pope Benedict XVI had admitted that errors were made in the treating of sexual abuse cases when he was archbishop of Munich. According to the letter released by the Vatican, he asked forgiveness for any "grievous fault" but denied personal wrongdoing. Benedict stated: "I have had great responsibilities in the Catholic Church. All the greater is my pain for the abuses and the errors that occurred in those different places during the time of my mandate."[193]


Legion of Christ founder Marcial Maciel

One of the cases Ratzinger pursued involved Marcial Maciel, a Mexican priest and founder of the Legionaries of Christ who had been accused repeatedly of sexual abuse. Biographer Andrea Tornielli suggested that Cardinal Ratzinger had wanted to take action against Maciel but that John Paul II and other high-ranking officials, including several cardinals and the Pope's influential secretary StanisÅ‚aw Dziwisz, prevented him from doing so.[176][181]

According to Jason Berry, Cardinal Angelo Sodano "pressured" Ratzinger, who was "operating on the assumption that the charges were not justified", to halt the proceedings against Maciel in 1999.[194] When Maciel was honored by the Pope in 2004, new accusers came forward[194] and Cardinal Ratzinger "took it on himself to authorize an investigation of Maciel".[176] After Ratzinger became pope, he began proceedings against Maciel and the Legion of Christ that forced Maciel out of active service in the church.[175] On 1 May 2010, the Vatican issued a statement denouncing "the most serious and objectively immoral behavior of Father Maciel, confirmed by incontrovertible witnesses, which amount to true crimes and show a life deprived of scruples and authentic religious feeling."[195] Benedict also said he would appoint a special commission to examine the Legionaries' constitution and open an investigation into its lay affiliate Regnum Christi.

Theodore McCarrick controversy

In November 2020, the Vatican published a report blaming not only Pope John Paul II, but also Benedict for allowing defrocked former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick to rise in power despite the fact that they both knew of sex abuse allegations against him.[196][197] Despite the fact that Benedict pressured McCarrick to resign as Archbishop of Washington D.C. in 2006, McCarrick remained very active in ministry throughout Benedict's papacy and even made a very public appearance when he presided over U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy's burial service at Arlington National Cemetery in 2009.[196][197][198


THE SKELETONS IN BENEDICT'S CLOSET


If a report on Thursday, Feb. 21, in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica is to be believed, Pope Benedict XVI’s recent decision to resign just got a whole lot more interesting. The paper claims that around the time that Pope Benedict decided to step down, the pontiff learned of a faction of gay prelates in the Vatican who may have been exposed to blackmail by a group of male prostitutes in Rome. The revelations allegedly appeared in a 300-page report by three cardinals that the pope commissioned to investigate the release of internal documents by his butler, the so-called "Vatileaks" scandal. (A Vatican spokesman has refused to confirm or deny La Repubblica‘s claims, and the internal Vatican report is reportedly stowed away in a papal safe for Pope Benedict’s successor to peruse.)

Seen in the context of Pope Benedict’s career in the Catholic Church, it is difficult to understand why revelations of yet another sex scandal would push him to resign. For over a decade, he has served as the church’s point person for responding to allegations of abuse. From 1985 until his election to the papacy in 2005, Benedict served as the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a powerful Vatican body charged with policing church doctrine. In 2001, Pope John Paul II transferred responsibility for dealing with the sex scandals enveloping the institution to then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s office. In that role, Ratzinger received tens of thousands of complaints alleging sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests. Those documents often went into lurid detail, and Ratzinger is said to have been deeply affected by the experience.

As a theologian and head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Benedict gained the not-so-flattering nickname "God’s Rottweiler" for his rigid interpretations of doctrine and his stringent enforcement of church rules. In practice, he has frequently displayed a preference — both as a pope and as a cardinal — for confronting predatory priests behind closed doors and protecting the church’s reputation at the expense of public accountability.

Here’s how Benedict tackled some of the most prominent scandals to have struck the church during his career.

Peter Hullermann, Germany, 1980
While serving as the archbishop of Munich, Ratzinger may have played a role in shielding a pedophile priest, Peter Hullermann, from prosecution, transferring him to different parishes when parents complained that he had abused their children. In 1980, Ratzinger approved a plan to send Hullermann, who was facing allegations (that he did not deny) of abusing children in the German city of Essen, to Munich for therapy. Over the objections of a psychiatrist who was treating the priest, the German archdiocese permitted Hullermann to resume his pastoral work shortly after beginning therapy and did not inform the priest’s new parish of his history. In 1986, Hullermann was convicted of sexual abuse in Bavaria.

Lawrence Murphy, United States, 1996
As head of a Wisconsin school for deaf boys from 1950 to 1974, Father Lawrence Murphy is alleged to have molested upwards of 200 children. Yet when the case was presented to Ratzinger in the mid-1990s, he declined to defrock the priest. In 1996, Ratzinger ignored letters from Rembert Weakland, the archbishop of Milwaukee, seeking guidance from the cardinal on how to proceed against Murphy and another priest. Eventually, the church initiated a canonical trial against Murphy, but when the priest personally appealed to Ratzinger for clemency, saying that he was in poor health, the cardinal intervened to stop the proceedings against him.

2001 Letter to Bishops
After being tasked in 2001 by Pope John Paul II to assume responsibility for sex abuse allegations, and after gaining access to a trove of documents that laid out allegations against abusive priests, Ratzinger took action. He did so in a 2001 letter sent to every one of the church’s bishops. In it, Ratzinger laid out the church’s guidelines for investigating claims of sexual abuse, which asserted that the church — and not civil authorities — still held primary authority over investigations and that the church had a right to keep evidence in such cases confidential until 10 years after a minor turned 18. That assertion led to charges by victims’ rights advocates that Ratzinger had committed worldwide gross obstruction of justice, a charge that critics saw as compounded by Ratzinger’s assertion in the letter that such cases required absolute secrecy. Breaking the code of silence carried a range of penalties, among them excommunication. Ratzinger’s order effectively removed the possibility that sex abusers would be brought to justice in lay courts and guaranteed that the church would retain its investigatory prerogative.

Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field, Ireland, 2010
In an attempt to help bring closure to victims affected by sexual abuse in the Irish Catholic Church, two auxiliary bishops, Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field, accused of helping to cover up rampant abuse offered Pope Benedict their resignation in 2010. In a move that stunned critics of the church and victims’ rights groups, the pope rejected their resignation and informed the bishops that they would be allowed to stay on in the church, despite the fact that other priests accused of covering up the scandal were allowed to resign. "By rejecting the resignations of two complicit Irish bishops, the Pope is rubbing more salt into the already deep and still fresh wounds of thousands of child sex abuse victims and millions of betrayed Catholics," said Barbara Blaine, president and founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, in a statement. "He’s sending an alarming message to church employees across the globe: even widespread documentation of the concealing of child sex crimes and the coddling of criminals won’t cost you your job in the church."

2010 Apology to Ireland
By 2010, the hard-line strategy advocated by Pope Benedict became unsustainable. Explosive and wide-ranging reports of abuse — including allegations against Ratzinger himself during his time in Munich — put the church firmly in the cross-hairs of public opinion. Detailed investigations by the Irish government unearthed widespread abuse, and Ireland became something of a ground zero for the scandal. In response, Pope Benedict issued a public apology to his parishioners in Ireland. "You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured," the pope wrote. "Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated. Many of you found that, when you were courageous enough to speak of what happened to you, no one would listen." Priests read the letter aloud in church.

But if the apology to Ireland signaled a willingness within the church to more openly confront its past, subsequent guidelines to bishops quashed that notion. In 2011, Pope Benedict issued new guidelines that reaffirmed bishops’ authority in adjudicating cases. Although that letter underscored the importance of stopping the abuse of minors, victims remained dismayed at the lack of an enforcement mechanism.

Tuesday 27 December 2022

ON LGBT AND ROMA PERSECUTION IN THE UKRAINE

                        The right wing Ukrainians are no better than the evil Russians.

                  Why does NATO bother to finance this evil war?              

                                                                                 



                                          LGBT PERSECUTION -REUTERS


                                        ROMA REPRESSION--YOU-TUBE VIDEO


                                        HELSINKI COMMISSION


                                       EFFECT OF RUSSIA'S WAR


                                                       ZELENSKY'S HOMOPHOBIA ROW


                                                                 


 

Friday 23 December 2022

BEUL BEAG by Aonghas Macneacail (1942-2022)

 



                                    Aonghas Macneacail (1942-2022)




POET'S TRANSLATION (GAELIC TO ENGLISH)

little mouth,
you're not the first
to say i am
little mouth,
purse of noises
still as a rose,
now harbour of sleep
little mouth,
when you return from
the dumb glen
tell those
who haven't heard
your new language
that you don't like pain


Wednesday 21 December 2022

VICTORY CHRISTMAS FOR TRANS PEOPLE!!!!



FOR 86 AGAINST 39





                                                                               Jo




Akira



                                                                           Nicola





Saturday 3 December 2022

WORLD CUP CATHARSIS IN CATARA a poem by Tom Leonard

                                              WORLD CUP CATHARSIS IN CATARA


                                            A poem by Tom Leonard


                                                                



                                                       Eight hundred sturdy footballers

                                                       Female referees and commentators

                                                       Thirty-two flags

                                                       Rainbow of Many Colours

                                                       Po-faced FIFA president,

                                                       full of crap,

                                                       Venomous sheikhs

                                                       Brave Laura McAllister,

                                                       our Welsh heroine

                                                       Superlative twin-screened football

                                                       Plenty of surprises

                                                       Whole world experiences 

                                                       When Messi scores                                

                                                       Ronaldo's selfish narcissism and bad 

                                                       Attitude to autistic children and women.

                                                       Who will win?

                                                       Who really cares?

                                                       As the drama unfolds.

                                                       Death is part of life,

                                                       As the Qatar CEO

                                                       So dispassionately says.

                                                       Maybe a hurricane with destroy

                                                       the resorts when the World Cup is over.

                                                       Shameful bullies off the field

                                                       And shameless Argies thereon.

                                                       LGBT hero Grant Wahl dies during game.


                                                       Happy to see African/Moorish success, 

                                                       But crowd's whistling grates.

                                                       Shades of grating vuvuzela of 2010.

                                                       Glad to see England playing so well.

                                                       and running mighty France so closely,

                                                       But Southgate doesn't send on Rashford

                                                       Till too late!!

                                                       Absolute fucking howler.



                         


                                          


                                                       



                                                       L'Arc de Triomphe confabulates.

                                                       The Argies become nice people again,

                                                       And await Mbappe and France.

                                                       The whistling Moroccans put in their spoke,

                                                       But get eaten by the French defence.

                                                       Crowds celebrate as

                                                       Both sides take credit in bronze final.

                                                       And the final the most immortal of

                                                       Games as Mbappe's hat-trick

                                                       Wins golden boot, and yet

                                                       Loses to Messi.

                                                       Jeff Hurst's 1966 record holds!

                                                       His hat-trick won the day!!!




                                               

                                                             

                                

  



                                                           










 


 






                                             



TOM LEONARD---CHRISTMAS GREETINGS 2022, UPDATED NEW YEAR'S EVE

                                      Tom Leonard---Christmas Greetings 2022



                                  


UPDATE: I watched my Anglo-Canadian second cousin Celia Hatton on the BBC last night, she is a sweet and wonderful lady, and so similar to her mother Janette, my dear Auntie Audrey, and my great Aunt Olive.


                                                       


                                                                                 


Greetings to all my friends and relatives, and I hope that you are bearing up during these troubled times. My social bubble (with my very forbearing flatmate Scott and his equally dynamic girlfriend Julie  who is now teaching autistic children) have experienced our fair share of troubles and more than our fair share of good times (e.g Scott and Julie's wonderful trip to Prague while parts of Czechia were in flames) 

                                                     



and we are as always looking forward to Scrabble at Julie's place on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. My carers, mainly from Africa and India, are following the World Cup, and also looking after me, as are the GPs and nurses at my new medical practice as I now fall into cognitive (according to my recent CT scan, I have a smaller than expected cerebellum) as well as physical decline, My memory has already become very selective indeed, but I am hoping that my mind will improve if and as I progress into dementia!!.


                                                       






8th December 2022: Nevertheless, with a draw against Gussarom of Colombia (rated 2091) I this evening achieved a Chess.Com rapid play rating of 1960, in the top 0.3% in the world, though there are lots of beginners among the over 2 million Chess.Com players.

My congratulations to Plymouth Argyle on their recent successes, about 64 years after I first started attending Home Park, and to my statistical friends Julian and John at the University of Plymouth  for compiling all the relevant statistics on Argyle's behalf.

   RECORD BREAKING ARGYLE WIN AGAINST EXETER CITY 


                                                          



    ELEVEN TALENTED STATISTICIANS AT UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH


 I pray for my ex-partner Nicky, and my dear friend and literary collaborator Lindsay as they remain productive, in Tucson and in Edinburgh, during all their adversities. My thanks to Jim (Dame Ophelia Mountshaft) and several fellow attendees of Broughton St. Mary's Parish Church, and Rev Bill Taylor and Geoff Floyd for all their help and support.

                                                        


                                               Dame Ophelia              

My thanks to Dr. Jan Kerr and the staff of Princess Alexandra's Eye Pavilion for speedily and successfully operating on the cancer in my eyelid, and the consultants in respiratory medicine at the Western General for treating my complicated chest condition. 

                                         OH GREAT SPIRIT


                                                 






Nicky in about 1996