Archbishop Claims SCOTUS Decision Is "Poisoning" The Future

[Croaker42]

An organization that has been as shady as the catholic church should really just simmer down and keep their mouths shut for next few decades. How they could ever expect weigh in on any subject and not have the conduct of their clerigy and the actions taken by the oganization in dealing with that conduct thrown in their face is beyond me.
This is a prime example of a time when saying nothing at all would probably get them further then sounding off.

 

[arsenicCatnip]

Right. The source of real-life violence. The real-life violence that has been steadily decreasing as gaming has been going up.

Otherwise I defend Mike in bringing up the child abuse scandals. Between that, the church's opinions on homosexuality, and their encouragement of Africans to not use condoms, I hold no respect for the Vatican.

How does that have any bearing on this article?

As I said, it was a response to people saying that it was unfair for Mike to mention the child abuse scandals. My opinion of the Catholic church is so low I don't think there's much that can be considered unfair criticism.

If it were a member of NAMBLA complaining about the effect these games have on kids we would all be making the same remarks. Heck, not even that, it could be a member of Congress, since Congressmen are pretty much OK punching bags. It's sensitive because, you know, lots of people take the Catholic Church seriously.

If it were a member of NAMBLA complaining about this, no one would bother to respond.

We get the point. Catholic priests have abused children. But adding that link to what should be an objective article reporting what the archbishop said was just yellow journalism. "Hurr hurr, i' gonna make a pedophile reference. I'm so clever."

Idon't agree with the archbishop. I respect him (I grew up in his diocese), but I think his argument can be considered just as poorly thought out as any person saying that the sex abuse scandals have any bearing on this case. Sorry, Escapist, but that was uncool.

(Also forgive misspellings and punctuation... typing this on my phone)

 

[Sylveria]

Know what's really sickening.. the people saying they're reporting the article because he said something objectionable and saying it should be edited. Let's start pissing all over that freedom of speech/freedom of the press thing. The North Koreans and Iranians would be so proud of you.

The relevancy of the statement is an opinion. The church is claiming that the games harm children. Their own history of harming children, which is a matter of fact, in my, the authors and a lot of other individual's opinions, is relevant if that is the case they are going sit there and claim how dangerous video games are to the well being of children. It speaks to their credibility.

I hit the report button on this offensive topic and I encourage everyone to do the same. The Escapist should do the right thing and remove or edit this news story to get rid of the offending content.

Shouldn't you have Rumsfeld, GwB, or Kim Jong-il as your avatar after saying something like that?

 

[Korak the Mad]

Columbine was a result of severe depression. Not video games, or Marilyn Manson or whatever fucking thing you guys keep pulling out of your asses to campaign against what kids these days like.

Read a book.

Oh, and they actually did blame Marilyn Manson for it at one point.

True, and that it seems that people are willing to blame anything else for what caused the Columbine school massacre, and that is that these kids snapped because of bullying.

I know if it wasn't for videogames to help me relieve myself of the stress I recieved from bullying, I know I would have snapped as well.

This person has no idea what is and what isn't good for today's youth.

 

[TotalHobNob]

Again it comes down to a PARENT BEING A PARENT. When I watch my brother's kid I don't allow him to play any video games he doesn't approve of. I'm not even a parent and I'm more responsible. Not shocked on his stance at all. Everybody needs a monster or public enemy to blame anything on.

 

[Sixcess]

2.) The Church in America has been striving to make the Church a safer place for children. In 2003 the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)came out with the Dallas Charter. The Charter puts into place rules and regulations that must be followed in every diocese. Every bishop but one agreed to the Charter (The one who did not agree did so for theological reasons, but in practice actually has more stringent rules than the charter itself). If you have not read the Charter I invite you to read it, at least the preamble. http://www.usccb.org/ocyp/charter.pdf

3.) As recently as May the Vatican released its own guidelines that different bishop conferences should use in developing their own rules about how to deal with priest abuse cases. Please keep in mind that if you read this, that the Church is writing the guidelines to fit all countries and Catholics world wide. There are still some countries where being a Catholic is still illegal. This document is found here: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20110503_abuso-minori_en.html

Excuse the selective quotation. I did read it all, but I don't like quoting long posts in full, even good ones.

The links you provided make for very interesting reading, and it's reassuring to see the Church tryig to address the issue. Not as headline grabbing as the actual offenses of course, but bad news always travels faster than good.

It's going to be a slow process, but it will be interesting to see how future scandals are handled. In any case it's reassuring to know that real, actual policy is being talked about and implemented, rather than the no doubt sincere, but somewhat abstract statements of regret that are more often quoted in the press.

Anyway, this is all very off topic, though perhaps it's made for a more interesting discussion than it would have been otherwise.

 

[The-Epicly-Named-Man]

To me it seems like gamers are the only people who actually care what these retards say. Just ignore them and they'll shut up.

 

[TheTutonicDrone]

I'm not a Catholic but this was just offensive all around. It was unnecessary and uncalled for. So this guy is a moron when it comes to video games. Well so is pretty much everyone over the age of sixty, yippity fricken doo.

You want to actually do real reporting and look this guy up, something that took me ten seconds, you'll see this dude seems to be doing a pretty good job of keeping his branch of the church clean. http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2008/07_08/2008_07_01_CatholicNewsAgency_ArchdioceseOf.htm

 

[Imp_Emissary]

Seeing as how Chaput was a pretty adamant foe of games back then, it's not surprising that he still hates them. That said, I'm willing to bet that Catholic priests have <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_sex_abuse_cases>done more harm to the youth of the world than videogames have, though this wasn't something that the Archbishop addressed in his article.

Damn, that's cold. I mean seriously, OW!

But on topic, it shouldn't be real surprising given this mans history that he opposes it.

"Members of a religious order in glass churches shouldn't throw stones at depictions of violence, when we all can see other members of their order touching little boys through the glass."

If they want to attack video games, I think thats fine, but first own up to what they have done.

Also, "Damn, that's cold." Tell that to the kids. Oh wait, you can't because their deaf.

P.S. slacker09. I wish you no bad will, unless you are a molester, or something just as bad. All I'm saying is who really has been damaging these kids? Though, yes that was a DEEP cut, but not uncalled for.

 

[Chibz]

I'm back. So I did a little research into this catholic cult, and I hope that this man (along with all others suckered into it) get the help they badly need. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_counseling]

This "Pope" Benedict XVI fellow (I seriously doubt that's his real name) should feel awful about the number of unwell persons he has under his sway, and is a deeply troubling individual aside.

 

[MajorDolphin]

"The man who still cites the Columbine Massacre as evidence of videogames' effects on kids has publicly announced that he disapproves of the recent Supreme Court verdict."

I'm almost certain this article is of excellent quality but after reading that one line I had no further need to read it. Apparently this Archbishop has failed to read any of the evidence behind the Columbine event and chose to focus purely on the video games these kids were playing...

Let see, millions of people played DOOM, millions of people listened to Marilyn Manson, millions of kids were outcasts, millions of people were bullied. Most experienced all of that yet they never went on a killing spree.

I do not want to offend any of my fellow religious Escapists but religion has led more people to commit these types of atrocities than all the video games combined.

 

[Imp_Emissary]

I'm willing to bet that Catholic priests have <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_sex_abuse_cases>done more harm to the youth of the world than videogames have

That was completely unnecessary.

The Archbishop has no idea what he is talking about here, obviously, but I'm sure vansau is perfectly aware that he is strawmanning. Ignorance is excusable (though really annoying). Poor debate tactics are not.

I am in 100% agreement here. That was poor journalism. I expect better from The Escapist, and frankly I feel that it reflects poorly on this fine publication when things like this are printed.

Seems simply like enforcing the 'people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones' idea to me.

Would you expect the same kind of snarky closing statement in a quality, printed newspaper?

On behave of the youth culture I would like to ask; "What's a newspaper?"

Ha ha. Just kidding. Seriously though, The Escapist isn't a newspaper, and I thank God for that. Also, yes its a snarky statement, but it is also true.

"Members of a religious order in glass churches shouldn't throw stones at depictions of violence, when we all can see other members of their order touching little boys through the glass."

Now that's a snarky statement.

P.S. The closing statement he made is way more tame than what Fox News(one of the most viewed news shows in the U.S.) makes at the start of their show,(Example: Bulletstorm promotes rape.), and is not far off from what The Archbishop is saying except it's based off of facts.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Slavery is freedom, Debt is wealth, War is peace, censorship and propaganda is the answer!

 

[MatsVS]

The Escapist community disappoints yet again by completely overreacting to a completely valid point about fucked up priorities. Not surprising. At all.

 

[Callate]

Seeing as how Chaput was a pretty adamant foe of games back then, it's not surprising that he still hates them. That said, I'm willing to bet that Catholic priests have done more harm to the youth of the world than videogames have, though this wasn't something that the Archbishop addressed in his article.

It may be a cheap shot, but he's got a point if you consider the way the Archbishop wants to link video games and Columbine. If he considers that kind of anecdotal connection convincing proof, then the (much higher) number of sexual abuse cases in the Church ought to be likewise considered proof that it's an unacceptable risk for young children to attend Catholic mass.