Heirs of the Knights Templar

Most people probably had never heard of the Knights Templar before Dan Brown wrote the Da Vinci Code and those that had heard of them were probably academics with an interest in the field or conspiracy buffs looking to find traces of the Holy Grail and perhaps long lost heirs of Jesus living somewhere in France. However, the Knights Templar might again rise to prominence as a recently filed law suit in Spain is suing Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic Church for some 100 million euros.

The law suit is premised on the idea that the Catholic Church misappropriated the assets of the Knights Templar when the Order was dissolved by Pope Clement V in 1307. Aside from seeking the cash, the suit also aims to have the Catholic Church restore the good name of the Knights Templar who were at the time alleged to be heretics, devil worshippers, and sodomizers.

The Order of the Knights Templar was founded in 1119 and functioned as a band of Christian warriors that protected pilgrims on their way to and from the Holy Lands, specifically Jerusalem, during the Crusades. However, the Order fell foul of the then King of France, Philip IV, who it has been alleged owed considerable sums to the Knights Templar. The accusations brought were seen as the perfect means of avoiding paying the debt and expropriating some of the Templar wealth.

One of the many conspiracy theories is that even though the Templar were dissolved as an order in 1307 they did not disappear forever. In fact, the assertion is that they went underground and continued to practice and pass down their traditions and beliefs. This has never been proven however it would seem that the group that has brought this action, Association of the Sovereign Order of the Temple of Christ, would have the courts believe that they are descended from the original Knights Templar.

The most likely cause of this suit is that the Vatican has been taking steps to rehabilitate the name of the Knights Templar. Last year the Vatican published a book, Processus Contra Templarios, that included a series of documents that were supposedly secret or if they were not secret wrongly filed away in the Vatican Library and only recently discovered. These documents include a parchment known as the Chinon parchment. The Chinon parchment shows Pope Clement V absolving the Templar of their crimes. Nevertheless, the ruling to disband the Templar remained in place.

The Templar's last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake along with many, many other Templar, the majority of whom had confessed to their "sins" under torture. The picture is of de Molay being led to the stake.

The chances of the current claimed incarnation of the Knights Templar are not likely to succeed in this claim unless they can furnish some irrefutable proof that they are in fact directly descended from the original Knights Templar. Most pundits believe that this is just not going to happen. Yet, it makes for fun and educational reading.

Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church -- An Apology

I have been contemplating writing something on this for some time and have hesitated because the issue deserves more than just passing comment. I have not done the research on the statistics of the prevalence of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, although I am sure others may have numbers, names, locations, and the like. Yet, perhaps if there was more open and frank discussion on issues such as these then progress towards a workable resolution might be quicker in coming.

The Pope, Benedict XVI, was alleged to have said on his way to Australia for the World Youth Day festivities that he was going to apologize to all those who have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of clergymen over the years. This blanket apology might not mean much but it would have meant that the Church acknowledges and has remorse for what has happened but is genuinely sorry for the tragedy that it has allowed to occur. This profound sorrow might not pay the bills of the victims or bring back loved ones who have committed suicide as a result of not being able to cope any longer with the pain, but it would say that even though we can never fully make amends for what has happened "we" accept responsibility.

Unfortunately, the Pope's point man on media communications has spent much of the day backtracking on whether an apology will be forthcoming and has even indicated that this might be one of those lost in translation moments, where what the Pope is alleged to have said might not actually be what he said.

Father Federico Lombardi, Director of the Vatican Press Office, has been saying that there is no papal commitment to making an apology and perhaps what Australian victims should be expecting is the Pope making brief mention of the "issue" in a statement. Stupid! This would seem to be the perfect moment to capitalize on the good will of Australians during WYD to make the apology.

It would seem that the Pope has not been pontificating on the issue and is on the record as saying that the Church needs to examine how it is going to, "prevent, heal and reconcile" the past crimes of the clergy. The Pope then went further in terms of putting this into context with, "this is the essential content of what we will say as we apologise."

Father Lombardi seems to think that any apology would be limited to a meeting with church officials and novices. This is the same means that was adopted by the Pope when apologizing during his visit to the US. This is a cop out! He does not need to apologize to the members of the clergy and the novices of the Church. He needs to apologize to the victims of the crimes perpetrated by the clergy on children for decades past.

Why is an apology necessary? The answer to this question is simple and is best done through an Australian example of the tragedy the sexual abuse of children has wreaked on one particular family. Their story is a sad and tragic one that has been played out in many thousands of families across the globe.

The Foster family was by all accounts a happy one. However, this changed tragically for the worst when Emma and Katherine Foster were raped by Father Kevin O'Donnell when they were in primary school. The Catholic Church does not seem to have a very good record in weeding out those applicants that have a penchant for young children.

Emma committed suicide at the age of 26. Katherine developed an alcohol abuse problem and this led to her being struck by a car driven by a drunk driver. Katherine now requires 24-hour care as a result of the physical and brain injuries that she sustained.

In reference to this sad tale the Bishop Anthony Fisher in his infinite wisdom expressed the following sentiment, "Happily, I think most of Australia was enjoying delighting in the beauty and goodness of these young people and the hope - the hope for us doing these sorts of things better in the future - as we saw last night, rather than, than dwelling crankily, as a few people are doing, on old wounds."

Bishop Fisher, you are a fool! These are not old wounds to those directly affected by them! These wounds are open and festering sores that are slowly but surely eating away at the very life essence of the victims of these abhorrent crimes. It is time the Catholic Church ante-ed up and faced the fact that it is responsible as the employer of predators like Father O'Donnell.

Priests like father O'Donnell when they are found guilty of the crimes they have committed they should be sent to prison. They should not be put into the protective wing of the prison. These brave souls that pray on children must be put into the general prison population where it should be known that they like to have their way with children. You should not be surprised that prisoners have families and they have children and that the mere thought of someone sexually violating their children is enough to ensure that the Father O'Donnells of this world get a firsthand understanding of what it is like to be violated. This would give a new meaning to "get what's coming to you"!

The Catholic Church has to start making amends in Australia. This can start with a full, open, and frank apology to victims. Then, I personally do not care if this means the Catholic Church has to sell off all its assets or mortgage its properties to the hilt, but it must pay compensation to victims for the harm these victims have suffered at the hands of the employees of the Church.

Thus endeth my rant (or is it a sermon?) on this subject.