Church excommunicates mother and doctors – but not accused rapist

Declaring that "life must always be protected", a senior Vatican cleric has defended the Catholic Church's decision to excommunicate the mother and doctors of a nine-year-old rape victim who had a life-saving abortion in Brazil.

Cardinal Giovanni Batista Re, who heads the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, told reporters that although the girl fell pregnant after apparently being abused by her stepfather, her twins had, "the right to live, and could not be eliminated".

In an interview with the Italian newspaper, La Stampa, the cardinal added: "It is a sad case but the real problem is that the twins conceived were two innocent persons. Life must always be protected."

Police believe the girl was sexually assaulted for years by her stepfather, possibly since she was six. That she was four months pregnant with twins emerged only after she was taken to hospital complaining of severe stomach pains.

The controversy represents a PR nightmare for the Vatican. The unnamed girl's mother and doctors were excommunicated for agreeing to Wednesday's emergency abortion yet the Church has not taken formal steps against the stepfather, who is in custody. Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, the conservative regional archbishop for Pernambuco where the girl was rushed to hospital, has said that the man would not be thrown out of the Church, because although he had allegedly committed "a heinous crime", the Church took the view that "the abortion, the elimination of an innocent life, was more serious".

The case has set off fierce debate in Brazil, where abortion is permitted only in cases of rape or a medical emergency. Brazil is one of the most populous Catholic countries, but conservative attitudes in rural areas are strongly at odds with the relatively progressive public view of abortion in major cities.

Even the President, Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, has waded into the row. "As a Christian and a Catholic, I deeply regret that a bishop of the Catholic Church has such a conservative attitude," he said "The doctors did what had to be done: save the life of a girl of nine years old. In this case, the medical profession was more right than the Church."

One of the doctors involved in the abortion, Rivaldo Albuquerque, has raised the prospect of public clashes at his local church, telling Globo, the nation's main TV network, that he would keep going to mass there, regardless of the archbishop's order. The young girl at the centre of the case escaped excommunication only because she is still a child in the eyes of Church authorities. The stepfather, who is 23, was arrested last week, apparently trying to escape to another region of the country. Police say he is also suspected of abusing the girl's handicapped 14-year-old sister. He is in protective custody, and if convicted faces up to 15 years in prison.

Article

The guy hasn't been convicted yet, so one could claim they're trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but their words make it perfectly clear that isn't the reason. But is anyone really surprised, given all the sex abuse cover-up the church has done?

I look at it this way: excommunication is a good thing - people are far better off out of a church like than than in.

So 2 fetuses had the "right to life" but fuck the 9 year old child's right to life? Why is the life of a fucking fetus more important than the life of an already living person. That kind of mentality disgust me to no end. If they are having to perform a life saving abortion in the first place, doesn't that mean that if the abortion didn't take place the 9 yr old would die? And if the 9 year old did die, wouldn't the fetuses die as well since there life is dependant on the mothers life?

The church should be ashamed of it's self. They are more concerned about the emergency abortion than they are about the reason this poor 9 year old girl had to have the abortion in the first fucking place. Where is the compassion for this little girl? Rape is traumatic thing to go through as it is, but to have it done to you by a person who is suppose to be taking care of you and to have to have an abortion as well as a result of it, makes it that much worse.

Well didn't you know? The nine year old probably dressed too sexy, her ankles probably showed and it tempted her step father, so the poor dear rapist is not at fault! In the church it's always those evil slutty womben's fault.

The article infers that the little girl would have died if the abortion had not been done. Along with her would have gone the feti. So the church would have lost three lives instead of two (which I don't consider lives, anyway). Shows how much those bastards really value life.

Cases like this, heinous though they are, are at least good for further exposure of the Catlick religion as an abominable institution.

Well, we already know that Roman-Catholic church is anti-women and protects pedophilia.

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" ... what's one more once you've already got two shedding on the couch?"

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trekkie monster
Well, we already know that Roman-Catholic church is anti-women and protects pedophilia.

We do, but it still has a hold over countries like Brazil. As the article noted, the urban areas are becoming more progressive; articles like this make the "thinking" people exam the real value of the Catholic religion and its impact on their lives. The rural areas, with less educated folk, are the ones likely to still follow it like blind sheep.

ETA: thought so

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Brazil is said to be the largest Roman Catholic country in the world. In 1996 about 76 percent of the population, or about 122 million people, declared Roman Catholicism as their religion, as compared with 89 percent in 1980. The decline may have resulted from a combination of a real loss of influence and a tendency to be more objective in answering census questions about religion.
...
As in most dominant religions, there is some distance between nominal and practicing Catholics. Brazilians usually are baptized and married in the Roman Catholic Church. However, according to the CNBB (National Conference of Brazilian Bishops), only 20 percent of nominal Catholics attend Mass and participate in church activities, but the figure may be as low as 10 percent. Women attend Mass more often than men, and the elderly are more active in church than the young.
(typical generational decline)

I remember hearing about this case some time ago. No surprises. The Catholic Church has either stood idly by or actively covered up abuses within itself or elsewhere for centuries.

Way to punish a mother who actually steps up to the plate for once and tries to save her child's life instead of blindly following the church and having a nine-year old attempt to carry twins full-term and give birth. Whether or not the mother knew about the abuse going on for three years, at least she tried to do something instead of choosing the penis over her child.

Go doctors for following, "First do no harm" and placing the child's life over that of a couple of fetuses.

I read this past year of something vaguely similar. An adult woman had an abortion to save her own life. Had she had completed the pregnancy, she and the fetus would have died. The church excommunicated the pregnant woman AND the nun who helped her through the abortion. The church's position was that the fetus life was no different than the woman's life, so both should have died together. Yeah, you heard it.....BOTH should have died!

I'm Catholic, and shit like this makes me steam. It's as if the church doesn't care about people, all they care is protecting the status quo. More babies = more members in the future. And all this shit comes from MEN, not from women. Where's the social justice, where's the church standing up for the underprivledged? All they seem to care about is abortion and the rights of women to control their own bodies. This is truly fucked up.

My apologies to any Roman Catholics on this board, but fuck the Vatican Old Boys Network

Anything that hurts the global pedophile and homophobe network Catholic church, I'm good with.

Quote: In an interview with the Italian newspaper, La Stampa, the cardinal added: "It is a sad case but the real problem is that the twins conceived were two innocent persons. Life must always be protected."

This is one of the reasons I no longer attend the Roman Catholic church.
Fetiii are NOT fucking innocent persons. They are NOT persons to begin with. They are blobs of tissue. That's it. They don't have a mind, they can't think, they are basically a pair of parasites that were created by the sperm of a rapist who assaulted a small girl.

I fucking hate the hypocracy of the church, and that is why I left. Just ask the old JC what he would think of how the church is being run. I'll guarantee he would NOT approve of this rampant, disgusting ABUSE of power.

So this is going to basically put a stamp of approval on rape and incest because the rapist knows he'll be scott free on the excuse of "The feti need to live". Fucking sick.

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Shiny
So this is going to basically put a stamp of approval on rape and incest because the rapist knows he'll be scott free on the excuse of "The feti need to live". Fucking sick.

you can rape, but you have to ensure the woman gets knocked up.

and the church wonders why people are leaving.

See, why doesnt the catholic church just come out and say "if you aren't marinading in amniotic fluid, your life means nothing to us"? That would be so much easier for us heretics to understand. And how could they do this? Punishing a mother because she attempted to save the life of her child? Seriously, the catholic church makes me sick to my ass.

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The title of "good parent" doesnt come freely from me. If you choose to dabble in creating new life, then my opinions of your actions will be harsher and my praise will be harder to elicit. It's a tradeoff. If you are foolhardy and shortsighted enough to try your hand at playing God, you best be willing to live up to the expectations that come with such a station. Hopefully you'll find SOME relief in your contention, as I have yet to see a generation who has...
Godspeed, Catharsist

When I read this quote from FB:
"U know the Devil is soooooooool busy! Hes trying evrything he can to spread his NASTINESS...... but u know what i say......HOLYGHOST FIRE!!!! IN JESUS NAME AMEN."
I LOL every time.

Once again I am reminded why I gave the old Catholic church the middle finger. I am disgusted by this story. But I really want to stand up for the mother of this little girl and the doctors. They are the true heroes. And I hope this little girl is getting all the help she needs.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/05/25/490171/brazil-excommunication-for-abortion/?mobile=nc

but the step father who raped her didn't get excommunicated.

The Catholic Church, however, excommunicated those who helped rescue her.In 2009, a 9 year old in Brazil had to have an emergency abortion after her mother brought her to the hospital for complaining about severe stomach pains and discovered the girl was four months pregnant. But after the procedure, instead of embracing the victim and offering to help the family, the Catholic Church excommunicated the doctor who performed the abortion and the girl’s mother. Unbelievable.

The Church did not excommunicate the rapist:Even MORE unbelievable.

The controversy represents a PR nightmare for the Vatican. The unnamed girl’s mother and doctors were excommunicated for agreeing to Wednesday’s emergency abortion yet the Church has not taken formal steps against the stepfather, who is in custody. Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, the conservative regional archbishop for Pernambuco where the girl was rushed to hospital, has said that the man would not be thrown out of the Church, because although he had allegedly committed “a heinous crime”, the Church took the view that “the abortion, the elimination of an innocent life, was more serious”. The Vatican needs a COMPLETE overhaul.

The case has set off fierce debate in Brazil, where abortion is permitted only in cases of rape or medical emergency. Brazil is one of the most populous Catholic countries, but conservative attitudes in rural areas are strongly at odds with the relatively progressive public view of abortion in major cities I thought the Pope was "okay" with it when the mother's life was in danger. I guess I thought wrong.

.While the circumstances are much more grave in this example, the same conflict of beliefs is now happening the United States: While 82 percent of Catholics support birth control use, the Catholic Church is suing to have it removed from required health care plans.This case shows the extent to which some far-right leaders in the Catholic Church will go to fight against what they charge as morally reprehensible — even if the vast majority of their adherents don’t agree, or consider the charges flipped.Is what these assholes are.

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If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

Abortion is more serious than this poor girl's rape?! What the fuck is wrong with the Catholic church?

I think the bastard who did this to her should not just be excommunicated, but shot in the head.

I'd like nothing better than to personally nail this fucker's pecker to a tree stump, set the tree stump on fire and give him a rusty straight razor.

Excommunication from a worldwide criminal operation isn't a bad thing. Another faith should step up and invite the mom and girl to their church.

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also I am not looking for a women with kids or diseases herpes or any other sexual deceases

Once again, I say that you hear the statement, "A 9-year old girl is raped and impregnanted with twins by her stepfather and her mother and doctor agree to abort the fetuses in order to save the girl's life," and your source of ire is the "abortion" part: GO DIE.

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mumofsixbirds
Quote: In an interview with the Italian newspaper, La Stampa, the cardinal added: "It is a sad case but the real problem is that the twins conceived were two innocent persons. Life must always be protected."

This is one of the reasons I no longer attend the Roman Catholic church.
Fetiii are NOT fucking innocent persons. They are NOT persons to begin with. They are blobs of tissue. That's it. They don't have a mind, they can't think, they are basically a pair of parasites that were created by the sperm of a rapist who assaulted a small girl.

I fucking hate the hypocracy of the church, and that is why I left. Just ask the old JC what he would think of how the church is being run. I'll guarantee he would NOT approve of this rampant, disgusting ABUSE of power.

Christ always preached forgiveness. Excommunication is very much against his teachings.

A nine year old rape victim should not have to carry a baby to full term. It will do physical and emotional damage.

The rapist should be excommunicated. The church is behaving like the Taliban here...

There was an article in Time magazine about girls as young as 10 getting pregnant ( I seem to recall these were arranged marriages) and an American nurse, who was sent to Africa as part of a team that would care for these girls, witnessed all kinds of hideous problems with these poor girls. Many of them were doomed to a life of chronic incontinence and even worse.

A 10 year old is still a child and is simply not physically and mentally ready for childbirth. Add to the fact that this poor girl is mentally handicapped and you are setting her up for a laundry list of mental and physical problems, which will be life long. Hasn't she suffered enough?

Now, this is weird.
The Catholic Church, as far as I know, support abortion to save the mother life. So if the kid life was in danger (and, she being 9, WAS in danger), there shouldn't be problems

One of the more recent Saint, Gianna Beretta Molla, was pregnant when she discovered to have cancer. The Church said that, since chemiotherapy+pregnancy wouldn't do and she would die if she didn't start asap, she could abort.
She choose not to, but that was her business (she died), but she could do it.

Alas, I agree with you. I understand the reason behind the decision (save from whay I said before) but I don't agree with them.

A woman life is no less important that the twins, whenever you want to see them as already persons or not.

So the Church couldn't excommunicate all three? The rapist's crime was not heinous enough? Not that I agree that the mother and doctor should have been excommunicated, but still. It's not like there's a limit on the number of excommunications the Church can declare in a set period. "Oh, well darn, I've used up all my excoms for the week. Looks like that heathen'll have to wait another week for the Holy B&." I think the Church is rather fucked up, and that their priorities are all fucked too.

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michaela

"A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends, and when the family dines alone, the fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a little pepper or salt, will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially in winter." -Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal