Lunatics get along well with one another
;-)
behemot
JoinedPosts by behemot
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Is it just me or do people who think they have some special inside relationship with God come off like self-absorbed lunatics?
by gubberningbody ini mean, i know i'm self-absorbed, however i don't think i have or ever will have some relationship with god that everyone else doesn't likewise have.. .
and geez!
knock off the paragraphs upon paragraphs of blah, blah, blah..."and that's how i know i'm so special.
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Germany: abuse hotline set by Church gets 4459 calls in its first day
by behemot inaccording to der spiegel:.
http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/0,1518,686812,00.html.
andreas zimmer, responsible of the hotline, admitted they didn't expect such an assault, and apologized for the personnel not being able to answer all the calls (only 162 could actually be properly handled).. snap (http://www.snapnetwork.org/) invites not to use the hotline set by the church for it might be another attempt to cover up the scandal, handling the crimes within the church.
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behemot
According to Der Spiegel:
http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/0,1518,686812,00.html
Andreas Zimmer, responsible of the hotline, admitted they didn't expect such an assault, and apologized for the personnel not being able to answer all the calls (only 162 could actually be properly handled).
SNAP (http://www.snapnetwork.org/) invites not to use the hotline set by the Church for it might be another attempt to cover up the scandal, handling the crimes within the Church. Victims should not refer to the clergy's hyerarchy but rather talk about the abuse to their families, therapists and police.
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Paedophile used religion to keep abuse secret
by behemot inpaedophile used religion to keep abuse secrettuesday, march 30, 2010, 06:30a paedophile raped and sexually assaulted women and girls over a period of 40 years by using their religion to keep the abuse secret.. despite one revealing it to the jehovah's witness elders, no help was given, a court heard.. now george arthur cockerill, 78, has been jailed indefinitely after he admitted 19 rapes, four counts of sexual activity with a child, six counts of indecency with a child, one sex assault and two counts of indecency with a child.. judge roger thorn qc, sitting at hull crown court, said: "you have pleaded guilty to 32 serious counts that reflect your sexual depravity.. "the reality is that, from beginning to end, it is extended over 40 years.
you have wasted your life and caused untold misery.. "as one victim said, you have stolen her childhood.. "you have been the most terrible hypocrite, passing yourself off as a law-abiding member of the community and using religion as a tool of subjection to control your victims.. "that is why i'm satisfied this remained a secret for so long.".
cockerill was sentenced to imprisonment for public protection for a minimum of six years.. he will not be released until the parole board believe he is no longer a danger.. cockerill, of hull, was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.. he allegedly had five victims, three of whom were subject to the convictions he pleaded guilty to and two more have made allegations against him.. police believe there could be more.. in a statement read to the court, one victim said: "he took my childhood away.".
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behemot
Paedophile used religion to keep abuse secret
Tuesday, March 30, 2010, 06:30
A paedophile raped and sexually assaulted women and girls over a period of 40 years by using their religion to keep the abuse secret.
Despite one revealing it to the Jehovah's Witness elders, no help was given, a court heard.
Now George Arthur Cockerill, 78, has been jailed indefinitely after he admitted 19 rapes, four counts of sexual activity with a child, six counts of indecency with a child, one sex assault and two counts of indecency with a child.
Judge Roger Thorn QC, sitting at Hull Crown Court, said: "You have pleaded guilty to 32 serious counts that reflect your sexual depravity.
"The reality is that, from beginning to end, it is extended over 40 years. You have wasted your life and caused untold misery.
"As one victim said, you have stolen her childhood.
"You have been the most terrible hypocrite, passing yourself off as a law-abiding member of the community and using religion as a tool of subjection to control your victims.
"That is why I'm satisfied this remained a secret for so long."
Cockerill was sentenced to imprisonment for public protection for a minimum of six years.
He will not be released until the Parole Board believe he is no longer a danger.
Cockerill, of Hull, was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.
He allegedly had five victims, three of whom were subject to the convictions he pleaded guilty to and two more have made allegations against him.
Police believe there could be more.
In a statement read to the court, one victim said: "He took my childhood away."
Prosecutor David Dixon said: "He made one victim pray afterwards, linking the assault to the religion she had been devoted to for many years.
"She had pleaded with him not to do it.
"One girl tried to get the church elders to do something about him, but to no avail."
The attacks came to light after one woman told her doctor and then contacted the police.
The police then discovered more victims.
Cockerill has worked in the area as a butcher.
He served in the Army for eight years and has been involved with the Jehovah's Witnesses for a number of years.
Detective Constable Sam Crompton, from Humberside Police's public protection unit, said: "I would like to thank the complainants for their bravery in reliving such a difficult time in their lives and for having the strength and courage to assist us with the investigation."
A spokesperson for the Jehovah's Witnesses said: "We do not tolerate in any way that kind of behaviour. When this was brought to our attention Mr Cockerill was disfellowshipped and therefore he is no longer a Jehovah's Witness."
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A new species of human being?
by behemot inis this a new species of human being?scientists have extracted dna from a bone discovered in siberia that almost certainly belongs to a new kind of human one that may have lived as recently as 30,000 years ago.
will this transform our views of human evolution?.
the guardian, friday 26 march 2010. an artist's impression of the newly discovered 'fourth human' photograph: illustration: copyright josie jammet/josie jammet.
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behemot
Is this a new species of human being?
Scientists have extracted DNA from a bone discovered in Siberia that almost certainly belongs to a new kind of human – one that may have lived as recently as 30,000 years ago. Will this transform our views of human evolution?
The Guardian, Friday 26 March 2010
An artist's impression of the newly discovered 'fourth human' Photograph: Illustration: copyright Josie Jammet/Josie Jammet
From nothing more than a piece of bone from a child's little finger, the human family tree has gained another member, one who lived alongside modern humans perhaps as recently as 30,000 years ago.
Yesterday's revelation, that scientists in Germany had discovered – to their amazement – that the bone recovered from a cave in the mountains of southern Siberia almost certainly belonged to a new species of human, has sent ripples of excitement through academic circles. For the first time, the analysis of ancient DNA has rewritten the human story. Some 30,000 years ago, human life was far richer than we could have imagined.
Until recently, palaeontologists' view of human evolution was desperately lacking. Ask them to paint a picture of human existence 40,000 years ago, say, and they would mention modern humans, Homo sapiens, occupying vast territories. The only other hominid (a human or close relative) in existence back then, Homo neanderthalis, was eking out a life alongside us modern humans, but its populations were in terminal decline. Then the Neanderthals became extinct around 25,000 years ago. That much was agreed upon.
Things changed in 2003. Field researchers working in caves on the Indonesian island of Flores uncovered remains of a diminutive human relative that lived at least 13,000 years ago. The Flores "hobbits" grew to be a metre tall as adults and could be traced back to Homo erectus, the forerunner of modern humans that left Africa 1.9m years ago. The hobbits' size is thought to be a direct result of their isolation.
Then there is the latest discovery, with which the number of early human species, or hominids, living 30,000 years ago has risen to four. In the space of a decade, the size of the human family has doubled.
And it's not just the cast list of the human evolution story that has had to be revised. Excavations of fossilised human remains have now led scientists to talk of three great migrations out of Africa. The first footprints leading off the continent were left by Homo erectus (the ancestor we share with the Neanderthals, with those hobbits, and with this new species of human). The next migration, around 450,000 years ago, was the Neanderthals. Then, perhaps as recently as 60,000 years ago, the first modern humans left to populate Eurasia and beyond – the humans from whom all of us alive on earth today are descended. The new species of human appears to fit in with none of these migrations out of Africa, and instead points to yet another great exodus, one that happened around 1m years ago.
To some scientists, even this fairly complicated picture is beginning to feel over-simplistic. "I don't think we can be absolutely certain about anything now," says Professor Terry Brown, an expert in ancient DNA at Manchester University.
What we do know is that the story starts in Africa, but that early humans then decided to leave. "There's no reason why a hominid should remain in Africa if the population increases," says Brown. "The natural thing for it to do is to move." The march out of the cradle of humanity may have been more of an ongoing wander, with early humans moving farther afield as and when they needed.
What's also known is that with the exception of the hobbits of Flores, every human species is thought to have evolved before making its way out of Africa. How we ended up with a number of different hominids is probably down to geography: species can split into two when groups of individuals become isolated from one another. When they stop interbreeding, the genetic makeup of each group drifts and diverges. They adapt differently to their habitats. Eventually, the differences became so large they cannot reproduce even if they tried.
In Africa – a very big place – small groups of thousands likely occupied disparate territories, and many splits may have occurred. Eventually, as the evolutionary clock ticked by, some Homo erectus embarked on a route that culminated in the Neanderthals. Others went down the route that led to modern humans. Still others, scientists now believe, became the new human species that left its little finger in a Siberian cave.
The most intriguing thing, perhaps, about this new discovery is its location. The bone was uncovered in an area where the remains of humans and Neanderthals have all been found from around the same period in history. Together, the evidence points to a time, between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago, when all three species were there. Did they ever meet? Did they make out? Did they fight? And why was Homo sapiens the last human standing? Do we owe not only the Neanderthals but this new species a big apology?
"It could have been that there was a period of occupation, where as one species moved out, another moved in. Ten thousand years is a long, long time and it is possible they never actually met," says Brown. "The alternative is that they may have been having parties every Saturday night, all three of them, getting together and talking about the Neanderthals down the road."
If they did live alongside one another, they needn't have been in constant conflict. Related species of other animals – big cats for example – share territories, yet show their neighbours nothing but cool indifference. Conflict is only likely when there is competition for the food, mates or shelter. That said, the three human species probably all hunted large mammals, including woolly mammoths and woolly rhinos, the remains of which have been unearthed in the area.
So what is the fourth human to be called? In lieu of a formal name for the new species, Svante Pääbo and Johannes Krause at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig – who extracted and analysed the DNA from the finger bone – gave our latest ancient relative the nickname "X-woman". From the size of the finger bone, they suspect it belonged to a child aged between five and seven years old, but whether it was a boy or girl is unknown. The nickname is a nod to the laboratory tests they used to identify the creature as something new to science: they examined DNA locked up in tiny organelles called mitochondria, which are passed down the maternal line only.
What genetic material the scientists have analysed so far points to an early human that shared a common ancestor with modern humans and the Neanderthals 1m years ago. (Modern humans and Neanderthals split from their own common ancestor 500,000 years ago.)
The work at the Leipzig lab is ongoing, however. In the next few months, the team expects to have sequenced the creature's full genome, a step that will do more than confirm whether it is a new species or not. One of the perennial questions in human origins research – and one genetics is uniquely well-placed to answer – is whether co-existing human species mated with each other. Detailed studies of several Neanderthal genomes by the same laboratory have found no compelling evidence that interbreeding happened between modern humans and Neanderthals. But only further work will rule it out, or in, completely.
There is good reason to suspect, however, that, even if our ancient ancestors never got up close and personal with each other, we played a role in their demise. The Neanderthals died out in Europe soon after the arrival of modern humans. A coincidence? Some scientists put the blame on climate change, and suggest the Neanderthals – who were probably not so different from us, using tools, possibly talking to each other – were poorly equipped for the upheaval that ensued. But the Neanderthals were hardy creatures and died during the middle of the last ice age, not during the major period of transition at the end. More likely, say some scientists, was that Homo sapiens out-competed the Neanderthals for food and other crucial resources.
The discovery of this new human species, one that lived at the same time as modern humans and the Neanderthals, does nothing to make this uncertain picture any clearer. Now there are two human species that died out, if not in our presence, then certainly in our proximity. "That makes the whole argument more interesting and it is going to be the debate that is had over the next 10 years," says Brown.
Casting an eye over the last 6m years of human evolution, from the moment we split from a common ancestor with modern apes, to the rise of Homo sapiens, it is hard not to notice that scores of other early human species have come and gone: evolutionary experiments that failed. And yet we prevailed. Why should Homo sapiens be any different? Could we die out too at some point? Or are we destined to be just another branch on the tree, one that paves the way for the next, more evolved version of a human being?
As for dying out, we are safer, perhaps, in being able to control our environment – to some extent at least. As to us evolving into something different, some biologists believe that Homo sapiens has to all intents and purposes stopped evolving, or at least that the pace of our evolution has slowed. That could leave us more vulnerable to new diseases or wild changes in the environment. Then again, change could come in more dramatic fashion.
"If a global disaster wiped out much of the human race, leaving only a population of few hundred thousand, they would probably evolve into something very different to us," says Brown. A passing asteroid might thump into the planet and leave only isolated pockets of Homo sapiens, living in a habitat unrecognisable to the world today. Some groups would inevitably die out, but those that survived would eventually carry on the human line under a new name.
But then there are no certainties here, and indeed the history of our understanding of human evolution shows us that whatever we believe now could be turned on its head within a matter of decades. It used to be believed, assumed rather, that Neanderthals were our ancestors – the cave men that came before us. Of course that turned out not to be true: they lived alongside us. And now it turned out that these others, the fourth humans, did too.
The really good news is that against the backdrop of this more academic debate, against all this uncertainty, there now lies a realm of new opportunity and new understanding thanks to the potential of DNA analysis. The discovery of X-woman marks a first in using genetics alone to identify what many palaeontologists believe must be a new human species. But this is also one of the earliest attempts to look at ancient DNA from human remains.
The fossil record we have for humans is patchy and incomplete, but tiny fragments that have been labelled, over the course of many decades, as Homo sapiens, or Homo neanderthalis, or Homo erectus, sit in museums and laboratories all over the world.
Are there fragments of bone from other unknown humans among them? "It could be that there is a whole load of human ancestors out there that we don't know about yet, and I mean five, six, or seven types of human," says Brown. "Everything is wide open now."
source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/mar/26/siberia-new-human-being
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One year in jail for JW man who circumcised son at home
by behemot inone year in jail for metro vancouver man who circumcised son at homeby andrea woo, vancouver sunmarch 25, 2010comments (46)metro vancouver -- a metro vancouver man who circumcised his four-year-old son at home with a razor blade and blood coagulant meant for horses has been sentenced to one year in jail followed by two years probation.
in april 2007, the man, identified only as djw due to a publication ban, gave his son, dj, honey wine before placing him on garbage bags on the kitchen floor.
djw then cut away the boy's foreskin with a razor blade.. .
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behemot
One year in jail for Metro Vancouver man who circumcised son at home
By ANDREA WOO, VANCOUVER SUN March 25, 2010 Comments (46) METRO VANCOUVER -- A Metro Vancouver man who circumcised his four-year-old son at home with a razor blade and blood coagulant meant for horses has been sentenced to one year in jail followed by two years probation.
In April 2007, the man, identified only as DJW due to a publication ban, gave his son, DJ, honey wine before placing him on garbage bags on the kitchen floor. DJW then cut away the boy's foreskin with a razor blade.
As his son cried, the man sprinkled on him Wonder Dust, a blood coagulant meant for horses.
According to a summary of the case in Justice Marion Allan's October 2009 ruling, DJW, a Jehovah's Witness, had told DJ the procedure would grant him "extra special protection from God." DJW told DJ he would be allowed to eat Passover lamb and ice cream and to pick all the movies he wanted for a week.
DJ eventually had to be taken to hospital, where the circumcision was completed.
DJW initially claimed a religious exemption but dropped the argument based on the judge's finding that the procedure wasn't performed with reasonable care, his former lawyer, Doug Christie told The Vancouver Sun in October.
In late 2004 or early 2005, DJW circumcised himself, using Band-Aids, peroxide and a roll of gauze and a clear plastic ring, which he believed would act as an anesthetic. The procedure left his penis infected.
DJW was sentenced Thursday morning.
On Wednesday, prosecutor Daniel Porte called for a jail term of between 12 and 24 months followed by three years probation.
source: http://www.vancouversun.com/year+jail+Metro+Vancouver+circumcised+home/2726695/story.html
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Another chapter in the Pope scandal exposed by the NYT
by behemot inmunich the future pope benedict xvi was kept more closely apprised of a sexual abuse case in germany than previous church statements have suggested, raising fresh questions about his handling of a scandal unfolding under his direct supervision before he rose to the top of the churchs hierarchy.. cardinal joseph ratzinger, the future pope and archbishop in munich at the time, was copied on a memo that informed him that a priest, whom he had approved sending to therapy in 1980 to overcome pedophilia, would be returned to pastoral work within days of beginning psychiatric treatment.
the priest was later convicted of molesting boys in another parish.. an initial statement on the matter issued earlier this month by the archdiocese of munich and freising placed full responsibility for the decision to allow the priest to resume his duties on cardinal ratzingers deputy, the rev.
gerhard gruber.
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behemot
MUNICH — The future Pope Benedict XVI was kept more closely apprised of a sexual abuse case in Germany than previous church statements have suggested, raising fresh questions about his handling of a scandal unfolding under his direct supervision before he rose to the top of the church’s hierarchy.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future pope and archbishop in Munich at the time, was copied on a memo that informed him that a priest, whom he had approved sending to therapy in 1980 to overcome pedophilia, would be returned to pastoral work within days of beginning psychiatric treatment. The priest was later convicted of molesting boys in another parish.
An initial statement on the matter issued earlier this month by the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising placed full responsibility for the decision to allow the priest to resume his duties on Cardinal Ratzinger’s deputy, the Rev. Gerhard Gruber. But the memo, whose existence was confirmed by two church officials, shows that the future pope not only led a meeting on Jan. 15, 1980, approving the transfer of the priest, but was also kept informed about the priest’s reassignment.
What part he played in the decision making, and how much interest he showed in the case of the troubled priest, who had molested multiple boys in his previous job, remains unclear. But the personnel chief who handled the matter from the beginning, the Rev. Friedrich Fahr, “always remained personally, exceptionally connected” to Cardinal Ratzinger, the church said.
The case of the German priest, the Rev. Peter Hullermann, has acquired fresh relevance because it unfolded at a time when Cardinal Ratzinger, who was later put in charge of handling thousands of abuse cases on behalf of the Vatican, was in a position to refer the priest for prosecution, or at least to stop him from coming into contact with children. The German Archdiocese has acknowledged that “bad mistakes” were made in the handling of Father Hullermann, though it attributed those mistakes to people reporting to Cardinal Ratzinger rather than to the cardinal himself.
Church officials defend Benedict by saying the memo was routine and was “unlikely to have landed on the archbishop’s desk,” according to the Rev. Lorenz Wolf, judicial vicar at the Munich Archdiocese. But Father Wolf said he could not rule out that Cardinal Ratzinger had read it.
According to Father Wolf, who spoke with Father Gruber this week at the request of The New York Times, Father Gruber, the former vicar general, said that he could not remember a detailed conversation with Cardinal Ratzinger about Father Hullermann, but that Father Gruber refused to rule out that “the name had come up.”
Benedict is well known for handling priestly abuse cases in the Vatican before he became pope. While some have criticized his role in adjudicating such cases over the past two decades, he has also won praise from victims’ advocates for taking the issue more seriously, apologizing to American victims in 2008.
The future pope’s time in Munich, in the broader sweep of his life story, has until now been viewed mostly as a steppingstone on the road to the Vatican. But this period in his career has recently come under scrutiny — particularly six decisive weeks from December 1979 to February 1980.
In that short span, a review of letters, meeting minutes and documents from personnel files shows, Father Hullermann went from disgrace and suspension from his duties in Essen to working without restrictions as a priest in Munich, despite the fact that he was described in the letter requesting his transfer as a potential “danger.”
In September 1979, the chaplain was removed from his congregation after three sets of parents told his superior, the Rev. Norbert Essink, that he had molested their sons, charges he did not deny, according to notes taken by the superior and still in Father Hullermann’s personnel file in Essen.
On Dec. 20, 1979, Munich’s personnel chief, Father Fahr, received a phone call from his counterpart in the Essen Diocese, Klaus Malangré.
There is no official record of their conversation, but in a letter to Father Fahr dated that Jan. 3, Father Malangré referred to it as part of a formal request for Father Hullermann’s transfer to Munich to see a psychiatrist there.
Sexual abuse of boys is not explicitly mentioned in the letter, but the subtext is clear. “Reports from the congregation in which he was last active made us aware that Chaplain Hullermann presented a danger that caused us to immediately withdraw him from pastoral duties,” the letter said. By pointing out that “no proceedings against Chaplain Hullermann are pending,” Father Malangré also communicated that the danger in question was serious enough that it could have merited legal consequences.
He dropped another clear hint by suggesting that Father Hullermann could teach religion “at a girls’ school.”
On Jan. 9, Father Fahr prepared a summary of the situation for top officials at the diocese, before their weekly meeting, saying that a young chaplain needed “medical-psychotherapeutic treatment in Munich” and a place to live with “an understanding colleague.” Beyond that, it presented the priest from Essen in almost glowing terms, as a “very talented man, who could be used in a variety of ways.”
Father Fahr’s role in the case has thus far received little attention, in contrast to Father Gruber’s mea culpa.
Father Wolf, who is acting as the internal legal adviser on the Hullermann case, said in an interview this week that Father Fahr was “the filter” of all information concerning Father Hullermann. He was also, according to his obituary on the archdiocese Web site, a close friend of Cardinal Ratzinger.
A key moment came on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 1980. Cardinal Ratzinger presided that morning over the meeting of the diocesan council. His auxiliary bishops and department heads gathered in a conference room on the top floor of the bishop’s administrative offices, housed in a former monastery on a narrow lane in downtown Munich.
It was a busy day, with the deaths of five priests, the acquisition of a piece of art and pastoral care in Vietnamese for recent immigrants among the issues sharing the agenda with item 5d, the delicate matter of Father Hullermann’s future.
The minutes of the meeting include no references to the actual discussion that day, simply stating that a priest from Essen in need of psychiatric treatment required room and board in a Munich congregation. “The request is granted,” read the minutes, stipulating that Father Hullermann would live at St. John the Baptist Church in the northern part of the city.
Church officials have their own special name for the language in meeting minutes, which are internal but circulate among secretaries and other diocese staff members, said Father Wolf, who has a digitized archive of meeting minutes, including those for the Jan. 15 meeting. “It’s protocol-speak,” he said. “Those who know what it’s about understand, and those who don’t, don’t.”
Five days later, on Jan. 20, Cardinal Ratzinger’s office received a copy of the memo from his vicar general, Father Gruber, returning Father Hullermann to full duties, a spokesman for the archdiocese confirmed.
Father Hullermann resumed parish work practically on arrival in Munich, on Feb. 1, 1980. He was convicted in 1986 of molesting boys at another Bavarian parish.
This week, new accusations of sexual abuse emerged, both from his first assignment in a parish near Essen, in northern Germany, and from 1998 in the southern German town of Garching an der Alz.
Father Fahr died two years ago. A spokesman for the diocese in Essen said that Father Malangré was not available for an interview. Father Malangré, now 88, recently had an accident and was confused and unreliable as a witness when questioned in an internal inquiry into the handling of Father Hullermann’s case, said the spokesman, Ulrich Lota.
Father Gruber, who took responsibility for the decision to put Father Hullermann back into a parish, was not present at the Jan. 15 meeting, according to Father Wolf, and has not answered repeated interview requests.
source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/26/world/europe/26church.html?hp
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Another Church cover up?
by behemot inpriest 'knew' the body of 16-year-old missing student was in his church two months before it was 'discovered'.
by nick pisa.
last updated at 10:38 pm on 25th march 2010. add to my stories .
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behemot
Priest 'knew' the body of 16-year-old missing student was in his church two months before it was 'discovered'
By Nick Pisa
Last updated at 10:38 PM on 25th March 2010A priest knew the decomposed body of a teenager 'found' in an Italian church 17 years after she vanished was there two months ago, it emerged tonight.
The body of student Elisa Claps, who was 16 when she vanished in 1993, was 'discovered' last week when workmen were carrying out repairs on a church roof.
However, police and judicial sources confirmed that current parish priest Father Ambroise Apakta had been told of the body two months ago by cleaning staff.
Forensic police inspect the church where the remains of the body were found last week
Ms Claps's disappearance has been linked to the brutal murder of Heather Barnett, 42, a seamstress who was found mutilated and with locks of hair in her hands in her home in Bournemouth, Dorset.
Danilo Restivo, an Italian from Potenza who moved to Bournemouth ten years ago, is the prime suspect in both cases and is known by Italian police to have a fetish for cutting girls' hair.
Restivo, 38, who still lives across the road from where Mrs Barnett's body was found by her two children, has denied any involvement with both cases and has been questioned by both Italian and Dorset police.
Elisa Claps was 16 when she disappeared in Italy in 1993
The partially mummified and skeletal corpse was found in the roof of the Most Holy Trinity Church in Potenza, southern Italy, the last place Ms Claps was seen alive.
Ms Claps's family said the latest bizarre twist in the case is causing them 'more heartache and pain.'
Dorset police recently travelled to Italy to liaise with colleagues in Potenza on the case.
There have also been similar cases reported in Bournemouth, highlighted on BBC's Crimewatch, in recent years.
Although DNA tests are still being completed on the remains to confirm the identity, family members said that a necklace, watch, sandals and glasses found at the scene belonged to Ms Claps.
Last week local police chief Romolo Panico announced the discovery but made no suggestion that it had been found beforehand.
Locals believe that Father Apakta's failure to report the finding of the body further proves the case has been covered up to protect the church.
For years there has been a suggestion among local residents that the church and police worked together to cover up the murder, possibly protecting local priest Father Mimo Sabia who died in 2008.
A prosecution source said: 'Father Apakta knew of the body being found in January but he did not link it to Elisa Claps.
'He did not report it to us and the details only emerged when cleaning staff came forward after the body was found last week.
'They and the priest have been questioned but none of them is under any official investigation in connection with the murder of Elisa Claps. The main suspect is still Danilo Restivo.'
The source added that when Father Apakta told his local bishop Agostino Superga he immediately informed authorities, although it remains unclear as to why it was workmen who 'discovered' the body last week and not police.
Tonight, a housekeeper at the Most Holy Trinity Church, where Father Apakta was not taking calls, said: 'He is very upset about all this as you can imagine and doesn't want to say anything.'
Locals believe Father Apakta's failure to report the body two weeks ago is further evidence of the case being covered up by the church
Earlier today Bishop Superga issued a statement saying he first knew of the body last week.
He added that he would hold a press conference to give further details but this was later cancelled.
In a statement the Claps family said: ''These latest developments bring further heartache and pain for us. That people knew in January Elisa's body was there and did nothing is further insult to her memory and our family.
'Seventeen years of pain have not stopped this atmosphere of silence and the desire to protect people who have no respect for the Christian values of mercy towards a stricken body.
'At this point nothing further will surprise us. How can the parish priest have known about her body since January and not done anything.
'These latest development once again confirms that there are many, many people who have much to answer for with regard to Elisa's disappearance.'
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Top Vatican Officials (including future Benedict XVI) Failed to Defrock Priest over Abuse
by behemot inhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/world/europe/25vatican.html?hp.
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behemot
Can a Pope Quit? Yes, but Don't Bet on It
(March 19) -- Recent revelations about Pope Benedict XVI's conduct regarding a German priest who had molested numerous young boys have prompted some critics to call for the pope's resignation.
In 1980, Benedict, then Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger, "was told that the priest in question had raped an eleven-year-old boy by forcing him to perform oral sex on him," The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan writes (italics his). "He did not report the priest to the civil authorities, he merely sent the priest to therapy, the priest was subsequently convicted of child abuse, but after his prison sentence was allowed to continue in the priesthood until the past week."
"So when will this pope resign?" Sullivan asks.
There's been no indication that Benedict is thinking of doing so, and he's protected church officials who abetted child abuse in the past. Still, the controversy has sparked questions about just how the pope would step down if he wanted to.
Can the pope, who Roman Catholics believe is God's vessel on earth, resign?
Yes. Several popes have.
Pope Pontian (230-235) was the first. Emperor Maximinus Thrax targeted Christian leaders and sent Pontian into exile to the mines of Sardinia. Pontian resigned to allow the election of a new pope and died in exile. Pope Silverius (536-537) abdicated twice. He "was deposed and exiled by Empress Theodora of Constantinople, brought back by Emperor Justinian to stand trial, convicted, and forced by his successor Pope Vigilius to abdicate again," Austin Cline writes for About.com. "He starved to death on an island in the Gulf of Gaeta."
Benedict IX served three times as pope in the 11th century, and he was both ejected and resigned before ultimately being excommunicated. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, he was " a disgrace to the Chair of Peter ."
Two additional popes have resigned: Celestine V (1294), who stepped down rather than accept the secular authority of Sicily's Charles II, and Gregory XII (1406-1417), who resigned to prevent a church schism.
Celestine created the procedural process for a pope's resignation, which is laid out in the 1963 Code of Canon Law: "If it should so happen that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that he makes the resignation freely and that it be duly manifested, but not that it be accepted by anyone."
That may be cryptic to laymen, but within the church the meaning is clear. Were a secular power to force the pope to resign, it wouldn't be recognized by the church. And should a pope freely choose to resign, it's no one else's prerogative to decline the resignation. Presumably, he'd notify the College of Cardinals, who would then elect a new pope -- as they do each time a pope dies. (A pope can't be fired and also enjoys diplomatic immunity, as Christopher Beam explains in Slate .)
But leave it to a secular outlet to quantify the odds that Pope Benedict XVI will step down.
Online bookmaker PaddyPower.com recently shortened the odds on a papal resignation from 12-1 to 3-1. But given church history -- it's been nearly 600 years since a pope resigned -- even 12-1 odds seem a stretch.source: http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/can-a-pope-quit-yes-but-dont-bet-on-it/19406562
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Celebrity JWs and exJWs
by Lady Lee inthere is quite a list many i have never heard of.
i've done this before but this adds a lot of names - a lot.
gregg alexander - the new radicals' lead singer; raised by mother papa dee allen of the 70s-80s rock group war.
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behemot
I didn't find any evidence about Thelonius Monk ever being a JW, it seems his mother was one:
"Monk's imperturbability, bordering on stoicism, has enabled him to stand up under an obstacle-strewn life. The fact that his mother, Barbara, a former civil service worker, was a Jehovah's Witness may account for Monk's detachment from worldly concerns. "I don't believe in luck, good or bad," Monk once declared, "If a guy's good, he'll make it. If not, he won't."
source: http://id3512.securedata.net/theloniousrecords/Profiles_interviews/Frank%20London%20Brown.htm
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Top Vatican Officials (including future Benedict XVI) Failed to Defrock Priest over Abuse
by behemot inhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/world/europe/25vatican.html?hp.
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