The Holidays Are Approaching: Take Care of Your Children
On this beautiful, autumn evening, we tried something different for cocktails, an Orange Brandy, made with Grand Marnier. Everybody praised Schuyler's choice, since it served a double purpose: it prepared us for dinner, and it helped us talk about something we hate to bring up, especially since there are so many children in our families: child abuse at the hands of the clergy.

With Thanksgiving and Christmas fast approaching, be careful, mothers and fathers, if you plan to send your children off to see your parish priest unaccompanied by you. I wouldn't send my child into a pen of rattle snakes unattended, but apparently some parents still send their children off to see their merry priests without a chaperone. For those who do, shame on you, or at least follow the instructions that follow.

Remember Those Chastity Belts From Medieval Times: Start Stocking Up
Well, mothers, fathers, if you're going to continue to send your children off to their parish priests, you'd be wise to start looking into fitting them with chastity belts. Unfortunately, because of the many ways today's clergy use to abuse and rape children, you'd best look into the newer chastity belts that begin their protection at the child's mouth, and extend to protect their bodies to just above their knees. Drastic? Yeah, but so are the broken promises made by the church, who are swiftly backpedaling and are now refusing to be observed and monitored by impartial outside parties. Those sweet old priests are now insisting that they are able to monitor themselves, and that we should trust and believe in their integrity.

The Very Reverend, snippy and feminine ex-Bishop Wilton Gregory promised that beginning in Dallas in June of 2002, outside observers and monitors would oversee parishes around the country. He kept repeating that there would be a National Office for Child and Youth Protection which would report annually. Really? Now, they have put obstacles in the way of any outside monitoring of their, sorry, but it's true, nefarious activities. Why should this be very troubling to you? Because 4,000 pedophile priests have been identified; 80 churches have been shuttered; an archbishop has been forced to step down (and then way up, thanks to the Vatican, which just doesn't get it); 800,000 million has been paid out in lawsuits, and 100,000 child victims have been identified, with tens of scores still at risk. The church has now even begun to refuse much needed mental health counseling for the flocks they have injured and were supposed to be good shepherds to.

What Self-Audits?
In November of 2004, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted to use "self-audits" for the issue of child safety protection policies, excluding the audits that had initially been assigned to retired FBI agents.
The Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) and Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), have been lobbying to get the USCCB and the National Review Board (NRB) to fulfill their commitments as they were outlined in Dallas in 2002. Both VOTF and SNAP have written formal letters to NRB Chairman Nick Cafardi to rescind the USCCB's wrong actions.

In a good example of slithering up inside their own nether parts, letters to Bishops go unanswered! These groups have written Spokane Bishop William Skylstad (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops president) and Chicago Cardinal Francis George (USCCB vice-president), and guess what? Those stewards of the faith won't reply! Jeez, the chickens in our yard have bigger cojones.

To read a full transcript of the letter from Voice of the Faithful, please visit their Web site at http:www.votf.org/Press/pressrelease/120604.html
Also, please check this website http://www.snapnetwork.org/

As things stand now, instead of 100% of dioceses being visited, there will only be 10%. That's going to leave a lot of children at the mercy of the pedophiles.

Vatican Complicity = Second Round of Drinks
At this point we all asked Schuyler for another round of his delicious drink. Sadly, it seems that the Vatican is quite complicit in the abuse. Official Vatican policy forbids discussion of abuse by priests, as being "unspeakable crimes." In other words, Elizabeth said, it's "We know you sweet fellows rape little boys and girls; just don't talk about it because we don't want to deal with it." The Vatican has its own Code of Omerta: "Whoever appeals to the law against his fellow man is either a fool or a coward. Whoever cannot take care of himself without police protection is both. It is not to avenge an injury by violence. It is dastardly and contemptible in a wounded man to betray the name of his assailant, because if he recovers, he must naturally expect to take vengeance himself. A wounded man shall say to his assailant: If I live, I will kill you - If I die you are forgiven."

Omerta is the law of silence. It is the code of honor which the Mafia so sacredly follows. The code of Omerta is an essential aspect of the Italian Mafia that must not be treated lightly. Its main concepts are to "betray authority and take justice into your own hands".

"If a man cannot be a Christian in the place where he is, he cannot be a Christian anywhere."
Henry Ward Beecher

Sounds like the Mafiosi. I'm sorry, the clergy haven't read this, and wouldn't understand it if they did.

The Welcome Dinner Gong
Now, for a while at least, let's forget about those necessary chastity belts and go into the dining room and see what they've prepared for tonight's dinner. The kids fight over who is going to get the chance to "gong" and announce dinner.

First, Robert and Judy served us some baked piquillo peppers and manchego cheese on toast points. They served this with a good, dry Spanish sparkling wine, a Mont Marçal Cava Brut. Our next course was an interesting Sweet Potato and Chicken Chowder, served with a good, buttery Chardonnay from Trapiche, in Argentina.

Alex next brought us some medallions of grilled salmon he and Max had grilled in the pool house. Some were surprised that they had decided to pair it with a red wine, but believe us, it went perfectly with the salmon. What they poured was a Pinot Noir from MacMurray Ranch, a 2002 Sonoma Coast, from Healdsburg, California.

After changing our palates with a bit of guava sorbet, Robert and Judy brought out an amazing Chateaubriand. From their wine cellar they brought what they new would be the best wine for this, a splendid 2002 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars "Artemis" Cabernet Sauvignon. For dessert, they served us perfectly prepared crème brulée. If you can, you can serve the crème brulée with a flawless Château d'Yquem Sauternes going for about $3,000.00, or if you're in our league, pair it with a moderately priced Sauternes.

Winding Down
After dinner we returned to the great room, where we enjoyed Charlotte and Max's suggestion that we gather around and sip Coffee Orloff before heading home. Both the younger and older kids enjoy exchanging stories of their care of the foals entrusted to their care. And if the kids can be good shepherds to their foals, the least we can do during the season when our kids could be scarred for life, is to be good shepherds to them. Don't, don't, condemn them to a life of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, which often ends in suicide, and all because your parish priest looks like such a sweet, benevolent fellow.

Summary:
We're entering a season when our children, our angels, may be exposed more frequently to their parish priests. Either chaperone them at all times, or encase them in impenetrable chastity belts. Do you think you might offend your priests? Would you rather condemn your child to a life of hell? Think.

Key words:
child abuse, Grand Marnier, parish priest, chastity belts, ex-bishop Wilton Gregory, National Office for Child and Youth Protection, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Voice of the Faithful, VOTF, Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, National Review Board, SNAP, Spokane Bishop William Skylastad, Chicago Cardinal Francis George, abuse by priests, Mont Marçal Cava Brut, MacMurray Ranch, 2002 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars "Artemis" Cabernet Sauvignon, Château d'Yquem Sauternes