We'll be fighting in the streetsBy Esther Tanquintic-Misa | September 6, 2013 1:13 PM EST
In what could be a first for his 6-month tenure as chief spiritual leader of the 1.2-billion strong Roman Catholic church, the popularity of Pope Francis has hit a snag following the Vatican's recall of its envoy to the Dominican Republic amid child abuse allegations.
The US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), in a statement, blasted the half-year reigning pope for covering up the pedophile scandal in Dominican Republic, asserting further that he was in no way different from his immediate predecessor, Benedict XVI, and those way before him.
"Like all of his predecessors, Pope Francis is acting belatedly, secretively and recklessly. Catholic officials act only when forced to do so by media pressure," the group said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Vatican confirmed that Monsignor Josef Wesolowski was indeed sacked from his job. But what irked SNAP and other victims groups was that the Vatican never made the matter public, only when it happened to be leaked. Monsignor Wesolowski had been removed from his post as the papal nuncio in Santo Domingo since Aug 21.
Moreover, the Vatican did not disclose why he had been removed from his post, although it said an investigation had started relative to his abrupt job termination. Yet, on what bases of allegations, these were never made public.
"When they do act, they act secretively - in this case, by not disclosing the allegations, the suspension or the reason for the suspension," SNAP said.
Reports released by local Dominican Republic news outlets said authorities were now investigating allegations of child sex abuse hurled against Monsignor Wesolowski.
"It is a situation that really shames and hurts the conscience of all Catholics," Monsignor Agripino Nunez Collado, rector of a Catholic university and spokesman for the church in the Dominican Republic, was quoted by CNN as telling reporters. "Really when there are these kinds of situations, justice must be done."
Monsignor Wesolowski, a 65-year-old Pole who has been the papal envoy in Santo Domingo for five years, has been alleged to have had "slept" with several altar boys in a single room at his beach house.
Allegations that he had sex for money in the "Zona colonial," the historic center of Santo Domingo, with underage boys apart from altar boys have likewise been thrown against Monsignor Wesolowski.
"It was a surprise for me. It is an unprecedented case," Monsignor Nunez said. "An ambassador of the Holy See, that it reaches that level."
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With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgment of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song
I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
And I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
Change it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fall that's all
But the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they all flown in the last war
I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
And I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
No, no!
I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
For I know that the hypnotized never lie
Do ya?
There's nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight
I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss



