Catholic Church is linked to baby trafficking in Spain as well as Sri Lanka
Posted on December 12th, 2011
Herold Leelawardena
Spain is reeling from an avalanche of allegations of baby theft and baby trafficking says BBC.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ According to a BBC report, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15335899ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ by Katya Adler, date line 18th October 2011, people are queuing up across Spain to take a DNA test and thousands of Spaniards are asking ‘Who am I?’ Exhumations of the supposed graves of babies and positive DNA tests are proof that as many as 300,000 or about 15 percent of the total adoptions that took place in Spain between 1960 and 1990 were scandals centres on baby-trafficking by Nuns, priests and doctors over several decades.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ As of now, more than 900 such cases are being investigated by regional prosecutors across Spain right now but the numbers are escalating every month. Evidently, Catholic Church is closely linked to the scandal.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ When the Spanish Confederation of Religious Orders, a prominent Catholic organization was asked about it, they have declined to comment citing the ongoing investigations.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ However, when Adler of BBC confronted a catholic a doctor named Dr Vella, she says; ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”he grabbed a metal crucifix standing on his desk. He moved towards me, branding it in my face. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Do you know what this is?ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ he said, brandishing it in my face. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”I have always acted in his name, always for the good of the children and to protect the mothers. Enough!ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Dr Vella who is accused for baby-trafficking reportedly said, Doctors and nuns told mothers that their babies had been born dead, or they had died shortly after birth when in reality newborns had been handed to would-be adoptive parents of a waiting list compiled by Nuns and priests for cash. If mothers request to see their dead children after being told their newborns were dead, doctors and midwives would somehow deter them.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Perhaps for the reason that Catholic Church is involved, attempts to investigate Spain’s baby trafficking as a national crime against humanity have been rejected by the country’s judiciary and resisted by its politicians. However prosecutors are proceeding with their investigations.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith had been in charge of the Catholic Church in Spain by any chance, he would have first denied immoral act such as baby trafficking can ever take place in a Catholic institution. Ranjith would have compelled the investigators to believe that all Catholic NunƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s are saints and role models of mother Theresa and selflessly work for the benefit of the destitute therefore free of vice. Malcolm Ranjith would have not just vindicated all suspects but given a clean certificate for the clinic as well. Not just that, Ranjith would have capped it with a veiled threat to government that he will not participate at official functions unless investigations are withdrawn forthwith. And the entire investigation would have been swept under the carpet and investigators themselves would have been put under investigation for abuse of power.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Last week, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Prem NivasaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ at Rawathawatta, MoratuwaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ was raided by the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) on a tip off that an immoral baby-trafficking is taking place there. An aspiring adaptor, apparently a foreign white couple is said to have been caught at ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Prem NivasaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ with a large sum of money who had admitted the money is to pay for a baby.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ WeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ve heard Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith arguing that the money that the couple had with them is not to pay for the unscrupulous baby sellers but to be deposited on behalf of the baby for his future. Why they carried such a large sum of money to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Prem NivasaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ and not to the Bank was never explained. No doubt, Ranjith will come out with hundred and one answers if more questions were asked. Devout Catholics of Sri Lanka who believe they are God fearing, Law abiding and Moral readily accept the absurd idea that Ranjith visualizes.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Like their Cardinal, Catholics extremists are reluctant to believeƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ NCPA had acted impartially. Some of them go so far as to accuse NPCA head Anoma Dissanyake is a publicity seeking hound who sensationalises everything to get limelight.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Herold Leelawardena
December 12th, 2011 at 7:13 pm
Here Catholic Church is friendly with the Jews too.
May be something behind.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
Whoever commits a crime, a Catholic priest or nun, a Buddhist monk, a Hindu priest or a Moslem imam, must be arrested, prosecuted, and punished if found guilty for their crimes … without exception.
Despite the good Cardinal’s knee-jerk expostulations denying all guilt, that baby trafficking has taken place in devoutly Catholic Spain, and sexual abuse of children and women in the USA and all over the world by the clergy of the Catholic Church is absolutely true and beyond debate.
No Church or religion is immune … that is our shared human condition. But the forestalling of justice and the condoning these practices by Church Leaders is UNPARDONABLE; that in my view is the GREATER CRIME!
Let the law take its course, and the truth prevail in court.
We are grateful to the guardians of the nation’s people for enforcing the laws of the land and doing their patriotic duty.
Ananda-USA
http://SriLankaDefenceForum.blogspot.com
December 13th, 2011 at 3:23 pm
Dear Leela,
Appreciate your views, always.
But there is no connection or similarity between what happened in Spain 50 years ago and the Prem Nivasa incident.
Nuns are not above the law. But lets not complicate the matter with irrelevent issues.
Lets allow the law take it’s cause without fear or favour.
Hats off to NCPA for doing their job. Any personal attack on it’s head is spiteful. She has done a great job.
December 13th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Ali-hotair,
“What drivel and sxxx! Heard of Mother Theresa, you ignorant idiot? You are beggars and cripples and your poor are starving and in need of help. Help them if you don’t like the nuns! Bastxxxx”
That is not the langauge of decent humans. It shows how shallow and UNCIVILISED you are. There is no need to lose temper over this.
December 14th, 2011 at 12:00 am
Agree with Lorenzo
Let us allow the Law take its cause
We should never prejudge others.
People should learn to respect other faiths instead of being self centered
December 14th, 2011 at 7:22 am
The government should supervise/oversee all Orphanages in Lanka. Preferably, all Orphanages should be run by the govt.
Even so, misdemeanors may take place, but at least not on ‘grand scale’ as may happen in other types of orphanages.
December 15th, 2011 at 1:56 am
“Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has informed the Colombo Magistrate’s Court today that there was no evidence of illegal activities occurred at the ‘Prem Nivasa’ Children’s Home of Missionaries of Charity in Rawathawatta, Moratuwa. ” The arrested Nun has been released from custody.
The law has run its course, and truth has prevailed.
The guardians of vulnerable people in the nation have acted properly in discharging their duty, when there were sound reasons to suspect illegality, and the innocent have been cleared.
The good Cardinal should have been more moderate, and kept his faith in the laws of his motherland.
December 15th, 2011 at 6:09 am
Let me tell you some recent events thata friend of mine had to endevor about youn women and children in the Island nation.
After the war India has floded the Island with inarcotics and the local agents are allowed to keep a higher share of the profits. Almost all the drugs to the Island comes from India except a bit from Pakistan.
The friend’s niece was a beautiful lass of and she was sent from the village school to a reputed the school in the town. The parents were poor and did not have the resources to escort her to and from the school all the time. Unknown to the school children thare was a communication and stationery shop. The schools in the area was awash with drugs. The modus operandiwas simple. Senior girls of the school were selling the drugs in the school. They first gave young girls free drugs when the youn girls complained about periodic pain, it was the way of getting them hooked.
The drug dealer had lots of relationships with the girls from the school and their wer lots of violent incidents in schools around the town.
One drug dealer befriended the Niece and stated an affair. The girl was abducted by the drug dealer in the middle of the night. My friend was overseas at the time and she immediately went back after instructiong the parents to inform the parents to lodge a complaint with the local police and the NCPA.
She went to the highest possible places of the country, but a waste of time.eturned with the pregnant Niece after 4 months.
The NCPA, Plice and other volutary child protection and the body politic is a useless when it comes to childrens welfare specially girls. She found most of the daughters of the high ranking officials and politicians etc are sent overseas for studies
Finally the drug dealer appered with the girl and she was pregnant. She found a lot of things about the politicians, high ranking politicians and their workrs and the suffering of youn girls caught in the drug menance.
Those who are critical of the Nuns, please go to NCPA and see what goes in there.
December 15th, 2011 at 7:01 am
Thanks, Ananda – No doubt, there will be a widely shared sigh of relief. What’s happened has happened and there will be lessons to be learnt from what has occurred. Let’s take those on board and move on.
December 15th, 2011 at 7:17 am
CID’s decision to release the nun could not only be due to no evidence of any illegality.
There could be other external pressures exerted to get the nun released.
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2011/12/12/bonhomie-born-again-bull-shitters/comment-page-1/#comment-15310
December 15th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
The same thing happened to Amila Dambara Thero on a different charge.
Next time don’t arrest nuns BEFORE any convincing evidence is found.
Find physical evidence, search the place upside down, if evidence is found, arrest the culprits.
December 15th, 2011 at 4:38 pm
Best avoid unwanted pregnancies. The Neem (Kohomba) plant parts are used in India and other places in the east as a contraceptive, by both men & women. Read details on internet.
December 15th, 2011 at 6:25 pm
Lorenzo,
You are right, and let me add: Next time don’t arrest ANYONE unless you have proper evidence. It is wrong to arrest the innocent and even if they are eventually acquitted, they suffer untold harm to their reputations and the Police force itself ends up with its own reputation further tarnished.
In the meantime, could we say, ‘Please DO arrest the guilty especially when you have overwhelming evidence like a dead body with bullet holes in it and plenty of witnesses. And, by the way, there is also a small matter of getting arrest warrants BEFORE suspects leave the island.
December 16th, 2011 at 7:49 am
Sex results in unwanted pregnancies, and then need for Orphanages. Sex is natural. Use safe sex with contraceptives (Kohomba (Neem) must be tried in Lanka). As in all human matters, restraint & self discipline a must too, if spiritual growth is to be achieved.