back to article Parents shocked by priestly PowerPoint pr0n

Parents in Northern Ireland were shocked when a priest's PowerPoint presentation in preparation for their children's First Holy Communion displayed gay pornography. Father Martin McVeigh, the local Catholic priest, was giving the presentation to parents (and one child) at St Mary's School in Pomeroy when he inserted a USB …

COMMENTS

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  1. ChrisM

    Down with this sort of thing

    </Father Ted>

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Dougal

      What ever you do don't mention the.......

    2. Oliver Mayes

      Re: Down with this sort of thing

      Careful now

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Looking at porn and not playing with yourself

    is some really hardcore abstinence

  3. Christian Berger

    I think this goes to far

    Showing PowerPoint presentations to little children. What were they thinking?

    1. Crisp

      Re: I think this goes to far

      Educating kids about the evils of religion early?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I think this goes to far

        Educating kids about the evils of death by powerpoint early?

        FTFY

  4. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    I'm more interested in the other issue

    "Luckily for Ms. Amero, some members of the computer-security industry decided to take up her case, and found that the school-issued PC was a Windows 98 SE machine with IE 5 and an expired antivirus subscription, and she had picked up porn-producing malware from visiting a website discussing hairstyles.

    The judge ordered a retrial and Ms. Amero escaped with a $100 fine. She still lost her teaching license, however."

    So basically that teacher was using a /company/ ('school') computer which was obviously suffering from a serious lack of maintenance, thus causing the infection with a virus leading up to pr0n showing on the computer during the presentation. And yet /she/ is losing her license over all this? What kind of nonsense is that?

    I have to agree that visiting hairstyle websites using a company computer probably isn't the best of ideas (the ever going discussion of work vs private use) but even then; you can hardly blame her for damages done by the virus, especially since it turned out that the virus scanner had never been updated by the (hopefully present?) IT staff.

    "Risk of injury to a minor" because they saw a bunch of naked men and women? And that's worth 40 years of jail time?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      US Officialdom

      As soon as you start working 'for the man' (viz Uncle Sam, either federally or locally) you are subjected to a full frontal lobotomy and have every ounce of common sense forcibly remobed from your brain.

      IF the system says 40yrs Max then that is what the prosecutor is duty bound to ask for.

      Don't get caught taking a leak (if you are a man) in at least 10 states. You could get sent down for life as a sex offender. Women are excempt from this law. Now how crazy is that?

      Where is the common sense here?

      Don't ever try to argue with an official. They are always right and you will never win no matter how obscure and silly it might seem.

      Anon obviously... otherwise the black helicopter would be hovering above my abode and I'll be renditioned to gitmo in a trice.

      1. kain preacher

        Re: US Officialdom

        Unless it's a DUI. The other day I read about this guy ran over this family's dog and taking out 5 mail boxes. This was his sixth DUI in 5 years.

    2. Marvin the Martian
      Unhappy

      "And yet /she/ is losing her license over all this? What kind of nonsense is that?"

      Losing your license at that point is a moot point --- incident in 2004, convicted in 2008, so she's 4years not teaching anyway. The tragedy to me seems the four years of this creeping nightmare thing (neighbours and acquaintances don't tend to like people accused of this sort of thing), on top of all the costs and unemployability, with no sympathy from most people you'd ask for assistance.

      From where I'm sitting, I'd never [falsely!] admit fault & pay the $100, even if that's a cheap and quick stop to haemorrhaging thousands. But after a year or two of this torture, I bet most people's self-respect and lives would be already destroyed so far that they'd sign anything.

      A bit like the incredible confessions at witch trials.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I'm more interested in the other issue

      She lost her license because she didn't bother to unplug the computer and let it just run. Weak, but the state had lost their case and this was probably the only line of reason that would allow someone to save face for the orignal 'rush to justice' before verifying what occurred.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It's not the porn he should be embarrassed by, ...

    .. that's just healthy and normal, but the shameless attempt to scrounge money from children by guilting them into handing over their presents is what I would consider pretty disgusting.

    1. Crisp

      Re: It's not the porn he should be embarrassed by, ...

      The church needs your money. God might be all powerful, but he's very poor.

      1. Toastan Buttar
        WTF?

        Re: It's not the porn he should be embarrassed by, ...

        "What does God need with a starship?"

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: It's not the porn he should be embarrassed by, ...

        'I am Andrew Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question. Is a child not entitled to the money of their first communion? ... '

    2. AdamWill

      Re: It's not the porn he should be embarrassed by, ...

      On the other hand, if there wasn't an organized religion involved, they wouldn't be getting any gifts in the first place. (I know _I_ didn't get any First Communion Money, did you?)

  6. theModge
    Childcatcher

    Schoolboy prank.

    Would seem more likely than malware here. Particularly with it being April the 1st and there being good odds that the priest wouldn't know what to do with power point if it he spent 6 hours being bored to tears by it.

    Still, if that's what it was, I approve.

  7. This post has been deleted by its author

  8. Alyas
    IT Angle

    Where Did He Go?

    What was the priest doing during those 20 minutes that he was not in the room? Did he go to make a call to a higher up, or perhaps to IT support, to find out how to handle the problem?

    1. Adze

      Re: Where Did He Go?

      ...or to commit the sin of Onan perhaps? It's ok... he'll get absolution before he handles foodstuffs or communion.

      1. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

        @Adze Re: Where Did He Go?

        "to commit the sin of Onan"

        OMG! Is he also sleeping with his brother's wife, on top of everything else?

        1. Robert Ramsay
          Headmaster

          Re: @Adze Where Did He Go?

          I thought Onan's sin was *refusing* to sleep with his (dead) brother's wife - which is why he spilled his seed as a "dirty protest"...

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: @Adze Where Did He Go?

            I don't have anything useful to say, I just thought I'd waste this post; commiting the sin of Anon!

          2. apjanes

            Re: @Adze Where Did He Go?

            The sin of Onan was refusing to raise up children for his brother with his brother's wife. Any children that were born would be classed as his brother's, not his, and in the custom of the time that wasn't exactly desirable. What Onan WAS prepared to do was enjoy humping his brother's wife, he just tried to ensure that his fun didn't result in the kid that he was obliged to produce.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Where Did He Go?

      My best bet is beating his monkey with his senseless fist in the bathroom.

  9. Chas
    Facepalm

    Wrong presentation

    He obviously accidentally put up images he was planning to use on Palm Sunday.

    =:~)

  10. admiraljkb
    Facepalm

    Just goes to show...

    you really should be careful about where you stick your (USB) dongle!

  11. This post has been deleted by its author

  12. Emo
    Joke

    It should read:

    "The archdiocese immediately sought the advice of the PSNI who indicated that would be an ecumenical matter."

    1. frank ly

      Yes!

      (indeed)

  13. Anonymous C0ward
    Flame

    Wow...

    Over a dozen posts and no anti-Catholic vitriol yet. I am pleasantly surprised.

    1. Marvin O'Gravel Balloon Face

      Re: Wow...

      No mention of sky fairies or noodly appendages either. What's going on?

    2. Dan Beshear

      Re: Wow...

      We're fleshing out the better points of humor before attacking the self-righteous hypocrisy that is religion. We'll get to the vitriol soon enough, just keeping refreshing.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Self-righteous hypocrisy

        More blanket statements. Certainly catholic priests and probably catholics in general have come across as self righteous and hypocritical. It's not my experience, though.

        For protestants it's too much emphasis on guilt and self deprecation. That's my experience anyway. Growing up in a protestant environment you certainly don't become self-righteous, nor do you feel you can tell others what they should do or think.

        I'm critical of religion and christianity myself, but the anti-religious froth on these forums rings hollow to me, and makes me question the critics' understanding of religion and their critical faculties. A lot of it actually reminds me of the worst I've seen among religious fanatics.

        1. Francis Boyle Silver badge

          Re: Self-righteous hypocrisy

          Are you seriously suggesting that protestants never feel that they're entitled to tell others what to do? Have you been paying any attention to what is happening in the US lately. Rick Santorum may be Catholic but I can assure you that his brand of self-righteous arrogance comes straight out of the fundamentalist protestant playbook.

          Now I don't want to get into a Catholic versus protestant debate (the differences are far smaller than the similarities to my mind) but it strikes me that your comment is a good example of something I've frequently observed. When someone, religious or not (and these days, it seems, more often they are not), criticises atheists for lacking understanding of religion what they are really saying is "your criticisms don't apply to my experience of religion" as if the fact that there are some nice CoE vicars somehow cancels out the existence of the Taliban.

          The thing is, critics of religion generally have taken the time to acquire at least a passing knowledge of the full range of religious practices. They're arguing from facts not personal experience. Questioning their "understanding of religion and their critical faculties" on the basis of unexamined anecdotal evidence is the rhetorical equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and chanting "I can't hear you".

          As for the tired "critics of religion are like religious fanatics" canard - XKCD

        2. Robinson
          FAIL

          Re: Self-righteous hypocrisy

          "For protestants it's too much emphasis on guilt and self deprecation. "

          Yes. And for Catholics the emphasis seems to be on abusing children.

          I'm neither a Catholic or a Protestant, btw. I'm an atheist.

    3. Francis Boyle Silver badge

      Re: Wow...

      It's like this. So many Father Ted Jokes. So little time.

    4. Greg J Preece

      Re: Wow...

      Hey, if you want some anti-Catholic vitriol, then as an ex-Catholic that the church refuses to acknowledge as an atheist, I have plenty I can spout, if you'd like?

      1. Spudbynight
        Trollface

        Re: Wow...

        You mean you are a lapsed Catholic?

      2. Sir Cosmo Bonsor

        Re: Wow...

        > "as an ex-Catholic that the church refuses to acknowledge as an atheist"

        As an atheist, why would you care what the church thinks at all?

        1. Greg J Preece

          Re: Wow...

          "As an atheist, why would you care what the church thinks at all?"

          Because they're counting me amongst their numbers, and those numbers give them influence on world events which is almost always negative. I don't want to be counted as a Catholic, because I don't want Africans dying in my name, or altar boys being buggered for it. I left Catholicism long before I left Christianity, because I simply couldn't continue associating myself with the horror and corruption of the Vatican.

  14. LinkOfHyrule
    Gimp

    He has obviously chosen the wrong religion...

    ...This would have never happened if he had used a Mac.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: He has obviously chosen the wrong religion...

      A lucky blue one?

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    i can assure you, that gay pr0n was simply resting in my account!

  16. Lord Zedd
    WTF?

    I find it more shocking...

    I find it more shocking that he had the testicles to come back and ask for a cut of the children's money!

    1. Eddy Ito

      Re: I find it more shocking...

      Similarly I find myself conflicted as to what was more disgusting, the begging by a member of one of the richest organizations in the world or the ritualistic cannibalism that brought him there. The gay porn doesn't even make the list because that has the potential to be tastefully done.

    2. Greg J Preece

      Re: I find it more shocking...

      Well, if there's one thing the Catholic church needs, it's money! Money cures bad thoughts, dontcha know? Either that, or it pays hush money to the latest victims.

  17. Law
    Devil

    (God was not amused.)

    ... a slight understatement...

    1. P. Lee
      Angel

      Re: (God was not amused.)

      Indeed. Depriving a childless widow of her pension used to be considered a bad thing.

  18. Khaptain Silver badge
    Happy

    I don't want to step on toes, but

    I shall obstain from writing unnecassary remarks about religious dogma and theological ideas bestowed upon young impressionable minds but .....

    If people want to believe in Sky Fairies , I must learn to accept that.

    If Catholic priests feel that it is necassary to show Pornographic or Gay images to their flock, then so be it, I must learn to live with that too. ( Flock = a group of Sheep, n'est-ce pas ?)

    If priests want to wear "frocks" , well, that's starting to appear a little strange.

    If a man wearing a frock shows me some porn and then asks me to come into a dark room so that I can confess my sexual thoughts to him, well I think it is time to change religion.......

    1. Wize

      Re: I don't want to step on toes, but

      Have always found it weird.

      Claim to see ghosts and get locked up as a nutter

      Claim to see Jesus and you'll probably be made into a saint.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I don't want to step on toes, but

      Priests wear frocks so you can't see if they've got a hard on, or not. A standing prick has no conscience.......

  19. heyrick Silver badge

    Eh?

    " on the basis of the evidence available, no crime had been committed "

    So, what, there's no law stating you can't expose kiddies to porn? Damn, the moral bridge must have missed that opportunity...first time around...

    1. Jonski
      Devil

      Re: Eh?

      " on the basis of the evidence available, no crime had been committed "

      I'm surprised I'm the first to point this out, but even when a crime *has* been committed (and there are many, many examples of this), *still* nothing gets done except move the perp to another diocese.

      Catholic bashing? Nope. Immoral, hypocritical, vindictive, evil organisation bashing? You betcha.

    2. Crisp

      Re: Eh?

      What the Catholic church think is a crime, and what the law think is a crime isn't always the same thing.

  20. Wombling_Free
    Thumb Up

    "16 in all, suggesting that someone wasn't too shocked to count) before McVeigh realized what was wrong."

    *boggle*

    "yes, well, on to the next slide.... um.... thats Peter & Jesus expressing goodwill & kindness to all men, at least all the men in that picture.."

    "next slide please, er... thats John & Paul showing how to love your brother. Very much."

    "next, this one is Ellen Degeneres & OH MY LORD THAT'S PERVERTED!"

    16? seriously? it took SIXTEEN slides before someone realised what was wrong?

    1. Greg J Preece

      Maybe it was a collage? A big, throbbing celibate collage?

    2. CD001

      Or more likely, as it was a PowerPoint presentation, it took 16 images before people's brain's had actually woken up enough to realise what was actually on the screen.

      ... bored ...

      ... bored ...

      ... bored ...

      ... bored ...

      ... bored ...

      ... bored ...

      ... bored ...

      ... bored ...

      ... bored ...

      ... bored ...

      ... bored ...

      ... bored ...

      ... bored ...

      ... bored ...

      ... bored ...

      ... ... WTF?!? Hang on! ...

      1. heyrick Silver badge
        Happy

        @ CD001

        +1 for the awesome use of fadeout.

    3. TheOtherHobbes

      Perhaps

      he'd turned the other cheek.

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sweet Mary and Joseph!

    The devil did it.

    Penis be with you, and with you...Oh!

    What a give-away.

  22. D@v3

    "The priest has stated that he had no knowledge of the offending imagery"

    No one ever does.....

  23. Pete the not so great
    Thumb Up

    wish I'd been there

    Sooooo funny

  24. Dr Patrick J R Harkin
    Coat

    My sermon for today...

    ...is based on the saying "The pen is mightier than the sword". I searched Google Images using the phrase "pen is" and here is what I found.

  25. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

    IQ check

    - There are no gay clergy in the Catholic Church!

    - The shape of the Earth can be approximated by an oblate spheroid.

    One of the above statements is false.

  26. Dominic Connor, Quant Headhunter

    The parents weren't shocked

    Get real, these were mostly adults, how could they possibly be surprised or shocked by anything a Catholic priest might do ?

    Ask yourself this question, is there anything you might hear of a Catholic priest doing that you would reject, saying to yourself "they would never do such a thing" ?

  27. Boring Bob

    The local rag

    Looking at the comments section on this article in the local (Tyrone) paper, it looks like most parishioners think that he has been framed. It seems as though he has upset some people in the parish who have been trying to force him to leave for some time.

  28. Wardatrigger

    No crime commited?

    No crime, save indoctrinating the kids in a lifestyle choice that will ensure the continuation of the invisible divide across my wee country for another couple of decades. If the parents think that seeing a few half naked men for a minute is worse than that, then the country is in worse shape than I thought.

    Ironic that the priest came back to ask for the kids' money, given how reluctant the church has been to compensate victims of abuse in the past.

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I prefer the lolcat version

    "But Onan knew that the kittenz would not be hiz (bcz thatz how Jewish law workt LOL) so he wuz all "DO NOT WANT" n soz he pulld out n got man juice on teh floorz. Ceiling Cat didnt likez that neithr cuz tehn no kittehz are get created. So Ceiling Cat killded him too."

  30. Jim 59

    collection of wafers etc.

    Are you Oliver Cromwell or Henry VIII ?

  31. Frank Bitterlich
    Gimp

    Makes sense...

    "... wrapped up by saying that the children get lots of money for their Holy Communion and should consider giving some of it to the church."

    Sure, p0rn site subscriptions are expensive these days...

  32. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Re : I don't want to step on toes, but

    Priests wear frocks so you can't see if they've got a hard on, or not. A standing prick has no conscience.......

  33. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Pomeroy?

    The BBC headline has the placename down as "Pomeroy". Why do they use these shit overlapping fonts? It's obviously "Porneroy".

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