Money, Sex, the Holy Bible...
Catholic Church Makes A Fortune In The German Porn Business
"Weltbild", Germany’s largest media company, sells books, DVDs, music and more -- and also happens to belong 100% to the Catholic Church. Few people knew about this connection until this month when Buchreport, a German industry newsletter, reported that the Catholic company also sells porn.
A Church spokesman responded: “Weltbild tries to prevent the distribution of possibly pornographic content.”
Well, it's prevention efforts have apparently not been so successful. For more than 10 years, a group of committed Catholics has been trying to point out what is going on to Church authorities, and they are outraged at the hypocrisy of the spokesman's statement. In 2008, the group sent a 70-page document to all the bishops whose dioceses have shared ownership of Weltbild for 30 years, detailing evidence of the sale of questionable material.
Today, the Augsburg-based company employs 6,400 people, has an annual turnover of 1.7 billion euros, and an online business in Germany second only to Amazon. Weltbild is also Germany’s leading book seller, controlling 20% of the domestic bookstore market. Profits are regularly reinvested in the company with an eye to rapidly increase the market share – an increase that is only possible if Weltbild continues to sell materials that are not compatible with the teachings of the Church.
The 2,500 erotic books in their online catalogue, including those from Blue Panther Books, an erotic book publisher owned by Weltbild, are only one example. Their titles include: “Anwaltshure” (Lawyer’s Whore), “Vögelbar” (F—kable) and “Schlampen-Internat” (Sluts’ Boarding School).
The Church also owns a 50% share in publishing company Droemer Knaur which produces pornographic books, and so indirectly is also a publisher of pornographic material, titles including “Nimm mich hier und nimm mich jetzt!” (Take Me Here, Take Me Now!), and “Sag Luder zu mir!” (Call Me Slut!).
As the Church sells S & M
16/07/2012
The Church frowned upon the spread of a wise education as "Make Love," but circulates freely the book of the moment: "Fifty shades of gray".
THE EVENT - Not even two weeks ago, the Pope drew attention to the sale of erotic and esoteric books on-line "Weltbild" but the text has miraculously escaped the ban. The publishing group is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese: Each sale was and should be monitored according to Christian principles but is still debate. It is a lack of economic controls or a move?
A doubt may arise, whereas "50 shades of gray" is at the top of the charts in many countries. Meanwhile, "Make Love" was banned despite having a noble purpose:
The authors say that such a text has ambitious goals, wants to teach future adults to hear, in fact, the essay also explains a number of practical exercises. Make Love the kids by the hand and teaches them how to get closer to your body because most know the sex of children only through the computer. "The 80% of fourteen year olds already watch porn movies, in practice it comes to sexuality through a screen that shows couples kissing, making love in an aggressive manner: this is what they learn about sex."
It is not the first time he receives Weltbild critics to attack the proposal of erotic and pornographic literature:
Securities sold by a red light of the biggest German publishers cases, Weltbild, had created a major scandal in Germany last year. The reason was the share ownership of Weltbild, wholly in the hands of the Catholic Church, with a lot of bishops or their representatives on the board of directors or supervisory board. The marketing material in sharp contrast with Catholic morality had raised a media uproar, among other things, started by some conservative Christian groups, who thought it intolerable that the clerical propose an eroticism for the masses. A thesis accepted with some reluctance and hesitation, even from the hierarchy. The German Bishops' Conference had decided to sell Weltbild, to get rid of its "scandalous" activities ".
CRITICAL - The Bishop of Augsburg Zdarsa Konrad criticized widely distributing the book BDSM, although a note accompanying the sale: "We believe that the story of this book is disturbing because it shows the subjugation of women" but the button will flash a few inches for sale .
DEFENCE - Many priests have continued to complain about the inappropriate presence of a similar text, but the economic measures is clear: the text is so widespread that it must go beyond the prohibitions. The note accompanying the sale is not mandatory for all retailers and continues to appear on the shelves of the web without problems.
ATTACKS - Where does the fear of the spread of such a text? "Children and young people may be influenced in a negative way and the question of 'abortion could get out of his private value." The Church critic Carel Halff and wonders if his approach was in part supported by the bishops who oversee the sale of the texts. For now answer is the result of budget management edited by Halff: sales have increased and, according to some market research, GFK (funded by the new foundation promoted by twelve German dioceses with 49 million) became the third store most popular on-line sales in Germany after Amazon and eBay. It will be enough to silence the critics?
The German bishops prefer bondage to the Pope
04/09/2012
Despite the order of Benedict XVI, the publishing company controlled by the church's birth Ratzinger continues to sell securities erotic as "50 Shades of Grey".
The affairs of the Catholic Church with the 'eroticism are also worried about the Pope In Germany the intervention of Pope Benedict XVI is not, however, served to stop the business, as the publisher Weltbild is still in the hands of the German bishops.
THE POPE'S WORRIED - Last year, the event generated great fanfare Weltbild in Germany. The publishing company is a major player in the German market, and sells books and video materials of all kinds, including titles from erotic content. It would be normal because the porn eros or sell a lot, but the problem is the property of Weltbild.
This fall publishing is in fact owned by the Catholic Church in Germany 100%, ended in embarrassment as commercial erotic material that blatantly contradicts the message of the bishops. Pope Benedict XVI was in full knowledge of the case, according to a letter signed by his secretary, Georg Gänswein of 2 November 2011 and addressed to the Deputy Foreign Minister Hector Balestrero Vatican published the book by Gianluigi Nuzzi "Your Holiness." "The Holy Father has decided: we must act immediately," writes Father Georg in reference to the scandal caused by Weltbild.
CONTRADICTED VATICAN - The Pope's message, however, is only heard by the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and not respected. The order came from Rome to sell is in fact not yet been realized, if ever. A few weeks after the outbreak of the case, the German Bishops' Conference announces first offering for sale of Weltbild, and then his company transformation. The control remains completely in the hands of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, which fall into the now familiar contradiction. The bestselling erotic "50 shades of gray" is sold with great success, by Weltbild, thus disproving the order given by the Pope, who does not want the publisher of his church sells books by sexually explicit.
Maybe once someone writes a book - "50 shades of Catholic Church"
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