The Catholic Church is currently the center of a global scandal. Why this is the case only now is quite honestly not relevant because the problem has been going on for decades and possibly centuries. This is the scandal involving the rape and torture of children. Some people euphemistically call this "child abuse", but to me it is quite simply rape.
The problem seems to be exacerbated by the fact that Joseph Ratzinger (or Benedict XVI, the current pope) was at one point in charge of protecting Catholic priests from secular prosecution. For the crime of raping children. He advised these pedophiles that their crime was not the rape, but talking to outside law enforcement about it. Not only that, he transferred offending priests to other parishes which gave them a fresh batch of innocent children to prey upon. His primary interest was in defense of the church! How can any morally adjusted person even conceive of such a thing?
What would you think of a CEO of a company that ran nurseries or daycare centers around the world who did not immediately fire and report employees committing crimes against children, but transferred them elsewhere without so much as a slap on the wrist? What would you think of such a person? Their company would collapse, the CEO and all offending employees would be locked in prison. So why is this not the case for religious institutions like the Catholic church?
Another point on the CEO comparison is that a CEO does not claim to be an infallible representative of the creator of the universe (and the only one at that). The Pope is Christ's Representative on Earth. He is supposed to be the moral leader of humanity. There are two conclusions that can be drawn from this: 1. God and Jesus Christ condone the rape and torture of children, or 2. The Pope's claim to be the last word on human morality is total B.S. Neither one reflects well on the Catholic Church.
One more point to consider is that Vatican City is a recognized state in its own right, which makes the pope the head of a church and a country. He uses this to further protect members of his church from secular prosecution. He protects rapists and sadists. This is no way for anyone to behave. The fact that the pope is considered a moral leader is frankly disgusting. I would go so far as to say that the way the church and pope have acted can appropriately be described as evil.
The Catholic church preaches moral absolutes with regard to homosexuality, divorce, abortion and condom use (all of which are labeled as abominations or moral evils) but, at the same time, wishes to protect those who commit the worst imaginable crime. For me this is clear evidence that no morally serious person should take anything it says seriously. While one could argue the superstitious and supernatural elements should not be taken literally but its moral teaching is good, this scandal completely destroys that feeble justification for its existence. The sooner people realize this the better.
The problem seems to be exacerbated by the fact that Joseph Ratzinger (or Benedict XVI, the current pope) was at one point in charge of protecting Catholic priests from secular prosecution. For the crime of raping children. He advised these pedophiles that their crime was not the rape, but talking to outside law enforcement about it. Not only that, he transferred offending priests to other parishes which gave them a fresh batch of innocent children to prey upon. His primary interest was in defense of the church! How can any morally adjusted person even conceive of such a thing?
What would you think of a CEO of a company that ran nurseries or daycare centers around the world who did not immediately fire and report employees committing crimes against children, but transferred them elsewhere without so much as a slap on the wrist? What would you think of such a person? Their company would collapse, the CEO and all offending employees would be locked in prison. So why is this not the case for religious institutions like the Catholic church?
Another point on the CEO comparison is that a CEO does not claim to be an infallible representative of the creator of the universe (and the only one at that). The Pope is Christ's Representative on Earth. He is supposed to be the moral leader of humanity. There are two conclusions that can be drawn from this: 1. God and Jesus Christ condone the rape and torture of children, or 2. The Pope's claim to be the last word on human morality is total B.S. Neither one reflects well on the Catholic Church.
One more point to consider is that Vatican City is a recognized state in its own right, which makes the pope the head of a church and a country. He uses this to further protect members of his church from secular prosecution. He protects rapists and sadists. This is no way for anyone to behave. The fact that the pope is considered a moral leader is frankly disgusting. I would go so far as to say that the way the church and pope have acted can appropriately be described as evil.
The Catholic church preaches moral absolutes with regard to homosexuality, divorce, abortion and condom use (all of which are labeled as abominations or moral evils) but, at the same time, wishes to protect those who commit the worst imaginable crime. For me this is clear evidence that no morally serious person should take anything it says seriously. While one could argue the superstitious and supernatural elements should not be taken literally but its moral teaching is good, this scandal completely destroys that feeble justification for its existence. The sooner people realize this the better.
2 comments:
Ohh, they get better:
A bill in Connecticut's legislature that would remove the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse cases has sparked a fervent response from the state's Roman Catholic bishops, who released a letter to parishioners Saturday imploring them to oppose the measure.
Under current Connecticut law, sexual abuse victims have 30 years past their 18th birthday to file a lawsuit. The proposed change to the law would rescind that statute of limitations.
The proposed change to the law would put "all Church institutions, including your parish, at risk," says the letter, which was signed by Connecticut's three Roman Catholic bishops.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/11/connecticut.abuse.bill/index.html?hpt=T1
I have a really hard time sympathizing with people who, instead of saying "The institutional rape and torture of children is wrong and I shall have no part of it", decide to go down the "our Church is being persecuted, poor us" route.
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