Sunday, April 13, 2008
On Popey Dict's Visit Through the Eyes of an American Catholic
Confessions of an American Catholic - The Pope vs. Parish Priests - New York Times: "As Peter Steinfels, the Beliefs columnist for The New York Times, recently noted, there is nothing particularly new in this tension. He wrote that many American Catholics “honor the pope yet disagree with papal positions, whether about using contraception, restricting legal access to abortion, ordaining married men or women to the priesthood or recognizing same-sex relationships.” I would add to that list disgust, more than mere disagreement, with the way the church has handled the priest scandals of the last decade."
You may say, well of course, the atheist picks this passage with an accusatory "aha!". To be honest, I wouldn't even have read the article if I weren't so hopeful that a passage like this might be included. It must be there. Dan Barry is probably a good man who is trying to do the right thing by his community and his children. Any excitement over Dict's visit is lost on me as it was made clear when his brethren chose him that he was chosen because of his having handled Pope John Paul's affairs as he sank into illness. To make it even clearer, it was Popey Dict who "handled" the child sex scandals. Obviously John Paul did his fair share of deceitful shell-gaming of these convicts too, but when the shit hit the fan, Popey Dict was there to make the shell game continued to the best of his ability while never really offering to start protecting the children in the flock. I certainly never heard an apology for all of the pedophiles they failed to turn into authorities or for the money they still paid the pedophiles as they were in their waning years.
The biggest problem is that without better oversight and new policies, common sense tells us that we will have to face this monster again. There are victims today in that church, because this so "beloved" pope is failing to stop this psychological massacre. There aren't enough offended Catholics!
I did hear someone say the world's dumbest thing the other day. As people sit chins-to-floor listening to the story of the cult in Texas, they are remarking how this cult, marketed as a religion, is a way to systematically rape children. The reason why this can be seen differently is because there are fewer members and because people widely disagree with polygamy. The problem is that the issue with the children is not different than what we have seen in the Catholic Church. And sadly, few of the people wide-eyed on the FLDS want to ever mention the Catholic problem because it simply doesn't suit them. So, I guess the polygamists can take the beating while we stay silent on the Catholics...for exactly the same thing.
People who line up over the next week to exalt this man should remember that he is a leading reason why there are so many victims of priests. Remember that he did nothing to help them, resisted settlements, and still has not enacted policies that will stop the next generation of victims from this so beloved church. Look into his eyes and see if he gives a damn about those kids or whether it is about coffers and power.
You may say, well of course, the atheist picks this passage with an accusatory "aha!". To be honest, I wouldn't even have read the article if I weren't so hopeful that a passage like this might be included. It must be there. Dan Barry is probably a good man who is trying to do the right thing by his community and his children. Any excitement over Dict's visit is lost on me as it was made clear when his brethren chose him that he was chosen because of his having handled Pope John Paul's affairs as he sank into illness. To make it even clearer, it was Popey Dict who "handled" the child sex scandals. Obviously John Paul did his fair share of deceitful shell-gaming of these convicts too, but when the shit hit the fan, Popey Dict was there to make the shell game continued to the best of his ability while never really offering to start protecting the children in the flock. I certainly never heard an apology for all of the pedophiles they failed to turn into authorities or for the money they still paid the pedophiles as they were in their waning years.
The biggest problem is that without better oversight and new policies, common sense tells us that we will have to face this monster again. There are victims today in that church, because this so "beloved" pope is failing to stop this psychological massacre. There aren't enough offended Catholics!
I did hear someone say the world's dumbest thing the other day. As people sit chins-to-floor listening to the story of the cult in Texas, they are remarking how this cult, marketed as a religion, is a way to systematically rape children. The reason why this can be seen differently is because there are fewer members and because people widely disagree with polygamy. The problem is that the issue with the children is not different than what we have seen in the Catholic Church. And sadly, few of the people wide-eyed on the FLDS want to ever mention the Catholic problem because it simply doesn't suit them. So, I guess the polygamists can take the beating while we stay silent on the Catholics...for exactly the same thing.
People who line up over the next week to exalt this man should remember that he is a leading reason why there are so many victims of priests. Remember that he did nothing to help them, resisted settlements, and still has not enacted policies that will stop the next generation of victims from this so beloved church. Look into his eyes and see if he gives a damn about those kids or whether it is about coffers and power.
