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	Catholic Church Refuses to Turn the Other Cheek By Evan Maloney NEWS.com.au September 29, 2009 http://blogs.news.com.au/news/splat/index.php/news/comments/what_does_it_mean_to_turn_the_other_cheek/61174 But I tell you not to resist an evildoer. On the contrary, whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well. You have to wonder how many scurrilous, sweaty, palpitating priests have used this quotation from St Matthews gospel in an attempt to penetrate some innocent young altar boy. “Do not resists an evildoer, my son, turn the other cheek.” It’s true that the devil can quote scripture for his own ends and the difference between Jesus’ teachings and those of the old testament are, in particular, about as stark as those between the Marquis de Sade and Depak Chopra (or vice-versa), but still, this whole idea of turning the other cheek seems to be one of the less workable instructions of Jesus when applied to daily life. Hell, even the Catholic Church is showing today that it cannot turn the other cheek. In response to the sustained attacks over the (sustained) sexual abuse scandals in the past few decades the Church has suddenly posted a bizarre retort along the lines of, other churches abuse kids just as much as us! So the Catholic Church has reverted to finger-pointing in an effort to defend itself? This seems so incredibly childish and the kind of behaviour you would expect from big business - say, an oil company responsible for a terrible oil spill, rather than the self-proclaimed guiders of people’s moral lives. Even if it were true, and other churches are responsible for much abuse, on what grounds does this excuse, justify, or lessen the abuse that children have suffered at the hands of Catholic priests? The problem with this whole “turn the other cheek” directive is that it is open to more interpretations than your average medieval peasant family. Is it simply a teaching relating to non-violence, is it talking about any form of attack on one’s character, for example, and what, pray tell, is the definition of an evil-doer anyway? Are the people who are attacking the Church for its sex abuse history really evil doers? Probably not, therefore the Church doesn’t have to turn the other cheek, do they?
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