BishopAccountability.org
	Stance on Perverted Priests Still Problematic By Cody Boland Western Courier March 29, 2010 http://media.www.westerncourier.com/media/storage/paper650/news/2010/03/29/Opinion/Stance.On.Perverted.Priests.Still.Problematic-3896165.shtml The Vatican can't help but annoy me. It doesn't take a discerning eye to realize that the Catholic religion, which was based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, seems to have missed the point about such messages as "blessed are the meek." The sovereign city-state known as Vatican City, a theocratic state run by the pope, delights in elaborate ceremony and expensive architecture, something that their favorite Nazareth resident may have had a few words against. The economy, funded by tourism, is another interesting irony that seems to be a bit of a contrast to what the charitable, robed desert walker had in mind. But those are just minor nuances that rub me the wrong way. While the concept of the pope, the spiritual leader who represents the closest connection between Catholics' and their god, needing a bulletproof dome to travel in implies an amusing lack of "faith," this easy comedic paradox that creates a good stand-up routine is largely insignificant. It is the words of the man himself which move my Vatican stance from a joke to strong disdain. In a March 28 news article, Pope Benedict continues to deny child abuse scandals with the words "From God comes the courage not to be intimidated by petty gossip." Petty gossip? With the massive flood of abuse cases at the hands of Catholic priests from this country alone, not to mention recent notable scandals from Ireland, Germany, Austria, Holland and Brazil, I wonder what it takes for the current clerical mascot to at the very least acknowledge this "gossip" with a stronger adjective. The papacy, much like a disgruntled mother who won't take responsibility for a reckless child, blames the media. Vatican Radio Father Lombardi is quoted as saying "This question of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy has continued to be widely covered in the North American and European media. It is no surprise that the nature of the argument because of the media attention and the way the Church tackles it, is crucial for its moral credibility." So basically church child abuse is only a problem because the media keep finding cases of pedo-priests and telling the public. Naturally this problem would go away if people just stopped talking about it. Not the most spectacular logic, but I'll admit that he has a point. If no one talks about morally corrupt illegal behavior not as many people would have enough information to have a problem with it. In the end this Lombardi fellow did have a positive observation about religious sexual scandals in America. "Because of the Church's education of priests, cases of abuse in America … dropped by 30 percent … cases emerging now were "'from decades ago.'" Well I have got to give it to the man; this is strong optimism. The glass far less than half full, and he's still got a sunny disposition on the matter. After all, this means that in recent years only 70 percent of the amount of rapist priests are being caught as opposed to when it was in vogue. Plus, these new cases are from decades ago. Everyone knows that ruining a childhood carries a statute of limitations. Thirty years is enough time to get over early childhood assault by a person of authority. Sure, a PubMed article notes that traumatic childhood experiences increase the likelihood of suicide two to five times that of the average, but that's science. We are talking about people who blame the sinful nature of humans on an apple and snake with vocal cords. I find Vatican actions to be deplorable for an organization that heads a belief system that many people find comfort and morality in. It is a shame that the popular WWJD wristband is more widely interpreted by the faith leaders than the Mona Lisa by art scholars. I may never have noticed two pairs of footprints on the beach, but if I did it would not lead to sealed records and a locked confessional.
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