I get emails from Catholics all the time asking me why I’m “picking” on their religion. It’s true they certainly aren’t the only game in town, but they are perhaps the most influential and financially wealthy religious organization in the world. It must be strange for them to hear so much criticism. It’s only been recently that any of us have actually been allowed to speak ill of the church without having to worry about being put on a rack, so my dear Catholic friends, you’ll forgive me if I take the opportunity to stretch my legs a little.

Of import is the latest report on clerical abuse straight out of what was perhaps the Church’s last great stronghold: Ireland. You might recall a few months ago the bombshell that was the Ryan report; it was only the tip of the iceberg, and now the Murphy report is outlining the exact extent of the conspiracy of silence and aid for pedophiles from both the Archdiocese of Dublin and the Vatican. Here’s one of the conclusions outlined in the report:

The Dublin Archdiocese pre-occupations in dealing with cases of child sexual abuse, at least until the mid 1990s, were the maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the reputation of the Church, and the preservation of its assets. All other considerations, including
the welfare of children and justice for victims, were subordinated to these priorities. The Archdiocese did not implement its own canon law rules and did its best to avoid any application of the law of the State.

Did you expect anything less? The Archdiocese actually took out insurance in the 80s expecting trouble, proving once more that they were more than aware something terrible was going on, and it’s doubtful everyone wasn’t aware at least on some level of the serious issue of pedophilia in their organization.

You might recall that the current Pope also wrote a secret memo (which has since been leaked) urging the Diocese to put the interest of the Church ahead of the welfare of children. He was also granted immunity from prosecution in the US by President Bush, so you can thank Dubya for that one too. The Catholic Church has never been particularly interested in stopping the plague of child abuse (or more specifically rape).