Did you ever try to use the old “I didn’t know it was a illegal” defense when caught breaking the law? I’ve never been arrested, but I assume it’s pretty normal some people would try and use this lame excuse in order to avoid doing jail time. There are, however, certain times when this type of defense will do more harm than good. Case in point: retired Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland and his statements that he had no idea child abuse was a crime. Weakland apparently “accepted naively the common view that it was not necessary to worry about the effects on the youngsters: either they would not remember or they would ‘grow out of it.”

This is the same guy who in 2002 paid $450,000 to a man who had accused him of date rape, so his credibility on the issue of child molesting is somewhat hurt by this inconvenience. The fact this monster thinks kids can ‘grow’ out of being sexually abused just demonstrates the kind of willful ignorance and deception that is part of the Catholic Church’s modus operandi. How can the devout keep believing in light of such tragic and despicable representatives? I’ve got news for you: if these guys are closer to divinity than the rest of us, we all need to collectively jump off this religion bandwagon right fucking now. Who’s with me!?