If child rape wasn’t enough bad karma for you, try this one for size: Catholic run hospitals in Spain took part in a massive baby kidnapping campaign that lasted over 4 decades. When a fan of the show sent me the link I was too dumbstruck to believe it at first. I mean, how much evil shit can one organization do, and when will I stop being so naïve?

It turns out that during the regime of Francisco Franco, the government had a policy of taking babies away from political opponents in order for Franco to keep a tight leash on his country. After his death in 1975 (yeah, Spain was under the boot of a fascist dictator for a while after the war), the practice is said to have continued well into the 1980′s and perhaps even beyond.

Doctors, nurses, nuns and priests are all suspected of forming part of an organized network that told mothers their children had died during, or straight after, birth. Campaigners said they believed many thousands of cases of stolen babies would eventually come to light.

It’s hard to say how many babies got kidnapped. Estimates range from 30,000 to as many as 300,000, but I’m inherently suspicious of the latter. The government is still refusing to conduct an investigation, even as pressure mounts from hundreds of “stolen” babies. These victims have been politely told to make their own investigation into the matter, which is essentially a big “fuck off”. Spain is apparently still very sore about all the crazy shit that went on back in the day.

How fucking messed up is it that the Catholic Church in Spain not only participated in the crime under Franco, but continued long after he was dead? My head is still spinning here. Are these clowns still convinced that they are in a position to lecture humanity on morality?