Tag Archives: catholics

The Vatican’s New Mascot Is Pathetic

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Desperation is a stinky cologne. It’s also responsible for their pathetic attempt to try and appeal to young people with an anime-like character they call “Luce”, which is Italian for “Light”.

Archbishop Fisichella said on Monday that Luce was chosen because the Church wants “to live even within the pop culture so beloved by our youth” and she represents “a symbol of the hope of the heart.”

Who do they think they appeal to anyways? Do they really think that people who like anime are going to be enticed by this obviously ripped off character? Is this supposed to make us forget that they are perhaps one of the most evil organizations in the world? Does a cute face erase the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of sexually and physically abused children? Or does a little cross make you forget the billions of dollars of money laundered for organized crime?

 

Priest Arrested for Abusing Train Passenger

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What is with all of these abusive priests? From the sounds of things, it seems as though religious leaders are so insatiable that any opportunity to abuse people must be acted upon. How else can you explain this guy: Father Daniel Doherty, aged 61, was arrested after he admitted to abusing a man who was passed out from drink. When staff confronted him about sticking his grubby hands inside a stranger’s pants, claiming he was “affirming him”

…(one woman) saw the accused lean forward and start to kiss the complainer on the face and lips. The accused then began rubbing the complainer’s hand before holding his foot and rubbing it. He started grabbing the complainer’s genitals over his clothing. The behaviour continued and by this time she thought something was not right about this and was increasingly concerned. The accused continued his behaviour on and off over the next hour or so and did not appear to care that anyone could see his behaviour.

So brazen! Given the fact that when the incident first occurred, the victim was initially reluctant to testify as to his experience out of embarrassment. This is why these pieces of human trash often get away with it: victims are too afraid to come forward out of humiliation. Thankfully, the man found his courage later on, and now police are involved. Considering there are witnesses, this is a pretty open and shut case.

Naturally, the Church that employs him has issued their standard press releases and claimed they are committed to the safety of their parishioners. Not so much for the rest of us, it seems, since no one is bothering to ask the important questions: why does this keep happening with their employees? If Starbuck baristas were constantly sexually abusing random people, we would demand some answers from their CEO. With religions, we roll out the red carpet for these fucking guys.

LA Archdiocese charged 880 million to victims

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After victims of sexual abuse fought the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for decades, they have finally claimed victory. It took so long in fact, that many of the plaintiffs had died of old age before the final verdict.

So, after getting their asses handed to them, what did the church do? They issued a statement that baffles the imagination:

After the announcement of the agreement in principle on Wednesday, Archbishop José H. Gomez said in a statement, “I am sorry for every one of these incidents, from the bottom of my heart. My hope is that this settlement will provide some measure of healing for what these men and women have suffered,” the archbishop added. “I believe that we have come to a resolution of these claims that will provide just compensation to the survivor-victims of these past abuses.”

If they were so concerned about the suffering of these people ,they wouldn’t have tried to fight them for over 25 years. These kind of crocodile tears impresses no one. We know they couldn’t give a rat’s ass about all the pain they caused. If they did, perhaps they would have done a bit of soul searching. It seems the only way to actually hurt these people is to take away the one thing they truly care about: money.

Abuse Allegations for Supposed Saint Abbe Pierre

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If you live long enough in the catholic church, you’ll finally be revealed as the villain you are. Take for instance Father Abbe Pierre. Although he died a few years ago, he was so beloved that there had been talk of his sainthood. Those plans are in jeopardy now that a number of women have come forward with credible accusations of abuse.

“We are in a state of shock, very hurt and very angry,” said Christophe Robert, who heads the Abbé Pierre Foundation. “We extend our fullest support to all the victims who have had the courage to speak out.” .. More perplexing to many is growing evidence that colleagues in Emmaus – and in the Catholic Church – were aware of Abbé Pierre’s sexual behaviour, but failed to speak out.

This is “perplexing” to exactly no one familiar with the M.O. of this sinister organization. Need I remind the reader that it was only a few years ago that we learned of a secret memo from the head of the Inquisition (renamed “Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith”) Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, who specified that any priest caught talking with police would be excommunicated from the church.

So, even if someone had wanted to report that despicable behavior of this sex pervert, they would have risked their livelihood, their social circle, and their immortal soul. While I think it’s worth it if it saves anyone from being a future victim, this is not a sentiment held by a institution that claims to be the living avatar for an all powerful creator god…it just makes you want to burst out laughing saying such silly things, doesn’t it?

Pope Visits New Guinea, Laments Their Superstitions

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Has there ever been an organization with less self awareness than the Catholic Church? For starters, it is the wealthiest organization in the world. In terms of real-estate holdings alone, they dwarf the British Royal Family in terms of sheer volume and size. St. Peter’s Basilica is estimated to be worth around 33 billion dollars, but this is merely from the cost of the materials. It does not factor the actual artistry, or the rarity in the skill needed to even try and replicate such a masterpiece. They also own over 5000 other churches and investment properties, and so no one really known the total actual worth of this sinister organization.

It’s why I’ve always found their call for charity to ring hallow. When their pontiff eats, he does so on gold plates, which is all you really need to know whenever this same jackass makes a visit to a poor country stressing the need to help the poor.

It’s not only poverty that these morons like to lecture about. Just the other day, this hypocrite visited New Guinea, where a significant portion of the population is Catholic. Ignoring the methodology in which this conversion happened (it was not a peaceful event, to say the least), the latest stupid comment made by the most overrated human on earth also included a call to end superstition that put women in harm’s way:

Francis urged the church leaders in Papua New Guinea to be particularly close to these people on the margins who had been wounded by “prejudice and superstition.” I think too of the marginalized and wounded, both morally and physically, by prejudice and superstition sometimes to the point of having to risk their lives,” Francis said. He urged the church to be particularly close to such people on the peripheries, with “closeness, compassion and tenderness.”

Anyone unfamiliar with history will fail to understand the profound irony in that statement. Let’s not forget that it was the church that burned alive so many women due to accusation of witchcraft. Not only that, but in countries like Nigeria, the toxic mixture of local superstition, and the Bible’s own commandment to destroy witches, has caused the suffering of countless women and children. They bare the responsibility of having introduced these societies to their poison, and yet seem completely oblivious to the harm they cause.

The church would like you to also forget the misery they continue to perpetuate by misinforming people on the benefits of condom use. So, whenever you hear one of these sanctimonious assholes who love the smell of their own farts, you should politely tell them to fix the problems in their own house before going to other places to lecture them,

Polish Kids are totally Based

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I realize that I might be showing my age by using young people jargon, but you’ll need to forgive my excitement. You see, Polish youths are thoroughly rejecting religious education classes, and I couldn’t be happier.

In 2010, 93% of students attended religion classes, but by 2022, this figure had dropped to 54%, according to a survey by pollster CBOS and the Polish fact-checking portal Demagog.org.

It’s a kind of double-wammy for Polish Catholics. Not only are the youth refusing to take religious education, there’s actually a shortage of people teaching these classes too. Of course, since religious people lie through their teeth at every opportunity, the church denies that there is a shortage, despite the fact that the rest of the world is in the same boat. In an effort to still offer the classes, students from different grades are being combined, and this is pissing those poor Catholics:

The petitioners accuse the Ministry of Education of failing to consult with Church representatives as required by law when issuing the decree on religious education.

The education minister stated that consultations with the Church had taken place, some feedback was incorporated, and the claims of insufficient consultation were incorrect.

Are these organizations chronically allergic to the truth? I’d say it’s an overwhelming “yes”. In any case, given how quick the decline is, the church should be worried. While it might be a little early to declare victory, things are definitely looking up.

East Timor Demolishes Homes In Preparation For Pope

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The Pope is on tour. He’s currently visiting three different countries: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor. In preparation for his visit to the capital of East Timor, Dili, the local government has been bulldozing homes they claim were built illegally. In order to accommodate the estimated 700,000 people that will be showing up, residences of these small enclaves were given a few minutes to prepare before all their earthly possessions and their homes were destroyed.

East Timor is one of the poorest countries on earth, but they are going all in on the visit:

The government has allocated $18 million for the pontiff’s three-day visit, including $1.5 million for a custom-built altar designed by a Vatican engineer… Yet, in a country where 40 per cent of people live below the poverty line, civil society groups are questioning the budget for the visit, as well as the forced evictions.

Hilariously enough, despite all the money being spent and the forced evictions, most of the citizens are looking forward to a billionaire showing up and saying a few magic words. They like the fact that the city is being finally cleaned. It’s a temporary measure, and it’s bound to have no real effect on their lives. But hey, some guy dressed in white who claims to speak to God is coming to town. Better roll out the red carpet! Who cares if hundreds of families are left homeless and afraid!

Brazilian Priest Rapes Teens, Forces One to Have Abortion

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If there’s an organization that attracts abusive psychos, it’s the Catholic Church. Tyrants who crave power are always welcome in the church, so long as they mask their intent under the guise of piety. You may think I am being overly hyperbolic, but how else can you explain how their ranks are bursting with serial abusers? Even in a culture of secrecy with hundreds of billions of dollars worth of capital to maintain it, there are still countless stories of victims who have been brave enough to come forward to expose these monsters.

The latest vile excuse for a human being is Father Paulo Araujo da Silva, a priest in the city of Coari. Seems he had a dream of having a harem of underage girls, and so after grooming 4 of them, he began to sexually abuse them. His lust and need for control were insatiable. He would force the girls to bring their friends along, and would film himself engaging in this sick ritual. Da Silva told them that no other men could date them, for they were his and his alone. When one of them became pregnant, she was forced to ingest a mysterious pill which resulted in an abortion.

This abuse continued for years, until finally one of the victims approached police to inform them of what was going on. When the agents busted in his place, he was in bed with another girl that had only recently turned 18, though it was clear that the affair had been going on for quite some time. The police searched his phone, and found 260 videos of his sick escapades.

The Diocese of Coari obviously tried to distance themselves from the whole affair, offering the typical platitudes offered to victims.

The diocese said “all the necessary canonical measures” have been taken. The priest was suspended and can no longer have any activity in the parish. The Church is also available to work with the authorities in the inquiry, concluded the note, signed by the diocese’s chancellor, Father Josinaldo Plácido da Silva.

We’re all so impressed that the Church is working with authorities. It’s literally required by law for them to do so. As for their “canonically punishments”, it’s just a funny way of saying that they stopped paying his bills. They need to save some money anyways; no doubt they are busy getting their lawyers to draft some form of non disclosure agreements,  and lawyers ain’t cheap.

If the church really wanted to stop these men, they would firstly rescind their own rules which stipulate that priests are not allowed to report abuse to the police, and must instead rely upon the church to handle the situation themselves. This “handling” usually takes the form of shuffling priests around when too many kids get raped, giving these predators a new field of victims from which to harvest. That would be a start. They could also stop sheltering countless priests in the Vatican under “house arrest” and let the law get their hands on them. They roam Italy with impunity, since they are technically residents of a city state that claims to be a nation. I doubt if either of these two things will ever come to pass.

Lets not also forget the incredible power and authority that is granted to human beings by simply holding their positions as priests. Instead of holding these men more accountable, the desperation of the Catholic Church to find employees means that they are willing to overlook serious issues with their candidates. Power corrupts, and it seems that the church is in the habit of attracting those that are easily corrupted. It speaks volume to their character, and to that of their employers.

Here’s hoping that this irredeemable bastard faces the harshest punishment. There is no cell filthy enough, and no prison mattress uncomfortable enough for this monster.

FFRF Lodges Formal Complaint Against Catholic League

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I am not, by nature, a negative person. I like to see the best in people, and while I would like to think that I have a fairly positive outlook on life, I must admit that I have become completely disillusioned with America; specifically her commitment to secularism. The recent rulings by the Supreme Court allowing for the funding of religious charter schools, is but one of many attempts by Christians to formalize their alliance with government. School districts across the country are being forced to teach the Bible, and the 10 Commandments are popping up all over the place. The Republican nominee for President of the United States has allied himself with the religious right, and they have big plans for the country if he wins.

I wrote an article not long ago about the fact that the IRS has essentially abandoned its own rules concerning churches getting involved in politics. The punishment is simple: get involved in politics, lose your tax exempt status. For almost a decade, not one organization has been held accountable for their gross violations, and the message is clear: regardless of how blatantly churches violate this law, they will never be in any danger of facing consequences for it.

Recently, the Catholic League has been making its stance on the presidential race quite clear. Over the last several weeks, they’ve published a number of articles attacking the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, and said (without any proof), that she would be harmful to religious freedoms if elected. This was quickly followed by another article defending the Republican Vic-Presidential candidate, J.D. Vance, and making it abundantly clear that a “good catholic” should vote red. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is not having it, and so they’ve lodged a formal complaint with the IRS over this extremely obvious infraction.

The problem is that this is going to do absolutely nothing. There is zero probability that the IRS will get involved. If anything, by acting, they could unduly influence the results of the election by actually following their own rules. The religious right would use the opportunity to claim that they are being targeted under the Biden administration, and this would only feed their claim that Democrats are dangerous to religious freedom. The fact that the rules were never being enforced means that doing so now would look suspicious. All this toothless and pathetic organization can do is continue to allow scofflaws to operate with impunity. I cannot imagine a scenario in which violators would finally face the same fate that we all do: pay our fucking taxes. It’s as though a wealthy organization like the Catholic League thinks that not having to pay their fair share is fine, since they are busy doing “charity” work, like acting as another wing of the Republican party.

Outed Catholic Priest Suing Grindr Over Data Leak

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If you’re a straight man, odds are you have a tertiary knowledge of an app called “Grindr”. You probably know that it’s a program used by gay men looking to hook up. It’s used extensively by religious conservatives, who have to hide their sexuality from others. One such closeted man, a now former priest by the name of Jeffrey Burrill, was forced out of the church when he was exposed as gay by an organization called The Pillar, which seeks to expose gay priests in order to demonstrate the hypocrisy of the church. This angered Burrill, who is now suing Grindr for allegedly selling his information.

The ex-priest alleged in his lawsuit that The Pillar received that data from Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal (CLCR), a Christian non-profit that bought data from queer dating apps to track down Church leaders using them against their vows — implying that Grindr had sold it to the organization…Burrill said he’d never have joined the app had he known his data would be available to the public, according to the lawsuit.

Now, the tricky thing here is that there is no law preventing your data from being sold. In fact, that’s how most tech companies make their money. You are just a series of numbers as far as they are concerned, and any method of making money is kosher to them. It’s difficult to see just how Burrill is going to make his case here. If he had an expectation of privacy, then he chose the wrong program to fulfill his desires. In any case, he should be taking the opportunity to grow. He’s gay, and obviously enjoys sex, which means that he’s not exactly a good fit for a religious organization that forbids both of these things from its members. Being a disgraced priest is a badge of honor for many former members of the Church, and now that he’s out of the closet, perhaps Burrill can seek a loving relationship rather than tawdry sex. Just like the part of his body he was taught was sinful, it’s never too late to grow.

Partial Apology by US Bishops Promises Little

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Should every apology lead to forgiveness? This is a complex moral question. It would be tempting to answer yes, and to believe that all human beings are worthy of redemption. There are always outliers in any group, and overall, it is reasonable to assume that the vast majority of people are worthy of a second chance, especially when they make an honest and sincere apology.

The world is more complex than this trite observation would have you believe. It’s not only people who issue apologies. Sometimes, it’s entire organizations and institutions. One in particular, the Catholic Church, has committed so many atrocities over the centuries of its existence that it would take many lifetimes of work to simply identify them all, let alone do anything about them.

One of the many recent scandals it is involved with is the uncovering of mass graves in their 80 government sponsored boarding gulags. The rampant sexual, physical, and mental abuse suffered at their hands has never been full accounted for. The Church, which keeps meticulous records, have provided no helpful documentation that would harm their financial bottom line. Instead, they offered a partial apology that took only part of the blame for what had happened:

“The Church recognizes that it has played a part in traumas experienced by Native children,” the document said, saying “these tragedies” led to addiction, domestic abuse, abandonment and neglect that harmed families.

Played a part? They were the main event! It almost sounds like they want to throw their hands in the air and say: “Well, it was also the government’s fault for sending those guys to our rape dens in the first place”. Sure, the government place them in your care, which was wrong to begin with, but the Church could have showed them the love, compassion and charity they keep claiming to have a monopoly on. Instead, they beat them, starved them, sexually abused them, and countless other horrors that went on for decades. When you need to take responsibility for literal crimes against humanity, maybe don’t start with “played a part”.

To offer a proper apology, it’s important to be honest when it comes to exactly what part you played. Take for instance the part they played in the extermination of the Jews in Nazi Germany: in exchange for becoming the official religion of the country, they helped the exterminators find the families, often pretending to provide asylum for them but turning them in anyways, and whisking away the perpetrators to safe territory in Latin America when the whole thing went tits up. Those are things they have yet to specifically apologize for as well, or make up for in any way. Instead, they still collect part of every German citizen’s paycheck, unless that persons specifically asks not to. That deal with the Nazi stuck around, unsurprisingly.

This pathetic apology is a way to try and reconcile their Native believers, who feel a great deal of uncertainty about their faith following the harrowing details of the history of abuse. For most old Catholics, who’s ancestors also had their faith imbued at the edge of a sword, enough time has passed that the church’s atrocities are long forgotten. In Native communities, that wounds of the past are still fresh. It’s causing problems for the church’s bottom line, so something had to be done. Their plan? An impotent apology that serves only to highlight just how out of touch they are, and a promise to “listen”. Platitudes and empty gestures. Pathetic.

Creepy Abstinence Speaker to Give All Girl School a Visit

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A School in Australia is about to host an abstinence speaker for an all girl Catholic school, and as a result, they are getting pushback from parents, who rightly feel that a grown man telling little girls not to have sex is the height of creepiness.

The speaker, a man by the name of Jason Evert, is an old hand when it comes to telling people to stop touching themselves, and others. Some of his events have been cancelled: for instance, when he was recently invited to Ireland to give the same weird lecture, the parents shut that down before it even started.

A petition is now circulating, but the school still plans to invite this creep to tell young girls that they shouldn’t have sex. The way they are defending the decision is quite hilariously stupid:

A representative for the students at St Joseph’s, who did not want to be named, said the session was not appropriate, especially “in light of the recent speech given at a Catholic university in America, where a man said the degrees are useless because women should be housewives”.

He’s referring to the football player Harrison Butker, the obviously closeted kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs that has made headlines for his 1950’s era speech where he told women were better off as homemakers. Somehow, this seems to prove that there is an appetite for this kind of meddling in the affairs of women.

Many parents are already planning on pulling their daughters from school when this judgmental asshole shows up. Luckily, it was only after the complained that the school decided to reverse it’s policy that the talk be mandatory.

Here’s hoping that this clown shows up to an empty auditorium.

Football Dummy Tells Graduating Women to Stay in the Kitchen

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I’ve always found it a useful exercise to put myself in the shoes of others. As a writer, there are immense advantages to doing so. I am not a young woman graduating from college, but I know that if I were, I would have been fuming if the Commencement speaker was telling me that I would be better off barefoot and preggers, rather than starting a career with the degree I worked so hard for.

That’s the situation the women at  Benedictine College, a catholic school located in Texas, found themselves in. The speaker was a pro athlete named Harrison Butker, who is a kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, and has been an outspoken homophobe for quite some time. Given the mood in Catholic spheres, this seemed like a perfect person to invite to inspire the next generation of graduates.

After making a swipe at gays for having the gall of having Pride Month, he went on to tell all of the ladies in the audience this gem:

“I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and a mother. I’m on this stage, and able to be the man I am, because I have a wife who leans into her vocation. I’m beyond blessed with the many talents god has given me, but it cannot be overstated that all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife, and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.”

Butker seemed genuinely choked up by this, as though this was some great revelatory thing that required bravery. The audience cheered, though I would have loved to see the faces of the members there. To the ladies who clapped, I have to wonder what you were doing there in the first place. What is the point of a degree when it never gets puts to use?

Keep in mind the Butker can actually afford to live on one income, thanks to the fact that a professional sports team pays him millions of dollars for occasionally kicking a football. This kind of privilege is so rare that only a handful of people on earth have this luxury. The rest of us who have to work for a living often have to compromise, and two working parents is not needed to put food on the table.

The rest of his speech is the kind of unhinged religious nonsense you’ve come to expect from the religious right. The sad truth is that this mentality still resonates with a good portion of people out there who long for a perceived “simpler” time, depicted in fantasy TV shows as the model of living. This would have been the same time America was at war, segregation was at its height, and the poverty rate was around 22% (its now closer to around 9%). So you know, the good old days!

Courts OK Catholic School Firing Gay Teacher

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It’s moments like this that remind me why I always feel a bitter taste in my mouth every time Christians complain about being persecuted. Imagine making an announcement of your upcoming nuptials, only to then be fired when they found out that the couple was the same sex. How would conservative outlets react if a private school had fired someone for being Christian?

By all accounts, Lonnie Billard was a good employee. He has worked for Charlotte Catholic High School as a teacher for over a decade. He obviously loved his job, but when he announced that he was getting married to a man, the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina decided that he would no longer be welcome there. Naturally, Billard sued the school with the help of the ACLU, but unfortunately, he lost due to the American legal system now being a branch of the Catholic Church. Never mind that it’s a gross violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prevents people from being fired for discriminatory reasons. Apparently, though, the courts have a neat little loophole for something that inconvenient:

But Circuit Judge Pamela Harris, writing Wednesday’s prevailing opinion, said that Billard fell under a “ministerial exception” to Title VII that courts have derived from the First Amendment that protects religious institutions in how they treat employees “who perform tasks so central to their religious missions — even if the tasks themselves do not advertise their religious nature.”

So, you’re a “minister” even when your not even discussing your own beliefs. What a load of bullshit. This is nothing but thinly vailed discrimination, under the guise that this is some form of religious exemption. Frankly, it’s disgusting. Is America still a country that understands the separation of Church and state? I think we can firmly say: No.

 

New Orleans Archdiocese Gets Special Treatment

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Man, it’s gotta be pretty sweet to be a Catholic Priest. You can commit serious crimes and still be protected by your employer. There aren’t many organizations in the world that will go to bat for you the way the Catholic Church will. Now, you might be wondering exactly why the church is so generous when it comes to their defense of criminals. Well, the answer is simple: laws are man-made, and as far as they are concerned, the only one they need to answer to is their imaginary friend in the sky.

As we reported a few days ago, the Archdiocese in New Orleans is under investigation for child trafficking. What we didn’t know until now is just how much support the offenders were receiving:

The affidavit alleges that documents obtained during the Father Hecker investigation show that “previous archbishops … not only knew of the [widespread] sexual abuse and failed to report all the claims to law enforcement, but [also] spent archdiocese funding to support the accused.”…One document cited in the affidavit states that one specific archbishop “was aware of rampant sexual abuse throughout the archdiocese,” but the affidavit leaves out the archbishop’s name.

Talk about privilege. Can you imagine any other organization that was found to have provided money and support to men who were sexually torturing children for decades? Would the police fail to name the people responsible for covering up the crime? If this was a Walmart, you can bet that the entire management staff would be indicted, and the RICO charges would have come around so fast, it would have made everyone’s head spins. Not so for a rich and powerful religious organization. They can sexually abuse countless kids, and still be allowed to operate. If we treated them like other criminals, their organization which facilitated the abuse would be gone; it’s assets used to compensate the families, and the men responsible for failing to stop it would all be getting their heads smashed in prison. Instead, we have this weak-ass response from the cops, who look like they are walking on eggshells to avoid getting anyone in trouble.

Personally, if you aren’t disgusted by this, you’re part of the problem. Let us stop this special treatment of religious rapists, and treat them the same we would any sorry excuse for a human being.