The Neverending Story
By Dave Hitt on Apr 3, 2010 in Religion, Things Atheists Didn't Do
I usually try to mix things up in the Things Atheists Didn’t Do stories. I’ll list different religions and mix a few silly, amusing things in with the horrific crimes committed in the name of a god. But the mess in the Catholic Church has resulted in so many bizarre stories it deserves a post all to itself.
When the story started, back in Boston, many years ago, the church could have been heroic simply by admitting what had been happening and punishing those involved. The pedophile priests could have been turned over to the authorities. The bishops who moved them from congregation to congregation (where they could find fresh meat) could have been defrocked and publicly denounced. The church could have apologized for the incredible pain they caused to satisfy the lust of their perverts.
Instead they covered it up, fought every attempt to bring it to light, refused to cooperate with investigators and intimidated the victims. Some of the bishops were actually rewarded for their behavior; moved to the Vatican where they’ll spend the rest of their lives in luxury. (Considering they’re bishops, is that considered a diagonal move?)
It’s pretty much settled down in the states, but now the same scandal is exploding in Europe, with one big difference: Pope Ratzenberger is up to his ears in this one. He actively helped a pedophile who molested over 200 kids. Deaf kids.
And then it gets worse.
The Pope issued a letter of apology to the victims, but never mentioned any penalties or punishments for for the bishops or priests involved. Instead he blamed the problem on “society.”  The fact that the church has a decades long history of not just covering up, but aiding and abetting such behavior, somehow went unmentioned. Must have slipped his mind.
Bill Donahue, the head of the Catholic League, claims that it’s not pedophilia because the most of the boys molested were post pubescent, not pre-pubescent, reducing their horror to a dictionary argument. He claims that the real problem was homosexuality, which anyone with a half a brain cell (i.e. not Bill) knows has nothing to do with pedophilia.
Oh, and just in case this somehow makes it to court? The Vatican, aka The Holy See, has declared that the Pope is immune to any legal claims. Because he’s so holy, you see. Not holy enough to do anything about rampant pedophilia – that’s evidently beyond his Popely super-powers – but holy enough that he can shirk any responsibility for it.
The Pope has lashed out, not at the perpetrators and enablers of the abuse, but against those who had the audacity to report it, particularly the New York Times and the AP. Â Damn, if those nosy news organizations would just stop talking about it, it might all go away.
A Vatican priest compared the criticism of the church to the persecution of Jews. He whined, “The use of stereotypes, the passing from personal responsibility and guilt to a collective guilt, remind me of the more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism.â€Â Great comparison there, Sparky. Free clue, you incredibly insensitive piece of dung: Seeing your family gassed to death by a madman isn’t quite in the same league as the same as being called to task for something you’re guilty of.
And those priests caught up in the first scandal, here in the US? Some of them are being very quietly reinstated to churches across the country. A pedophile is a terrible thing to waste.
This should be the end of Catholic Church, but it won’t be. The only thing more boundless than the evil of the Vatican is the infinite gullibility of its followers.
Edited to Add: At an Easter mass one of the bishops said, ““Holy Father, the people of God are with you, and do not let themselves be impressed by the gossip of the moment, by the challenges that sometimes strike at the community of believers.”
I can’t contain my disgust with these evil, evil people. This is not gossip. Thousands of your priests fucked little boys, over and over and over again. You condoned it. You enabled it. You excused it. You lied about it. And now you’re belittling the thousands of victims you’ve scarred for life.
You filthy scumbags should be put out of business by any means possible. You should be sued into poverty. You should lose your tax free status. Every one of your churches, everywhere on earth, should be seized and sold, either to a commercial entity or to a religion that doesn’t fuck little children. Anyone contributing to the church should be imprisoned for aiding and abetting child rape, and should probably be institutionalized for being too stupid to be allowed in public in any civilized society.
Every single one of you, every pope, every cardinal, every guilty priest, every priest who makes excuses for his fellow kiddie-fuckers, Bill Donahue, and every idiot believer who still supports the church, belongs in prison for the rest of their life, sharing a cell with a very large, well-endowed, horny rapist who will treat you the way you’ve treated the children.
You are scum. You are beneath scum.
Condoned
Not to mention that funny thing that happened, what was it called? Oh, yeah, the INQUISITION? AGAINST the jews? Those are some mighty big balls you’re swinging there.
Ancel De Lambert | Apr 4, 2010 | Reply
I read your blog and, as an Atheist, enjoy it immensely. This post deserves a standing ovation and if I could give you one I would!
Victoria | Apr 11, 2010 | Reply
Your story was informative and I am a practicing Catholic. I do not reject any criticism of our church because those who allowed abuse deserve it and criminal prosecution. Donahue does not speak for me and certainly pedophilia is not related to homosexuality. I disagree this abuse started in Boston. The history of abuse goes back to the time when the church ran roughshod over communities. Many of these old cases cannot be documented or prosecuted because of time and no doubt there have been some false claims. I followed your link to the NPR story and I find the Fugee story enraging. Our parish has very strict guidelines for protecting children and this diocese seems to be shirking their responsibility. If accurate, It certainly demands legal/corrective action against Archbishop John Myers for his inexcusable failure. I am unsure of the allegation “have identified about a dozen clergy who have been accused, arrested or sued for abuse and returned to ministry.” It is unclear whether they have been falsely accused but I do not think that they should be exposed to any children. I think anyone innocent of those charges would prefer not to be put in a position with children. “Anyone contributing to the church should be imprisoned for aiding and abetting child rape, and should probably be institutionalized for being too stupid to be allowed in public in any civilized society.” Well, that’s one strong statement. I certainly know former Catholics who would agree with your harsh views. Again, I am happy to hear the criticism because it has brought about changes that protect all children but I would not consider myself evil. I know of many good priests who were equally horrified by the actions of church leadership. I obviously get something that you seem to acquire equally from your atheism and I do not consider your choice wrong. I will keep reading your blog.
Mary Stack | Apr 13, 2010 | Reply
I would join in that standing ovation. Thank you for this post.
AthiestInEden | Apr 15, 2010 | Reply
With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.
— Steven Weinberg
Jim Holmberg | May 20, 2010 | Reply
This is an excellent article. That the Catholic church should be disbanded “and sold for parts” (LOVE that!!) is so true. I hope that we will see this one day. I am really enjoying your writing, thanks for the entertainment as well as the insight.
Laura Tas | May 23, 2010 | Reply
Yes, it is a strong statement and yes, I’m sure you know priests that were horrified. But what did they DO about it? Absolutely nothing. How often do you see a priest in front of a news camera calling for the arrest of these kid-touchers, or the arrest of the Pope for protecting them? NEVER. Because they care more about protecting the church and their standing within it than they do about the willful rape of children, and THAT is fucking unforgivable.
HC | Jun 1, 2010 | Reply
You all remind me of nothing more than a bunch of schoolyard wimpy nerds talking behind the backs of the popular kids, about how fucked-up they are and how smart you are because you aren’t one of THEM.
Let me point out how smart you fucking are :
Fascism and Communism, both atheistic, secular, statist philosophies, have been responsible for more horror, death, and torture in the last 100 years than ALL the religions of the world put together. And they ain’t done yet.
Grow the fuck up. Sure, lots of bad stuff has happened because of religion. On the other hand, the amount of good done in the world by religion has far outpaced the bad, and the Catholic Church is the biggest and busiest charitable organization in the entire world, bar NONE. The worst has been done by you idiots, yet what atheists are known for their charitable work ?
I’ve got better things to do than worry about your pitiful souls. You’ve heard it before, but here it is again : There IS a GOD, and you damn well better get busy finding Him and getting a relationship with Him before you die, or you will be FUCKED. FOREVER. End of story.
Good luck, you’re gonna need it.
JTA | Jun 12, 2010 | Reply
Hitler and Mussolini were Christians. Read their speeches and their books. Indeed the Catholic church has done fine work, what with being the first entity to sign a treaty with Hitler and telling people in AIDS-stricken Africa not to use condoms. On the front page of yahoo news? The Pope, apologizing for priests touching kids, yet not doing one thing to put these monsters behind bars.
HC | Jun 12, 2010 | Reply