Most people, with regards to the Pope, probably believe he's a pretty good guy. After all, he's the Pope, right? Such a position within the church surely demands a benevolent person with a high personal moral standard! No Pope in history could ever have done anything wrong, many of them are now Saints themselves! I mean, it's not as though we have records of political murders, church funded wars, the spanish inquistion, the genocide of non-conformist christian sects, deals with and support for the Nazis, complete denial of the holocaust, or the excommunication of "sexual deviants," including pregnant teens, homosexuals, and even rape victims seeking an abortion.... right? That's all just silly-talk.
Oh, wait. Oops.
Thomas Ratzinger, the man we call Pope Benedict XVI has left a new stain on the record of the catholic church to be added to that list. I've brought this up with a few friends from time to time, and the reaction is always the same - "I don't know if I believe that." This is always what they say. So, in an attempt to quell any doubts that may be floating around out there that this actually happened, I've provided links! Beautiful, glorious links! Included are a documentary produced by BBC, several news articles, and even the actual document written by Ratzinger himself.
A BBC documentary on the subject:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Here are a few articles further describing the Pope's involvement:
The London Standard
Guardian.co.uk
BSAlert.com
BBC.com
ABC News
Dialog International
This is a link to the document itself, provided by The Guardian.
The Vatican Document written by Ratzinger
And finally, a move to have the Pope arrested and charged: CNSNews.com
Now, while I personally support the move to have Ratzinger arrested and tried for his crimes, I don't think it's going to work out. I think that his diplomatic immunity as the head of a sovereign nation will get him off the hook. I don't think he'll spend a single day in prison, and I don't think he'll ever be forced to pay for what he's done.
I do, however, think that all of the disgusting skeletons in this man's closet will be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the light. I think that this will, at the very least, bring this pile of inhuman filth and his crimes to the eyes and ears of all of his followers, supporters, and faithful subjects all over the world. I think that at least some of the people who hear about it will have the common sense to think, "I will never support a system like that ever again." And I think that the fewer supporters a corrupt, immoral system like this has, the better.
Baby steps.
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Bravo! well done. I have seen the documentary and it sickens me. Religion is a means of control and the Catholic Church's "have faith" being the answer is the most ignorant and conversely effective tool of blindness for its blind followers. Where is Jesus? isnt he supposed to give sight to the blind . . as far as him "coming again" . . .he is late . . . very late.
ReplyDeleteAlso . . there was an article here with a perfectly good excuse from the molestating priests . . "the devil made me do it" . . . i knew there had to be an explanation
ReplyDeletehttp://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/wealthofnations/archive/2010/04/02/catholic-sex-abuse-blame-game-the-devil-made-me-do-it.aspx
"If we go back to the beginning, we shall find that ignorance and fear created the gods; that fancy, enthusiasm, or deceit adorned or disfigured them; that weakness worships them; that credulity preserves them, and that custom, respect and tyranny support them in order to make the blindness of men serve its own interests. . . If the ignorance of nature gave birth to gods, the knowledge of nature is calculated to destroy them." -Baron Pierre Henri d'Holbach
ReplyDeleteThe part of your post which disturbed me the most, and which I keep coming back to, is the document written by Ratzinger himself. I can't stop reading it, and it is bothering the hell out of me each time I read it. It makes me want to throw up every time. I want to get a steel bound copy made and beat him over the head with it.
ReplyDeleteThe highlighted sections are the most egregious, but the document as a whole is calculated to maintain the insular nature of the church, even after it was discovered that a HUGE problem existed. Ratzinger is no dummy. I might be tempted to admire his work if it wasn't a tool to protect pedophiles. Why would someone use that talent, having "answered God's call" to become a member of the clergy, to further victimize the very people you are called upon to serve (she asks naively)? This turns on its head everything I was led to believe about the Church, and it was ingrained so deeply in me that I still have a knee-jerk desire to find a way to defend it. But I cannot. And it hurts.
This is the religion my beloved grandmother lived and died with. My mother and father remain devout, but blindly so. I went to church on mother's day with my Mom (dutiful daughter that I am - she asked me specially to go with her), and all I could think about was this document while going through the motions of the Mass. I haven't even watched the BBC special yet since I just cannot get past Ratzinger's words.
You're making me think, Jeff. You're killing me, but you're making me think.