Papa Don't Preach, Ever Again

In the latest missive from the Vatican, Cardinal Julian Herranz blamed the ongoing outrage aimed at the Pope on "powerful lobbies" opposed to conservative family values: "The pope defends life and the family, based on marriage between a man and a woman..." While "defends life" undoubtedly refers to the church official position on abortion, it's not hard to figure out the target of "marriage between a man and a woman." The church has actually sunk low enough to blame the legitimate anger of millions of Catholics on gay activist groups. Unbelievable.

The Vatican dean of the college of cardinals believes that the pope and the church hierarchy have pretty much done all that they can about the "shortcomings and errors" of a few priests. The time has come to move on and protect the world against homosexuals and women who take umbrage against a coterie of old men telling them what they can do with their bodies. The idea of accepting responsibility for what happens in the institution these men administer seems about as foreign as a camel to an Eskimo. There's no conception -- immaculate or otherwise -- that evasions like this make matters worse, that they only convince those who are already convinced while repelling everyone else.

The message is clear: Nothing is their fault. The coverups didn't happen, the deceit didn't happen, and any suggestion that the pope might have personal culpability is dark gossip from the two groups the church hierarchy fears most and understands least: Gays and women. Well, what about me, Papa? I'm neither, nor are millions of others whose revulsion has reached unplumbed depths. How do you explain us?

Pope to Abuse Victims: Go to Hell

It is time to call for a worldwide boycott of the Roman Catholic Church. The church will never listen to us; they never have and never will. The only thing that will work is a world wide boycott calling for a new pope and the change we have wanted to see in our church for decades now. — Jon Melaver, Campbell, Calif.  

The recent developments have actually caused me to strengthen my religion as I believe it is under attack. While the actions of these priests and supervisors are deplorable and should be punished by the law, these priests represent a very small percentage of all Catholic priests throughout the world. ... I, along with most Catholics I'm sure, will not waiver from our faith or religion. — Mike Lopez, Santa Maria, Calif.  

Not only has Pope Benedict, through his lawyers, of course, informed the world that his responsibility for child abuse by priests is exactly squat, he now claims that as a head of state, he has no legal responsibility to offer testimony even if it is necessary. He remained silent on the question of his moral responsibility, which apparently doesn't come into play when you're the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church. I suppose he thinks that he is rendering unto Caesar, but it's a mighty convenient rendering.

It is now years into this malignancy, and the church hierarchy still has a tin ear when it comes how rank-and-file Catholics perceive its response. It's worse than a tin ear -- more like a tin mine or a tin planet. It is comforting, I am certain, for Catholics like Mr. Lopez to rest their faith on the narrow truth that the number of abusive priests is relatively small and that there are many decent priests more appreciated by their congregations that the higher-ups. But the fact of abuse has not angered the faithful anywhere near as much as the decades-long coverup, the practice of shuffling priests known to be child molesters off to unsuspecting parishes, and the legalistic response by the hierarchy once the rock was turned over to reveal this poisonous reptile.

Millions of Catholics confronted an unthinkable reality: They could not trust their own church to act in their best interests. For millenia, the church preached that sincerely admitting to one's sins, seeking forgiveness, and doing penance was a prerequisite to salvation. As the scandal developed, it became clear that droves of bishops and cardinals -- fat abbots, in Robin Hood's day -- had acted out of a supreme desire to cover their butts. Bishops and cardinals worried more about the financial status of their precious domains than truth and justice. At first, Benedict's predecessor seemed disinterested, and then stuck his head out his hole to allow that there might be a problem here before disappearing from view. Given that the hierarchy was unwilling to admit its responsibility and do penance, why should anyone else?

From the very beginning, there was a way to handle this. Pope John Paul could have appointed an investigatory body comprised of independent clergy (i.e., ones he didn't like), Catholic lay people, and prominent non-Catholics. This body would have had his full and ongoing support to take the investigation where it led and to determine restitution, dioscesan bankruptcies be damned. It should have had the authority to recommend resignations and to release the names. Now, this panel was never going to be appointed -- nor will it -- because the pope, the cardinals, and the bishops value one thing above all others: Their authority. To them, authority easily trumps such trivial matters as honesty, justice, and remorse. Preserving authority is worth a world of disillusion and the exploited faith of millions Catholics...

And it's time, time, time, where history puts a saint in every dream...

ESPN's Jayson Stark, a self-admitted Philadelphian, goes out on a limb and picks the Phillies to beat the Red Sox in the World Series. You can't blame Stark, though: Baseball has reached the point of the NBA, where there are only a handful of legitimate claimants to the throne...

The good, peace-loving people at Second Amendment March have planned their March on Washington for April 19, the anniversary of Lexington and Concord. April 19 also happens to be the anniversary of the tragedies at Oklahoma City and Waco...

Or was Oklahoma City a tragedy? Sean Hannity doesn't think so, and neither does his audience:


Rushbo must have clicked the box marked "D***head":


Today would be Marvin Gaye's 71st birthday. His father shot Marvin to death 26 years ago yesterday. Stick with this video of live performance of "Let's Get It On". You won't be disappointed!