Moral Values Revisited

Three news stories converge and I have to rub my eyes and wonder if it is possible there is a world leader more clueless than George W Bush. Do you think Karen Hughes and Karl Rove could help this guy, or could it be they already are?

First, there is this. A grand jury in Philadelphia finds that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of the City of Brotherly Love, over a period of 40 years, covered up the crimes of 63 Catholic priests who had abused children.

The grand jury, convened more than three years ago, issued a scathing report Wednesday that documents assaults by more than 60 priests. It also alleges a cover up by the late Cardinal John Krol, archbishop of Philadelphia from 1961-88, and his successor Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who retired in 2003.

"To protect themselves from negative publicity or expensive lawsuits -- while keeping abusive priests active -- the cardinals and their aides hid the priests' crimes from parishioners, police and the general public," the report said.

The grand jury explored the possibility of charges against the archdiocese, but said the organization can't be prosecuted because it is an unincorporated association rather than a corporation.

A good thing to note, all you pedophiles out there -- follow the wise example of the Catholic Church -- don't incorporate!

And then, there is this. Seems the Pope has asked the US to stop court proceedings against him in Texas, claiming diplomatic immunity. The case involves the molestation of three boys by a seminarian named Patino-Arango.

The lawsuit says the pope, who as Cardinal Ratzinger headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, was involved in a conspiracy to hide Mr. Patino-Arango's crimes and help him escape prosecution.

The lawsuit cites a letter from Cardinal Ratzinger, dated May 18, 2001, and written in Latin to bishops around the world, explaining that "grave" crimes like the sexual abuse of minors would be handled by his congregation and that the proceedings of special church tribunals handling the cases were subject to "pontifical secret."

Another tip for pedophiles -- get diplomatic immunity, or at the very least, learn to write in Latin!

Had enough? No?

Here's one more.

Homosexuals, even those who are celibate, will be barred from becoming Roman Catholic priests, a church official said today, under stricter rules soon to be released on one of the most sensitive issues facing the church. .... [This] will be a defining act in the young papacy of Benedict, a conservative who said last spring that there was a need to "purify" the church after the deeply damaging sex scandals of the last several years.

The church official said the ban would pertain only to candidates for the priesthood, not to those already ordained. He also said the document did not represent any theological shift for the church, whose catechism considers homosexuality "objectively disordered."

So pedophile priests are okay, and bishops who cover up pedophiles are okay, and Popes who may have covered up the cover ups are not just okay, they are infallible, but gay men -- even celibate gay men -- and women of any variety whatever, are simply unwelcome.

I think the Church is "objectively disordered" but who am I to say? Maybe it is just compassionate conservatism...

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