Ignore Westboro Baptist Church

Yup, it's been a long time since I blogged, but I felt this was a good way to get back in the pool.

To the surprise of absolutely no one paying attention, Westboro Baptist Church is planning to bring their travelling hate show on the road to Joplin, MO to make asses of themselves at the funeral of the tornado victims. Fark.com:

On its website, the church says "Thank God for 125 dead," an echo of its common refrain crediting God with having people killed in retribution for the United States' tolerance of homosexuality.

Members plan to be in Joplin on Sunday when President Barack Obama is to visit and may attend at a memorial service for storm victims.

And no, there is no level to which these slime will not ooze. There is, predictably, a completely meaningless and ineffective Facebook page to which people can show their displeasure, not that anything has EVER resulted from a Facebook protest.

A couple of points:

• Yes, these people are disgraceful.
• No, there's no reasoning with them.

Now that we've established that, a couple more points:

• Yes, they are permitted by the Constitution to say and do whatever they want, so long as they break no laws in doing so. You don't have to like it, but...
• If you try to infringe on their rights or harm them, they will sue you for damages, because that's how they make their money.

Here's what you, and everyone, needs to do: We need to decide to stop paying attention to these freaks. They THRIVE on the attention, they are deliberately as annoying and offensive as possible precisely to rile you up so that they can purposefully goad you into doing something stupid. They're the taunting bully that runs to the teacher after you lose your cool and gets YOU in trouble for throwing the first punch.

An example: When I was a news reporter in northern Iowa, there was a series of bomb threats called in at Mason City School District by annoying punks who wanted a day off. The local TV station did the smart thing by NOT reporting on future bomb threats that turned out to be without merit (which was all of them, fortunately) so the attention-whoring twerps wouldn't get their kicks seeing their merry mischief on television after school.

Same deal with these vermin: they get off on pissing you off. They are psychologically unbalanced, but it is the collective response they get that keeps them coming back.

I make no judgement on whether they even believe the shit they spout (though I suspect they do). The point is, they've figured out yet another way to make money without being productive members of society, and the more we let them get to us, the longer they'll perpetuate their evil.

Today, Belgium; Tomorrow, Vatican City

Belgian police authorities have raided Catholic Church offices to look for evidence of sexual crimes. BBC News:

"At the home of Archbishop Danneels in Mechelen, just north of Brussels, police did not question the cleric but took away his computer, according to his spokesman, Hans Geybels.Mr. Geybels said police had also asked the archbishop to accompany them to the cathedral in Mechelen because they had heard that there might be files there.

He said the officers were tapping on boards and looking for hidden spaces but, as far as he was aware, they had not found anything.

He said Cardinal Danneels was co-operating fully: "The cardinal believes justice must run its normal course. He has nothing against that.""

(Sarcastically) Well, it's nice to see the Pope is on the case, too:

"Pope Benedict XVI says the clerical child abuse scandal shows that the greatest threat to Catholicism comes from "sin within" the Church."

Let me translate that for you: The gay kids we emotionally suppress in adolescence by telling them their innate, predisposed gayness is inherently evil are endangering the gravy train by joining the priesthood and acting out on their tendencies with minors. The Pope sees this as sin.

I see the Pope as a twisted bastard in denial.

I'll let Andrew Sullivan (a gay Catholic) belt that one out of the park:

"(I)magine you are a young gay Catholic teen coming into his sexuality and utterly convinced that it's vile and evil. What do you do? I can tell you from my own experience. You bury it. But of course, you can't bury it. So you objectify sex; and masturbate. You cannot have sexual or even emotional contact with a teenage girl, because it is simply impossible, and you certainly cannot have sex with another teenage boy or you will burn in hell for ever ... so you have sex with images in your own head. Your sex life becomes completely solitary. It can be empowered by pornography or simply teenage imagination. Some shard of beauty, some aspect of sensuality, some vision of desire will keep you sexually energized for days.

Now suppose your powers of suppression and attachment to religious authority are also strong - perhaps stronger because you feel so adrift you need something solid to cling onto in your psyche. And you know you cannot marry a woman. But you want to have status and cover as a single man. If this is the 1950s and 1960s, it's into the Church you go. You think it will cure you. In fact, it only makes you sicker because your denial is buttressed by their collective denial. And the whole thing becomes one big and deepening spiral of lies and corruption.

Many of these tormented men have arrested sexual and emotional development. They have never had a sexual or intimate relationship with any other human being. Sex for them is an abstraction, a sin, not an interaction with an equal. And their sexuality has been frozen at the first real moment of internal terror: their early teens. So they tend to be attracted still to those who are in their own stage of development: teenage boys. And in their new positions, they are given total access to these kids who revere them for their power.

So they use these children to express themselves sexually. They barely see these children as young and vulnerable human beings, incapable of true consent. Because they have never had a real sexual relationship, have never had to deal with the core issue of human equality and dignity in sex, they don't see the children as victims. Like the tortured gay man, Michael Jackson, they see them as friends. They are even gifted at interacting with them in non-sexual ways. One theme you find in many of these stories is that until these screwed up priests' abuse and molestation is revealed, they often have a great reputation as pastors. As emotionally developed as your average fourteen year old wanting to be loved, they sublimate a lot of their lives into clerical service. But they also act out sexually all the time."

And the cycle continues.

I don't give an explosive runny shit about Ratzinger's promises or finger-pointing, or even his apologies. I'll take him, or any pope, seriously when they declare homosexuality what it is--a naturally occurring, harmless minority in sexual preference. Unless it's repressed and turned into self-loathing...and directed outward at others.

Like Catholic Church high executives.

I don't know if Ratzinger's a closet case and I don't care. The Church is clearly incapable of internal reform at this point, because other than abortion, the only topic on which Catholic dogma rests is sex, specifically gay sex. If they admit they're wrong about that, their credibility really goes out the window. So what's left is to see secular authorities teach them that they are still accountable under the law.

Oh, and speaking of Laws, I wonder how well Cardinal Bernard Law is sleeping these days. I'd love to see him or Cardinal George of Chicago or ANYONE above the rank of monsignor do a perp walk.

Remember this, priesthood: molesting kids isn't a sin, it's a crime.

Christopher Hitchens On The Evil Of The Vatican

Yeah, here's a shock: I'm bashing the Catholic Church on Palm Sunday.

Now that we have inescapable proof that the Catholic Church is nothing more than a bunch of aloof, cold, uncaring autocrats protecting their own from the authorities, let's cut to the chase:

Anyone actively donating time, money, or resources to the Catholic Church is guilty of aiding and abetting the rape and torture of innocent children.

Why? Because you remain faithful to a church who elected the worst cover-up artist of them all as your pope. Ratzinger's crimes are well-documented all over the place. And the Church's reactions are becoming downright akin to Scientology in their shamelessness: "How dare you criticize the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!"

Fuckers.

Go read PZ Myers' screed on the subject.

It's about time these people were held accountable by secular authorities. No other organization would get away with it; stop giving these freaks a free pass.

Now, for your listening pleasure, the eloquent dagger that is Christopher Hitchens on "Real Time with Bill Maher."



Make. Them. Pay.

Catholic Church Ultimatum To D.C.

As if anyone had any further doubts as to the rabid, anti-gay evil of the Roman Catholic Church, this one takes the cake:

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn't change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care.

Fearful that they could be forced, among other things, to extend employee benefits to same-sex married couples, church officials said they would have no choice but to abandon their contracts with the city.

"If the city requires this, we can't do it," Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said Wednesday. "The city is saying in order to provide social services, you need to be secular. For us, that's really a problem."

You know, sometimes the punchlines really do write themselves.

Fortunately the city council sees this for the extortion it is:

In separate interviews Wednesday, council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) referred to the church as "somewhat childish." Another council member, David A. Catania (I-At Large), said he would rather end the city's relationship with the church than give in to its demands.

"They don't represent, in my mind, an indispensable component of our social services infrastructure," said Catania, the sponsor of the same-sex marriage bill and the chairman of the Health Committee.

What still baffles me is why anyone has any relationship with the Catholic Church anymore, except as the enemy of decency it is.

And for those of you who think this is just Ratztinger being an anti-gay bigot, well, while you're not wrong, John Paul II once described American gay culture as "evil" as well. This has been coming for a long time.

And one of Andrew Sullivan's gay readers the other day wrote a very touching letter. There's an awfully good point embedded there:

In answer to your question asking if it is bizarre that the Catholic Church finances a campaign to tell gay kids they cannot have a relationship like their parents: If those kids knew they could have happy, loving, same sex relationships, would they still choose to be priests?

I don't see it being that complicated. It's just that Benedict and the other haters are all a bunch of self-loathing queens who want everyone to be as miserable as they are. Sullivan, himself, admits he struggles with the guilt all the time. He said that he detects nothing in his prayers telling him to leave the church. I wish him well, but I think he--and the world--would be better off without such institutionalized guilt.

I know this for sure: the collection plate dollars of ALL Catholics are being funneled to an organization that uses the money to actively suppress the already-marginalized. And they need to be reminded of that.

Via Pharyngula.

Digital Cuttlefish: Booty And The Priest

You'll recognize the melody, and the unfortunate real-world situation upon which it's based. Catholic priest knocks boots, knocks up, asks for abortion, gets kid, mom AND kid now have cancer, priest sends get-well card after 23 years of stonewalling. All with the knowledge and help of the Franciscan order.

Fuckers.

A good friend of mine (speaking in a customer-service context) said "There's nobody who never makes mistakes. The good ones own up to it and make it right." The Catholic Church pretends they're above that.

Earth to Bill Donohue, maybe you and your alleged followers could do a fund-raising drive for this young man? For once, you'd be doing the right thing.

Via Pharyngula. Seriously, go read it.

Judge Orders FBI Interview With Cheney Released

Hey, Dick, does the name Valerie Plame mean anything to you?

The FBI interviewed Cheney in June 2004 as it was investigating the leak of Valerie Plame's identity after her husband publicly criticized the Bush administration. Both the Bush and Obama administrations said they wanted to keep the interview confidential because future presidents and vice presidents may not cooperate with criminal investigations if they know what they say could became public.

But U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled there was no justification to withhold the entire 67 pages of records documenting the interview since the Plame leak investigation has concluded. He said that limited parts could be withheld to protect national security or personal privacy.

I hope that evil motherfucking traitor--and remember, if you out an American agent, that's the legal definition of treason--gets his due.

Which he won't.

Andrew Sullivan Calls On Bush To Acknowledge Torture

One of the saddest, most depressing, and most poignant facts of my life right now is that I have friends who still don't acknowledge that the torture of prisoners under American interrogators was ordered at the very top of the US government. The best friend that I have ever had doesn't seem to grasp the concept that just because Bush was outraged when the Abu Ghraib photos hit the press, that doesn't mean he wasn't behind the orders that produced them. It's maddening...we're not accusing Bush of being behind 9/11, or of Obama not being a citizen...the Senate Armed Services Committee and the International Red Cross have found that this was a systematic list of procedures and techniques to be used as routine interrogation techniques. NOT for any "ticking bomb" scenarios like on 24. And Bush knew about it, and acknowledged it in public. And yet, I still can't get him to see it.

It could be worse, though. One of my relatives shouted me down when I so much as used the word torture in conversation by demanding to know, "WERE YOU THERE?!?!?!" Answer: no, I wasn't. You weren't there at Pearl Harbor, or Gettysburg, or Golgatha, either, for that matter. The basic facts remain: American investigators tortured prisoners.

And a finer dissemination of the facts and a laying-out of the evidence than Andrew Sullivan's "Dear President Bush" you will not find on this Earth. It deserves to be held up to a level of near-reverence as any writing by Thomas Paine. He lays it all out for Bush, the entire torture timeline, and then cuts to the chase:

"The model is Ronald Reagan, who denied he had ever traded arms for hostages in Iran but eventually realized that that was indeed the consequence of the actions he took, the men he appointed, and the policy he pursued. Reagan’s speech to the nation on this matter was, in my view, his greatest, because it revealed humility and integrity. “First, let me say,” he told us in 1987,

"I take full responsibility for my own actions and for those of my administration. As angry as I may be about activities undertaken without my knowledge, I am still accountable for those activities. As disappointed as I may be in some who served me, I’m still the one who must answer to the American people for this behavior … A few months ago I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions still tell me that’s true, but the facts and the evidence tell me it is not.

"If you read the Red Cross report and the Senate Armed Services Committee report, I believe you will reach a similar conclusion about your own record on prisoner treatment. You may not have intended to torture people, but you did; you may have wanted to protect the country within the law, but that admirable desire too easily slid into your approval of actions that are indefensible, illegal, and deeply damaging to America’s reputation and honor. You were let down, as Reagan was. He took responsibility. You need to as well."

Read the whole thing, end to end. Then go back and do it a second time. Even more.

Those of you who have scorned us for questioning the war in Iraq, denounced us as "with the terrorists," questioning our patriotism and even our sanity, have no excuses any more. You are in league with those who approved of the worst mistreatment of human beings as is possible to inflict. Killing some of these people would have been merciful by comparison. The fact that they were terrorists and baby-killers doesn't matter--we are America, and we are supposed to be better than this. We can stand firm in the knowledge that our patriotism is the true version: a patriotism and love of our country strong enough and fearless enough that we will criticize our country when it is wrong and call for its leaders to do the right thing.

I hope Bush does it someday. If for no other--purely vindictive reason--I want to see the rug ripped out from under Cheney.

What Would Jesus Do? File Chapter 11, Of Course!

A while back, I blogged about the Jesuit Order of the Roman Catholic Church and how they handled their sexual-predator priests the way any responsible, moral organization would--they dumped them in remote Alaskan villages where the native peoples were unaware until it was too late that they were harboring a nest of vipers in their midst.

Now the "Society of Jesus" is broke:

"Less than two months from now, anyone who was abused or molested by a Jesuit preist in Montana, or four other states, will run out of time to be a part of a settlement for the abuse.

The Society of Jesus organization, has paid out over $25 million dollars to victims, but under a chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the period for filing any more claims is November 30th."

Of course, they could be legitimately broke, but being the experience-based cynic that I am, I favor this explanation:

"David Clohessy, a victim and director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Preists, said 'We think that this whole chapter 11 process stinks. We think it'(s) set up largely by the Jesuits largely for their own convenience and protection. And a victim should be able to come forward whenever he or she (is) capable of it.'"

Amen.

My original post prompted a comment from a reader pointing out a similar case in Newfoundland where the Catholic Church allofasudden came up missing a pile of money and assets when ordered to pay up for the abuse of parishioners there. Well, the court system there is having none of it, and found them liable after a 10 fucking year court battle with the victims. Money quote from the Sexual Abuse Claims blog:

"The Catholic Church’s refusal to acknowledge its responsibility to Hickey’s victims simply perpetuates the view that the Catholic Church cares more about its reputation than it does about protecting vulnerable and innocent children from sexual abuse."

Can I get another Amen?

Via Joe.My.God.

The Best Take on George Tiller's Murder

Dr. George Tiller, the prominent Kansas doctor who was one of three American doctors to perform late-term abortions, was murdered yesterday after decades of terrorist tactics by the scum on the right. Erica Barnett of The Stranger has the best take on Slog:

"On one side, we have those who attempt to protect women's access to abortion by supporting pro-choice judges and elected officials; on the other, we have those who use violence and the threat of violence to intimidate women and abortion providers. Tell me, where is the common ground between those two groups?

So no, President Obama, those who believe in a woman's right to choose should not "open our hearts and minds to those who may not think like we do." Because "common ground," in this case, is code for ceding away our rights— women's rights—in the interest of calming a storm we didn't create. And because you don't negotiate with terrorists—whether they're threatening doctors or taking hostages."

Donate to Planned Parenthood in Dr. Tiller's memory.

---

Update: Sully on Olbermann tonight:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Bill Donohue: Epic Failure of a Human Being

Looks like Bill Donohue of the Catholic League got splattered by an interview with an Irish reporter a few days ago. He was part of a three-way interview in which one of the victims of the recently-cataloged history of Irish reform school abuse was a participant. And this vile apologist for all abuses Catholic actually pulled a Bill O'Reilly and screamed at the abuse victim to "SHUT UP" about it, already. Disgusting.

Anyway, religious commentator Richard Sipe shreds Donohue with a casual brutality that would make any video gamer green with envy...

"William Donohue, the voice of the Catholic League, cites the reaction to the report as “Hysteria.” Donohue is a Bozo. I don’t know any other appellation that can adequately describe the uninformed, unintelligent, and frankly stupid reaction of a man who responds thus to the facts of abuse by supposedly responsible and trusted religious."

It gets better from there, too. Go. Read it.

HT: Pharyngula.

Irish Pristly Rape: Followup

The Archbishop of Dublin admits to their failure in this case:

"The church has failed people. The church has failed children. There is no denying that. This can only be regretted and it must be regretted. Yet “sorry” can be an easy word to say. When it has to be said so often, then “sorry” is no longer enough.

But “sorry” must always be the first word."

And this absolutely speaks to the heart of it:

"The first thing the church has to do is to move out of any mode of denial. That was the position for far too long and it is still there."

I might take a stronger stance on this by saying the clergy's denial has been in place for so long and to such an institutionalized degree that it could be considered criminal negligence, and in some cases outright evil. But I'll take denial, until I see further evidence of it, at which point I'll start hammering away with "evil" again.

Sadly, the admission by the Irish Church isn't stopping Ireland's political parties from scoring points on each other. And as this poor gentleman in this video points out, the longer that happens, the longer the day of some closure comes to the victims.

HT: Pharyngula and Friendly Atheist.

Jesus Wept

One of the problems with blogging about the evil of the Catholic Church's aristocracy is that there's such a wealth of material it can be hard to keep up. And it's been a busy few days for disgusting behavior on the part of the Funny Hat Posse (aka Child Rape, Inc.). My outrage over the Catholic Church has been flaring up again, and I'm out of cortisone creme, so here comes the rant.

PZ Myers has been on a roll lately--documenting this stuff, commenting with a shameless ease to which I can only aspire and envy--and I can't add to any of it, but here's a summary:

• Those rosary beads you're using? They might have been made by victims of rapist priests. In Ireland, no less.
• The Catholic League's Bill Donohue basically says, "Oh, that was SO last year..."
• The new archbishop of Westminster and his pal, cardinal Murphy-O'Conner respond to the crisis by saying the sources of all evil in the world are (brace yourself) atheists.
• And in what can only be called a coincidence that almost makes me believe in providence, the Pope is now on Facebook and iPod. (Via Greg Laden)

"The walls of our churches are painted by the greatest artists of all time," (Rev. Paolo) Padrini said. "This means that the church has always invested in the culture of each period, using the best instruments available to communicate with people."

So, here is your homework, boys and girls: since the Vatican has come right out and said they want to communicate with the people, let's indulge them.

• Let's ask Ratzinger why he thinks changing his name makes him any harder to see through for the evil face of this vile behavior that he is.
• Let's ask him for clarification on his Crimen Sollicitationis ruling, which essentially declared any investigation of priest-rape to be confidential and not for publication.
• Let's talk about the scandals among the diocese of Fairbanks, where the Jesuits have been dumping their two-legged predators on the Alaskan wilderness to rape the local natives without surcease.
• Let's inquire about the letters that date back to 1952 by an insider, urging the Church Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic to chuck these vermin out of their ranks because the investigator (correctly) stated they were incurable. Let's further ask why pope Paul VI ignored the same advice when that self-same insider spoke to him personally at the Vatican in the 60s.
• And more to the point, let's ask him why the holy gibbering fuck the Church has any right to flinch away from criticism given this widespread and completely institutional reflex to suppress the scandal rather than deal with the problem!!!!! It's been going on for too long. You have no right to bitch anymore about people hurting your feelings.
  

And while we're at it, children, let's throw in a math assignment by laying odds about whether the really tough questions will ever get to Ratzinger in the first place. I lay those odds at about infinity+1:1.

(Unfiltered rant: I want to once, just once, see one of these criminal scumfucks who cover for the rapists go to prison. Not the rapists themselves, but the enablers and coverup artists who get promoted for it. I'm looking at you, Cardinals Law and George. And I want to see priests treated with open suspicion to their faces. Not rudeness, per se, but I want people to start asking a hell of a lot of hard questions until these creeps get the point.)

(looks placidly at the class)
Any questions?

Prosecute Torture Officials

So says a man who trained SEALS in how to resist torture techniques like waterboarding. And he makes a good point:

"This is about more than one tactic, waterboarding, that has gotten the lion's share of attention. As a general rule, interrogations without clearly defined legal limits are brutal. Particularly when they have an imperative to get information out of a captive immediately. Wearing prisoners out to the point of mental breakdown; forcing confessions through sleep deprivation; inflicting pain by standing for days on end (not minutes like in SERE); beating them against flexing walls until concussion; applying humiliation slaps (two at a time), and repeating these methods over and over."

He also makes this point:

"If America wants to win the war against al-Qaeda, we have to start anew. The Obama administration will have to forget about the pressure they are getting from Bush administration officials and Republicans to hide all further releases of torture memos they themselves defended for years.

Then, Alberto Gonzales, Jay Bybee, John Yoo and Steven Bradbury - who, as Bush administration legal officials, have documented their own complicity to explicitly authorize crimes - will have to be calmly prosecuted, based on the evidence, with all the due process rights to which they are entitled. Who knows, they may well be acquitted.

The sooner the better, as al-Qaeda will recruit hundreds if not thousands more young men to fight, kill and gladly die once they absorb the depth of hypocrisy America stooped to over the last eight years.

Either we investigate our past errors and clean up our ship or we "look forward" and give al-Qaeda a singular propaganda victory that will kill Americans for years to come."

Via Ed Brayton.

Think you can reason with a homophobe?

Try this little screed over on Newsvine...

"After holding back and just reading the comments I feel that I must post yet again. Say what you will but homosexuals are not even human. They are diseased, degenerate creatures who mock humans. The goal that they will freely admit to is to erase any trace of decency or humanity from the planet until we are all wallowing in filth and disease like them. If you are religous at all you recognize that this is the work of satan and that they have no souls, just lust for each other. Someone mentioned that it was Lamda who filed the suit, not Nambla. What is the difference, perversion is perversion, and if you don't think that the ACLU won't soon be filing on behalf of pedos then you are the one being foolish. The ACLU exists for purpose only, to destroy America. Hopefully one day there will be a test to determine if the fetus is gay. Then you could abort it since it is not human. Only the then will we wipe this scourge from the world. Until then we will have to do it one at a time."

Today's little ugly ray of sunshine compliments of some fuck-tard calling himself Dragonman (and what God thinks of this Holy Joe taking on one of the totem animals of Satan, I wonder).

And in case you think he's just a homophobe, here's a followup:

"Of course not only whites will be allowed to live. Someone needs to do the labour. As far as the comparison to Hitler goes, thank you. But remember it the victors who write history. The allies won so they wrote that Hitler was evil. Not true, he was a man who believed in the humanity of mankind and strove to defeat the forces of slime that would drag it down, hey, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette. "

I'm not even going to respond to his bullshit: I'm going to put out an open call to Christians to oppose and decry this crap wherever you find it. And turn these people in to the authorities...the 1st Amendment doesn't cover implied threats against individuals like this.
---
Update: as much as I'd like to make good on that last sentence, the law actually only protects implicit threats against specific individuals.

"The Pedophile's Paradise"

Guess which particular religion this article is about? Yup, the Catholic Church. Seems the Jesuits have been dumping child-raping priests on Alaska for a VERY long time. I've read it once, and the details are hard to stomach, so I'm not block-quoting much here, except this little tidbit about the "Holy Father"...

(I)n the midst of negotiations to settle four claims of clerical sex abuse with the Diocese of Fairbanks, one of the church's mediators told Ken Roosa (an attorney representing the accusers--CN) that the dioceses didn't want to offer more than $10,000. "They said they couldn't offer more money to an Alaska Native because they'd just get drunk and hurt each other," Roosa said. "And it would just encourage more victims to come forward. Unbelievable."

In September 2005, former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger—who'd just become the pope—asked the justice department of the Bush administration to grant him immunity from prosecution in sex-abuse cases in the United States. Ratzinger, the onetime head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was accused of "conspiring to cover up the sexual molestation of three boys by a seminarian" in Texas, according to the Associated Press. Ratzinger had "written in Latin to bishops around the world, explaining that 'grave' crimes such as the sexual abuse of minors would be handled by his congregation. The proceedings of special church tribunals handling the cases were subject to 'pontifical secret,'" Ratzinger's letter said. The Bush administration granted Ratzinger the immunity.

Translation: We'll take care of this issue the way we always have: By hiding behind a phony piety that others are too cowardly to challenge, covering up a bunch of irredeemable predators, and rewarding the people who sweep it under the rug.

This is why, even if I could believe in a god, I'd never, ever, ever go back to being a Catholic. The Catholic "Church" should be treated as a criminal conspiracy to enable and cover for rapists. Dan Savage put it best (paraphrasing) by saying if any group other than a major religion repeatedly harbored and sheltered as many perverts as this, the public would be burning its buildings and calling for investigations. The Church? Not so much.

Hold. Them. Accountable.

Via The Stranger.