The New York Times reported this morning: “The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Tuesday that it had suspended
21 priests from active ministry in connection with accusations that involved
sexual abuse or otherwise inappropriate behavior with minors…The announcement
was a major embarrassment for Cardinal Justin Rigali, who, in response to the
grand jury report, had initially said there were no priests in active ministry
“who have an admitted or established allegation of sexual abuse of a minor
against them.”
The Big Problem in the Roman Catholic Church
regarding all these announcements of pedophilia and abuse of children is that
covering up priests’ crimes and misdemeanors has become so common and
widespread over the centuries in the RC church that the RC hierarchy isn’t even
aware when it’s engaging in covering up crimes. It is simply going about the
normal business of totalitarian rule and the right of the RC church to lie and
mislead.
Rigali is still apologizing for the behavior
of Philadelphia priests and never once saying mea culpa about his own behavior, or the behavior of his
predecessor, Cardinal Bevilacqua. Bevilacqua, who is now 87 has gotten himself
a lawyer who claims Bevilacqua is too old and infirm to be investigated. But
the point is, Bevilacqua wouldn’t have to engage a lawyer if he would just
man-up and admit he had covered up the crimes of pedophile priests while he was
in charge in Philadelphia. Which he most assuredly did.
Ugh! The cowardice! The dissembling! The
hiding! The blaming everyone and everything but themselves!
Will we ever hear Pope Ratz or anyone in the
Vatican or Rigali or Bevilacqua say, “The buck stops here…I was wrong…I did
it…I covered up these crimes”?
No.
And do you know why? Because that might cause
the people in the pews to contemplate, to reflect and to wonder…hmmm…maybe
these guys who contend they are God’s representatives on earth haven’t
been truthful about other things. Maybe they don’t have God’s ear. Maybe this
whole Vatican operation is just a grand scale con run by a bunch of pathetic
clowns who like to dress up in their mother’s
gowns and jewelry.
And God forbid the people in the Roman
Catholic Church start to think.
