Who's the Real Blasphemer Here?

It's made the news again. More sexual assault of minors in a church. The Catholic Church specifically. I suppose I should be horrified or shocked or something other than desensitized. I am appalled at it all; don't misunderstand. But this isn't new. This isn't isolated. This will likely continue as long as Catholics choose faith in a church rather than the safety and grace of human dignity.

photo by Martin Cathrae

Yeah, Goat. People do that.

I read a report from NPR today that said the cost of legal fees for the abuse scandal. Wait. Can we call it what it is? It's not a "scandal." While there is definite moral outrage, scandal implies a one time event. This was no one time event. A scandal might be accusations and substantiation in one parish against one priest. This is not so small as to make temporary rumor fodder. This is systemic conspiracy to perpetuate the sexual assault of children worldwide for decades. It is so much bigger than a scandal and it just keeps getting worse. Anyway, the article said the cost had reached 3 billion. Good. The Church has plenty to hand back since the celibacy thing was the Church's idea in the first place. They wanted their property and possessions and I hope they lose it all. Because the children did. They lost their innocence, their virginity, and their bodily autonomy.

wifflegif.com

Which is exactly what I say to any apologists, Charlie.

But they won't. They won't because so many faithful will continue to say things like "my faith in God supersedes the action of any one person." That's a real quote from a Catholic by the way. Again, if it was one priest in one parish, this might be a way to soothe one's shock I suppose. But how that thought can override the nauseating scope of the Church's grab for power over the protection of innocents, I can't make sense of that. If it's just faith in God that keeps you coming to church, then why not go to another church that hasn't systemically and globally sustained the protection of predators?

uncredited

That's what I would've said to the Church, Walter.

Of course, going to another church might not be enough either. After all, as one person pointed out and I am sure other agree, abuse by religious leaders is not isolated to the Catholic Church. True. I've written about others and others have been in the news. Apparently God has no problem with allowing such atrocities to occur.  There was that whole Massacre of the Innocents thing He allowed. "Oh, Herod wants to murder all male children so he can stay in power? Eh. Why not?" In light of the rampant assault of minors and subsequent cover-up, it's not all that surprising. Honestly, it's almost prophetic if you replace Herod with the bishops and cardinals who allowed the abuse to continue so that the power over the masses could continue. For some, the sheer volume of incidents in the Catholic Church when compared to other faiths is not enough to make them question where they profess their religious allegiance. Besides, pointing at other incidents in other religions is really just deflecting the responsibility. It's like saying, "But Suzy threw rocks first!" Doesn't change the fact that power was chosen over innocence at a mind boggling scale in the Catholic Church.

reddit/r/reactiongifs

Exactly what I want to shout at anyone I see walking into a Catholic church, Gollum.

Another argument I have heard is the old favorite, "But not all..." Really? When someone says this, it changes the focus of the narrative. It shifts from the agony of the victims to the perceived glory of the Church. Oh sure. Some priests and nuns did terrible things, but look at all the strong and upstanding members of the clergy who didn't. I'm sure some of the predators were seen as strong and upstanding before being revealed as pedophiles. In fact, I know they did. A story in the New York Times covered one parish's discovery that their beloved priest didn't retire, but rather accepted retirement because accusations against him had been substantiated. If he hasn't been so close to retirement, they likely would have just moved him to another parish after some "treatment" and "repentance". This argument is total denial shit. This is just more of choosing to support the faith in the Catholic Church over the children.

uncredited

Ah! I see the cycle of abuse has reached reconciliation phase.

Still others claim that the Church is where they found home and solace and community. Ugh! If someone in your house was raping your infant, would you stay and pray for the rapist to be healed? I hope not. I hope you'd attack that bastard and pursue his criminal punishment. I hope you would save your child and provide for their care in light of their assault. Would you be so quick to excuse the horror? Would your sense of comfort and community come in a place proven to support pedophilia and allowed your child to be raped? How sick is that mindfuck? But ya know--people do it. The horror is too overwhelming and they ignore it. Mothers turn their heads away as fathers or other relatives continue abuse. Fathers blame their children for the abuse or tell them not to say such things. Grandparents say it's in the past and getting over it is the only path to healing...along with prayer. Pray for forgiveness and the strength to heal. Fuck that. It's bullshit.

archivesontario

Even the mime leaves that bullshit behind. You just can't see it. Because he's a mime.

Part of the Catholic mass is the Profession of Faith. It states that "we believe in one holy Catholic and apostolic church." How people can say that now without the words turning to bile in their mouths is beyond me. Professing faith in an organization that offered up children again and again to be assaulted is beyond my comprehension as a human being. It's an affront to human decency. The only reason I can see that the Catholic Church even apologized or acknowledged the terror is because it got caught. It would've kept on with the policy if they hadn't been outted. I guess my faith was never so strong as to continue membership in an organization that protected its power over its children.

picryl

Walk away and don't look back,Moose.