Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Catholic Church Goes Tea Party: Blames "Government" And "Culture"

I wonder when that bastion of masculine depravity known as the U.S. Catholic Bishops are going to recast their opposition to child sexual abuse, such as it is, in the same light they're railing against same-sex marriage and abortion, blaming the state and federal governments and our “culture” for a woman's right over her reproductive decisions and a gay person's right to marriage. Is the Catholic Church's sexual abuse of boys the fault of governments and our “culture” too? Here's one pious hypocrite, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the bishops conference, on the unfolding PSU horror story:

“Every time that once again takes over the headlines we once again bow our heads in shame,” the archbishop said. “We know what you’re going through, and you can count on our prayers.” And then the kicker: Dolan said the Penn State scandal was proof that sex abuse was “widespread” and not associated with a particular faith. “One of the things we've learned is, tragically, it's people who have earned positions of trust,” he said. Prayer and passing the buck. Nice FAIL, Archbishop. Are governments and our “culture” to blame here too? Or could it possibly be the insular, secretive, patriarchal institutions living in another century, and resistant to any and all change, particularly that which would include the voices of half our population, in equal measure: women.

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