Recently, the Pope, modestly housed in a palace worth billions, announced that the Catholic Church was the true Church.
His sweeping pronouncement created shock waves all around the Christian world to say nothing of the disquiet it caused among all the non-Christian religions who also claim (with the same conviction) that they are the ones who best know and represent 'God'. Immediately theo-babble filled the world, at least the curious rather spooky world of those who hold religious beliefs.
Meanwhile, back at their Los Angeles ranch, the Catholic Church is paying out over 600 million dollars to quieten down folk who, as children, were sexually molested by members of the Church hierarchy. The photo (hat tip to Reuters) shows Cardinal Roger Mahony, dressed humbly for the occasion, announcing the victim's payout and expressing deep regret for the actions which, it is alleged, the Church knew about yet did nothing! Further, the idea was spread about that the diocese might have to sell a few bits of its real estate inventory to pay the bill. Brings tears to your eyes, doesn't it? Then life wasn't meant to be easy!
Now, even though I'm an atheist, I am tolerant of those who believe. That means I accept them and adopt a live and let live position as long as they don't interfere with or threaten my world in any way. Unfortunately religion does threaten my world!
Conflict between religions is perennial and even the most ignorant person in the world is surely aware of where serious conflicts bubble and boil, conflicts that could easily destroy our world. Then, right in the middle of this animosity, the Pope sticks his fundamentalist bib in and ratchets up the divisions within the ranks of his own brand of God-botherers.
The irony is, while he's doing this, one of his own Churches is paying out millions to victims of those who, dressed in finery and talking theo-babble, stand up in Church each Sundays telling the gullible that if they sin, they'll go to hell and burn forever!
I feel very sorry for the victims. Their trust was betrayed by those teaching about love and caring. Mere kids, they were exploited in the most disgusting way. They will carry the scars forever. 'Suffer the little children...' has a whole new meaning!
I'm left asking yet again: when is the penny going to drop about religion?
8 comments:
The penny will never drop as a vast amount of people are only to willing to have something ,this case religion, to allow them to avoid thought and responsibility ,and there is also a vast number only to willing to take advantage of them. Religion has little to do with God, it's power, business and politics, with a dash of God thrown in to keep 'em distracted from the main game.
Daniel, I read out your pearly wordly words of wisdom to my 90 year old friend who missed all the babble of the Catholic version of religion. One can be lucky, she thinks.
Watching catholics version of hell and damnation terrified both her son in law and her friend as children ensuring they stayed on the straight and narrow.
The problem with the Church is that they concern themselves too much with creating fear and anxiety in kids with minimal stuff while committing heinous crimes themselves. If there is a hell elsewhere I most certainly hope these basket cases find the hell they deserve for themselves!
Notice the finger action of the cardinal as he rams home his own point of view. Hardly the best person to be telling us what to do!
Lang mack, welcome to my blog. Taking advantage seems to be the catch cry of our world!
Mary, the world is filled with those who try to tell us what to do. More fool us for listening!
we have already had this out here on the east coast. millions of bucks and selling of real estate- and still these mindless morons go to church every sunday and put their envelope in the plate. they don't get it. believe in god if you can- but why buy into the religion thing? between the catholic storm troopers and the evangelical soldiers- i fear for the world- as well as america.
The penny does seem to be dropping, just very very slowly. Hopefully, if this pope continues making crazy speeches like this, it will drop that bit quicker.
Your fear is shared by all those who think, Betmo!
Lucy, nothing the Church says has made any sense for centuries yet religion still is a major force. Beat me!
Daniel, I think that in America the penny will drop about religions more easily than the penny will drop about the US bondage to the Israel Lobby simply because the defenders of religions are in relative disarray compared to the focused zeal and ruthlessness of the Israel Lobby.
The religions' penny is slow dropping, isn't it? Nietzsche was already writing almost 150 years ago: "What are these churches now if they are not the tombs and sepulchres of God?" (THE JOYFUL SCIENCE, 1882).
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