Why Pope Ratso Sucks

[Ian David]

Ignore the bells and the smells and the lovely Raphaels, the Pope's visit to Britain is nothing to celebrate
Gordon Brown is 'delighted', David Cameron is 'delighted'. I am 'repelled'.

Save us, O Lord, save us all. Save us from the Pope. Joseph Ratzinger is coming to Britain. Gordon Brown is "delighted". David Cameron is "delighted". I am "repelled". Let him come; I applaud freedom of speech. But no red carpets, please. No biscuits. No Queen.

In his actions on child abuse and Aids, Joseph Ratzinger has colluded in the protection of paedophiles and the deaths of millions of Africans. As Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Pope John Paul II's chief enforcer), it was Ratzinger's job to investigate the child abuse scandal that plagued the Catholic church for decades. And how did he do it? In May 2001 he wrote a confidential letter to Catholic bishops, ordering them not to notify the police – or anyone else – about the allegations, on pain of excommunication. He referred to a previous (confidential) Vatican document that ordered that investigations should be handled "in the most secretive way . . . restrained by a perpetual silence". Excommunication is a joke to me, perhaps to you, but to a Catholic it means exclusion and perhaps hellfire – for trying to protect a child. Well, God is love.

He also waved aside calls to discipline Marcial Maciel Degollado, the Mexican founder of the global Legion of Christ movement. Allegations of child abuse have stalked Maciel since the 1970s. His victims petitioned Ratzinger, only for his secretary to inform them the matter was closed. "One can't put on trial such a close friend of the Pope as Marcial Maciel," Ratzinger said. Two abuse victims sued him personally for obstruction of justice, but he claimed diplomatic immunity.

Eventually, when the allegations could no longer be denied, Ratzinger apologised, and sent Maciel off "to a life of prayer and penitence". Why not prison? He didn't say. "It is a great suffering for the church . . . and for me personally," was Ratzinger's comment about the wider child abuse scandal. Great suffering? I thought to be raped as a child was great suffering. To be exposed as complicit in a cover-up is surely merely . . . embarrassing?


Pope Ratzinger Photograph: Bela Szandelszky/AP

More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/sep/29/the-pope-visit


Hat-tip to: http://twitter.com/thegoodatheist/statuses/4473467622

[stuball111]

1. As long as a person walks the earth in a human body...

that same body should be subject to human laws. I guess wearing a gaudy robe makes one exempt from crime. I could never understand why some people think popes and bishops sit any higher on a spiritual plain than the average folk, they're born, eat, shit, sleep, and die just like the rest of us... why would they be any "closer" to God than anybody else?

[madrchsod]

3. they are taught that the kingdom of heaven is not within them

the catholic church has nothing to do with christ`s teachings

[LuvNewcastle]

2. He's shaping up to be

the Dick Cheney of Popes.:puke:

[juno jones]

5. Wait it's worse...

However, Dickie looks a lot like the emperor as well. Evil has it's own cachet, eh?

[juno jones]

4. I have several devout catholic friends who have left the church

because of him. One couple, Irish and Hispanic, married in the church and once regular attenders, have refused to have their children baptised in the church (the subject of several heart-felt calls to my openly pagan husband a few years ago) because of him.

He is a very good example of why organized religion is not necessarily a good thing. I don't care about his quasi-nazi upbringing, as a pagan, his inquisitor "purity of the faith' thing hits close enough to home.

His records on aids and pedophilia are abysmal.

[Sapphocrat]

6. God, please prevent me...

...from posting the obvious response to the subject line of the OP, lest I be banned. Amen.