I wonder if they have a secret tree-house

While I was out in the world the other day, I missed a few news stories. This one about the "princes of the church" and their extra-special, double-secret conclave tickled me.

In a rare glimpse of the process, the Vatican showed reporters footage of the cardinals entering the assembly hall and taking their seats, flipping through the book of conclave ritual with its green hard cover, the “Ordo rituum conclavis.”

The cardinals took assigned seats, swore an oath of secrecy and agreed to send a message to Benedict, who has retreated to the papal summer home in Castel Gandolfo outside of Rome.

This sounds like the secret clubs created by little boys. I wonder if they put up a sign that says "No Girls Allowed". Oh, right -- they didn't have to. Virulent sexism is implicit in everything they say and do.

Repulsive cardinal to help elect new pope

Catholics United, a non-profit, non-partisan organization, says that former Los Angeles Archbishop Roger Mahony should refrain from attending the papal conclave and recuse himself from voting. The petition launched last week had more than 5,000 signatures as of Tuesday representing a tiny fraction of the roughly one in four Americans who are Catholics.
"Please do not bring further scandal to our Church that has already been rocked by the sex abuse crisis by attending the Papal Conclave. You have been disciplined and you have lost your ability to have a voice within our Church," said the petition from the Washington-based group.

But Mahony has no clue he's dead meat. In fact, he's preparing to vote. This is such an evil notion and, as always, the church is tone-deaf. Do they never ask, "How must this look to Catholics and others?" The linked story states that Mahony is "attending the Vatican conclave to select a successor to Pope Benedict XVI". This means the new pope will be partially elected and tainted by a man who hid child rape and other sexual abuse by priests. Mahony's transgressions aren't a secret. The whole world knows the man is a verified beast. But the church doesn't give a damn.

Quite a fresh start they're getting over at the Vatican. What an appalling church this is. Over and over, the Roman Catholic church reveals that it has no moral center. None.