I have one question for the church

Cardinal Timothy Dolan's handling of the child sex abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church will soon be public...

All of the documents relate to the alleged sexual abuse of children by clergy in Milwaukee.

"I think the Catholic Church has learned a very painful lesson on what not to do in terms of dealing with sexual abuse," said Joseph Zwilling, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of New York.

Yes, the church learned a painful lesson -- not the kids but the church. As usual with such remarks, there is no grasp of the tremendous harm done to children by priests. It's all about the church and its mad game of hiding sexual abuse under the rug.

So here's my question, Zwilling:

Why is it that the Roman Catholic church, sole arbiter of Christian virtue and morals, had (and has) no clue that the abused children are the important end of the sexual abuse equation? Why, when the church got wind of the rampant sexual abuse of children by priests, did the church not immediately report the crimes to the police and try to help the children? And why are they still not trying to help the children?

That's the big question and the church has no answer, none at all. And they never will. This church knows nothing about moral behavior. It is a cesspool of evil. You only have to view Zwilling's final quote in the linked story, to understand this:

The sexual abuse of minors, Zwilling said, is a societal problem not just confined to the church.

They still don't understand what they've done. It's amazing and mind-boggling. There isn't a shred of morality in this church.

New week, same church

As the sacred rituals of conclave week begin, Catholicism reveals its true face in yet another country. 

A commission investigating abuse of children linked to Dutch Roman Catholic institutions says girls were sexually abused by members of the clergy in their homes and in church, while they suffered physical abuse and intimidation at the hands of nuns in boarding schools.

The commission, led by former Hague mayor Wim Deetman, was funded by the Catholic church. In preliminary conclusions in December 2011 it estimated that up to 20,000 children were molested at Catholic institutions between 1945 and 2010.

At least this one was funded by the church. Let's give them credit for that. I wonder if this news will reach the princes of the church as they settle in for their extra-holy, super-special conclave.

That's quite a church they've got there.

What the next pope will face

There's a story at the NYT today about Vatican intrigue. The upshot is that it won't be smooth sailing for the next pope. The story begins by recounting the theft of the pope's papers by his butler.

And if that original sin weren't enough, the content of the leaks confirmed that the next pope has a very messy house to clean up. The letters and memos exposed petty wrangling, corruption and cronyism at the highest levels of the Catholic Church. The dirt ranged from the awarding of Vatican contracts to a plot, purportedly orchestrated by senior Vatican officials, to out a prominent Catholic newspaper editor as gay.

Always thinking sweet thoughts, these princes of the church. What I want to know about is the "homosexual liaisons" at the Vatican. The butler pointed to this, but no one ever followed it up. Gee, I wonder why.

I think my favorite line is this:

And as cardinal, after priestly sex abuse cases bounced for years among Vatican offices, the former Joseph Ratzinger took them over himself in 2001. 

Yes, we've heard it before but it can't be stated too often. It's the information that won't go away: Ratzinger was in charge of the entire pedophilia scandal. The popey guy! Catholics are great at ignoring this but their lack of attention doesn't erase the issue. The whole world knows that the pope was in charge of sexual abuse cases since 2001. Most of the children who were abused after that date owe their pain and horror to one man: Pope Benedict. (Okay, the priest who attacked them is also responsible. Still, that's quite a pope they've got there.)

Investigate this, not that

So the Roman Catholic church in Germany asked an outside expert to "analyze data on abuse from German dioceses as far back as 1945". Didn't work out so well.

Pfeiffer [the investigator] said that researchers and church worked well together for the first few months, but then resistance emerged, starting with a call from the Munich archdiocese for the researchers "to bow to church requests for stronger controls" on their work.

A group representing German dioceses then called for the researchers' work to be submitted for pre-publication approval, Pfeiffer told ZDF television, a demand that he said was unacceptable.

The good old Catholic Church -- always seeking truth and justice, with nary a concern for its own self-interest. It must be the Pope's leadership. Wattaguy!

In the news today

Intro lines from real AP stories today:

Pope Benedict XVI had a direct line to the heavens Saturday, with NASA's help. Speaking from the Vatican, the pontiff bestowed a historic blessing upon the 12 astronauts circling Earth during the first-ever papal call to space.

People who were sexually abused by priests have gathered in Rome to denounce the Vatican's latest effort to show it is cracking down on clerical abuse.

Some shut themselves inside to pray for mercy as they waited for the world's end. Others met for tearful last lunches with their children, and prepared to leave behind homes and pets as they were swept up to heaven.

 Sigh.