Benedict, John Paul II, And Child Abuse

That's the title of a new post by Andrew Sullivan. Like me, Sullivan was raised Roman Catholic and I suspect still feels betrayed by a institution that is harshly anti-gay in its official doctrine, yet which has knowingly aided and abbetted countless sexual predator priests in an effort to maintain its power and the Church's reputation so that the laity will not turn off the vast money spigot. Sadly, as Andrew's post indicates, the cover up went all the way up to John Paul II - who in my view was a fraud and anything but a saint - and the current Nazi Pope, Benedict XVI. Some may ask why is it important that this story be made widely known and these hypocrites exposed? In my view because (1) the Church continues to destroy lives - and not just the lives of gays - every passing day with its bigotry, anti-science positions and false piety, and (2) corruption within an institution like the Roman Catholic Church with all its power must be weeded out with frauds being held accountable whether they be a parish priest or the Pope. Sadly, this enforced accountability has not occurred to anywhere near the level needed. Here are highlights from Andrew's post:

*

Until his death earlier this year, Maciel ran a large, far-right Catholic cult called the Legionaries of Christ. The Legionaries and their lay counterpart, Regnum Christi, are very powerful entities in the new Catholicism, given special protection by Pope John Paul II and much favor under his successor. And at the core of the Legionaries, like many religious cults, was a sexual abuse ring designed to please the founder. Secrecy was maintained by indoctrinating many members at a young age, and enforcing vows of silence on all topics related to Maciel. This cult-like stricture is still causing grief and suspicion in many parts of the Catholic world, most recently in the Baltimore archdiocese.

*
The reason I bring this up today is because journalist Jason Berry, of the Hartford Courant, has a new and gripping documentary on Maciel and the abusive cult-like practices he pioneered. It's called "Vows Of Silence" and it carefully exposes the appalling facts of the enmeshment of the last two Popes in covering up sexual abuse and protecting a serial predator.

*

Maciel's abuse was known to Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI for years, and they did nothing about it. The Maciel case is important because it reveals the current and former Pope to be knowing, conscious protectors of a child abuser and shows how the sick sexual dysfunction at the heart of the Catholic hierarchy was abetted and fomented at the very, very top.

*

The trailer for Vow of Silence can be found here. I beleive that the movie should be required viewing for all Catholics to ensure thay realize just what blind allegiance to the Church can facilitate and allow to go unpunished.