Catholics and Mormons: An Unholy Alliance

Joe Sudbury at America Blog has a post about the unholy alliance between the gay hating and sexual abusing Catholic Church clergy and the Mormon Church. Besides conspiring against gays, it seems the Mormon Church likes to cover up sexual abuse problems just like the falsely pious Catholic bishops, cardinals and yes Popes. One does have to wonder about the link between rampant homophobia and denominations with widespread sexual abuse of minors by their clergy and church members. It seems hypocrisy among the falsely pious knows few boundaries when it comes to hiding the truth. I truly hope that now that the Mormons have thrust themselves into high visibility the misdeeds of the Church will find more exposure to the light of day. It would surely be a bit of Divine justice. Here are some highlights from Joe's post:

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Not sure how many Catholics are comfortable with Mormon teachings, like that whole posthumous baptism of Jewish Holocaust victims, but the California's Catholic bishops needed money to bash gays. So, the Catholic hierarchy in California decided to cut a deal with a group who most Catholics don't really consider a religion, but, when it comes to gay bashing, nothing is off-limits. The Catholics don't have much spare cash these days because they've spent hundreds of millions to settle sex abuse cases. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles paid out $660 million in 2007.

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But, that also got me thinking of things the Catholic hierarchy has in common with the Mormon leaders. They're both very aggressive when it comes to covering up the sex abuse of children, of course. The Mormons and the Catholics both have gone to great lengths -- and great expense -- to hide this problem.We know how widespread the Catholic problem is. But, the Mormons have done a better job of hiding abuse. Last year, the PBS show, Expose: America's Investigative Reports, did a show on Peter Zuckerman, a reporter in Idaho Falls, Idaho, who busted open a scandal involving sex abuse, the Boy Scouts and the Mormons.

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Supporters of the Boy Scouts and Mormons played dirty and launched homophobic attacks on the reporter. According to Zuckerman, there were times when he was actually fearful for his life. Zuckerman's full series, which originally ran in 2005 in the Idaho Falls Post-Register, can be found here.

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This story is eerily and disturbingly similar to the Catholic abuse stories we've heard for years. The Catholic leaders and Mormon leaders may not agree on posthumous baptism, but they've got a link when it comes to sex abuse and covering it up. So, yes, the Mormons are in the spotlight now. But, they chose it.