The never ending hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy at times is beyond belief. Take, for instance, Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York. who in a recent pastoral letter on the archdiocese's website recounts a supposed encounter he had with a man at an airport who was disgusted and enraged by the Church's deliberate and pervasive cover up/protection of sexual predator priests. The man in the story line at the outset refused - in my view properly - to shake Dolan's corpulent hand. When challenged on the world wide sex abuse scandal, Dolan disgustingly put forth the "everyone else does it" excuse for the Church's vile conduct and callous utter disregard for the safety and well being of children and youths. Indeed, here's part of what Dolan had to say in his disingenuous propaganda piece:But, let me ask you, do you automatically presume a sexual abuser when you see a Rabbi or Protestant minister?” “Not at all,” he came back through gritted teeth as we both boarded the train. “How about when you see a coach, or a boy scout leader, or a foster parent, or a counsellor, or physician?” I continued. “Of course not!” he came back. “What’s all that got to do with it?”
*“A lot,” I stayed with him, “because each of those professions have as high a percentage of sexual abuse, if not even higher, than that of priests.” “Well, that may be,” he retorted. “But the Church is the only group that knew it was going on, did nothing about it, and kept transferring the perverts around.”
*“You obviously never heard the stats on public school teachers,” I observed. “In my home town of New York City alone, experts say the rate of sexual abuse among public school teachers is ten times higher than that of priests, and these abusers just get transferred around.”
*I’m afraid there are many out there who have no love for the Church, and are itching to ruin us. This is the issue they love to endlessly scourge us with.” “And, three, I hate to say it,” as I wrapped it up, “there’s a lot of money to be made in suing the Catholic Church, while it’s hardly worth suing any of the other groups I mentioned before.”
*Dolan, of course, ignores the fact that the Church sees itself as having a license to preach hate against others and declare who is a sinner and who is not. Indeed, the Church acts as if the hierarchy farts gold dust and is incapable of error. Fine. If that's the game Dolan wants to play, then let's treat the Church like everyone else. For starters, let's (1) strip Catholic priests of all societal deference, (2) arrest and prosecute Church superiors who knew about and protected sexual predators (including Benedict XVI), and (3) revoke all special recognition of the Vatican as a sovereign power. Yep, let's treat the Church just like everyone else. Oh, and we might want to revoke the Church's tax exempt status too given its attempts to interfere with political issues and politicians.
*
As for the Church's never ending denigration of gays - even in death - the Worcester Telegram & Gazette has a story of the all too typical incredible pettiness and viciousness of the Church hierarchy:
*
When Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage, Dennis Troy wrote an impassioned letter to Margaret Marshall, the Supreme Court justice who penned the landmark ruling.
*
He wrote about growing up gay in Worcester, about the bullying and the taunts, about the abuse that led to alcohol and the belief that he wasn't “normal.” After struggling for years, he eventually got sober and met the man he would spend his life with. The only thing missing was validation, which came when he opened the newspaper in May 2004.
*
But despite Troy's status as a legally married adult, there are still some holdovers who seek to remind him that he's not “normal.” The Catholic Church and Bishop Robert J. McManus, for example, still insist on stigmatizing the loving and legal bond that they encourage for everyone except homosexuals.
*
In January, though, Troy's 75-year-old sister died. She was buried in the family plot at St. John's Cemetery, the one Troy's mother bought more than three decades ago. His sister's death prompted Troy to start thinking about his own mortality, and a week later he returned to St John's to ensure that his resting place was in order.
*
[T]he bishop “doesn't mind” that gay couples are buried in the cemetery, Troy recalled. But the bishop won't allow gay people who are married to reflect that status in any form on their final resting place. In other words, no marker or tombstone can be inscribed with the word “spouse,” “husband” or “wife.”
*
Rather, Troy and Darisse would only be allowed to call each other something like “faithful companion” or “loyal friend.” Which prompted a bemused Darisse to wonder if he should change his name to Lassie or Rin Tin Tin.
*
In other words, tough luck to gay married Catholics. They can live as spouses, but they can't die that way in any of the more than 20 Catholic cemeteries in Worcester County.
*
Troy said that his parents, grandparents and other relatives are buried at St. John's, so he won't go elsewhere. Besides, his mother paid for the plot. “Richard is my legal spouse,” he noted. “I'm angry and hurt by my church. I've chosen to remain Catholic but I'm almost ready to leave.
*
My advice on the matter? Dennis needs to leave the Church and endeavor to encourage as many of his relatives as possible to do likewise. By remaining a "practicing Catholics" - to use a term thrown at me earlier in the year - one becomes an accessory to the crimes and moral bankruptcy of the Church hierarchy. Yes, it is initially difficult to sever the years or decades of brainwashing, but it is possible. Moreover, one will feel so much cleaner not being an accessory to the sexual abuse of children. I'm sure there are wonderful Episcopal and ELCA churches in Worcester that would welcome Dennis and his partner. I'd also note that if one truly believes in the life after death/resurrection story, then one believes that the loved one has left their earthly shell and moved on. Where one is buried ultimately means nothing other than bowing to tradition. And for the record, I plan on being cremated with my ashes thereafter scattered in locations of my designation.
*
As for the Church's never ending denigration of gays - even in death - the Worcester Telegram & Gazette has a story of the all too typical incredible pettiness and viciousness of the Church hierarchy:
*
When Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage, Dennis Troy wrote an impassioned letter to Margaret Marshall, the Supreme Court justice who penned the landmark ruling.
*
He wrote about growing up gay in Worcester, about the bullying and the taunts, about the abuse that led to alcohol and the belief that he wasn't “normal.” After struggling for years, he eventually got sober and met the man he would spend his life with. The only thing missing was validation, which came when he opened the newspaper in May 2004.
*
But despite Troy's status as a legally married adult, there are still some holdovers who seek to remind him that he's not “normal.” The Catholic Church and Bishop Robert J. McManus, for example, still insist on stigmatizing the loving and legal bond that they encourage for everyone except homosexuals.
*
In January, though, Troy's 75-year-old sister died. She was buried in the family plot at St. John's Cemetery, the one Troy's mother bought more than three decades ago. His sister's death prompted Troy to start thinking about his own mortality, and a week later he returned to St John's to ensure that his resting place was in order.
*
[T]he bishop “doesn't mind” that gay couples are buried in the cemetery, Troy recalled. But the bishop won't allow gay people who are married to reflect that status in any form on their final resting place. In other words, no marker or tombstone can be inscribed with the word “spouse,” “husband” or “wife.”
*
Rather, Troy and Darisse would only be allowed to call each other something like “faithful companion” or “loyal friend.” Which prompted a bemused Darisse to wonder if he should change his name to Lassie or Rin Tin Tin.
*
In other words, tough luck to gay married Catholics. They can live as spouses, but they can't die that way in any of the more than 20 Catholic cemeteries in Worcester County.
*
Troy said that his parents, grandparents and other relatives are buried at St. John's, so he won't go elsewhere. Besides, his mother paid for the plot. “Richard is my legal spouse,” he noted. “I'm angry and hurt by my church. I've chosen to remain Catholic but I'm almost ready to leave.
*
My advice on the matter? Dennis needs to leave the Church and endeavor to encourage as many of his relatives as possible to do likewise. By remaining a "practicing Catholics" - to use a term thrown at me earlier in the year - one becomes an accessory to the crimes and moral bankruptcy of the Church hierarchy. Yes, it is initially difficult to sever the years or decades of brainwashing, but it is possible. Moreover, one will feel so much cleaner not being an accessory to the sexual abuse of children. I'm sure there are wonderful Episcopal and ELCA churches in Worcester that would welcome Dennis and his partner. I'd also note that if one truly believes in the life after death/resurrection story, then one believes that the loved one has left their earthly shell and moved on. Where one is buried ultimately means nothing other than bowing to tradition. And for the record, I plan on being cremated with my ashes thereafter scattered in locations of my designation.
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