Just as the Republican Party has become become a foul cesspool, so to has the Roman Catholic Church as an institution (assuming for the sake of argument that it has been so for centuries). Meanwhile, far right extremists in the Catholic fringe continue to play the role of apologists who want to blame anyone and everyone for the moral bankruptcy of the Church hierarchy other than the "princes of the church" themselves. A case in point is the always disingenuous Bill Donohue of the so-called Catholic League (a mom and pop organization which principally operates to enrich Donohue - just like NOM serves to enrich and Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown) who ran a full page in the New York Times that blamed the Church's sex abuse column on teh gays. A column in the Boston Globe slammed Donohue and his bogus organization. Here are some highlights:*
It would serve Bill Donohue and the Catholic League well if they went through some basic public relations training. Their latest attempt at bomb-throwing is a full page ad in the New York Times that blames the sexual abuse crisis on an overzealous media, scam artists, and, of course, "the gays."
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Abuse took place in the Church and it handled it very poorly. It doesn't matter whether it was pedophilia or homosexual or heterosexual in nature. People were abused and the Church did nothing for decades. The Church failed not only the victims, it failed its flock. The motivations for the abuse just don't matter.
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The fact that Donohue so desperately wants to dismiss the abuse as if it were just another part of the Culture Wars is deplorable. . . . . Donhoue likes to alienate people - not welcome and accept. He's looking to make enemies and fight battles over things that don't always make sense. Much of the apologetic work that Donhoue and his organization does hurts the greater Catholic cause. . . . . He represents the extreme conservative wing of the Church that thinks Church teachings revolve around sex and nothing else. He comes across as a hack that uses his well-funded bully pulpit for self-promotion. He should be dismissed by Catholics who want the Church to grow and not shrivel into some fundamentalist sect limited to pre-Vatican II adherents.
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And while Donohue rants against gays, a post at Huffington Post looks at the real source of the world wide sex abuse: the Church's bishops, cardinals and, yes, Popes, who clearly don't give a rat's ass about the welfare of children and youths. As proof of this allegation, the post reports that 57 dioceses are basically ignoring policies that allegedly protect children and youths. Here are some highlights:
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U.S. Catholic bishops announced Monday (April 11) that sexual abuse accusations against Catholic clergy increased in 2010, and auditors found 57 dioceses do not follow church guidelines on child protection.
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Costs related to sexual abuse also increased in 2010 by more than $19 million to $70.4 million, most of which (57 percent) was spent on settlements with sex abuse victims.
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Meanwhile, audits of local dioceses conducted by the Boston-based Gavin Group found "weaknesses in audit compliance," the bishops conference said, including 55 dioceses that could be considered noncompliant if changes are not made.
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In those dioceses, auditors found problems with church-recommended "safe environment" programs and inadequate training for children, pastors or directors of religious education. Two dioceses -- Lincoln, Neb. and Baker, Ore. -- refused to cooperate with the auditors at all.
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Yep, that's right. In 57 dioceses, things really have not changed. It's all about protecting and enabling child rapists and to Hell with children and vulnerable youths.
It would serve Bill Donohue and the Catholic League well if they went through some basic public relations training. Their latest attempt at bomb-throwing is a full page ad in the New York Times that blames the sexual abuse crisis on an overzealous media, scam artists, and, of course, "the gays."
*
Abuse took place in the Church and it handled it very poorly. It doesn't matter whether it was pedophilia or homosexual or heterosexual in nature. People were abused and the Church did nothing for decades. The Church failed not only the victims, it failed its flock. The motivations for the abuse just don't matter.
*
The fact that Donohue so desperately wants to dismiss the abuse as if it were just another part of the Culture Wars is deplorable. . . . . Donhoue likes to alienate people - not welcome and accept. He's looking to make enemies and fight battles over things that don't always make sense. Much of the apologetic work that Donhoue and his organization does hurts the greater Catholic cause. . . . . He represents the extreme conservative wing of the Church that thinks Church teachings revolve around sex and nothing else. He comes across as a hack that uses his well-funded bully pulpit for self-promotion. He should be dismissed by Catholics who want the Church to grow and not shrivel into some fundamentalist sect limited to pre-Vatican II adherents.
*
And while Donohue rants against gays, a post at Huffington Post looks at the real source of the world wide sex abuse: the Church's bishops, cardinals and, yes, Popes, who clearly don't give a rat's ass about the welfare of children and youths. As proof of this allegation, the post reports that 57 dioceses are basically ignoring policies that allegedly protect children and youths. Here are some highlights:
*
U.S. Catholic bishops announced Monday (April 11) that sexual abuse accusations against Catholic clergy increased in 2010, and auditors found 57 dioceses do not follow church guidelines on child protection.
*
Costs related to sexual abuse also increased in 2010 by more than $19 million to $70.4 million, most of which (57 percent) was spent on settlements with sex abuse victims.
*
Meanwhile, audits of local dioceses conducted by the Boston-based Gavin Group found "weaknesses in audit compliance," the bishops conference said, including 55 dioceses that could be considered noncompliant if changes are not made.
*
In those dioceses, auditors found problems with church-recommended "safe environment" programs and inadequate training for children, pastors or directors of religious education. Two dioceses -- Lincoln, Neb. and Baker, Ore. -- refused to cooperate with the auditors at all.
*
Yep, that's right. In 57 dioceses, things really have not changed. It's all about protecting and enabling child rapists and to Hell with children and vulnerable youths.
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