I’M APPALLED!

I’M APPALLED!

(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, ALLEXPERTS)

(Carl Gee, Bill Berkowitz, Associated Press)

(Scott Stephen, Frazer Chronicle)

 

It doesn’t matter who you are, or what position that you hold, or what organization that you represent, without doubt, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Sadly, as a people, we must come to that conclusion with regards to our religious leaders, and whatever deity we hold to a higher trust. A tell-tale sign of a church official being little more than the CEO of a fortune 500 company was an act, four years ago, of a  Catholic Archbishop seeking approval of the Vatican to move more than $50 million dollars from a cemetery funds into a trust to help protect the funds from any illegal activity that the church might incur.

 

Let’s think about that for a minute, $50,000,000…..a king’s ransom some might say, for sure a person could buy a little cottage on an unassuming inland lake, and live out his life in the lap of luxury. But $50 million, actually to be exact the number is $57 million, are churches even supposed to have that much, aren’t they non-profit, doesn’t that mean that these organizations can only break even at the end of their fiscal year?

 

Maybe some of my Catholic brothers and sisters out there know the answer to how much their denomination is worth, I never even thought about it…..since I’m not a Catholic, but non-the-less, when I did a little digging, I was like shut the front door, I was really shocked. If the numbers are true, then running a religious group is…..really a great business. I’m Methodist, and it’s a standing joke when the minister extends his hand, is it for a shake or for a donation, or a shake and a donation.

 

According to some figures that I ferreted out, the Vatican has extensive investments with the Rothschilds of Britain, France, the United States, the Hambros Bank, the credit Suisse in London and Zurich. In the United States the Vatican has investments with the Morgan Bank, Chase-Manhattan Bank, National Bank of New York City, the Bankers Trust Company.

 

In addition to their bank and investment companies, the Vatican also has billions of shares in some of the most powerful international corporations in the world, like Gulf Oil, General Motors, Bethlehem Steel, General Electric, and international business machines.

 

The Catholic Church also has millions of acres of land that is owned for their churches, retreats, old folks homes, and just plain vacant land that is sitting, unused…..and untaxed. Now the figures, when added up makes the Catholic Church, if not the most powerful, one of the world’s top two or three.

 

A SCANDLE THAT COULD TOPPLE THE WHO THING

The indiscretions of a foolish few on the front lines of the religion, (priests that serve communities throughout the world in local churches) can bring the Catholic Church to its collect knees. The manner in which those religious figures at the top decided to handle the question of sexual activity exacerbates an already tenuous situation.

 

The hoi polloi of the Vatican, (make no mistake) the cover-up has always went directly to the top of the food-chain, decided to move the guilty perpetrators from one diocese to another in hopes of…..well that’s just it, I have little idea why they moved these disgusting predators, was it an attempt to hide these bad actors, or did they want to cultivate a whole new batch of disillusioned in another community.

 

 

Of course some of these people were dismissed from the church, but many, many others were sent on that merry-go-round ride of different parishes to continue their vile disgusting activity with a whole new and unsuspecting bunch of mostly boys.

 

There seems to be some kind of thought that the Catholic Church has a whole separate set of rules and regulations…..above what might be termed the laws of the land. By that I mean that law enforcement and prosecutors seem to tip-toe around a crime if it can be church or religious related.

 

And I’ll be damned, there is a ruminant of law that seems to supersede the law of the land, those laws passed by government, or groups, that are laid out to govern and protect citizens in how business is conducted, and seemingly to protect us one from another…..and in certain instances, to protect us from…..us.

 

This law is called Ecclesiastical, and is the internal set of rules and regulations governing a Christen Church. The terms, ecclesiastical law and canon law are often used interchangeably and in the Catholic religion constitutes a complete legal system for the church, and therefore has courts, lawyers and judges, as in secular court.  

 

The rules have changed over the years; in 1917 a comprehensive legal code was devised in a single document. In the 1960’s Pope John XXIII announced a revision of the code, which eventually led to the Code of Canon Law 1983. The rules and laws contained in the Code of Canon address all aspect of the church and its organizations, such as the authority structure of Cardinals, Bishops and Priests.

 

I suppose at evening prayer, one of the first things that a Catholic Priest, Cardinal or Bishop gives thanks for is the Code of Canon rules that not only set forth rules to govern the church and its members, but for the misplaced belief of law enforcement that churches will police themselves!

 

PLAIN TALK IS MISSING

Okay so here goes, plain talk about a problem that has went on for centuries…..you didn’t really believe that this problem just began like 50 years ago, did you, I’m not Catholic, but that doesn’t make a difference, because I’m not Catholic bashing in particular, or knocking religion in general. I’m just a little light in a very dark forest.

 

What a portion of religious officials have done to molest boys and girls, young men and women, and probably scattering whatever belief that they possessed, and robbing them of their youth. These victims will forever walk the earth during their lives, and be unable to ever erase the injury that was brought upon them by a person that they trusted.

 

By far that is the worst part of this story, the loss of trust, how can any of the victims trust in life, how can these people overcome the ravages that a simple act of a sexual perversion has wrought upon them. The abuse of children by clergy was addressed by Catholic Bishops in 2002…..and yet the problem persists. I suppose it’s like putting a band-aid over whole in a dyke, it won’t hold the water back for long.

 

No-sir-e, until the Catholic Church, it’s governing officials, and members admit to God that there have been massive mistakes made, and human carnage has been the result, and vow to bring every deviant to justice, and every Pope, Cardinal, Bishop and Priest that has participated in the cover-up is outed, the problem will persist, and in fact flourish.

 

HAVE A NICE DAY!