It was only a matter of time before U.S. Catholic Bishops chose to adopt the victim strategy in defending its priests' rampant pedophilia. In a comparison that is almost laughable were it not so pathetic, the Church is now blaming the sexual liberation of the 1960s and '70s for its priests' predatory tactics.
The bishops say neither celibacy nor pedophilia were the root causes of their priests' problems. And, get this, they say their problem has been pretty much cleaned up. Yeah, right, and the Mets will win the World Series this year.
Catholic Church leaders MUST be living in a parallel universe. First, they fast track Pope John Paul II for sainthood based upon two rather shaky miracles. (Hey, I can point to a REAL miracle maker. How about Gil Hodges, manager of the 1969 Mets? Any votes for beatifying St. Gilbert of Flushing?)
Second, the bishops publicize this totally bogus report that assumes no responsibility whatsoever for the conduct of their priests. Hundreds of priests ran amok for decades, destroyed lives and then were simply transferred from parish to parish as the Church desperately tried to cover up its mess (all done, BTW, under the aegis of the soon-to-be Saint John Paul II).
If the Catholic Church can blame the sexual revolution of the 1960s and '70s for its wrongdoings, so should everyone else. Heck, if I were advising Arnold Schwarzenegger right now, I'd just tell him to go with the church defense. I'd tell the governator, “Look, Arnold, baby, fathering your maid's kid wasn't your fault. It's that damned sexual liberation of the '60s.” Ditto with Lindsay Lohan's problems. Blame the 1960s and '70s. Don't like ObamaCare? Tough. It's a direct result of the sexual liberation. Are you a Cubs fan still waiting for the first world's series title since the Flood? At least you can blame the sexual revolution for distracting the owners, managers and players for the past 50 years.
I know the New Testament advises followers to turn the other cheek. But, where does it also say to point the finger at others for one's own poor behavior?
The Catholic Church should be ashamed of this latest cover-up. Blaming sexual liberation for rampant pedophilia is akin to Detroit's explaining its woes by pointing to better engineering and quality from Japanese and German auto makers. Puh-lese!
I believe Shakespeare was a member of the Church of England, but he must have been thinking of Catholic Bishops when he wrote, “The fault lies not in our stars, but in ourselves.” And, to paraphrase Hippocrates, “Bishops: heal thyselves!”
Not only did they blame the 60s for the behavior of the criminal priests, they also claim that pedophilia isn't a crime if the child is over 10 years old!
But who are they going to blame for covering up these crimes over all these decades?
Posted by: JulieFarin | May 21, 2011 at 09:08 AM
Amen!
Posted by: Ralph Katz | May 21, 2011 at 09:18 AM
Good point, Julie. But, if nothing else, the Church is superb at creative obfuscation. They'll figure something out. The Vatican protects its own.
Posted by: RepMan | May 23, 2011 at 09:27 AM
Thanks Ralph. One would think the Church elders wise enough to realize placing blame elsewhere is a crisis management no-no. These guys need a good PR firm. Do you know of any?
Posted by: RepMan | May 23, 2011 at 09:27 AM
I'm visiting the Vatican in three weeks. Maybe I can get an off-the-record comment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxPCxvxzujo
Posted by: BomberpeteNY | May 24, 2011 at 11:51 AM