Category — Religion

It seems a lot of folks are shocked and disturbed by the recent allegations that former bishop Raymond Lahey, who recently helped negotiate a landmark $15 million settlement in an abuse case before abruptly resigning,  is involved in child pornography. Why the shock?

Though the Roman Catholic organization attracts many decent and morally-abiding people to its professions, the fact remains it is also attractive to those who are harboring certain sexual tendencies, such as those with an unhealthy interest in children. It’s not a stretch to wonder if Lahey’s own feelings of guilt and self-loathing might have played a part in reaching the agreement with abuse survivors.

The priesthood has long been a traditional hiding place for repressed homosexuals and others with personally distressing sexual proclivities. Perhaps they feel that by burying themselves in celibacy and “service to God” that they will overcome what, to them, are disturbing feelings and thoughts. After all, no one will question a priest as to why he is not married or without a girlfriend. Yet the desires never completely go away, and combined with easy access and the ability to psychologically manipulate and intimidate followers, it’s inevitable that slip-ups will occur.

The Roman Catholic organization has always known this, has always made it easy for offenders to slip in and out of parishes and dioceses, has always left a wake of abused and traumatized children wherever it sets its claws. So why the surprise that yet another of its ranks has fallen to these kinds of accusations?

Letting priests marry will solve nothing. A pedophile is a pedophile; gay or straight, married or single, it makes no difference. Pedophiles are attracted to the Roman Catholic Church because it provides a safe haven for them to prey on victims. When they get caught they are simply moved somewhere else and the files get buried or vanish entirely. Or, if there is publicity, victims are paid off.

Either way, the practice has been widespread for centuries and the highest-ranking church officials right up to the Pope have always been aware of it. It’s only been in recent times that the Church has been confronted with any sense of justice and punishment from the societies it victimizes. Before that, it was open season on children (and anyone else) with complete impunity.

So no, I’m not shocked that ex-Bishop Lahey was allegedly found with a laptop full of child porn. What shocks me is that people still willingly support and endorse this long obsolete and abhorrent institution, this organization that feeds on guilt, ignorance, and fear, this unrepentant and remorseless destroyer of children. That’s what really shocks and surprises me. Who can take this organization seriously anymore? Who really thinks that they have any interest in anything other than the pursuit and protection of their own wealth and power?

According to this article in the Globe and Mail, “the atheist slogan, ‘There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life,’ may soon be coming to subways and buses in Canada’s largest city.”

The ad campaign is sponsored by the Freethought Association of Canada , which is raising funds for it through their Atheist Bus website.

Find out more (and donate!):

http://atheistbus.ca

Also check out the Freethought Association of Canada site:

http://freethoughtassociation.ca

A few summers ago, my wife and I were walking through one of the local parks in Mississauga, Ontario when we noticed a group of people sitting on the lawn listening to someone speak. Being the curious sort of fellow I am (my wife calls it “nosey”) I suggested that we get a little closer so we could check out what was going on.

The crowd was mostly made up of children and young teens and they were listening  to a clean-cut young fellow who looked to be in his early twenties. As soon as we were within earshot I heard him say “Jesus” and I knew this was some sort of religious service or something.

We didn’t stay long, just long enough to slowly walk by and hear a little bit of what he was saying. He told them there are two places they can go when they die: Heaven or Hell. Those who accept Jesus Christ will go to Heaven and those who don’t will roast in the fires of Hell. The expressions on their faces said it all: wide-eyed, fearful, completely enthralled by what he was saying.

It always disappoints me to see this sort of thing. We live in a society where access to scientific and historical knowledge is the best it’s ever been. We have libraries in every town and the internet in almost every home. And yet, in this so-called advanced day and age, children are still being sat down on lawns and given these ancient fables as “truth”. Why?

Children are easy to recruit into superstitious belief systems. They arrive with a clean slate and rely on adults to teach them about the world. That’s why religious groups start the indoctrination process early on, beginning with baptism and Sunday school. The earlier the seeds are planted, the deeper the roots become. And as the years go by, they are often more and more difficult to pull out.

Fear has always been used as a tool to control people. Sometimes fears are legitimate, like the fear of getting shot in a war zone or that Wham! will reunite and put out a new album. But when the fears being propagated are nothing more than nightmarish illusions dreamed up to frighten young children into mental slavery, it makes it even sadder to see young minds being abused by adults who should know better.

Several Catholic school boards, most notably those in Burlington and Calgary, have been trying to get Philip Pullman’s book The Golden Compass pulled from library shelves and removed from Scholastic Books’ ordering forms. The books, they say, promote atheism and are anti-Christian. And they say that like it’s a bad thing.

I haven’t read these books, but if Pullman is an atheist and uses his stories to warn against religious tyranny, they can’t be all bad. The buzz on the movie isn’t very good, but I’ll probably end up checking it out, along with all the others who will be buying books and tickets to see what all the fuss is about. I’m sure Pullman is writing a “thank you” note to these groups for providing him with so much free publicity.

Apparently, the Church is not satisfied with ruining its own image with rampant corruption, deception, and centuries of sanctioned pedophilia. Now it seeks to further denigrate its integrity with bullshit protests against childrens fantasy books. Well, if the Catholic groups know about anything, they certainly know about books of fantasy. And children. Especially soft and supple doe-eyed children who know how to keep secrets…

This sad attempt to “protect” children is laughable given the history of predatory priests being shuffled around from church to church. But then again, those priests weren’t writing fables that posit the idea God doesn’t exist; they were only confirming it each time they reached into a child’s pants. Looking to the Catholic Church to protect children is like asking a dog to guard a steak.

In a properly advanced society, no school board would be subject to the whims of organized religion. But Catholic School Boards will continue to try and hide the truth about this world from their students, and thousands of parents will willingly send their kids to be molded by these institutions into good, God-fearing, guilt-stricken, anxiety-ridden, intellectually-impaired adults — something the public school system already does well enough.

When the Church is able to clean it’s own yard, maybe then people will take their criticisms seriously. That is, if we can get past the funny hats. But for now they will continue to grapple with their weakening grip on the minds of those they seek to control and watch helplessly as their credibility and relevance continue to decline.