"The garb of religion is the best cloak for power."
William Hazlitt
"On the Clerical Character" Political Essays

Trifecta of Depravity

I'm starting to wonder if the Catholic hierarchy's constant assault on women and freedom of religion is in part an attempt at distracting the public from their horrible behavior. To anyone who has bothered to pay attention this is nothing surprising and certainly nothing new. The only real difference I can see is in the media's willingness to cover the Catholic churches many moral lapses. Over the past few months there has been a sort of media hat-trick regarding the churches despicable behavior.

The ongoing pedophile/pedophilia cover-ups is unfortunately a given source of shame. Why more Catholics have not played a more active role in going after these scum-bags is truly mind boggling. I remember hearing about such cases when I was a kid in the 1980s and it goes back a lot further. The most disturbing aspect is the level of complacency that the hierarchy has shown and continues to demonstrate. It goes all the way up to the Pope (both current and past).

The Legionaries of Christ order is such a disgusting den of shameless, harmful, immoral behavior it is hard to know where to start. The combination of corruption and secrecy that enabled so many to commit a variety heinous acts and crimes is sickening. The fact that the Vatican knew about many incidents dating back into the 1950s is simply unforgivable.

Then, of course, to top it all off is the scandal(s) involving leaked documents. I find it quite interesting that the Vatican has spent so much effort at finding the whistle-blower and preparing for prosecution rather than addressing the level of corruption the leak has revealed in the the Holy See's finances. I never saw anything Holy about the Vatican. I doubt it will lead to most Catholics re-assessing their allegiance to that den of criminals but it is still a nice dream.

In then end, the Catholic hierarchy have about as much moral authority as Jack the Ripper. On second thought, they have less. At least Jack only managed to destroy a life or two at a time. How these bastards have the nerve to preach to the rest of us is astounding. They are not moral authorities. At best they serve as negative examples.


Further readings

Pedophile/Pedophilia scandals

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/23/accused-priest-i-was-helping-priests-and-helping-victims-as-best-i-could/

Legionaries of Christ

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/15/us-vatican-legionaries-idUSBRE84E1DS20120515

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=153252584

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/22/legion-of-christ-scandal_n_1535387.html?ref=religion

Book/Leaks

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/19/vatican-calls-vatileaks-b_n_1529964.html?ref=religion

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/24/vatican-bank-chief-ousted_0_n_1543334.html?ref=religion

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/25/vatican-tracks-down-docum_0_n_1545425.html?ref=religion

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/30/vatican-butler-idUSL5E8GUBPZ20120530


And there is plenty more.

Biblical Trivia Game Show

It seems somehow appropriate that a red neck comedian will be hosting a trivia game show that is entirely about the Bible. Jeff Foxworthy will be hosting the "American Bible Challenge." From the brief clip it looks like it should be somewhat amusing in a cheesy superficial way. There is apparently no context or thought involved. But in all fairness that tends to be the format of all game shows. People do seem to confuse being good at trivia with being very intelligent. Memorization definitely comes in handy but says very little about a person's level of intelligence. It is the ability to evaluate and make use of information that matters.

I do have mixed feelings about trivializing, quite literally, Biblical passages. Not because I have any respect for the "Good Book" but because it has and continues to be used to justify horrible beliefs and actions. When people trivialize something they tend to not critically think about. Most religious people already fail to critically evaluate the scriptures upon which their religion/faith are built. I'm afraid this will only contribute to that lack of thinking.

I am curious to see how this game show will play out.

Why I Despise the Wealthy

I will admit on the outset that this has nothing to do with atheism. However, an NPR story I listened to really pissed me off. Bill Koch does not seem to be as blatantly an asshole as his two brothers but he is still a greedy selfish prick. One of his achievements cited is a good example of his character and the character of far too many rich people.

"In a documentary for ESPN, Koch later said the America's Cup victory cost him $68 million.'Financially, I would say win or lose, it's not worth it," he said. "If you asked me ... if I knew what I know now, would I do it, the answer to that would be no.'"

$68 million for a fucking trophy! He seems to have some regrets about that but doesn't say why. Either way he obviously did not notice or care about the amount he was spending at the time. Think of all the problems that could have been worked on with that type of funding. Poverty, Cancer, AIDS, Homelessness, Local/State Infrastructure, and Resource Development just to name the ones that come to mind first. But no, he had to waste it on a meaningless boat race.

Even the so-called philanthropists are no such thing. The amount they tend to spend is a pittance and if you actually pay attention, most of the problems they give funds to tend to be problems their own economic behaviors helped contribute to in the first place. Bill Gates is a good example of that. He's given to environmental groups in Africa but never acknowledges that some of the biggest polluters there are companies he owns significant stock in. That is without looking at the human rights records of those same companies. Here's a thought, if you own substantial interest in the companies that cause the problems change the fucking policies.

You're wealthy and you want to do something good that's wonderful but actually do something worthwhile without any ulterior motives. If you're filthy rich giving money or resources as a tax write-off or for positive PR is not philanthropy. It's just being more of a pampered over-privileged piece of shit.

Sorry, Buffalo

It may seem a little silly to apologize to an entire city especially over something I had no say in. However, I feel really bad for Buffalo, New York. They will be inheriting a truly horrible individual. Bishop Richard Malone has been reassigned to that unfortunate city. Being the meddling asshole that he is it does not matter whether you're Catholic or not he will be a pain in the ass regardless of your faith or lack of faith. He on occasion will pay lip service to social issues that are deserving of attention but he will NOT devote any time, effort, or resources to them. He will, however, routinely interfere in local and state politics and public policy. He will continue to oppose what should be seen as basic human rights. He will actively oppose, with tax free church funds, reproductive rights, women's rights, and homosexual rights. As for the poor, they're not going away so why waste time on them. Pedophilia? Malone never met a depraved child rapist he wouldn't defend and coddle.

Sorry, Buffalo. Though I'm glad this lying, hypocritical bastard will be leaving my state I do feel for you. Who knows, maybe the Catholics of your city will grow a collective spine and/or conscience and put put this piece of shit behind bars where he belongs.


Like most mainstream media the pieces below are rather sugar-coated but they do at least acknowledge that he was not universally liked and admired. You do have to read through quite a bit to find the brief references to his critics/criticism.

New England Cable News "End of an era in Maine, Bishop Malone leaves for NY"
Bangor Daily News "Maine Catholic Bishop Richard Malone appointed bishop of Buffalo"