Completely Missing The Point

On the Papal Cheerleading Squad

You are ruining my Easter. It used to be such a joyfilled time where my Dad bought us all orchids we wore on our sunday best lapels and we got to eat chocolate cadbury eggs and color hardboiled ones and hide them around the yard. Now, I think I am going to be sick.
Bishops everywhere (the same ones who told you not to vote for Health Care and the same one in DC who revoked all health care insurance for spouses of everyone he employs in Catholic Charities to spite the gay rights guys) are now opening holy Week by urging everyone to get lock step behind this Pope who after all, is supposed to be Jesus, or at least infallible-meaning what-omniscient?.

Don't get me wrong. He's probably a very nice fellow- I have seen him several times in person (3 actually, and twice at the Vatican) quite learned in the European fine arts of multiple languages and culture, not a bad classical pianist. But Jesus? No. Infallible? Omniscient? Is that a requirement that I must believe that-because give me a break. He puts his red shoes on one at a time like the rest of us and I haven't seen evidence of any bilocation.

An ABC or CBS special last night ran defending his efforts to out Maciel of the Legionaires (which sounds like a disease) who was apparently wildly bonking and boinging seminarians and later had a child or two with a woman. They blamed the old dead Pope and his Secretary of State Soldano for the great hush up (it was the dead guys fault) about it and suggested that the hush up came with great hush money as Maciel bought his special position as the head of that order who could deliver lots of cash to the Vatican. Corruption in the Vatican, nooooooo, you don't say.

The bonking and boinging seminarians was easily under the rug forgiven (for millenia), but my theory is that when it came to light that Maciel's double life meant that some woman was demanding child support, that's when his bright light of favor turned into burn-him at the stake cries. The Vatican was long comfortable with the gayness in the seminary, and long tolerant of what they knew -and hid- regarding pedofilia. It actually shocked and ticked folks off when Benedict gave some sort of papal proclamation that said essentially
'we aren't having gayness in seminaries any more' and it was actually deemed controversial. What really rocked the boat was when WOMEN, God Forbid made demands-for respect, and worse, money. Women with Priests' children. That is where the church draws the line. Maciel was still not defrocked, allowed to live his days in solitude and peace without any serious scrutiny until after his death. This isn't a model example of Pope cleaning house so much as it looks like more of the same Pope who hates women and says he loves Jesus, or is he Jesus? I'm confused. Let me look.

In many parts, and fully funded from the top, The Institutional hatred, loathing and persecution of women who are not the subservient, menial, dress in your drabbest self-effacing finery teachers of catholic children in schools for wages no one would accept in any public school unless they write big checks is really scary.

Women's lives are just expendable. Their children's welfare when it comes to associations with Priests irrelevant. Their emotional lives as affected by the manipulations of priests- just a pain that needs to be gotten rid of. This is an all male hierarchy, all real power rests in men, mostly old men. When women are a problem- either transfer the priest if she doesn't go away or try to kill her off financially so she disappears. Some priests get away with what others would normally consider emotional spousal abuse -some take secret 'spiritual wives' and partners in ministry-and these women are just supposed to shut up and put up with it all.

It's a women's thing. They still don't get it.