I have just watched this British Panorama report on BBC about the extent of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, and it made me nauseated! I have to admit that I have paid some attention to this problem over the last few years, but it wasn't until I just saw this report, that I really "got it"! Apparently the church has been fairly successful at the cover up and this policy of keeping thing quiet and out of the public view as much as possible!
What I find truly appalling is that the current pope, former cardinal Ratzinger, is the one who initiated and put into practice this policy of cover up of sexual abuse by the priest as a formally documented decree called "Crimen Sollicitationis" which spelled out how to keep these issues quiet, and even provided a punishment of excommunication for not following the policy! So, is this why he was chosen as Pope? Because he's the one who is now still the keeper of this policy?
The Catholic church is by far the largest institutions in the world, over 1 billion people strong, which, in their own words, is only responsible to god, and so can act, as the former DA of Phoenix points out in this report, as mafia in their cover of their crimes! I suspect this makes them feel pretty invincible.
And they continue to get money from all those people who come to their churches and bring their children to Catholic schools... and the abuse continues! They prey on the poor, illiterate, people who have no way of defending themselves!
I am so sickened by this that I can't even seem to write this very coherently, because my mind is just spinning with futile anger at how an institution based on superstition has such enormous power and influence that it can get away with world-wide perpetration of such hideous crimes, and still continue to have followers and continue to have them provide the financial support to continue this circle!!!
How do we, people of rational minds, make this stop? How do you fight this type of power structure? How to you reach out to over billion people world wide and convince them that they are victims of one of the greatest scams ever? And that they are the ones also responsible for these crimes by supporting the church with their donations!
