The Devil Made Them Do It!

I was the child of a mixed marriage. My Father was a Catholic, my Mother not much of anything. Other than her support, I had a characteristic that precluded me following in my Dad's devout footsteps. I liked to ask questions. I was never willing to accept the "because I said so" rationale that seemed to be the weekly dictum in catechism classes. Replace I with God, the bible, or whatever else was appropriate.

I had been long gone from the church when the scandals of pedophile priests began hitting the front pages. I had too many run ins with Priests and Nuns who told me I'd never be a good Catholic if I kept questioning. I agreed and took my leave. Perhaps I did them a disservice. Maybe if more people who questioned had stuck around continuing to do so, the problem would not have escalated to the degree it has.

Now they are shocked that it has become a world wide problem, not just one with we maverick Americans. Nor is it as new a problem as once believed. The Pope himself is believed to have been involved in the transfer of a know pedophile when he was Archbishop of Munich.

Who is at fault? A church that is has as it's ministry men and women who live the most abnormal of life styles? A hierarchy that protects rather than prosecutes? None of the above. It's because of the Devil! So says the Vatican's chief exorcist!

How this happens, how they've been able to keep it so low key, confuses me. Those possessed by the Devil display some rather obvious and horrifying traits, like vomiting nails and glass and speaking in ancient tongues. Headaches, stomach cramps and aversion to holy symbols. I'd have stomach cramps too if I were about to regurgitate nails and glass! I might also have an aversion to holy symbols if I feared being caught for my sexual peccadilloes!

At least there is finally an explanation for why this has gone on for so long. It has nothing to do with the type of men who are attracted to a life basically without women. Having himself conducted over 70,000 exorcisms, the numbers begin to fall into place. I thought perhaps the men coming forward as victims included many looking for a fast buck or their 15 minutes of fame, but 70,000... Well, they weren't all priests!

The financial settlements are bankrupting many dioceses. For instance the church is the largest land owner in Ireland but has little cash in the bank.

The Vatican sits on vast mountains of wealth. Since the buck stops there, why doesn't the Pope loosen the purse strings to help out?

There I go again. Asking questions. I just can't seem to stop!