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If covering op kiddie rape were the only problem, and if it didn't run all the way to the top, I might be inclined to cut them some slack.

But it's not the only problem. There's a laundry list of problems, including

  • Dubious financial transactions.

  • The kind of dubious connections to the second world war that have been closely scrutinised elsewhere in European society.

  • Consistent political support for criminals, like Bush the Lesser and Corruptioni, who operate under a rather unusual definition of rule of law.

  • Promoting hostile foreign meddling in the internal affairs of sovereign states.

  • Lying about reproductive health in countries where the prevalence of lethal sexually transmitted diseases make such lies amount to little more than common murder.

  • Hatemongering against LGBT people.

  • Support for unsavoury regimes in Latin America.

  • Consistent sexism.

And a long, long list of other reasons to consider the Catholic Church as currently constituted a malign influence that should be excised.

The majority of the listed points are matters of stated, official policy. Some of them it even boasts of when it's sure no civilised member of the congregation is around to object.

- Jake

If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Mon Mar 15th, 2010 at 08:36:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
And I'll note in addition that even with copious amounts of slack being cut, any organisation that demands the right to insinuate itself in government functions, such as education, must be held to a higher standard than Joe Blow down the street.

Further, the size and power - financial as well as political - of the Catholic Church reduces the amount of slack I'm willing to cut. Having a powerful organisation behind you makes it easier to cover up crimes and outright thumb your nose at the law. Having a powerful organisation at your disposal also makes it much easier to prevent, discover and take action against crimes if one is so inclined.

- Jake

If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Mon Mar 15th, 2010 at 09:05:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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