The Vatican condemned Israel for going after Hezbollah in Lebanon. I wonder how the Vatican will respond when Hezbollah or it's equivalent launches rockets into their country and murders their citizens?
I am a Roman Catholic, but I struggle to remain so when the Vatican misses the easy moral questions. Easy like, any nation has the right and the obligation to defend it's citizenry from those who would kill them. The Vatican was critical of the US Military's treatment of the detainees at Abu Gharib prison too. Which is a fair criticism, if only slightly hypocritical. Within months of the childish transgressions at Abu Gharib, there were trials and those responsible were punished. The Church on the other hand, turned a blind eye or worse aided and abetted pedophile priests for decades and they continue to do so. Ex Bathists get the frat boy treatment and it's a crime against humanity. Thousands of mostly young Catholic boys and girls are sexual abused by those entrusted with preaching the Gospel of Christ and it's business as usual. Do you see my problem with them?
I get the feeling some of these Vatican mouth pieces are Europoodles first and churchmen a distant second or third. If these were Swiss Guards captured and Italian citizens killed by terrorist rockets, I wonder then if they could find the backbone to stand up to terror?
1 comment:
You are certainly right in your dismay at the lack of clarity from the Vatican re: the Middle East.
And you are right ( as I know the persons involved) that there is a kind of "Europoodle" response by certain Vatican officials. But it seems to me that this Pope certainly is aware of the time when Italy was besieged by murders and terrorist fascists, and knows all too well what the papal response whould be. I disagree with vatican "diplomats, etc, rattling off with sillly remarks, but I am still faithfully waiting to see what this Pope does with this mess. I am reserving rejection of his statements about all of this, although I am inclined to think (for now) that some serious misjudgements have occurred with teh diplomatic corps of the Vatican. But he is the Pope, after all.
PS To say "I am a catholic" and then go on to speak about "they" and "them" (ie "the Church") is somewhat naive and hypocritical in itself. Layfolk, as well as clergy & religious, are responsible for the tragedy of the "pedophile priest" (in reality: ephibophilic, homosexual priest, rarely a true pedophile). Trust me, I know from experience, the fight was as much against naive and PR-concerned clergy as it was against naive & "revolutionary" minded laypeople. I know: experience from the trenches, don't ya know.
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