April 11th 2010
Understanding right and wrong
By Marie Alena Castle
[I sent this to the Strib. Don't hold your breath waiting to see it in print.]
When I read Katherine Kersten’s April 11 defense of the pope in the pedophilia scandal I was struck by how little value was placed on real people. It’s all about protecting religious institutions and saving imaginary souls. Pedophilia has been rampant, and ignored, in the Church for centuries. For example, the historical record shows that an 11th century priest, Father Damian, complained bitterly to the pope about the church ignoring the “unbridled wickedness” of priestly pedophilia, to no avail.
It took the modern day tort law system to call the Catholic Church, as well as others, to account. They do not understand right and wrong. That is why it is necessary to go after their money, and do it publicly, because religions rely on a good public image to maintain power. It’s all about image, not children, in the Church’s centuries-late interest in controlling pedophilia.
As for understanding right and wrong, Kersten and these patriarchal religions seem unclear on the concept. Kersten lauds the Catholic Church’s stands against abortion, stem-cell research and same-sex marriage. These stands are based entirely on unverifiable religious beliefs that value “saving” imaginary souls at the expense of the health and wellbeing of real live people. Beliefs that cause so much demonstrable harm have no claim on society’s support.
