Archives September 2016

Holy Mother Church, Repository of Christian Moral Teaching, Incorporates Child Abuse into Orientation-Day Ethics Training Materials

File this under “about goddamn time”:

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis’ sex abuse commission has scored a victory within the Vatican: Members have been invited to address Vatican congregations and a training course for new bishops, suggesting that the Holy See now considers child protection programs to be an important responsibility for church leaders.

Commission members praised the development as a breakthrough given that bishops have long been accused of covering up for abusers by moving pedophile priests from parish to parish rather than reporting them to police. For decades, the Vatican too turned a blind eye and failed to take action against problem priests or their bishop enablers.

It’s nice that an organization that considers itself the authoritative source of morals has finally figured out that hey, maybe raping kids is enough of a bad idea that it’s worth mentioning during orientation.

The article goes on to mention that pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a handful of bishops. But it remains to be seen what the church knows about child-abusers still in its ranks, or within its purview. The Vatican loves its mysteries, after all.

Pretending You’re Doing Good

The following email message was sent to an address I gave when I downloaded a Bible-reading app:

[…]right now there’s an unprecedented opportunity to see precious lives transformed in Africa!

These are children whose lives have been devastated by poverty and violence. They’re hurting, many are orphaned, and they need to know
that someone loves them.

Your support today will help place Bibles into the hands of 150,000 at-risk boys and girls, and share with them the Good News of Jesus Christ.

And thanks to a $10,000 Challenge Grant, your gift will go even further!

It costs just $5 to place a Bible in a child’s hands. But when combined with the Challenge Grant, your gift will provide two children in Africa with their very own copy of God’s message of love.

So please give generously now to help transform these kids’ lives with a Bible.

Yours in Christ,

I’ve cut out links, but the highlighting is as in the original.

Religion is often blamed for giving people false hope, or for giving the illusion of doing good, and this message is a perfect example. Kids who are hurting or orphaned need food; they need medical care; they need a family. What they don’t need is Bibles.

On top of which, this organization’s two-star rating from Charity Navigator is less than impressive, especially considering that even Answers in Genesis managed to get three.