Blogging from a small part of the Internet linked to NYC.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

"Deliver Us From Evil"

I recently saw "Deliver Us From Evil", a documentary focusing on Oliver O'Grady, a former Catholic priest who molested at least 25 children beginning in 1976.

In the documentary, O'Grady openly and frankly, speaks about his crimes, and how church officials (including then-Bishop Roger Mahony, currently a Cardinal) knew of his actions, and not only helped cover them up, but helped him to continue them, by moving him from parish to parish. Mahony claims to not have know... but it's obvious that he did. Even if he didn't know the severity, he knew he was pedophile.

One of his victims was a NINE-MONTH OLD BABY! Who the hell can even try to justify something like that? Then to help him by NOT REPORTING it? And.. to then move him to a new parish where he was able to get to MORE innocents!

While I have never had a truly bad experience with the church, and in fact, I had been an altar boy. Yet, I do not, and can not, believe in the Catholic Church anymore. At least until it takes a true step, or at least DOES SOMETHING, about these pedophile priests, and those that protect them. I see no difference between the priest that molests children, and the one that covers up for him, because neither is acting in any manner that is inline with God's Will, the teaching of Jesus, the basic precepts of the Faith, or basic common decency.

I still believe in God, Jesus Christ and "doing good"; but I have truly lost faith in the Church and the people in it. I had already begun to "question authority" upon learning of other wrongs committed by people in power, and this just pushed it all over the top. It truly pains me to hear about pedophile priests, and more so about other priests covering up for them. It hurts my heart. It is such a betrayal of the trust one places in their belief. The pedophile maybe not be able to control himself, but the one who covers up KNOWS what he's doing, and even years later STILL knows that he's betraying his "flock".

I do not know how the parents of those children could bear what happened. I think about it and I truly need to stop and think about something else because it bothers me SO much. In fact, I need to end this post now.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

George Orwell - some thoughts (reformatted by request)

These are deep.

Every war when it comes, or before it comes, is represented not as a war but as an act of self-defense against a homicidal maniac.

In our time political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible.

But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.

All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.

Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.

War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it.

Nationalism is power hunger tempered by self-deception.

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.

We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.

If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.

In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act.

for more quote by George Orwell, see the BrainyQuote site.