Still Seasoning With Hypocrisy

Beware the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy, it says in the Bible.

For years, the Catholic Church was guilty of perpetrating abuse in Ireland. Recently, the government has been investigating the abuse of children by clergy, hearing from young men and women who were shut away in industrial schools and Magdalen laundries for the crime of being poor or illegitimate. In response, members of the Church hierarchy have been cooperating, in the hope of erasing their sins and hanging on to their ever dwindling congregations.

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin handed over some documents that were requested by the Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation when he was elevated to the higher post. Get the dirt out from under the rug, air out everything and start fresh, he implied. Make a confession and receive absolution, just like the priests preach to the faithful.

Not so fast, says now retired Cardinal Desmond Connell. Those documents are from my era and I didn't say they could be revealed. The outraged cleric has taken a case to the High Court to get those documents hidden away again, lest some bad things about perverted priests make the news.

Heaven forbid that we gain any knowledge about the rampant sexual abuse of innocent children by clergy. It would make the Church look bad, and God knows that it would make the cardinal look even worse. Best for all concerned to invoke executive privilege, or at any rate, best for the cardinal.

What of the victims who were left with ruined lives? What of their offspring who suffer from mental health issues related to their parents' misery? Rest assured, Cardinal Connell is praying for them. That ought to take care of it.