A Church of Shame

A new report by an Irish commission has revealed an absolutely astonishing level of abuse in that nation's Catholic reform schools. The 2600 page report, which took nine years to compile, says that rapes, molestations, and beatings were "endemic" in the church run facilities.

"A climate of fear, created by pervasive, excessive and arbitrary punishment, permeated most of the institutions and all those run for boys. Children lived with the daily terror of not knowing where the next beating was coming from..."

Oh, and here's another surprise:

"Church officials always shielded their orders' pedophiles from arrest to protect their own reputations and, according to documents uncovered in the Vatican, knew that many pedophiles were serial attackers."

This report once again raises several important questions: What right does the Catholic church have to lecture the rest of us about morality? How can bishops who are themselves mired in sin up to their necks sit back and proclaim that politicians who support abortion rights should be denied communion? Are these the same people who were so self-righteously protesting Obama's appearance at Notre Dame over the weekend? Does the Vatican have any sense of shame? Is there a patron saint of hypocrisy, and does the Pope pray to him or her on a daily basis?

Most importantly, why are there still hundreds of millions of people out there who continue to believe in the teachings of a morally bankrupt Catholic church?