3 out of 5 of my topics this week met without incident, and I sat on no fences. Clearly to cause controversy I need to up the ante. So, today I'll have a go at religion.
It would be easy to simply pick on Catholics over this example, but I can't, because this can happen in any religion, and it does.
So what have they done? Nothing, and that's the problem.
http://www.vocativ.com/world/ireland-world/irelands-bizarre-silence-around-800-dead-babies/
Never mind Ireland. Listen to the statement from the church.
Crickets.
And it's the same every time. It took decades for the Vatican to make any apology about the pedophile priests, and only then because the new pope is cast from a different mould, and probably really pisses off the old guard around the world. It's still too little, too late.
Over the years I have asked Catholics about that, and why nothing was done, and so on, and not once has any of them said "You're right. It's outrageous. I am writing to my Bishop!" No, it's always some feeble excuse and let's all change the subject to the good they do.
Apparently, the good that is done outweighs the bad. Every damn time. All the cruelty by nuns the world over, including the sadistic Mother Teresa herself, all obscured and negated by the good they do.
http://guardianlv.com/2013/10/mother-teresa-was-no-saint-says-study/
"the reputation of the priesthood was the more important consideration"
Bullshit.
If you want to improve the reputation of the priesthood, you do something about their behaviour. You don't cover up or try to justify it.
But as I said, this is not limited to Catholicism, or even Chritianity. Every religion on this planet has its share of atrocious behaviour, and, to compound it, a complete lack of acknowledgement of it.
Even the kindly gentle Buddhists are not all they are painted. If you are unaware of this there's a brief overview at Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_violence
And even the Dalai Lama himself has come under scrutiny. Whether he is responsible for some of the injustices or not, he hasn't spoken out against them, and that is what I'm pointing out here. It's all part of the same issue, that of ignoring what's going on. It's not just that they don't do anything about it, they don't even acknowledge it. Just how hard is it to say "Yes, there is a problem, and I'm sorry".
It sounds like so many organizations. They do fit all or the "good of the people they serve" also known as money.
ReplyDeleteYou're expecting people to be accountable, for goodness sake? Acknowledge they may have a dark side or something with which they may need help?
ReplyDeletePerhaps if the idea of confession were not tied so strictly to penance or other penalty/retribution, there might be more of it. I'm thinking not only of religion here, but of the many corporations that do business using questionable ethics. ~ 'Holier than thou,' indeed. :/ Blessings! :)
It is every ideology, religious or secular. Excellent on the topic: Doris Lessing's "such a wonderful dream".
ReplyDeleteYeah, apparently the end justifies the means for so many things. I dispute this.
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