Tag: Religious Babble

Closing Thoughts–25Mar21

I try to point out eh moronic people that in government for my state of Mississippi.

I am sick of religious morons trying to force this country into some sort of theocracy……they try to use religion to force the country into obeying their archaic myths…..

One of the lamest things I have heard came from the mouth of a Senator from Mississippi, Cindy Hyde-Smith……this is her take on the possibility of Sunday voting…..”Souls to the polls” program…..

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) on Wednesday defended Georgia Republicans’ proposal to ban early voting on Sundays by saying allowing voting on that day would go against God’s word.

The Georgia Republicans’ proposal to ban Sunday voting is seen by many critics as a thinly veiled effort to stop Black churches from conducting “souls to the polls” voter drives that helped Democrats win Senate elections in the Peach State earlier this year.

However, Hyde-Smith argued that they’re really only interested in obeying God’s command to keep the Sabbath Day holy.

“God’s word in Exodus 20:18, it says remember the Sabbath and keep it holy,” she said.

Hyde-Smith also emphasized the importance of obeying God’s views on Sunday voting by taking out a dollar bill and pointing out that it says “In God We Trust” on it and that senators’ oaths of office end with the words, “So help me God.”

(rawstory.com)

Someone please inform this mental midget that those words were not part of a dollar bill until 1957.

Time to get the religious bullsh*t out of government.

And time for idiots like Mississippi to get out of politics and find people that want to work for the entire population not the white majority.

Hyde-Smith is a racist pig and the country and the state of Mississippi will be better off without her babbling.

These so-called religious types are tiresome.

Enough Said!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–06Dec20

How many of my readers attended Sunday School?

That many?

Then they will recall the story of David and Goliath….where this boy with a sling killed the Giant warrior of the Philistines…..

A great story and life affirming tale that size matters not……

Sorry to say but that story was like so many myths….probably pure BS……

Early versions of the Bible describe Goliath — an ancient Philistine warrior best known as the loser of a fight with the future King David — as a giant whose height in ancient terms reached four cubits and a span. But don’t take that measurement literally, new research suggests.

Archaeological findings at biblical-era sites including Goliath’s home city, a prominent Philistine settlement called Gath, indicate that those ancient measurements work out to 2.38 meters, or 7 feet, 10 inches. That’s equal to the width of walls forming a gateway into Gath that were unearthed in 2019, according to archaeologist Jeffrey Chadwick of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Rather than standing taller than any NBA player ever, Goliath was probably described metaphorically by an Old Testament writer as a warrior who matched the size and strength of Gath’s defensive barrier, Chadwick said November 19 at the virtual annual meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research.

The biblical warrior Goliath may not have been so giant after all

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–09Apr20

The die has been rolled and small business should get their stim money soon…..and now there are others that are trying to claim some of the cash…..religious groups.

WASHINGTON — Prominent US religious groups clashed Friday over an administrative rule that allows funds from the coronavirus stimulus bill passed last week to go to houses of worship reeling from the economic shock of the pandemic.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) unveiled its final interim rule Friday morning that said religious groups will be eligible for funding under the CARES Act, a $2.2 trillion emergency relief package that US President Donald Trump signed into law.

The Interfaith Alliance, a Washington-based nonprofit that advocates for religious freedom, criticized the move as crossing the boundaries between religion and state.

“This is a direct violation of the separation of religion and government,” said Katy Joseph, the group’s policy and legislation adviser. “Emergency assistance funding is supposed to help small businesses pay their employees during an economic crisis – not channel taxpayer dollars to private religious institutions.”

Not everyone agrees. The Orthodox Union advocated heavily for provisions that would help religious nonprofits stay afloat amid the pandemic.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/religious-groups-clash-over-us-government-giving-virus-aid-to-houses-of-worship/

These groups do not pay taxes so they should not expect the government to bail them out…..they whine at the thought that they might have to pay taxes….yet they want free money to keep themselves going…..screw them!

I agree it would be a violation of the separation of church and state……

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

More Virus Idiocy

In these times of dire measure and dire results I wish I did not have to write about the idiots that are dealing with this disease in all the wrong ways.

We all have seen/heard the proper way to be dealing with this virus….and yet there are 9 states that a failing its residents…..let’s shame them as often as possible…..

Most governors have issued statewide stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus outbreak, but nine have opted against it. USA Today, the New York Times, and ABC News take a look at the holdouts. One common denominator is that all nine are run by Republican governors, and the Times sums up a sentiment: “For many conservative governors who believe strongly in small government and personal responsibility, the prospect of mandatory stay-at-home orders is anathema and they rejected what they called a catchall approach that could wreck their states’ economies.” Generally, the governors argue that a shutdown is unnecessary because they have taken other steps such as shutting schools and nonessential business, and issuing social-distancing advisories. “I can’t lock the state down,” is how Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds puts it. “People also have to be responsible for themselves.” Here are the nine:

  • Arkansas
  • Iowa
  • Nebraska
  • North Dakota
  • Oklahoma
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Utah
  • Wyoming

USA Today has comprehensive list of restrictions in place in all 50 states.

Most of us are doing what the experts are telling us….to shelter in place and go out only when necessary…..but with that comes an awful side effect…..

The leader of the UN has made a worldwide appeal related to the coronavirus outbreak, but it has nothing to do with equipment shortages or best practices while out in public. Instead, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is worried about “a horrifying global surge in domestic violence,” reports the AP. He didn’t call out specific nations, but he said calls to help lines have doubled in some places amid the lockdown, and he urged governments to make sure victims are safe. The problem is that police departments are frequently overwhelmed with other virus-related issues. Coverage:

  • Code word: Europe has been largely locked down for weeks, and the problem seems most pronounced in Spain and France. There, women can now go into pharmacies and use the phrase “mask 19” to alert the pharmacist to abuse, reports CNN. The pharmacist takes the woman’s information and calls police. “There has always been gender violence, but this crisis makes it all worse,” says a worker at a women’s shelter in Rome.
  • In the US: Women’s groups around the US are seeing an uptick in domestic violence calls, a sign that what’s been happening in Europe could follow suit here, reports the Wall Street Journal. The shutdown is “almost like a petri dish for violence to increase within families,” Barbara Paradiso, director of the Center on Domestic Violence at the University of Colorado Denver, tells the newspaper.
  • More on the US: NBC News reports that 18 of 22 US law enforcement agencies that responded to a request for data saw a rise in domestic violence calls in March. “The financial stress alone creates a ticking time bomb for some families with a history of domestic violence,” says Sheriff Steve Mueller of Cherokee County, South Carolina, where calls rose 35%. “Unfortunately many of these domestic violence cases occur in front of children and often the children become victims of abuse and assault, as well.” The situation is made worse because shelters for abuse victims are generally struggling to remain open amid the shutdown.
  • All over: The National Domestic Abuse hotline in the UK saw a 25% increase in appeals for help since that nation’s lockdown began, reports the BBC. The AP adds that the “the killing of women has surged in Turkey” since the lockdown in that nation, and that Australia has seen internet searches for domestic violence resources jump 75%. The story collects similar stats from India and South Africa.
  • First person: The BBC talks to one woman in the UK about the tension in her own home, which worsened with the lockdown. “As soon as he gets up, he tries to cause an argument out of nothing, and if I fire back he’ll just hit me.” She has since fled to Wales and is being helped by a charity. Advocates say the abuse is wide-ranging, including men threatening to throw out women if they get sick, preventing them communicating with relatives, and barring them from leaving the house even for groceries

Our experts and health pros are telling us that the faux treatment that the president is pushing is worthless at this time and could be dangerous…..and yet Trump’s trade adviser knows better than medical people…..

“Doctors disagree about things all the time.” So explains the heated discussion between Dr. Anthony Fauci and Peter Navarro, PhD. The White House trade adviser said that and more when asked by CNN on Monday about a tense White House Situation Room meeting Saturday in which Fauci and Navarro reportedly clashed over the use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment. Navarro, who is coordinating the purchase and distribution of medical supplies under the Defense Production Act, reportedly showed up to the meeting with documents that he said attested to the drug’s effectiveness; Fauci’s response was something along the lines of “what are you talking about?” Coverage:

  • In his comments to CNN, Navarro elaborated, saying, “My qualifications in terms of looking at the science is that I’m a social scientist. “I have a PhD,” he continued, with CNBC reporting it’s an economics PhD from Harvard. “And I understand how to read statistical studies, whether it’s in medicine, the law, economics, or whatever.”
  • Fox News describes the CNN interview as getting heated, with Navarro asking host John Berman if he would take hydroxychloroquine if he was infected with COVID-19. “I would listen to my doctor,” Berman replied. “I would consult my doctor… not someone involved with trade policy… do you want an internist striking trade deals?” “Touche,” said Navarro, who told Berman that Berman was “setting up a false narrative.”
  • In a subsequent Fox & Friends appearance, Navarro was again asked about the clash and distributing FEMA’s supply of 29 million tablets of hydroxychloroquine. His response: “The task force unanimously voted to [distribute it], with the provision that this can have side effects and that it has to be dispensed not by the federal government but by the patient-doctor relationship. I think history will judge who is right on this debate but I’d bet on President Trump’s intuition.”
  • Politico flags comments Fauci made on Face the Nation Sunday about how the data around hydroxychloroquine are “really just, at best, suggestive. There have been cases that show there may be an effect, and there are others to show there’s no effect. So I think, in terms of science, I don’t think we could definitively say it works.” It notes that Fauci was asked about that and responded that Fauci could “speak for himself,” but “I would have two words for you: second opinion.”
  • Another non-medical doctor who is actively pushing hydroxycholoquine: Rudy Giuliani. He tells the Washington Post that he’s been pushing the medication in private phone calls with Trump, and that he spends much of the day doing the same with doctors, coronavirus patients, and hospital administrators on the other end of the line.
  • The Post article notes Gov. Andrew Cuomo also has spoken about the drug’s potential. On Monday, the governor discussed tests with patients in New York, where doctors have been given the green light to use hydroxychloroquine in combination with an antibiotic. “There has been anecdotal evidence that it is promising,” he said. “That’s why we’re going ahead.” However, he added that it’s been too short a time to have official data, per the Hill.

Navarro is just another sycophant that will have oral sex if the prez demands it……amateurs have NO place in this pandemic……and Donald of Orange is surrounded by them and they are leading this country…..wake up before we are doomed.

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Will Those That Pray Together Die Together?

In this time of need and this time of separation there are a few states that are letting their residents meet and pass their germs from one to another.

I know what the Hell am I going on about, right?

I am talking about the irresponsibility of religious leaders…..like these…..

Then there is Franklin Graham….a slug from the get-go…..

Franklin Graham blamed sinners for the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic during a Saturday night appearance on Fox News.

Host Jeanine Pirro noted the growing death toll and wondered how God could let that happen.

“Well, I don’t think it’s God’s plan for this to happen,” Graham said.

“It’s because of the sin that’s in the world, judge,” he argued.

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/04/watch-franklin-graham-tells-jeanine-pirro-coronavirus-pandemic-is-because-of-people-sinning/

I have NO use for parasites such as these “leaders”……These fools should be charged with Criminal Endangerment….

There are a few states that exempt religious gatherings from the separation orders that all of us are suppose to be honoring…..

Florida is among several states issuing orders for people to avoid leaving their homes but granting certain exemptions for religious services over concerns that forcing houses of worship to close would violate the constitutional right to religious freedom.

Michigan, New Mexico, Delaware, Ohio, Texas and West Virginia have also allowed some exemption for religious services.

Other states with stay-at-home orders, such as Virginia and Maryland, are requiring places of worship to limit in-person services to 10 people to comply with bans on large gatherings while adhering to physical distancing measures. Many houses of worship across the country have voluntarily ceased holding public services.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/490908-florida-other-states-allowing-church-services-during-coronavirus

I have no problem with people needing spiritual help….but not at the expense of the health of us all……

Personally, anyone that ignored the separation orders that tests positive should be fined heavily and those religious leaders that promoted these people to violate the order should be fined heavily as well and a mandatory prison term of 1 year…..no exceptions….no excuses…..

People that need others to pray with them have NO spiritual connection….they just need to be around others not that the religion has a whole lot to do with it.

This is another one of those WTF moments that I go on about…..no accounting for stupid…..you just cannot fix stupid.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Scamvangalists!

Closing Thought–02Apr20

The term is not original I found it on this website….https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2020/03/29/scamvangelist-declares-covid-19-finished-after-commanding-god-to-destroy-it/

These types of opportunists make me ill.

First…there was the idiot that wanted to put hands on a faith healing for those with Covid-19….

A pastor in Alabama this week invited people who have been infected with coronavirus into his church so that they could be treated with the power of prayer, despite guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control to avoid large gatherings.

Patheos reports that Chris Bartlett, pastor of the Boaz Church of God in Boaz, Alabama, wrote a now-deleted Facebook post in which he criticized other churches for temporarily closing to help slow the spread of the disease.

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/03/alabama-pastor-invited-people-infected-with-coronavirus-into-church-for-faith-healing-treatment/

Second there is a Florida pastor packs a megachurch because he can defeat Covid-19……

While scientists and doctors are urging people to social-distance to stop the spread of the coronavirus, one Florida megachurch bucked the trend to host their own service on Sunday that packed people in with a dangerous crowd.

The River Church in Tampa was packed with people looking for hope, TMZ reported Sunday. Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne has denounced the social distancing claiming that he can cure the coronavirus just like he did with the Zika virus (which still exists).

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/03/florida-residents-pack-into-megachurch-after-pastor-promises-he-can-cure-coronavirus/

BTW…this idiot was arrested…..

Florida officials have arrested the pastor of a megachurch after detectives say he held two Sunday services with hundreds of people and violated a safer-at-home order in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus. According to jail records, Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne turned himself in to authorities Monday in Hernando County, where he lives. He was charged with unlawful assembly and violation of a public health emergency order, the AP reports. Bail was set at $500, according to the jail’s website. Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a news conference that he negotiated with the attorney of Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne to turn himself in. His church is located in Tampa.

Chronister said his command staff met with The River at Tampa Bay Church leaders about the danger they are putting themselves—and their congregation—in by not maintaining appropriate social distancing, but Howard-Browne held the services anyway. The Sheriff’s Office also placed a digital sign near the church driveway that said to practice social distancing. “Shame on this pastor, their legal staff and the leaders of this staff for forcing us to do our job,” Chronister said, adding, “We are hopeful that this will be a wakeup call.” The church has said it sanitized the building, and the pastor said on Twitter that the church is an essential business. He also attacked the media for “religious bigotry and hate.” The county and governor’s orders require gatherings, including those held by faith-based groups, be fewer than 10 people to limit the spread of the coronavirus. A livestream of Sunday’s 3½-hour service showed scores of congregants.

Finally, A pastor is threatening Satan…….

elevangelist Kenneth Copeland, who said last week that God told him the coronavirus would “be over much sooner than you think” (but still wants you to tithe even if you’ve lost your job), offered up what I can only assume is a magic spell this morning in order to destroy COVID-19.

And that’s why the pandemic is now over.

(It’s not over.)

Copeland screamed out at Satan to “get off this nation” and “crawl on your belly,” before declaring the crisis to be “over.”

That will no doubt scare the virus into submission.

Scamvangelist Declares COVID-19 “Finished” After Commanding God to Destroy It

Bet they still want you without a job to chip to help pay their expenses….

Like I said I have NO use for these types of religious people……they are opportunist that are preying on the confusion and fear of the people.

Call these “people” (I use the term loosely)…. what they truly are……SCAMVANGELISTS.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“He Is The Chosen One”

I try to stay away from posts on religion but from time to time I read something that makes me sick and just have pass it on to my readers.

I keep reading this Christian and that who say that Trump is somehow the “chosen one”…..even prominent politicians like Rick Perry….

President Trump took a ribbing over the summer when he referred to himself as the “chosen one.” Trump later called the remark sarcastic, but it appears Rick Perry disagrees. In an interview with Ed Henry of Fox News, the energy secretary said Trump was indeed “the chosen one,” reports the Hill. “God’s used imperfect people all through history,” he said. “King David wasn’t perfect. Saul wasn’t perfect. Solomon wasn’t perfect.” Perry said he gave Trump some information on those Old Testament figures during a conversation about a month ago. “I said, ‘Mr. President, I know there are people that say you said you were the chosen one and I said, ‘You were.'”

Perry elaborated on the point: “I said, ‘If you’re a believing Christian, you understand God’s plan for the people who rule and judge over us on this planet in our government.”

Or that anyone that opposes Trump is in league with demons…..

…pretty standard fare among Christian right opinion leaders and politicians. But at roughly the same time, we got an indication from two other prominent Trump fans that it’s not enough to endow this strange and heathenish figure of manifold wicked ways with the cloak of divine sanction; his critics must be cast in the same apocalyptic drama as instruments of demonic forces. Seriously. Veteran adviser to Republican presidents on matters moral and spiritual, Peter Wehner, scathingly writes it up for The Atlantic:

During his November 21 interview with [Franklin] Graham, [Eric] Metaxas, a Salem Radio Network talk-show host, asked the son of the late evangelist Billy Graham, “What do you think of what is happening now? I mean, it’s a very bizarre situation to be living in a country where some people seem to exist to undermine the president of the United States. It’s just a bizarre time for most Americans.”

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/11/christian-right-leaders-trump-critics-possessed-by-demons.html

Who but a demon would want to impeach Trump?  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/opinions-who-but-a-demon-could-impeach-gods-chosen-one/ar-BBXkciD

Then there is the Trump supporter that answered a question like this….

“If Jesus Christ gets down off the cross and told me Trump is with Russia, I would tell him, ‘Hold on a second. I need to check with the President if it’s true.'”

But watch the video for yourself…

I am not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination…but I still cannot see how anyone that is a “Christian” could even think  along these lines…..

For me there is NO room for the religious readers in politics….they should stick to hell fire, brimstone saving souls or just singing….modern religion has proved that they are not the way to a better country for all its people.

I am leery of anyone labelled the “Chosen One”….it has been BS for centuries and probably the same today.

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Closing Thought–25Nov19

I try to not post too much on religion…..one it is a personal choice and being so is of no importance to the dialog IST wants to have…..and two just not something I want to do…..

I read something about the VP….it does not surprise me for Pence is a theocrat and would force me to believe his brand of religious fervor if he had his chance….so when I read he was only using aid to benefit certain religions…..

Last November, a top Trump appointee at the U.S. Agency for International Development wrote a candid email to colleagues about pressure from the White House to reroute Middle East aid to religious minorities, particularly Christian groups.

“Sometimes this decision will be made for us by the White House (see… Iraq! And, increasingly, Syria),” said Hallam Ferguson, a senior official in USAID’s Middle East bureau, in an email seen by ProPublica. “We need to stay ahead of this curve everywhere lest our interventions be dictated to us.”

https://www.propublica.org/article/how-mike-pences-office-meddled-in-foreign-aid-to-reroute-money-to-favored-christian-groups

Then Trump considering a possible benchmark for receiving foreign aid……..

Aides to President Donald Trump are drafting plans to condition U.S. aid to other countries on how well they treat their religious minorities, two White House officials said.

The proposal is expected to cover U.S. humanitarian assistance, and could also be broadened to include American military aid to other countries. If the proposal becomes reality, it could have a major effect on U.S. assistance in a range of places, from Iraq to Vietnam. Its mere consideration shows how much the White House prioritizes religious freedom, an emphasis critics say is really about galvanizing Trump’s evangelical Christian base.

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/11/trump-weighs-foreign-aid-religious-freedom-069595

This is just a way to promote one religion over another….we can call it whatever we want but it is not the business of the US to pick a country’s religion for them…..this will strain relations with Middle East and India for sure.

Keep in mind that most Americans do NOT want religion as part of the government…..

While Americans largely have a positive view of the role of religion in public life, they overwhelmingly want religious institutions to stay out of politics, a new survey from the Pew Research Center has found.

Sixty-three percent of U.S. adults believe churches and other houses of worship should “keep out” of political matters. When asked if religious institutions should endorse political candidates, 76 percent say no. And a plurality of adults—at 37 percent—believe that religious groups already have “too much” political influence.

https://www.newsweek.com/religion-democrats-republicans-politics-pew-poll-1472207

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Science For A Sunday

Happy Easter!

Another nice and cool Spring weekend…..makes the garden a wonderful place of smells and color…..

I listen to some of these religious nuts on the Tube….people that say Trump is sent by God or other such drivel…..I have often thought that these “spokespeople” were a bit brain dead…..and now there is some science that can confirm my insertions…..

A study published in the journal Neuropsychologia has shown that religious fundamentalism is, in part, the result of a functional impairment in a brain region known as the prefrontal cortex. The findings suggest that damage to particular areas of the prefrontal cortex indirectly promotes religious fundamentalism by diminishing cognitive flexibility and openness—a psychology term that describes a personality trait which involves dimensions like curiosity, creativity, and open-mindedness.

Religious beliefs can be thought of as socially transmitted mental representations that consist of supernatural events and entities assumed to be real. Religious beliefs differ from empirical beliefs, which are based on how the world appears to be and are updated as new evidence accumulates or when new theories with better predictive power emerge. On the other hand, religious beliefs are not usually updated in response to new evidence or scientific explanations, and are therefore strongly associated with conservatism. They are fixed and rigid, which helps promote predictability and coherence to the rules of society among individuals within the group.

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/04/scientists-established-link-religious-fundamentalism-brain-damage/

This could explain so much on so many levels…..

More sciencey stuff…….

Have you ever suffered from “Cabin Fever”?

What the Hell is “cabin fever?

Feeling bored and restless after being inside for a long time.

Okay now think about those souls that sign on to colonize Mars…..

The first humans have yet to set foot on Mars, but astrosociologist Jim Pass is already hard at work on solutions to stop them from getting lonely.

Pass is the CEO of the Astrosociology Research Institute, dedicated to developing the nascent area of study. After all, SpaceX founder Elon Musk has already sketched out a vision for how his Starship could some day transport 100 people at once to help build a city on Mars as early as 2050. There is even a pricing plan: Return tickets will start at $500,000, and then gradually fall till they are below the median cost of a house in the United States so people could give up their lives to start anew in space.

https://www.inverse.com/article/54813-mars-colony

Then there is the fear, some say irrational fear, of the AI and the rise of the machines……something I read is troubling….would you believe a “living” machine…….

Scientists from Cornell University have successfully constructed DNA-based machines with incredibly life-like capabilities. These human-engineered organic machines are capable of locomotion, consuming resources for energy, growing and decaying, and evolving. Eventually they die.

That sure sounds a lot like life, but Dan Luo, professor of biological and environmental engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell, who worked on the research, says otherwise. He told The Stanford Chronicle:

https://thenextweb.com/robots/2019/04/19/cornell-scientists-create-living-machines-that-eat-grow-and-evolve/

That is my science round-up on an Easter Sunday……peace out, my friends.

A Pope Speaks

The Church has had many problems with sexual abuse recently and as usual the way they handle it is by sweeping the incidents under a rug and move on to the next abuse case.

An ex-Pope has decide to come out of retirement and throw his two cents around……as if anyone will listen…..

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has emerged from the shadows with a new letter that assigns blame for the clergy abuse crisis. In a 6,000-word letter whose authenticity was confirmed by Benedict’s personal secretary, Benedict begins by writing that his remarks are intended “to assist in this difficult hour.” At the National Review, Michael Brendan Dougherty succinctly follows the thread of his argument: that the “revolutionary spirit” of the ’60s made its way into the church. “Possessed by that spirit, arrogant theologians determined on creating ‘another Church’ destroyed the traditional moral theology of the Faith, leading to a complete breakdown of moral discipline in the clergy and even a generalized spirit of blasphemy, which Benedict intimately and unforgettably connects with the phenomenon of child abuse,” Dougherty writes. Here are major quotes from the letter and some reaction to it:

In pointing a finger at the sexual revolution of the 1960s, Benedict writes that graphic sex education and porn became commonplace as a result of the “egregious event,” and “the mental collapse was also linked to a propensity for violence. That is why sex films were no longer allowed on airplanes because violence would break out among the small community of passengers. … Part of the physiognomy of the Revolution of ’68 was that pedophilia was then also diagnosed as allowed and appropriate.”

He goes on to detail the “collapse” of Catholic moral theology “that rendered the Church defenseless against these changes in society,” citing the “vehement backlashes” by theologians against a 1993 encyclical commissioned by Pope John Paul II. Ultimately, he blames the crisis on the abandonment of God in modern society: “Western society is a society in which God is absent in the public sphere and has nothing left to offer it. And that is why it is a society in which the measure of humanity is increasingly lost. At individual points it becomes suddenly apparent that what is evil and destroys man has become a matter of course.” The Washington Post notes Benedict’s letter “shows the unprecedented and awkward position facing the ideologically divided Roman Catholic Church, which has—for the first time in six centuries—two potential authority figures who hold sometimes-differing views.” It goes on to size one pope’s response up against another, noting Francis has taken a much different approach than Benedict’s theology- and history-based one, focusing on “the corrupted power of clergy and … systemic problems that result in coverup.” The National Catholic Reporter rounds up criticism from theologians who called out the letter for not addressing “structural issues that abetted abuse cover-up, or Benedict’s own contested 24-year role as head of the Vatican’s powerful doctrinal office.”

At the National Review, Dougherty raises a different point. “The very fact of this letter—its lucidity and depth of thoughts—can’t help but inspire a question from Catholics. Why did this man resign from the office of the papacy? The stated fears were ones of incapacity, but in this letter, he demonstrates an acute view of the Church.”

Why not?  Boomers are being blamed for everything else that goes wrong from dandruff to the crucifixion….. then why not sexual abuse by priests?

Benedict needs to go back to his lavish villa and spend the rest of his days in contemplation on WW2….or go to the Papal work shop and build a desk or something…..but stay silent and polish those Gucci shoes.