The Catholic Church Fights Justice Once More

Yesterday we witnessed the Vatican’s flagrant disregard for justice in full regalia and pomp. The late Pope John Paul II, now the Blessed, was one of the most popular in history. He has now been beatified which is, in essence, the penultimate step on the road to sainthood. Yesterday there was a one million strong crowd filling St Peter’s Basilica rejoicing that their favourite pontiff was now safely in Heaven. By all accounts the crowd was jubilant with a carnival atmosphere as many young people took to dancing and cheering.

So what’s the problem? John Paul II ruled over an institution which regularly raped children in almost every country where you can find a priest, he knew about the scandal and refused to do anything to stop it, the Vatican did not refer cases to the appropriate authorities, priests were not tried in criminal courts, children were made to feel guilty about their abuse and all parties involved were ordered to keep their mouths firmly shut. Not to mention how John Paul II prevented contraceptive use in the developing nations causing the spread of HIV where it is most deadly, and preached the usual Catholic bile over women, homosexuals and abortion. There is an ever increasing mountain of documents to back this up. Denying it is now a ludicrous thing to do. All those who came out in celebration yesterday were either knowledgeable of this and therefore either morally condemnable or in denial, or they knew nothing of the Church’s role in the scandal and their ignorance is inexcusable as Catholics. That is the problem. Nothing will get done about this and the old cretin will surely be declared to have been a saint in the near future. Our governments have already proven themselves too weak and unwilling to do anything about these rapists and pederasts and their masters who hide behind the walls of the Vatican.

To add insult to those who value justice, the Vatican invited none other than Robert Mugabe to the ceremony yesterday. The President of Zimbabwe is currently under an EU travel ban for crimes against humanity and electoral fraud, but this was waived by the cowardly Italian state to allow Mugabe to land at Rome Airport and travel to the Vatican, which is by all practical measures, apparently above international law anyway.

All of this should come as no surprise, but how these villains get away with all this is genuinely astounding. Overseeing the beatification process was Ratzinger, the man who personally ordered the cover-up of all these abuse cases. John Paul II is required to have performed a miracle in order to be beatified. The miracle in question has so far not been independently verified (not that a miracle ever can or will be), and reports that the supposed cured subject has fallen ill again have met deaf ears. The only good story regarding the Church at the moment is that a court in Kentucky has recently demanded that the current Pope appear to answer questions under oath over an abuse scandal. Whether this will happen is uncertain.

That we live in an age that can celebrate the lives of such men so openly, that we can disregard justice and that we can ignore the voices of those who have been raped by people meant to protect and guide them makes me greatly uneasy and ashamed. The overwhelming feeling that justice will never be delivered is one of the saddest thoughts there is.