Thursday, October 19, 2006

reason #6,427 the catholic church makes me sick to my stomach.

so did you hear? a catholic priest has admitted to a relationship with then-altar boy mark foley. two adjectives used to describe the relationship in news articles are "intimate" and "inappropriate." funny, i would ditch the all three of these terms, and replace them at the very least with "gross misconduct", and more probably with "sexual abuse."

The Rev. Anthony Mercieca, 72, described several encounters that he said Foley might perceive as sexually inappropriate, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported. They include massaging Foley while the boy was naked, skinny-dipping together at a secluded lake in Lake Worth and being nude in the same room on overnight trips...Foley would have been 13 at the time.


really? you think a 13 year old boy might perceive a 33 year old man massaging him while he's naked as "inappropriate"?? funny, i'd imagine that anyone with three brain cells to rub together would regard that as "inappropriate."

i continue to be amazed at this hapless, "who me?" stance that the catholic church and its officials continue to take in regards to abuse charges. as if this whole thing hasn't been blown wide open, and as if someone could actually believe that a priest sitting naked in a sauna with a 13 year old boy wasn't part of a bigger, sexually abusive dynamic. and then, after the years upon years of revelations of abuse, corruption, and systematic cover-ups, they expect us to believe statements like this:

Mercieca was adamant that his encounter with Foley was an aberration, and that the Catholic Church never had to send him for counseling during his 38 years in the priesthood in Florida...


an aberration. of course. just like this whole scandal that has rocked the catholic church to its foundation is "an aberration," as the worshipping flock will surely come to understand eventually. don't worry, no cause for concern - keep coming to mass on sunday, and keep dropping that dollar in the collection basket. "this too shall pass."

and that's where i so desperately hope that they're wrong.

1 comment:

Rachel said...

I like how the priest " he did not specifically remember having sex" with Foley. Uh, seeing how he is supposed to be celebate and all, you'd think it would stick out in his mind a bit.