F(r)ocking the Flock

By Johan de Haan --

Whilst the extent of the primitive simplicity that permeates monotheism should hardly surprise the thinking individual, every once in a while we are reminded just how far the rot of Bronze Age superstition

Image by smiling_da_vinci via Flickr

goes in the minds of the believer, not just the uneducated simpleton, but in particular the very leaders and figureheads of religion's most powerful influence.

The recent distasteful revelations concerning the extent of sexual abuse of minors in the Roman Catholic Church hardly surprises those aware of how vile the existing revelations already were, whether the revolting allegations concerning the Church in Ireland or the long practice of covering up the lies and abuse of the Church in the United States. Nevertheless, even in the depraved mess and chaos that surrounds the new allegations concerning the Pope himself and a number of high level bishops and priests, the Church still finds the time to remind us of just how ridiculous their faith based charade really is.

Some may be familiar with the name Gabriele Amorth, a name synonymous with that tried and trusted age old tradition, so avidly performed by one Jesus of Nazareth, of abusing the mentally ill and impressionable, commonly known as exorcism. Indeed, Father Amorth would have us believe that he has in the course of his long and "impressive" career performed tens of thousands of such party tricks, no doubt at the moral, mental and physical expense of those who ought to have sought suitable medical care.

What you may not be familiar with is that in addition to his ability to call upon the name of an all powerful god to cure epilepsy and schizophrenia, be it in the form of demons from hell and deviant spirits, he is also of the firm opinion that Satan himself is to blame for the misconduct of those in the frock on the flock. Whilst I fully agree that many a frock wearing brother in Christ could, and should, be described as evil or devilish, this high ranking Church leader is genuinely convinced that Satan himself stalks the hallways of the Vatican and Church buildings everywhere, picking on the hapless church leaders, and through them inflicting fellatio and anal sex on the underage and vulnerable.

This ridiculous charade in the name of a Bronze Age mythological being has to come to an end. Whilst such outrageous claims are worthy of ridicule and contempt in and of themselves, the good Father sees fit to go beyond the call of duty by claiming that Satan caused both possession and temptation and that the frock wearers who abuse the young are being tested by the Devil, not unlike the good Lord Jesus himself. Given that it is the Church which places these abusers in amongst children and choir boys, covers up the abuse and allows their messengers to reestablish themselves in other communities to continue their reign of sexual terror, one may be tempted to point out that the leader into temptation is indeed the Church itself, not a spooky red figure with a tale and pitch fork.

True to form however, the good Father spares us the need to ridicule even these claims by going further. In addition to blaming the Devil for the violation of innocent children by Church leaders, he claims that the Devil has indeed personally sexually abused certain priests. Yes, the official numero uno exorcist of the Vatican Church claims that Satan has not only possessed, tempted and facilitated the most widespread sexual abuse in the Western World by the Frock, but that some priests abuse because of their personal history of molestation by Satan.

In light of the revelations concerning the extent of child abuse within the Catholic Church, it is clear that national governments, law enforcement and indeed the general public will have to take active steps, not only to protect against further abuse but also to ensure that past abusers are prosecuted for their conduct and that the Church structures that allow such incidents are torn down. In a world of laws, human rights and secular principles such self serving debauchery and oppression has no place nor do those who are found guilty of it.

Yet, clearly it is not enough to require that certain aspects of religious practice are confronted. Based on the outrageous claims of Father Amorth it is clear that the maintenance of bronze age superstition in which the conduct of men is subject to the whim of gods, demons and indeed the devil will continue to create environments in which the weak, the young and the impressionable are taken advantage of by the sexual deviants who use their anointed position as godly spokes(wo)men to exploit their subjects and when confronted, blame their conduct on the same divine influences, whilst at the same time claiming their infallibility where matters of God are concerned.

This ridiculous charade in the name of a Bronze Age mythological being has to come to an end. The authority of the Church(es) and its leaders, and indeed of all religions, must be eroded in the minds of all men and all women everywhere. Humanity in its entirety must be granted the freedom of critical thought to question not only the claims of divine inspiration used to empty their pockets and dignity but also to subdue their revolt against acts so revolting.

As the world has no place for human sacrifice in the name of Tezcatlipocaas so too it has no place for the intellectual, moral and sexual abuse in the name of Yahweh or any other bronze age construct that limits our rights, freedoms and responsibilities as human beings and demands the suppression of criticism, question and liberty by divine right.

Religion is dead, it just doesn’t know it yet.

Filed Under: Johan de Haan , Rants