Tuesday 18 October 2011

What Must The Catholic Church Do To Finally Concede The Moral High Ground?

Whist morality is an innate human quality with evolutionary advantages, it was nonetheless well shepherded in early cultural development by religion. Although we now have a better understanding of the natural origins of morality and are more than capable of being good without god, tradition and culture still maintain the now defunct association between religion and morality. So much so that as soon as we suspect a moral decline the first port of call for the press and media is always a priest or bishop to point us in the right moral direction. We install Bishops in the House of Lords to ensure a moral health-check on new legislation and we religiously broadcast platitudes on the Radio 4's Today programme just to keep our moral compasses in check. Tradition, culture and public opinion will simply not accept the uncoupled status of religion and morality.

To their credit though, the Catholic Church have been working very hard to clearly demonstrate this misconnect. We are familiar with the church's institutionalised child abuse and habitual cover ups, we’re familiar with the frequent homophobia, the antiquated suppression of women and the unforgivable deadly sexual health misinformation. But the vast majority of us still refuse to let the church step down from the moral high ground.

Today sees a new low in Catholic immorality as the secret of Spain’s stolen babies is finally revealed. Parents considered “undesirable” or morally or economically deficient by priests, nuns and doctors were told their babies had died so that they could be placed with “approved” families.

Despite the revelation of this latest scandal (which the Catholic Church is of course at the heart of), I have no doubts that we will still be encouraged to look up to these child traffickers for our moral guidance.

I’ll wager that even if the Vatican installed gas chambers and ovens in St Peter’s Basilica and invaded Poland, we would still be wheeling in a priest to give us a good talking to on our depraved morality.

7 comments:

anarchic teapot said...

If any organisation other than the Catholic Church had been doing this, they'd have been disbanded long ago. Sickening.

Neuroskeptic said...

A new low? The bar for that is extremely high. Well, low. At least, unlike the anti-condom stuff, this didn't kill anyone.

Shockwave Plasma said...

So I wonder if the Spanish Catholic Church had laundries?

Michael Kingsford Gray said...

If any organisation other than the Catholic Church had been doing this, they'd have been disbanded long ago.

Not true, m'lud.
As exhibit "A", I present the Mafia.
Exhibit "B", the Yakuza.
Exhibit "C", Anthony Blair.

The defence rests.

Murder most fowl said...

Your surprise is surprising. This has gone on for years, and been known about for years. It happens whenever the State outsources Social care to religious bodies. Not like here then, ... Oh, wait.

In Spain, it was with the support and encouragement of the Catholic Head of state. In Canada's Quebec the same thing happened, under Catholic Prime Minister Duplessis (look up "Duplessis Orphans" or "Les Orphelins du Duplessis"). However the Church was even more innovative in Canada, claiming that as most of the kids were mentally retarded, the carers needed more money from the State. After the usual litany of physical and emotional abuse, to say nothing of pseudo-scientific experimentation, most of the kids were indeed mentally retarded.

Someone has already mentioned the Magdalenes in Ireland (Catholic President de Valera) and elsewhere. We find the same thing in, for example, Argentina.

L.Long said...

But it is true...
As exhibit "A", I present the Mafia.
Exhibit "B", the Yakuza.....

These are not disbanded but they are ALL criminal and officially outlawed.

And when was the last time the UK or USA or Spain PAY to have the Mafia leaders come to a conference on morality and other problems?

Yes the CC should be if not outlawed then at least loose its 'sovereignty'.

anarchist said...

Re the gas chambers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_clergy_involvement_with_the_Usta%C5%A1e