It should come as no surprise to anyone who has ever read a news paper, or watched television, or even grew up under the teachings of the Catholic Church, that this institution, it's leaders, and ex followers, all know that there were, and are continuing problems with sexual abuse by priests.

There is no doubt that paedophiles exist in all walks of life, but the single minded suppression of the facts and protection of priests, make the Catholic Church simply despicable.  Recently there have been a slew of reports alleging priests abused children all over Europe, from Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy, and Germany, on top of what already came to light in the United States and Canada. 

The Pope announced today that he will be sending a letter to the people of Ireland on Friday or Saturday to, "...help in the process of repentance, healing and renewal."  I can't tell you how irritating it was for me to read about this pathetic attempt at damage control, probably because I don't believe that asking for forgiveness from an imaginary deity for abusing children is a get out of jail free card.  What is even more frustrating about this, is that the Pope himself, when he was at his former archdiocese of Munich,  chose to shuffle suspected priests to other parishes who then went on to abuse more children.  His own brother is under scrutiny for abusing children while Ratzinger was in charge of the Munich archdiocese, along with another 170 investigations.

Also, today another story broke about a priest sex scandal, only this time it's in Brazil and it's on video.  I suppose the question is now, when will everyone admit that these aren't isolated incidents, and are somehow rooted in the priesthood itself, perhaps partly a consequence of the vows of celibacy?  Trying to find the why in all of this is a matter for psychiatrists I suppose, but what lesser beings like myself are concerned with as a matter of pure practicality, is protecting children from abuse and not the redemption of an abuser in the eyes of God.

How is it that an organization like the Catholic church finds it necessary to literally hide and protect paedophiles, and offer nothing but platitudes of forgiveness and prayer in return?  The church refuses to take responsibility for its members and the decisions its leaders have made, and I just can't accept that.  Although it remains to be seen how this new wave of bad press for the Church in Europe will affect it's bottom line, but my hope is that people can finally find the courage to walk away from this religion, or any other.