Fate of the faithful

Re: “Ex- pope, others faulted over U. S. cardinal’s rise,” Nov. 11 news story

Despite knowing about extensive sexual abuse allegations against Theodore McCarrick, Pope John Paul II, now elevated to Sainthood, still promoted McCarrick to Archbishop and then to Cardinal. How is anyone ever surprised by the Vatican’s criminal sexual abuse, molestations, assaults, and pedophilia allegations? We should be more surprised that these people continue to get away with it and hide the perverts and abusers. What I don’t think Catholics realize just yet is that in admit-established ting this about a pope they have exposed the sham of their religious dogma.

The pope is supposed to be God’s voice on earth, but no reasonable person would believe that God would countenance the sexual abuse of a child; therefore, not only this pope but the whole edifice must be a sham. Determining that this pope was a saint only strengthens that conclusion. Think of all the current and future young boys and girls that we need to save from the clutches of these and future perverted creeps that have for so long conned people to give them their money and their children while they pretended to be holier than thou and beyond reproach.

Yes, it is all part of the expansive institutional hypocrisy. Nothing which the Catholic Church claims or says can be trusted. The entire message of religions exploits the childish dependence of common citizens upon external authorities, substitute parents. The unwary followers surrender their free will and personal powers to the elevated representatives of an imaginary, external, vindictive delusion of the ancients.

Steven Bartley, Colorado Springs