It's Sunday

 

The sexual abuse of parishioners—particularly children—by members of the clergy has become a defining scandal for the Catholic Church, changing the dynamics between priests and their flocks as lay Catholics demand accountability from Rome. But before crises in Boston and other American cities, a group of brave, deaf men in Milwaukee began speaking out in the 1970s about a priest, Father Lawrence Murphy, who abused as many as 200 of them. Mea Maxima Culpa, a new documentary about their experiences and their courage, premiere[d] on HBO [February 4].

  Think Progress

To the surprise of absolutely nobody currently wearing my eyeballs, the Clan Of The Red Beanie has decided that the latest concession by the administration on the matter of contraceptive coverage is not sufficient to answer its demands that the Presbyterian charpeople in its employ be held to a cockeyed doctrine that most Catholics have been ignoring since 1965.

[...]

Now, they want the Hobby Lobby loophole, too. This is coming from Dolan, the clown in New York who has a more-than-cameo role in Alex Gibney's new HBO movie about the horrendous abuse scandal that took place at a school for the deaf in Milwaukee.

[...]

The Roman Catholic hierarchy in the United States has become a form of putrescence in the body politic. Long before its current meddling, it made a mockery of the civil law in ways that are grotesque and genuinely evil. It betrayed both the faith of its laity -- including me -- and its responsibilities as an institution of civil society. It abandoned its obligations to its fellow citizens, whether they are Catholic or not. It is in no position to demand anything from them. It should be ridiculed, and then ignored.

  Charlie Pierce