There is a serious conservative reactionary agenda being pushed here and The Earned Income Tax Credit, which millions of parents count on.It's a plan that even former House Speaker Newt Gingrich deemed too "radical." In addition to a raft of cuts, the Ryan plan would end Millions of children whose parents happen to be poor. Medicare into a privatized voucher system, and yank health care from Yes, that Paul Ryan - chairman of the House Budget Committee andĪuthor of the infamous Ryan roadmap budget plan, which promises to turn Irish American stock would be his GOP vice-presidential running mate. Talking snakes is not just some biblical myth located in a magical garden called Eden.Īnd when they are not being malign or incompetent, they display a penchant for downright stupidity as a recent statement from Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone made clear when he blamed Vatican leaks on Satanic forces: ‘The truth is that there’s a will to create division that comes from the devil.’ A bag of hammers falls considerably short of being daft enough to buy into that.Ĭahir O'Doherty in his piece argued that ‘most concerning to Irish Americans here has been the continuing alignment of the institutional church and its leadership with the political hard right.’ His point is amplified against the background of an announcement by Mitt Romney that Paul Ryan of Military dictatorship of the 1970s and was a disappeared denier, Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer of Austria, addicted to rape, Cardinal George Pell of Australia who dismisses Jews as inferior, or Cardinal Sean Brady who cajoled and coerced into silence Irish children raped by his priestly colleagues, the image they collectively project is reptilian. Across the spectrum from the unscrupulous to the unwitting, whether it is Cardinal Aramburu of Argentina who collaborated with the vicious Puffed up with pride, their eye on the material, their heart devoid of anything we might term spirituality, it is simply not possible to believe that the hand of a loving god directs their actions.
#Cardinal sins full#
Cardinals invariably seem either full of malign intent or beset by incompetence. Look for the cardinal sins and it is amongst the red hats they are likely to conglomerate: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. The higher up the food chain the more omniabsent any moral perspective seems to be. Dolan it seems is more political savvy, which is different from his political instinct being more democratic or liberal.įrom the range of churchmen that can frequently be found pontificating on moral matters, cardinals least of all seem fit for purpose. His copy came to mind again upon reading of Dolan being praised in irish American circles for extending an invite to President Barack Obama to attend the Al Smith dinner, 'a night when the impact of the Catholic vote is recognized.' Dolan's predecessor Cardinal Egan, a pro-Bush cleric, had in the past snubbed the Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry by refusing to invite him to the Al Smith dinner. For his readers he was instructively flagging up the reactionary orientation of America’s top Catholic Cardinal Dolan. What creative primal moral force would contemplate allowing responsibility for its moral precepts to fall into the hands of any group comprised of such fallible men?Ī while back I read a strong piece by Cahir O'Doherty in his Manhattan Diary spot. There is no edge in moral authority that clerics of any hue could possibly lay bona fide claim to. If paedophile payouts weren’t enough to convince you that this “moral” authority is often anything but moral, take a look at some of their other sins against compassion and basic decency. They have direct access to the White House, where they regularly weigh in on issues ranging from military policy to bioethics, and they expect us all to listen – not because of relevant expertise or elected standing, but because of their moral authority. How often does the following point by Valerie Tarico need to be made before futher reiteration becomes superflous?Īfter all, these are men who claim to speak for God. Use when forced to defend the indefensible: they attack the perhaps to molest again? This is a predictable tactic bishops Question: How many predator priests got how much money to quietly move Share Tweet Share Share Email It’s sad that America’s top Catholic official won’t answer a simple