Vatican Idol: John Paul II's beatification

Today the Catholic world celebrates the latest addition to the Catholic pantheon. John Paul II breaks the record for the fastest beatification and is now just one step from sainthood.

He has earned his wings

I think it's pretty obvious the reasons behind this fast process. The Catholic Church has seen a decline in the number of its followers, the reason being, of course, its boy-raping priests and the church's idleness to deal with it. As it was expected, the catholic Church didn't like this one bit. Giancarlo Zizola, John Paul II's biographer told Spanish newspaper El Pais:

These are bad times for the Roman Church and the beatification appears as trying an urgent therapy. It seems like they are trying to reproduce the massive consensus regarding the last papacy to cover the actual crisis. Zizola thinks that there is an interest among movements like Opus Dei and Communion and Liberation to appropriate John Paul II's figure to strengthen its actual role"

John Paul lived in another time, an easier time than the one Ratzinger has. John Paul II didn't have to suffer the internet diffusing with no restraints all the hypocrisy and perversion the Catholic Church is capable of. Catholics' selective memory was helped by that time's media, which never did many efforts to spread the sexual abuses committed by the priests. Add to that the fact that the secular movement wasn't as strong as it is today.

This is why John Paul II is remembered as someone sublime, almost like a modern-day saint. Considering the crisis the Catholic Church is suffering, why not take advantage of such fame? Doing so allows the church to create a bridge between it and the faithful who started to see estranged and away the church that for many years had control over so many people.Now this generation can say "We have a blessed among us! We have someone especial! God is still with us!"

We have to admit that John Paul did some good in the world, like his criticism towards the communists (you can say whatever you want about American capitalist imperialism, but I don't think a Soviet-controlled world would have been better) or helping Chile and Argentina to achieve peace. But this in no way erase his activism against contraceptives, especially in AIDS-ridden Africa, or against gays.

And who can forget his friend Marcial Maciel?

Pope who turned blind eye to priestly abuse set to be beatified

Most notoriously of all, John Paul took no action at all against the Mexican priest Marcial Maciel Degollado, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, who was beset by allegations of sexual abuse for decades. It eventually emerged that he was a drug addict who had fathered several children with two different women and had also committed numerous acts of sexual abuse, some with his own children. But Degollado was an authoritarian conservative after John Paul's own stripe, and John Paul would hear no ill of him. It was left to his successor to force him to retire to "a life of penitence".

"In more than 25 years as the most powerful religious figure on the planet," commented Barbara Blaine, head of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (Snap), "John Paul II did almost nothing to safeguard kids." Because of this she urged the church to postpone the beatification, to "avoid rubbing more salt into these wounds".

Maybe John Paul didn't really know who Maciel was. However, he knew exactly what he was looking for and what kind of people he needed to achieve it

John Paul II's dark ally

For his battle, he needed an unconditional army. He had no use for Franciscans, Dominicans or Jesuits. They were to busy with the poor. Almost in the Marxist realm. Enemies of the powerful. Wojtyla found new recruits in the Opus, the Kikos, the Lumen Dei, the Communoin and Liberation and the Legion of Christ. Together they jumped in the time machine and went back to the 50s, to a church with a centralized power and with no place for dissidence. And decided that such church had to be the one of the new millennium. Maciel was one of the leaders

Marcial Maciel died without ever going to prison for his crimes, neither judged for them. If there is a miracle we can actually attribute to John Paul II, it is to have protected a rapist for so long and even after dead



This is the guy venerated by old people who see in him the one they were trained to love and obey, and by young ones, who they see as the wonderful figure with they grow up, go up to the altar and scratch the skies. They even have relics, a vial with John Paul II's blood, in case someone thought this couldn't get even more medieval, a time the Catholic Church would love to see brought back

This is a very clever move by the Catholic Church, but not really surprising. To take advantage of its followers' gullibility is just normal for them.

Holy Week recommendation VII: "Penn & Teller's Bullshit: The Vatican"

Holy Week supposedly ends with a great event, the (supposed) resurrection of Christ. I'll do the same. I'll finish this week of recommendations with a blast. You must already know about it and maybe you have already seen it. Well, it's only fair to watch it again.




On August 27, 2009, Penn & Teller's Bullshit made an episode about the Vatican. As you can expect from them, they didn't have nice things to say. But they hard true things to say. Not a truth that is said to be given by God through the Pope, or found in the Bible. "Truth" as in facts.

The interesting thing is that this episode is not listed on Penn & Teller's webpage, nor available on the DVDs. Why could that be? You tell me, who wouldn't want that episode available to anyone?

Fortunately the internet has made a miracle. We can watch the episode about the Vatican! Whoever didn't want this to be available can't be very happy about it, just like those who oppose to sharing information are when knowledge is made available to people.





These are parts 2 and 3. They have Spanish subtitles. So, if you can, please, send them to your Spanish-speaking friend, to that foreign student, to the lady who cleans your home, or to the guy who takes care of your garden. I write most of this blog in Spanish because I feel like the Spanish-speaking world needs to have this kind of knowledge.

Holy Week recommendation VI: "Deliver Us From Evil"

So far I've recommended various films and even a TV series that somehow deal with religion. Today I'll go for something more precise that doesn't have to be interpreted or understood and that leaves no room for interpretation. A documentary that lays well-deserved waste on the filth within the Catholic Church.



"Deliver Us From Evil" explores several cases of people who were abused as children by Father Oliver O'Grady during a period of 20 years. As hard as that might be, the victims, now grown up and with lives of their own, recall those experiences that might be shared by many others who don't have the courage to come out and tell the world. Maybe courage isn't the word, because I can't even imagine how disgusting such experience might be. Father O'Grady, a respected member of the community abused children put under his care by well-meaning, but deluded parents.

However, the outrage won't stop there. Many times we have heard that these are just "isolated cases" and that just one bad priest doesn't have to be the cause to blame the whole church. Well, consider that O'Grady was protected by his superiors, moved from parish to parish when some report of abuse came out. It wasn't until too many victims came out and spoke that he was brought to justice. Just until the end his superior decided to act against one of their own. Forget the children's suffering, for the Catholic Church first and most important is to keep their good reputation.

This is the kind of film that should be screened in every school, so that parents are aware of the kind of people that an organization that relies on obedience and near-veneration respect can produce. Trust is to be gained, and to talk about God is never a way to do so.

Holy Week recommendation II: "The Crime of Father Amaro"

The movie is based on a novel written in 1875, which means that priests haven’t been that holy for a long, long time. If they ever were. "The Crime of Father Amaro" was nominated for best foreign movie.



Father Amaro (played by Gael García Bernal) arrives to a small town in Mexico, where he is sent to learn from the elderly priest in charge. He starts celebrating mass and is admired by the extremely Catholic inhabitants, especially by Amelia, a young woman who teaches catechism to the children. Amaro soon notices that the older priest has an affair with Amelia’s mother, but says nothing. He also says nothing about the construction of a hospital that is financed by drug money.

"You will go to heaven, but there is room for only one Virgin there

On the other side, there is another priest who is criticized for helping a leftist guerrilla. He eventually will get defrocked, but will continue to help the insurgents.

Having feelings for Amaro, Amelia dumps her boyfriend Ruben, a journalist and an atheist who has proof about the relationship between the church and the area drug lord. He writes an article for the local newspaper, but the church threatens it with withdrawing their advertisements from the newspaper. Ruben is fired and then his home vandalized by angered Catholics and his father results injured

Not even God can escape this temptation

Amelia announces she is pregnant with Amaro’s child. Despite the words about love being a blessing, Amaro refuses to acknowledge that he is the father, since that would threaten his career as a priest. Amelia asks Ruben to marry her, but he refuses. Amaro then arranges for Amelia to have an abortion. At night, he takes her, along with a devout catholic woman to a clinic, but she starts bleeding profusely. Amaro tries to get her to a hospital, but she dies in the way.

Days later, Amaro celebrates mass, while the town thinks that Ruben was the one who impregnated Amelia and Amaro saved her.

Oh, yeah, thank you guys for blaming the atheist.
Now come and keep drinking the cool-aid.

The depiction of the admiration the people feel for their priests (“Father Amaro is a living Saint”) is a great reflection of reality, a reality in which people, especially poor and uneducated, tend to blindly trust their priests, pastors, and in general, anyone who claims to represent God. A sad reality that ended up in thousands of children being abused.

Another thing worth noting is that among the “bad” priests, there is a good one who chooses to serve where he is needed. More than trying to patch the Catholic Church’s reputation, I think this represents pretty well that those who get the most recognition aren’t usually the best ones when it comes to “serving God”.

There is also the fact that Amaro feels guilty for what he does, at least at first. But then, he finds a way to reconcile his conscience with his priestly duty and then keep doing what he does, meaning, Amelia. At least this time it was a willing young woman instead of a boy.

Finally, the people’s zeal about defending their priests against those who criticize them depicts pretty well the kind of sheep religion breeds.

Overall, The Crime of Padre Amaro is a great drama that will have viewers, both believers and non-believers entertained and outraged. And maybe, might make some believers rethink their ideas about priests, pastors and other snake-oil dealers.

Holy Week recommendation I : Chocolat

If you live in a place with a Catholic majority, you have to live with the Holy Week. This is the week that precedes Easter (when Jesus came back to life and became a zombie) and should be of preparation for such an important date (even though it's not a fixed date and changes depending on the lunar calendar (Pagans called, they want royalties for using their way of choosing dates for their rituals).

This is a Holy Week celebration in Spain.
Yes, I know it looks like something else.

Regardless of how it started, the problem is that everything around smells like incense and over-the-top holiness. But not everything is really that bad. I remember, as a schoolkid, I loved holy week since we got 2 days off (Good Thursday and Friday). Had I known that kids in the United States got the whole week off with a less pretentious name (Spring Break) it would have been really pissed off.

Another thing I had to live with was that locals TV stations would broadcast biblical films and cartoons. At that time I enjoyed them, I think because those were once-a-year films. Nowadays it's not funny anymore.

So if you live in that kind of environment, you might want to watch something less preachy. During these week I'll be updating daily with recommendations to have an entertaining and sane Holy Week.

Today's recommendation is Chocolat:



A woman and her daughter arrive to a conservative French town, desiring to open a candy store. The villagers get intrigued during the time she makes the preparations and when she does, some arrive, curious to know what she has to offer. The problem is, she opened her candy store during lent. And the conservative major (played by Alfred Molina) cannot accept that people might have some kind of pleasure (like eating delicious chocolate) during a time that is supposed to be of suffering.

At the same time, a group of gypsies (led by Johnny Depp) arrives to town. They set camp at the riverside, since they are usually shunned by the townspeople. However, they get along pretty well with the chocolate store owner, which infuriates the major and some other conservative villages even more, to the point of burning down their camp.

What? You are an atheist who doesn't celebrate catholic rituals and sells chocolate?
I'll crush you to death!

It's interesting how the protagonist is hinted to be an atheist. But more interesting is how her actions, while not disregarding of the village traditions, are viewed as threatening to the town's morality. While wrapped in a comedy/drama/romance format, it reflects very well how many believers feel about others who won't share their delusion or traditions.

So, go to the rental store, ask a friend, or get it from the internet (you know how, right?), this is a very nice film who would slip well as a family movie.

Two Catholic groups I can actually respect

Not everything is black and white, and certainly, not all Catholics are Pope-loving communion wafer-adoring mindless zealots at the orders of the Vatican. At least not 100%. However, the fact that they still adhere to the label whether because of tradition or laziness to think things through still makes me disagree with them. But if they keep their issues to their own, without messing with other people’s lives, well, then I’m not concerned.

And I will cheer when awesomeness occurs, regardless of Catholicism

These two groups have had the guts and dared to get organized to vocalize their dissent with the Vatican’s policies, especially those, that, besides not making much sense, are bigoted and discriminatory.

Catholics for equality

Catholics for Equality empowers pro-equality Catholics to put our faith into ethical and effective political action on behalf of the LGBT community and their families.

Drawing on the rich tradition of Catholic social justice teachings, grounded in the Gospel message of Love, American Catholics are among the strongest supporters of equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) people of any religious group in the U.S.

I know it sounds crazy, but I think there some kind of truth in here. Compared to evangelicals, Catholics seem to be a little bit more tolerant. However, I think this is due to the fact that many Catholics arrived in to the United States as immigrants, first from Ireland and then from Latin America, and when one is the underdog tends to develop certain tolerance.

Yet, go to a country in which Catholics are a majority and see how much they support gays. You’ll find pretty much the same bigotry and hatred as you can find in the United States.

But this is good. While in general Catholics are not really nice to the gays, these guys are trying something different. Maybe they are getting Jesus’ message right, “love one another as I have loved you”, no matter if you are a Samaritan or something different and hateful. Oh, yes, to think that Jesus was real, and the miracles, and the resurrection, etc, is still nonsense. But if they are actually not messing with someone else’s life, why should I care? Yes, it’s nonsense, but right now, we have more important things to do.

Jesus: Love one another
Priest: Fag

The Vatican, obviously, would disagree:

Homosexuality is a troubling moral and social phenomenon, even in those countries where it does not present significant legal issues. It gives rise to greater concern in those countries that have granted or intend to grant – legal recognition to homosexual unions, which may include the possibility of adopting children.

Which basically means, gays are worrying because, well, God doesn’t like them and neither do we.

So, kudos for those Catholics for equality, Rather than blasting them for being Catholics, let’s consider this a first step that homophobia is not the only nonsense in the Catholic church.

Catholics for Choice

Another issue that the Catholic Church seems very concerned about is abortion. But not just abortion, the Catholic Church doesn’t like condoms or any other way of family planning that isn’t the rhythm method. In other words, the Catholic Church prefers to see a family with lots of children instead of two people using a condom.

Since not using a condom and just hope the woman doesn’t get pregnant is plain stupid, most rational people (catholic or not) will disregard this idea. But given that the official catholic position is against responsible family planning, there came a group that supports Catholics right to decide.

At CFC, we strive to be an expression of Catholicism as it is lived by ordinary people. We are part of the great majority of the faithful in the Catholic church who disagrees with the dictates of the Vatican on matters related to sex, marriage, family life and motherhood. We are part of the great majority who believes that Catholic teachings on conscience mean that every individual must follow his or her own conscience ― and respect others' right to do the same. At Catholics for Choice, we believe that this is the world where the meaning of choice can truly be realized.

Same thing as the Catholics for equality. They disagree with a certain official position, but keep the label, because it’s nice to be a Catholic. But their effort is commendable, especially after Planned Parenthood might stop receiving federal funds. This doesn't mean only less abortions (which are not as common as many would like to thing), but less education, less choices, less knowledge. Of course, religions thrive in the absence of knowledge, so we can be pretty sure most Catholics aligned with the Vatican will be very happy about this. It might be time to bring another family planning device.



In few words, the Vatican opposes artificial family planning because every sex act is not for pleasure, but for reproduction, so sex has to be open to life. Such anachronistic, repressive, misogynistic and cruel vision of sex is certainly baffling. Nowadays we have the means to enjoy it without having to deal with a pregnancy, which might trunk a life. Sometimes two, but it's usually the woman who gets screwed (no pun intended). It's easier for a man to walk away. No wonder, since the Catholic church is run mostly by men.

So, it's a good step towards the future that a group of Catholics will notice how stupid it would be to stop using family planning methods just because the Pope says so. Again, instead of blasting for still using the Catholic label, lets give them a hand and consider this the first step away from insanity.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

That I might consider worshiping.

For more information about the "Virgin of Guadalupe" check Brian Dunning's Skeptoid, especially to this part:

The Virgin of Guadalupe is yet more one mythical story whose believers are missing out on true facts that are actually more respectful and confer more credit upon them than the myth. The image on the Virgin tilma was painted by a native Aztec artist; and the painting had not only an important role in Mexico's early history as a nation, but also a staggering impact upon its culture ever since. Mexicans with Aztec heritage should take pride in the fact that their original culture, specifically the goddess Tonantzin, was a key ingredient in the spread of modern Catholicism. The Juan Diego myth takes that away, and whitewashes part of Mexican history clean of any Aztec influence. That's a disservice to one of humanity's greatest ancient civilizations, and it's a disservice to history.

Stephen Colbert is a what?

If you are aware of how politics run in the United States, then you certainly know who Stephen Colbert is


In case you don't know, Colbert is a satirist who parodies right-wing attitudes and criticizes them. Of course, he also takes on liberals sometimes, but conservatives tend to give more material for satire. Like this:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Bill O'Reilly Proves God's Existence - Neil deGrasse Tyson
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

O'Reilly is obviously a moron and Colbert awesomely points that out. The argument of "I don't know how that works, therefore God must be behind it" is just taking pride in one's own stupidity and ignorance, using the later as an excuse to believe in God.

One would thing that, since Colbert criticizes religion so hard, he would be, at least, a non-believer. O'Reilly for example, is a Catholic.

Well, Colbert is also a Catholic.

I love my Church, and I'm a Catholic who was raised by intellectuals, who were very devout. I was raised to believe that you could question the Church and still be a Catholic. What is worthy of satire is the misuse of religion for destructive or political gains. That's totally different from the Word, the blood, the body and the Christ. His kingdom is not of this earth.

The first sentence will be puzzling for many, but it shouldn't be. Yes, there are Catholics who are pretty intelligent and won't go along with much of the non-sense that comes from The Vatican. After all, Catholics aren't as crazy as Evangelicals who support Intelligent Design.

The second sentence is kind of puzzling, since the Catholic Church is certainly not a democracy. It's teachings are supposed to be those of the very institution founded by Christ and should not be criticized. To pretend to criticize it, or disobey them, sounds a little bit hypocritical. Yet, if that leads to a more open, liberal and democratic Catholic Church, then might be ok.

The last sentences have two sides that are worth mentioning. First, Colbert criticizes the use of religion for "bad" things, like gaining power or destroying others. That sounds nice. However, it's up to Colbert to make such judgment. But that's not what the leaders of the church think. That's not what the Vatican thinks. It's hatred of gays and atheists, and the destruction of life that comes along with a policy against condoms make it pretty obvious.

No religion has the monopoly of goodness, so it's wrong to assume that whatever is bad is opposed to the word of God. The Bible has been interpreted by many in very different ways, both to do wrong and right. But all of them claim to have the correct interpretation.

Finally, I like watching the Colbert Report. It's satire is impeccable. Colbert might think that there is a kingdom for the afterlife, which is ridiculous, but as long as he keeps that himself, no problem with me.

So you want a War on Christmas...

In the United States there is a widespread idea that there is an ongoing "war on Christmas" waged by atheists and in general, people who prefer a secular government in which every person has the same rights. As usual, this idea is proposed by the whiny religious right (mainly conservative Christians).

Sometimes they will whine about atheists billboards, like this:

"This is the time of year that the secularists, these atheists, choose to assault our Christianity and our religion," says Jeff Field with the Catholic League. "We decided that we're not going to sit by and let that happen." No turning the other cheek this time.

I don't think anyone believes the myths of Romus and Remulus, or Zeus and Hercules becase, well, those are myths. Yet, many get angry at rational people pointing out that this is also a myth. Just because many people like to believe it's real doesn't change that.

Oh, and atheists have been challenging religious nonsense for years. Where do you think a society that respects human rights comes from?


Some other times, Christians will whine at the secularization of Christmas, represented in "Season's Greetings" instead of "Merry Christmas", or in the driving away of nativity scenes in public places. They would even make a movie about it:

While Al Bundy thrives in a great progressive show, Jefferson Darcy has descended to this low. Sad, so sad

Conservative Christians like to brag an boast about the constitution, but then tend to forget the establishment clause, which declares that the government can't favor one religion over another, or religion over lack of religion and viceversa. In other words, it can't use our money to put up displays about one religion.

Personally, I have no problem with Christmas and wishing someone else a merry one. Even Richard Dawkins hasn't one. But I'll still might say "Happy Holidays" just for the fun of it.

Of course this won't sit well with many of those want just and only their celebration around, which is why they despise the "Happy Holidays" (which includes everything that is celebrated this season) and prefer "Merry Christmas", which is only one of those celebrations.

Finally, if you want a real "War on Christmas" you might prefer atheists to do something like this:

Hindu fundamentalist attacks on India's Christians mount as Christmas approaches


On December 18, Hindu fundamentalists beat two dozen carolers, including young women, and took them to the police station in a Mumbai suburb, charging that by singing Christmas carols they had insulted Hindus.

Two days earlier, Father Thomas Chirattavayalil, who heads a mission parish at a remote village in the central Madhya Pradesh, was attacked at midnight by masked men who left him seriously injured. On December 12, statues of the Virgin Mary, St. John, and St. Mary Magdalene, were found decapitated and disfigured at a church in the Andra Pradesh state.

Well, that's a war con Christmas. The American atheists haven't done anything except exercise their right to free speech and demanded that the constitution be respected in regard of civil liberties. Why? Because that's the logical thing to do if we want a world in which equality is valued.

WikiLeaks reveals Vatican's lack of willingness to cooperate with sex abuse investigations

Seriously, that the Vatican wouldn’t want to cooperate with investigations regarding sex abuse is no news. But the Wikileaks cables are one of the most concrete pieces of evidence (perhaps the most concrete) that we have about the Vatican’s hypocrisy and how unwilling Ratzinger and his minions are to punish those who abused children, if that will undermine his organization’s power

WikilLeaks cables: Vatican refused to engage with child sex abuse inquiry

Leaked cable lays bare how Irish government was forced to grant Vatican officials immunity from testifying to Murphy commission

The Vatican refused to allow its officials to testify before an Irish commission investigating the clerical abuse of children and was angered when they were summoned from Rome, US embassy cables released by WikiLeaks reveal.

Requests for information from the 2009 Murphy commission into sexual and physical abuse by clergy "offended many in the Vatican" who felt that the Irish government had "failed to respect and protect Vatican sovereignty during the investigations", a cable says.

The most outrageous thing here is how unwilling the Vatican is when it comes to investigate what really happened with those victims. Its hypocrisy seems to know no limits, especially considering that “the truth shall set you free” apparently, that only works when it comes to confessions. The Catholic Church tries to convince us to reveal our “sins” but is too unwilling to confess its owns.

Besides, it’s also worth noting that by now it’s impossible to talk about single cases, since we have seen once and again that it’s not just one priest raping children, or even a bishop covering those crimes. It’s the whole machine working to cover all the abuse and trying to keep their good image, even if that means letting rape go unpunished.

The Catholic Church is desperate to keep its position and power, just like a mafia when the police start disrupting its operations. The difference is that the catholic mafia needs to lose its venerable aura. Fortunately, its priests do a better job than all its detractors do together.

So, what’s wrong with Christmas spending?

Christmas is just around the corner, and with it, the complaints from many religious leaders about converting it in a celebration of consumption. For example:

Peruvian Cardinal Cipriani criticizes consumption on Christmas

The cardinal lamented that this holiday is used to promote spending among the people.

Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani asked the people not to make the Christmas holiday a celebration of consumption, but to remember that in such day the birth of Jesus Christ.

He basically says “Don’t spend on Christmas. Donate to the Catholic Church.”

I’ve been hearing this since I was a kid. Cipriani, as well as the priest who rage at the spending the people does during the December holidays lament that Jesus is not anymore the center of the celebration.

However, any person in his right mind should already know how wrong is to believe that Jesus was born during that very day. Consider that when Rome made Christianity the official empire religion, many of the pagan holidays were converted into Christian holidays. Moreover, let’s consider how ridiculous is to thing that a woman can conceive a child and remain a virgin. And finally, let’s remember how important the winter solstice was for so many cultures. Even a bishop, when pushed would admit this.

But let’s put that aside for now. Christmas exists no matter if we liked it or not. Just like Halloween, it started as a pagan holiday. And just like Halloween, much of its attractive is in the associated parafernalia. Nowadays, Christmas can be very easily enjoyed with or without Jesus. Just like I don’t believe in Santa Claus, I don’t believe in Jesus.

But there is something I do believe in: the happiness of giving (and receiving) gifts from loved ones. That’s something I will spend money in. The better if the evil capitalist system gives us the option to choose from corporations that fight over their clients.

I don’t think anyone needs and old story to understand and enjoy the happiness of spending time with our loved ones. I am planning to spend it the best I can during these holidays. I won’t be saying “Merry Christmas”, but won’t make a fuzz about it either. I might not like Christmas music, but certainly there are some that deserve to be listened to. In other words, attitude is everything.

The Peruvian cardinal pretends that during Christmas everyone should go to church and listen to that larger-than-life mass. I respectfully decline the invitation, I like my Christmas spending. And if I needed any other reason to not celebrate Christmas like the cardinal wants, well…

Yes, I know it.

When God loses an election I: Brazil

In our search for a civilized and proper society where human right prime over repression, the existence of a secular government is vital. This is the reason that the presence of religion in politics is necessarily associated with an unbalance in society, in which many time we will reach the point where an answer is “Just because” or worse, the non-sensical “Because God says so”

This is why it produces rejection to see a religious authority for or against a political position or figure. And this rejection scales to total disgust when this authority is our despicable Pope Ratzinger

Pope Calls Upon Brazilian Bishops to Speak out against Abortion as Election Approaches




Pope Benedict XVI is telling Brazil's Catholic bishops to speak out against ideologies that justify abortion, only days before a hotly contested presidential election in which the frontrunner has been accused of supporting the decriminalization of abortion.

The pope's words are likely to be read as an affirmation of Brazilian bishops and other religious leaders who have raised their voices in recent weeks against the ruling Labor Party and its frontrunner presidential candidate, Dilma Rousseff.

Rousseff and the Labor Party have publicly endorsed the decriminalization of abortion in Brazil, but during the election Rousseff has backpedaled from her previous stance. She now says that she is "personally against" abortion and even calls it an act of "violence" against women. She has signed a public statement stating her personal opposition to decriminalizing abortion, but has refused to say that she will veto pro-abortion legislation.

Three days ago, Ratzinger jumped in the Brazilian election telling, basically, not to vote for Dilma Rouseff, since she backs abortion rights for women, something Brazil really needs.

However, and as a proof of how incapable God is to do anything through his people (or just, proof that He/She/It doesn’t exist) Rouseff won.

Dilma Rousseff elected Brazil's first female president


Ms Rousseff won 56 per cent of the valid votes compared with 44 per cent for her opponent, Jose Serra, with 99 per cent of all votes counted.

“I’m very happy. I want to thank all Brazilians for this moment and I promise to honour the trust they have shown me,” Ms Rousseff told reporters in the capital Brasilia in her first public words after the result was announced.

It very relieving to see that fear and ignorance didn’t won in Brazil. But at the same time it’s outrageous to see Ratzinger’s arrogance by trying to hijack an election in a secular country. Ratzinger conveniently forgets the rapes committed by catholic priests and prefers to focus his words against abortion and gay marriage. If there is something God gave him, it’s an infinite capacity for cynicism.

Ratzinger and the Nazis

I should have written this a long time ago, especially because the Spanish version came out in March. Now that it was updated, I think I can make a pretty complete post about the relationship about Ratzinger and the nazis.

Yes, Joseph Ratzinger was part of the Hitler Youth.

Why?

Because he had no other option.

At that time, every teenager who turned 14 was drafted and sent to serve in the nazi army. Ratzinger never said “I want to kill Jews, so I’ll enroll with the nazis.” He was just drafted and that was it. He even disliked it so much that he eventually deserted.

Then there is a picture that drives many atheists and non-believers in general nuts. This picture.


It’s unbelievable that there are people who think they hold the flag of reason and yet, are so stubborn in their desire to see Ratzinger as a nazi that they are very willing to throw reason through the window and yell harangues, just like the most fanatical jihadist.

If you know a little bit of history about Raztinger, you’ll see that he was born in 1927. When he turned 14, he was drafted to the Hitler Youth (this is, in 1941). In 1945 the war ended and he deserted from the army. He was 18 at that time. He then went to the seminary and was ordained as a priest in 1951 at the age of 24.

So, Ratzinger would only have used the priest robes six years after WWII ended and the nazi regime ended, a regime Ratzinger despised. Because of this, it’s ridiculous to think that he could have done the nazi salute.

But if you still want to believe that the picture above is a nazi salute, consider that when a priest is ordained, he has to lift both arms. Obviously, if we just present ONE arm lifted, the less enlightened and most fanatical minds will think that it is a nazi salute. But if we investigate with real desire to know and not just being a mindless lemming that follows and attacks whatever he or she doesn’t like, we will find the truth:



These are Raztinger (at the right) and his brother, being ordained as priests. There is no sign of nazism in it. If you truly care about truth and facts, just drop the idea.

So, don’t you ever try to relate Ratzinger’s mistakes to his being in the Hitler Youth, since you would be ridiculed by a well-informed catholic. This is something very simple and obvious that can be prevented by just reading a little bit. Religious fanatics may permit themselves those attitudes, to be ignorant and babble non-sense, since their beliefs do not require them to know, just to believe.

A non-believer should not behave that way.

Ratzinger is a despicable person for many reasons, but this is not one of them.

If you want more information, you can check out the New York Times Article about Ratzinger’s youth.

And Diego El Mapache said, “Let there be Threesome Thursdays”

I just noticed we don’t have a regular “event”, like “asshole of the week” or something like that in which the blog talks about something in particular related to the title of the celebration. Well, that is no more. Today, I therefore declare that this Thursday and every Thursday will be “Threesome Thursday”



No, no that kind of threesome.

Every Thursday will be a specific topic and three examples of such. I swear I’ll keep this regular, which also means that there will be at least one post per week (actually two, if you count the Spanish version).

So, this Thursday we open with Beyond Crazy

What is Beyond Crazy? Well, most of us already grant some kind of “crazy” to religious beliefs, whether they involve following a church that protects pedophiles, those who preach love but try to deny rights for everyone, or those who will kill you to show you how peaceful their religion is.

Well, what can be crazier than that? Regardless of the nonsensical beliefs we see, “beliefs” might be debatable, as means of how anyone can conduct their lives.

What isn’t debatable is what science can prove to us. No matter how much you dislike it, scientific knowledge is the best way to know what happens around us. Yet, there are still those who will defend their cherished beliefs against the evil science that proves them false.

1. Creationism
We must already know what creationism is, right? The idea that the Earth was created some 6000 years ago by God. Despite it being obvious bullshit, there are many who would rather believe that than acknowledge that God had nothing to do with our existence.



Creationism is a big issue in the US since many evangelical conservatives a big chunk of the population and tend to vote for candidates retarded enough to consider this “the truth” and enact policies giving it an equal status as evolution.

But there are more. There is not just creationism that predates our science class thanks to religious nutjobs. The Catholics also have their non-plus-ultra of stupidty, embodied in the idea that Galileo was Wrong and The Church was Right. What does this mean?

2. Geocentrism:

Galileo Was Wrong is a detailed and comprehensive treatment of the scientific evidence supporting Geocentrism, the academic belief that the Earth is immobile in the center of the universe. Garnering scientific information from physics, astrophysics, astronomy and other sciences, Galileo Was Wrong shows that the debate between Galileo and the Catholic Church was much more than a difference of opinion about the interpretation of Scripture.

Scientific evidence available to us within the last 100 years that was not available during Galileo's confrontation shows that the Church's position on the immobility of the Earth is not only scientifically supportable, but it is the most stable model of the universe and the one which best answers all the evidence we see in the cosmos.

I really hoped this was a joke, and that the simplicity with which the we was designed was proof of that. However, if I google the name of the book’s writer, Robert A. Sungenis, we find that he actually believes in geocentrism, always inspired in the Catholic Church.

If I’m not mistaken, the church’s official position is on heliocentrism is of approval. Yet, we get to see fervorous Catholics like Sungenis come up with such views.

Last but not least, if you think that geocentrism and creationism are the most idiotic things you have ever heard, open space for…

3. The Flat Earth Society

Yes, flat Earth as in “The Earth is flat, not a sphere”

Like this



I don’t know what to say. Seriously, this is… I don’t know. There is no mention to religion in the official webpage, it’s Facebook page or in an article about the society in The Guardian. However, many of the beliefs of the society are, well, bible based:

"The facts are simple," says Charles K. Johnson, president of the International Flat Earth Research Society. "The earth is flat."

[…]

Johnson's beliefs are firmly grounded in the Bible. Many verses of the Old Testament imply that the earth is flat, but there's more to it than that. According to the New Testament, Jesus ascended up into heaven.

"The whole point of the Copernican theory is to get rid of Jesus by saying there is no up and no down," declares Johnson. "The spinning ball thing just makes the whole Bible a big joke."

Not the Bible but Johnson's own common sense allowed him to see through the globe myth while he was still in grade school. He contends that sensible people all over the world, not just Bible believers, realize that the earth really is flat.

I guess anyone must have a hard time trying to find something crazier than these ideas. While the first two are not very popular, creationism is. That’s the threat that religion presents to us as a society. It asks believers to have faith, unbeatable faith, to believe without seeing. And if there is a chance to see reality, deny it with all your strength. Because the bible, the word of God, and whatever interpretation it might have got cannot be wrong. In other words, it asks us to become mindless zombies, lemmings that will follow anything and anyone who holds the flag of God.

Reactions to Ratzinger's visit to England: Kicking the Pope's ass

I wonder what Raztinger thought while flying to England. Would he be expecting a lot of support after comparing atheists to nazis? Well, certainly that (added to to his record in favor of pedophiles) didn't seat well among the British.

Especially one of our favorites Brits, Richard Dawkins



I'm glad Dawkins understands it like I did. We both are happy that Ratzinger is worried about us, so much that the first thing he does is compare us to nazis. Dawkins explains this might well be to divert the sight from his own crimes.

Great Mr. Dawkins. You can read the whole speech here.

But it wasn't just Dawkins against the Pope. We are used to that. It was thousands of people expressing their disgust with Ratzinger














I'm glad that so many people notice how despicable is Ratzinger and his policies. That gives us hope for a better future.

If you want to see more, here is a very complete blogpost about the protest against the Pope

Another reaction worth mentioning is the one Hindus had, denouncing the Pope comparing atheists to nazis.

Brits to the Pope: "Fuck you Ratzinger!"

Just a couple of days ago the Pope landed in Britain and the first thing he did is compare atheists to nazis while trying to get some British sympathy by mentioning its fight against Nazi Germany. Well, Brits could see through that and didn't buy the hateful message from one of the most powerful bigots on Earth

Protest the Pope rally sees 10,000 march through London's streets


Crowd carries messages condemning papal stance on condoms, homosexuality, women's rights and child abuse scandal

Day three of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Britain and it was a day for protests and anti-papists under bright blue skies in central London. Around 10,000 people took to the capital's streets for a Protest the Pope rally and march against what the organizers called "papal intolerance" and to condemn the state funding of the visit.

More than 10,000 people. That's a huge number. And those are just the ones who came out from their homes and went to London. Imagine how many repudiate the Pope and what he represents but couldn't make it to the protest.

Ratzinger represents pedophilia, homophobia, intolerance, misogyny, disregard for life, ignorance and abuse of power. And his position as head of the Catholic Church extends that to the institution. The Catholic Church is no more (if it ever was) the moral guide that people in the West looked after.

I don't think anyone has really a problem so big with a group of people believing whatever they want that they would go out and protest against it in such a strong way. People are not angry about Catholic rites, or doctrine. They are angry at the intolerance based on that doctrine and how it acts and influences on the world and on our lives.

Moreover, I would dare to say that Ratzinger's comments comparing atheists to nazis had something to do with the numbers in this protest. How dares the Pope, someone with such a record on intolerance, accuse another group of nazis with a straight face?

You need cynicism the size of the Saint Peter's Basilica to do that.



I would shake the hand of all and every person in that rally.

On another less amusing note, six people have been arrested for plotting to kill the Pope. First thing I though was "I really hope they are not atheists". Turns out they are Muslims.

I really don't want to see the Pope dead (although I would lie if I said that his death would sadden me). I would just like to see him changing his views or losing enough power so that they can't harm anyone. One day, hopefully, one day.

A Scared Pope: Ratzinger's Reductio ad Hitlerium

If someone must know how disgusting it is to be accused of being a Nazi, that person must be Joseph Ratzinger. He did join the Hitler youth, but did so because he had no option. The young Ratzinger despised what the nazis did and eventually deserted.

However, here is the Pope, comparing atheists to nazis

Row after Pope's remarks on atheism and Nazis


The pope urged the UK to guard against "aggressive forms of secularism".

He said: "Even in our own lifetimes we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live.

"As we reflect on the sobering lessons of atheist extremism of the 20th century, let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life leads ultimately to a truncated vision of man and of society and thus a reductive vision of a person and his destiny."

Despite the initial outrage and indignation, many other things come to my head

First, that someone who is arguably the most powerful person in the world, someone who preaches homophobia and inequality, someone who prefers to see people dying from AIDS instead of using condoms, someone who protects child abusers, is angry at us, is a sign that we must be doing something right.

Second, notice that Ratzinger is so desperate and scared that he doesn't elaborate an intricate argument to accuse atheists of being nazis. His argument consists in that nazis wanted to take God out of our society, just like atheists and their "aggressive secularism". That's it. A supposedly educated person can't go further than just compare a group of people to the worst in the world's mind. Just look at the internet. What happens when someone is desperate to insult, discredit or has no argument against his opponent? Reductio ad Hitlerium

Third: Ratzinger is desperate to be seen as the polar opposite to evil. Why? Because he is being seen as evil right now. His protective attitudes towards priests and catholic officials who sexually abused children for decades have taken away much of the Catholic Church's credibility as a moral guide. His power is going down.

Fourth: That his power is going down might be the Catholic Church's own fault, but it's been mainly non-believers in a secular society that have told the world of the atrocities committed by the Catholic Church. Even though it's catholic children who have been abused, Catholics in general seemed pretty dyspeptic about it for decades. It's been critics of the church, such as atheists, who have made this known.

Fifth: Ratzinger is either a huge ignorant or a huge liar. The nazis did not committed their horrible crimes based on their lack of faith. Hitler himself seemed to get along pretty well with Christianity.



And what phrase do nazis like to quote?



And if there is still any doubt, check out the words from the Fuhrer himself

"I am now as before a Catholic and will always remain so." - Hitler to General Gerhard Engel, 1941

"Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord." - Mein Kampf

"And the founder of Christianity made no secret indeed of his estimation of the Jewish people. When He found it necessary, He drove those enemies of the human race out of the Temple of God; because then, as always, they used religion as a means of advancing their commercial interests. But at that time Christ was nailed to the Cross for his attitude towards the Jews; whereas our modern Christians enter into party politics and when elections are being held they debase themselves to beg for Jewish votes. They even enter into political intrigues with the atheistic Jewish parties against the interests of their own Christian nation." - Mein Kampf

Yet, let us remember that Nazism was not based on religion or lack of it. If anything, it had some pagan elements that favored the idea of Aryan supremacy. The Third Reich persecuted religious institutions withing Germany, as well as free-thinking or atheist groups. In other words, nothing had to distract the attention from Hitler and the Reich.

Ratzinger's cynicism is outrageous, but we have to understand his position. He is losing power and will do anything to keep it. Secularism gives its righteous place to all religions, a place in the people's mind and away from public policy if religious beliefs are unscientific or discriminatory. So, we are in the good path. Let's keep doing it.

With that ideal, I'll leave you with the Penn & Teller documentary about the Vatican. It's always good to remember it.

The Catholic Tapes: A story of sex, abuse and deceit

Yesterday I wrote about the Pope's reaction to Hawking's words. I thought about adding a series of videos to that post, but then realized that they needed their own.

In the last years child sex abuse by Catholic officials have been constantly in the news. The appearance of such cases in different parts of the world, during decades make the cases outrageous. But more outrageous is the attitude high authorities and the Vatican take regarding it. Catholic officials prefer to keep silent and simply "transfer" abusive priests to other locations, where they can keep abusing children.

Some people like to think that these are just isolated cases. They don't want to see the harsh truth, that high officials, such as cardinals prefer to keep rapers safe without caring for the victims




One of the most outrageous cases is the one of Marcial Maciel, a Mexican priest founder of the Legion of Christ. Maciel was investigated for child sex abuse, but was never brought to justice, in part then Cardinal Ratzinger did few to nothing to keep the investigations.



Maciel was very close to Pope John Paul, who also didn't do much to bring his friend to the justice. He died without going to jail.

If you still have any doubt about what the Catholic Church is capable of doing, pay attention to the next videos. This is an episode of Penn & Teller: Bullshit in which they expose the Vatican and their bigotry, hatred, stupidity and power abuse. After the episode was broadcasted, the catholic lobby seems to have moved its influences. The episode is not available on DVD, and it doesn't figure in Showtime's webpage. So take a look at it while you can.







Certainly, it's not a happy thing to see. But just because you feel uncomfortable when watching the hypocrisy and cynicism in the Catholic Church, it doesn't make it less real.

Ratzinger's empire strikes back

It’s been already almost a week since Stephen Hawking declared that God wasn’t necessary for the existence of the universe. Predictably this caused weeping and gnashing of teeth among believers, who saw their beliefs and their God being beaten by one of science's heavy weights.
As expected, religious leaders from around the world came out to defend their “creator” from being stripped of such title by one of the most important physicists in the world

The most remarkable declarations are as follow:

“Belief in God is not about plugging a gap in explaining how one thing relates to another within the Universe" - Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

"Science is about explanation. Religion is about interpretation. The Bible simply isn't interested in how the Universe came into being" - Lord Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth

But the most important mention about this issue comes from Ratzinger himself in his letter to the World Youth Day Madrid 2011 (a text that was kind of hard to find in English)

Indeed, there is a strong current of secularist thought that aims to make God marginal in the lives of people and society by proposing and attempting to create a "paradise" without him. Yet experience tells us that a world without God becomes a "hell": filled with selfishness, broken families, hatred between individuals and nations, and a great deficit of love, joy and hope.

It's going to be hard to find such cynicism in so few words written by someone else. Ratzinger accuses secularism of creating a godless "hell" filled with selfishness and hatred. Yet, the Catholic Church has been one of the greatest sources of selfishness, where all the power is concentrated in a group of people, and where the money is served not to help those in need, but to save priests who have sexually abused kids. The Catholic Church has, and still inspires hatred towards homosexuals, by denying them the same rights heterosexuals have, or by comparing women's ordination as priests to child sexual abuse.

But there is more

On the other hand, wherever individuals and nations accept God's presence, worship him in truth and listen to his voice, then the civilization of love is being built, a civilization in which the dignity of all is respected, and communion increases, with all its benefits.

You don't need to thing a lot to notice that when Ratzinger wants nations to listen to God's voice, he actually wants nations to listen to his voice. God isn't coming down to talk to us, or to explain to us how the Bible should be interpreted. In such society dignity for everyone will never be achieved, since the Catholic Church refuses to acknowledge the same rights for women and gays.

Finally

Yet some Christians allow themselves to be seduced by secularism or attracted by religious currents that draw them away from faith in Jesus Christ. There are others who, while not yielding to these enticements, have simply allowed their faith to grow cold, with inevitable negative effects on their moral lives.

Ratzinger obviously dislikes those who refuse to be mindless sheep. But there are some who, while retaining their identity as catholics, look for a better world based on science and human rights for everyone. Naturally, this concept is seen as negative by Ratzinger

Ratzinger's arrogance and disdain for science when it contradicts his beliefs are astonishing. This comes just months after the sexual abuse scandals in which the Catholic Church has been involved, with some cases still surfacing during these days.

It's no wonder that neither the British, nor the Scotish want to pay for Ratzinger's visits to their countries. After the irresponsible way in which the Catholic leader has handled the child sex abuse cases in those countries, it's understandable that the public don't want to fund his visit. No one likes a pedophiles enabler in their country. At least no rational and moral person.

Rose of Lima, more a catholic tool than a crazy girl

Today was celebrated Saint Rose of Lima, and as a tradition, I dedicate today's post to her. I did the same thing last year, presenting facts that "mythbusted" her supposed miracles.


This year, thanks to Rocio Silva Santistevan's blog, we will learn how this girl, with an insane liking for masochism, became one of the best know Latin American saints.

Some years ago, Jorge Rivero conducted a study for the Somos magazine with some psicoanalists to diagnose Rose of Lima. I think it was an interesting study, since beside some preconceived ideas that portray her as a masochist, we were able to understand some searches, even though, without leaving behind the "pathology" aura that is greater than the one of sanctity.

Obviously, someone has to pretty dumb to think that someone who thinks can talk to baby Jesus and flagellates herself continuously is mentally stable.

Luis Millones also has many articles about the importance of Santa Rosa's stay in Quives, where she learned how to use herbs from the native population

That's interesting and very commendable, to use folk medicine to help sick people (remember that, at that time, medicine wasn't very advanced), but that eventually became a "miracle"thanks to the catholic propaganda. This portrays Rose of Lima as a nice person, something I have never denied, by the way.

Also, Eduardo Adrianzén wrote the play "Espinas" based precisely in Saint Rose of Lima and her fellows who did similar things to her at that time. The other "illuminated" girls didn't depend from any ecclesiastic hierarchy but from their confesors. This is the reason some of them ended in the Inquisition and were not "saints", but even were considered heretics. Saint Rose of Lima had as a confesor a Dominic, and the Dominics, let's not forget, were those in charge of the inquisition in Lima. She went to the tribunal and was acquitted.

In other words, Saint Rose of Lima had "people inside" and didn't end up like the other girls like her, accused of heresy. Instead, since she was not accused, she was used as propaganda for the highly religious and credulous population of Lima at that time. Her sainthood and miracles were happily embraced by the people, who were happy to have their own saint. Of course, the catholic church didn't bother to disprove such claims. Instead, they have been using her fame until today, even in the most ridiculous ways:

Saint Rose of Lima will receive wishes via email

The Archbishop of Lima has opened a "virtual mailbox" so that the faithful from everywhere can send her petitions to the "Patron of the Americas" during her day

In the address grupo_sntarosa@hotmail.com, the archbishop receives the petitions from those who can't go to her sanctuary in Lima Downtown and promises to put those messages in her "Well of the wishes" in which every year thousands of people give their wishes to the saint

The title itself is a joke. It makes me think of something like...


Yeah, something like that. The archbishop is so desperate to get young people's attention and involve them in child-like games like throwing letters with wishes in a well with hopes that Rose of Lima will read them. That is a tradition I followed during all my years in my private catholic high school. A kids game, game that persist among many grown ups. Pitiful and sad show.

Hopefully one day that will change and more people will start thinking critically and put religion and its irrational beliefs aside. Hopefully, one day.