-Caveat Lector- >From WND
}}}>Begin This is a WorldNetDaily printer-friendly version of the article which follows. To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26832 Thursday, March 14, 2002 Sins of the Fathers Posted: March 14, 2002 1:00 p.m. Eastern Editor's note: Purchase a copy of Bill O'Reilly's new book, "No Spin Zone," autographed and personalized, and receive a free "No Spin Zone" bumper sticker and a free three-month trial offer to Whistleblower magazine. Take advantage of this exclusive offer now! By Bill O'Reilly � 2002 WorldNetDaily.com Where is St. Patrick when we need him? The Catholic saint drove the snakes out of Ireland and now we need someone to drive the snakes out of the Catholic Church in America. The nation's 61 million Roman Catholics have been subjected to a scandal so horrific that it will take decades for the wounds to heal. There simply is no excuse for priests to abuse children in any way, and it is criminal that some of the men who run the Church would cover up these atrocities. So how did it happen? The answer lies in the weakness of the Church � it is a dictatorship. The pope calls the shots and any serious dissent from his point of view is not tolerated. As in all dictatorships, a tone is set from the top. When a compassionate man like Pope John XXIII was calling the shots, the Church took on a more human face. In the case of the current pope, John Paul II, a tone of authoritarian conservatism is in place and many bishops are extremely cautious in what they say and do. Thus Cardinal Law of Boston, the most powerful Catholic cleric in America, was certainly not eager to expose the weakness of his diocese to Rome. So when allegations of sexual improprieties among some priests and children surfaced, he kept them quiet. Bad publicity will not get you brownie points in Rome. Many other American clerics covered up sexual scandals as well. There have been roughly 60,000 priests who have served in America since 1984, and independent studies put the number of child molesters in that group at about six percent, although everyone admits the exact number is impossible to pin down. Reporting by the Christian Science Monitor puts the number of victims of priest child abuse in the tens of thousands. Payments to these victims by the Church could run as high as $1 billion but, again, it is impossible to know the exact figure since many of these payments are sealed in secrecy. But what is not secret any longer is the failure of the Church leadership in America. Cardinal Law refuses to resign even though his handling of the now-defrocked priest John Geoghan resulted in the molestation of dozens of children. Law would not fire Geoghan despite knowing the man was a pedophile. Law transferred the guy to different parishes and kept his proclivities quiet. Most other people in authority would have been fired immediately for doing something like this. But Law has not been terminated by Rome and his stubborn refusal to step down is precisely the indicator that explains how the Church's sexual molestation problem could get so far out of control. Cardinal Bernard Law loves his red hat. He loves the power that comes with his position. He is ambitious and he is determined to hold on to his job despite the embarrassment and pain he has caused his church and his Catholic brethren. Law is no different than a Gary Condit in his thinking. Both men were responsible for causing other people much personal pain. Both men refused to give up power. Condit's was taken away from him, but Law continues to reign. Surely, the Cardinal cannot think he should be allowed to go unpunished in this case. He made terrible decisions that hurt children. Where is his penance? Until the Catholic Church begins to return to the teachings of Jesus Christ and move away from the trappings of power and suppression of dissent, it will be a wounded institution. The Church has done a tremendous amount of good in the past 2,000 years, and the core of its theology is pure and a positive force in this world. If the teachings of Jesus were followed to the letter by all of us, the entire world would be a peaceful, loving, charitable place. What would Jesus think of clerics who molest and powerful men who allow it to happen? I think we all know what he would think. And someday these awful men who have violated and failed to protect children, will most definitely have to come to terms with that. Related offers: Purchase a copy of Bill O'Reilly's new book, "No Spin Zone," autographed and personalized, and receive a free "No Spin Zone" bumper sticker and a free three- month trial offer to Whistleblower magazine. Check out WorldNetDaily's full line of Bill O'Reilly products at ShopNetDaily. Editor's note: If you would like to see Bill O'Reilly's "No-Spin Zone" column in your local newspaper, please suggest it to the editor or editorial page editor. It is available now through agreement with Creators Syndicate. Veteran TV news anchor Bill O'Reilly is host of the Fox News Channel show, "The O'Reilly Factor," and author of the best-selling book, "The O'Reilly Factor: The Good, the Bad, and the Completely Ridiculous," available at the WorldNetDaily storefront. His WorldNetDaily column is now syndicated internationally. 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