And we have a new pope.

Spoiler Alert... I didn't get it...

I pretty much said all I had to say about the papacy and The Church in this entry here.

Until His Holiness comes out and categorically condemns assaults by priests and nuns, refuses to shelter offenders regardless of whom they end up being or their role within The Church, and vows to fully cooperate with authorities as they investigate all claims by survivors, I'm just not interested in any of it.

That being said... I can say that this pope seems to act more like a follower of Christ and Christian principles than I've come to expect. Maybe, despite his pre-pope actions, he will be more aggressive about holding The Church accountable for the atrocities of its clergy and members. If that were to happen, I wouldn't feel so raw about him being a White Sox fan.

And if he won't do something, then maybe the states will.

When I was a kid, I was raised in the Catholic Church and had to make confession. So while I'm not Catholic any more, I do feel I have the right to say this... WAY TO GO WASHINGTON STATE!

New Law Requires Priests to Break Seal of Confession to Report Child Abuse...
"The secrecy of the confessional in the Roman Catholic Church is so sacrosanct that any priest who violates it is automatically excommunicated. — In Washington State, a new law requiring clergy to break the seal when child abuse has been revealed has kindled a heated battle involving the state, the Roman Catholic Church and the Justice Department."

Confession is a way to seek forgiveness for your sins. If your sin is that you're abusing a child, then you can get forgiven from God via a priest, sure. Go right ahead. Seek forgiveness as your faith dictates. BUT YOU ALSO NEED TO BE TAKEN OUT OF A SITUATION WHERE YOU CAN CONTINUE TO ABUSE A CHILD! A few Hail Marys as penance is not going to stop the abuse!

Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church is a pile of garbage if they honestly think that children should continue to be abused under their watch! What the actual fuck? The Catholic Church can't even police themselves when it comes to priests and nuns abusing kids!

This kind of shit makes me insane.

Peddling forgiveness for the eternal soul of your parishioners is one matter. Allowing child abuse to continue is an entirely different matter. That's tantamount to an endorsement of child abuse by The Church. And anybody thinking that's okay needs to beg forgiveness for being a piece of shit. Then should be denied.