In May 2017 when Barrett was being confirmed for a seat on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Senator Dianne Feinstein said to Barrett, “The dogma lives loudly within you,” implying that Barrett’s legal philosophy was inordinately influenced by her religious beliefs. Bull’s eye. This attack on a woman’s right to choose will now allow red states to ban abortion outright on any grounds including rape, gang rape, incest and paedophilia. It will encourage some red states to go further by trying to ban the use of the abortion pill and who knows maybe, types of contraceptives. The breaking of any new laws will be enforced by a raft of draconian criminal sanctions. This decision by the Supreme Court will largely impact women who are the poor, vulnerable and members of minorities. This decision will cost lives, as these marginalised women seek out backstreet abortions, while better-off white women from red states can simply jump on a plane to the nearest blue state.
The announcement of the 5/4 vote by the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v Wade which 50 years ago gave women in America the right to a safe and legal abortion, goes to the heart of the Plot Against America. I am sure that there will be many evangelical Christians and arch-conservative Catholics who are delighted with the outcome. The 5/4 vote breaks down as, Catholic Fundamentalist 5, Catholics taking the bad look of the fundamentalists 1 and 3 others who believe in a woman’s right to choose. The god-fearing Catholics, Barrett, Gorsuch and Cavanaugh when asked at their confirmation hearings, if they would overturn Roe, the answer was that it was settled law. It is now clear that the US Supreme Court is just another Roman Catholic institution with liars on the bench. Just to remind the trio, of Psalm 101/7” No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes”
The Vatican has welcomed the decision by saying that it was a” powerful invitation to reflect on the issue at a time when Western society is losing passion for life.” This is from an institution whose passion for destroying the lives of children and then trying to cover it up, is well documented.
The Catholic Church is an institution, run by a group of old, allegedly celibate and entitled white guys. It was these guys who took part in the cover-up of widespread child abuse and the mistreatment of young pregnant unmarried women. The Church thankfully, failed to stop progressive moves relating to same-sex marriage, divorce and abortion rights for women.
As I am on a roll, let us deal with the corruption scandals that infest the Holy See. The most recent case involves 10 individuals including the Pope’s closest ally Cardinal Becciu over allegations of abuse of office, fraud and extortion totalling €350m. In 2009 the Vatican Bank was investigated over money laundering totalling €180m and in 2012 JP Morgan forced the Institute for Works of Religion to close an account because it could not provide the necessary information about the sources of €1.8B of deposits. This scandal resulted in 4 senior Cardinals being given their marching orders.
A fair question to ask is, does the Catholic Church as currently constituted, serve any meaningful purpose in a progressive society, other than to splash you for sins not yet committed, engage in rites of passage that embed you in an identity in which the individual has had no agency, hand out indulgences, function as pseudo councillors, indoctrinate you and then bury you.
Finally, if the Catholic Church cannot clean up its act and set aside its pathetic patriarchy and gynophobia (fear of women) and address in particular, the equal role and status of women, its ongoing decline will continue. So, a bit of advice from an atheist, a chat with Archbishop Welby would be a good first step.
Let us know what you think in the comments below 👇
The Gob 
Leave a Reply