The Five Hoarse Men of the Apocalypse

And speaking of self-styled "Christians", here's Hillary Clinton, our new SOS, apologizing -- in Tokyo -- for Christianity, not in response to Shinto activism, but apropos the issue of "anti-Muslim prejudice" in the U.S. "I am a Christian... Through the centuries we have had many people who have done terrible things in the name of Christianity. They have perverted the religion."

Well... it seems to me that anyone who is married to Bill Clinton ought to watch how they use the term "perverted". But in any case, I'll bet that if you asked her, she'd rattle off the standard list of the Five Great Offenses of Christianity that are talking points for everyone who is against the Church. They are -- in case you've forgotten -- the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Borgia popes, the Holocaust, and Pedophile Priests. The Crusades, of course, were a "hate crime" against Islam... which was apparently OK up until just recently. I mean, when only a few rag-heads get hurt, who cares? But suddenly there is a strange new respect for a faith that has over 1 billion adherents and counting (very fast, in fact). The Inquisition? Well, it was clearly another "hate crime" against Islam, as well as the Jews. The fact that it was initiated in order to deal with heresy -- that's something that happens _within_ Christianity, not outside of it, for those of you in Rio Linda -- still has not sunk in to these people's thick skulls. And no, it wasn't "the Inquisition" that threw the Moslems and Jews out of Spain; that was Ferdinand and Isabella, on their own initiative... and when you combine that with their hate crime against Native Americans by sending Columbus over here... well! You can forget all about sainthood for those clowns.

But what about the Borgia popes? Yeah... that was when the Church had political clout, and the papacy was one of the top prizes. And yet, even the most dicey popes never made any pronouncements in violation of faith and morals. There was apparently a sobering effect of being put in charge of the world's largest spiritual entity that tended to subdue the more carnal and materialistic facets of even the most jaded personality. (Does this mean we could cure Bill Clinton by making him pope? Let's not go there.)

Well then, we at least have the Holocaust to apologize and do eternal penance and reparation for -- after all, Hitler was a "good Catholic", right? And Pope Pius XII was his right-hand man. Well, we've been over this territory before, and I'm not going to belabor it. Suffice it to say that everything American politicians and media types say is, or was, "wrong" with the Church isn't, and wasn't.

Except! What about "pedophile priests"? That's still current events (boy, is it ever -- thanks again to the MSM). OK -- number one, it's not "pedophilia", clinically speaking, if nearly all the victims were adolescent males. Basically, the vast majority of these predators were garden-variety homosexuals who let their impulses get out of control. Should they ever have been ordained? Good question. Should their superiors in the Church hierarchy have "hanged them high" on the first offense? Maybe not, but admittedly they could have done a much better job at dealing with the issue. Should the Church be made to pay millions -- billions -- in reparations or compensation to the victims? Surely some compensation is appropriate, but much of it is clearly on the punitive level, and I don't mean for the crimes committed, but simply for being the Church.

But mainly, did these predators in priests' clothing represent the Church, the Creed of the faithful, the Vatican, the Magisterium, the Bible, the Church Fathers, the Saints, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, or God? The answer is a resounding NO -- none of the above. But that is what the critics of the Church are trying to "package deal" out of existence. Not only that, but most of those predators were "Sixties types" -- "Vatican II priests" -- and liberals all love "Vatican II" because it was the biggest self-inflicted wound of the Church to date. In other words, they were those "groovy" priests who got down and funky, and jammed and rapped with the young folks back in the day. (Now we can see why.) Some traditionalists were caught up as well, I admit -- Father Maciel, the founder of the Legion of Christ, being perhaps the most prominent example. There is no doubt that vigilance is called for, and that no subgroup within the Church is immune from these problems. But as to the "piling on" by the MSM, that is less a quest for justice than it is an attempt to do the Church in, once and for all. But they needn't bother, because, as I've said, the political influence of the Church is at an all-time low. Perhaps what they're afraid of is that it might still have some moral influence -- well good, let them be afraid.

And as for Hillary -- well gosh, I guess she's just hooked on apology. Wonder if she'll ever apologize for all of her misdeeds in Arkansas, or during her husband's administration? But that may be too much to ask.