The Catholic Church:
A superstitious quagmire of multiculturalism: Amazing what money can buy, silence being the pinnacle of achievement.

A platform given over to the debauched Democrats, now headed by a turncoat Pope, masquerading as a Republican, unable to hide his hatred of Donald Trump; the game is up before it even starts!

Caught in the act: Life behind the Papal curtain!

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A sad article - with even worse comments! Here's something you may not know about this man, Robert Prevost, now the 267th Pope - Leo XIV:

In 1975, though accepted into Harvard Law, he rather chose to serve Peru's poorest villages by joining a missionary group. Robert didn’t just live among the people. Rather, he became one of them. He learned Quechua, the ancient language of the Incas, slept on dirt floors with the villagers, and prayed under the stars

When he wasn’t building shelters, he taught math to barefoot kids under broken rooftops. When he wasn’t teaching. He carried the sick on donkeys to get help. When he wasn’t healing. He listened to stories no one else cared to hear. In time, he became something else entirely: A shepherd, a brother, a quiet warrior of faith..

And slowly, his legend grew. His acts weren’t broadcasted.But they echoed through the Andes: Bishops noticed, priests noticed, and eventually the Vatican noticed. They called him back to lead his entire Augustinian order.

From serving a village, to overseeing 2,800 brothers in over 40 countries. Still—he kept his same sandals, still walked with the poor, still rejected luxury... Then came the call that changed everything:

Rome wanted him closer. In 2020 He was appointed Archbishop and assigned to govern other bishops globally. It was rare. But Robert had never chased tradition. He wasn’t just fluent in Latin or Canon Law.
He was fluent in compassion, in humility, in listening!

The Vatican didn’t just see a priest. They saw a leader with soul. On September 30, 2023. Pope Francis named Robert Prevost a Cardinal, and the Cardinals last week chose him to head a billion Catholics on this planet.

But I have no doubt that he still prays in Quechua, and still brings comfort to those that need it, because for him, titles mean nothing without service, knowledge is useless without love, and faith - without sacrifice - is noise.

He turned down the world. And he changed it instead.

As an organisation the Catholic Church has a lot to answer for, crimes committed by both individuals within, and the institution itself still go unanswered and unpunished. The Church has failed many in society, its attitude to women and gays is notoriously out of step with modern thinking. The new Pope has a responsibility to move swiftly on these issues, and not put them in the "too hard basket", as many of his predecessors did.

Yuri

Your bury the issue of Catholic corruption under a blanket of soppy emotion.
What you say of new Pope Leo XIV, you effectively attribute to the Church hierarchy, and by so doing, you exonerate them of their crimes.
Think of it this way; as a member of any Mafia, you are collectively guilty of their crimes.

Tell me this then, when has Pope Leo called out openly and in public, the Church hierarchy for its sins of silence, cover-up and protection of the guilty?

The congregation has little to nil power over this institutional juggernaut, obviously.
An example where the opposite is true, is the recent fate of the Evangelical Church, Hillsong, which collectively suffered the same indignity, but actually dealt with the problem, and took honourably the consequences.

The Catholic Church, like any human institution—especially one that has existed for 2,000 years—is marked by both profound sanctity and deep sin. It’s fair to hold it accountable for real failures, especially regarding the abuse crisis and institutional cover-ups. These have rightly caused scandal and demand both justice and reform. Pope Leo XIV, like his recent predecessors, will indeed be judged by how courageously he addresses these wounds.

But let’s be honest: the Church is an easy target. Its moral vision challenges every age, and its imperfections are amplified precisely because it dares to claim moral authority. Critics often focus solely on institutional sins, overlooking the countless ways the Church continues to serve the world—through hospitals, schools, charities, and the quiet holiness of millions of believers who feed the poor, care for the sick, and defend the dignity of all human life.

The comparison to the Mafia is deeply unjust. It ignores the Church’s own teaching that no one—not even clergy—is above accountability. It also forgets the saints, martyrs, and reformers from within who’ve risked everything to purify the Church. It forgets Pope Benedict XVI’s historic confrontation with abuse, or Pope Francis’ global summits to hold bishops accountable. And it assumes Pope Leo XIV has already failed before he has even begun.

Criticism is necessary—especially from the faithful. But it must be fair. The Church’s moral authority does not rest on the perfection of its members, but on Christ, who called sinners and promised to remain with His Church until the end. Reform, in Catholicism, comes not by tearing down but by conversion and fidelity to the Gospel.

The Church must continue to repent, reform, and rebuild trust. But we should also recognize its ongoing contributions to human dignity, social justice, and spiritual hope in a deeply wounded world.

Hi Yuri,

I agree with much of what you have said, but one thing I can't agree with is the notion that acts of bad can be expunged, or balanced, by acts of good, like some counter balance set of scales. "Look, he has done 1kg of bad, but that has been balanced by his 1kg of good". To give you an example, Al Capone committed many crimes, but he also gave to the neighborhood poor, does that mean Al Capone was neither good nor bad, just neutral. No, Capone was both good and bad, if you are looking at bad, then he was bad, his good is not relevant. The same applies to the Catholic Church. The copout for Christians is that the miraculous unseen God, can bestow forgiveness, and all you have to do is be contrite about your sins. Sure, can't change the past, but true restitution is also required when wrong doing has taken place. Another example, I'm speeding down the road, no care, unthinking,feeling good about it. I fail to give way to you as I should and we have an accident, I'm clearly in the wrong, now I'm truly sorry about what's happened, it's my fault, I apologies profusely to you. Is that the end of the matter, I have been contrite, God no doubt has forgiven me for my wrong doing, is that it, the end of the matter? My car, not much damage, still drivable, so I'll drive home, you can wait for the tow truck!

Thank you, Paul, for your perspective. However, the Catholic Church does not teach that good deeds "cancel out" bad ones like balancing a scale. Sin is not erased by offsetting good works, but by true repentance, confession, and - where possible - restitution. Al Capone’s charitable acts don’t excuse his crimes; likewise, individual sins within the Church’s history do not negate the good it has done, but neither are they excused. The Church calls for acknowledgment of sin, repentance, and reparation - both personally and corporately.

Your car crash analogy actually aligns with Catholic teaching. Contrition is not enough; justice demands we take responsibility and make amends. That’s why the Church teaches about penance and restitution. Forgiveness is not a “copout”—it is the beginning of transformation, not its end. The Church does not claim perfection in her members but calls all to holiness, repentance, and healing. Justice and mercy go hand in hand.

Hi Again Yuri,

The Catholic Church is the "Super Tanker" of churches, and super tankers take a long time to turn about. When it was revealed that individuals (clergy) within the Church had committed horrendous crimes against children, anther crime took place, the Church hierarchy attempted to minimise the damage, including some recent Popes, through cover up and secrecy. The motives for this were twofold, one supposedly to protect the "good name of the Church", the other, reasons financial, they just didn't want to pay compensation to victims. Has the Church done enough to demonstrate true contrition, I believe not, there are still those within the Church who want to continue the cover up and protection racket. Put bluntly the Church has to fess up big time, and payout big time. Also it has to make doubly sure it has in place solid mechanisms to prevent these crimes from ever occurring again.

Unfortunate, there is evidence that paedophilia within the Church has moved off shore, and little is being done about the disgusting behavior by some Clergy in third world countries, another cover up.

The Church's attitude towards women, minorities, etc, its speaking out on social/political issues has to occur for it to remain relevant in a modern world. This will require progressives within the Church to hold sway over the powerful conservative elements. Can a bunch of old men achieve that?