Archbishop Dolan of New York's assertion that Pope Benedict is like Jesus should be considered miraculous. What else could possibly explain the transformation of one person from Hitler Youth to the King of the Jews?

Alright, that's an unfair joke. He was only 16 years old when he went into military service for the Nazi's. Clearly that doesn't count. Just like my Uncle Vinny who lied about his age and joined the US Navy at the age of 16. He was there when they captured the only German submarine in WWII, the U-505. That doesn't count either.

I can understand the Church's unease with discussions around Nazi's as Pope Pius XII reputation and record during that period is a little suspect. In particular, letting the likes of Dr. Josef Mengele to escape justice by fleeing Europe down the ratline, which went through the Vatican.

That's not good for PR. Although all of this bad press does keep the likes of Catholic League President Bill Donohue employed. As silly as he sometimes may be. Like his response that Cardinal Ratzinger may have seen a memo about the transfer of pedophile priest Peter Hullermann.

Donohue said "So what? Wasn't that what he expected to happen?” Yes, but he wasn't supposed to get caught transferring him.

It is actually called the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. They spend their time fighting against those who suppress their civil rights, like Larry David, while minimizing sexual abuse by priests by blaming the parents.

Now that's not very civil, is it? Who would he blame for the escape of Mengele? Defending Genocide might be a little more difficult for him.

And that may be next. According to a column by Martin Kimani in the Guardian UK:

"To you, Catholic survivor of genocide in Rwanda, the Vatican says that those priests, those bishops, those nuns, those archbishops who planned and killed were not acting under the instruction of the church. But moral responsibility changes dramatically if you are a European or US Catholic. To the priests of the Irish church who abused children, the pope has this to say: "You must answer for it before almighty God and before properly constituted tribunals. You have forfeited the esteem of the people of Ireland and brought shame and dishonour upon your confreres."

"The losses of Rwanda had received no such consideration. Some of the nuns and priests who have been convicted by Belgian courts and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, respectively, enjoyed refuge in Catholic churches in Europe while on the run from prosecutors."

Hey, it worked with Mengele.

I'm coming to understand why they call the Vatican the Holy See. Because no matter how hard they might try to compare themselves to Jesus, the only thing I See are Holes.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley is holding a healing Mass for abuse survivors, Sunday December 20th, 2009 at 3:30 pm at the Bethany Chapel, 66 Brooks Drive, Braintree, MA.

All in attendance will receive this Advent Booklet, showing one of the the actual reasons for the Mass in the first place. 

I once was in the position of the Magnificent Advent Companion too. They saw great potential in me at a very early age. I was heavily recruited for the position.

It didn't last though. Once I reached the age of consent, I was retired.

Survivor: Cardnial Sean, do you know how to heal survivors?
Cardinal Sean: I don't know, can you hum a few bars?

If I get any more news like this, I think my head will explode. First on the list is an article on how the Vatican is responding to the UN about sexual abuse accusations. They start off by saying, "In a defiant and provocative statement, issued after a meeting of the UN human rights council in Geneva, the Holy See said most of the Catholic clergy who committed such acts were not pedophiles but homosexuals attracted to sex with adolescent males." Try telling that to the female victims. They make up around 40% of the victims. I guessing this must have happened because they were heterosexuals attracted to sex with adolescent females, right? If the Holy See decides to ban homosexuals to protect little boys, it would stand to reason that they should ban heterosexuals to protect little girls. Perhaps they should just ban anyone with a penis from the priesthood. Let the women run the church. It would be a smooth transition. They already have the dresses. The Holy See tried to deflect their responsibility by noting that "...most US churches being hit by child sex abuse allegations were Protestant" In most Protestant churches the members hire their ministers. They are not appointed by the Bishop, who may be playing a shell game with a person who is attracted to sex with an adolescent. And I can't think of one protestant church that is actually a sovereign nation. Hence the UN's involvement. Which is the good news. Speaking of the hierarchy of the church, a Roman Catholic bishop from Nova Scotia faces child porn charges. Raymond Lahey has been charged with possessing and importing child pornography. "Lahey once oversaw a $15-million settlement with people who said they had been sexually abused by priests in the diocese, in a case dating back to 1950." So that is who is minding the store. My only question, though, is was it child porn porn? Which brings me to Roman Polanski. The rush to protect a convicted rapist of a 13 year old girl is staggering. 100 filmmakers signed a petition demanding Polanski's release. Among them Martin Scorsese, who once studied at the seminary and flirted with becoming a priest. I have no doubt he would have become a celebrated Bishop. And, of course, Woody Allen. What else needs to be said?That is a two for one, truth and punchline in the same sentence. It would be funny except we are talking about the rape of a 13 year old girl. This is how it works for the successful predator, either a priest or celebrity. The communities back the predator because it is too much to fathom that they have loved and been touched by the work, of a person who commits monstrous deeds. Better to rely on denial than face that. I'm a fan of both Scorsese and Allen's films. I'm even in Scorsese's new film Shutter Island. You can see me in the trailer. That's me being dragged on lawn. And I got the part of a mental patient because I actually have a diagnosis, PTSD, because of clergy sexual abuse. Can I separate the art and the artist, or is that just another form of denial? Perhaps Whoopi can tell me if it is denial denial. Yesterday I went to St Mary's in Uxbridge, the place of my abuse, to support a friend, a brother in arms, at a funeral. The church has a history of hosting more predator priests in the Worcester Diocese than any other parish. Six priests to be exact. We had coffee after the funeral in the new, and quite expensive, community center. All funds raised by the thriving parish. I would say it's just plain denial.