…and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

Note: Please don’t read this if you are easily upset as it may have triggers for those who are sensitive. If you are Catholic, the following will be a bit rough to read and I ask that you understand that this is my opinion only and not meant as a personal attack on anyone specifically. While I’m an ex-Catholic, I do not consider myself anti-Catholic, but you will likely find what I have to say offensive. I also curse in this post and I rarely do so in writing. If you wish to leave this site immediately you can go to Disney, or youtube at the links provided.

The subject title is from Matthew 16:18-19:

• (18) And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. (19) I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

This reference has been interpreted by the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) as Christ establishing “the church” and defining Peter as the “first pope.” Each pope derives their authority through a lineage from Christ right on down to the present day pope.

So, why do I bring this up? I think the gates of Hell has prevailed against the church. The RCC wants to have the facade of being the paragon of morality in a world that is depraved. In their minds, the world needs the RCC, because without it, the world would be a hedonistic, anarchic and morally bankrupt society. The problem is what the RCC portrays and what the RCC does when no one apparently is looking, or in power, are two very distinct sets of morality.

I have been reading about stories in the news about how RCC run organizations had some of the most bone chilling episodes of depravity that it is absolutely a shock that anyone would want to remain RC. In the news, a mass grave of about 800 babies was found in Ireland. These babies were in unmarked, unconsecrated graves of which were located, most probably, in a septic tank. This “pro-life” organization would rather these babies be shamed, suffer and die from malnutrition or disease, at a rate several times the national average (about 4 times), rather than the woman get an abortion.

These homes were a way for families to spare themselves the embarrassment of having a daughter who had a child out of wedlock, or was “promiscuous.”  These young people had to work in these organizations for free for 2-3 years, which sounds a lot like indentured servitude. It is with a great amount of irony that these “fallen women” were deemed as such by the conservative religious climate. I’m haunted by Christopher Hitchens’ words (emphasis mine):

“Many religions now come before us with ingratiating smirks and outspread hands, like an unctuous merchant in a bazaar. They offer consolation and solidarity and uplift, competing as they do in a marketplace. But we have a right to remember how barbarically they behaved when they were strong and were making an offer that people could not refuse.”

 …And boy did the RCC behave barbarically. The subject of the Magdalene Laundries have been surfacing for some time, but the RCC still functions without repercussions. The sexual scandals throughout the world and its subsequent cover-up show that when the RCC thinks no one is looking they will violate the law with impunity as a matter of policy. The true colors of the church looks like a criminal enterprise of hateful and superstitious nonsense. By their actions, the church hates babies, women, sex, gays and heretics. Whenever the church has had any significant power it behaved like a sociopath and that’s what it is at its core. It’s when someone has power or someone behaves without anyone “looking” do we find out the true colors of people and organizations. Moreover, it still behaves this way. The RCC claims that condoms do not prevent HIV despite scientific consensus on the issue.

I don’t want to write this (I actually feel slightly ill from thinking about this). It doesn’t benefit me to have the reality laid out as above. I wish it was only the doctrinal issues that were up for debate then it would just be a matter of philosophy or belief. But, the RCC believes itself to be an arbiter of morality. It’s what the RCC “sells,” if you will. Let me back off a bit lest I be accused of claiming all RC of behaving this way. I don’t believe that! I even like the current pope. He seems to embody more of what I would expect a supposed “holy” man should be. Even if the pope and I have a different opinions on the issues of religion, he seems focused on helping the poor and creating dialogue between various groups.

At the risk of being crass and to un-sanitize the situation. These children that were buried are just an instance of when the church had power and how it wielded it. The morality of burying these children in unconsecrated, unmarked graves in a septic tank illustrates that RCC does NOT give two-flying-f#@ks about you or humanity in general. Since they won’t release any documents about the situation, it seems plausible that they are covering up something worse. So much for being made in the image of God. Apparently it counts for sh%t! 

Between the sex scandal and now this, I’m left scratching my head. What if Apple made phones that randomly explode on purpose.  And yet, it’s worse than this example, since the RCC “sells” morality. Apple never made any claim to morally superior phones. Why does this look like a moral landscape from hell? Have “the gates of Hades prevailed against it?” I think it has and I truly wish it hadn’t.