The pope seems to be traveling the world these days apologizing to everybody; of course, such apologies really are overdue and far from enough.

Let’s see, this week he apologized to the Aborigines for horrors perpetrated on them by Catholic missionaries, he apologized to those who suffered sexual abuses at the hands (literally) of Catholic priests (and then asked the victims to help their Bishops end the crimes committed by the priests Isn’t this a little like asking the people from whom burglars stole to help stop the burglars?  Who is at fault here?),  and he continues apologizing for his remarks that irked Muslims.

The pope didn’t stop there.  He went on to decry our materialistic society as he talked with a group of disadvantaged youth.

The point of all of this is that the catholic church headed by the pope is an evil organization that did everything within its power to protect the criminal priests who savaged minors under their power and control.  The point of all of this is that the catholic church could save millions of people from starvation by giving from its coffers worth billions (yes, billions!) of dollars most all of which came to the catholic church on the backs of the poor and disadvantaged (not to mention, of course, the unseemly and downright villianous actions of popes and the church of centuries gone by).

Religion that preys on people of little intellect by creating a constant fear of hell-fire and damnation does little to create any good in our society, and the catholic church serves as a role model for scaring the wits out of people, for persecuting and killing those who challenge it, for stealing from those who cannot protect themselves, for appearing pious while raking in the cash, and for amassing an untold fortune on the backs of those who believe the lunacy created by the powerful.

We need to stop privileging organizations such as this and start making them pay their own ways rather than allowing them the benefits that all of us must pay for.  Granting such groups tax status advantages flies in the face of people who neither support nor agree with the criminal acts that they perform and who should not bear additional tax burdens that allow these groups to amass fortunes then horded.

When will we learn?