Well done, Johann Hari. It’s disgusting how the RCC tries to spin this as an atheist attack on religion. Any secular organization intentionally covering up child rape would have been crucified by now, pun intended.

I’m wondering whether the leadership of the RCC is really full of monsters, or is it just that the RCC is so alienated from real life that they can’t see the monstrosity of their actions and words?

The problem with religious morality is the artificiality of its doctrines. The very idea of ”sin” is artificial. It is not based on the bad consequences of certain actions or the human suffering they might cause. No, it’s based on pseudo-intellectual interpretations of an ancient collection of miscellaneous scrolls, supposedly written by a bunch of goat-herders.

Perhaps this is the RCC logic:
1. There are many sins associated with sexuality.
2. People are sinful, even priests, even sexually.
3. But we must be merciful to sinners.

So, premarital sex is a sin. Using a condom is a sin. Homosexuality is a sin. Chil rape is a sin.

Perhaps a devout catholic really doesn’t see why child rape is somehow a worse sin than using a condom. After all, two unmarried homosexual adults using a condom constitutes THREE sins simultaneously. To a devout catholic, raping a child constitutes just one. So be reasonable and lay off, atheists.