Fionn says: But the church has lost ground only because of a succession of shameful episodes coming to light that it did everything in its power to suppress, and which would be quietly forgotten if Joe had his way.

Which is not correct. I would never seek to suppress the truth, but I do see the truth as important. I do admit to taking some delight in seeing oppressive prelates get the comeuppance they deserve, but I think there's also a need for fairness that gets lost amidst the rashe generalizations that are so common here. I think things need to be seen in proper perspective and proportion, and thus I object to the anachronistic hysteria that is so common here. What I see here at Mudcat is constant condemnation of the Catholic Church, usually based on half truths or distorted implications or long-ago events - e.g., Brainwashing from birth, small children forced to wear brides costumes in a grotesque ritual, bodies in a septic tank, Joe's desire to bury the past would exculpate the Nazis....


All these things make for a distorted, bigoted view. Yes, there are many wrong things in the history of the Catholic Church. But they must be viewed through realistic eyes, not shrouded with the language and hysteria of bigotry.

Yes, the last of the Magdalene Laundries closed in 1996, but tell us how many such institutions were extant at the time and how many were living in them, and what their living conditions were at the time the institutions closed. Same with the other institutions. While a few may have remained into the 1980s or even later, the conditions within them had greatly improved. I don't deny the existence of these institutions or the harshness of conditions in them when they were at their worst. All I ask is that in the name of fairness, they should be addressed factually.

All my life, I've been in the forefront of those seeking change in the Catholic Church, and I have actively opposed many of the same things you people have opposed. But I believe in fairness and proportion, not hysteria and constant distortion of the facts.

-Joe Offer-