Dave Granlund, PoliticalCartoons.com

My thanks for a cartoon that speaks volumes about the Roman Catholic Church’s protracted dithering over how to counter endemic clerical sexual abuse. As a “recovering Catholic,” my lapsed status may not entitle me to pray that the Church somehow survives its existential crisis. Still, I hope that Pope Francis soon confers with God, perhaps along these lines:

Francis: “Holy Father, can you ever forgive me for having ignored rampant clerical molestations of minors?”

God: “Well, when you learned of these horrific crimes, why did you not take remedial action to prevent future violations of innocent youths?

Francis: “That would have made for bad press and soiled the Church’s divine image.”

God: “But your inaction abetted systemic cover-ups that trashed the Church’s credibility. What with our sacred tenets ever more doubted, where might we find enough credulous believers to carry on the faith?”

Francis: “Good question. Just one solution comes to mind: Open the priesthood — and the papacy — to upstanding women. Start with my successor.”

God: “Great suggestion. Your resignation is accepted. Go and sin no more.”

Login

Please note this login is to submit events or press releases. Use this page here to login for your Independent subscription

Not a member? Sign up here.