Holy Hypocrisy

Pope Benedict was preaching in Sydney, Australia, criticizing this decadent modern era. To some extent, he is right. But one doesn't need to be a member of the Catholic church to realize many things in our society are wrong, from the promotion of sex and violence to the use of drug and alcohol as well as the degradation of our natural environment. Anyone with enough common sense knows all that.

The problem however is not the stance, it's the intent. We know what's going on in his mind. It is not just about the abuses, the excesses, it is any expression of sexuality and violence, even in the arts, that offend the church. He and his devote followers yearn for a world where people would primarily get "entertained" by their faith, where learning the word of God would be everyone's favorite healthy hobby. This is tamed radicalism; they're not ready to enforce their views but those views are tightly bound to a centuries-old doctrine.

Among other things, he said:

"I ask myself, could anyone standing face to face with people who actually do suffer violence and sexual exploitation explain that these tragedies, portrayed in virtual form, are considered merely entertainment?"

This is a shamefully hypocritical argument coming from the church. We could turn around the question and ask if the bible, which is also a portrayal in virtual form of violence, sexual exploitation (of women) and other numerous abuses is merely an innocent instrument of worship that does not attempt to proselytize people by terrorizing them psychologically.