Papal quote of the day

"[Former Milwaukee archbishop Timothy] Dolan has been comparing the Pope to Jesus, but as far as I know, Jesus never presided over an institution that allowed pedophiles to operate freely." — Daniel Maguire

Marquette professor calls for Ratzinger's resignation

Jesus has been largely absent from the latest controversies.

Some might argue he was exonerated during the Enlightenment, when one of the nation's founders, Thomas Jefferson, stripped him of his supernatural powers and therefore his responsibilities.

The Catholic League's Wild Bill Donohue says because victims were "post-pubescent," the problem is with homosexuals, not child predators. Last night on Larry King, Wild Bill defined post-pubescent as 12 or 13 years old. Evidently Wild Bill Donohue is as deliberately ignorant of civil and criminal law as some in the Church hierarchy.

"Canon law" having worked so effectively.

On teh web: This grisly little man.

Incidentally, John V. Doe v. Holy See (.pdf; 59 pgs.) — which concerns more priestly child sexual assault in Oregon and Chicago plus the question of whether Vatican City, despite its alleged sovereign state immunity, is liable for the tortious acts of its corporate "employees" in America — is working its way into the U.S. Supreme Court.

And then there's this one, seeking to depose* the pontiff.

* Initially, at least, only in the civil procedural sense.