How many of us can do like her?
The unjustice she had sufferd had learnt her, love, mercy and justice to all other humans.

What is the connection?

However the lesson I think you should learn is not that the Holocaust is the ultimate evil that is unique, focus on it in detail with your back turned on present atrocities. In a sense that renders that history neutral and reduces it to stuff that gathers dust in museums as one day it will seize to be remembered by the people who were there and another day it will seize to be politically exploitable to morally legitimize the oppression of another people.

To quote Howard Zinn: “..the memory of the Jewish Holocaust should not be circled by barbed wire, morally ghettoized, kept isolated from other atrocities in history. To remember what happened to the six million Jews serves no important purpose unless it arouses indignation, anger, action against all atrocities, anywhere in the world.”

Fallen Man
The fitness function changes constantly
of every form and every function built.
The goal of evolution’s search must flee
to new behaviors as the old ones wilt.

It used to serve one well to rape and slay
to lie and steal the means to procreate,
but when cooperation won the day,
a gang ID and status bought a mate.

But status brought us arrogance and pride
and status competition led to war
while group on group their opposites deride
as kin, race, land, and language keep the score.

We strive to face this evil deep within.
What used to serve us now is known as sin,
for Darwin’s trap still firmly holds us in.

Michael Shantz

Oh wait no..

I appreciate this is a difficult subject to cover, and certainly in the context of the abuse of, may I point out, a minority of priests against minors. But your statement “Religions, unlike science, often claim that one of their most important contributions to humanity is “morality”. The Catholic Church, with over 1 billion followers worldwide, is no exception. ” Is not correct. Nowhere in the Catechism of the Catholic Church does it say that the Church provides an example of morality – rather it’s teachings do, and as we all know humanity has a genius for dissent regardless of how wonderful the teaching is. Jesus even knew this when he told his disciples to do whatever the Pharisees taught, but do not do what they did.

If the people of the Church claim a moral high-ground then why do they celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation … even the Pope goes to confession.

But here’s the bug in all of this. In respect of the abuse uncovered in America, the John Jay report highlighted that the source of the abuse lay in the secular selection techniques employed by the seminaries (under pressure from the secular world). The majority of the abuse, whilst including that of pre-pubescent children, was enacted on post-pubescent children. This has it’s roots in homosexuality.

This is an inconvenient truth that must be addressed and any cover up must be dealt with by the authorities.

I really fail to see humans had really learnt the lesson of Holocaust. Injustics, persecution,…. still exists.
Holocaust should remain as a guide not just a memory.
I think the people who die everyday from injustice,lackness of mercy and love will always remind us with the inhumanity of some humans.
Sufferness is immortal journey in our world.

In general , morality is connected to God, not to false ideolgies or bad believers.
Trying to prove that God doesn’t exist beacuse the leaders of believers (who call for morals) are bad, is a wrong logic.

Why judge a religion by the actions of those who don’t follow it?

That’s the first time I’ve seen “Is the Pope Catholic?” answered in the negative.

Impressive.

The Pope is the Vicar of Christ. What reason do we have not to believe him?

And for a long, long, long term perspective, go visit a reservation near you; it continues to this day.

Mike, i suspect he was referring to not just the high status, but the actual infallible head of the Church. The pope gets to make all the calls, including theological constructs, anytime he feels so inclined (and that also includes fiddling with the moral principles upon which the church is based). Apparently, this pope thinks that he is free from any criticism. You comparison doesn’t fit.

Wouldn’t this be more accurate?: “These men are high status individuals in positions of power in the church organization whose atrocities in no way reflect, define, or uphold the moral principles held by the religion.”

Why judge a religion by the actions of those who don’t follow it?

If a president dishonors his vow to uphold the constitution, does that besmirch the constitution?

Sorry to blag on the blog but it seemed relevant and interesting.
Thanks.