"The Catholic Church is a force for good in the world" (3 of 13)

Christopher Hitchens asserts that any argument trying to identify the merits of the Catholic Church must begin with a long list of sincere apologies for its past crimes, including but not limited to: the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the persecution of Jews and the forced conversion of peoples to Catholicism, especially in South America. He illustrates the vacuity of recent Catholic apologies by drawing on the case of Cardinal Bernard Law shamed out of office in the US for his part in covering up the institutionalised sexual abuse of children whose punishment from the Vatican was to be appointed a supreme vicar in Rome, and who was among those assembled in the 2005 Papal Conclave to choose the next Pope.

Hitchens concludes by reminding the Archbishop that his own Church has been responsible for the deaths of millions of his African brothers and sisters, citing the Churchs disastrous stance on Aids prevention, as well as the ongoing trials in Rwanda in which Catholic priests stand accused of inciting massacre during the 1994 genocide.

Full video available at http://www.intelligencesquared.com/events/catholic-church, audio available to download as a podcast from iTunes.

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[tommo1313]

am i the only one who laughs at the notoin that the catholic church is a force for good

[highwind8124]

I have never seen Hitchens' hands shake. I know how painful it can be to give a nervous speech. Hitchens has been brazen so often, but at this moment, he's scared. The sweating isn't the alcohol this time. He's giving a heart felt speech on the biggest religious sect in the world which is incredibly powerful. He knows the level of charity, and he is nervous. I would be too, but every word he says is right, and those two characters looking on should be ashamed.

[TheCobalt100]

Everything that the Catholic Church says is a lie. The CC is a large scale lying mens fraternity. They are so good in the transmission of lies, that even lawyers are envious of the CC. Members of Congress even take up the habit.

[AlistairDempsey]

I'm a Christian and I believe the Catholic Church is about Power. For centuries this power has been abused and I believe it is not a force for good. I don't know much about the "laws" the Pope makes. But for the Pope to claim to be infallible is stupid. The Pope is a sinner and fallible man, who does not deserve to be called the Vicar of Christ on Earth - there's no such thing.

[ChairmanDrek757]

lol I looked up Cardinal Law and found a video by romereports about him turning 80. It was funny how it was the only video they disabled comments for. They know. It's sick.

[celpabedn]

@fjoo I second your argument!

[ludvan67]

@CrysFelicies If you have not already found the complete version it's here on Youtube @ /watch?v=-Z5Yk8uMdJ8. Install Real player then you can download it, save it to your HD or burn it to a DVD.

[fjoo]

@highwind8124 Sorry,I know it's a year since you wrote this,but my neurosis forced me to comment.I think you are mistaken to think he shakes at the thought of the powerful church. If there is one thing he is not afraid of, it's them.

If he is shaking for any reason at all, it's only because he hasn't had a drink, as it's a huge audience with a large tv-audience and he really want's to perform to perfection. He fears a performance mistake 10x more than the silly cult he is arguing against.

[aleshamahon]

@CrysFelicies it says under the video

[1929spectre]

,that run "charitable" institutions to gain tax relief on there huge financial holdings worldwide be tax exempt ? the threat is we lose our tax exemption our charities close, depriving the poor and needy of help ? the children that were abused in catholic institutions were the poor and needy ? but of course the catholic and protestant churches have powerful friends who can help define "dangerous " cults ? in many cases these dangerous cults just taught doctrines that the churches disagreed with

[londonj2007]

No, tommo, you're not the only one. There are at least two of us.

[CrysFelicies]

Anyone know where I can get the entire video? I really want to own it. Christopher Hitchens arguments are hard to argue with.