Holy Name Six exposed hypocrisy
The Holy Name Six are being vilified for taking action on the Pope's denunciation of the unethical war and illicit U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, where countless millions of innocent people have been tortured, displaced, raped and killed.
The entire incident is fraught with hypocrisy and contradiction. Church doctrine unambiguously prohibits coveting thy neighbors' goods and killing.
It upholds human rights and social justice -- doctrine which is clearly contra-indicative of the atrocious torture and abuse America has unjustly unleashed upon the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Yet, where has there been any formal Catholic institutional opposition to this heinous war and incomprehensible war crimes?
Where is American leadership of the Catholic Church to protest, lobby, or otherwise organize to put an end to this unjustified, barbaric war?
Deafeningly silent and virtually invisible.
Yet when six Catholic youths uphold all that is holy and righteous, that same church exercises its stronghold on the local media and influence in the criminal system to exact revenge against them.
Instead of being offended by these civilly disobedient Catholic youths, people who attended that Easter Mass should been on their knees in gratitude that it was not real blood, their own or their loved one's, carelessly splashed because a madman like Bush wanted to create shock and awe with a baseless bombing campaign.
Attendees should have realized how precious it was to have their loved ones surrounding them instead of them being unjustly hauled away and tortured relentlessly under orders of the U.S. commander in-chief.
If Cardinal George and this Catholic congregation proceed with vengeful retribution against these heroic defenders of human rights and church doctrine, they do not define the Holy Name Six, they define themselves as heretical hypocrites.
Barbara Zaha
St. Charles