Jesus ‘n’ Mo ‘n’ a flawed but divine church

November 18, 2020 • 12:00 pm

Today’s Jesus and Mo strip, called “shreds,” takes out after Catholicism, giving the lie to the claim that it deals largely with Islam. In fact, both Jesus and Mo get their share of shaming. The strip came with an email note from the author.

Here’s the report that today’s strip is referring to, which you’ve probably heard already.

Well, I haven’t heard about the report, but it links to a Guardian piece about widespread abuse in England and Wales by Catholic priests, monks, and authority figures. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who heads the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and really should resign since his moral authority is shot, is nevertheless been asked to stay by none other than the Good Liberal Pope:

Pope Francis asked Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the leader of the Catholic church in England and Wales, to stay in his post, despite a damning report that criticised his leadership and concluded that the church repeatedly prioritised its reputation over the welfare of child sex abuse victims.

In its final review of the church, the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA) said the Vatican’s failure to cooperate with the investigation “passes understanding”.

The 162-page report said “the church’s neglect of the physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of children and young people in favour of protecting its reputation was in conflict with its mission of love and care for the innocent and vulnerable.”

. . .Between 1970 and 2015, the church in England and Wales received more than 900 complaints involving more than 3,000 instances of child sexual abuse, made against more than 900 individuals, including priests, monks and volunteers.

The sexual abuse of children involved instances of “masturbation, oral sex, vaginal rape and anal rape”. On occasions, the inquiry says, it was accompanied by “sadistic beatings driven by sexual gratification” as well as “deeply manipulative behaviour by those in positions of trust”.

One child estimated that between the ages of 11 and 15 he had been abused hundreds of times by a priest. “After each incident he was required to make confession, and the priest concerned made it plain that his sister’s place at a local convent school depended on his compliance,” the report says.

When complaints were made, the church invariably failed to support victims and survivors but took action to protect alleged perpetrators by moving them to a different parish. “Child sexual abuse,” the report says, “was swept under the carpet.”

More from the Jesus and Mo artist’s email:

And the guy who believes what Jesus says he believes is here (item 6).

That article, from Crosswalk.com, is called “7 Reasons I’m Glad I didn’t choose atheism over Christianity” by Joe McKeever, “disciple of Jesus” and Christian preacher. Here’s item 6:

Now that is a tortuous argument!

Put these both of these links together and you get the Jesus and Mo strip:

 

19 thoughts on “Jesus ‘n’ Mo ‘n’ a flawed but divine church”

  2. the Vatican’s failure to cooperate with the investigation “passes understanding”.

    It only passes understanding if you have, for some inexplicable reason, a belief that espousing a religious conviction somehow makes you a good person.

  3. The CofE hasn’t come too well out of the IICSA enquiry either. Those of us who monitor ‘Thought for the Day’, the regular god-slot on Radio 4, are listening out for one of the many Christian speakers to say anything about its devastating criticisms. So far…crickets.

    And ‘the existence of honest inquiry among belivers’? Pull the other one!

  4. The CofE hasn’t come too well out of the IICSA enquiry either. Those of us who monitor ‘Thought for the Day’, the regular god-slot on Radio 4, are listening out for one of the many Christian speakers to say anything about its devastating criticisms. So far…crickets.

    And ‘the existence of honest inquiry among believers’? Pull the other one!

    1. Oops, forgot to refresh the page before posting and missed Steve Pollard making the same point above – my apologies.

  7. HA, love the fainting pigeon gag at the bottom right of panel #4. That’s a classic cartoon practice.

  8. Has there ever been a vow more doomed to failure, more doomed to channel one’s natural needs into their least salubrious manifestations, than that of celibacy?

    (Hell, monogamy is a tough enough row to hoe, you ask me. Celibacy? Fuggedaboutit.)

    1. Paraphrasing Aldous Huxley (I think)…of all the sexual expressions the most unnatural is celibacy.

      Just about says it all.

  9. I don’t at all see why the christian faith should be the sole proprieter of these sorts of scandals. It should come to pass that there should be similar scandals to be seen in the other patriarchal “great religions”.

  10. I have a Catholic relative who has said the only thing keeping her in the Church is the good they do as missionaries. I’m pretty sure many Catholic missionaries are priests…which makes me think she hasn’t studied the matter carefully enough.

  11. The comment about Catholicism being strengthened by surviving the horrors it spawns is actuually a recasting of the same by Boccaccio in regard the conversion of a Jew to Catholicism, in the Decameron. Quite amusing tale.

  12. I’ve argued elsewhere that any organisation that exists for more than (approx) 70 years or so undergoes ‘producer capture’ – where the goals of an organisation reflect the interests and prejudices of its employees (the producers) rather than those it is supposed to serve (the consumers, customers or citizens).

    In businesses where there is competition the captured organizations often go out of business. Political parties generally last longer as the electoral cycle imposes some ‘competition’. But state organisations, charities, and religious organisations not so much.

  13. Same story in Australia.
    While it may be true that Cardinal Pell was innocent of actually abusing boys he was most certainly aware of activities and help cover them up.

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