I wrote a thing for The Freethinker about the ludicrous arguments the pope has to resort to when he and his cronies gather to talk about the long history of child-rape by priests.

So now that we’re properly cowed and humbled by the Procession of Ecclesiastical Nomenclature, let’s look at how Frank presents this worrying puzzle of how Mister God let all this rape of children by priests go on for decades and, it seems safe to assume, centuries.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As I thank the Lord who has accompanied us during these days, I would like to thank all of you for the ecclesial spirit and concrete commitment that you have so generously demonstrated.

Problem. We have a problem already. It’s sweet that the Lord accompanied them during those days, but where was the Lord the rest of the time? Where was the Lord during all those rapes of children? If the Lord accompanies them now as they try to deal with the fact that they can’t hide the rapes any longer, why didn’t the Lord accompany them as they pulled down the children’s pants?

It’s a trick question, I suppose. The Lord wasn’t anywhere, because the Lord is a fictional character that the church makes its living from.

You could take it metaphorically though. “The Lord”=their consciences, their compassion, their inner resistance to causing pain and fear and distress to other people, especially people too young and small and unformed to resist. Where was that “the Lord” when they pulled down the children’s pants?

In some cases, maybe many, that Lord too was nowhere, because the priests in question became priests precisely because it was such an excellent setup for raping children. Conscience and compassion were never in the picture.

But Frank can’t admit that, can he.

There’s a lot that Frank can’t admit.