My unsolicited advice to the Vatican.

The scandals regarding child abuse and the Catholic Church, and even simple sexual misconduct, and the Catholic Church, are not items I weigh in on lightly. I'm not a believer, and I've little brief with Catholicism, except that many of my nearest friends and relations are of the Catholic persuasion. I went to a Catholic college for my undergrad degree. I actually respect that the Church is amenable to science and often puts in for peace and social justice. I disagree in the most vehement way regarding the approach of the Church to sexuality, and as a non-believer, I don't hold doctrines in common with the faith. I understand the fellowship of the body of Christ shared through the Eucharist, and recognize the degree by which each milestone in the life of the professed Catholic, from baptism through the sacraments, involves the faithful with his or her church.

Many of the people I love best, my own family members, are devout Catholics, and I love them and respect their faith, in that I know they believe they receive something from it. The teachings of the Bible are an identifiable moral message for them, and although my belief is that morality has to be derived from an active reckoning of the results of one's actions, I at least understand how the teachings of Catholicm can result in a believer's assessment of themselves, acknowledgement of doing wrong, and repenting.

And this is where I think I get how the Vatican needs to now respond to the many scandals, in Ireland, in Germany, in the Vienna Boy's Choir, in Brazil. In Father Maciel's Legionaries.

It is understood by now, I expect, that the current Pope Benedict, formerly Joseph Ratzinger, was himself a fixer who covered up the abuse of children. That's why the First Primate of Ireland doesn't feel the need to resign--because he knows good and well Cardinal Ratzinger did the same as himself where covering up the abuse was concerned.

Now, it is believed that Pope Benedict will come out, epistles a-blazing, and write a letter to the Church of Ireland.

How quaint.

What with his brother a spanking fool, and himself a pedo-shifter, and with rumors of sex tapes in South America, the legally-proven cases of abuse already in North America, the troubles in Ireland and all, when does the Pope finally admit there was a systematic denial of a major problem that did real damage to the faithful of his church? Because that actually would be the thing that needs to happen to make this problem lessen.

Confess, and honestly repent. Don't sin again. I think this is what I derived from my Catholic college days. Become transparent about what happened, and let the Church actually be seen as being responsible to the Body of Christ as reflected in its membership.

They say sunlight is the best disinfectant, and that the truth shall set you free. So I actually encourage the Vatican to just open up about everything, and vow to not be a haven for pedos in the future. I think the best course for surviving as a Church is to take that brutally honest path. Anything less is cowardly and fake.

It may lose many who will be disillusioned, but I think it's the only way to maintain integrity that means anything.