The Catholic Church on the Verge of Repeating History, if We Let Them.

I really hate the Catholic Church. Besides their historical bloodletting, their unabashed authoritarian attitude and religious persecution even today should be enough to say “enough.” Martin Luther knew what he was doing when he and other Christians broke from the tyrannical, ceremonial and authoritarian rule of the self aggrandizers of the Catholic Church. The Pope and U.S. Bishops have learned little from their historical failings. Which leads me to the story of Wisconsin’s Bishop Morlino. I may have posted one or two story about this self righteous egomaniac, but this feature story at talk2action hit all of Morlino’s low points.

Bishop Robert Morlino of Wisconsin is one of a small group of Catholic Right leaders who is gradually igniting a firestorm that threatens to engulf all of American Catholicism. By assuming the role of Grand Inquisitor he recklessly suppresses free expression in the name of quelling what he deems to be heresies. In his distrust of humanity, Bishop Morlino eerily echoes the infamous Dostoyevsky character: this modern-day Inquisitor does not believe that the most of us can handle the choices that Jesus offers in Christian thought let alone those afforded all citizens in a liberal pluralistic democracy such as ours.

As the National Catholic Reporter observed: Morlino, 62, is the fourth bishop of the Madison diocese. Previously he served as the bishop of the Helena, Mont., diocese, was a priest in the Kalamazoo, Mich., diocese and was once a member of the Jesuit order. He assumed leadership in Madison in August 2003 and within months was creating waves.

After six months he made a controversial statement that he had found in Madison "a high comfort level with virtually no public morality." Some were not pleased with that assessment. After being confronted with what many saw as an unfair generalization he backed off, saying he had misspoken, explaining that he had been speaking in a philosophical sense.

Check out the whole story here. It really is a modern day example of why there should be a seperation of church and state.