Nice little power grab.
The defense of the authority of the RCC by Catholics considering the notorious corruption of the popes for so much of its history is staggering.
There is no excuse for that kind of sin. Sure. Nobody is perfect, but this isn’t *Ooops, I slipped* kind of stuff.
Perpetrating that kind of evil in the name of God is inexcusable. God’s command to not take His name in vain means more than just swearing.
It really shows the church was way far from God...actually off the Christian map entirely. Remarkable that with that history why would catholics today put so much importance into what any Pope might say.
The more I read of catholicism the more grateful I am for the reformation....in every way!
Most of us have been guilty of
ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS thinking and acting on occasion.
And, in a war/prisoner of war, Corrie Ten Boom etc. situation, I can imagine lying to protect loved ones.
However, this rationalizing to the nth degree continually and centuries afterwards such outrageousness . . . all to protect a very human institution, . . . is nonsense.
God is certainly not going to ignore such forever.