"Render Unto Caesar..."

As if the Catholic Church wasn't in deep enough trouble with its mishandling of the pedophile issue, now the money-laundering by the Vatican bank, once again comes to the fore. This is something that is not new; the Vatican has been involved in, to say the least, questionable financial dealings for a long time, even to the point of having a relationship with people tied to the Mafia. You would have supposed that the Church had learned its lesson the first time this was uncovered, but, instead, it chose to deny any wrongdoing, and went back to doing "business as usual."

This time, though, the Church has lost a lot of its mystique and prestige, and civil authorities are not that willing to let it be. The Vatican seems to have gone too far in its arrogance, claiming privileges and a secrecy that no longer apply in a world that demands accountability for everybody's actions. Criminal activity should be punished, and the Cross should not shield the guilty from their just desserts.

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