Christopher Hitchens and the Days of Rage, Cont’d
One would think that the recent report about sexual abuse of minors within the Catholic Church in Belgium was horrific enough that it did not need any embellishment. But that's not how Christopher Hitchens thinks. In his most recent column, a call for "simple earthly justice" in cases of clerical sexual abuse, Hitchens claims that "[a] subseqent official report, commissioned by the country's secular authorities" established that there was in essence a systematic coverup by the Belgian hierarchy, applauds a raid by the Belgian police "in search of evidence that was being concealed," and heaps scorn on the Pope for protesting that raid.
All of these statements are either untrue or misleading. The commission that detailed the appalling level of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Belgium (mostly occurring in the 1960s and 1970s) was established by the Church, not by "the country's secular authorities." According to a September 10 BBC report, the commission "had found no indication that the Church had systematically sought to cover up cases," though the commission's chairman, Peter Adriaenssens, did say the commission's findings represented a "body blow" to the Belgian Church. Hitchens also fails to mention that the search by the Belgian police, which included searching the tomb of a Cardinal and seizing the files of the Adriaenssens commission, was subsequently deemed illegal by the Belgian courts, and that the Church protested the raid because many of victims giving information to the commission had asked that their identity be protected.
Hitchens' column is the latest salvo in his campaign to have criminal penalties imposed on Benedict XVI. It is also the latest reminder that Hitchens' appeal for "simple earthly justice" in the matter of clerical sexual abuse is made without regard for the actual laws governing those cases or indeed for the simple justice represented by honesty.
[Read Tom Piatak's "Christopher Hitchens and the Days of Rage," Part 1]
Entries(RSS)
I think Matt could have stated his points much more nicely, without the "unlike you..." and the "apparently you..."
But I am not sure I understand this notion of collective punishment, that if Saddam Hussein murdered more Iraqis than American forces did, it justifies the killing of a million Iraqi women and children in the American bombing of Baghdad. If it were proper that liberating a nation from an oppressor required killing its civilians for those civilian's own sake, then you may go on and logically conclude that Saddam himself was justified in killing his own countrymen to protect his country. At this point, we are already engaging in Soviet Union double standard of only condemning violence that does not further Communist cause - a habit adopted by defense hawks and people like Christopher Hitchens.
The Gulf War in the 1990s had seen entire villages in Iraq wiped out from bombings, and American pilots following their orders to bomb those places had tears in their eyes seeing what they were doing.
It's Thomas Sowell who is the ivory tower intellectual demanding foreigners to be killed from his armchair-theorising, not the many American soldiers themselves who consider it a terrible waste.
I say this as a great admirer of Sowell.
You're all missing the point. Sure anyone can deconstruct Hitchens' arguments, he knows that better than most, but he has the personality to carry them through regardless of their flaws. The Catholic Church is a legitimate target for the progressive left because it represents a traditional conservative institution, and it is an institution that has this knack of enduring long after French revolutionaries, communists and anarchists have all had their go at it and bitten the dust. This is why the left loathes it so much: They can not fathom why, and thus by extension resent, an institution that has barely changed its moral values in fifteen hundred years still refuses to succumb to the perceived moral righteousness of the new progressive left. Console yourselves with the knowledge that tens of thousands will still turn out to hear the Pope speak generations after Hitchens' last diatribe has been all but pulped. Thank God for his brother.
Nazi, Nazi, Nazi!!!!! That's all Matt needs to say to win any argument. Just throw the 'Nz' word around, and we are all humbled by the force of his impressive, clear minded logic. John Marino is ipso facto convicted of Nazism, and hairy Arab Baathists magically morph into blonde, blue eyed Aryan monsters!
In the face of his overwhelming rhetorical ability, I am cringing in shame. Now I am screaming and running, convicted of my many horrible sins......
Matt: I believe that executions should be professional and not be used as vengence for some group. Husaain was ready to meet death and wished to pray and die with dignity. The filthy way he was executed reminded me of the way the prisoners at Nuermberg were killed. The executioner, who had executed many before, seemed to have been bribed to botch the job. If you can defend that you really should examine your concience. The Bathist party had a lot of founders with Christian roots. The Christians of Iraq and Syria had much more freedom than in some other Islamic countries. They were often brutal dictatorships, but still had a moderate tone on religion and how to treat religious minorities. Hussain was in many ways and old ward healer politician, who put together diverse groups, to rule what was and is a very complicated country ethnically. He also was no threat to the USA or anyone else at that stag of the game. If Castro can die in his bed peacefully after having nuclear missles pointed at us, and being a thorn in our side for over 50 years, so could have Hussain.
The irony of Mr. Allen Wilson's point is that Chronicles is doing the exact same thing. Apparently Dr. Trifkovic thinks Joe DioGuardi is the next incarnation of Mengle.
I assume that the individual who is so convinced Saddam was evil incarnate and whose removal justified this insanity in Iraq was, unlike his fellow neo-con robots, AGAINST the US arming and bankrolling of Saddam in the 80's during the protracted Iran-Iraq War?
Also, as someone who lives down the road from Youngstown, OH, it might be appropriate to point out that more people were killed just last week in Iraq by bombs than have been murdered in the last couple of years in Youngstown, so despite the cities myriad problems, your soldier friend's comments reflect a little hyperbole at best.
No Rob, I dont think that Mr Trifkovic's article with it's Mengele reference, based on clear facts in which the similarities are apparent, can be equated with Matt's ridiculous Nz word tossing screed above. There is no irony. Besides, why focus on that instead of the facts of Trifkovic's article and it's implications for the American political system and especially the republican party?