Counterattack: The Empire is striking back with a counter-offensive. And we’re definitely talking offensive. John Mallon, contributing editor of Inside the Vatican magazine, is going after the Voice of the Faithful, suggesting, among other things, they’re a bunch of misguided flower-child hippies. There’s so much goose-stepping vileness to quote in this column. But he saves his best for last: “Furthermore, the victims of clerical abuse run the risk of diluting their legitimate cause should they be absorbed into groups with dissident agendas, which would constitute a second victimization.” A second victimization? A second victimization? Is Mallon really, truly comparing the decision of sex-abuse victims, as grown adults, to join a group with their being molested by priests when they were young? The church and its fanatical backers have constantly, at every turn, tried to turn the tables and discredit the victims of sexual abuse. But this is a new low.
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