Politics, Millstones & Forgiveness

The problem with running for office is that people expect politicians to act like politicians. This poses a problem for tactless street cops like me who seek office: Do I tell people what they think they want to hear, or do I express myself honestly and risk disfavor?

Many successful politicians get re-elected by doing what they pretend to oppose and by blocking what they pretend to support. For them, the difference between winning or losing depends not on their courage, but on their ability to make voters think they like being screwed. Although Democrats have controlled the 42nd Assembly District since the 1940s, these seat-swappers spend union and developer money to convince us that their liaisons have nothing to do with the harm created by their public schooled, eminently domained, hillside developed, air polluted, and union influenced progeny.

But unlike career politicians, I don’t need politics to be happy. If my message doesn’t resonate with voters in June or November, I will return to my peaceful and comfortable life. Today’s note isn’t about other politicians – it’s about finding my own political voice and exploring the risks involved.

After I called Cardinal Roger Mahoney a criminal last week (Rethinking Our Border), a friend politely suggested that I should soften my comments by describing illegal acts rather than those who commit them.

My intention was not to alienate Christians, but to shine a light on those who facilitate crime. Although LA politicians have decided that LAPD detectives are too honest to investigate local corruption, career cops like me still support quaint concepts like Equal Protection. To me, criminals who wear badges, vestments, or business suits still don’t deserve special treatment.

I’ve posted my friend’s comments along with my answers because I don’t think he’s the only Christian voter who questions my comments:

FRIEND: …(R)ather than saying Roger Mahoney is a criminal, state the law (and) remind people (IF THEY) do not like the law… we change the laws… You are not calling them criminals directly you are just saying the laws of this country should be enforced or changed… Mahoney is a politician and government official of the government of the Vatican protecting their interests and his own…

CB: While the Catholic Church has helped millions of people during the past century, it has also hurt millions of people through passive and deliberate means. Like LAUSD leadership, Cardinal Mahoney sometimes demonstrates more loyalty to his Church than his flock.

It’s bad enough when coyotes victimize and traffic undocumented migrants or priests commit child rape and sodomy, but when bishops, cardinals, and popes use forgiveness to facilitate the continued practice of these crimes against the People of California and the United States, the church management becomes a criminal enterprise – an enterprise that aids, abets, and conspires to exploit the most vulnerable families and children who seek help and guidance. Under such circumstances, the US Constitution and laws take precedent and should be enforced.

Compassion occasionally asks us to ignore and forgive some acts, but we’re not talking about the Catholic Church saving people from state-sanction genocide, witch-burning, or enslavement. We’re talking about a church that finds recreation and profit from the Americans, migrants, and families they have exploited to build their membership, their coffers, and sexual gratification.

It is one thing when one priest commits an isolated crime, but it’s quite another when a church actively or passively facilitates its continued commission. There’s a difference between employees who use the company car to buy groceries, and a company president who instructs his accountants to defraud shareholders. There are limits to forgiveness.

I don’t use the term criminal lightly – which is why I think it’s appropriate to describe Mahoney.

FRIEND: …not to mention, that true Catholicism is the business of forgiveness…

CB: As the Catholic Church and I describe here, true forgiveness requires contrition. Mahoney did not passively elude contrition, but 1) knowingly, intelligently, and deliberately 2) used his victims’ offerings to hire lawyers to 3)prevent the victims he defrauded and raped from discovering the plots against them. This demonstrates the antithesis of contrition. And although Christ recommended drowning, Mahoney delivered these wolves to guard other lambs.

FRIEND: I am just saying use the laws and rules to judge rather than calling them out for what they are.

CB: Jesus’ example reminds Americans of our obligation to keep God’s churches and temples clean by holding those in charge accountable for crimes they commit against their followers. While our Constitution protects the practice of religion, it does not provide churches or other institutions the right to use forgiveness to circumvent our laws.

Calling these criminals what they are might not be my best political move, but I can’t think of a better word for those who facilitate child rape and illegal immigration.

But hey, what do I know - I'm just a flat-footed street cop. CB