I Am a Woman; I Am Moderately Sane; I Am Not Defending Rapists - BUT.....

... it's time to talk about immigrants, neo-nationalism and the purpose of the Church.

But first, a word about sin.
I believe in sin.
Sin is poison, it is toxic to the Soul.
Suppose this is poison:

Suppose this also is poison:

Which one tempts you, which are you more likely to ingest?

The devil, (I also believe in the devil,) is not stupid enough to think his best bet for ensnaring you is the second one.

So, assuming they are both poisonous to the same degree, I don't think there's much question as to which actually poses the most danger to you.

Which brings us back to the fable of The Bishops and the Rapists.
There's been a bit of hand wringing over the reaction of Important European People to the rape gangs of New Years Eve.
Personally, I think the anger at civic leaders and politicians who fret more about being unwelcoming to Immigrants With An Agenda than about protecting their own citizens is more than justified.
There first responsibility is the protection of their citizens.

But the contempt or anger directed at Church leaders?
Misplaced.

The most important task of the successors of the Apostles is getting as many souls into heaven as possible, our salvation, not our bodily safety, is their mission.

Harm to the Soul is a much greater peril to the human being than harm to the Body.

And realistically, what are the chances that the flocks of Bishops Woelki, Hanke and Schönborn are going to fall into the sins of the Immigrants With An Agenda who made up the rape gangs?

- Gee, Hans, Ahmed and Raafat there look like they're havin' a great time, let's join in!
- I'm with you, Fritz!

I'd say minimal.

But what are the chances of them falling into the sins of xenophobic neo-Nazis? of seeking to buy a little temporal and corporeal safety by throwing in their lot with evil men?

You know, just a little. Oh, and maybe just a little more. Okay, and just that one more...
The Church knows what it's doing with it's theology of "venial" sins, She's seen a lot of slippery slopes in Her day.
And hatred of the stranger under the guise of Protecting Our Womenfolk is much more likely to lure Germans than is organized sexual assault.
That's how sin works.
It deceives us into thinking a Big Good Cause justifies a Small Evil Act.
Just a little.
And maybe just a little more.

We'll stop before anything really bad happens...
 
Do they have a history of anything like that?

So I'm thinking maybe the German bishops, even if the thought behind them was wrong, said the right things.

You know, God drawing straight with crooked lines?