Pnma: Hirelings blame the Joooos

TEGUCIGALPA --- When Padre Antonio Quetglas, vicar of Tegucigalpa's Archdiocese, attributed the investigation of parish priest Enrique Vásquez Vargas, a self-confessed child molester, to a "worldwide Jewish conspiracy to deflect attention from Israeli atrocities against Palestinians,"was he speaking his mind or echoing the voice of his master --- Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga ? Or were the embers of anti-Semitism being stirred by the Church to deflect attention from yet another sex scandal?

Cardinal Rodríguez, a fast-rising star in the Roman Catholic hierarchy and a candidate for the papacy, put Reverend Vásquez to work in two remote Honduran parishes. He also shielded Vásquez, who had spent time at two "clergy treatment centers" and is now an international fugitive, from prosecution. The 44-year-old priest, who fled his native Costa Rica in 1998, served in at least two US dioceses before absconding to Honduras. He worked in El Paraiso and, later, in the village of Guinope. He vanished from Guinope last March, days ahead of police after Casa Alianza, a child advocacy organization operating in Central America and Mexico, pressured the government of Costa Rica to revive what had since become a moribund criminal investigation. Vásquez has since reportedly fled Honduras and is now in Nicaragua.

Vásquez's bishop in Costa Rica, Angel San Casimiro, insists that Cardinal Rodríguez did not check with him before putting the wanted man to work. Bruce Harris, director of Casa Alianza, who recently received telephone death threats, had been pressing San Casimiro and Rodríguez to reveal what they know about Vásquez.

"Neither has been forthcoming," Harris asserts, even thoughSan Casimiro acknowledged that he had freed Vásquez to work abroad after the priest confessed that he had molested a 10-year-old altar boy.

"The Catholic Church in Latin America is still in denial and continues to cover things up," Harris added.

For his part,Cardinal Rodríguez has steadfastly kept the police at bay, claiming he'd rather "go to jail than harm one of my priests."

The prelate also had harsh words for newsmen covering the widening world scandal. He likened them to Hitler, called them "fixated" and accused them of "morbid fascination."

So, the corruptness of Rome's priests is still being defended, even after the scandal that is bankrupting Roman churches here in the U.S.

That's all Rome needs, paedophilic priests and anti-Semitic, paedophilic-loving prelates. That's the two-fer they are getting with Cardinal Rodriguez. If he is elected to the papacy, priests will never be allowed to marry, but they will be allowed to have their boys and blame the Jews for it.