The more things change . . .

I am still basking in the glory of last week’s Supreme Court decision striking down parts of the hateful Defense of Marriage Act and reinstating same sex marriage in California. (Have you ever thought about how weird it is that California, of all places, should have struggled with this issue for so long? I mean, gay marriage was legal in Iowa but not in California – say what?)

I keep thinking back to 1974 when a group of students had to sue Virginia Commonwealth University just for the right to meet in a room as the Gay Alliance of Students. We won that right, but only on appeal in 1976. And now thirty-seven years later the Supreme Court of the United States has said, “yes, Walter, yes, Ransom, you are married in the eyes of your family and friends and also in the eyes of your government.

Perhaps it finally is becoming a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

But then today I'm reminded how some things have NOT changed: “Cardinal Dolan Transferred $57 Million To a Cemetery Fund to Shield It From Sexual Abuse Victims.” (slate.com)

Slate is following the New York Times which broke the story yesterday, writing:

Files released by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee on Monday reveal that in 2007, Cardinal Timothy F. Dolan (below), then the archbishop there, requested permission from the Vatican to move nearly $57 million into a cemetery trust fund to protect the assets from victims of clergy sexual abuse who were demanding compensation.

Cardinal Dolan, now the archbishop of New York, has emphatically denied seeking to shield church funds as the archbishop of Milwaukee from 2002 to 2009. He reiterated in a statement Monday that these were “old and discredited attacks.

However, the files contain a 2007 letter to the Vatican in which he explains that by transferring the assets, “I foresee an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability.” The Vatican approved the request in five weeks, the files show.

The Catholic church -- long an enemy of civil rights, long a home to child rapists, long a denier of responsibility -- is once again shown to be the home of bold-face liars.

The hypocrites! SHAME ON YOU, DOLAN! You’re a homophobic, self-serving liar. How DARE you preach on morality when you, like so many of your colleagues, know so little about it?

When the Supreme Court struck down DOMA, Dolan said it was a  "tragic day for marriage and our nation" that went against "the common good of all, especially our children." That a representative of the Catholic church knows anything about what’s good for children is laughable.

It makes me sick to my stomach that people still give credence to this hateful organization. It’s time the courts strip such hate-mongering political organizations of their tax-exempt status.