After the first day of indecision, an old, antiquated bunch of clowns dressed in silly costumes finally elected their new infallible leader: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina. His new name, Francis the First, is in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the guy who renounced wealth in order to feel more connected to the poor. Now you might think it's a little ironic that a man sitting on 50 billion dol ...

This week, we "pontificate" on the Pope's replacement, and we also talk about the new HBO documentary "Mea Maxima Culpa", on the sexual abuse of children at the hands of the Catholic Church, and the cover-up by the Vatican. The movie is available for free here for a limited time, so be sure to watch it! ...

I've heard a lot of tortured explanations from the Catholic Church over the years as to why so many priests are sexually abusing children. Pope Benedict XVI claimed it was increased secularization that somehow made their theists behave so immorally. Homosexuality has also been blamed, despite the fact that as many female children are abused as males. Finally, though, one pedophile priest by the name of Davi ...

It's difficult to actually assess just how corrupt the Catholic Church is, but judging by the testimony of Father Kevin Lee, the accusation often lobbied at the church - mainly that it provides an attractive employment opportunity for sexual abusers - seems legitimate. Lee, who was fired for marrying a woman (the nerve!), had been documenting allegations of abuse for years, and found himself frustrated by t ...

Every once in while, a church leader will say something he actually thinks, and we're given a snapshot into the mental lives of priests. As most of you can guess, it isn't usually a pretty picture: religions are an old boys' club that places fraternity over morality. This has allowed an institution like the Catholic Church to continue to harbor and defend child rapists. Even if you've never forced yourself ...

Jake: Today I have a very special guest, someone who is going to join me to talk about the problem of child witches in Africa as well as the conflation of religion and superstition in that region. I wanted to ask someone who has had their feet on the ground here, because, you know, I am an isolated blogger and I want to make sure that I am not just saying false information and with this in mind, I invited L ...

A few weeks ago, Pastor Sean Harris learned two important lessons: 1) enticing any kind of child abuse publicly is a stupid idea because, 2) the Internet forgets nothing. So, with these important life lessons now firmly in mind, he's issued a non-apology for saying fathers should give their gay sons a "good punch" for acting like girls. "I was telling them in strong words that were not careful. What did I l ...

Every day, another religious mouthbreather with a keyboard attempts to find a way to argue the atheistic worldview is antithetical to the welfare of society. It's so painful to read these articles specifically because at no time do any of these morons ever come close to making a valid point. The latest frustration to hit my peepers is an article entitled "Atheists Get Religion All Wrong". This unidentified ...

It doesn't ever seem to stop, does it? As the Catholic Church slowly comes to terms with the fact their record of abuse, and failure to report said abuse, is slowly destroying their organization, Ireland, once a stronghold of Catholicism, is rapidly moving away from the faith in light of damning reports that show widespread sexual and physical abuse at the hands of priests. The latest scandal involves Cardi ...

When you stop placating people and call them out on their bullshit, you're bound to hurt their feelings. While some of us are comfortable with the idea of letting dumb or dangerous ideas thrive under the banner of "tolerance", there are those brave few who cannot stay silent in the face of the injustices brought on by antiquated religious belief. When Dan Savage recently spoke to students at a High School J ...