Outrage in Spain over video game that depicts Pope Benedict XVI as pimp for pedophile cardinals

A video game in which Pope Benedict XVI is depicted as a pimp for pedophile Roman Catholic cardinals is facing calls to be banned.

Vatican Quest, released by U.S. firm RoundGames.com on Mar. 14, has sparked outrage in Spain with critics saying it makes fun of both sexual abuse victims and the Catholic Church.

Human rights group Maslibres.org has launched a petition demanding the free arcade game is removed from the Web, reports El Huffington Post.

The game's main character is a doll, resembling the recently retired Pope, who has to collect young children for cardinals waiting at the gates of the Vatican.

Once delivered, the prelates put their arm around the youngsters and disappear into a darkened room — earning the player 1,000 points.

The Pope has to avoid journalist and photographers, investigating abuse allegations, who pop up at unexpected times. If caught, the game is over.

Miguel Vidal, spokesman for Maslibres.org, is asking Spanish distributor of the game, Minijuegos.com, to ban it from PCs and smartphones.

Vidal said: "Reducing to caricature the drama of child sexual abuse, and then profiting from it, offends the victims and their families.

"Representing the Pope as a pimp and the cardinals as pedophiles is an offence to Catholics."

The game's main character is a doll, resembling the recently retired Pope, who has to collect young children for cardinals waiting at the gates of the Vatican. Once delivered, the prelates put their arm around the youngsters and disappear into a darkened room — earning the player 1,000 points. The Pope has to avoid journalist and photographers, investigating abuse allegations, who pop up at unexpected times. If caught, the game is over.

Bigtoona, back in the 70's (and I kinda remember this, because I was there!) just about everybody had a "therapeutic" attitude toward sexuality and behavioral problems in the clergy: Protestant and Catholic. And Jewish, for all I know.

If you had a preacher who was arrested for soliciting a prostitute (happened to the father of my best-Baptist-friends), who was an alcoholic, who had a "bad touching" problem with girls or boys or the Youth Choir Director, a wife-abuse or child-abuse problem within the family, the solution was to get this clergyman into counseling, get him to "understand" and "manage" his problem, and not "re-traumatize" the victims by involving them in a criminal trial.

This turned out poorly, especially with the pedos, since (as we now know) they reoffend about 90+ percent of the time. Plus, they are very convincing liars and good at gaming the system.

But at the time, everybody was all for it. Police didn't arrest. DA's didn't prosecute. Judges (if it ever came to trial) gave probation. Parents shut their mouths and accepted money so they could get their kids into counseling. The whole therapeutic-rehab profession was going strong. And of course, all the caring professions (churches, counselors, youth leaders, etc.) were imbued with the "forgiveness" and "second chance" ethic. So around and around it went.

That's the past. As for the future? Have we all learned a lesson? Some yes. But not all. And not well enough. A lot of the churches (though not the Catholics) have come around to the idea that the biggest crime associated with homosexuality is discrimination against gays.

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