A news story in today’s New York Post claims there is “a new study approved by the Vatican” on sin that concludes that “Men and women sin in different ways.” Men are more given to lust; women to pride. This story was the subject of an exchange today on the ABC-TV show, “The View.” Here is an excerpt:
Whoopi Goldberg: Realize the Vatican is the last word in all things that are god. For some folks. But explain how you suddenly can write new sins. You can’t do that.
Joy Behar: The pope is supposed to be infallible. He can say whatever he wants and people believe it. That’s how it goes.
Goldberg: But that doesn’t make any sense.
Barbara Walters: What do you think is the biggest sin?
Behar: Lust amongst priests.
Elizabeth Hasselbeck: Pedophilia. They put that in the year after.
Goldberg: The biggest sin?…Intolerance.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue responded as follows:
“After we blasted Barbara Walters in an op-ed page ad in the New York Times in June 2007 for sanctioning anti-Catholic bigotry on 15 occasions over the previous year, she got the message and quieted her panelists. But now they’re back, expressing their ignorance as well as their hostility.
“Goldberg is wrong to say that the Vatican is writing new sins: The report quotes one monsignor about a study whose author remains curiously undisclosed. Behar, another ex-Catholic, is wrong to speak so sweepingly about the pope’s infallibility: almost everything he says is of a fallible nature, and he has said absolutely nothing about this issue. And Hasselbeck, yet another ex-Catholic, was anxious to show that she also hates Catholics (she succeeded), paints priests as child molesters. How ironic it is to hear them say it is the Church that is intolerant. If only they could hear themselves speak.”
Contact co-producer Bill Geddie at bill.geddie@abc.com
