The recent pedophile scandal in the Roman Catholic church is bringing to the surface a deeper and more longstanding, widespread corruption. In the early 1970s, ex-Jesuit priest Alberto Rivera told of being sexually assaulted by a fellow student while in seminary training. (See Crusaders Comic, "Alberto", page 12.) When he complained to the rector, he was told that he was wrong for rejecting the other boy's "love."

As a classic example of how one sin leads to another, when the pope forbids priests to marry, this places them in the path of temptation for a number of other evils.

In predominantly Catholic countries, priestly promiscuity hardly raises an eyebrow. Charles Chiniquy documents some of this evil in his book, 50 Years in the Church of Rome.

A detail review of the history of the popes reveals many scoundrels involved in all kinds of sexual sin. The pedophile scandal is only the tip of an iceburg that has become increasingly visible over the last two or three decades.

When sodomites began to gain acceptance as a protected class of citizens in the Western World, Roman Catholic leaders waffled on condemning this sin. They generally accepted the propaganda lie that it was an "orientation" instead of a "preference" which transfers the blame, from the individual who chooses the homosexual life, to God who "created" them as a "third sex."

Part of this ambivalence had to be because of the high number of homosexuals in the priesthood. Some estimates run as high as 40%. Observers claim that the "homosexual subculture" in some of the Catholic seminaries has scared off decent young men who considered becoming priests. This has contributed to an acute shortage of priests.

After a recent meeting in Rome with the pope, a U.S Episcopal Conference leader admitted that they were in an "ongoing struggle to make sure that the Catholic priesthood is not dominated by homosexual men."

As time goes on, more of what ex-Jesuit Alberto Rivera revealed about the evils of the Roman Catholic institution is coming to light.

The pedophiles in the priesthood are being identified, defrocked and imprisoned around the globe. Associated Press reports that more than 100 have been jailed from Australia to Ireland. Charges are pending against many more. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been paid to victims, with hundreds of cases still pending.

A Polish archbishop recently resigned after being accused of making sexual advances to priests and seminarians.

God is exposing the pope's whoredoms. What Bible believers need to do is recognize that Roman Catholicism is not Christian and reach out to its disillusioned members with the biblical truth that exposes the false teaching of popery.

They need to see that worship of the eucharist wafer is idolatry; that Jesus has been replaced by Mary as mediator; that Mary can't answer their prayers; that the pope is not Christ's vice president (vicar) on earth; that salvation is by faith alone, not good deeds, etc.

Soul winners, this is an opportunity of a lifetime.