News that protesters may be stopped from delivering peaceful messages challenging the teachings of the Catholic Church during Pope Benedict's visit to Australia not only undermines an important characteristic of a civilised society - the right to freedom of speech - but it is also a terrible outcome for the church and all who come in contact with it.
Over the years, the Catholic Church has tolerated and covered up atrocity after atrocity. While we can never be sure that the systemic abuse of many within its care has totally come to an end, there is a strong likelihood that it would be far more widespread if light hadn't been shed on the atrocities we now know about.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously wrote in 1933:
Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.
There is no doubt in my mind that the Catholic Church is a better institution for having had some of its terrible inner workings publicly exposed. Now that this scrutiny has begun, we would be complacent if we stopped and both the current and future generations would suffer if we did.
The Catholic Church's teachings need scrutinising as much as the treatment of children by the church's ordained.
The truth is that the Catholic Church promotes teachings that undermine the status of women and gay men in our society and promote the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.
Given the number of children currently educated in Catholic schools in Australia, we should be debating the church's teachings more than we do, not less.
Jesus once proclaimed that He was the light of the world. We should turn this light on all who use His name to promote agendas.
The Pope should be given the same respect and protection given other heads of state or religious leaders when they visit Australia - no more, no less.
This I write as a Catholic and a graduate of a Catholic school.
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