The greatest intrinsic evil is religion

God.

Religion loves to chastise. So it's not surprising that the greatest chastisers sit in positions of power within each religion. My own bailiwick is Catholicism, since I was force-fed this drivel as a child. To me, the Roman Catholic church seems to be the greatest chastiser of them all. But even after decades of watching Catholicism force its adherents to squirm and squeal in the mud -- with guilt, shame and fear -- I can be surprised.

Usually when the Vatican rolls out the term "intrinsic evil", it does so to pillory anything gay or trans. But they're branching out. I found this delightful turd in the news today. First, let's focus on the good news:

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A jury was correct in finding that a Roman Catholic diocese discriminated against a former teacher by firing her for undergoing fertilization treatment, a federal judge has ruled.

Thank goodness for the outcome. At least there's that. The church loves to police women's vaginas and wombs. On the list of Vatican joys, vagina/womb policing is in second place only because it's more fun for priests to chastise gays. The latter type of fun is almost biblical; it's that good. But back to the wimmens.

"It was for the Church to decide whether Herx's contract should be non-renewed for failing to comply with Church teachings, not a court or jury," diocesan attorneys argued.

They love their power, these priests. They positively revel in it. Sorry guys, but you lost this one. Hahaha. But back to the point. Here it comes; watch for it:

According to the diocese, the Catholic Church says the medical procedure — which involves mixing eggs and sperm and transferring the resulting embryo into the womb — is an intrinsic evil that no circumstances can justify.

I just love the term "intrinsic evil", don't you? It's so Vatican. And let's remember that they're talking about a woman who simply wants to have a child, and is using science to help her achieve her goal. Intrinsic evil? That's a bit much, don't you think?

(Now, if I could only insert a bit of Robert Benchley's essay on "Inherent Vice" here, this post would be perfect. Alas, when you go out of print, you are lost forever in the wilderness. Benchley was one of the primary Algonquin Roundtable residents, laughing it up with literary wits and producing some of the funniest writing of that era (1919 - 1929). In the essay I'm referring to, he wrote about a manufacturer's insistence that it was not required to provide a refund for a product that exhibited "inherent vice". It's just like "intrinsic evil". I wish he was still alive so he could blast the church for this sickening and inappropriate use of language -- in a funny way, of course.)

Keep it up, priests. In the end, you'll lose everyone. Americans see nothing wrong with what this woman did. In fact, she deserves kudos. Now that's a mother. But I love it when religious leaders do things that harm the faith, as these remarks certainly will. And let us always remember that it is faith that displays an "intrinsic evil" at its core: the lie that there is a god. No idea could be more unhelpful to humanity. It truly is intrinsic evil.