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A bumper crop of cruel crackdowns

Religious leaders say the craziest things.

Melissa Dribben

is an Inquirer staff writer

Let me state from the outset that just because I am about to discuss a couple of incidents of gonzo behavior on the part of the Catholic Church and Islamic hierarchy, this is not to say that they deserve more credit for creative moral reasoning than any other organized religion.

Every faith has believers who behave a little oddly when they're hellbent on strictly following the rules.

Give it a minute, and you can come up with 666 examples on your own. But to choose one that won't alienate any of my relatives or lead to bomb threats, let us turn to the ancient Mayans. They used to paint themselves blue and offer themselves up - men, women, and children - for sacrifice by having their hearts cut out.

It worked on so many levels.

Despite their differences, all religions have a few aspects in common. They're well-intentioned. They all preach some version of "Do unto others . . ." And although Bill Maher would undoubtedly write a persuasive dissent, the court of world opinion holds that mostly, following a religious guidebook makes you a better, more moral, human being.

Except when it makes you positively godlike.

To wit:

Three weeks ago, a court in Saudi Arabia sentenced a 75-year-old woman to 40 lashes, four months in jail, and deportation for allowing two young men, who are not relatives, to visit her at home.

The slut.

One argued that he had a right to be in the house because she'd breast-fed him, and he was just like a son to her. The other came along to bring bread to the woman.

Likely story.

In this thinly veiled Desperate Grandmothers scenario, the three weren't caught doing much. According to the charges, they were merely "mingling." But in Saudi Arabia, the interpretation of Islam called Wahhabism deems it a sin for members of the opposite sex to hang out unless they're related by blood or marriage. This rule holds even if they're totally, like, not even interested in each other except as, you know, just friends because, like, Dude, one of them is so ancient, the only date you'd have with her is the dried-fruit kind, which, by the way, is kind of ironic because that's what she's like. Sweet and wrinkled.

The old lady's lawyer says he's going to appeal the case. But unless you're one of those long-shot optimists who's buying up GM stocks because they're at bargain prices, I wouldn't bet on an acquittal.

Frankly, the Saudi Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice let the Golden Girl off easy.

Two years ago, a 19-year-old, who was gang raped by seven men in the Saudi city of Qatif, received 200 lashes and six months in prison.

Lest you give in to the temptation to judge Islam harshly, let me direct your attention to the outskirts of the city of Recife in northeastern Brazil.

It was there, four months ago, that a 9-year-old girl was raped, allegedly by her stepfather. Three weeks ago, she complained of stomach pains. Her mother took her to the hospital, where she was examined and found to be 15 weeks pregnant.

With twins.

The girl weighed 80 pounds. Doctors said that if the child took the babies to term, her life would be in jeopardy. So her mother gave them permission to do an abortion.

There are several reasonable ways to react to this news.

First, a wave of compassion for the little girl. Second, some practical questions. Why didn't her mother know about the abuse and stop it? How does an 80-pound 9-year-old even have her period? What kind of pathology leads a guy to have sex with his wife's fourth-grade daughter?

And finally, concern about the repercussions. Police suspect the stepfather had been sexually abusing the girl for years. If convicted, what kind of prison term could he face? What kind of psychological help is the girl receiving? And what support has the church extended to this poor family?

Here's where the story snips its earthly tethers and drifts off into the land of religiosum suae gonzo in extremis, where having your heart ripped out to please the gods doesn't seem like such a rad idea.

The day after the girl had the abortion, the regional archbishop, Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, excommunicated her mother and her doctors, declaring, "God's law is above any human law."

Who knows God's law in matters of child abuse better than an archbishop?

The excommunications upset a lot of Brazilians. Brazil's president weighed in, saying that as a Catholic himself and leader of the world's largest Catholic nation, he regretted the church's decision.

The Vatican, however, hellbent on sticking to the rules, is standing by the archbishop.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper, La Stampa, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, head of the Roman Catholic Church's Congregation for Bishops said, "the real problem is that the child's unborn babies were two innocent persons, who had the right to live and could not be eliminated."

And the stepfather who has been arrested on charges of child abuse and rape? As of this writing, his membership in the church has not been revoked.

For some reason, the archbishop who executed the excommunication felt the need to explain himself.

The stepfather may be guilty of a "heinous crime," said the archbishop. But the church, he said, takes the view that "the abortion, the elimination of an innocent life, was more serious."

Take it on faith. The church leadership has nothing to apologize for. Just paint the kid blue, and get on with the sacrifice, for heaven's sake.

For now, the girl has gone into hiding to avoid the media and further scrutiny. There's no word yet on her condition, or if the church would sanction a divorce should the mother seek to break up with the stepfather. But Olimpio Moraes, one of the excommunicated doctors, has said he'll continue to attend church, to pray, and to remain faithful. Furthermore, he says he is grateful to the archbishop because the controversy has invited greater scrutiny of the problems with Brazil's strict abortion laws.

Some might consider this a blessing. But only those with a wavering moral compass.