Echo Lake, 2018

Just back from a relaxing week at Echo Lake,  south west of Tahoe.

Got a few memorable photos,

“The Old Man and the Sea,” – heading out at twilight with a fishing pole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reflection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Diver  A muscular 6′ 2″ man stood on the edge of the dock, removed his hat, shirt, and shoes.

He backed up and prepared to run. I  started shooting at 5 fps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some video love songs to that special place:

 

 

 

The startling revelation this week that more than 1,000 children have been sexually abused by over 300 Catholic clergy in Pennsylvania over the past 70 years has produced a flurry of editorials and letters to the editor. What makes this even worse is that the church knew about this and covered it up. I decided to weigh in on the issue with a letter to the pope.

 

Open Letter to Pope Francis

Dear Pope Francis,

Knowing how valuable your time is, let me get right to the point. You are having all these problems with pedophilia because of your theology. Requiring priests to be celibate attracts sexual deviants. To stop all this nonsense, change your theology. Let priests marry and have normal sexual lives.

All this stuff in the media about “zero tolerance,” and “a few bad priests,” and “they are good, but have done a few bad things,” is pure crap and you know it. These priests should be turned over to the police, and if found guilty, sent to prison like any other child molesters, not sent to another parrish. One of your parishioners quoted in the New York Times said, “I believe the Lord is bringing this out so we can heal. We need to pray for our priests.” Really? How’s that working for you? Rather than praying for your child-molesting priests, throw them in the slammer. Bet you’d have fewer problems.

According to Wikipedia, in the U.S. alone, your archdioceses have paid over $1.5B in legal fees. This must be getting your attention.

By the way, if you decide to bring your church into the 21st century, here are a couple of other things I’d recommend:

• Allow women to become priests
• Allow your one billion + members worldwide to use birth control and have abortions for unwanted pregnancies. Your stance on this has nothing to do with sanctity of life, but is really about having more Catholics. I know you have concerns about global warming. One solution to that problem is to cut down on the number of carbon-spewing humans on the Earth.
• Open up your finances to the Italian government (and the world).
• Stop promising poor peasants everlasting life in the next world. Help them find a better life in THIS world. Having fewer babies would help with that.
• Stop preaching about the “virgin birth,” and the “resurrection.” As Bill Maher’s film, “Religulous” showed, your smartest clergy, the Jesuits, have not believed that stuff for generations.

I have lots of other suggestions for bringing your church more in line with today’s realities. We can talk anytime. Have your people call my people.

Sincerely,

Rick Gilbert