Good Maureen Dowd column re. Catholic nuns

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/opinion/25dowd.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1256484918-s8q3or2Jxj1ekboIfNGtgg

I am no longer a Catholic and haven't been for many years, but if I still were and I took a good look at Pope Benedict, that would definitely be the end of my affiliation with this church that is still in the Dark Ages, as far as women's rights are concerned. No wonder its numbers are dwindling -- and, although the priesthood still collects a number of boys here and there, NO ONE wants to become a nun. A friend of mine who grew up in Germany once told me her mother always referred to the Catholic hierarchy as "that black brood." I have come to think of them that way myself. Considering the history of the church, in which untold numbers of innocent people have been tortured and murdered in the name of Christ -- and the hidden mistresses and children of Popes and priests, plus the physical and sexual abuse of children and women within the church up to the present day, I often wonder why anyone stays there. With the Vatican's riches, it's not as if they need the money. But you'd never know that from all the appeals I still get from nuns and priests to help the poor with whom they continue to work. Why doesn't the Vatican distribute some of the vast amounts of their jewels and cash to those missionaries? The way I used to view the church and the way I see it now are totally different. My eyes have been opened.

Just my own opinion.