By Justin Michael Carter

If Joe Paterno recited Hail Marys instead of coaching the football players who throw them, he’d still have his job today. If he issued Holy Communion rather than athletic scholarships, he would still be stalking the sidelines on Saturday. And if Happy Valley were the Vatican, Joe Pa would be adding more wins to the record he just wrested from Eddie Robinson as College Football’s winningest coach. As the Penn State pedophile scandal continues to unfold, the only silver lining is the fact it did not involve the Catholic Church.Without the force field of religion to protect its football program, Penn State’s mythical figure has plummeted off his pedestal with a sickening thud. It was all good just a week ago, with Paterno an infallible figure so entrenched at Penn State it seemed more likely he’d coach the Nittany Lions from a coffin before he’d ever be handed his walking papers. As fast as Palm Sunday Reiumph became good Friday, that tenure has now ended in disgrace and shame for failing to take action against an alleged child rapist on his staff.

There are certain things in this world so evil, disgusting, and vile that an immediate consensus forms, dictating what must be done. In Paterno’s case, though he followed the letter of the law by reporting what he knew about the abuse at the time, no one believes he couldn’t and shouldn’t have done more.

Good thing Pope Benedict doesn’t have two national titles under his belt. If he did he’d suffer the same fate as Paterno. The only difference between the Penn State pedophile scandal and the history of sex abuse in the Catholic church is white robes, rosary beads, and about 40 more years of reported abuse. While there is some question about who knew what when in Happy Valley, there is no such ambiguity when it comes to the Vatican. For a few generations now, Catholic priests accused of sexually abusing children have been simply shifted from one parish to another like a depraved game of Three Card Molly. But instead of relieving tourists of their spending money, lives have been ruined forever.

As fanatical as the world of college football can be, when beset by this unspeakable crisis, the powers that be at Penn State did the right thing and relieved Paterno of his station and didn’t acquiesce him one record breaking game. They took a stand that no man, no. Matter what he meant to the prosperity and the name of the school meant more than the institution and the ideals it set forth. It is a shame the same cannot be said for the Catholic Church.

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