Reginald Cook - The Hammer of God

“If we’re too hasty to castigate and neuter our own, it’ll turn into a feeding frenzy.”

“And what would you call it now?” asked Cardinal Maximilian. “I doubt it can get any more ferocious than it is right now.”

“The media fervor will die down,” Cardinal Polletto offered.

“They’ll move on to another hot topic soon, and then we’ll be able to handle this in a manner more in line with canon law. At a pace that will foster decisions best for everyone concerned.”

“What about the authorities?” inquired Cardinal Bauer. “They could go a long way in helping us sort out these affairs since our own manpower is short, or in most cases, non-existent.”

“And how far should we allow them into Church affairs?” asked Cardinal Polletto. “Certainly their interests don’t coincide with our own.

We should employ private investigators we can control. I, for one, am not in favor of trusting outsiders, or throwing our brothers to the wolves.”

Cardinal Polletto watched the room sink into a morass of confusion and disillusionment, and took delight in seeing Cardinal Maximilian lose control of the gathering. He laughed inside as the chocolate skinned cleric begged for order he didn’t get. The discord and loss of harmony was just another in a long queue of well-spun arguments initiated at the behest of The Order, all designed to erode, disrupt and destroy.

Hedonism in the bowels of the Catholic Church was nothing new.

Since the mandate that all who serve in the priesthood abstain from sex, and only marry the Church, the opportunity to capitalize on the natural fleshly desires that wage war against all but those who share the gift of celibacy with the Apostle Paul, was to Cardinal Polletto’s delight, plentiful.

A longtime, well-known, but only recently publicized concern of Church leaders, homosexuality and sexual perversion, had long been a battleground the Church hierarchy worked feverishly to veil from public eyes. News of these incidents slipped through occasionally, but were easily covered up and dismissed under the cover of secrecy, buried by the unmatchable power and high-reaching influence of the Holy See.

But, as time edged forward, the perversions did not abate, they grew, even into the inner sanctum of the College of Cardinals, including pederasty and sodomy. In some cases, the escapades were so perverse, the Church fathers considered it an epidemic.

The Order of Asmodeus had never fully taken advantage of the Church’s obvious weakness, until Cardinal Polletto rose up through their ranks. The first stage was easy. Nurture and cultivate sexual degradation in the Church at every turn. The Order established a network that tracked each wayward priest and nun, cataloging every abortion, affair, drug user and apostate.

Cardinal Polletto watched The Order’s efforts burst forth within a wave of hedonistic fervor that rivaled Sodom and Gomorrah. Soon, the campaign fed off of itself, and sent the inner sanctum at The Vatican into an all out panic.

The next move was to expose the turmoil to the public. Sensitive information was leaked, articles written, but nothing took hold or had the devastating impact they hoped. The Vatican, no doubt with the aid of the highly surreptitious Hammer of God, managed to quell most of the fires before they really got started, until Cardinal Polletto spotted a diabolically fiendish trend.

While analyzing reports that came in from around the United States, Cardinal Polletto noticed that the number of priests caught up in, or accused of, pedophilia in America had risen sharply since the beginning of The Order’s campaign. It was the hook they’d been waiting for. Not even the upper echelon of Rome could hide decadence against children.

It worked.

The Church fought back, hiding incidents, paying off victims, sending pedophilic men of the cloth to psychiatric institutions, all in an effort to kill any mounting public outcry. Each step of the way, the Il Martello di Dio did its best to find The Order and quail the effort, but to no avail. Once the press got wind of the magnitude of molestation in the Church, it grew into all-out chaos, threatening the foundation of the Church, and the moral high ground it pretended to possess.

Cardinal Maximilian was finally able to bring order to the dim, humid auditorium, but the debate continued to rage on for another hour.

Cardinal Polletto sat quietly and watched the others try to navigate complicated and confusing canon law. Cardinal Maximilian looked dismayed up on stage, occasionally glaring in Cardinal Polletto’s direction, discomfort and disappointment on his face as he shifted back and forth in his chair. Cardinal Polletto allowed a smile to creep on his thin lips. To his surprise, Cardinal Maximilian smiled back, then stood.

As though it were a signal, the others fell silent.

“This has been a spirited debate,” said Cardinal Maximilian, his voice steady, controlled. “But one we’ll have to continue at our next meeting, ninety days from today. Notes from this meeting and an agenda for the next will be sent before that time so that our next discussion will be more productive.”

Cardinal Polletto stifled the urge to laugh. It’s all too easy. Soon, with the help of the savior we’ve been prayerfully waiting for, the Church will give way to something new, something wonderful.

“But before we take our leave,” Cardinal Maximilian continued, “I think it would be helpful if one of us would provide a specific example we can all follow as a case study of how to handle this situation.” He faced Cardinal Polletto, his eyes mischievous, penetrating. “Since Cardinal Polletto seems to have a strong handle on how we can turn around these brethren, I’d like him, with the permission of this counsel, to give us a brief explanation of how he’s dealing with the challenge of one of his own.”

Cardinal Polletto felt a sharp stab in his chest. His jaw tightened. His mouth felt dry.

“How is Father Tolbert?” asked Cardinal Maximilian, a faint smile on his lips. “Has he gotten better since his assignment here in Rome? I understand there’s been an incident.”

C ardinal Polletto gripped the arms of his chair tight, his face belying the rage boiling inside, as Cardinal Maximilian peered down from the stage like Moses from on high.

“Is there a problem, Cardinal Polletto?” asked Cardinal Maximilian.

Cardinal Polletto eased up from his seat, his eyes fixed on Cardinal Maximilian. “It’s no problem at all. I’m not sure about the incident you speak of, but as of today, Father Tolbert is doing fine.”

“Then you have a handle on his problem?” continued Cardinal Maximilian.

“I’m not sure there is a problem. A few scattered accusations have been made, but nothing has been substantiated.”

“And how do you plan to proceed? Are you launching an investigation?”

You pompous ass. “Until something more than rumors surface, why react? Nobody has come forward. We’d only look guilty.” The others in the room nodded their heads in agreement, like mindless sheep blindly following a wolf. “We’d do better to examine a situation further along than this one,” Cardinal Polletto added. Again, the others murmured their concurrence.

“If there’s nothing there,” said Cardinal Maximilian, “why then his sudden reassignment to Rome?”

Cardinal Polletto fumed. “As I’ve already informed you, Father Tolbert put in for the Vatican Archive assignment several times over the last five years. I thought it an opportune moment to let things die down in Chicago, and to give the poor man a chance to gather himself.” Cardinal Maximilian leaned forward on the table. “And what of the kidnapped child, the altar boy, Samuel Napier? Any word?” Inquisitive buzzing filled the room. Whispering, pointing, all eyes wide with questions.