Bless me father for I have sinned and my last confession was ...

So the Rev. Joseph Illo, a Roman Catholic Priest in Modesto, California is dealing with a problem of massive proportions. In fact so massive he is sending out letters to all his parishioners, ordering those who have gone astray to get to confession asap {video here}:

A Roman Catholic priest has told parishioners they should confess if they voted for Barack Obama because the president-elect supports abortion.

The Rev. Joseph Illo says his parishioners at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Modesto shouldn't risk losing their "state of grace" by receiving communion sacrilegiously. He delivered the message in a Nov. 21 letter and during mass.

In an interview this week with the Modesto Bee, Illo says he sent the letter because Catholic teaching requires that people go to confession when they commit a mortal sin.

Wow, vote for Obama and you earn a mortal sin. That is some other kind of serious crazy.

Well Father Illo, here is my confession:

Bless me father for I have sinned. My last confession was so many years ago, I can't even give you a date. Suffice it to say it was right around the same time I vowed never, ever to walk through the doors of a church that has so lost its own way that it actually believes it can call my son intrinsically evil and objectively disordered while turning a blind eye to the true evil that went on for decades within its own walls.

But since I am supposed to be confessing my sins, let me throw a few at you.

Forgive me for voting for George W. Bush, a man who has been responsible for so much death, torture, suffering, and destruction he should burn in hell right alongside all the priests who either abused innoncent children or chose to protect the abuser rather than the victims.

Forgive me for having to work everyday to keep from hating with every fiber of my soul that little tiny man at the top of the Catholic Empire who dares to continue to demonize gays and lesbians and incite hatred and cruelty towards them, while foolishly thinking he has moral high ground left under his own gucci-clad feet to preach morality to others.

Forgive me for believing that there is nothing worse than a person with any kind of power (like a priest or a Pope) who is so filled with self-loathing and disgust for who he is that he spends his entire life and position of power making those who accept themselves for who they are miserable, and then using God to justify the hate and cruelty.

Forgive me for feeling nothing but contempt and disgust for a Church who has decided to enter into politics and dictate its political preferences to its followers through threats, coercion, and moral force.

Forgive me for believing that the Catholic Church's hatred for gays and lesbians (God's children mind you) is so blindingly evil that it cannot see how horrific its decision is "to oppose a proposed U.N. resolution calling on governments worldwide to de-criminalize homosexuality", a crime that in some countries results in the death penalty.

Forgive me for hoping that the Catholic Church continues to expose itself for what it is, a hate-filled, political, power-hungry organization that has lost its way and deserves the disdain that is increasingly being thrown its way.