Virginia, the Vatican and Palin: Time to Give Back

by Diane Wilson

Virginia's proclamation that April is Confederate History Month -- remember the good ol' days -- is mind numbing. The New York Times has weighed in on this strange turn of affairs. There have been debates. And then Gov. Bob McDonnell made a hasty apology for neglecting to mention slavery when he declared April Confederate History Month.

McDonnell explained that the failure "to include any reference to slavery was a mistake, and for that I apologize to any fellow Virginian who has been offended or disappointed," The Richmond Times Dispatch reports. He even suggested that slavery was a really bad thing that divided the nation and "left a stain on the soul of the state." He makes no sense. You don't just plain forget to mention slavery. And you don't want to wax romantic about the glory days of the slave states and their hateful relations with the Union.

Enter the Vatican, which is a long way from putting its house in order. According to The Globe and Mail, the Priesthood was aware of the priest who molested altar boys in the Ottawa Valley a full decade before the crime became public, but they sought to keep the issue secret due to their worries about the church's image.

Many people have weighed in on the Church. Maureen Dowd does so in the New York Times, and she does it effectively as a Catholic believer, who laments that Vatican II left out the rule about celibacy when they went about liberalizing the religion. Dowd notes that the vow about celibacy had to do with potential heirs making claims on church money and land: "But it ended up shrinking the priest pool and producing the wrong kind of candidates — drawing men confused about their sexuality who put our children in harm’s way."

Tacit acceptance of slavery remains incomprehensible. A moral body that acts immorally is frightening. We were riding so high after the election of Barack Obama. Now, the passage of the watered down health care bill has made people divided and angry. Listen to de facto Republican Leader Sarah Palin as she espouses the beauty of the Tea Party wanting to take back America. Darkness descends, and we know that for these people, the concept of giving back is forgotten.

Which brings us to CNN's Heroes. After Virginia, the Vatican and Palin, along comes a group of truly remarkable individuals who are busy doing great stuff for others. Their work is real, and people are paying attention. Heroes has become one of the hottest tickets of the year.

Goodnight Virginia.