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	What the 4th of July Means to Me By Joey Piscitelli Voice from the Desert July 4, 2010 http://reform-network.net/?p=6053 The 4th of July marks the commemoration of Independence from a power that revolutionaries considered abusive. It marks the actualization of a revolution. As we look back upon the historical movement by the people who caused and initiated that revolution, we celebrate their bravery, and their concern for the oppressed. Their fight led to the enjoyment and realization of freedoms for millions of citizens long after they have left this earth, and their legacy lives on in spirit and in reality for many of us in the US today. But fall back in time 234 years or so, and place yourself in the days of the revolutionaries, and we can see them for who they really were – men and women who fought a bloody battle against the colonial authorities, the established powers–the hierarchy. Now, we look at the Colonial revolutionaries as heroes, and see them as visionary artists who carved the future for respect, dignity, justice, and freedom for all. But how do people look at similar personalities today? How does society look at revolutionaries who fight the authorities in this century, who battle against the odds, against the absolute powers, against the establishment, and against the perceived corruption of organizations such as the Catholic hierarchy? Many members of the powerful Churches today look at revolutionaries who battle the abuse in the established Hierarchy of the Catholic Church as enemies of God. I would know. I am a revolutionary. And I know many other revolutionaries who battle the abusive hierarchy and the criminals and oppressors of the Catholic Church. Most of those revolutionaries are treated by many faithful followers of the Catholic Church as abrasive, indignant, and in a very ironic term–revolting. But this revolution isn't about God, It's about corrupt, rich, and powerful men. Men who have protected, sheltered, promoted, and harbored child sex offenders for centuries. I have seen and heard the comments by many who despise the modern revolutionaries today, heroes such as Jeff Anderson, and others who have hammered at the corrupt Kingpins of the Catholic Church for decades. Perhaps it will not be for another 234 years that people will look back and say that the revolutionaries who battled the corruption in the Catholic Church were heroes, and not enemies of God. I have engaged in well over 100 protests, and written "revolutionary" and abrasive articles condemning the Catholic hierarchy myself for years, and I have seen and felt the disgust and opposition from many of the faithful followers of the Church, who do not see the revolt as a battle for justice; they perceive the actions as a battle of animosity, and hatred for the Church. I have also been criticized by other advocates for child abuse victims themselves as being "too abrasive, militant, and angry." Unfortunately, sometimes revolutions do not gain ground without striking nerves, and although silence is golden, sometimes we have to be more forceful with our words and actions, to be able to tackle absolute power and corruption, and then to be able to write a Declaration of Independence, even if it is an Independence from the Corrupt Catholic Hierarchy. Happy 4th of July to all of the revolutionaries who have battled corruption.
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