Why are we letting these people dictate what's in health care reform?

I realize that Bart Stupak thinks that it's perfectly OK if actual, real, live babies and children die because they can't get health care as long as those dirty sluts can't get abortions on the Federal dime. But there's also the fact that the Catholic Church has made clear that it wants to dictate whether women's health services are covered under any federal health care reform package.

Why is official Washington treating these people as if they have any kind of moral authority? Their obsession with the dispensability of women as anything more than sin-creating breeding machines ought to in and of itself be enough for no one to take them seriously. But since it's all about sex to these people, perhaps they ought to clean out their own house first:

The Vatican is facing allegations that one of Pope Benedict's ceremonial ushers, as well as a member of the Vatican choir, were involved in a gay prostitution ring.

"The latest shadow on the church's image," reports CBS News Correspondent Richard Roth, "comes from leaked police reports (on) wiretaps in a separate corruption case. The Vatican wasn't a target, but it's taken a hit."

The recordings, according to Italian press, reveal Angelo Balducci, an Italian executive who's been a Gentleman of his Holiness -- the elite group of black-suited men who serve the pope in unpaid roles as ushers -- negotiating with the 29-year-olf Nigerian Vatican choir member for the services of male prostitutes, as part of the larger prostitution ring.

Balducci is under arrest.

The Vatican reportedly has cut ties to both men but, notes Roth, "bad publicity over sex and sexual abuse charges still confronts the church.

"Irish bishops were called to Rome in february after Benedict expressed outrage over a pedophilia scandal in their country. A prominent Catholic religious order countered new corruption charges in Mexico this week over sex and money. And the pope's old diocese figures in some of the newest sexual abuse claims in Germany."

"We're just scratching the surface here," says CBS News consultant Father Thomas Williams. "There's definitely more to come. We only know of these two men connected with the Vatican in some way, but obviously, they're talking about a ring, and a ring means definitely more people involved. So, I'm sure more will be coming out in the days to come."