Part of me wants this new Pope to be a great man. Part of me thinks that, given the Catholic Church's record with handling its pedophile priests, it doesn't much matter what this new pope does. If he can't in some way make the pedophile issue right, he is a fraud anyway and any moral highground he supposes himself to have is also phony. Likewise, any stance he takes on the right-to-life issue. What good does it do to say that all fetuses are human beings who deserve to be born if you don't think it is just as important to protect the children who are born? And having that Cardinal Law preside at the Pope's funeral mass is definitely a sign that none of them gets it.
As far as I'm concerned, any accomplishment of the Catholic Church, even those I agree with, is negated by their refusal to openly address the problem of child molestation and those who would cover for those who molest children. "Suffer the little children..." ya know?
And it seems that this papal election just demonstrates how the major religions of the world, at least the judeo-islamic-christian ones, are intent on dragging us backwards into the dark ages.
History has shown that enlightenment trumps fundamentalism every time. Eventually, anyway.
My faith is simply that God manifests hinself in random acts of human kindness. Everything else is just ego.
7 comments:
Basically, I'm thinking about science over fundamentalism. The Catholic church has a long history of persecuting new ideas, scientific and otherwise and has always lost the battle in the end. Most people know that the earth is round, that it revolves around the sun because of brilliant individuals who looked for answers and who suffered for their curiosity. Fundementalism, the New Catholicism, may con people into believing a lot of the nonsense they believe, but that doesn't mean they have won the debate. Evolution, for example, has already been a debate won-Jerry Falwell and Greg Laurie just don't know it yet.
As for morality-I'm just saying that catholics can't claim the moral high ground as long as they protect child molesters or their protectors.
As for faith, I don't care how complex or how interesting it is. Neither factor make it any more true. A life spent on ritualistic mumbo jumbo that gives one the feeling of purpose is a big waste of time, especially if it doesn't compel one to value the world they have been given and the people in it.
Most religions exhort us to treat others the way we want to be treated. As far as I am concerned, that's what a godly person does.
If you, or anyone else wants to devote a chunk of your finite earth-time to empty rituals, that's fine. If you or anyone else needs an institution to tell them what they believe, still fine.
I'll take the simplicity of what I believe. Who are you, or who is anyone, to determine what plays as a faith claim?
Hmmm, I'd say the Christian doctrine is based on fear using the *sinful* nature of man as it's control factor. A brilliant method thats worked throughout the ages.
And the sheep keep the so called faith even though their leaders show by their easy dismissal of molestation within their ranks. If the sheep weren't fearful of the church you'd think they'd rise up and say no to the apathy the church shows in it's public face.
Ya know random acts of kindness makes the world a better place, no matter what your beliefs.
All I am saying is that the new Pope, Cardinal Law, and any cardinal, priest, bishop, or nun that has been even passively supportive of either of them, has given up the right to lecture me on what is moral and that any good done by the late Pope is overshadowed by his refusal to do anything about priestly pedophilia.
I never said acts of human kindness prove the existance of God. I am saying that if a person's faith does not compel him to random acts of kindness, his faith is crap.
Who are you to determine what is or is not minutia?
And I hope every one of those pedophile priests and their enablers learns the joy of having their celibacy compromised while picking the soap up off the prison shower room floor.
Who are you to ask someone who they are?
Mr. Teacher, who are you to think I'm trying to convince you of anything at all?
Faith is, by definition, not rational.
Religion seems to me to be, ironically, evolving to suit itself.
Fear, anyone?
sigh...
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