"I know we've come so far, but we've got so far to go ..." -- Hairspray
Radio, TV, internet sites and almost every news source have gone ga-ga over the Pontiff's arrival in America - quite like a mob of jittery Japanese teenage girls trailing after Justin Timberlake. It is inescapable- the only competition for some limelight on CNN is the presidential election, and probably only because the primaries are beginning to resemble a WWF match ("you BITTER frigid bitch!" followed by Obama-bitch-slap).
WE GET IT ... the Pope is here. He's old, he's introverted, and he has never had sex. Talk about a crowd-pleaser!
And what a busy schedule for an aging direct link to god ... birthday at the White House, visits to Catholic University, mass at the National's Stadium ("Play ball !!! Just not with his !!!) ... and all the while he is rebuking the American priest sex scandals and hoping to reunify the Church and abate declining revenue.
In his pre-Pope days, Ratzinger ... which incidentally sounds like the name of a villain in some Disney film (and prompting me to coin the phrase "I don't give a Ratzinger's ass about the Pope coming to town") ... had a notorious anti-gay record of denouncements and blatantly discriminatory acts of Vatican law. And so his arrival in DC could not be met with less scorn on my part.
Ratzinger's paw prints have plagued numerous documents issued by the Vatican declaring its stance on homosexuality- not only in homosexual practice but also in terms of support, i.e. non-discriminatory behaviors. Ratzinger's influence in several Vatican organizations has resulted in statements such as- "the Church may not admit to the seminary and Holy Orders those who practice homosexuality, show profoundly deep-rooted homosexual tendencies, or support the so-called gay culture".
How about some more Vatican statements: "There are areas in which it is not unjust discrimination to take sexual orientation into account" - namely: adoption, education, medical (contagious diseases), and mentally ill persons.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (led by Ratzy) stated in 1992 that homosexuality itself "must be seen as an objective disorder". Well ... as an aspiring clinician, the only real disorders I can see are a lack of compassion, an inability to tolerate/appreciate differences, and the audacity to use religious doctrine in masking personal agendas which consistently fuel discrimination on all levels of society.
It's just plain gross.
I remember when the new Pontiff was elected- I was living in Rome at that time, not even 2 miles from the Vatican where all the whoop-de-do was occurring. Thousands of people had come to pay their tributes to the recently deceased Pope, and thousands more gathered in St. Peter's Square to welcome Benedict as the new head of the Catholic Church.
During the service, I was jogging on a treadmill in an empty gym that was normally bustling with Italian life. Everyone had gone to St. Peter's to get a glimpse of the new Pope ... quite like the masses that will descend upon DC in the next few days, trailing him like group-ies, following in his footsteps...
I just pray that most of us are truly wise enough not to follow in those footsteps ...
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4 comments:
When the Pope visits Ground Zero, he will be greeted by a vigil honoring the late FDNY chaplain, Father Mychal Judge, the first official casualty of the 9/11 attacks.
Mychal was considered a living saint by many even prior to his heroic death. His extraordinary works of compassion have been compared to Mother Teresa (see http://SaintMychalJudge.blogspot.com )
But ironically, Fr. Mychal Judge would be barred from the priesthood today because he was openly gay, though celibate. He often asked, “Is there so much love in the world that we can afford to discriminate against any kind of love ?!”
We have no illusions that this pope is going to change. Rather, we are bearing witness to two truths -- that God created and loves gay people, and that the pope does not speak for the whole Church, the Ecclesia, on these matters.
Indeed, two-thirds of U.S. Catholics-in-the-pews reject the pope’s views and support either civil unions or full marriage rights, according to numerous surveys.
As Fr. Mychal also said, "Don't let the (institutional) church get in the way of your relationship with God."
Oh .... I wasn't discussing my relationship with g/God in the blog, or whether or not the Institution has any effect on that relationship ... I was discussing the Pope, his views and influence, and why I disagree with them.
But apparently something in my blog has caused you to assume something else ...
If 2/3's of US Catholics disagree with the direction the Church is headed, and the policies established by its leadership, then why do they still call themselves Catholics? There are plenty of other religions to allign with, perhaps with doctrines that they can agree with ...
Well, I was responding to your recounting of Ratzinger’s war on homosexuals by giving an example of a remarkable, saintly gay priest. And I was addressing a broader audience, some of whom are struggling with their relationship with God and church.
You ask, why do dissidents still call themselves Catholic? Why don’t we just join other churches?
The short answer is that the pope and the hierarchy are not “the Church.” The people-in-the-pews are the Church, it’s our church, and we’re not going anywhere. We believe in the core faith and we just ignore the Roman hierarchy when it offends conscience.
Plus the reality of Catholicism on the parish, pastoral, and grassroots levels is increasingly welcoming, progressive, and salutary. Many local pastors also ignore Rome. Mine has even blessed same-gender unions. If this were not the case, I’d certainly join an independent/ non-Roman Catholic church.
Talk about groupies...I was in the PCity mall when the Pope was in town...kids were wearing t-shirts (T-SHIRTS!!) with the Pope's face on the front, and his "tour" cities on the back.
The Pope and Catholicism are not for me, they are not what I find holy. But if they were...I feel that plastering his face on a t-shirt like some rockstar would negate that sacred spiritual connection.
*sigh*
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