When I was a kid I remember going to church. I think Christians, despite their current commitment or denomination, remember how impossible it was to sit still in church. It got easier through repetition and maturity. Once you got to be about eight or nine, we all started to pay attention and things got easier. After all, the whole mass was a story with a moral. Say what you will, interpreted correctly the Bible (or Torah, Koran or any other theocratic tome) truly is a great tool to learn from and apply to your life. It teaches lessons.
But as the world has taken leaps and bounds from the “god-fearing” people we once were the whole concept of church can seem a little archaic. That, however, is not an issue to be tackled now. Do I sound like a lapsed Catholic? Well, I guess I could be termed that way. I believe in God. I believe in the teachings in the Bible. Do I follow them to the letter? No, because to err is human and I am very human.
The Catholic Church is not what it used to be. The good intentions are there and there are a lot of good priests and parishioners left, but the scandals and politics get in the way. It has been like that for too long. The messages and teachings in the Bible are weighed down and drowned out by the structure and unadapted rules of the church. That is what causes people like me to drift away from attending mass every Sunday (heck, even every day… that is how it used to be).
I say all this with even after going down to see Pope Benedict XVI take his Mercedes Popemobile on a spin through D.C. Timed perfectly for lunchtime in the district on Wednesday, thousands of people gathered on Pennsylvania Avenue to see the 5-mile-an-hour joyride in the North West. With my shaken dedication to the church, why did I bother?
I went because he is the Pope. He is the No. 1 on Earth, so the Bible says, to talk to God. He is the main cheese. The “Rice-patty daddy from Cincinnati” as a close friend would say. Now, what is wrong with that is that anybody can talk to God. That is just how it is. Whatever your faith, whatever deity(s) you may pledge allegiance too, you are always open to offer a prayer anytime, unless specified that they only take prayers via fax between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST.
He is the visible leader of Catholics around the world. That means, and has meant, that he has a lot of sway. Now more than ever, the Pope has a lot of power. Back in the day kings had to literally go to Rome (or send ambassadors) to ask permission to go to war. That is how much influence he, and in one time she, wielded.
These days, the position of Pope still has power, but why is it not exercised as in the past? We can thank the good old U.S.A. for setting a precedent there. I am not demeaning the separation of church and state, but once that philosophy began to be adopted in developed nations, the Pope and the Catholic Church lost a lot of power.
The word power brings some bad connotations too. Read 1984, or watch Spider-man… “With great power comes great responsibility.” As I have learned in the working world, as much change as you want to enact, we are mired down in the red tape and the same principle applies to the Catholic Church. There are too many factions pulling too many ways to really create change and please everybody. Isn’t that always the case?
Accountability lies in the first hand. When there is a scandal in the church like sexual abuse, the whole entity gets the blame from the parish, to the archdiocese all the way to the Vatican. They should be held accountable, but the standards imposed, by Vatican law are unrealistic in today’s world and even in the past.
There was a time when priests could be married. Thanks to economic cutbacks, Rome decided way back when to take that right away. Priests were then expected to live by the same rules of divinity that Jesus (supposedly) lived by because the church did not want to pay for the priests’ families.
I will skip the church’s rulings on women becoming priests, birth control, homosexuality and Monty Python, but it what I am getting at is the church needs to change and the Pope has the power to do it.
Evolution, a fact if not for the scientific fallacy that things can only be disproved, dictates that the “most fit” survive. The church is not in danger of dying, but can’t it become more fit? It could, but again, the Catholic Church will only appoint a Pope who is not long for this world. Politely put, they will only make a guy the Pope who does not have the years left on his life to really start some progressive change. The bureaucracy of the Catholic Church is taking away any chance it has for change.
The good that faith and religion, practiced the correct way, can give the world is endless. The potential energy for compassion, peace and love that Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and any other “ism” based on their common values is enough for people in this world to get along. Can you imagine it?
I can imagine it. The problem, people can just be jerks. They don’t listen and will ignore all the teachings they dole out if it does not fall rank and file with what they think is right. Teaching is in the hands of the establishment and application is in the hands of the individuals.
Pope Benedict has the power to make change. Every Pope has had that power on the grand scale. They can make that change for the better. With out that type of change things are in our hands. It is up to us to go out there and live by the Golden Rule. That was in the Bible too, right? Until that happens, you will probably only catch me in church at Christmas, Easter, one of the dozens of weddings I am being subjected too, or just when I want some free wine.
Why did I go out of my way to see the Pontiff? Why do most Catholics do things? I felt guilty. And for goodness sakes… HE IS THE FREAKING POPE!
“The Catholic Church is not what it used to be.”
The CC has been around for some 2,000 years. “used to be” is a relative term. What did it “used to be”?
“The good intentions are there and there are a lot of good priests and parishioners left, but the scandals and politics get in the way. ”
“A lot of good priests” What is “a lot” 80% 90% ?
“the scandals and politics get in the way” In the way of…..?
“The messages and teachings in the Bible are weighed down and drowned out by the structure and unadapted rules of the church. ”
Messages like what? The 10 commandments? The beatitudes?
What are “unadapted” rules?
“That is what causes people like me to drift away from attending mass every Sunday (heck, even every day… that is how it used to be).”
Did Obama write this? You have said many things, yet, you have said nothing. You have left the church of your youth but one is left wondering why.
John W,
I don’t think this was difficult to understand at all. I can totally understand feeling caught between wanting to hold onto the religion of your youth and the realization that the Catholic Church has not evolved enough in recent times to warrant that support (vis a vis my political and moralistic views and core values).
As you stated, the church has been around for thousands of years–and history shows how the rules, policies, and practices have consistently evolved over time–albeit slowly. The fact that the Pope’s are appointed near their deathbed doesn’t do much for this evolution, or it makes it creep along at best. (I’d say the same thing about the Supreme Court, but I digress.)
All the issues Kevin mentions, but doesn’t discuss (wise choice: more than one can of worms) are examples of antiquated theology dictating modern practice. Unfortunately, many open-minded individuals who would love to live by “judge not lest ye be judged” or “love your neighbor as yourself” are faced with the church’s “unadapted rules” that preach judgement and intolerance. In fact, in many cases, assertions of the church represent outright hypocrisy. I would dare (correct me if I’m wrong, Kevin) to say that this is where he sees the beneficial messages and teachings of the church as being weighed down.
If the church were REALLY and TRULY teaching to follow the ten commandments, love without condition, give your other cheek when slapped the first time, and save judgment for the creator–no problem. But that is not something that is unilaterally true.
Just because someone does not have the same point of view as you do, does not mean that they are saying “nothing.” It was a reflective piece, not a research paper, and you make yourself look silly asking for percentages of good priests by the author’s estimation.
What did Kevin say except that the church doesn’t fit his idea of what it should be and he is unhappy that it does not change fast enough.
Kevin should stop waiting for the church to change to his liking before he returns. It is up to him to take the first step. He would be welcomed back. He should be willing to accept that he doesn’t have all the answers and the church really does not expect him to.
As to your first paragraph: Um…yeah. I think that was the gist. Which isn’t nothing, it is actually a big disconnect for a younger, more liberal generation who would like to worship god without the misogynistic, homophobic, or hypocritical undertones of antiquated policies.
Younger generations are not news to the church. As Keven points out, “The church is not in danger of dying”. The generations that declare that they are the enlightend ones soon pass into history. The church, for all it’s imperfections, continues to proclaim the glory of Christ.
The pope………just another guy that has guilt, regrets and yes prays to our god for forgiveness. why must we place him up on a mountain as we do god when he is just another human being that god created? the pope may pray more than most and yes he may go to church and give more to humankind than most (except Ghandi)……….but, he’s just another creation of god like you and i. just like abraham, jacob and david. we all fall short…even the pope.
we put so much faith in one person ‘the pope’ to forgive, anoint and heal us, when we should be placing our faith in the real person…the spirit of god. HE is the devine mystery who can save us from destructing this world and each other.
forget the pope, concentrate on the devine one who can help us, help each other.
As you wrote Kevin, “Evolution, a fact if not for the scientific fallacy that things can only be disproved, dictates that the “most fit” survive.” I believe , to a degree, in this theory…the most ‘physically’ and ‘mentally’ fit do survive this world, BUT, there is a world hereafter. And those who survive or make it into that world are chosen! God thru his divine intervention said that we don’t choose Him, but He chooses us.
Think about that!
Way to go John W! I couldn’t have said it better. God is AWESOME! He has been there my entire life, step by step. I felt his hand gently tug me in, when I would take a detour, as any good parent would do for a child they love. LOVE is unconditional. All we have to do is accept it. The problem, in most cases, is that we feel as though we are not worthy of unconditional love. WELL we are. We are because we are all made of his likeness, and when HE makes something there are no flaws. God doesn’t make junk. He makes Gold and we are all Gold. Please don’t be misled by the disguised. You are worthy. You are Gold. You have a purpose.
All you need to know in this world is WHO you are, WHERE you originated from, and WHAT your purpose is in this life. If you know those answers, you’ve reached life to its fullest!