I got involved in "the church struggle" because I passionately loved the essence of Catholicism from the moment I was born into it. Perhaps I'm not as unusual as I like to think I am, in that I wasn't affected at all negatively by Catholicism as a child or young person. Except to say I observed with great sadness the heaviness my grandparents generation carried from being taught it was a sin to have self esteem. Or to love making love with their husbands.
From a small child, almost all my internal life revolved around Catholicism. It was my secret love and my passionate obsession, as I am unashamed to say it still is. The knowledge that the mother of Jesus has appeared to little children and that this beautiful soul, her son, has defeated death and makes magic every day even in my own little life, is a solid cedar ship within which I have sailed oceans both beautiful and terrible all my life and I never want to get off no matter what the weather.
So because I believe, I thought it was worth risking all my soul in the struggle to persuade the Vatican to honour the body of Christ and our beautiful church by standing down and requesting prosecution for those in leadership who turned their back on Christ when he manifested in those who were raped, assaulted, molested abused and humiliated. And when he manifested also in the loved ones of those victims.
I thought the Vatican might be moved eventually, if enough people kept up the pressure. But after over 30 years of knowledge and pressure, at Christmas pope Benedict addressed his cardinals on the matter using the following words: "in the 1970s it was theorized that pedophillia was fully in conformity with man and and with children." He went on to say "nothing was considered either good or evil in itself." I can tell you that's not what the chemist told my granny when she asked for condoms.
His point apparently was to say that there was no more of an accepting attitude of pedophilia within the church than there was in secular society. Nonsense of course to suggest that after laws against pedophilia were enacted in the late 1800s anyone theorized it as acceptable. And there can never have been a child on earth who felt even slightly in conformity with pedophilia. Hardly needs stating that Jesus Christ would never have been in conformity either.
When I heard those words I knew there was no point fighting any more. There is no hope of morality or a fiery cleansing of the Vatican from within on this issue of respect for Christ. Only a headset entirely bereft of morality could have made such an astounding remark. And clearly a phalanx of lawyers added to this lack of morality means those of us who were fighting for a cleansed Vatican may as well throw down our arms. My dead mother has more chance of releasing her debut album.
However, while there are zillions of us who do not identify with the current Vatican's manifest definition of Catholicism, we still identify with the beautiful essence of the Catholicism we grew up with. But the child is being drowned, and the bathwater needs to get thrown out. And no one at the Vatican is going to do that. So we're going to have to run in and rescue the baby and raise it ourselves.
We must now start a provisional alternative Catholic Church for all, including present Catholic clergy, who have been let down and disillusioned and who want to see a Catholic Church which honours Christ with truth, honours the sacraments and the people's spiritual needs, has no hierarchy and does not dictate who God can love or not love. Nor whom can be in or out. Nor whether a woman is fit for Christ to make himself manifest through in priesthood. Nor whether the sacrament of sacred marriage and the comfort of children and grandchildren should be denied to priests.
In history, people move. They create what they feel they deserve. Times change.
I don't know how, or what, I just know we need a new Catholic Church. If we stick to the sacraments and honor them fully, the rest will follow. (Allow me to point out that the Catholic hierarchies' refusals to be publicly questioned on abuse and instead using the Mass as a platform is a gross disrespect of the sacrament of Mass). The rest of how to organize it, I mean, we can make it up as we go along. But if we don't start it will not happen. At least until our children or their children make it happen, which they will.
I ask please this Easter that we consider moving the stone away from the tomb and let the man out. He taught us to fear nothing on earth. And that prayer will give us answers. So, let's pray that we may have the courage to build ourselves a new church. Let whomever wants to stay with the current church stay gladly. But let those of us that want something different create something different. And may God inspire and embolden us and give us faith and strength. But above all give us love. For Christ and for each other that we may work together and make something beautiful which will be a thanksgiving to God, an honouring of Jesus, a fit house for The Holy Spirit and a comfort to us.
Sinéad O'Connor: Some Burning Questions for the Pope
Sinéad O'Connor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sinead O'Connor Calls for Catholic Boycott - NYTimes.com
Time to hear Pope Benedict's confession - The Washington Post ...
Sinead O'Connor on the Catholic Church - Anderson Cooper 360 ...
YouTube - Sinead O'Connor on Catholic Church Abuse Scandal
Sinead O'Connor Faces Off With Catholic Flack Over Pedophilia ...
Do not forget the evils that these priests have done; should they be punished for their crimes against humanity? Yes.
Do not forget the evils that our leaders have done in their inaction throughout the past. As Roman Catholic Christians, it is our DUTY to forgive even when it is most difficult - we are called to forgive as God forgives. When we have failed to do this, we have failed as a Church. Jesus' underlying message is one of forgiveness - when we have failed to forgive, we have failed to be disciples of Christ. Forgiveness is and will be hard, yes. But it is never impossible. With faith, we have the ability to overcome all obstacles.
Hold onto your One Holy Catholic faith, and you will, no doubt, by the power of the Most Holy Eucharist be able to change the world for all eternity.
I am offended by the evil done by these priests and the inaction by the authorities, But where else can I go? Eucharist heals and sustains me regardless of the failings of the Church.
What I am most troubled by is the question of how men who almost daily offer the body and blood of Christ to us could do such evil. This I don’t understand. If the life-giving Eucharist transformed my life and saved me from the grip of sin, why did it not also set them free? Who are these people? and how did they become priests?
Please consider the context of Pope Benedict’s remarks. The entire address can be found here:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2010/december/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20101220_curia-auguri_en.html
He was not trying to excuse the actions of predatory priests. He was describing the cultural context of those crimes – the permissive and relativistic theories of morality the prevailed in the 1970’s during which these evil acts had their genesis. This was not an excuse, but an indictment. This is what he had to say about pedophile priests in the same address:
“The face of the Church is stained with dust, and this is how we have seen it. Her garment is torn – by the sins of priests. . . . We must accept this humiliation as an exhortation to truth and a call to renewal. Only the truth saves. We must ask ourselves what we can do to repair as much as possible the injustice that has occurred. We must ask ourselves what was wrong in our proclamation, in our whole way of living the Christian life, to allow such a thing to happen. We must discover a new resoluteness in faith and in doing good. We must be capable of doing penance. We must be determined to make every possible effort in priestly formation to prevent anything of the kind from happening again.”
This sounds like a call to renewal to me.
Might I suggest Anglicanism ;P.
Isn't that a bit like if you had sex with your wife and instead of having sex with your wife there would be this "priest person" (or "Sinead-person") having sex with your wife and then that person would come to you explaining what is like to have sex with your wife. And I'm not that big fan of group sex either. It 's an intimate thing.
I think every church and religion is this world is like a golden cupboard. And if the Holy Spirit was a bird they just want to lock it inside. That was not their original intention. Nor is it Sinéad's I believe - that's just they way it always ends. Always. But good luck with it.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again
Great post dgr, you posted your favorite fairy tale and now I posted mine. Let's keep this going.
Who is Christ talking to here? It's not like he's giving it to a random object. -- just a thought.
I believe you are right that the Church needs to get on with honesty.
We are admitting to only the bottom level of a world that has all gone away to the thousandth floor... because it is the only way to stand a chance for survival here on the bottom level.
You don't believe in Zeus, Thor, or Horus any longer. Why cling to belief in a 6,000 year old god from the bronze age?
http://www.sevenstarhand.org/press.html
The Vatican's days are numbered because the truth has broken out of its cage and gone on a rampage, seeking long overdue justice.
Here is Wisdom...
Phariseeism represents the nadir of all religions; functioning as a cancerous growth which drains energy from the once virtuous purposes of the RCChurch and ultimately consumes the organism itself.
The fact that you're still willing to speak truth on the subject of catholicism is marvelous.
I really just want to say I wish you all the best.
I agree with you when you say:
"In history, people move. They create what they feel they deserve. Times change."
I disagree with your premise that the right religion can take us into a better future. All religions are holding us back, whether it's traditional Catholicism, alternative Catholicism, some other brand of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, paganism, so-called "un-religious spirituality" (which is just a currently-fashionable form of Protestantism) or what have you. Today's task is not finding the best religion, it's moving past all of them, recognizing that they are outmoded and have done their part, and doing better than we could with any religion. Recognizing that belief in God was, at best, a coping mechanism, one we don't need any more.
How do you excuse this quote: How wonderful this myth of christ has served us Poe Leo X