Forgive Us Our Trespasses
This post was sparked by a recent news headline. Apparently, the Pope has upheld the catholic church's policy on celibacy for priests. Of course, you'd have to assume that they had been celibate for that to really work. And, well, there's just so darned much evidence to the contrary.
I suppose if they changed paths now, it would appear to be admitting that the previous policy was 'wrong'. While not completely exclusive to this country, the evidence does seem to support the fact that it's the American priests who seem to have a tougher time maintaining celibacy than their international counterparts do.
I'm no authority, but it's not as though the catholic church hasn't made changes to long-held doctrine before. They should certainly be able to address issues in the world today, without completely dismissing them or abandoning their religion altogether. I'm thinking that rampant pedophilia amongst their holiest members would certainly be high on the list of issues that need some attention.
One of our local DJ's was pondering this subject on the airwaves when I came to work this morning. He had worked through the theory that the only men who would willingly agree to a self-imposed celibacy (and thus join the priesthood) were men ashamed of their own (in their eyes) deviant homosexuality.
Men in prison certainly have the appearance of an imposed celibacy. No one can argue that that is, in part, the intent. Yet, we all know that homosexuality and rape are very real aspects of being in that situation. Human beings, like any animal, will find a way.
The promiscuity seen in our own culture in the 1920's was in direct response to the staid Victorian era. Similarly, those who were part of the summer of love were responding to the very square 1950's. Sadly, when there are cases of a society feeling a need to enforce sexual repression, things like female circumcision become acceptable.
Now, I'm not going to get into the whole thing about why women can't be priests (or I'd be frothing by the time I got done), but I've never understood why a priest couldn't be married. Certainly, other religions have been able to accept their spiritual leaders' basic human needs without imposing unrealistic expectations on them. Expectations that many priests feel are a significant burden to bear.
I'm not foolish enough to think that something as simple as allowing priests free access to 'wimmen' would allow the world to wipe their collective brows and utter a resounding "Whew!" to the messy business of inappropriate sexual conduct between priests and altar boys, but I believe (and I'm not alone here) that it would certainly alleviate a hefty percentage of the problem. Continuing with the same ineffective response to the very real problem seems entirely lacking in wisdom to me. And that stuff just boggles me brain!
I suppose I care about this at all because I have children who are members of this faith. And I'd rather that the faith incorporated a more realistic approach, rather than continuing to hold fast to long outdated traditions. Of course, people have been saying that for centuries.
I suppose if they changed paths now, it would appear to be admitting that the previous policy was 'wrong'. While not completely exclusive to this country, the evidence does seem to support the fact that it's the American priests who seem to have a tougher time maintaining celibacy than their international counterparts do.
I'm no authority, but it's not as though the catholic church hasn't made changes to long-held doctrine before. They should certainly be able to address issues in the world today, without completely dismissing them or abandoning their religion altogether. I'm thinking that rampant pedophilia amongst their holiest members would certainly be high on the list of issues that need some attention.
One of our local DJ's was pondering this subject on the airwaves when I came to work this morning. He had worked through the theory that the only men who would willingly agree to a self-imposed celibacy (and thus join the priesthood) were men ashamed of their own (in their eyes) deviant homosexuality.
Men in prison certainly have the appearance of an imposed celibacy. No one can argue that that is, in part, the intent. Yet, we all know that homosexuality and rape are very real aspects of being in that situation. Human beings, like any animal, will find a way.
The promiscuity seen in our own culture in the 1920's was in direct response to the staid Victorian era. Similarly, those who were part of the summer of love were responding to the very square 1950's. Sadly, when there are cases of a society feeling a need to enforce sexual repression, things like female circumcision become acceptable.
Now, I'm not going to get into the whole thing about why women can't be priests (or I'd be frothing by the time I got done), but I've never understood why a priest couldn't be married. Certainly, other religions have been able to accept their spiritual leaders' basic human needs without imposing unrealistic expectations on them. Expectations that many priests feel are a significant burden to bear.
I'm not foolish enough to think that something as simple as allowing priests free access to 'wimmen' would allow the world to wipe their collective brows and utter a resounding "Whew!" to the messy business of inappropriate sexual conduct between priests and altar boys, but I believe (and I'm not alone here) that it would certainly alleviate a hefty percentage of the problem. Continuing with the same ineffective response to the very real problem seems entirely lacking in wisdom to me. And that stuff just boggles me brain!
I suppose I care about this at all because I have children who are members of this faith. And I'd rather that the faith incorporated a more realistic approach, rather than continuing to hold fast to long outdated traditions. Of course, people have been saying that for centuries.
posted by SuperWife | 2:00 PM
3 Comments:
Has Catholic School been their only exposure to anything that pretends to Christianity, or has any sort of comparative religious instruction also occurred?
Seems kind of unfair to load the dice against them that way...
Nope, Nate. My parents are Baptists and they try to temper the catholicism with a little of that. I'm the one who encourages them to make up their own minds. To look at Buddism and Scientology and all the religions and let me know if they need an application...;)
Oh gee, thanks. Thanks for lumping 3,500 years of recorded human history, and all of recorded and unrecorded history before that, and a message of hope and redemption that transcends mere writing, with a get-rich-quick scheme from a washed-up science fiction writer.
Scientology is not now, nor has it ever been, a religion. It barely qualifies as a cult. I'm genuinely insulted by the association. And seriously, I'm all for comparative religion study, Christianity can only come out ahead in an honest review. But Scientology is not only a fraud, it's a dangerous, life-destroying fraud with a frighteningly high body count for its short existence. For God's, Bhudda's, Harvey the Rabbit's, and most of all for their sakes, don't expose your children to this group's scammery.
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