At some point, the leadership of the Catholic church needs to decide what it wants to be when it grows up. The church leadership has enabled pedophiles, and they're currently embracing a Holocaust revisionist, but the LA Times reports today that they draw the line at inviting the President of the United States to a graduation ceremony. They look ridiculous. Why don't they just admit that they're Republicans. They serve conservative politics, not the Lord. Well, they also serve themselves (and possibly someone a lot lower), otherwise they wouldn't be enabling pedophiles and Holocaust deniers. Oh for the days when a man of the cloth actually cared about doing good.
First of all, let's just establish for the record that Catholicism is not the enemy, nor is it the problem. I'm no fan of Catholicism, but even I'm willing to admit that the problem isn't with Catholicism- it's with the clueless, out of touch, celibate males more concerned with preserving their own power and influence than with preserving and promulgating the teachings of Jesus Christ.
In between ensuring that their own primacy remains unchallenged and unquestioned and protecting priests who are more pedophiles than servants of the Lord, the Vatican has managed to turn itself into a corrupt and venal parody of itself. This isn't exactly news, nor is it a recent phenomenon. The Catholic Church has always been as much about the teachings of Jesus Christ as Rush Limbaugh is about altruism and bipartisanship. As long as the Church is able to keep large numbers of believers under their thumb, they'll be able to maintain a position of power and influence that far outstrips anything they deserve.
The "controversy" at Notre Dame about inviting President Obama to speak at it's graduation is only the latest example of Catholic hypocrisy and intolerance. The Church, which has always styled itself as nonpartisan and above politics, is in fact a bastion of intolerant, far-Right Conservative ideology, intolerant of dissent and demanding of total, blind obendience (et tu, Bill Donohue??). In the eyes of the Church, Obama's support of abortion rights is an abomination- yet George W. Bush's support of torture and an immoral war in Iraq is perfectly justifiable. This is not Christianity. I don't necessarily know what it is, but it's not the loving, tolerant, charitable version of Christianity I was raised to believe was what it was all about. Why does the story of Jesus overturning the moneychangers' table in the temple come to mind?
If there was any honesty in play here, Catholics would admit that the faux controversy at Notre Dame is about their frustration over President Obama's refusal to hew to their narrow, intolerant world view. The idea that political leaders can (and do) hold divergent views is generally anathema to those unaccustomed to thinking- must less tolerating- "dangerous" or "subversive" thoughts. Clueless, intolerant, celibate males in white robes and funny hats have decreed that Catholics should jump. Ergo, he only acceptable question is "How high?"
Having hijacked a perfectly serviceable religion, the Vatican isn't satisfied with merely building a sheep-like, blindly obedient following. To be honest, there's little "service" involved in the Vatican's primary mission, which is to preserve and maintain it's own primacy and political power. It's about power and control. This means keeping Catholics worldwide in thrall through fear of everlasting damnation and guilt over thinking for themselves instead of blindly following Church doctrine. Instead of being allowed to question their spirituality and it's role in the world, Catholics are force-fed a narrow, intolerant doctrine that provides a one-size-fits-all prescription for ensuring the Vatican's continued power and control.
What Would Jesus Do? Somehow, I think He'd be kicking @$$ and taking names....
