Catholicism, in three parts...
Mar. 29th, 2011 03:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altarflameCharity, gay people, molestation.
1. The last couple of weeks at church/RCIA, I have been really struck by the charity of Catholics. I've been on the receiving end of this, too, when I was younger, and moved by it when I read about the grand-scale giving of Mother Theresa, but just what I see at St Louis is awesome. All the people who bake a casserole once a week and come and drop it off so that volunteers can deliver them all over town, to low income families who need help having enough to eat. The whole battalion of people directing every person who comes asking for help to every resource the community and parish have to offer. The huge festivals that massive amounts of money and time go into where all profits go directly to local shelters. It is just amazing how seriously they take it all and I am blown away by all the good work being done. Catholic Hospice serving people of all (or no) faiths, without trying to influence anyone. It goes on and on. I was thinking to myself week before last that even if they were completely wrong in their religious convictions, it's still a hell of a lot better - prayer, meditation, celebrating mass and helping others as much as possible - as a coping mechanism than what most people are doing. I'm really proud to be a part of that community.
2. I read this really interesting article about how Catholics are the biggest supporters of gay marriage in the US. "Seventy-four per cent of Catholics are in favour of either same-sex marriage or civil unions for gays, compared with 64% of the general population and 67% of white mainline Protestants." Full article here: http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/03/28/catholics-more-likely-to-support-gay-marriage-than-other-christians-u-s-in-general-study/
I believe this is because being Catholic forces you to think about gay marriage more than someone who was not part of a group who is so politically embroiled, and you (or most people) just CAN'T think about this much without being in favor.
3. In complete contrast to the rest of this entry, here is a horrible story about a priest who was molesting kids for several decades: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/us/29jesuit.html?_r=1&hp Now, I have to say, it really really bothers me the way the media makes it seem like MOST priests are sex abusers or like more priests than, say, doctors or teachers are abusing kids - it is really blown out of proportion and that bothers me. HOWEVER...the institutional cover up is unforgiveable in my mind, and disgusting on a whole other level. I have a really hard time with it.
All of this brings the whole Catholic paradox sharply into focus for me; that is, that individual Catholics and actual Catholic beliefs can both be pretty awesome, but the institution itself has some major, terrible issues - and when you sign on, you're pledging allegience and support to the institution. Yet...without the institution, there are no individuals or defined beliefs. World without end, amen :/
The parish community I'm a part of is AMAZING...but I don't have to BE CATHOLIC to be a part of it, I just have to join the church - which I've already done. It's the actual tranformation to align myself with Rome and all that keeps making me feel hesitant and kind of freaked. Even though I have this hunger to fully participate in the parish community, which you can only do by aligning yourself with Rome. Round and round.
1. The last couple of weeks at church/RCIA, I have been really struck by the charity of Catholics. I've been on the receiving end of this, too, when I was younger, and moved by it when I read about the grand-scale giving of Mother Theresa, but just what I see at St Louis is awesome. All the people who bake a casserole once a week and come and drop it off so that volunteers can deliver them all over town, to low income families who need help having enough to eat. The whole battalion of people directing every person who comes asking for help to every resource the community and parish have to offer. The huge festivals that massive amounts of money and time go into where all profits go directly to local shelters. It is just amazing how seriously they take it all and I am blown away by all the good work being done. Catholic Hospice serving people of all (or no) faiths, without trying to influence anyone. It goes on and on. I was thinking to myself week before last that even if they were completely wrong in their religious convictions, it's still a hell of a lot better - prayer, meditation, celebrating mass and helping others as much as possible - as a coping mechanism than what most people are doing. I'm really proud to be a part of that community.
2. I read this really interesting article about how Catholics are the biggest supporters of gay marriage in the US. "Seventy-four per cent of Catholics are in favour of either same-sex marriage or civil unions for gays, compared with 64% of the general population and 67% of white mainline Protestants." Full article here: http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/03/28/catholics-more-likely-to-support-gay-marriage-than-other-christians-u-s-in-general-study/
I believe this is because being Catholic forces you to think about gay marriage more than someone who was not part of a group who is so politically embroiled, and you (or most people) just CAN'T think about this much without being in favor.
3. In complete contrast to the rest of this entry, here is a horrible story about a priest who was molesting kids for several decades: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/us/29jesuit.html?_r=1&hp Now, I have to say, it really really bothers me the way the media makes it seem like MOST priests are sex abusers or like more priests than, say, doctors or teachers are abusing kids - it is really blown out of proportion and that bothers me. HOWEVER...the institutional cover up is unforgiveable in my mind, and disgusting on a whole other level. I have a really hard time with it.
All of this brings the whole Catholic paradox sharply into focus for me; that is, that individual Catholics and actual Catholic beliefs can both be pretty awesome, but the institution itself has some major, terrible issues - and when you sign on, you're pledging allegience and support to the institution. Yet...without the institution, there are no individuals or defined beliefs. World without end, amen :/
The parish community I'm a part of is AMAZING...but I don't have to BE CATHOLIC to be a part of it, I just have to join the church - which I've already done. It's the actual tranformation to align myself with Rome and all that keeps making me feel hesitant and kind of freaked. Even though I have this hunger to fully participate in the parish community, which you can only do by aligning yourself with Rome. Round and round.
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no subject
Date: 2011-03-29 12:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-31 04:12 am (UTC)So when you say that "Seventy-four per cent of Catholics are in favour of either same-sex marriage or civil unions for gays" that just doesn't make Catholics look good to my non-Catholic thinking. To me, that seems hypocritical. That means that 74% of Catholics have a belief system that is independent of their church, and instead of breaking away from the church to do what they feel is right, they stick with the church and condone the church's practice of trying to block gay marriage. And I could say the same thing about birth control. So many Catholics use birth control, yet the church lobbied against the pill to try to stop it from becoming available and to this day they try to limit birth control access to the general public. Obviously, the members of the church think it's just fine to use birth control, because people like you and like my relatives talk openly about doing so. Yet instead of the members standing up for what they believe to be right, they go along with the church in trying to limit women's access to birth control.
And that brings me to the other thing I don't understand about Catholics. If the Catholic church believes that gay marriage is wrong, then I understand why they would try to convince their members not to do it. And, that is then the choice of those members whether or not they want to be Catholic and not be married or fully accepted in their religion, or whether they want to leave the church and can be married and fully accepted. But, why do they try to stop the general public from doing it? What difference is it to them if two gay people get married or not if they are not Catholic? Those people might be protestant, or Buddhist, or Jewish, or atheist. If they are not Catholic then they don't have to follow the morals of the Catholic church and are not under the jurisdiction of the Catholic church, so why does the Catholic church feel a need to prevent other people who are of no consequence to them from marrying the same sex, or using birth control? To do so seems like arrogance. They feel that they have the right way and all the other religions or unbelievers have it wrong. Yet their own members think they are wrong! It just seems so confusing and crazy to me. No wonder you are struggling!