Monday, February 18, 2013

Pope acts responsibly - Catholic Church should update policies!


Pope Benedict, the former German Cardinal Ratzinger, is breaking new ground for the Catholic Church.  Being the first Pope to step aside for his successor instead of waiting for death on the job in more than 700 years has earned him my respect once again. The previous time was when he “officially” recognized evolution as factual.  On the seriously bad side of issues is his previous work in the Vatican on the cases of pedophilia which protected clerical predators for far too long and did not deal with the proper punishment.

Since being celibate not only invites predatory behavior, but is also NOT an issue of faith, but is rooted in the fact that the Catholic Church did not want priest’s inheritance to be passed down to their children and so decided that the money and all belongings have to stay in the church. The Bible was searched for passages that would support this and with this excuse the celibate lifestyle was instituted.  Since celibacy is not really a faith based issue, there seems to be room for improvement. The clergy of previous centuries, including popes, lived a quite sexually infused lifestyle, so that the claimed issue of "not being distracted from GOD" does not really apply. The Catholic Church should be rich enough by now to be able to ordain Priests who are allowed to get married (instead of just living with their housekeepers) and instead of hiding their children in monasteries in Italy, those kids could be elevated from “bastards who were born out of wedlock” to church approved children who can grow up in a loving family.  The irony of it all is that these children are currently being denied priesthood by the same church that put them in this position in the first place.

Another topic that is currently on the radar is the immigration policy of the US.  The right wing is torpedoing as good as they can any effort to help keep families together, to help people out of the shadows, and to openly contribute to our country.  This is not a message that Jesus would approve of, so if you really feel that strongly about it, do not advertise yourself as being a Christian. You are definitely not a follower, you are not even a fan of Jesus.  It is sad and despicable that right wing politicians use "the Church" as a tool to get elected, since they do not subscribe to any of Jesus' messages. Jesus message was the message of love, not of hate. So please stop pretending otherwise.  Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  Jesus was by our standards a socialist and pacifist.  Here are my favorite commandments and bible quotes that deal with these issues. And please be aware that every human being is your neighbor:

1.    Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
  2.   Love your neighbor as yourself.
 
  3.   Honor your father and your mother.
 
  4.    You shall not kill.
 
  5.    You shall not commit adultery.
 
  6.    You shall not steal.
 
  7.    You shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
 
  8.    You shall not covet anything that is thy neighbor's.
 
  9.   Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
 


Jesus said:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  (Matthew 22:36-40)

You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew 5:43)

 [Romans 13:8-11] Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.