-I am suspicious of a Church (founded on the principles of Christ) that has a secular and political structure whose function of power is wholly undemocratic, where fundamental decisions of leadership are decided by a College of Cardinals - an elite group free of any pressure of public debate or consequential indictments by the main populace of its congregation.
-I don't support any entity that bars the ascent of women in leadership roles - undemocratic or not. How can the archaic rigidity of a patriarchal heirarchy have real progressive significance in today's world?
-I'm not inspired by rituals or faithful commitments to a life of fear, sorrow, and apology. I want to joyfully recognize the gift of life, not feel impelled to constantly apologize for the receipt of it. Is there not for gratitude in seeing our birth as one of a blessing, rather than in original sin for which we must beg for salvation through presumably therefore no fault of our own? I don't get that. It makes our God, or any Universal and unifying law seem meglomaniacal.
-It just irks me that an entity whose expressed purpose is to lead in faith and serve the poor and thus calls itself a 'church', is actually a sovereign state diplomatically known as the Holy See (which represents Vatican City). Though one of the mere 3 non-member states in the world of nations, the Holy See is an 'Observer' of the United Nations and the European Union, and its jurisdiction is recognized by "other subjects of international law" - with its own police, and military protection - the Pontifical Swiss Guard.
I find it difficult to reconcile the teachings of Jesus with the preachings of an organization that maintains a complex global administrative heirarchal ministry of clergy through whom followers must seek counsel with them as intermediaries for indulgencies, forgiveness, etc with or from the true CEOs of this corporation - The Trinity. It's inconsistent for me - as all three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are considered (even after Christendom, and according to hypostasis) mysteriously Omnipresent and thus instantly accessible to all...yes? So why the bureaucratic gates of exclusion?
-I do not like that, unlike most other international institutions with such powerful mass leadership, this Church can harbour alleged criminals of sexual violence and often avoid appropriate modes or warrants for investigations or questioning by authorities, as would be the consequences of any other organization beseiged by undenied charges of child abuse. That they still have the power to handle legal (civil and criminal) matters internally beyond just elections of their clergy and upkeep of their laws, speaks actually to their immense power. No other independent state in the international body is allowed such control. The few that function this way are referred to as fascist states barred from the international community. But then - they serve other important pycho-social purposes for keeping us in check, don't they? (See the Investiture Controversy, Simony, the Gregorian Reforms, and Fundamental Law of Vatican City State )
-It's also highly disturbing to me that while being aware of the behavioural dangers of unprotected sex and lack of birth control planning, that this institution still endorses them. The condemnation of any resistance of such rules as great sins is dangerously irresponsible in its effect on the poor, and gives the appearance to me, of a power-dependency by the church on the very populations they are credited to aid. It gives the impression that this holy organization thrives only on uncontrolled growth of a psychologically stressed and dependent population so as to remain purposeful and relevant.
I know these are harsh charges but they are not at all new or unusual; the merits of these are in the challenges this institution has suffered for centuries, and quite widely in the last decade. The Church has been emptying out with severe reductions in mass attendance, closures of schools and missionaries; its followers -rather than practicing obediently- have been turning their backs on out-dated and dangerous doctrines; and the conversion rates to the faith have steadily been dropping with most of their 1.2 billion followers being made up of members born into the faith as opposed to choosing it...unlike Islam for instance. And this doesn't even touch the dirtiest charges of them all... I mean really, when was the last time you ever heard of an adult searching for spiritual practice saying they're thinking of becoming Catholic...? People searching for mystical or spiritual meaning and ritual in their lives seem to turn to eastern philosophies and practices these days...
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| College of Cardinals | Source: Papal Conclave 2013 |
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| Francis of Assisi | Source: Wikipedia |
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| Pope Francis | Source: AP (via Yahoo) |
