Christianity has a unique gift. It absorbs local traditions and concepts and adapts them to its own uses. If you don’t think so, then I invite you to explain Easter eggs and Christmas trees to me some other way. These absorbed bits of culture have allowed the Church to ingratiate itself by seeming familiar. It is dressing up like the locals in order to get on with them better, and to use their traditions to your benefit.
Maybe that’s why the Catholic Church is busy trying on anti-semitism. And no, I do not mean they are trying to become anti-semites (some might argue they already are, though that is another article for another time). In a frightening trivialization of centuries of suffering, the Catholic Church is donning the cloak of the persecuted Jewish community. Evidently child molesters, and the men that protect them from justice, have thinner skins that I would have imagined.
Father Raniero Cantalamessa, Pope Benedict XVI’s preacher, gave the Good Friday homily in St. Peter’s Basilica this year. He stepped to the pulpit on the day that his Church says their lord and savior was crucified in order to save all of humanity and threw all that is humane under the bus. Instead of taking the chance for the Church to own all of the violence it has allowed to be done to children across the world, he instead passed the buck.
According to Father Cantalamessa there has been a “collective violence” directed towards the Catholic Church since the abhorrent, deviant sexual behavior of scores and scores of Church officials has come to light. Yes, this deranged lunatic actually thinks it is strange and unjust for the world to be mad about a century of known abuse. I stress known, as I am sure long-dead previous generations of Catholics could testify to similar abuses.
3 Comments
Great piece Theo.
Great article. Race and lack of moral fortitude are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
I am not in the habit of integrating my point of view on a website, but in this case I felt compelled to share my thoughts and feelings. In reading your article I felt uncomfortable and offended at the same time. I am an old school Catholic and have always treasured my religion. The abuse and sexual attacks on children by clergy is undeniably a horrific situation and I detest it. I do not however feel the whole church and its teaching should be put into a melting pot along with the corruption and offenses of a portion of its so called leaders. I am offended because I hold my church and my faith as the rock that has molded me in my life to become the person I am. In my opinion this is one instance where state and church should come together. Those offenders should be prosecuted for their offenses and held accountable in a court of law. Abuse and child molestation should never be protected by the church or tried by its leaders.