left; Not a women amongst them when the pope meets with bishops to discuss the child abuse crimes and cover ups.
We have had a number of articles on this blog on the Catholic Church. Some of us who have written these have said that we did not see how people, especially women, could be members of this organization. Some of our readers thought this was a bit harsh and one sided. I do not think that our criticisms were too harsh. This is a vicious undemocratic corrupt capitalist male dominated organization. However I would like to consider were our comments a bit one sided when it comes to taking into account the sensitivities of rank and file members of the Catholic Church.
There was an article in the Chicago Tribune August 4th which helps us consider this. It is by Sheila O'Brien, described as "wife, mother, daughter, sister,a product of 22 years of Catholic education and active in her parish. She is a justice of the Illinois Appellate Court." The headline in the Tribune; "Excommunicate me, please," are her words. She goes on to explain her thinking and feelings.
She writes how her Irish grandparents taught her "to love the gospel." She writes how she loves the "mass, Catholic social teaching." How the Catholic Church is her "life, the center of every experience, the filter for reality. She goes on: "But the headlines continue - more pedophilia, more stone walling by the Bishops, more 'norms' from Rome protecting perpetrators. Now it is a 'crime' of the church to attempt to ordain people like Mother Theresa or St. Theresa of Avila - women. And the hierarchy who have arguably hidden crimes and criminals, who will not open the books so we can see where our money has gone and who always claim the moral high ground, have grouped ordaining women with pedophilia. Our heads swirl. How can we stay in a church whose leaders protect pedophiles? Yet how can we leave and relinquish our church to those very leaders?
We have a financial remedy - write 'one time bequest' on your parish contribution check and all the money will stay in your parish; none will go downtown. Do it. This will stop the spigot of money to the hierarchy and may get their attention. But, it doesn't salve our consciences about how to live the gospel in an institution off the rails. We watch the Bishops ignore recommendations from fellow catholics who served on an abuse panel. We have waited for the civil authorities to empanel grand juries and bring indictments but that has not happened. .... So each person must decide: cutting off the money but with little hope for change or leave. Both options are spiritually and emotionally exhausting.
That is why, silly as it sounds, formal excommunication by the hierarchy would be a welcome relief. If they could just make the decision for me, give me a piece of paper that says, "you are out," it would free my conscience of all of this." This women goes on and writes:"Would someone in Rome formally excommunicate me, please? I want to be excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church because walking away will break my heart."
I can see how this woman would feel trapped. She has her whole life of being indoctrinated by the Catholic hierarchy. She has her whole life of participating in the addictive drama of the mass, the music, the rituals, the traditions, the colors of the churches and the vestments, the assurances of the hierarchy. It is not easy. But this women herself knows that she should not be in the Catholic Church. She says so. It is just that she does not have the strength to leave it. I feel we are right in saying to this woman and to others like her that she should act on her feelings and beliefs and not hope that Rome will help her out. She should take the decision herself and leave this organization.
I think while being sensitive to their plight, we are right to advocate that people and especially women should not be members of this organization. Speaking personally here I do not believe in any god. So for this reason i do not believe anybody should be a member of any church.
But on another note on which I will only touch. People need more than bread. In building our movement to change the world we have to recognize this. We have to recognize that people yearn for solidarity and the spiritual nurturing of solidarity. In building our movement we should make sure that there are regular comings together with music, dance, sharing, laughter and the expression of awe and respect that is warranted by nature and life around us. The socialist movement needs a program, needs a strategy, needs tactics, needs an organization but it also as part of its evolution needs to nurture the other parts of us that are touched by coming together to share, by music, by the spiritual nurturing of solidarity, by dance laughter awe and respect at our world. If we do not do this then organizations like the Catholic Church will exploit these yearnings for its own ends and in particular to keep in place the present system.
Sean.
There was an article in the Chicago Tribune August 4th which helps us consider this. It is by Sheila O'Brien, described as "wife, mother, daughter, sister,a product of 22 years of Catholic education and active in her parish. She is a justice of the Illinois Appellate Court." The headline in the Tribune; "Excommunicate me, please," are her words. She goes on to explain her thinking and feelings.
She writes how her Irish grandparents taught her "to love the gospel." She writes how she loves the "mass, Catholic social teaching." How the Catholic Church is her "life, the center of every experience, the filter for reality. She goes on: "But the headlines continue - more pedophilia, more stone walling by the Bishops, more 'norms' from Rome protecting perpetrators. Now it is a 'crime' of the church to attempt to ordain people like Mother Theresa or St. Theresa of Avila - women. And the hierarchy who have arguably hidden crimes and criminals, who will not open the books so we can see where our money has gone and who always claim the moral high ground, have grouped ordaining women with pedophilia. Our heads swirl. How can we stay in a church whose leaders protect pedophiles? Yet how can we leave and relinquish our church to those very leaders?
We have a financial remedy - write 'one time bequest' on your parish contribution check and all the money will stay in your parish; none will go downtown. Do it. This will stop the spigot of money to the hierarchy and may get their attention. But, it doesn't salve our consciences about how to live the gospel in an institution off the rails. We watch the Bishops ignore recommendations from fellow catholics who served on an abuse panel. We have waited for the civil authorities to empanel grand juries and bring indictments but that has not happened. .... So each person must decide: cutting off the money but with little hope for change or leave. Both options are spiritually and emotionally exhausting.
That is why, silly as it sounds, formal excommunication by the hierarchy would be a welcome relief. If they could just make the decision for me, give me a piece of paper that says, "you are out," it would free my conscience of all of this." This women goes on and writes:"Would someone in Rome formally excommunicate me, please? I want to be excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church because walking away will break my heart."
I can see how this woman would feel trapped. She has her whole life of being indoctrinated by the Catholic hierarchy. She has her whole life of participating in the addictive drama of the mass, the music, the rituals, the traditions, the colors of the churches and the vestments, the assurances of the hierarchy. It is not easy. But this women herself knows that she should not be in the Catholic Church. She says so. It is just that she does not have the strength to leave it. I feel we are right in saying to this woman and to others like her that she should act on her feelings and beliefs and not hope that Rome will help her out. She should take the decision herself and leave this organization.
I think while being sensitive to their plight, we are right to advocate that people and especially women should not be members of this organization. Speaking personally here I do not believe in any god. So for this reason i do not believe anybody should be a member of any church.
But on another note on which I will only touch. People need more than bread. In building our movement to change the world we have to recognize this. We have to recognize that people yearn for solidarity and the spiritual nurturing of solidarity. In building our movement we should make sure that there are regular comings together with music, dance, sharing, laughter and the expression of awe and respect that is warranted by nature and life around us. The socialist movement needs a program, needs a strategy, needs tactics, needs an organization but it also as part of its evolution needs to nurture the other parts of us that are touched by coming together to share, by music, by the spiritual nurturing of solidarity, by dance laughter awe and respect at our world. If we do not do this then organizations like the Catholic Church will exploit these yearnings for its own ends and in particular to keep in place the present system.
Sean.
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