Warning: This is a piece written from my own views. I have researched the facts written here. I understand that this article might be offensive to some due to its personal nature and I ask that if what I’ve said does, in fact, hurt your feelings; you accept my apology in advance.
I have always considered myself among the fortunate few when it comes to religion. I was raised an Episcopalian, a faith that is jokingly referred to as “Catholic Light”. Being a member of a church that held ceremony and tradition in such high esteem, while maintaining a foothold in the modern world, was nice. My faith never told me that any other religion had it wrong. I was never told that being female left certain areas off limits (actually, my first communion or Eucharist was instructed by one, Mother Vicki). Being gay was never condemned or even discussed. Church, for me, was about my personal path to God and not about judging the lives or choices of others. It has continued to be a place of comfort and inspiration in my life, even when I’m not in regular attendance. It has also made me grateful for my religion choosing to only involve itself in my spiritual life and leave the social decisions up to me.
Perhaps because of the background of my own religion, I have always been suspicious of Catholicism. To me, it seems wrong to tell people that they can’t talk directly to God but must use intermediaries, be it priest or saint. I’ve never liked the idea of confessing my sins to a person instead of during prayer. The biggest part of why I don’t appreciate the Roman church is its tendencies to act holier-than-thou in the face of blatant evidence to the contrary. The Vatican tends to ignore what is reasonable and realistic for its members and tries to use guilt and shame to get its way.
While never a fan of the office of the Pope, I had a respect for John Paul II. His successor, on the other hand, filled me with a sense of trepidation that continues to this day. We are talking about a man who was a member of the Hitler Youth. Yes, I know that he has stated that it was against his will and such but I have a hard time believing that when he had an Italian (um, hello, Mussolini) mother and a German father who was active in local Nazi politics. Pope Benedict XVI’s representatives even tried to publicly deny these facts following his election to the Papal Seat but those denials had to be retracted due to public proof. Let’s face it; the Nazi party was not just a social culture but a popularity one, much like being a Democrat has become today. Being a member was hip and brokered acceptance, it was a status symbol to belong and participate in the Nazi agenda. But it was impossible to ignore the intolerance, hate, and violence. Knowing that this man joined in during his teenage years, I find it sickening. Benedict may publicly state that he opposed the regime but how has he proved that? Oh yeah, by admonishing those who criticize the church for their indifference during World War II and attempting to fast track the beatification (the process of making someone a Saint) for Pope Pius XII. Pius is most famous for his silence on the atrocities that occurred in Italy under Mussolini and then Germany under Hitler. He refused pleas for help from non-Catholics. He wanted the church to maintain a position of neutrality because he had signed a Concordiat (aka treaty) with a diplomat in 1933 which stated that the church would stay out of political matters in Germany. Is it no surprise that Benedict would want to make this man a saint? Mister Hitler Youth wants to beatify the only man in the world whose voice would have stretched across every nation in every language to condemn the Holocaust but who chose not to speak up because he didn’t want to rock the boat. This is where I’m going to take a deep breath and move on.
In 1940, the Vatican came out against the use of contraceptives and this Pope maintains that stance. He opposes the distribution of condoms to combat HIV/AIDS or other STD’s and has stated that it will actually inflame the problem. He believes that celibacy is the cure in every situation. This means that a Catholic man (or any man for that matter) who is infected is not allowed to use protection while having sex with his wife. Hand in hand with this is his continued support for the 1968 decree of the Church against the use of birth control for women, regardless of the health risks, nature of insemination, or financial ability to raise a child. This is meant to encourage sexual unions that will bring about life, but in all reality the decree brings about death. He refers to homosexuality as an “intrinsic moral evil”, clearly ignoring that a large portion of priests have been found to prefer sex with the same gender, as evidenced by the sexual abuse scandals around the world. On this note, Benedict, acting in his position as Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (once called the Holy Office or Director of the Inquisition) prior to being elected Pontiff worked diligently to assemble files on priests who had been accused of taking advantage of those who sat in the pews of their churches. These files were not turned over to the police but were for internal use only, though no one knows to what purpose other than to protect the guilty and save face for the Church. I am unsure how to respond to a man who encourages secret proceedings regarding the pedophiliac society that has become rampant amongst the clerics. While he inherited the problem, he has, obviously, been a church leader for the last forty years with considerable influence and yet chose not to punish those offenders. Enabling further offenses by approving the shuffling around of the guilty parties to new churches after allegations arose and preventing law enforcement authorities from access to records of prior crimes. At one point, he even issued an edict saying that those children who spoke out against the church as victims should be considered for excommunication.
Benedict has other faults. In 1997, while still a Cardinal, Benedict stated that over the next century Buddhism would be the main “enemy” of the Catholic Church. He opposes all genetic research that could save lives and I don’t just mean stem cells. He has openly stated that a person either agrees with science or theology but cannot support both. He refuses to allow women into seminary to train for priesthood or other positions of power within the church. He has said that no person should elect a public official who was agreeable in every way if they supported abortion and he went so far as to say these politicians should even be prevented from receiving Holy Communion. He has said the following about children’s fantasy books: “these are subtle seductions which act imperceptibly and thereby deeply, and dissolve Christianity in the soul before it can grow properly.” Benedict has even gone so far as to this day support the trial and subsequent imprisonment of Galileo during the Inquisition for heresy when his scientific views contradicted Church doctrine.
He continues to refuse to recognize other religions’ leaders as his spiritual equals. Benedict has already started trying to recruit Anglican priests into the Catholic faith by “forgiving” them for their marriages and children. Since divorce is forbidden in the church, he can’t insist that these men cast off their families but he has encouraged that they take the vows of celibacy that all other newly ordained Catholic priests must swear to. Despite the fact that the average age of the clergy is sixty, Benedict is not leading the church into the 21st century but is instead sticking to the archaic rules of old. One of the major points of ancient law is the limiting freedoms. First is speech because the Vatican doesn’t tolerate even the most minor of disagreements with their views, most notably within Italian borders. Second is the Pope’s encouragement of universities limiting material that is available to students; in particular that which is deemed blasphemous or offensive by the church.
I suppose that I find the largest crime of Pope Benedict XVI to be that he has no desire to make his faith relatable in the modern world. He continues to take steps backwards due to his desire to take Catholicism towards a more traditional standpoint, circa the 1700’s by all appearances. The Vatican and the Pope have one of the loudest and most influential voices in the world. When that is used to combat social issues in remote regions on the basis of religious dogma instead of personal well being, I cringe. Having Catholic priests in Uganda support a bill against gay and lesbian rights that promotes “corrective rape” (the idea is that a man rapes a lesbian and she will no longer be gay) and even has a death penalty clause for those living with HIV; it is enraging. I wish this were an isolated incident but, in truth, it isn’t. Other countries have similar laws on their books and the church continues their bigotry, I mean support.
Religion isn’t just supposed to be a dogma to tell people what they can and cannot do. It is supposed to act as a moral compass for each person. It is to provide strength, wisdom, and encouragement for the believers. Catholicism is the largest of the world’s churches. It has amassed wealth and influence more than any government in history. With the right leader, the Vatican could act as a shepherd to modernize their flock and guide them. Instead the leadership elected a Pontiff that doesn’t care about being reasonably responsible. He doesn’t care about the social pressures or even mortality risks that his edicts have. Benedict XVI has proven that he doesn’t care about the consequences of Catholic policies. In this man’s world there is only black and white, no grey, when it comes to his version of right and wrong. After all, who cares if millions will be abused or even die? The most important thing is that congregants continue to tithe and the Pope stands his ground because God forbid, such a man be considered fallible or hell, just blatantly wrong about so many things.
