And He Has To Wear That Hat

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I read a recap of the Pope's Easter Mass and I truly felt sorry for the 83-year old man. It seems as if there is a movement afoot to blame the Pope for turning a blind eye to some of the, ahem, indiscretions of the Catholic priests. It's sort of like striking out and then blaming the ball, isn't it?

Who knows? Maybe the Catholic church is behind the times as they say. Perhaps it isn't normal for men and women to remain celibate for a lifetime and not go bonkers. (I know I can't hardly make it through a long weekend.)Maybe, as some say, the ones who are bonkers are the one's who join the priesthood.

Let's see what I know about this, huh?

First off, I knew plenty of priests through the years. I went to a Catholic grammar school and a private, Catholic university. I met a couple of priests who's motives seemed shaky. I was never pressured into anything untoward, but I swear one of the priests had a crush on a college buddy. I believe we worked it into a night of free beer.

I'm certain that the priest who ran the parish where I grew up was a good man - a little cranky from time-to-time, but a solid man of God. Who wouldn't be cranky given that celibacy thing? (Even a short weekend is difficult.)

Yet there were a lot of girls and boys - mere children - who were affected by the whirlwind of deceit allegedly calculated by the men and women of the cloth who couldn't keep it in their robes.

Frankly, there is no worse sort of crime. Preying on children is a sick act no matter how it is sold. Disgusting. Vile. Sinful. Worse than a plague. There should be an investigation, and those responsible should be held to task - no doubt about it. Open and shut case.

The Pope is an 83-year old man who has to wear a goofy hat and rule on all things good or evil. Did he really know all of it? Did he purposely cover things up? Or was he just trying to save face in the belly of the evil?

I guess I don't know much, other than that the original idea of organized religion that was sold to me as a child, seems a tad off somehow.

I'm not sure that my eternal salvation is tied to the size of my weekly gift. I don't really believe that my attendance in Mass is all that keeps me from entering the gates of heaven, and I know for damn sure that a bologna sandwich on a Friday during Lent isn't what will send me to hell. (There may be other things tied to that trip.)

But I felt bad for the Pope on Sunday. Easter is like the Daytona 500 of his season, and he was left answering questions about degenerates.

What is the answer? (Certainly not celibacy, huh?)

All I know is that for the first time in my life I think someone actually did piss off the Pope.

Comments

Carrie Lynn Fazzolari said…
I agree with you on all fronts... is it cuz we're siblings or because it just makes sense?
06 April, 2010
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