Is the Pope Catholic?
I remember my first day of Catholic grammar school as if it were yesterday. The nun lined us up against the blackboard and had us all say our names out loud.
I was scared out of my mind.
I had never seen anyone dressed as she was. I didn't know that she really talked like a real person. She had a huge cross hanging around her neck and she said that she was married to God.
Then the priest came through and we introduced ourselves to him. He was also dressed up in a long gown that I swore was a dress. He spoke about God, the Bishop, and the Pope. Over the course of time we were introduced to each on a daily basis.
It always felt like play-acting to me.
Yet through the years I certainly bought into all of it. I bought in so much, in fact, that I wore a gown right alongside the priest as an altar boy.
I was happy to do it. When I mention it to my boys they point and laugh as though I must have been molested.
Thankfully I wasn't. But I could have been, I suppose, and that's horrific.
The Catholic Church has certainly taken a lot of hits since the time I was ringing those little bells and holding up the container of wine.
And rightfully so.
Yet there wasn't a lot of social media back in the early 70's.
I believed that the pope was the holiest of all men and that he received instructions from God...you know, like Murdering Ray, and Timmy Tebow, and George W.
Turns out the gowns and all that were just costumes. The men beneath the costumes weren't extra special holy men in a lot of regards, and those nuns sure packed a wallop as I discovered after my shyness wore off and I put on my Fuzzy hat permanently.
And to be honest with you, it's still a struggle for me.
When the social media blew up as the Pope stepped down because of old age, I sort of felt like defending the old guy.
And then it hit me that the Catholic church did the same sort of thing that so infuriated me about Penn State, and that they did it on a much grander scale.
They did it hundreds of times.
On purpose.
I still go to church regularly, but the whole costume party sort of pisses me off now.
The priest stood before me at a recent mass and cried poverty because the church had less than ten grand in savings.
"We'd like if everyone gave $500," he said. "This is your church."
And what if I didn't contribute?
Would I burn in hell for all of eternity?
The shame of it being that there are a lot of people who think that way. Older people seem to really buy into the financial struggles of the guy in the dress.
And the office of the Pope seems sort of out of touch to me. The world isn't the same place. What are the official stands?
Gays are bad. Abortion is a mortal sin of epic proportions...but molesting boys gets you a trip to a new parish?
Priests and nuns must abstain. Birth control is the devils work. Divorce gets you excommunicated, but fiddle with little Tommy and we'll make you a cardinal?
I've always believed in the community of the church. I guess that comes from being lined up against a blackboard on my first day of first grade, but through the years I've tried so hard to get rid of the guilt associated with just living, and sinning, and trying to do my best even though I was scared out of my mind.
I have faith.
I have belief.
I have love.
I don't judge others because of what they believe. I don't excommunicate loving people who may have made a mistake. I don't condone sexual molestation of little boys and girls. I recognize that people make huge mistakes sometimes and that they should be forgiven, but not without first paying the price, and not without atoning for those sins.
I suppose I just got tired of the costume party.
And to my ultimate surprise, I don't feel guilty about it.
I was scared out of my mind.
I had never seen anyone dressed as she was. I didn't know that she really talked like a real person. She had a huge cross hanging around her neck and she said that she was married to God.
Then the priest came through and we introduced ourselves to him. He was also dressed up in a long gown that I swore was a dress. He spoke about God, the Bishop, and the Pope. Over the course of time we were introduced to each on a daily basis.
It always felt like play-acting to me.
Yet through the years I certainly bought into all of it. I bought in so much, in fact, that I wore a gown right alongside the priest as an altar boy.
I was happy to do it. When I mention it to my boys they point and laugh as though I must have been molested.
Thankfully I wasn't. But I could have been, I suppose, and that's horrific.
The Catholic Church has certainly taken a lot of hits since the time I was ringing those little bells and holding up the container of wine.
And rightfully so.
Yet there wasn't a lot of social media back in the early 70's.
I believed that the pope was the holiest of all men and that he received instructions from God...you know, like Murdering Ray, and Timmy Tebow, and George W.
Turns out the gowns and all that were just costumes. The men beneath the costumes weren't extra special holy men in a lot of regards, and those nuns sure packed a wallop as I discovered after my shyness wore off and I put on my Fuzzy hat permanently.
And to be honest with you, it's still a struggle for me.
When the social media blew up as the Pope stepped down because of old age, I sort of felt like defending the old guy.
And then it hit me that the Catholic church did the same sort of thing that so infuriated me about Penn State, and that they did it on a much grander scale.
They did it hundreds of times.
On purpose.
I still go to church regularly, but the whole costume party sort of pisses me off now.
The priest stood before me at a recent mass and cried poverty because the church had less than ten grand in savings.
"We'd like if everyone gave $500," he said. "This is your church."
And what if I didn't contribute?
Would I burn in hell for all of eternity?
The shame of it being that there are a lot of people who think that way. Older people seem to really buy into the financial struggles of the guy in the dress.
And the office of the Pope seems sort of out of touch to me. The world isn't the same place. What are the official stands?
Gays are bad. Abortion is a mortal sin of epic proportions...but molesting boys gets you a trip to a new parish?
Priests and nuns must abstain. Birth control is the devils work. Divorce gets you excommunicated, but fiddle with little Tommy and we'll make you a cardinal?
I've always believed in the community of the church. I guess that comes from being lined up against a blackboard on my first day of first grade, but through the years I've tried so hard to get rid of the guilt associated with just living, and sinning, and trying to do my best even though I was scared out of my mind.
I have faith.
I have belief.
I have love.
I don't judge others because of what they believe. I don't excommunicate loving people who may have made a mistake. I don't condone sexual molestation of little boys and girls. I recognize that people make huge mistakes sometimes and that they should be forgiven, but not without first paying the price, and not without atoning for those sins.
I suppose I just got tired of the costume party.
And to my ultimate surprise, I don't feel guilty about it.
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