I lifted this from Anne over at The Gods are Bored, who in turn lifted it from Jason over at The Wild Hunt who is quoting Pope Benedict’s remarks from a recent encyclical.
“There are certain religious cultures in the world today that do not oblige men and women to live in communion but rather cut them off from one other in a search for individual well-being, limited to the gratification of psychological desires. Furthermore, a certain proliferation of different religious “paths”, attracting small groups or even single individuals, together with religious syncretism, can give rise to separation and disengagement. One possible negative effect of the process of globalization is the tendency to favour this kind of syncretism by encouraging forms of “religion” that, instead of bringing people together, alienate them from one another and distance them from reality. At the same time, some religious and cultural traditions persist which ossify society in rigid social groupings, in magical beliefs that fail to respect the dignity of the person, and in attitudes of subjugation to occult powers. In these contexts, love and truth have difficulty asserting themselves, and authentic development is impeded. For this reason, while it may be true that development needs the religions and cultures of different peoples, it is equally true that adequate discernment is needed. Religious freedom does not mean religious indifferentism, nor does it imply that all religions are equal.”
Let’s look at this lovely little bit of prose ….
“There are certain religious cultures in the world today that do not oblige men and women to live in communion but rather cut them off from one other in a search for individual well-being, limited to the gratification of psychological desires”
I am a married woman, just recently celebrated my 15th anniversary in fact, and I am commited to staying married until the day that one or the other of us draws our last breath. Not because I think that divorce is a sin, or because I feel obliged to marry as a fulfilment of my life’s purpose, but because I made a promise … a promise to someone I love. We both agree that life will be hard and that there will always be times when we’re not head over heels in love. But as friends, as lovers, as what we believe to be soulmates, that it … its us “till death.” How dare anyone look at my marriage as anything but sacred. How dare someone, a man who should be the ideal of acceptance … of tolerance … of love (you know those things that Jesus spoke of) belittle the sacrament I entered into as nothing more than “the gratification of psychological desires.”
“Furthermore, a certain proliferation of different religious “paths”, attracting small groups or even single individuals, together with religious syncretism, can give rise to separation and disengagement. One possible negative effect of the process of globalization is the tendency to favour this kind of syncretism by encouraging forms of “religion” that, instead of bringing people together, alienate them from one another and distance them from reality.”
While I would agree that the small group/solitary aspect of Wicca … or much of Paganism in general … can, and does lead, in some cases, to a feeling of seperation, or isolation. In short, being a Witch alone can be quite lonely, it can be hard. But it also does not invalidate my path. Even if I never step foot in coven space again, even if I never step foot into sacred space again with others, I know what things I place my faith in. And while I will confess to being eclectic, the Catholic church should fess up as well. All religions that live, change. They evolve, they shift, they borrow (or downright steal) elements from other faiths.
As to the accusation that I am in some way “distance(d) … from reality.” I guess I can also confess that I believe in some strange shit. Things like magic and reincarnation and karma and soulmates. I guess you can cell them strange, but by that ruler you could describe some Catholic beliefs as rather odd.
At the same time, some religious and cultural traditions persist which ossify society in rigid social groupings, in magical beliefs that fail to respect the dignity of the person, and in attitudes of subjugation to occult powers. In these contexts, love and truth have difficulty asserting themselves, and authentic development is impeded.
There is so much wrong with these two sentences I barely know where to start. Let me simply say that for a religion that embraces much in the way of magical thinking (transubstantiation anyone?) to call this harsh would be kind.
According to this:
- because I believe in magic, I have degraded my personal dignity
- I am victimized by my belief in magic, in psychic abilities, etc.
- I lack love and know lies
- I am less than I should be
While I pine, in some ways, especially as I cope with turning 40, about how far I have failed to come in my life. It is not a result of the religion I chose. I am not less than I should have been … Wicca healed wounds on my soul that my Catholic faith couldn’t touch. But not because it is an invalid faith, but because it was the wrong faith for me.
For this reason, while it may be true that development needs the religions and cultures of different peoples, it is equally true that adequate discernment is needed. Religious freedom does not mean religious indifferentism, nor does it imply that all religions are equal.
As if it wasn’t bad enough, then they draw out the big guns. My religion isn’t as good as theirs … they will grant me the right to choose my own faith, but they deem it as an inferior one, as less than equal.
I guess once you know that this is what he really believes, all the rest makes sense.
I was raised Roman Catholic. I was even, for a period of time, fairly devout. However, add my inability to understand why only men could be priests to my disbelief during the Religious Education class which taught that masturbation was as bad a sin as murder as both earned me a one way ticket to hell and you get the equation that led to my finding Wicca. Granted its a little more complex than that, but those 2 moments of realization in my life led to my leaving first the Catholic church and the questioning that followed led to losing my Christian faith.
Despite that I have always maintained a level of respect for the position of Pope, much like the level of respect I hold for the Dalai Lama. As a result I am truly sorrowful, though by no means surprised, by the utter lack of tolerance this excerpt illustrates. I am offended, and a little bit hurt.
But, in the end, I don’t really worry about it as while many of his followers would name me a sinner (included and not limited to Pope Benedict), or at least a wayward soul, I think that Jesus himself would’ve been okay with who I am.
And as for God … the Divine … my Lord & Lady …
I know It/They like me just fine.
Blessings
Mama Kelly
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By Jessi on Jul 10, 2009 |
Well said Mam Kelly. Very well said
Jessi´s last blog post..Little Windows
By Celestite on Jul 11, 2009 |
I would swear that he was describing Catholicism. As a recovering Catholic myself I recognized most of that from my past, not my present.
I believe this pope is going to go down in history as……shall we say…lacking?
Celestite´s last blog post..daily affirmation
By MoonLilith on Jul 11, 2009 |
I agree with you 100%, Mama Kelly!
Blessed be. )0(
By Malcolm Hutton on Jul 11, 2009 |
As I see it, you are far more spiritual than any member of the Christian religion. I have no respect for the Pope as he is fully aware that his religion is totally false with an ongoing history of sheer evil.
Much has been exposed in “The Crucifixion of Truth” by Tony Bushby and more lately “They Lied to us at Sunday School” and “God Save us From Religion” by Ian Ross Vayro – Joshua Books.
I do believe in a spiritual afterlife but not the fearsome Bible god.
By brahnamin on Jul 11, 2009 |
What I find interesting is that the Pope can look at the disparity and unity that is paganism and not see it for what it really is.
At some point God is going to call her guests to the feast and her professed friends are going to make their excuses.
Then she is going to send her servants out into the alleyways and workplaces, the fields and the wood, and draw in those who, if asked, would call themselves strangers to her.
The Pope’s stance is plainly one of dogma, because a quick look at any newscast or paper will show it is the church that is isolating and alienating people in the world today. And that those same people are beginning to find hope by touching the divine directly rather than going through the cold, celibate, impersonal intermediary of a priest, or even the warm, suffocating embrace of the toe-the-line, thought-stifling, traditionalist protestant church.
God is reaching out to her people.
And the church is alarmed.
Because somewhere in their lizard brain they subconsciously recall the story of the wedding feast and remember who will ultimately shut themselves off from grace.
By Ron on Jul 12, 2009 |
Very well written Mama!
You know the Buddha said there are 84,000+ different paths and each one is equally valid.
I just don’t get why we can’t just respect each others beliefs. I would like to think that we are all headed towards the same destination, it’s just we may have different views from the path we are walking on.
How awesome would it be if everyone someday realized that?
Ron´s last blog post..Great Video
By MoonglowMagick on Jul 14, 2009 |
Well said!
I have given up on ever finding true acceptance, tolerance or understanding from the brain washed masses of the main patriarchal religions. Open minded they definitely are not!
Methinks that this could be a sign of a dying faith, one where the leaders have lost their way because they cannot cope with the changes around them. Let’s hope they don’t start lashing out in panic during their death throes…. it may result in a return to the bad old days of persecution!
By Schisandraa on Jul 15, 2009 |
I’ve still got the smoke visibly wafting from my ears Mama Kelly. I’m a recently broken away Catholic, more recently than my recent conversion to Catholicism. I was a practicing Catholic a total of 7 years. I loved it. But everything that the Pope muttered, above, sounds like a vain attempt at healing a mortal wound. It didn’t work.
I actually took his initial separatist statement as a crack at Buddhism, an internal self-isolation in seek of peace. This is different from monks and those cloistered how?
I find Catholicism to be an elitist, Christ-centered but NOT Christian belief system. How can it be called Christian when everyone is not welcome? No religion is more separatist than it, not welcoming the divorced or even the convert who had not been married before who married someone divorced…or their children.
But more so was that elitism of those in a heierarchy, The Religious, especially the secualar religious, members of the congregation who join a religious “order” of a group that remains in society. I found these to be highly elitist, rude, haughty, distancing.
I was gravely disappointed with religious education for adults and could not find a group to join for Bible Study nor furthering my early learning of Catholicism. I tried to start one and felt like I’d initiated WWIII.
For all their rules and intentions, and I understood them, I followed them, I may have agreed with them in context, I was gravely disappointed by the negativity and selfish behaviors of others. From media, I was aware many priests and even church members or teachers in my church were far more sinful than I. I just can’t get it.
Magickal is not a word intending to trick or insult the intelligence of many. There are some things that are a bit off the wall. However, Magickal is not different from turning water to wine, walking on water, healing the sick with a touch. And Catholicism has a word for it: “Catholic Imagination,” a frequently used term. It’s a deeply spiritual, perhaps nearly trance-like state of mind, entering into “The Sacred Mysteries.” Pope Benedict is validating Catholic Magick and damning that which he knows nothing about, oddly something I said non-Catholics are guilty of doing toward Catholicism as I studied and became Catholic. Frankly, I don’t see too much difference between the two.
Believing in living dragons and satyrs and Phoenixes, mythological creatures is taught as myth, not fact, no different than the church taught me that the Bible is stories that were divinely inspired, but not truth.
Frankly, His Holiness would have been better off keeping quiet. He made matters worse, but, perhaps does not understand this.
As only a Catholic of 7 years, I’m in recovery. I was failed by the church and its people. Many have been failed by the church and moved on in recovery. Don’t we have the right not to be further wounded by the church for our newly chosen beliefs, or do they just want to grind their salt deeper into the wound?
Brightest blessings to all.