After 12 years of Catholic education it isn't hard to lose ones' faith. There were the sadistic nuns, the alcoholic priests and those who thought little boys are toys put on this earth for them to use and abuse.
The first time I ever had sex was on a weekend trip to St. Procopius Seminary where a group of us were sent to see if we had a "vocation". I did but it wasn't what they had in mind. But that is another tale for another time.
For years I had no interest in the Catholic Church and I still don't. But I can't help but be impressed by the new pope, Francis I. His latest action in removing a German Bishop for excessive spending is a clear message that he is serious about changing the Catholic Church.
Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-ven Elst aka the Bishop of Bling was removed for spending over $40,000,000 to renovate his residence including $20,000 for a bathtub and $1,000,000 for the gardens. In Germany the state collects taxes on Jews, Catholics and Lutherans and funnels that money to the churches. The tax is almost equal to a tithe so funds available to the Catholic Church in Germany are plentiful.
Francis I has shown by example that he is serious about the vow of poverty which all priests take. He has taken a simple room instead of the lavish Vatican apartment most popes have used. For the first time ever the Vatican Bank released a public accounting of it's income. Gone is the Pope Mobile and he recently dismissed the Vatican representative to the Dominican Republic who was accused of being a pedophile.
His famous on plane interview where he said the Church was overly concerned about homosexuality and birth control was an overdue change of emphasis. While I don't see gay marriage being blessed by the Church in my lifetime it is nice to know that others like me may not have to grow up and realize that the horrible people the priests were talking about were them.
It will be a welcome change if the Church returns to the mission it once had of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless instead of building edifices that mock the poverty of most who use them.
All I really wanted to say is that for once a pope has impressed me. Of course he has issues but don't we all. While I have no use for organized religion of whatever stripe it would be a good thing if the Catholic Church got back to its original mission which were outlined by the beatitudes. The Catholic Church was at one time very good at feeding the poor, clothing the naked and housing the homeless and you didn't have to buy into the church dogma to receive the charity.
Along the way the Church became a tool of conquest used very ably by the Spanish, French and Portuguese in domesticating native peoples. Some of the first use of slaves was by the church in colonial Amerika. Then it became a corporation and like all corporations protected the CEO and executives above all. Perhaps this man has a chance to change it for the better. I do wish him well in that mission. I won't be going back but it would be nice to see the Church change back from a corporation to a church again.
If the big ocean liner has a destiny, it doesn't matter who the captain is. As long as religions claim for the fulfillment of their dogmas, for the ONLY truth that leads to --- paradise, that is, after death, that is, nobody will ever be able to confirme the premises, as long as the logbook is wrong, there's no real good coming out of it...
I am afraid that Mr. Obama could not do and undo as he wanted (and yes, I believe he wanted), the ocean liner called USA already had a 'supreme goal'... blessed by god and as far as gods helps...
And I don't believe that Mr. Bergoglio really wants to turn around and make women the next five cardinals!!!
Sorry men, I thing Mr. Jaime Bergoglio may be doing a good work for the money and privileges he has, I don't know, he definetedly is more open minded in many ways, but I don't see Catholic Church changing, for me it is just a necessary cleaning up the most dirty corners.
I am not Catholic and I am not religious. But I hope this Pope lives long enough to make some
major changes in his church.
A few years ago at a Pride event I came across a booth, for the Old Catholic Church. I asked questions and the answers I receiver blew me away. 1st they don't follow the pope,2nd everyone is welcome, divorced, gay, transgender, straight, black, white, whether you have money to put in the collection basket or not, it doesn't matter. As long as you were baptized you can receive communion. It turns out the Priest and their partners are gay.
In the past, I never had any use for the pope. It seems like their preaching only taught hate and prejudice to anyone that is different. Instead of preaching what God taught, Love respect and acceptance. This new pope seems to preach unity and not hate. I wish him well. Hopefully one day the Roman Catholic Church will accept everyone and not judge.
It is funny that when I became an active shareholder I became a supporter of the nuns. The Sisters of Charity and the Dominicans were some of the most frequent authors of shareholder resolutions for many of the stocks I owned. They submit them to limit executive pay, require corporations to list where political contributions go, curb experimentation on animals, eliminate pollution, etc. etc. I almost always found myself voting for the resolutions offered by the nuns.
Francis is like John XXIII, a humble man.