I've spoken of the heavy-handed tactics of the Roman Catholic Church in which the leaders and their true-believer followers, including Rick Santorum and the converted Newt Gingrich, accuse the Obama administration of waging war on Roman Catholics. I've written about their practice of deception by omission in never mentioning that they already provide health insurance coverage for contraceptives in 28 states that mandate coverage. Whatever reasoning the bishops use to square the coverage with their consciences, I'd suggest that they apply that same reasoning to the remaining 22 states and stop crying, 'Persecution!' Enough already!
However, should the bishops continue to prefer deceptive, political power plays to telling the truth, I recommend that the prelates and their true-believer followers visit their fellow Christians in countries in the Middle East and Africa, where real persecution of Christians is happening. Perhaps then they'd stop their pathetic braying. The group generates more heat and noise than their true numbers warrant. What they do is shameful.
Remember that RC bishops stand in obedience to the pope, a foreign head of state. Why should a foreign head of state have such great influence in the processes of government in the US?
For more light on the subject, I refer you to IT's post at The Friends of Jake and Rmj's post at Adventus.
Picture from Wikipedia.
Today I got an email from a writer who was quoting a poet named Thomas Lynch. Sorry I deleted it so soon, so cannot quote it exactly, but it said that addressing bishops is like farting at a skunk.:>)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with that anyhow, Mimi,
Nice try!
nijsation
Nij, true. I'm weary of posting on the subject. I'd quit if they'd STFU. My posts are mainly to vent for the sake of my mental health. It's not that I think what I say will change anything.
ReplyDeleteHere's my lived example of how the RCC cares for its employees. One day I hit my ankle against a table leg that should not have been where it was. Lost control of my foot. Pastor directed his secretary who put me in an old wheelchair and wheeled me over to the now empty school and left me in my office. It was 8:30 pm by the time someone from my family could get there and pick me up. (6 hours with no contact from the Rectory) Against their advice I filed a workman's comp claim, had no choice, no other income. They sent me to a Dr. who looked at my foot (no tests, just looked at it) and said "it's just a little arthritis." Certified me as able to return to work. Unable to control the foot, I found an orthopedic surgeon who found a ruptured posterior tendon that required surgery, cast, metal brace and lifelong orthotics. I finally had to hire a lawyer to deal with the Diocese. Later he (the lawyer) said to me that he would never bring a case against the Diocese again "Because I am so ashamed of my church."
ReplyDeleteSo notice carefully, they never refer to the welfare of these women employees over whom they claim spiritual jurisdiction that would lead to large families and endless fears of pregnancy. They simply do not care what their words mean in the lives of catholic families. It's all about power....
nij
The RC Bishops are nothing short of disgusting. I have had it "up to here" with their campaign to overthrow Obama. What a smokescreen they've created with this one. I hope it backfires in their faces. There are plenty of issues over the years that went counter to my conscience but my tax $$ still paid for those issues. One would think the only issues in the universe were birth control, abortion and gay marriage. Seems to me that Jesus didn't spend time on these. Maybe my gospels have some pages missing ... who knows?
ReplyDeleteNij, yours is an ugly story, but I'm not really surprised. My former cleaning lady, who is also my friend, had to stop cleaning houses and get a job with benefits because her husband lost his job. She went to work as a housekeeper and cook for one of the RC priests near here, and she says he is the most demanding person she's ever worked for. When her elderly father died, the priest wanted to give her only 2 days off, although she had to help settle her mother who was in poor health. She is now looking for another job.
ReplyDeletewhiteycat, I'm sick and tired of the RC bishops throwing their weight around. I hope Obama doesn't back down.
It is hard to explain to people how it really is. Somehow I think that the priestly formation process distances these men from the actual reality of ordinary life. And the fact that they used to employ the Sisters who had their religious orders to help them out if they were dismissed or treated unfairly. Then we lay persons began to work in parishes, and we didn't have a back up, especially those of us who were not or no longer married.
ReplyDeleteIt was a new ball game for Pastors.
nij
Nij, the priests who are our contemporaries were taught in seminary that women were occasions of sin. I don't know when the teaching stopped, but when you consider that a good many boys entered seminary at the age of 13 back then, it's no wonder that their ideas of the real world were warped. Still today, bishops are all too often petty dictators in their dioceses, and pastors are petty dictators in their parishes.
ReplyDeleteI don't mean to include all bishops and priests in my categorization, because there are good priests and bishops within the RCC, but they fight an uphill battle in the church today.