What Do You Expect?
Pope Benedict XVI will in a few days be coming to the United States of America. The advanced billing he is getting promises that his every word and action will be scrutinized from every possible direction. What signals will you be looking for and what message do you hope for?
I am hoping that he will come across as the Pope of "green religion", emphasizing universal moral obligations of all to the God/ Land/ Human Covenant. As to Church discipline, etc, I will be watching to see if he comes across as a "conciliarist" pope, open to Church collegiality, or if he will continue in the ancient precedent of Vatican "infallibilism".
The Vatican wars over internal authority, infallibilism vs. conciliarism, are the oldest and most damaging of Church issues, not just to Church itself but to public good faith.
The Italian Vatican II Popes, John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul I, were conciliarists. Pope Paul VI began the encyclical "Humanae Vitae" (the "birth control encyclical) with conciliarist intentions, but along the way he succumbed to (Germanic) infallibilists, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla and Joseph Ratzinger (?) and disregarded lay input. And so, the conciliarist intentions of Pope Paul VI and Vatican II came to an end before they got started.
I'll be looking for signs of conciliarism in Pope Benedict's words and manner. If there is no place for conciliarism in the Church, it seems only too obvious that the exodus of laity from Church will be given impetus, and the moral authority of the Church will be diminished.
When expectations are low,
When expectations are low, you are likely to be less disappointed. When he was elected Pope, I was crushed and almost cried. I thought it was the end. To my surprise, he has really grown on me. I think it is his mind, his thoughtfulness, reflection, and hunility. We are both disciples and fans of St. Augustine, which penetrates his writing.
I didn't expect much from this trip. I expected it to be different from JPII's trips, and it is. People came to see JPII, they come to hear Benedict XVI. I think America is falling in love with him, he's like a shy little guy that you just want to protect.
Ratzinger must have been the
Ratzinger must have been the strategist behind JP II's reign of writing some good stuff, but doing the opposite. As Benedict, Ratzinger has been doing the same; writing encyclicals on Love and Hope and showing NONE.
Love, John
See my website: Sacred Quest at www.torchlake.com/poetman
I think that perhaps people
I think that perhaps people aren't expecting or looking for much and that may have to do with the few responses, Sylvester, although it seems as though there are a number of post-ers who have somewhat disappeared from the cafe lately--miss you! I'm happy that it sounds like it will be more positive. I will be paying attention, but it seems that B16 is continuing to try to be more "Benedict" in his approach and so I remain glad for his name choice. Not much of an answer, I'm afraid, but I actually don't think there is that much focus on his visit as in JPII's visit, which were often more designed to grab the media's attention and invite controversy.
And then there is this: in
And then there is this: in my personal experience I know how cultured we are to not even think about standing up to Church authority. We are so riven by habits of fear and guilt, even of thinking less than positive thoughts about priests, but especially about bishops and popes, that we allow them their way silently. When we are silent about their sins (and our complicity) we allow them to go on and on and on.
The response is worthwhile. There may be more yet. Thanks to all.
HUMAN PERSONALITY: E-Letter
HUMAN PERSONALITY: E-Letter to Pope Benedict XVI, April 8, 2008
His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI
Dear Holy Father:
In this day and age, professional ignorance of human biology/ psychology is unconscionable. From the perspective of neuro-biology, Faith represents the feminine person and Reason represents the masculine person; Faith and Reason, woman and man together, distinguish the human person in the harmony of emotional/ rational intelligence.
Scholastic science/ philosophy yet holds an understanding, with respect to female/ male harmony, that prevailed before the 1200s. The extrapolations of religion/ theology on that ancient understanding are misinformed and misguided, and continue to be humanly demeaning, socially disruptive and morally defective. I speak with respect to "Scholasticism's Blunder", that is, the discrediting of women, and "the other face", male super-arrogation.
I take no pleasure and find no consolation in bringing these matters to your attention. Yet, my conscience gives me no escape because of global malicious outcomes (e.g., social and eco-environmental wasting) I witness from the culpable ignorance also of religious professionals vis-a-vis the defective philosophy/ theology of female/ male relationships.
If I am mistaken in the facts (see the Appended Attachments below) and in the interpretation of the facts, it would serve Church well and God's People to be instructed as to the errors of misrepresentation.
Your attention to these matters is greatly appreciated and solicited.
With respect and filial affection, I am, Sylvester L. Steffen
APPENDED ATTACHMENTS: "Scholasticism's Blunder" / "The Other Face"
Faith is believing even when
Faith is believing even when we cannot consciously "see" God. This does not mean that we are unconscious, although some of us may be "blind". Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when He said, "Stay Awake..."
God has created the conditions in which physical matter exists. The Universe is His Design. We are His Design. God exists outside Time and Space, we do not.
Christ was transformed into physical matter when THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH. Jesus, a.k.a., Perfect Love and Perfect Truth, was the greatest philosopher of all time. He Has Founded the only True Church. ( regarding Philosophy and Religion)
As for the Cosmos and the idea of a Grand Unification Theory- "It is Christ, lifted up on the Cross, (powerful magnetism) Who draws us to Himself and thus to His Father's House." (Father Corapi) This Gift of the Hope of Eternal Salvation is offered to everyone who desires to Love Him and accept His invitation to Follow Him, The Light (Life), The Truth and The Way. This is God's Grand Unification TRUTH which has existed from the beginning of Time.
God Bless our Pope, Holy Pope Benedict XVI, Defender of Truth. God Bless our Church, His Church. May the Holy spirit continue to guide us with Wisdom.
"God exists outside Time and
"God exists outside Time and Space, we do not."
But we do exist outside space and time. We are made in God's image and likeness. We have an eternal aspect. In my opinion, a lot of what Jesus taught was about accessing this eternal aspect of ourselves, which does transcend time, space, matter, and can be brought to bear in this reality. Why else did He tell the Apostles in John 14: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father."
Jesus did a lot of things, and one of those was to break open the door to the rabbit hole. We are far more than our biology.
colkoch.blogtoolkit.com
" Why else did He tell the
" Why else did He tell the Apostles in John 14: " Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father."
Because such is the Power of The Holy Spirit, The Spirit of Truth, The Union of the Love between Father and Son, God's Great Love and God's Great Mercy. "And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age." (The Great Commission)-Matthew 28-20
"If you Love Me, you will keep My Commandments." -Christ
From Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (Page 175): "The Union between the Father and the Son is such a live, concrete thing that this Union itself is also a Person...What grows out of the joint life of the Father and the Son is a real Person, is in fact the Third of the three Persons who are God. The Third Person is called The Holy Ghost, or the Spirit of God...Christ is the Son of God. If we share in this kind of life we also shall be sons of God. We shall Love the Father as He does and the Holy Ghost will arise in us."
Actually, colkoch, we are
Actually, colkoch, we are made in God's image and likeness but we are not God. Our eternal aspect can one day be fulfilled when we, too, are united with our Father in Heaven, The Blessed Trinity, God. This Gift of Eternal Salvation is offered to all who desire to Love God and follow Him, The Light, The Truth, and the Way.
Anned, I think you and I are
Anned, I think you and I are coming from two different understandings of humanity. I tend towards the quantum physics end of things which postulates that all matter, including humans, are at their essence composed of light waves which have been slowed in frequency to become matter. Google the term "golden mean" and you might find some interesting things to think about.
We do then exist in some measure in other frequencies outside this time/space/matter continuum. It's the reason supernatural things happen, not because someone or something blows into our reality and changes things, but because these other aspects of our existence are energized and brought to bare in this reality. I'm very sure Jesus knew about this and that's one of the concepts he was trying to get accross in His teachings. One doesn't have to be a quantum physicist to have the truth of existence shown to you as light. Even the Divine Mercy painting has Jesus demonstrating two different frequencies of light.
I think it's very interesting that Sr. Faustina recieves this imagery at the same time quantum physicists were working out some of the most important concepts involved in wave/particle dynamics.
I could go on and on, but I'll reserve some of this for when we actually go down the rabbit hole.
colkoch.blogtoolkit.com
Most of this quantum stuff
Most of this quantum stuff goes over my head, but I read somewhere about string theory which says that all matter is made of sound waves. I like that because it reminds me of in the beginning was the Word.
Frannie, you may want to
Frannie, you may want to check out "Energy and Reconciliation" at Culture & Spirituality. Brian Greene's book is with "religious" excitement for me.
With all due respect,
With all due respect, Colkoch, we are certainly coming from two different understandings of humanity. If what you say is true, than we are all blogging from Heaven. This place that we refer to as Earth, is simply an illusion.
What you have stated is NOT true, for I know that I am NOT an illusion. Although I do not pretend to be an expert in physics, even I know from Faith and Reason, that more than the speed of light contributes to the formation of matter.
The reason that supernatural things occur such as miracles etc., is because God exists outside the Laws of Nature. After all, it is God that created the Laws of Nature in the first place.
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church: " Creation reflects God's Goodness and Wisdom. Because the Universe is destined for the Human Family, whom God calls to a personal relationship with himself, it is ordered in a way that allows the human intellect to perceive God's hand working in and through it."
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church: " It is a Truth of Faith, the Maker of all that is seen and unseen, created a realm of spiritual beings who do not share the limitations of a physical body and yet exist as the result of His All-Powerful, Loving act of Creation. We call these spiritual beings Angels...Angels glorify God and work for our Salvation."
There are no shortcuts to Heaven except through the intercession of the Sacraments and prayer, the intercession of the angels, and the intercession of the Saints of whom The Blessed Virgin Mary was the Greatest.
There is no other Universe, for we know that God had only one Son, The Word Made Flesh, who for our sake and our Salvation came down from Heaven. Even God as The Word Made Flesh, Our Savior, Jesus Christ, had to Die in order to Lift Up His Spirit.
The invitation to Follow Him, The Life, The Truth, and the Way is offered to everyone who desires to be united in Love with God. This is the Gift of Free Will, the Free choice to be united with God who is Perfect Love. If we Love Him, we will want to be Faithful to His Word, The Truth.
Christ was raised from the dead by the Power of the Holy Spirit. It is through Christ's Gift of His Passion that we have the Hope of Salvation. This is the Power of the Holy Spirit, the Union of God's Love and God's Mercy.
P.S., Just for fun, think about this. For all we know, the Universe may be revolving and expanding.
You're confusing the wave
You're confusing the wave dynamics of quantum physics with the atomic state dynamics of newtonian physics. They are not exactly the same thing, although operate on somewhat similar principles. The gas, liquid, solid states of matter you are referring to are products of heat fequencies. Quantum physics postulates that our universe is set in a specific range of electro magnetic, gravity, and strong and weak nuclear force frequencies which allow for the manifestation of atomic particles from light waves--the building blocks of matter--which then come together to form the molecules of the newtonian universe and respond predictabely to newtonian calculations.
Mankind functions in both paradigms with concious thought capable of effecting material reality from the quantum level. It doesn't matter if we like it or not, it's the way it is.
God does not exist outside the laws of nature. It is God's essense which underpins the laws of nature. He is indeed in all things, and all things are good.
colkoch.blogtoolkit.com
Quantum physics
Quantum physics postulates... It doesn't matter if we like it or not, it's the way it is. You seem to be missing some very important information, like the proof that would make this theory a truth.
This much I know for certain is True, that God exists outside the Laws of Nature. God Created the Laws of Nature. The Earth, simply because it has the God Created preferred location in the Universe in relationship to the perfect set of God created conditions to sustain Life, is the actual " Center " of the Universe, which is exactly what God intended. In other words, even if God started the Universe with a "Big Bang", it was God who Created order out of the chaos.
God is indeed in all things that He Has created, but unlike us, here on Earth, He also exists outside Time and Space.
While there are elements of truth in Quantum Physics, it still does not give us the answer as to how the Universe was created. The only thing it does tell us is that our intelligence, ( which includes the evolution of all knowledge currently known in this period of time ) can in no way be compared to that of the Creator, God, the Creator of all that is seen and unseen. This is not to say that Physics is not an awesome discipline.
Rather than spend my time postulating on how exactly God got me here, I'd rather spend my time working my way back Home.
P.S., By the " Center " of
P.S., By the " Center " of The Universe I mean this: That God created the Universe for us, simply because He Loves us.
From The Truth of Catholicism, by George Weigel:
"The pivot of that story, the center of the Universe and of History, is Jesus Christ. His story is the story that makes ultimate sense out of our individual stories and of the whole Human drama. This is the Catholic claim in all its daring specificity: that at a certain time, in a certain place, and acting through real Human lives, the Creator of the Universe entered His creation in order to redirect the Human story back toward its true destiny, which is Eternal Life with God."
Although each of us has our own unique story, it is Christ who unites all of us through His Life; The Truth, The Light and the Way of Love.
" If you Love Me, you will keep My Commandments."
P.S., Colkoch, I never said that Angels couldn't blog from Heaven, I only said that we can't.
Why not, if the kingdom of
Why not, if the kingdom of God is within us(luke 17:21)?
"Rather than spend my time
"Rather than spend my time postulating on how exactly God got me here, I'd rather spend my time working my way back Home."
I have no problem with your point of view Anne. I have a problem when you insist on making your point of view everyone else's point of view, everyone else's truth, everyone else's definition of God. The universe I live in is not yours. I'm not really trying to get you to live in my universe but to help you understand where I'm coming from.
In an earler post you quoted the Catechism on the existence of angels. I'm going to pray very ernestly that they manifest themselves to you as real, and not postulates of Roman Catholic Cathecism. They're very real to me. They have blown a lot of preconcieved notions I had about how this universe works, how God works with in it, and how I work with in it completely out of the water.
In many respects this relationship with them has not been a gift--at least at first--it's forced me into situations and events which left me reeling. I no longer have the same absolute certainty about God and Truth and Salvation I once did, but I do have a much more certain knowledge that the only things which really count are doing the Will of the Father as it's given to you personally, and the utter importance of becoming the Love of which Jesus spoke. To do these two things calls for giving up the illusions of this world. Spiritual/religious things either contribute to these two commands, or like secular illusions, they get in the way.
Each person's path is different because we are different. This needs to be respected, not condemned. Our unity is in our oneness with the Father and His creation, expressed through the kind of Love taught by Jesus and supported by the Holy Spirit. That I find this Trinitarian Truth more adequately expressed in quantum physics may just be a product of God revealing Himself to me in a language developed in the times in which I live.
My understanding of quantum physcis doesn't invalidate Jesus at all. On the contrary, it's proving Him correct. Science is confirming the nature of our reality is exactly as He taught it. It really is all about love, all about a fundamental oneness, all about the Will of the Father, and finally; the isolated, need driven, ego self is an illusion we give an unnecessary importance to in order to survive.
Oh by the way, Angels really can blog from heaven. :)
"In an earler post you
"In an earler post you quoted the Catechism on the existence of angels...They're very real to me. They have blown a lot of preconcieved notions I had about how this universe works, how God works with in it, and how I work with in it completely out of the water....it's forced me into situations and events which left me reeling."
Without going into detail, I agree with you that such experiences do not conform to following the rules as found in the Catechism. However, confused about this, I once thought that Catholicism might be the religion most likely to come close to accepting the reality of it at least. That is, until a priest suggested to me that if such experiences were happening to him, he would "examine" them, by which he was implying that these were the work of Satan, because they were more about getting a certain result than about being nice. I don't really want to go into detail, but I thought I'd share in case we had something in common here.
Maire your observation is
Maire your observation is right on about the reactions of most clerics. Why they jump to the Satan card first is curious to say the least. I don't disagree that discernment is an issue, but too often discernment is more a process of proving the interactions are demonic than the other way around, and to me, this says more about the fact they don't want to deal with the implications more so than anything else. I can truthfully say that the only personal benefit I have derived from this interaction is the certain knowledge that I have a lot of personal flaws I need to work on. It would be a whole lot more fun if I could have the experiences without all the unsolicited personal advice. :)
colkoch.blogtoolkit.com
Jesus wasn't a philosopher.
Jesus wasn't a philosopher. And didn't lay claim to being a philosopher. Unless you are meaning that as symbolic or subjective language of some kind?
Just wondering then, Annie
Just wondering then, Annie O, which philosopher do you think would deserve a better grade in Ethics?
Jesus did not lay out an
Jesus did not lay out an ethical philosophy, if that's what you mean? Others have done that, including some who consider themselves catholic and/or christian, but Jesus didn't. Probably better to think of Jesus in rabbinical terms than as in the philosophers of the times. Often homilists will point to the philosophers of the times as akin to the Wise Men of the Nativity.
"Do not think that I came to
"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law of the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but fulfill."
( Matthew 5:17 )
" Before Abraham was, IAM." ( Proof of Jesus, The Word Made Flesh, as Truth from the beginning.)
Matthew, Chapter 5, The Sermon on the Mount, is an example of some of His Ethical Philosophy on Life. Perfect Truth, Perfect Love, it doesn't get any better than this.
Well, one doesn't have to be
Well, one doesn't have to be a philosopher to teach ethical truths, anne. Perhaps this is where we are not connecting? Philosophers develop the logical or intellectual framework related to truths, and I don't think you can look at Scriptures and find such work. Perhaps to you philosophy is so high a field that Jesus surely wanted to be among that group (and you want him to), but I don't actually put philosophy on that level at all. I agree with St. Thomas Aquinas that, from the perspective of God's being, his own philosophic work was "straw." That is not meant to devalue his work, but to suggest that there is so much more than that. If you wish to assess the value of subjective words, I would put the moniker "Perfect Rabbi" high above "Perfect Philosopher," in other words. Perhaps you would value them in reverse, or perhaps you would want to use them both/all as a statement of your feelings?
Perhaps St.Thomas Aquinas,
Perhaps St.Thomas Aquinas, at the end of his search for the Truth, realized he was right back where he had started, The Word Made Flesh. This does not devalue his work but rather helps to confirm the fact that The Truth is The Truth.
We seem to have finally
We seem to have finally found something we agree on. Peace.
Jesus was Perfect Love,
Jesus was Perfect Love, Perfect Truth.
Direct quote from Jesus: "IAM the Way, The Light( Life ) and the Truth. While there may exist elements of the Truth in the words of various philosophers etc., the fullness of Truth can only be found in The Word Made Flesh. Only His Sacrifice, His Passion, Has the Power before God, the Blessed Trinity, to Forgive our sins and Lead us to Salvation.
As I read this post, anne, I
As I read this post, anne, I think perhaps you have me confused with someone who is big into philosophy. If you read my posts for awhile, you would see that I am but a poor student of the philosophers on this website. I haven't gotten to the point where I can even work my way through all of their thinking yet, both because of time and personal energies. I think that day is coming, but not now. So, I'm not sure that I'm such a good one for your focus on philosophy!
I haven't yet decided what
I haven't yet decided what I'm expecting, Sylvester, although yours is an interesting question so I may come back to it. I did appreciate your association of Italians with conciliarism and the Germans with infalliblism. I'm increasingly intrigued by the influence of people's native cultures on their thinking, and would guess that we would have an interesting convenience study if we could assess perspectives on the cafe vis a vis home cultures, even generations back. Or reactions to the extremes of such. Very interesting....
Bernard Lonergan speaks of
Bernard Lonergan speaks of the “kairos” moment in the sense of critical mass understanding, as tipping point that supports a major cultural shift of consciousness. Knowledge of truth isn’t enough to cause a mass shift, but broad scale social awareness of truth’s consequences can build toward the kairos moment and cause consciousness to be dislodged from accustomed destructive habits and depart from old understandings. Correct ideas are not enough to bring about the kairos moment because they tend to increase resistance against change from the status-quo. (B. Lonergan, “Insight, a Study of Human Understanding”)
[Haught, John F. Is Nature Enough? Meaning and Truth in the Age of Science. Cambridge University Press, 2006.
‘What naturalism overlooks, and what I shall emphasize instead, is that you can understand the world in depth only if you take into account, starting with yourself, the subjective insideness of nature that science usually leaves out of consideration. A full understanding of the universe is inseparable from the project of coming to terms with your own critical intelligence. By following a few basic ideas of the philosopher Bernard Lonergan I hope to convince you, beginning in the following chapter, that you can reasonably be led beyond the naturalist enclosure into a more encompassing view of reality.’ (p. 29) The author relies also on Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Alfred North Whitehead to answer the title question in the negative: ’Is nature enough?’ ]
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Lonergan, Bernard. ‘Bernard Lonergan’s Draft Pages for Chapter 3 of his Doctoral Dissertation, ..... that notion, then, of kairos. The individual has to see ...
www.lonergan-lri.ca/pdfs/newsletter/2007/09_2007.pdf - Similar pages
Arguably a tipping point is being reached as to eco-environmental understandings. Public corporate consciousness is being dislodged from its erroneous consumerist presumptions in the face of the gathering eco-environmental crises. Institutional religions are still held captive to the for-profit corporate paradigm, and with them presume that nature’s resources are unlimited and can be exploited with impunity. Global warming, environmental pollution and ecological collapses are products of the profligate wasting of nature — the modern version of Original Sin.
Status-quo presumptions of consumer economics and religious morality are challenged along with eco-environmental understandings. At this time in the postmodern period, global communities are moving toward new ecosocial awareness, what might be called the “postconsumerist” period; this latter “postconsumerist” consciousness can be understood as the maturing of Second Enlightenment.
The challenge to religion is how to understand God present and at work in nature. Human words and understandings of God and nature are handicapped, and even misdirected, and so, the enterprise of putting God and nature together is bigger than present limits of human understandings allow. The God/ nature relationship will always be an imperfect understanding of reason, even so, it can be very much perfected in the understanding of faith, which makes the case for the dependency of faith and reason to each other.
Failure to make the God/ nature connection is a disjunction that has catastrophic and mortal consequences. The new enterprise of making such connection requires nothing less than rethinking and reinterpreting the religious human story from the Garden of Eden to the Crucifixion of Jesus. The kairos understanding that can effect social/ religious rethinking and reinterpretation calls for the integrated insights of faith and reason, religion and science, from the perspective of quantum-science, EVOLUTION.
See NCR Story: LIFELONG SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE, MEANING
By Chris Herlinger
Childhood of displacement left its mark on Templeton winner Fr. Michael Heller.
Full story
BECAUSE NATURE IS ALWAYS IN PROCESS, so are Law and Religion; that is to say, both are “unsettled”. By nature, all that is “in process” is in flux, so that new relationships are governed by new priorities in new and changing contexts. It is in the nature of organic life to be open to newness of process, to be open to new contingencies in new contexts. In the process of change, the role of Reason is necessary in settling Law and Religion, even as the role of Faith is necessary as established precedent for the effective working of the “Process of Reason”, by way of open communication/ consciousness/ conscience.
Religion and Law are both about the work of settling unsettled matters of natural necessity and morality, that is, in matters of Earth/ human relationships — what are processes of Cosmology, Philosophy and Theology.
Sylvester: The church will
Sylvester:
The church will continue to suffer exodus. However, it will endure till the end of time, notwithstanding the gates of Hell, because, among other things, it is also true that new people will come into the Church because of what you term "infallibilism". Many of the people who left during the 1970's and 1980's will return when they begin to see sanity returning.
Nothing that Benedict says
Nothing that Benedict says or does will have as much influence as he thinks. He can come here flying all the flags af dogma or bearing a planeload of moral imperatives and he may as well stay in the Vatican. He could come here super humble, yet having all the answers like the Dali Lama. If he comes with the heart of a pilgrim to listen,learn and love he will be welcomed as a friend. He should treat us as being on the same pilgrimage with the same burdens and encourage us to work for the rescue efforts that are capable of saving God's planet. It's really all about respect for Creator,Creation and the rules that we know can help.
We all live downstream.
Little Bear There is an old
Little Bear
There is an old saying that states, "Don't expect too much and you will not be disappointed." Don't expect too much, Sylvester. Remember that John Paul II really selected Joseph Ratzinger to be his successor. Ratzinger wanted to retire, to write his books, 'hang it up' and John Paul would not let him. Why? Because of all of the Cardinals around, John Paul knew that Ratzinger would be a person who would, as much as possible, continue the lead set by Wojtyla. At the Conclave, the other Cardinals selected someone who was very close to John Paul---because they really didn't want to deal with any 'surprises.'
And we will get 'no surprises' when Benedict XVI comes to America. It will be a nice visit---but conciliarism will be left in Rome, in the back of the Pope's closet---hidden away! Don't expect too much and you will not be disappointed.
Shirley Bianchi I, too, am
Shirley Bianchi
I, too, am concerned about the Pope's visit. He does have a propensity for suffering from what in our family we call 'foot in mouth disease'. That being said, I fear along with Stefan that he is more authoritarian than concilliar. What I would hope for, of course, is a re-evaluation of the Church's stance on all things sexual -- family life, homosexuality, and women, and the inclusion of lay people in the discussion. As I have posted elsewhere, I believe it is this stubborn insistence on staying with 3rd century biology that is causing such an exodus from the church. It is virtually impossible to explain the church's position on these matters when they are 1700 years behind the times. And it saddens me terribly because I truly believe that it is the Christian message of love and compassion in all other areas of human life that the church has taught so brilliantly (although often ignored) through the centuries that will be the salvation of this poor battered world of ours. We are taught that we should not have faith without reason, and then are asked to suspend reason and have faith that someone who knows nothing of the loving relationship between two human beings can pass valid judgements on that relationship. To use a simplistic analogy -- I live in the country, and we have chickens. I know how and why a chicken lays an egg. I have no concept of how that feels to a chicken. My husband and I could discuss it forever, and we still wouldn't know. I know what it is to be a woman, and how it feels. Men can, and have, talked about it forever, and they still don't know. Just as I can never know what it feels like to be a man. But I respect the male gifts I see in them. It would be good if some men in the hierarchy could respect the gifts that women have. Someday, perhaps.
Our Holy Father Pope
Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has come and gone. What an unexpected, refreshing and inspiring experience! It is my sense that his trip to the U.S. was a historical event of considerable magnitude, whose consequences are yet to unfold. Pope Benedict has more than met my expectations.
What has been perhaps most striking was the Pope's humble and repentant admission that the Church has handled sexual abuses very badly. While he spoke specifically to abuses of minors, the reality is that when mothers (females) are alienated from Church because of preferential male sex privilege, minors suffer abuse from that kind of bad handling also.
I think the Pope expects the People of God to move forward with the work of being "Church in the Modern World" (Vatican II, Constitution IV, "Gaudium et Spes"). What he affirms most strongly is the essential mutuality of Faith and Reason in the work of Church being Church. The correction of the bad handling of sexual relations in the Church bears directly on the full hearted work of the People Church in implementing the mutuality of Faith and Reason. In the implementation of this, the Church, the People has hardly begun.
If one believes that faith and reason are fulfilled in their mutuality, then one has to accept the premise that faith and reason must both be trustful and trustworthy in their mutuality. If reason is mistaken in its science, it is not being trustworthy and it is breaching its trust obligation of mutuality. If faith persists in mistakes of the past and refuses the truth that reason (new science) advances, then faith is failing in its trust obligation of mutuality.
It seems to me the beginning of healing in the Church, the work of being "Church in the Modern World", starts with the work of establishing trust between the sexes, between emotional intelligence (faith) and rational intelligence (reason). If the Church Universal is in disagreement on the mutual necessity of faith and reason to the people and to it, it will continue to speak with conflicted voices, and the paranoia and schizophrenia will continue, and so will "sexual" abuses. Now, the expectaion is directly on the people to live with one another by affirming in their personal relationships the mutual necessity of Faith and Reason, as Pope Benedict rightly insists.