It isn’t every day (or for that matter, every century) that you see a pope take on the hierarchy of his church. As one of the millions of “practicing, but shouldn’t be” Catholics, I am cheering him on.
You see, as a Catholic who divorced and remarried, I am condemned to hell. Why, you non-Catholics ask? Well, the church says that remarrying without having the first marriage annulled is a sin; and if you die with sin on your soul, you are headed south (or whatever direction hell is).
On top of that, I, along with 90 percent of all Catholics, have used artificial means of birth control. Artificial is the church’s code word for condoms and the pill. If the remarrying thing didn’t get me, birth control usage will.
What often galls (and puzzles) many Catholics is that the church can and will forgive almost all other sins. Murder, rape, incest, child abuse — come on down! There is absolution waiting for you behind door No. 1, also known as the confessional booth. But when it comes to divorce and birth control, “Not so fast, stranger.”
I have a friend who may be the best person I have ever known. He is a good family man; bathes dying people in a hospice once a week; goes to Mass religiously; donates generously to good causes; adopts stray dogs; and doesn’t cheat on his taxes. A nice “résumé.” but he is still headed straight to hell. Not only has he remarried without annulling his first marriage, but he continues to receive communion every Sunday. Accord to the big boys in Rome, this guy has no chance.
The Catholic church is, and always will be, a major voice in a world of turbulent religions. It’s got history on its side. The problem? There is a simple answer: Too many old (and I mean really old) celibate men run the show. You might want to hold your thoughts on the celibate thing. If there is one more article or book written on the subject of sexual dalliances of priest, bishops and cardinals, Barnes and Noble will have to create a special section just for the Catholic clergy.
I grew up in a Catholic church that forbade us to eat meat on Fridays. Sister Mary Catherine, my sixth-grade catechism teacher, assured us it was a “grievous sin.” Today, not so. For reasons that make about as much sense as the original “you can’t eat meat on Friday” rule, the church revoked the punishment phase of this sin. Why? Who knows? Maybe the pope at the time hated fish.
If you find this column is filled with anger and sarcasm, it’s because it is. Catholics are sick and tired of being labeled sinners because they married the wrong person or don’t want (or can’t afford) a large number of children. What seems like pure common sense to us is defined by the guys at the top as heinous behavior. The problem is, we just ain’t buying it.
And don’t get me started on the boys not wanting women priests.
Frank Matthews of Fort Worth is a Community Voices volunteer columnist. His email address is fmatt23@aol.com.
