a fundamental misunderstanding

Michael Gerson has missed the point in his latest article. he attributes morality and the respect of human dignity to the catholic church. all the while referencing terrible things that popes of the past have done, not to mention what clergy of late have done. he claims that catholicism is the moral compass of the world. that it leads the way in caring for the downtrodden and valuing every human life.

i can think of a number of ways to refute that. starting from the beginning, Catholicism is built on Judaism. the only thing original about catholicism is the pope and the that Christ is the son of god. sure theres some different rituals (many of which are just different versions of Jewish ones), some different names and places, but the basics are the same. how can you claim to be the original human rights watchdog when you have copied most of your faith from an older one?

second, as we move through time, come the crusades. crusaders really valued human life as they slaughtered Jews and and Arabs alike for dusty town that none had any real need for. thats not showing much respect for the value of human life. not to mention the papal atrocities that Gerson himself cites.

next we come to the inquisition. i dont think i need to explain myself on this one. just be glad you werent around unless you happen to be catholic.

fast forward to the 20th century. where was the catholic church when Hiltler was taking over Europe murdering and imprisoning millions at a time? why were they silent as Mussolini was Hitler's man in the Mediterranean? maybe i missed that day in history class.

how about the more modern and ever expanding list of child molesters that use their position as a moral and spiritual guide to take advantage of children?

politicians are constatly citing records as to why or why not to vote for a candidate. as Gerson states, the catholic church has been around longer than any nation on earth(he must not be counting China) and therefore has a lengthy record on human rights on which to judge their moral leadership. looking back on it, i cant say that it is impressive. well, not in a good way, anyhow. and they continue to lobby against women in the clergy while the rest of the modern world has given women full rights so long ago the idea that they wouldnt be equal is about as foreign as can be. they also obstruct the right of clergymen to have a wife. i have to say of all requirements of the job, thats got to be the toughest. they claim to have the high ground on birth control and abortion as well. i wont comment on abortion other than to say that medically, i think that doctors need to have that option at times. birth control is a complete misnomer. in reality it is conception control. and in thins age when we are fighting AIDS and other STDs on a world wide scale, lobbying against safe sex practices is just irresponsible.

the catholic church says it has moral authority, but when you look at the record and policy of the church, it is easy to argue otherwise. religion in general, and especially not the catholic church, doesnt have a monopoly on moral teaching. in my opinion thats the parent's responsibility. i was raised Lutheran, but we were never a very religious family. i dont like church. i havent been voluntarily since middle school. i havent done much raping and pillaging lately. i am always troubled by unethical actions. the kindest people that i personally know are not religious if they even associate themselves with any church. i think the idea, no, the belief, that my god is the right god and anyone who believes other wise is wrong plays a large part in the problem. having a faith in the underlying goodness in humanity in general is much more universal and opens the mind and heart to everyone.

catholicism is not the path to righteousness. i can be. but there are many paths. religion with exclusivity clauses like catholicism are frequently paths to false righteousness. that path leads to misguided efforts of conversion like the inquisition and missionary work such as it was in the 18th and 19th centuries. i think we are much better off as a human race if we just allow each other live and love and just dont be a dick.

new Pope

'i like classic Pope better than new Pope.'
-Will (Okkervil River)

so the Pope is in town. everyone is freaking the fuck out about it. at least the news and police and catholics. like Will said, classic Pope is way better. i fell like Benedict is a let down after John Paul. he seems to say some real dumb divisive stuff at times, which doesnt seem very Popely of him. but then im not catholic, or even religious...

anyway, he is staying like a half mile from me. right across the street from Dick Cheney. the Russian and Chinese embassies are also a short walk from my place. its kind of odd. its all these somewhat shadowy figures all coming together in Glover Park. i feel that no good can come of this. i think i like the Russians best. but we'll see what Putin does in the months and years to come.

but i digress!!!

anyway, the Pope's presence in my neighborhood has resulted in closing off half of Massachusetts Ave which is normally a heavily used 4 lane artery. plus he'll be closing it altogether a few times in the next couple days. its odd to me. the Dali Lama was here a few months ago, and people barely noticed. and i think that guy has a lot better things to say. visiting presidents dont get this kind of treatment. it all seems a bit much to me. its not like he's Jesus. hes just some catholic guy that got elected Pope. which is an oddity of its own.

i must be missing something. all it is to me is a big crazy hubbub over some German in a goofy hat who gets publicity from time to time for saying silly things. i do hope some good comes of this. that he says some smart stuff. so we can all say 'that Pope fella is a smart guy. no wonder they elected him. im glad he came to America.'

two random Pope related thoughts:
-the Pope should be on cribs. he would make all those rappers look like hacks. he has a whole fucking city. and a Pope-mobile. they may have sweet cars, but are the custom and named after them? Pope what!!?
-does anyone tithe anymore? i really cant see me giving ten percent of my income to a church. dude, have you seen gas prices lately? how am i supposed to fill up my Escalade and give you ten percent of my money? i mean, whats that going to? what have you done for me lately? i mean, aside from saving my soul?

p.s. i drive a Rabbit, not and Escalade. but it makes the point better.