Do Conservative Catholic Bishops Have no Clothes
In 1837, Hans Christian Andersen wrote The Emperor's New Clothes. In the story, a vein Emperor who loves fine robes has his clothes stolen by swindlers. The swindlers tell everyone the Emperor's new clothes will be so fine they can only be seen by the wisest of eyes. As the Emperor parades naked down the street important people compliment him on his splendid clothes. Only when a small boy remarks, "The Emperor has no clothes" does the crowd roar with laughter.
This tale is a metaphor for the conservative bishops who parade around in fine robes. They are being laughed at because they declared President Biden cannot be given communion for his refusal to impose his religious views on women. This all began with the election of a Catholic President Biden. Protestants like Obama don't matter as much because they are not in the "real church." Biden has Catholic credentials so this give Bishops indigestion.
When the Catholic President said he supports abortion rights some bishops felt threatened. How could a lowly President of the United States dare to challenge a Catholic political viewpoint? They must have said, "Hey everyone. Look over here at us. Doesn't everyone know we Bishops are very important people? Would someone please notice us?"
The Pope and other more rational Bishops recognized that if the appear together with the President while endorsing projects against poverty and for immigration there is at least the chance they will appear influential. The little Bishops just don't get this. They think they are appearing strong when they draw a line in the sand. The line was stomped on. The general public sees them as "The Emperor has no clothes."
It is unfortunate the Catholic Church has so many small minded Bishops. These small minds preside over declining churches. That they have no clothes is obvious to everyone but themselves.
Roxanne Solonen’s July 5, 2021 inforum.com column titled “Bishops document on Eucharist isn’t about Biden”. “It is, however, about the soul of a man named Joseph Biden… .” She claims President Biden’s view on the reproductive rights of women as a practicing Catholic is an outright scandal. His soul risks condemnation if he consumes “God in the flesh”. These bishops are saving old Joe’s soul by denying him communion. Of course Solonen confesses she cannot know the state of anyone’s soul. For that she is wafer and wine ready. However Roxy does seem to know what’s in God’s heart, the state of the Evil One’s thoughts, and apparently can see through the eyes of Jesus Christ. For that she is ready for the cloth, but alas.
ReplyDeletePope Francis says, “The Eucharist is not the reward of saints, no, it is the bread of sinners.” Are there any saints in the bishoprics? Though prelates are draped in gaudy clothing some it seems are politically naked as a jay birds.
Ardy B--Yes, Roxanne, who has stopped by this blog to disagree, knows THE TRUTH. It would she and the Bishops' time would be better spent worrying about their own souls.
DeleteI'm guessing 100 years from now the current anti abortion mania will be looked at as just another in the parade of societal obsessions. It will be no more important than the crazy tulip craze of the 1600's.
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Deletetsm "do remember that reality when you project your druthers into the next century."
DeleteYou mean I will be dead?? I had no idea. :)
As far as you projecting, or speculating, abortion might be a relic of a barbarian age, I think it most fruitful to consider the history of humanity. That is, the humanity we know about.
For most of that time abortion was accepted as in the common interest. That was because humans learned to calculate how much food was available and how many mouths they had to feed. When their math told them there were too many mouths they performed abortion or infanticide.
Today, many couples make the same calculation. It is different because it involves the "quality" of the children (can they participate in school activities, go to college, etc.) and the quality of their own lives (they prefer not to spend two decades changing diapers.) So, they practice birth control including abortion.
The difference between the survival couples of the past and more prosperous ones of today is religion has changed. Formerly religions probably smiled on couples doing abortion and infanticide for the survival of the tribe. Today religion has decided these practices are "sin." If religion changes again to see limits in family size as good, abortion will be more universally smiled upon. If the men who run today's religion continue to prevail, you will be right it will be frowned upon.
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Deletetsm -- I apologize for dumping posts you made that were directed at other posters. Obviously I thought they were directed at me and/or made no sense. To prevent this you need to say to whom you are directing the post.
Delete"...your morality is always up for grabs. it is a free floating set of rules/taboos/sins that vary based on time, place and circumstances." That is not entirely inaccurate. We need rules that allow not only survival but flourishing of human beings. To have such a society we cannot be hung up on "sins" from the Middle Ages. In fact, your comment exactly, no precisely, my criticism of your religious views. Using Catholic priests as a sources for moral and ethical standards allows "rules/taboos/sin to be based on the self interests of clergy. The case is the same in Protestantism though not so centralized.
I'm reading a great book which nails down the religious justification used by segregationists to justify segregation. The author tracked down written documents outlining the theological justification of segregation. As with male Catholic clergy, the Biblical interpretation of the Bible was self serving.
If you think you hold some lofty views on morality, views superior to mine, I'd suggest a little research on where those views came from. Probably some self interest was inserted along the way.
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Deletetsm "very confusing and confused"
DeleteI think most devout Christians struggle with the reality that current tenets of their faith reflect today's market for religion and that tenets were different in the past and will change in the future. Yet, they will inevitably have to accept this fact.
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ReplyDeletetsm There are some things so widely known references are not required. But, for those who have lived isolated lives, try China. Then try Eskimos.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_infanticide_in_China
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ReplyDeletetsm re: Japanese "suicide forest"
ReplyDeleteThat's grim. Voluntary suicide was practiced by the Eskimos. Old people who felt they could not carry out their share of the survival work would walk out into a blizzard and die. They sometimes asked other family members to kill them.
Ironically, I'm re reading the book which was the source for the Oscar winning movie, "Nomadland." The author who lived in a van and traveled and camped with people who had no other home spent much of one chapter interviewing officials around Quartzite, AZ, about the number of bodies found in the free camping desert area near there. Every year there are people who just decide to go out by themselves and starve to death of take their lives some way. Several people she met said they intended to die that way when the right time came along.
In Feb of 2019 we drove through Quartzite just to see the thousands of camping rigs sitting across the area.
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Deletetsm "why bother to go out into a blizzard to die."
DeleteThere were doctors living in igloos when only natives lived in Alaska? Which answers another question, why do I dump some of your posts and not publish them?
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Deleteno further comments. lost interest in this thread.
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