To Say, "The faith never changes" is to Tell a Joke

Priests used to spend many of their working hours each week listening to the confessions of the faithful. Today, confessions are so infrequent some parishes offer them only upon appointment.  

The confession ritual was done because the priest listening to the confession held high credentials. This came from what Jesus allegedly said to Peter, "Upon this rock you are to build the church." Clergy, and most of the faithful for hundreds of years, interpreted this as, "You men own the church. It belongs to you. This allows you to pass judgment on sinners as if you are God himself." Clergy admonished the faithful to fess up about their sins. Clergy then exercised power over the faithful by forgiving or withholding. Martin Luther was angry that some priests extracted money in exchange for forgiveness. We now know more recent priests have used confession to obtain sex.  

The church leaders did not foresee the coming of the pill to avoid contraception. When it arrived, Catholic women universally took to it. This, along with child sex abuse, led to these women, and men, to avoid on of the most effective techniques it had to control its members, the confession. When clergy who had no children to raise advocated no birth control and when a few committed sexual crimes, the imagery of a man with a link to Jesus evaporated. Those in the pews changed the faith. That clergy insist it has not changed is humor.   

Now, many abortions can be done by pills. Goodbye confessions of abortion. The church overreached again passing judgment on abortion. Catholic women are a large part of the population that gets abortions. These women are also changing the Catholic denomination. 

Author Stephen Prothero pointed out that what the church really is is what those in the pews think it is. What seminary professors and national church leaders think the church is does not count for much. The latter have a right to believe whatever they wish but it is those in the pews who pay the bills. Those who pay the bills own the church, not Peter on a rock.