Pope Benedict XVI marks his 81st birthday moving the Roman Catholic Church hard right. I’m not sure that’s a bad thing.Since the liberalizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council of the the 1960s, the church has been sliding toward moral relativism — the same affliction gripping many Protestant churches.
We’re drifting into a world where there is no right or wrong, just shades of gray.
Churches bid for success by exchanging moral anchors for something akin to polling.
The strength of the Roman Catholic Church has rested on the fact that the priest leads the flock, not the other way around. He is not hired by the congregation, but is appointed by the church.
The Catholic Church has hierarchy, leading from priest to the pope. It moves slowly — often at a glacial pace — in making changes. The changes by the Second Vatican Council — from the historical perspective — were dramatic. Quite out of character with the church’s modus operandi.
Benedict marks his second year as pope today. Although, he has reached out to dissidents in the church’s ranks, the pope is clearing trying to flex the church’s moral muscle.Benedict is a strong advocate of the traditional marriage, an institution build on marriage between man and woman. It’s a tradition rooted in centuries of practice, only facing challenge in recent times.Benedict, it appears, also opposes letting divorced Catholics who remarry participate in the church. The premise being marriage is a holy institution not permitting divorce.
The Catholic Church held to that position for centuries and for centuries divorce was a rare thing. Once married, couples were forced to remain together.
Whether that is always a good thing, practically speaking, is open to debate. On the flip side, one might argue it’s better than flippant divorce, which makes it possible for couples to quit if they hit a rough spot.
The divorce rate in the United States is rampant. In its wake has come the practice of living together — often having children in the process — without commitment. That may well be the rule of the future, but are we really better off denying commitment for the promise of easy exit?
The Catholic Church, under this pope, remains adamant against same-sex unions. It is a moral stand that runs through the heart of church history.Benedict opposes any relaxation of the celibacy requirement for priests.
In the United States, in the space of roughly four decades, the number of nuns and priests have declined precipitously. One reason cited is the church’s demand for celibacy. The argument of those holding priests should be allowed to marry is that it is the only practical way to fill the ranks of the clergy. That may be so, or it may be that problem is not celibacy, but the pull of the world against religion.
It is easy these days to mock religion. To oppose things like homosexuality, sex outside of marriage and abortion is to invite disdain and ridicule. It is easy to point out the foibles of Christian TV evangelists, some of whom strut and moralize in the face of millions while engaging in perversion in the quiet of night.We see them and judge all ministers by their light.
While uncounted go the thousands of preachers in community churches who manage on pitiful salaries to teach moral lessons. What do we have in their absence? In this day, when so many of our young are intensely employed playing violent computer games, what is offered in the way of morality?
In this day, when so many people are intensely employed in blogging insults at others, or in the business of demeaning, what is offered in the way of morality?
I don’t agree with all of the positions of the Roman Catholic Church, but this pope is steadfast in his determination to set a course in the direction of something more concrete than secularism.Benedict recently appointed a new head of the Italian bishops.
He is moving to appoint more conservative bishops in key diocese in the United States as bishops reach retirement age.
Benedict has indicated that the Catholic laity be taught to recite common prayers in Latin, a retreat from the Second Vatican Council. Latin adds mystery and beauty, and the history of the church is seeped in mystery and beauty.
Whether Benedict can turn the tide of secularism is uncertain, but there may well be a hunger out there for something more substantial than changing morals dictated by the religious flavor of the moment.
The pope is intent on imposing the teachings of the church on the world’s priests and bishops and roughly 1.2 billion faithful.
Benedict is also taking steps to curb what he calls the “filth” in the church — the problem of priests engaging in sexual abuse. That is a problem haunting the bowels of the Roman Catholic Church.
It will be interesting to see how successful this pope is in re-instilling the traditional values of the church.
Indeed, it will be interesting to see how Christianity, in general, fares in a world which so eagerly embraces materialism at the expense of spirit.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce