|
www.OpEdNews.com, April 4, 2005
Some Reflections
on the Recent Papacy of JPII
by Matthew Fox, Ph.D.
While the media responds profusely to the telegenic
pope who has just passed, and while he accomplished
some good things such as taking a stand against
the Iraq war and against capital punishment
and against the idolatry of consumerism, I
really do believe that history will not be
kind to this papacy. This pope and his self-appointed
German mafia headed by Cardinal Ratzinger will
have to face the judgment of history (and very
likely God also) over issues that include but
are not limited to the following:
A pre-occupation with morality as sexual issues
even when this morality is deeply flawed. I
include the following examples:
--The forbidding of one billion Catholics world
wide to practice birth control even while the
human population explodes at the seams.
--The forbidding of the use of condoms even
in a time when AIDS is killing individuals
and whole populations the world over.
--The head-long pursuit of Augustine's theology
of sexuality (all sex must be legitimized by
having children)
--Ugly attacks in the pope's name against homosexuals
and the complete ignoring of what science and
professional psychological associations have
learned about homosexuality (for example, that
it is a natural phenomenon for 8-10% of any
given human population as well as over 460
non-human species).
Other attacks include documents against yoga
(yes!); against Buddhism (calling it "atheism");
against Thich Naht Hahn (calling him the "anti-Christ");
against feminist philosophers; against women
(girls cannot serve at the altar; nor can women
be priests); against theologians in general.
Priests are forbidden to use the pronoun "she"
for God at the altar.
A prolonged effort to render fascism fashionable.
This includes the rushing into canonization
of the card-carrying fascist priest who founded
the Opus Dei movement even though this man
actually praised Adolf Hitler and also denounced
women and has been accused of sexual abuse
of six young men who are alive today.
The taking of Opus Dei under the hand of the
papacy granting it legitimacy and power within
and without the Catholic structure.
The conscious destruction and systemic dismantling
of the Liberation Theology movement and the
very vital base communities it spawned in Latin
America in particular--a move which has opened
up Latin America to an onslaught of Pentecostal
and right wing religious huckstering. The demise
of the Catholic Church in Latin America is
now well underway--pentecostals are sweeping
away the population--now that this papacy (with
the encouragment and support of the CIA) has
destroyed liberation theology and replaced
it with opus dei bishops and cardinals.
The effort to eliminate theology and replace
it with ideology by spreading fear among theologians.
The expulsion from the priesthood of three
prominent theologians on three continents in
the 1990's sent fear into the ranks of theological
thinkers since. Those 3 theologians are Leonardo
Boff from Latin America; Father Eugene Dreuermann
from Germany; and myself in North America.
The sorry appointment of ideological Yes Men
as bishops and cardinals and with it the scandalous
pedophile priest situation where the scandal
is less about individual priest's crimes than
about the cover-up of these crimes by churchmen
who, lacking either moral integrity or intellectual
smarts, moved these criminals from parish to
parish and from diocese to diocese. (One legal
commentator points to a Vatican document on
dealing with pedophile priests as "an
international conspiracy to obstruct justice.")
Three close bishop friends of this pope in
Europe were themselves forced to resign for
sexual misconduct.
Even more curious, is the elevation of one
key American churchman, Cardinal Law, head
of the Boston archdiocese where the U.S. pedophile
scandal first went public, to a plum parish
assignment in Rome this past year.
The rigid sticking to celibacy as a requisite
for being a priest (as well as the requisite
of having exclusively male genitals) means
fewer and fewer Catholics have access to the
sacraments and fewer and fewer persons are
drawn to study for the priesthood. The attendance
at Mass on Sundays in San Francisco alone has
plummeted 70% during this pope's reign.
As a result of his policies the demise of the
number of practicing Catholics in the Northern
countries including Ireland and United States
continues unabated. In a few years 2/3 of parishes
in Germany will have no pastors and no Eucharistic
celebration. Already, 1400 priests in Germany
are from outside the country and the number
of new priests ordained there has dropped from
366 in 1990 to 161 today. The average priest
world wide is over 60 years of age.
The obstruction of Ecumenism and Interfaith to
the point that most Protestant bodies have,
in the words of a key player in Canada, "given
up a long time ago" on the Catholic Church
supporting ecumenism.
The raising of the papacy to a 'cult of personality'
aided and abetted by the fawning media.
Speaking of the fawning media, this papacy
granted a "man of conscience" award
to Rupert Murdoch (who, the year after he got
the award, divorced his wife of many years
to marry a young woman).
The Holy Spirit is far smarter and forward
looking than any papacy and thus this destruction
of Catholicism's past may well be the Spirit's
way of creating a flatter playing field for
Deep Ecumenism and Interfaith in the future.
Meanwhile, though, many good Catholics are
deeply hurt and alienated from their church--there
are a lot more recovering than practicing catholics
out there--and little leadership appears on
the horizon since this pope's appointments
and policies have stifled so much talent and
blockaded so much potential for intelligent
faith.
When I think of this pope I think of a hard-working
priest who came to see me a year ago from southern
California. He cried as he told me how ALL
of the budget for the ministry to the poor
was being cut to pay for a big new cathedral
and for priestly misconduct. He himself was
close to leaving the priesthood. I think of
another priest who came to me three years ago
and who was the person who actually ran his
entire diocese on behalf of his bishop. He
was at his wit's end with the hypocrisy and
lies emanating from Rome--he knew many secrets.
Rather than leave and rather than play the
game, he quit his position and diocese and
found a ministerial position in another diocese
thousands of miles away.
Now that this pope has passed, let readers
reflect on the seriousness of these matters.
And pray for this pope. I for one would hate
to have to face my Creator with a track record
like this one.
Matthew Fox, PhD www.matthewfox.org theologian
and president emeritus of the University of
Creation Spirituality, Oakland, California
Send this page to a
friend!
Home About
Us Newsletters News
Archives Donate
|
