The massive contribution of active love and charity, to the world, of the good and dedicated lay and clergy of the Catholic Church, is well known to its faithful. This is also likely experienced in some fashion by those outside the Church. Likewise, the massive failings, oppression and inherent social/psychological incongruities of the Catholic Church are well known to its detractors. In turn, these drawbacks are likely experienced to different degrees by the faithful of the Church. We welcome today, in this decade of crescendo, a new pope, a new beginning for the Catholic Church. If we allow it to be, this can be an opportunity for the secular world, struggling for tolerant, just, and peaceful societies all over the globe, to reciprocate this act of progress, (in the election of a Jesuit from Argentina) with attempts to engage the Church with renewed patience and charity.
While the dogmas of the Catholic Church are unchanging, its spirit and practice is alive in its faithful who let the love of God pour out into their lives. Those that witness to the grave injustices and crimes of the Church, could take this moment to recognize the good people who make up what the Church would call the Body of Christ. This is a moment for those of us who are critical of the Church to renew their commitment to fighting its exploitation and discrimination with love and understanding, rather than approaching it from a place of arrogance and hate. The heart of both the Church and the secular progressive movement is love, peace, and a yearning for greater understanding. While witnessing to the injustice of the powerful, we must always be sure that our anger does not manifest in the very prejudice and closed-mindedness we aim to combat.
The election of a relative outsider to the Vatican milieu at least symbolizes an attempt towards unity with the world outside of its narrow philosophical corridors. Our world faces powers more dangerous and violent than the Catholic Church. We should all strive to cooperate in our journey to justice. I will accept this new development as a reminder that our caricatures of movements/religions/people can be wrong and unhelpful in effectively perceiving and engaging those around us. Sometimes they can say more about the limitations of the perceiver than the failings of their object. To my Catholic friends I extend my apology for my sometimes unproductive ranting, not because today's events change or mend any problem or offense, but because they remind me that unity and understanding can be even more productive than truth sometimes. Parts of the truth can be ugly. Parts of the truth can be beautiful. And parts of the truth can also be unknown, to me. As we all journey towards truth together, we remember that we are all of the same sacred dignity, regardless of the shortcomings of ourselves, or our traditions.
...for every atom belonging to me, as good belongs to you ~ walt whitman
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