Reply #76: Dookus, your words resonate

[Matilda]

(to a large degree) with this practising Catholic. And some of the
Catholics posting above (whom I meet from time to time in the
Catholic Forum)obviously also understand where you're coming from.

I am pro-choice, but availability and knowledge of birth control
is a much better way of controlling the population. And human
fertility does need to be controlled - the world's resources are
finite, and we have really reached the upper limits of sustainable
population anyway. The Church has to come to terms with that - I
agree with Princess Turandot that most (educated) Catholics now
practise birth control anyway - in Australia, the old Catholic norm
for families of anywhere from 6-10 children has disappeared, and
2-3 is now usual, and I'm sure this is reflected across the western
world, at least. I believe that Pope Paul VI went against the advice
of most of the world's bishops when he ruled against birth control,
and that was probably his biggest mistake. And when it comes to
preventing the spread of AIDS and other STDs, not to allow the use
of condoms is folly of the worst kind.

I think the Church is beginning to realise that its pro-life stand
must include opposition to the death penalty, and I would hope, to
war as well. An "eye for an eye" is very Old Testament, and we
are supposed to be following the New Testament "let he who is
without sin among you, cast the first stone". I don't know that the
Pope could have done more to stop the Iraq war, as he was old and
already very frail, but that of course also brings up the question
of whether he should have retired years ago. I'm inclined to think
that a younger and more vigorous pope might have made more of an
impact, but the truth is that nothing was going to stop Bush, and
religious leaders going to Iraq ran the risk of being seen to support
Saddam, and that in itself could have opened a can of worms. I think
JP did what he could in the circumstances.

I couldn't agree more on Liberation Theology - the priests who
stood with the oppressed in Latin America - many of them Jesuits
obeying the voice of the wonderful Pedro Arrupe - were, and are, an
inspiration, and I find JP's attitude to them just a bit
hypocritical. To my mind, these men, and the nuns and lay people
who worked side by side with them, were true followers of the Christ
of the Gospels, and did much by their actions to raise the standing
of His Church in the eyes of thinking people everywhere.

I have one final problem with this pope, and this is the issue of
the cover-up of paedophilia, a bungle if ever there was one. I know
that the Vatican's first priority was to minimise the damage to the
Church, and the pressure on the pope would have been immense, but
the coverup, often involving threats and intimidation of victims,
was not only unchristian, it was stupid as well. The next pope
should make a full apology on behalf of the Church itself - not just
a "few" miscreants - and the word should go out that there will be
no toleration in future, charges will be answered quickly, and those
convicted will be stripped of their priestly status - no ifs, no
buts, no excuses.

It won't happen, and neither will any of the other changes talked
about here, because not only has the Pope stacked the College of
Cardinals with like-minded people, the Curia would never allow it.
I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they haven't kept JP alive all
these weeks while furious lobbying has been going on to see that
the Vatican's choice of pope gets elected.

I personally would like to see the Church became a truly democratic
institution, with a college of bishops elected by Catholics all over
the world running things, and the Pope as a sort of constitutional
monarch, with limited powers to go against decisions of the bishops.
And there should be mandatory retirement when the pope reaches a
certain age - not more than 80 - or becomes too ill to function at
his best. In my dreams.