Those might be words from a song carried in my mind from the 1950’s or 1960’s. Might even be a Bob Dylan phrase. The words are perfect, slip sliding away.
My struggle is just that–my struggle, but voicing my concerns might encourage others to speak to the ironies of holding a good man, Jesus, as the foundation of Christianity while behaving as if power and authority were the foundation of His Church On Earth.
This is not comfortable. I carry the fears and prejudices of many years of belief, love and acceptance of what has been my church, my spiritual home. As a young child through high school years, I attended daily Mass and Communion. My dedication was complete. By any measure, my life is winding towards the end and it puzzles me that the wisdom came so late.
How can I love and honor a church that is anti-gay? How? If the Church believes that man is the image and likeness of God (omniscient and omnipotent), how can the church be anti-gay? We do not choose our sex or our sexual orientation.
The Church has at least covered clerical homosexual activity and at most condoned that activity. Fine. Consenting adults. What need for hypocrisy?
How can I love and honor a church that excommunicates Sr. Margaret McBride because she approved an abortion to save the life of a mother of four? Why is expulsion a weapon designed to protect unity?
How can I love and honor a church that is so anti-women, refusing them the right to fully participate in all levels of Church activity? Why must Bishops and Archbishops continue to affirm the subjugated status of women?
How can I love and honor a church that continually covered the sexual and emotional abuse of children by ordained clergy. Overwhelming and absolutely damning evidence continues to mount. Purging towards justice has not happened.
Pat Antonopoulos' Blog 