Sunday, July 28, 2002
Me and my church - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER -- With the Pope in the country for World Youth Day, there’s no better time for me to review my views on the church and religion in general. I was raised a Roman Catholic and I remain one, though I have not attended mass in a while. I’m a little weather beaten when it comes to my religion, though not because of the recent scandals that have plagued the Catholic church. For me, in recent months, I’ve regarded going to church as a chore, and have relied on my old mantra that religion is best when it isn’t force fed.
On Tuesday, I watched the coverage of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II arriving in Toronto. In seeing the slumped and ageing pontiff speak, a tragic shadow of a former outdoorsman, I was naturally in awe of him. I’m sure anyone, irrespective of religion or faith, is in admiration of a man who embodies so much courage and integrity. John Paul II is a man, who I admire even more for his own faith and dedication to his ideals; even though I have become somewhat disenchanted myself with my own faith and our shared ideals.
Among those who greeted him after arriving was this little girl in blue, forever immortalised on the front page of the National Post the next morning. Seems she was utterly moved at the sight of the head of the Catholic church, and as she told him she loved him, he returned the favour and kissed her. She ran off the stage crying, getting quite emotional. There were more tears shed as these two physically disabled young men came to the stage to shake hands with the Pope too. One in a motorised wheelchair was inconsolable with tears after meeting the Pope, and watching that how could anyone not be moved? I was moved and it’s something inexplicable. Fiona Forbes, the hip television hostess on the newly minted Citytv, said when she met John Paul II back in the ‘80s, she too fainted. This past Tuesday, watching the Pope muster up such strength to speak from the heart and make the trip in the first place, my eyes weren’t dry.
Though I’ve gotten melancholy over watching the Pope’s latest visit, it hasn’t brought me closer to the church. This weekend, I’m sans church and not that guilty. I think if God were all-loving and all-knowing, he would know that I can’t possibly bring myself to a church that in its history has done a lot of terrible things.
The recent sex abuse scandals that have been fodder in the press hasn’t really done much to spruce up the image of a church that claims to be holier than Thou. What these egregious examples of abuse and criminal behaviour has shown me is that the church needs to deal with a pressing problem that has plagued the Catholic church forever. The requirement that the clergy must undertake a vow of celibacy needs to be reviewed, or least of all explained to someone like me. That policy or law, or whatever they call it, has proved challenging to the desires and urges that mere men get. Celibacy has also turned a lot of people off the church, especially in the over sexualised culture in which we live. The Pope this week gave a speech saying that the youth of the church must stand down such influences that pose itself in society, as that wouldn’t be the way Christ would live. I think that’s a good call on the part of the pontiff, however such constraints or challenges to the way life is now, immediately turn people off of the church, whether it’s joining a ministry or even just attending. And were people to fall into the vice of sin, it would be one thing for the Catholic church to disavow such sinners and excommunicate them from the church. However that isn’t the case with the church as currently constituted. These sex abuse scandals are deplorable and the church, rather than banishing them to the punishment of the law, have merely switched their postings or tried to cover it all up. That clearly is dishonest and proof that the church itself has become an industry of its own, and a sort of den for the frailties of man. (The Road To Perdition shows some of the church’s legacy in dishonesty.)
Where I divide with my own church is on the issue of abortion. I happen to be pro-choice, meaning that unlike some Republicans in the States or Canadian Alliance people here, I think abortion should be something that women can do without reprisals from the law. Would I then preach to the sluts and the whores of the world to go on and get laid without thought to getting pregnant, as an abortion could be called upon later?, of course not. My main quarrel with my church is that they are immovable with allowing abortion in society. I get very uneasy sitting during a service, when there is some appeal to support local pro-life organisations or beckons to join the latest pro-life rally in town. Clearly, decisions on abortion should be made by the state and not the church. Wasn’t that the reason the Church of England was founded? If a woman because of certain circumstance decides to get an abortion then that’s something for her and her doctor to decide. I believe the church has no place to dictate whether she should do something against her will. The church should not excommunicate or castigate people who make certain lifestyle choices, as it shouldn’t be the church’s place to judge. I believe the woman herself would have to let God judge her, and thank goodness that doesn’t take place in this life.
On the issue of homosexuality, I believe that homosexuals have a right to dignity in society. Whether they choose to worship at my church however is something one must wrestle with. Do I think homosexuality is a sin? I really don’t know. Some bible purists can point to scripture where it may say that homosexuality is bad. I myself haven’t read much of the bible so I can’t say. But were we to believe everything written in the bible, then we would believe that the inferiority of women was okay, and that slavery and all kinds of bloodshed was perfectly fine. Recently there was a story that a gay student in a Catholic school in Ontario won an injunction to allow him to take his boyfriend to the prom. One must recognise that it was a Catholic school, thus the students are bound by a certain code of conduct and such. Now were it a public school, then that would open up another can of worms too lengthy to delve into in this space. But on this issue, I think the school was right to disallow the student bringing his date to the prom. I think the church has rules and they should be followed, as there are many other kinds of schools, private and public, the gay student could attend. (I object to the injunction, by the way, because it means the courts can dictate laws and matters of taste on the church; as I disagree with the church dictating their mores to the state, see my stance on abortion.) But on the issue of homosexuality and the Catholic church, I believe that there needs to be a redefinition of it all. Once and for all we must know whether gays are welcome in the church or not. This society doesn’t believe gays should be treated with less dignity than straight people, and I believe that my church should take that same lead. Practising homosexuality is a lifestyle choice, and if that’s how some may want to live then so be it. However, I nor the church should pass judgement on homosexuals. I believe when life is through on this earth and we proceed to the next, it is there that God make his judgement and only there.
Religion is a very difficult thing for me to deal with. I believe that all people should believe in something, because there needs to be a certain separation in the lives we lead. Whether in birth or death, there needs to be something believed by mere men and women, because we need that peace and we need that faith. There must be someone, somewhere bigger than you and I. After this column, I’ll probably go to hell for such heretical thinking. God help me.
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