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I had been raised Catholic myself, but I never had the impression Vatican pronouncements influenced our local sermons. I felt like the last, and least devout member of a dying sect hearing the same, insipid recitations of rote liturgy for no real meaningful benefit.
Then I read histories of the faith, how arbitrary the various components of dogma were, and how viciously dissenters were taxed and burned. Well, heck, it wasn't just dissenters, it was the whole damned world.
I rather view philosophy and religion as attempts to make sense of the human experience, emphasizing the emotional, the spiritual and the moral without losing sight of the fact that we are never more than just human.
That said, once elected the Pope is the most visible figurehead of a vast, and presumably desperately corrupt bureaucracy and yet has the world as his pulpit. Was his model Saint Francis of Assisi? Martin Luther? Jeshua ben Joseph? Based on fallible words and infallible encyclicals, most certainly not.
Grace, enlightenment and community are our natural birthright. Those who seek to deny it to any one of us deny their own humanity. I can't wish them harm directly, but perhaps the shame of their actions will find them eventually.
Then I read histories of the faith, how arbitrary the various components of dogma were, and how viciously dissenters were taxed and burned. Well, heck, it wasn't just dissenters, it was the whole damned world.
I rather view philosophy and religion as attempts to make sense of the human experience, emphasizing the emotional, the spiritual and the moral without losing sight of the fact that we are never more than just human.
That said, once elected the Pope is the most visible figurehead of a vast, and presumably desperately corrupt bureaucracy and yet has the world as his pulpit. Was his model Saint Francis of Assisi? Martin Luther? Jeshua ben Joseph? Based on fallible words and infallible encyclicals, most certainly not.
Grace, enlightenment and community are our natural birthright. Those who seek to deny it to any one of us deny their own humanity. I can't wish them harm directly, but perhaps the shame of their actions will find them eventually.
