Sunday, January 24, 2010

The Language of Catholicism in Crisis

It has been reported that the surviving auxiliary bishop of Port-au-Prince, at the funeral of its  archbishop who was killed by the earthquake, said


God had something to say and he said it here. He did it because he wants Haiti to become a new country.

Granted, people say crazy things at their times of loss and must be cut slack, but the consistent language of organized religion is like the extrication attempts of someone who has painted himself into a corner. Pitiful enough in times pacific. Unforgettably irritating in harrowing times. Let us all now conclude this funeral mass by joining together to praise God in song for having helped Haiti become new. Page 35 in your hymnals. A Mighty Fortress is Our God.

6 comments:

TED said...

Do the Catholics really have a hymn by Martin Luther in their hymnals? Very inclusive of them, I must say.

Tony Adams said...

Dear TED, Catholics sing many "Protestant" hymns but usually with revised lyrics.

RawForReal said...

Fr. Tony,
Did you seriously expect something different from an Institution that measures progress in terms of Centuries?

Tony Adams said...

Dear R4R,
I don't know what I expect anymore. I do know that there is currently an appetite for cleaning out that garage known as organized religion. I want to help.

Dianna Woolley said...

F. Tony - Interesting post....BTW I don't think you'll ever be able to clean out "organized religion" because I don't think such an organization exists:)

Will said...

Sunrise Sister, you may have heard of the Vatican, an international organization whose head is reputed to be god's representative on earth, which has a senate, which has a hierarchical structure which is so politically connected it even has an Ambassador from the United States?

If that isn't organized religion, I don't know what is.