Friday, April 02, 2010

An Outrageous But Impotent Attempt To Paint The Criminal As Victim.

Being asked to preach to the pope on Good Friday is a very high honor. Many years ago, on another Good Friday, my Italian friend Renato (now Archbishop Renato) said "Let's go up into the balcony over the Pauline Chapel and listen to the preacher. It's someone from Poland. He's supposed to be really good. And handsome." In those days, Renato and I had clearance to wander just about anywhere in the Vatican except the private papal apartments. We quietly stepped up to the balustrade in a dark alcove high above the gigantic Michaelangelo pictures and watched Pope Paul VI kneeling to receive the homily of the man who would become JohnPaul II. He preached in Latin. It didn't matter if the words were difficult to follow. He was riveting.

Today, Good Friday, a monk named Father Cantalamessa preached to Benedict XVI. He is the pope's "house preacher." He likened accusations against the pope in the sex abuse scandal to violence suffered by the Jews.

Are you surprised that the reaction has not been favorable?
Stephan Kramer, general-secretary of Germany's Central Council of Jews, said Cantalamessa's remarks were "a so-far-unheard-of insolence."
"It is repulsive, obscene and most of all offensive toward all abuse victims as well as to all the victims of the Holocaust," Kramer said. "So far I haven't seen St. Peter burning, nor were there outbursts of violence against Catholic priests. I'm without words. The Vatican is now trying to turn the perpetrators into victims."
Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, U.S. director of interreligious relations for the American Jewish Committee, called the comments "an unfortunate use of language."
"The collective violence against the Jews resulted in the death of 6 million, while the collective violence spoken of here has not led to murder and destruction, but perhaps character assault," Greenebaum said.

These grumbling priests, bishops and cardinals just don't understand. Repentance, contrition, penance, accountability and willing self-presentation to judgement for crimes and sins is the only response that makes sense. Anything else is disgusting.

So much tarnish on everything in the Vatican.

3 comments:

Spouse Walker said...

It sounds even more self indulgent than you profess it to be. He is singling out one man, the pope, only. Correct? I mean am i wrong or did that evil cloistered out of touch livin the high life thing once write in his own hand for everyone to shut the hell up and stay silent on the issue of sexual assault among the ranks or suffer excommunication? He should be escorted out of that building by the police in handcuffs but instead i have to hear people seeking diplomatic immunity on his behalf. Do other heads of state have diplomatic immunity for actions committed years before they occupied the position? EVIl! These people are horrid and rotten lying scum. There just is no other way to define them. I recently told my neighbor the catholic church is evil in their promotion of hate toward LGBTQ people. She said she did not agree. I had to shut her down by saying "you can have any belief you want but you are not going to dismiss what the catholic hierarchy says against me as insignificant and imaginary in my presence. They are EVIL." You are right FT. They had better look inward. I for one refuse to be their victim. It seems that the catholic people i know are so rigid in their superstitions that they dare not even think these people are human much less the criminal filthy monsters they actually are as well.

thomas tucker said...

Much as I disagree with you, Father T, one thing I appreciate about you is that you have the honesty of your convictions. I don't understand people like your friend the Archbishop- why would he continue in a Church, and be a publci representative of that church, when he disagrees with fundamental tenets of its teaching? Why not have show some cojones and leave it if you disagree with it?

Tony Adams said...

Dear Thomas,
Many are the reasons why an honest man would subjugate his feelings to the demands of an authority to which he has subscribed since knee high to strongly Catholic parents. Not all men are as willful as am I. Indoctrination. It just didn't take with me. He will question his own instincts. I trust mine and consider them God given. Also, He might vehemently deny some of what I suspect is in his head and heart. We all have our particular seasons of awakening. His may be just around the corner. He's not asking me for directions, but if he does....