No. However ass-backwards its policies in some areas may be, and they are ass-backwards, the Catholic Church as an institution, via its work on education, social justice, and hospitals, has done a staggering amount of good in the world. Could they do more if they would abandon stupid policies like not advocating condom usage in AIDS-ravaged countries? Yes. But they do a staggering amount of good.
And on top of that, I find astonishing beauty and power in the core of their doctrine - a beauty and power that is, frankly, not there for me in other Chrtisian denominations. They have a respect for the mystical, a sense of the sublime, and a focus on wonder that moves me. Combined with the basic Christian teaching of forgiveness, and the hard belief in the power of men, through free will and reason, to better themselves, I find much to respect.
And on the other hand, they are wrong on issues. Birth control. Homosexuality. Women as priests. Abortion. They're wrong.
The courage of my convictions is that I'm willing to fight to make them better. I'm willing to stand up for an organization that does good while still holding a firm line on the stuff they do that sucks.
And if you think that's being a pussy and that the moral obligation is to leave any organization that one does not agree with fully, well then, frankly, I'm going to call you a fucking hypocrite unless you live on a desert island micronation somewhere.
Fuck it. If those are my options, I'll take the Church any day. If my options are "get the fuck out if you disagree" or "be a Catholic," I'll take be a Catholic. And I'll say, as a Catholic, that the Pope is dead fucking wrong on this, that for all his understanding and knowledge of philosophy and theology, and his insistence on absolutes is a childish naievete that does a disservice to his faith.
If your position is the alternative, I'll take the church. The disagreements I have with it are far less than those that I have with the cowardly ease of absolute denunciation.
no subject
And on top of that, I find astonishing beauty and power in the core of their doctrine - a beauty and power that is, frankly, not there for me in other Chrtisian denominations. They have a respect for the mystical, a sense of the sublime, and a focus on wonder that moves me. Combined with the basic Christian teaching of forgiveness, and the hard belief in the power of men, through free will and reason, to better themselves, I find much to respect.
And on the other hand, they are wrong on issues. Birth control. Homosexuality. Women as priests. Abortion. They're wrong.
The courage of my convictions is that I'm willing to fight to make them better. I'm willing to stand up for an organization that does good while still holding a firm line on the stuff they do that sucks.
And if you think that's being a pussy and that the moral obligation is to leave any organization that one does not agree with fully, well then, frankly, I'm going to call you a fucking hypocrite unless you live on a desert island micronation somewhere.
Fuck it. If those are my options, I'll take the Church any day. If my options are "get the fuck out if you disagree" or "be a Catholic," I'll take be a Catholic. And I'll say, as a Catholic, that the Pope is dead fucking wrong on this, that for all his understanding and knowledge of philosophy and theology, and his insistence on absolutes is a childish naievete that does a disservice to his faith.
If your position is the alternative, I'll take the church. The disagreements I have with it are far less than those that I have with the cowardly ease of absolute denunciation.