Unforgetable Catholic History

Author Garry Wills wrote "Papal Sin" several years ago. In the book he reviewed the many trials of the Catholic church. At first I thought the book was no more than a mildly interesting collection of theological non-sense. On reading again, with more care, I found that the book reinforced my slightly negative opinion of Catholicism. This isn't really fair since I know so little about Catholicism. As I see it, several of the hot-button issues facing the Church today are the same as they were 50 years ago.

WOMEN AND THE CHURCH   It was Aristotle that said: Ïn terms of nature's own operation, a woman is inferior and a mistake." The Church appears to carry the idea forward but there is nothingin the gospels to indicate Jesus held this attitude. In fact, his attitude was the opposite. Women Priests?  The gospels say nothing about women Priests. They say nothing about married priests either. These views appear to have been foisted upon the Church by Bishops, theologians, and Saints who thought they knew better than the Gospel. They were in fact, influenced by Aristotle, not Christ.

CATHOLIC ATTITUDES TOWARD THE JEWS. Catholics who attempt to whitewash past attitudes toward the Jews are wrong, and speaking counter to well established facts. It is true that a prominent Catholic once said that a synagogue is worse than a pagan temple, since that is where Christ killers gather, where the Cross is banished, where God is blasphemed, where the Son was assaulted, and where Holy Ghosts grace cannot prevail, where the demons are the Jews themselves. It was another priest who referred to fellow human beings (Jews) as vermin, and was subsequently recruited to champion human rights in the Pope's name. Just before World War II a French Jesuit said: "Jews are uniquely endowed with the qualities of parasites." . And lastly on this point, Father Maximilian Kolbe was by no means the violent anti-Semite his accusers suggest, there is no denying the anti-Semitic character of his beliefs and remarks. Father Kolbe was a believer in THE PROTOCOLS OF THE ELDERS OF ZION and in the existence of a virulent COMMUNIST-FREEMASON-ZIONIST conspiracy to subvert and destroy CHRISTIANITY. 

The Vatican's conviction that Jews were in alliance with international socialism, secularism, rationalism, banking, libertarianism, and birth control - with the whole of modernity as  had been defined pejoratively in the nineteenth century - was another bequest of Pope Pius IX, who is a presence in the Vatican to this day.

THE MOST RECENT 50 YEARS  Pope John XXII convened the Second Vatican Council in 1962, which resulted in liberalization of the way Catholics worship and a definite effort to improve the way Catholics relate to the modern world. There was also a strong advocacy for human rights including advocacy to reconcile Catholics and Jews.

Pope John Paul II elevated the status of papacy around the world. He also publicly spoke out against Communist and other totalitarian regimes. On his watch he sought to temper over-liberalizing impulses of the Second Vatican Council by promoting conservative clerics and maintaining doctrinal orthodoxy. He has been criticized in some quarters for maintaining traditional stances on social issues such as sexuality and the ordination of women.

In 2013 Pope Francis began his tenure in the Vatican. He is trying to steer the Church toward the poor and destitute everywhere. He has adopted a: "his door is always open" to helping the poor. Pope Francis is comfortable with men of all faiths and all people rich or poor. Even though his tenure just began, it is noticeable that he has been applauded for his comments about gays, priestly sexuality, and promoting the true-teachings of Christianity.