My Comment Turned Into a Full Fledged Rant...
A Not Planned PostSo this is in response to general thoughts posted by steph that made me write more than just a reply, but a sorta rant type thingy. So I'm just gonna post it here. Enjoy. I'm going to go have icecream and listen to Guero. Rental Car is my new track favourite so far... if anyone cares....
One more thing...
I beat my dad, so that's totally funny and awesome. 100 bucks is cool too. Now the grudge match, Adam vs. Colm. Illinois vs. NC. Doesn't get much better than that. I think Illinois could win, but I won't be surprised if they loose. Roy Williams has got to win a championship eventually, and I'm a little scared of NC's interior post game with May who is a monster. Hopefully Illinois' guards shoot the lights out. If anyone is off monday night and wants to watch the game somewheres, give me a call. Worst off, I'll be 1-2. But I really want to win this... for glory and honour! lol... ok, now to the rant...
So here you go for your reading pleasure...
well I agree with steph on the point about his labour of love being over. It is sad to see him go, but like you said, he endured much for anyone, so it is a sort of mixed blessing.
I too would like to see a youngerish pope, but you have to remember, JP2 was 58 when he became pope. That's quite young in my mind. The day will come when someone in the 40's might get chosen, but it isn't up to us really. We're suppose to believe that the holy spirit guides the cardinals in the efforts to choose the right pope, and hopefully it'll turn out ok. Granted, I'll admit there is always some posturing and human element which is hard to separate, but that's not the focus point of the conclave.
I have to disagree with the "in touch" comment. I'm not sure exactly what you would mean specifically by that, but in most of the contexts that I can think of, I'd think you're wrong.... not to be mean or anything, just an irishman's opinion right? :P The fact is, This pope more than ever personalized the pontificate towards everyday christians. People were able to create a bond of some sort with this man for whatever reason, religious or not. I think a large reason was his fervour to go out into the world, and not stay cooped up in an office and be an administrator (which isn't a bad thing, we need them, but I think he did what needed to be done at the time). JP2 created the WYD, one that I went to in Toronto 3 years ago, and am going to in Colon, Germany this summer. Millions of catholic youth have attended and shared their spirit and love with each other. The pope recognized that the youth were the most important section of the church. In his dying moments in his last hour his last message was to the YOUTH of the world. Read ryan's post. How much more do we need? I mean seriously, are we never satisfied? Sure he was an 84 year old man crippled with disease and sickness, but he wanted to thank and pray for the youth.
How much more in touch does a man need to be? Seriously...
If by in touch he has to listen to Black Eyed Peas and wear his hat sideways, I think I'll pass. Maybe people need to rexamine if THEY are the one's out of touch. I'm not trying to be a jerk or anything, but so often people think they have it right. Well in today's society we support woman's rights and equality. Therefore it is obvious the church needs to have woman as priests, or priests that can marry, or allow gay marriage. How often do we consider if society is wrong? Would it be the first time? Do we forget history, or simply ignore it? Sure, people might not agree with JP2's policies and the stance of the church, but that doesn't mean its out of touch. The man was "conservative" if by sticking to the centuries old teachings of the church and foundational beliefs. As catholics we believe in the sanctity of marriage. We believe in the sanctity of life. They are FUNDAMENTAL beliefs. You just don't change those on the fly. If the church believes it is upholding moral integrity by getting flack from a bunch of politically correct pukes, then fine. You don't have to agree with me or the stance of the church. I believe one day there probably will be woman in the priesthood, and looser doctrine allowing priests to marry, but not yet. I don't know how much I agree with those decisions, but its not my call. They're not going to change because the popular opinion says to do it.
Disagree if you will, but don't call them out of touch. Not to be a bastard or anything, but from my perspective as a practicing catholic, If another praticing catholic came up to me and said the church was out of touch with the community, I might listen or take heed more. I'm not trying to sound elitist, I'm just being down right honest. Think about it,from my shoes, isn't it hard to believe someone calling your church out of touch when the person that says it themselves could be considered out of touch with the church and its doctrine? I guess it just depends which side of the fence you're on. Perhaps, in my opinion, a few more people need to hop the fence and try the view from the other side for once. Its easy to trash that which you don't understand and don't attempt to come to know.
So, write me angry letters, send me hate mail, I'll be happy to reply to everyone's questions. I've done so in the past, and will continue to do so. I think it is only fair. Just as a disclaimer to certain individuals, these are my beliefs, and you can take em or not, I don't care really. It is just my honest opinion. Take it for what its worth.
-Buffalo Springfield.
posted by The Irishman @ 2:44 p.m.
5 Comments:
Society is wrong, hey? I won't even go there. But "moral integrity" means nothing if not in the context of society. I mean, the church itself is a society of sorts, and a certain code of conduct is expected in that society. Different societies have different codes. It cannot be claimed that one is superior to the other, they are simply different. And I personally think moral integrity has a lot more to do with upholding your personal ideals rather than blindly folloowing those of others. If your ideals are the same as a group's doctrine, fine, but there is no excuse for being a sheep.
I totally admit I am out of touch with the church. It was a deliberate thing for me. I don't agree with a lot of the doctrine in the church or with some of their fundamental beliefs or the contradiction present in some of their doctrine. I'm not anti-religion, different things work for different people. Religion does not work for me. I don't buy into it any more. But that's just me. I respect your opinions even though I may not share them. I knew you were going to go off on that "out of touch" comment I made. I didn't mean to offend, it's just what I think.
And I think with my "out of touch" comment, it makes more sense to take it in the context of the church being out of touch with the complexities of modern society. There is very little black and white today, rather there are all forms of grey. I feel that the church is trying to cling to a very black and white view of things that does not fit in very well today. You'll probably take offense to this as well, but that's what I think. Catholicism is not perfect. If it were, there would be 6 billion Catholics in the world, not the 1 billion or whatever there are. I don't expect it to be perfect. I mean, it was created by people, and people are dumb sometimes, so nothing ever turns out perfect. There are a lot of good things in Catholic doctrine, but there are a lot of not so good things too. That's all.
Colm, your post was very long. I read most of it. I must admit, I may have missed a few lines. That being said, I'm throwing my towel in your corner. From now on, Colm is speaking for two. Well, at least about the Pope.
I am so sick and tired of hearing people who don't give a rat's ass one way or the other bash Catholics. I am not a practicing Catholic, but at least I give the religion the respect it deserves.
And Steph, don't even get me started. One time I'd like to hear something from you that wasn't 'holier than thou' (or in this case 'unholier than thou') bullshit; climb on down from your high horse and try living with the rest of us for a while. You don't care about religion anymore? Then please, Shut the Fuck Up!
Pope no Dope
So, it's okay to rant about what's good about a religion, but it's not okay to rant about what's not good about a religion? I could be wrong, but it sounds like a double standard to me. I'm not bashing Catholics, I was a Catholic. I guess technically I still am a Catholic. I was just expressing an opinion. Sorry if that bothers you. Why aren't you telling people who are talking about religion to shut the fuck up? It's no different. And leaving anonymous comments is lame. If you're going to cuss me out for anything, attach a name to it so I know who to direct my comments to. And the last time I checked, I WAS "living with the rest of us". It's not like I live on Neptune. Thanks for your two cents though. I LOVE being publicly cussed out. Really. :-)
man, this is going downhill quickly, and I totally saw this coming. Oh well. I'd end it, but I have more to say in a bit.
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