The Pope and His Church

He says his Church is the only one that truly represents God. He also says he is infallible. Therefore, all others must be wrong. Because nobody else can claim to be infallible. We are told that Hindus, Moslems, Protestants, Jews, agnostics are all wrong. In other words most of the world (85 percent) is wrong – except him. And those who disagree are wrong again because they are not infallible.

With this mindset it is easy to see why the Church has embarked on so many programs – sometimes progroms – to convert ‘heathens’, re-educate ‘heretics’, burn witches, stage inquisitions, slaugther ‘barbarians’, and generally subdue everyone who objects. I’d say the Pope is self-righteous, dictatorial, fundamentalist. And in that role he has always supported those in charge - aristocrats, emperors, employers, dictators – as long as they returned the favour. Just think of the crusades, of Martin Luther, the Spanish occupation of Flanders, the conquest of South America, the Concordat, the wars in Europe, the American neo-conservatives. He did it just about always. And still does.

Pope Pius IX - quoting Jesus - said: "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's." This is how you make people subservient. It means "don’t complain today, you’ll be in heaven tomorrow". Makes for submissive, unquestioning followers. Just fire up their naive religious conviction. For their Church and a place in heaven they’ll do anything - as long as the Church grants absolution. And it does. "Confess, repent, and you’ll be forgiven" is the message. It means you can do it again tomorrow and be forgiven again.

Martin Luther revolted against that: To buy yourself forgivenness, to pay for a place in heaven ? It shouldn’t be that simple. It shouldn’t be at all. But that is how the Church made its money and kept believers under control. And the Church cooperated with whoever promised to further its goals and feed its greed.

Was Pius XII "Hitler's pope" ? Before he became pope he negotiated the Concordat with the Nazis. This secured their support - and had them collect church taxes for the Vatican. In return he ordered his priests in Germany to refrain from any political comments. He created German Army Bishops, too. From early 1939 until the end of the war Pius XII complained many times to the Nazis – about them interfering with his Concordat. He did not once, however, protest directly or complain publicly to them about the persecution and killing of the Jews.

After the war he was exonerated by many, including prominent jews. He was said to have saved between 200,000 and 800,000 jews by hiding them in convents. Not much detail is available. Surprising, given the large number of lives allegedly saved. Even more astonishing are allegations that the Vatican helped launder Nazi gold and financed escape routes for them to South America. Victims filed a class-action suit in 1999 which alleges the Church’s involvement in the famous "Rat-Lines" of the ODESSA (former SS officers') group.
Strange, isn’t it. Of course, you would expect the Nazis to launder stolen money – preferrably in Switzerland, but the Pope ?? Is this why he still employs Swiss guards for his personal protection ? From the Nazis to ‘Opus Dei’ is a small step. This is an ultraconservative, Vatican-approved and secretive organisation with "cult-like methods and a right-wing political agenda" (Wikipedia). Sounds like the Pope’s storm troopers.

Is all this true or is it just another conspiracy theory ?
I don’t know. But if only half of it, a quarter, only one-tenth of it were true, it would be devastating.

‘Conservative’ is a benevolent description of the Catholic Church given its historical track record. It fought tooth and nail against Enlightenment and scientific progress. Just think of Galileo being put on trial. This is consistent with its dislike of higher education. You see, better educated people might voice doubts and ask more questions. There is anecdotal evidence that catholic students to this day achieve significantly below their non-catholic peers. It is fitting that religious fundamentalists are promoting ‘creationism’ as opposed to science. For marketing reasons its now called ‘Intelligent Design’.

Of course, the church excludes women from becoming priests. No equal opportunities here. Thats because – they say – Jesus had only male apostles. And all clergy has to be un-married, celibate. In other words - chaste. Now contrast this with the many sex abuse scandals surrounding Catholic priests. A psychiatrist would say that one is simply the consequence of the other. Well folks, castration is the solution.

With this twisted attitude to sex it is little wonder that the Church forbids the use of contraceptives – not before, not during, nor after. Not even condoms. Not even to prevent AIDS. A poor married couple in the Philippines or South America - having already ten children which they can’t feed – is thus forced to have yet another child, doomed to endless hunger, disease and deprivation. Or worse. Abortion, of course, is also strictly forbidden. Even in cases of gang-rape. "Human life is precious", you see. Never mind that in many wars Catholic priests have been blessing the cannons which killed thousands of ‘enemies’. Apparently, they were not "precious". The Church has a big problem with human life.

If priests don’t speak up against war, do they at least speak up against dictators, ‘disappearances’, torture - I mean torture today, not in the Middle Ages ? "By keeping their tongue-tied heads way down, our religious leaders have forfeited the moral authority with which they otherwise could speak."

How about Poverty (due out Feb ’06). ? Why isn’t that one of the most important issues for the Church ? After all, for hundreds of years the Vatican was the richest organisation and the largest land-owner in Europe. It gave alms to the poor and looked after many orphans, but is that all ? When three quarters of mankind live in abject poverty, what does one of the world’s richest organisations do about it ? Nothing much. Simple folks, even Bill Gates, do more. If I were still a Catholic, I would be ashamed. The Catholic Church and moral authority ?? Sadly, an oxymoron (Americans: Look this up in your dictionary).

As you may have gathered, I’m no longer a Catholic. I left in protest. They have probably excommunicated me - their word for ‘executed’. But I’m in good company, just google Henry VIII, for example. This article is not anti-religious nor anti-God. I would like to know about God. But the Church hasn’t helped me. In fact, it stood in my way. What would Jesus think ? I’m sure he would cringe. Then fire them all.

PS: Could the Church contribute at least a little (say $1 per member) to improving the world ?

PPS: Feel free to email this article to Mr Ratzinger. I’m looking forward to his response.