On the Papal Office, Catholicism and Religion in General

So Colin posts about abortion and I’m tackling religion. It seems we’re both breaking our own rules today. I don’t talk about religion as a rule because these conversations never seem to go well. I see no point in these conversations in general. However today, I’m crossing that line.

Pope Benedict XVI (now Pope Emeritus) stepped down from Papal Office last week. He is the first pope to resign from the position since Gregory XII in 1415. Although its not unprecedented for a pope to resign, it is a rare event. So the announcement was met with quite a fair amount of shock. To be honest though, I don’t actually care about the reasons behind his resignation. That’s not what I’m discussing today.

I did not like Benedict XVI.

I don’t mean personally. I’m sure he’s a great person to talk to or spend time with (I hope). I just didn’t like him as pope. As a Catholic, I felt he was too conservative and too traditional. His actions and statements during his tenure as Pope more than showed this facet of himself. And while there is nothing inherently wrong with upholding traditional values, I just felt that it was a regression to what his predecessor, John Paul II, had done.

Although it could be argued that John Paul II was just as conservative as his successor, he did make considerable towards integrating traditional Catholicism with modern day society. Actually scratch out considerable and I’ll say “some strides”.

My chief criticism of both John Paul II and Benedict XVI, was their handling of the many sex abuse scandals rife throughout the Church. A politic way to describe their handling of these situations would be “sweeping it under the rug”. I can’t understand why stronger sanctions and punishments have not been put in place to deal with this problem. The Church has been incredibly lax when it comes to that.

This isn’t however my main problem with the Church. In fact, I have the same issue with pretty much all the other major religions.

I’m a firm believer in the creed that everything has to adapt to survive. Animals, plants, societies and belief systems are not exempt from this. The world is not the same place it was in 4,000 BC (not a significant date) and its not the same place it was in 1666 (again, another random year). Our thoughts, fears and superstitions are a lot different now than they were before. What may have been applicable and understood in that society in that time period, does not necessarily translate to this day and age. While humanity and society have mostly evolved and changed, religion has remained stagnant. Religion does not exist in a vacuum; it should evolve and change along the same lines as society.

(Short disclaimer: I am not in any way saying that the path society and humanity are evolving along, is the right way.)

I believe that for Catholicism, or any other religion for that matter, to remain relevant in society, it has to keep itself relevant. While some thoughts and traditions are in fact timeless, there are some things that need to be let go. The Church’s continued opposition against contraception and gay rights is bordering on the incredulous. Do I necessarily agree with abortion? I’m not going to categorically state either way, but I do believe that women should have the option if they so choose. And as far as I’m concerned, the LGBT community are just people with different preferences than my own, and they shouldn’t be looked down as if they are somehow lesser than me or others.

Long story short, the Catholic Church needs to undertake some serious reforms and look at becoming more progressive. And I think most other religions can do with more progressive thinking as well.

But hey, this is just one (incredibly lapsed) Catholic’s view.

I’ll be patiently awaiting the white smoke to see the new Pope and what path he’ll follow.