The Catholic Church is once again proving that its existence is teetering on obscurity. An effort to deny Joe Biden Eucharist, thereby making it impossible for him to practice his religion, because he refuses to endorse the Church’s opposition to abortion is a travesty, and frankly medieval.
While thousands of young boys, seminarians and nuns have been and are being sexually assaulted under the care of Catholic priests, an angry and ultra conservative group of American clergy is denying our president his rights as a Catholic.
The president accepts the will of a majority of Americans and the Supreme Court to allow women freedom of choice even though he is personally against abortions, a courageous position. The Church hierarchy should spend more time rooting out predators in their midst rather than trying to stymie women’s rights.
In the meantime, Pope Francis has not been strong enough to keep his priestly conservative followers in line. He should put his foot down and acknowledge that abortion is often the right decision for women under a plethora of different scenarios.
Finally ending the controversy by negotiating a compromise with pro-lifers should be high on the pontiff’s agenda. I suggest he consider a compromise that includes ending abortions after a certain period of time, so we can finally put this nagging social issue behind us.
The pontiff still has a lot of work to do to end the sex scandal that has destroyed the reputation of the Church for hundreds of years. Related to this is the male domination of the Church and the inability of women to become priests.
Currently, priests must be celibate. By depriving them the opportunity to raise a family, the Church is making it difficult for these men to fulfill their personal needs and to be effective advisors for their followers. Why ask a priest for advice about marital issues or problems with offspring when they must not marry and may not have children?
No wonder there is a Catholic revolution in the US. The religion is outdated in countries with advanced technologies and missions to control overpopulation, disease and poverty. How can the Church denigrate efforts to make the world a healthier place by claiming abortion is a mortal sin?
The Pope has been ineffective because his priorities should be Catholicism per se, not global warming and meddling in the affairs of state around the world. His sect will be a dying breed if he does not take action to deter the unproductive and antiquated men who put him into office. As pontiff, he should disavow those that want to live in the 20th century and not consider the world as it exists today.