However there is currently an unsubstantiated "news" story being repeated in gay blogs and anti-Catholic circles that links the Pope's resignation to some alleged "arrest warrant" issued by an international organization on behalf of some "undisclosed" European nation. The reports are suspect on many levels and just reading the source/sources one would think it obvious that it is either a hoax or an exaggeration of a kernel of truth. These blogs use the story as a basis to editorialize and express a deep-seated hatred for the Catholic Church.
As I commented in one such blog:
This story is apparently a hoax. There are no credible references to the content of this story that I can find. The fact that there are so many who are eager to believe this "news" speaks ill for our community as well as for all whose hatred for the Catholic church is such that facts don't matter. We talk a good talk when it comes to others spewing hate toward the gay community, but stop and reflect on how we do the same to them. There is justifiable anger toward the RCC and legitimate demands for accountability but using unsubstantiated stories to further our cause is irresponsible.
All of you who feel compelled to criticize the Catholic Church (and I count myself among you) please do so responsibly. The Catholic Church, like other religions, has done lots of good and has produced countless individuals whose work with the sick, the poor, the imprisoned and disenfranchised are indisputable and exemplary.
Those of us brought up to admire and emulate the values of love, service and compassion that we learned from the Church and its teachers, feel most acutely the hurt the church has caused us and others and at the same time we feel the profound sadness of a child who wished for a more consistently understanding and affirming and parent.
Please temper your hatred for my Mother with a modicum of respect; she may not be perfect, but she had a good side; and in your condemnation of the Pope and all you think he stands for, remember that when your whip lashes out, it may strike some of the very brothers and sisters with whom you claim solidarity.
You do the "cause" no favors when you speak hatred for the sake of shock or revenge or political correctness. You embarrass us and the cause of LGBT rights when your hatred and ridicule overshadow your intelligence and ability to check the facts.
So criticize hypocrisy, expose the truth, demand accountability, express anger, describe your personal hurt and outrage, but please do so with some degree of thoughtful regard, with responsible journalism, with respect for the truth and, dare I say, with humility. Hubris is unbecoming no matter whose "side" you are on.
2 comments:
No fan here either! But when I do post about it I do so from an analytical approach. Having my first twelve years of education occur in Catholic schools sort of leaves me well versed for that.
In essence the Catholic church is based on so much bovine effluent that you need a front end loader and a dump truck to get it all out.
Well Frank, you see how people are. Being oppressed does not make you good, or wise, or noble. It just makes you angry, and from there to being an oppressor yourself is a very small step.
The long, sad, tragic history of humanity is full of examples, overflowing in fact.
I too am appalled by what comes out of some so-called liberal people's mouths.
Post a Comment