On the Pope's death
Looking at all the pictures of people around the world mourning and crying over the Pope's death, I can't help but feeling a tiny hint of guilt mixed in with a halo of mischievous pride about not experiencing any feelings at all over this event. Not that I live a completely gay-centered lifestyle (how could I?), but ever since I totally lost faith in Catholicism (and religiousness in general) twelve years ago, I have grown more and more critical of the role several social structures have influenced the development of human society. And, given my Latin American-Catholic background, what other institution could I perceive as being the most influential on the evolution of modern power system, other than the Catholic church and its leader?
I guess people have historically considered the Pope as the stronghold and role model of what have long been deemed by Western Civilization "moral values", which have helped preserve the social -and power, in passing- structure for two thousand years.
How could I feel sadness over the death of someone labeled "compassionate" and a "visionary", when that same person helped set the progress of tolerance and acceptance of gay individuals back, making stating that homosexual behavior is "deviant" (on "Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons", the guidelines released by the Vatican on July 31, 2003, condemning the legal recognition of same-sex unions)? The Pope may have brought "faith" to millions of believers who believe blindly in him the same way voters believed blindly in a certain president of a certain country, the man who is changing the course of history for generations to come -probably forever- with his absurd indoctrinations on the "spread of freedom" and his country's military empowerment (the same guy who has toughened and imposed very strict immigration controls on ports of entry such as airports, but who doesn't care about hundreds of people entering without documents through a certain very porous southern border). Faith is the Catholic church's currency, and the more it accumulates via new conversions (or by revitalizing old, weary believers sending the Pope on tour constantly), the more it assures its survival through these very troubled times. I would not be as critical of the Catholic church, and in particular of the Pope, if it weren't because of the opulence in which the he lived (and all Popes and most bishops live), and because of the backwards opinions they have on the acceptance of homosexual people. Gay.com reports that "Last summer, Pope John Paul II approved a pamphlet that condemned modern feminism, in part because its influence made homosexuality more culturally acceptable". What else can be said?
I guess people have historically considered the Pope as the stronghold and role model of what have long been deemed by Western Civilization "moral values", which have helped preserve the social -and power, in passing- structure for two thousand years.
How could I feel sadness over the death of someone labeled "compassionate" and a "visionary", when that same person helped set the progress of tolerance and acceptance of gay individuals back, making stating that homosexual behavior is "deviant" (on "Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons", the guidelines released by the Vatican on July 31, 2003, condemning the legal recognition of same-sex unions)? The Pope may have brought "faith" to millions of believers who believe blindly in him the same way voters believed blindly in a certain president of a certain country, the man who is changing the course of history for generations to come -probably forever- with his absurd indoctrinations on the "spread of freedom" and his country's military empowerment (the same guy who has toughened and imposed very strict immigration controls on ports of entry such as airports, but who doesn't care about hundreds of people entering without documents through a certain very porous southern border). Faith is the Catholic church's currency, and the more it accumulates via new conversions (or by revitalizing old, weary believers sending the Pope on tour constantly), the more it assures its survival through these very troubled times. I would not be as critical of the Catholic church, and in particular of the Pope, if it weren't because of the opulence in which the he lived (and all Popes and most bishops live), and because of the backwards opinions they have on the acceptance of homosexual people. Gay.com reports that "Last summer, Pope John Paul II approved a pamphlet that condemned modern feminism, in part because its influence made homosexuality more culturally acceptable". What else can be said?
posted by R. L. at 11:44 PM
