Brief thoughts on my Church
Many of you know that I'm a practicing Catholic. Once upon a time, I was pleasantly surprised when Pope Benedict's first encyclical turned out far better than I'd hoped. Recent revelations have shown he did far worse than I ever knew, back when some of us followed the career of Cardinal Ratzinger with trepidation. I am horrified and saddened by what he (and far too many others in the Church) knew and allowed, and even covered up.
Yet all is not lost. My pastor preached yesterday against the death penalty. That takes guts-especially in a parish in real financial straits, where it would surely be safer not to risk offending a fairly conservative congregation.
Today I read Nicholas Kristof's column, "Who Can Mock This Church?" (I'm not sure this is a permanent link, but it's what I can find right now; look for the title), and I'm very cheered to find him saying, "overwhelmingly it’s at the grass roots that I find the great soul of the Catholic Church." That's my Church: the one that feeds the hungry, clothes the needy, visits the sick, and works tirelessly for justice. I hope and pray the hierarchy get with the program now.
The Church is not just those robed men in Rome. The Church is my husband and I; my daughter, who has helped feed the hungry every Lent for three years now; my parents, whose work with the poor I cannot begin to catalog; my younger brother, who helps feed the hungry in his area and in other countries, where he has gone to volunteer on vacations; my older brother, with his donations; and my fellow parishioners, who perform all kinds of works of mercy and love.
Yet all is not lost. My pastor preached yesterday against the death penalty. That takes guts-especially in a parish in real financial straits, where it would surely be safer not to risk offending a fairly conservative congregation.
Today I read Nicholas Kristof's column, "Who Can Mock This Church?" (I'm not sure this is a permanent link, but it's what I can find right now; look for the title), and I'm very cheered to find him saying, "overwhelmingly it’s at the grass roots that I find the great soul of the Catholic Church." That's my Church: the one that feeds the hungry, clothes the needy, visits the sick, and works tirelessly for justice. I hope and pray the hierarchy get with the program now.
The Church is not just those robed men in Rome. The Church is my husband and I; my daughter, who has helped feed the hungry every Lent for three years now; my parents, whose work with the poor I cannot begin to catalog; my younger brother, who helps feed the hungry in his area and in other countries, where he has gone to volunteer on vacations; my older brother, with his donations; and my fellow parishioners, who perform all kinds of works of mercy and love.