No, I don’t consider you a Catholic basher. I am speaking of people who claim, for example, that a Catholic has to agree with whatever the Pope says on pain of being kicked out of the fold. Or, of people who cite Pope Pius XII as the last word on connubial relations. Or, of people who cite a given canon law provision that has no application to the topic under discussion. Or, people who speak from cultivated ignorance or from bigotry.

kathyinstlouis: I suppose it is a question of perspective. I know the Church is in trouble, and the trouble is of its own, inbred, making. But truth is a powerful palliative, in the short run, at least, and education continues to batter away at the unsustainable positions of the aging hierarchy.

Will we have women priests? Not in my lifetime. In my daughter’s? Who knows? What we do know is that there is neither scriptural nor solid teaching against the possibility. There is only tradition, and tradition is not a solid base on which to rely when reason is pounding at the gates. I know that there is a vibrant international community of progressive Catholics who embrace the gospel of Jesus and who, like him, are willing to chase the moneychangers in all their guises from the temple – and it is liberation theology that I believe will ultimately claim the victory, in spite of the aging naysayers of the old world.

It is worth remembering that when the Vatican sought to impose the strictures of Ex Corde Ecclesiae on American Catholic colleges and universities, and the promulgation was approved by the U. S. Conference of Bishops, Boston College and Notre Dame stood tall in leading the resistance to what was widely regarded as an onslaught against academic freedom at Catholic universities. I don’t take the future to be as bleak as you do. I hope I am not wrong about the impact of more and more modern, educated Catholics on the Church.

But for the record, my father attended Notre Dame until he was drafted for WW2.
My father’s father graduated from Notre Dame, and my father’s maternal great-grandfather helped build Notre Dame. I mean literally, build it. He is even buried there. My great great grandfather was an illiterate Irish stone mason who not only helped build Notre Dame, but also, along with the other illiterate Irish tradesman, built their local parish church in the dark, by candlelight after work. My great great grandfather never had a chance for an education in Ireland. It was forbidden. But his children and grandchildren and great grandchildren did. They were educated in Catholic schools where they learned to read and write and figure, and that Catholicism was the “one true religion” and the only way you could get into heaven.

When I was in third grade, my entire class spent 3 days painting a mural on butcher paper that was taped around the perimeter of the room. It was of the poor souls burning in purgatory. I still remember it vividly. Some students had drawn in word baloons that said, “I’ll never be bad again if I can have a drink of water.” After the mural was dry, it was hung in the stairwell for months, so we could think about burning in purgatory.

When I was in college- a small catholic girl’s college- the school exchanged a few teachers with a nearby Jesuit school. After our teacher collected and graded our first papers, he was so appalled by the lack of depth and understanding, that he made an open offer to the class. We could use his library card and have access to his jesuit college library. I took him up on the offer. During the 60s, Catholics were not allowed to read any books that did not have an “imprimatur” on it- an OK from the pope. But Jesuits were allowed to read and have all sorts of “forbidden” books in their libraries. Maybe because they were expected to “refute” the heretics. Reading Hans Kung and other forbidden authors in that library opened my eyes and paved the way for me to separate myself from years of Catholic indoctrination.

While I may “bash” Catholic theology and hypocrisy, I don’t denounce the role of the church or its members in forming communities of faith. There are many people in the Catholic church who have ministered to the poor, the sick and forgotten. Others are strong advocates for social justice. I applaud them. Religion plays an important role in many lives. But I will continue to “bash” the catholic hierarchy and deride right wing screamers for forcing their congregations to accept their political beliefs under the threat of excommunication or eternal damnation.

Or perhaps the Pope would accept that a persons political role in a Democracy is not identical with their social role within the church. One is, as Jesus said “Giving what is Caesar’s”, the other is “Giving what is God’s”. So apersons personal values…for him or herself is different than their role as a legislator.

And which of the “crimes” that Obama is involved with that violate Catholic doctrine would be sufficient to make him acceptable as a public speaker at Notre Dame? Is it retracting his belief that condom use actually helps prevent the spread of HIV? His allowing embryonic stem-cell research to continue with public funding if the researchers can show it has important potential to lead to scientific and medical advances? Or maybe it’s his support for choice? Or perhaps because he hasn’t stood up and supported the banning of contraception, not just for Catholics, but also people of other faiths?

I know a solution to this, but I doubt the Pope is willing to face up to it.

It’s a simple fact that it is not possible for a Catholic (under current doctrine) to represent a constituency in a Democracy (or a Republic, if you wish). The fact that the representative must swear oath of allegience to a Constitution that holds all religious practitioners and non-religious equal under law makes it impossible to institute laws that fall under Catholic doctrine for all citizens. For the church to compel this of followers, to pressure them under the threat of expulsion, or separation from God and the Church, is akin to blackmail or a bribe. It may not be the offer of money, but it is a threat or offer of a gift of substantial value. Extortion for a vote on specific issues. Somehow the Church maintains it’s “apolitical” IRS status?