UNITED STATES
The Georgetown Voice
Whatever your creed, or lack thereof, it is not hard to appreciate the basic moral teachings of the Church. We embrace many of the Catholic and Jesuit aspects of our university, especially the progressive teachings of the New Testament. That is why we are saddened by the Church's failure to seek positive change at the recent Synod of Bishops, the first of newly elected Pope Benedict XVI's reign.
The Synod, a meeting of more than 250 Bishops to debate and propose Church policies, came to an end on Saturday. Though it acknowledged the shortage of priests, it failed to approve priestly marriage and did not even discuss the possibility of ordaining women. Further, it reaffirmed its decision to deny communion to divorcees. It did, however, give local Bishops the authority to deny or allow Catholic politicians who disagree with certain Catholic teachings-read John Kerry-communion.
The threat facing the church is a very real one. According to the Vatican, the ratio of priests to Catholics in America is 1 to 1,200. This speaks to a very real failure by the Church to tend to the spiritual needs of the faithful, as well as provide the Sacraments of their faith. ...
Today, the Church is being strangled by its devotion to unnecessary, human doctrines. Busy persecuting homosexuals within and without, covering up its past sins of child molestation and contributing to its own shortage of priests, the church has failed to remember its primary mission: to advance the moral teachings of Jesus Christ, beginning with love thy neighbor as thyself. If it does not remember soon, it will lose more than just priests.
Posted by kshaw at October 27, 2005 08:32 AM