Nuance 26

I just heard on the news that Pope Francis has kicked out of the priesthood a Washington cardinal who was sleazing his way all through the church, particularly for soliciting sex from vulnerable parishioners he was hearing in the confessional. Creepy, ugly, just plain awful. At least he's out now. Yes, Holy Mother Church will have a lot to answer for when standing before the Judgment Seat. But, really, Gentle reader, won't we all? I for one really get sick and tired of hearing my faith get slagged and dragged through the dirt. I am partially angry at the idiots who purport to represent Christ and his Church for not knowing better, for not wanting to know better, for using what really is an incredibly beautiful faith and reality to promote their own ugly agenda, be it Crusades, Inquisition, colonization, Native Residential Schools, sexual abuse of minors and others by clergy, pick your favourite scam. On the other hand, I get equally frustrated and impatient with people, including a couple of friends of mine, who will not see beyond these obvious sins and crimes, and because they really couldn't themselves be bothered with knowing much outside of their own prejudices, simply judge and categorize the Christian faith and all its adherents, without doing a bloody thing to inquire and really find out what is going on with an open heart and an open mind. Practising any religious faith, even adequately, is not a cakewalk. When we have aligned ourselves in devotion to the Higher (or, should I say highest) Power, then we are really putting ourselves in a vulnerable position, We have declared by our profession of faith, not only a certain belief system, but the willingness and determination to live out to the best of our ability the very tenets and teachings of said religion. Which means that we are going to actively seek to be better than what we already are, in service of God, community and the planet. There are so many obstacles to doing this well, among them our own human selfishness and laziness, our human moral weakness, our resistance to hard work and effort, our resistance to change, and our chronic refusal to cede control to a being who cannot be seen, but by the very existence and substance of this incredibly vast and complex universe, plainly makes evident their existence and being. Some of us come closer than others to getting it right. We usually are given little or no credit or publicity, with the rare exceptions of such luminaries as Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Teresa. But because there is such a huge hatred of religion and love of sleaze in this world, they and other professing Christians who have been vectors of real change are often pilloried and it seems that no stone is ever unturned to prove them to be closet monsters or at least the most egregious hypocrites. In the meantime, there are also millions and millions of faithful Christians, Muslims and Jews, who live completely under the radar, who practice to the best of their ability their faith, and who really are often incredibly kind, generous and accomplished human beings as they go about their lives caring for the sick and elderly, feeding and housing the homeless, and fighting for social justice, peace and universal human rights. I can say this, because, I happen to be one of those people, and I have had the privilege of knowing many more people like me, better than me and worthier than me. Why don't we get airplay? Because nothing sells like dirt and sleaze and the perverse love of undermining and discrediting good people of faith. Yes, horrible things are done in the name of religion. Those crimes must be exposed and punished. But there is also much more good that also happens, which, unfortunately, folks who are too lazy and self-absorbed to get off their ass and do something worthwhile with their lives, are not going to bother to recognize, as they go on with their small, crabbed and selfish lives. Here is a suggestion. Instead of relying on the media to form your opinion about a religious faith, how about finding out about it yourself? Try reading and studying some religious texts. If it is Christianity, stick to the four Gospels, because they are completely about Jesus. Visit mosques, churches and synagogues. Meet the ministers, rabbis and imams. Meet and befriend some of the people there. Find out about their lives. If you are not willing to make even such small efforts to understand religious faith, then neither have you the right to sit in your armchair and pompously judge matters that you know nothing about. Rolling your eyes is not going to help. Examine yourself, your cynicism, and try opening your mind a little. You might even be very pleasantly surprised.