I have stated in this space before that although I have very strong spiritual beliefs, I have developed a certain disdain for organised religion. And to clarify, the Roman Catholic religion in particular; it is the only one with which I have any real familiarity. Perhaps if I were to investigate joining a Unitarian Universalist congregation, I would change certain perceptions, but that's not going to happen any time soon.
The primary source of my ecclesiastical embargo stems from the propensity of organised religion to stand stiff-backed and stern on its pulpit and proclaim the Truth for all and sundry to hear. And obey. And repeat by rote. And most definitely NOT to argue or question. Again, this comes from my experiences with the Roman Catholic church, so I don't wish to paint with so broad a brush as to label all similar, or even not-so-similar, religious outfits with the same colour.
But now I have been reinforced in my precept from certain statements made by the Canadian cardinals that participated in electing Benedict XVI to the office of Supreme Chancellor, err, Pope of the Holy Roman Catholic church.
In defence of Benedict's rather conservative, hard-line stance on issues such as contraception, women priests, divorce and homosexuality, two of the cardinals make the statements that:
The world needs to change, not the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, a Canadian cardinal said Wednesday in a spirited defence of the new Pope.
In his first public comments since taking part in the conclave that elected Joseph Ratzinger as Pope, Montreal's Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte said the new pontiff is misunderstood.
...
"If there needs to be change, it needs to be in the world, not in the doctrine," said Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Archbishop of Quebec.
Yup. That's right. The whole world needs to change. Because the world is wrong and the church is right.
Christ.
Full article here.
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