The Anchoress has a must read piece on this at Praying for the Pope & for All.
I mentioned for Holy Week I would be posting less (like not every other post) but still doing some on it. There is really no choice and there is obligation to confront some of this.
I intend to still do a post that is EASTER hope filled on this topic as we get closer to Holy Saturday.
One reason why I am posting less is this becoming a occasion of sin for me. I went to confession this past weekend and confessed my anger toward the attacks on the Church were entering sinful mode.
A lot of it is frustration. PEOPLE DEMAND WHY ARE YOU NOT ANGRY. Well I was angry. There was a lot of anger when this was on the news everyday. Yet Catholics in the USA did something with that anger and made changes. The results which we are seeing. I went through the anger phase. I can't really get angry again discussing stories that have been in the news 24/7 for years.
I also think as a convert I have a different view of all this. I have seen the other side too and realize that the Church is unfairly being singled out.
Though my anger is coming back. It is anger that people are using abuse victims for their own agenda. It is anger that no one is noticing the true reforms the Church has made.
However I am glad this day has come. The Church will get through it (CAN WE RECALL ALL THE STORIES OF THE DEATH OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AMERICA). The USA Church is stronger now. So this will be it appears the last painful purification on this issue.
Again what happens when the Catholic abuse stories run out? People that are wagging their finger at the Church will have to get out of the cocoon. For all that rage people will realize perhaps it was a convenient place for them so they did not have to address the underlying problem in their own communities.
I can understand your wanting to blog less or not at all during this last week of Lent. I never thought of blogging possibly being an occasion of sin, but I guess it can be if you let it consume you. When that happens to me, I just take a break and try to put it all into perspective.
ReplyDeleteI, too, have been angry over the constant Catholic bashing that has been going on, but I just choose to go after the bashers by exposing their hypocrisy.
I don't think anger in itself is a sin, only when you let it consume you to the point of wishing harm on those who are causing your anger. Even Jesus became frustrated and angry with the hypocrites (i.e. money changers). He even called his own Apostle's "Thunderheads"! Although that might have been more like a gentle teasing than anger.
The reason I blog about the Catholic bashing so much is because I think it's important to debunk those who are spreading lies. I think Catholics need to stand tall and fight for our Church and our faith. I always point out that the Church does make mistakes...even big ones like the abuse scandal and how it was handled. But the fact they they are working so hard to rectify those mistakes and to change the way things are done is a good thing that needs our support and our voice.
I may not agree with our Pope 100%, but I love the man for what he is doing and the difficulty of his job. That's a lot of pressure and stress for a man of that age and I believe that it is our prayers and the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are giving him the strength to endure.
And if I haven't said it before, thank you for your voice and your blog. I'm your biggest fan. ;-)
Thanks for your thoughts. I don't think it is so much the blogging about it but when I interact with people on it. Sadly in my case I seem to be coming accross a lot of people that are not fair at all.
ReplyDeleteSo I have to take a break from it . Of course I will be talking about it this week but it is very easy for me to get bad seeing the half truths I see everywhere.
I guess I again I get angry when people accuse me of not being angry or upset over a lot of this stuff. As I mentioned I was very angry then. However it is similar to seeing photos of the horrible things the Japanesse did in WWII to ur service folks. I suspect people were very angry when they saw them Yet in 1952 they did not go into a rage everytime it was discussed. Time and events had moved on
JH- Don't let the idiots get you down. I've found that no matter what you do or say, there will be someone out there who won't be happy.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the Catholic bashing is going to continue for a long time, but it will not have the effect that the basher's are hoping for (i.e. the fall of the Church or molding the Church into what THEY want). Instead it will become stronger and all the more Holy.