Notes of Concern…
…Jackson Blair
Is the Pope Catholic?
When I was growing up people used that phrase to emphasize how accurate something might be.
For instance you might ask me if the pie I am eating is as delicious as it looks. And my response would be “is the Pope Catholic?”
The pedophile scandal is said to now reach right into the Vatican.
It always reached into the Vatican.
The pedophile scandal is said to now touch on the person of the Holy Father, once a Cardinal in Munich.
The scandal always touched on Cardinal Ratzinger.
As I read the news reports and watched people on television getting all wound up about this subject, I could not help but see it as a “slow news day.”
The Catholic Church is nothing if not a hierarchical organization with layer upon layer of students, priests, various levels of bishops, Cardinals and finally one Vicar of Christ on Earth.
Does any reasonable person think that these things could have been done by priests who live in the church, retire to church homes, and die in the church without knowledge at every one of those levels.?
It would be foolish to believe that people at the highest levels of the church were not dealing with this particular problem of pedophile priests along with other nasty problems that would be present in any organization of the size of the worldwide Catholic Church.
In hindsight we are angry with the decisions made by church leaders when confronted with these problems.
There was an intricate web of secrecy surrounding these deliberations, but there is an intricate web of secrecy surrounding most of what the church does.
That is why people talk about the” holy mysteries.”
Did the Popes know this was going on? You better believe it.
Did they condone it? Of course not.
Did they arrive at the best resolution? Clearly, they did not.
Did the College of Cardinals know? Yes.
Did the Archbishops and Bishops know? Yes.
How about the rumor mill in the parishes? Of course.
Common sense provides the probable answers to all these questions.
Therefore the Holy Father, while serving as a Cardinal in Germany dealt with these issues, as his brother Cardinals did across the world. And any successor to the current successor of St. Peter also will have dealt with these issues.
There is not going to be a Pope in our time who was not at some level in this mess over the years. Can you imagine actually rising to the top spot in the church unaware of this kind of devastating situation? Could not happen.
Blame them for a bad management decision.
Blame them for not coming up with a better idea.
Blame them for trying to protect the church, to which they had given their lives, by keeping an ugly practice from seeing the light of day.
Blame them for failing to “suffer the little children” and for instead suffering the embarrassed colleague priest.
All along the way one priest, one parent, one Archbishop, one Cardinal, one Pope could have called a press conference, pointed out the sin, set in place a series of guidelines for the future, reached out and helped those who were harmed, and asked the world for forgiveness.
Instead their silence permitted an unspeakable and prevalent cancer to spread through the church and allowed it time to metastasize.
All religious are paying the price for that silence now.
It is not necessary for Pope Benedict to be singled out for a lashing about this. There is plenty of guilt to go around. The Confessionals should be filled with a lot of guys wearing red hats.
But when your company product is “forgiveness” you do not approach these things in a worldly way.
The church is bigger than this sin.
A huge majority of people involved in the life of the church never committed this sin. Most of those same people are as unhappy, sad, and even angry as the rest of us about this happening and about the way “management” dealt with it.
The church is bruised and the church is hurting.
For those whom have lives centered in the church and who find solace and comfort in the church, take on faith that the church will survive and prosper and still forgive.
Will the Catholic Church survive?
Is the Pope Catholic?
Monday, March 29, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
THE GRAND ORDER OF THINGS
Notes of Concern…
….Jackson Blair
The Grand Order of Things
According to the people who decide these things, spring has sprung!
The day before the official day I was awaking by a babbling brook in the mountains of Vermont. There was a chill in the air and a fire in the stove but as each hand of the clock moved forward there was more sunshine outside the windows.
By the time I was having my first cup of coffee, a few birds were at the feeder outside the large window and my dogs were making it generally clear they were ready to go out.
My wife and I were taking a break at the cottage of some great friends. They had welcomed us with our two Labrador retrievers into their vacation haven where their own four dogs were in residence.
To say we are all pet lovers would be to understate!
Later in the day my wife and I were driving back to Winchendon and she remarked how beautiful the countryside seemed. Ahead of us on our way to Vermont the previous day was a beautiful snow- covered peak. Today, as we drove south, another snow-covered peak, Mt. Monadnock, stood out in the sunshine filled day.
What a majestic reminder that winter was passing and spring was beginning. All in the natural order of things.
Dinner that night we returned to Winchendon from Vermont was with two friends from Connecticut who were driving up to Sturbridge with their two dogs, Australian Shepherds. You may get the idea we like people who like animals!
We were to meet them at a restaurant there for dinner so we were privileged to have some additional spectacular views as we drove further south in Massachusetts.
The changing seasons has always seemed to me to be an important part of life. Authors have referred to the “seasons in a man’s life” and songsters have had their way with each of the seasons, but for me it is the predictability and the welcome change that each brings to my life that I cherish so much.
I look forward to the different landscape that arrives four times each year.
Each season brings many things I like, and a few things I do not, but taken together they provide me with an escape from boredom, a challenge to be “out and about” and a chance to reflect on how perfectly predictable their coming and going is, almost as if they ran with the very finest of Swiss watch mechanisms.
So as we bid goodbye to winter and hello to spring, we get a new perspective on life, something to which we look forward, and the sure knowledge that as this season runs her course the next will be equally welcome, challenging, adventurous, and marvelous.
….Jackson Blair
The Grand Order of Things
According to the people who decide these things, spring has sprung!
The day before the official day I was awaking by a babbling brook in the mountains of Vermont. There was a chill in the air and a fire in the stove but as each hand of the clock moved forward there was more sunshine outside the windows.
By the time I was having my first cup of coffee, a few birds were at the feeder outside the large window and my dogs were making it generally clear they were ready to go out.
My wife and I were taking a break at the cottage of some great friends. They had welcomed us with our two Labrador retrievers into their vacation haven where their own four dogs were in residence.
To say we are all pet lovers would be to understate!
Later in the day my wife and I were driving back to Winchendon and she remarked how beautiful the countryside seemed. Ahead of us on our way to Vermont the previous day was a beautiful snow- covered peak. Today, as we drove south, another snow-covered peak, Mt. Monadnock, stood out in the sunshine filled day.
What a majestic reminder that winter was passing and spring was beginning. All in the natural order of things.
Dinner that night we returned to Winchendon from Vermont was with two friends from Connecticut who were driving up to Sturbridge with their two dogs, Australian Shepherds. You may get the idea we like people who like animals!
We were to meet them at a restaurant there for dinner so we were privileged to have some additional spectacular views as we drove further south in Massachusetts.
The changing seasons has always seemed to me to be an important part of life. Authors have referred to the “seasons in a man’s life” and songsters have had their way with each of the seasons, but for me it is the predictability and the welcome change that each brings to my life that I cherish so much.
I look forward to the different landscape that arrives four times each year.
Each season brings many things I like, and a few things I do not, but taken together they provide me with an escape from boredom, a challenge to be “out and about” and a chance to reflect on how perfectly predictable their coming and going is, almost as if they ran with the very finest of Swiss watch mechanisms.
So as we bid goodbye to winter and hello to spring, we get a new perspective on life, something to which we look forward, and the sure knowledge that as this season runs her course the next will be equally welcome, challenging, adventurous, and marvelous.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Gesundheit!
Notes of Concern…
…Jackson Blair
Gesundheit!
I awakened this morning as the sun poured in our bedroom windows. It seems like only yesterday I was writing about the snow.
I looked outside through the glass and could see puddles where a lot of that aforementioned snow had melted. It was obvious the ground was getting muddy
I hurried to get dressed as I had a meeting at 9AM. A meeting on Sunday morning is unusual for me but it was the only time that suited everyone. When I went out to meet my guests in the driveway it really looked considerably different than it did only two weeks ago.
Not only could I see the driveway, I could see where the plowing had dug up huge areas of grass and I envisioned the seeding that would soon be necessary there.
As I looked down the drive I saw a young woman walking her child in a stroller. Further down the street some boys were riding their bicycles. These are strange sights for the middle of March but they are also signs that a new season will soon be upon us.
By the time my meeting ended I decided to head out for some brunch. It was such a great day I began to think of a number of “honey do” items that could no longer be avoided.
I needed to take down the outdoor Christmas wreaths. I needed to re-hang the American Flag. It was necessary to prop up my Notary Pubic sign and to be certain the Canine Fence sign could be seen from the sidewalk.
My head was full and I was feeling a little lethargic. How could it be that on this beautiful day, with the temperature showing at 68 degrees, I could feel unwell?
And then it came to me!
After all of these years I am still surprised when the old allergies act up, as they often do with the changing of seasons. A quick trip to the medicine cabinet and the downing of one little white allergy pill pretty much guaranteed I would enjoy the remainder of the beautiful day without so much as a sneeze!
Nevertheless, I might as well get ready for the season of Gesundheit!
…Jackson Blair
Gesundheit!
I awakened this morning as the sun poured in our bedroom windows. It seems like only yesterday I was writing about the snow.
I looked outside through the glass and could see puddles where a lot of that aforementioned snow had melted. It was obvious the ground was getting muddy
I hurried to get dressed as I had a meeting at 9AM. A meeting on Sunday morning is unusual for me but it was the only time that suited everyone. When I went out to meet my guests in the driveway it really looked considerably different than it did only two weeks ago.
Not only could I see the driveway, I could see where the plowing had dug up huge areas of grass and I envisioned the seeding that would soon be necessary there.
As I looked down the drive I saw a young woman walking her child in a stroller. Further down the street some boys were riding their bicycles. These are strange sights for the middle of March but they are also signs that a new season will soon be upon us.
By the time my meeting ended I decided to head out for some brunch. It was such a great day I began to think of a number of “honey do” items that could no longer be avoided.
I needed to take down the outdoor Christmas wreaths. I needed to re-hang the American Flag. It was necessary to prop up my Notary Pubic sign and to be certain the Canine Fence sign could be seen from the sidewalk.
My head was full and I was feeling a little lethargic. How could it be that on this beautiful day, with the temperature showing at 68 degrees, I could feel unwell?
And then it came to me!
After all of these years I am still surprised when the old allergies act up, as they often do with the changing of seasons. A quick trip to the medicine cabinet and the downing of one little white allergy pill pretty much guaranteed I would enjoy the remainder of the beautiful day without so much as a sneeze!
Nevertheless, I might as well get ready for the season of Gesundheit!
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