The Pope Has Let Us Down

Wall Street Journal ^ | August 20, 2002 | ROD DREHER

[gcruse]

There he was on Sunday, the old lion, John Paul II, preaching to a crowd of two million faithful in his native Poland. His words thundered a condemnation of modern man, who embraces "freedom without truth or responsibility." Said the pope: "He claims for himself the Creator's right to interfere in the mystery of human life. Rejecting divine law and moral principles, he openly attacks the family."

[Crazymonarch]

Perhaps its got something to do with him reaching his use by date

[Fred Mertz]

John Paul must bear partial responsibility for the catastrophe that has befallen us.

Dreher, I can't believe the WSJ let you publish this drivel. If I say what I really think, I'll be banned.

[gcruse]

The fetal position is coming back in vogue.

[Pyro7480]

Do I detect a bit of sarcasm in your message, or does your message (plus typo) display your true feelings?

[Fred Mertz]

At least not in America; this country is going down the tubes.

[Pyro7480]

I don't know where you have been (under a rock or something), but the Pope has spoken out about the priest scandal. For you to compare the Pope's supposed "silence" to the continuing silence of Muslim clerics in the U.S. concerning 9/11 and the Islamist war on Western civilization is ridiculous, and displays your own ugly feelings.

[Pugsy]

Cute but stupid. Check your spelling too. Homosexuality is not part of the Catholic religion as it is with others (you may be familiar with).

[duckln]

What abuse?

[duckln]

Can't go to mass in NY with radio representatives fornificating in church.

Our children are being picked up by 'cruisers', our parks at night are homosexual teaching playgrounds. Everyday the press reports a little girl missing.

And you say the Pope has a problem? It would be a better world if our society was as 'clean' as the Catholic Church.

[Arkinsaw]

The American church has not exactly been on the same side as this Pope on a lot of issues. The American church has been moaning about how it must have the freedom to be more liberal and independent of Rome. Now there are a lot of folks upset that there is not a crackdown from Rome?

[FastCoyote]

All of which brings up the question, WHY IS THE POPE POLISH?

Apparently the cardinal running the voting at the Vatican screwed up. Instead of saying, "Now itsa time to takea da vote", he said "Now itsa time to takea da POLE!"

[american colleen]

Thank you for posting Mr. Dreher's column.

I'd like to remind Mr. Dreher of our Lord's parable of the Weeds among the Wheat.

He proposed another parable to them. "The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, "Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?" He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn."

I'd also like to remind Mr. Dreher of the explanation of the Sower.

Jesus said to his disciples: "Hear the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom without understanding it, and the Evil One comes and steals away what was sown in his heart.
The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away.
The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit.
But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold."

It seems to me that at the moment, the Church is reflecting the sins of society. The faithful will remain faithful to the Church Christ left us, because the sins of the "tares" growing within Her do not change the Actions of the Sower.

[Mr. Thorne]

Quite appropriate!

[narses]

Ping.

[Askel5]

Thanks Colleen ... the tares particularly apt.

[Domestic Church]

"Now there are a lot of folks upset that there is not a crackdown from Rome?"

Maybe Rome is waiting for the celestial spanking.

[ContemptofCourt]

FWIW, would it suprise you to learn that kids have been abducted on a regular basis since, oh, the beginning of time? Good grief.

[saradippity]

I think that great comfort,wisdom and understanding come to us when we pray to the Holy Spirit to give us the "mind of the Church",with whom He abides forever.Your inspirational comment seems to reflect the fruits of a petition like that.Thankyou.

[patent]

Thanks for the post, its right on. That verse is beginning to haunt me as I struggle to accept it. I find it a hard saying, even at those times when I see how true it is.

patent

[De Fide]

While no one can imagine or judge the intentions of the Holy Father, his visible activity has left much to be desired. This article praises his writing, but much of it is vague and novel and in line with the neo-modernist theology that has wracked the Church for a century.

He can be thanked for not giving in on some key doctrines, like womens' ordination; but otherwise he seems to have given away the store. He apparently decided early on not to try to reform the Church in a traditional manner (he is a man of the revolutionary generation, after all) and now, with all due respect, he ends his pontificate with a Church on the verge of collapse.

[Orual]

In serious matters, such as priestly sexual misconduct, abuses in the liturgy, corruption in seminary life, and the rejection of church teaching by Catholic universities and hospitals, the pope has explicitly recognized the crisis, given clear directions for its correction -- and done nothing when his orders were ignored or undercut by subordinates in this country. Over the last 30 years, faithful Catholics have found a variety of ways to make known to the Holy See their urgent concern, but most often to no avail.

Finally, a good Catholic dares to tell the truth about the Pope's inaction. Words are cheap file.

[duckln]

"Now there are a lot of folks upset that there is not a crackdown from Rome?"

There's a lot of folks upset at Nixon to this day, and he's been dead for years. Nixon was a saint compared to Bill and Hillery, but a viceous partison efford gardered enough 'idiots' to bring him down, and IMO we are worst off because of it.

Some people will never get over it because their goal is to destroy the church.

[PieroC]

1.Can the Bishops Forbid the Police from Arresting Priests?
2. Can the Catholic Church declare any American law about sexuality null and void?
3. Can the Catholic Church arrest American criminals?

[duckln]

FWIW, would it suprise you to learn that kids have been abducted on a regular basis since, oh, the beginning of time? Good grief.

No, but I don't have the tread 'numbers' and doubt if you do. But it's all the more reason to consentrate on 'regular basis' abductions than rare, dubious, past limitation accusations by 'greedy people' and Actup.

[Domestic Church]

I agree there is a concerted effort to undermine the church both overtly and covertly. This has been going on since the beginning. The trusting laity never expects the clergy to be participating on both sides.

I don't like the title of this article, as it presumes knowledge we can't possibly have. And it points the finger at one person.

Given the clash in writings alone between the USCCB and the Vatican, how can one person be at fault, especially one very elderly holy person who is surround by bishops, many who lean more towards the USCCB? We don't even know if the Holy Father has been privey to all that has been hitting the press here. What if his physician has asked that some stuff be filtered(I'm not saying this is happening, but any number of variations could occur.)

[duckln]

I agree. The writer is from National Review which has gone down hill since W. F. Buckley stepped aside. For the WSJ to pick it up this hashed over trivia puts them the tabloid category.

I thought Paul Gigot was chief editor of the WSJ. I feel like giving him a 'talking to'. It's all a smoke screen so as not to draw attention to real crisis the country has. It's designed to draw people into a senseless ridiculous argument that has no end.

[Siobhan]

Many thanks, Colleen. Well said. God bless.

[Conservative til I die]

Don't bother asking questions to gcruse. He just hates Catholics and religionists in general. He should be pleased though, as he said, the Pope will be in the fetal position soon. Ha ha! Parkinson's Disease! What a laugher!

[duckln]

the guy has huevos

What is 'huevos? Are they something in his head?

My point is that the Church, IMO, is squeeky clean compared to other demographics. Dreher should look at the company he keeps and stack them up to the Popes.

[slimer]

If you are seeking answers, if looking for guidance or encouragement in crisis, if one is seeking truth, understanding and justice, then open the bible and read it for yourself.

Men will always disappoint each other but God will never let you down. He is faithful to His "Word".

[Conservative til I die]

Would you care to elaborate or are you a liberal hiding

An odd accusation to make. Not a liberal, just someone that can't stand obnoxious anti-Catholics. I see no reason to mince words or be polite to them.

in there? Newbie.

Also interesting you would call me a newbie. I haven;t checked my registration date lately but I believe I've been here since 2000. That's what, half the existence of FR?

[Conservative til I die]

Believe me, I'm not against Dreher at all. All my comments have been directed towards anti-Catholics here on FR.

[notcatholic]

farmnlogit got banned for free speech. Someone else slanders him by calling him a B****rd and this is fair?
This is not the FreeRepublic I knew.
GoodBye.
Scouts Out for Good,

[Admin Moderator]

I pulled your slam on the guy, since he has been nuked. Thanks, AM

[wimpycat]

farmnlogit got banned for free speech. Someone else slanders him by calling him a B****rd and this is fair? This is not the FreeRepublic I knew. GoodBye. Scouts Out for Good,

notcatholic signed up 2002-08-26.

[notcatholic]

SO, was he treated fairly?

[Salvation]

The Pope cares deeply about those who have been hurt by these sexual misdeeds. This author makes we wonder if he is not just a "Pope Basher"!

[gcruse]

If you are seeking answers...

Who asked you?