One of the great things about retirement is that you can finally say what you want to say for the most part without much repercussion.
One of the issues that is building within me is my complaint about the Church's present obsession with aligning itself with political power as a path to accomplishing its goals - a temptation that Jesus firmly rejected when the devil proposed it to him when he was in the desert discerning the direction of his ministry.
A growing number of Roman Catholics are ignoring the Church’s obsessions with sexual morality. Having failed to convince and persuade them, some of our bishops have now turned to the government to force their moral conclusions onto other people. As a result, some American Bishops have fallen into the temptation to partner with those who seek to build an American government that will enforce conservative Catholic and right-wing Christian moral teachings.
To me, they are simply proving their painfully obvious spiritual leadership failures. They seem to believe that if you can't convince people, force them! They have even begun to join those who would destroy democracy (where contradictory moral opinions are allowed) and embrace authoritarianism (where only one moral opinion is allowed). I might agree with most of their moral stands but I totally reject their methods for gaining acceptance of those stands. Jesus rejected potestas (the power of force) and promoted auctoritas (the power of persuasion). “This man speaks with authority, unlike the scribes and Pharisees.”
Having learned little from history, they are again choosing the disastrous path of being a penny wise and a pound foolish. In the process, they are now losing what little moral authority they once had. It's sad and frustrating to watch!
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