Disappointment over pope: 'They have taken my Lord'

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | April 30, 2005 | Lalor Cadley

[madprof98]

I was strolling through the St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop when the news came over the television that a new pope had been chosen. I felt a chill go through me and followed an urge to leave the store before his name was announced. My reaction surprised me. It had been years since I'd felt bound by what came down from Rome, yet clearly what happened there still mattered to me.

Hours later, when I heard the news that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had been chosen, my heart sank. Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, was the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a powerful arm of the Vatican, staunch defender of Roman rule. Of all the potential candidates to succeed John Paul II, he was among those most adamantly opposed to the reforms that I and other progressive Catholics believe are so badly needed if the church is to be true to its mission.

The image I had as the news sank in was of an iron drawbridge going up and clanging shut. My church was being hijacked --- the church of my childhood; the church where I had faithfully consecrated all the milestones in my life; the church to which my ancestors, including a Sacred Heart nun, a Jesuit priest and a cardinal, had given their lives --- and I was being faced with a decision I had been putting off for years. I thought of Magdalene at the empty tomb. "They have taken my Lord."

It didn't have to be this way. I remember the early years of Pope John Paul II's papacy, how young he was at 58, so vigorous and friendly, arms spread wide as he traversed the world giving Catholicism a face none could resist. He seemed the perfect pope for the times, an embodiment of the great call of Vatican II to open the windows and let in fresh air.

I remember the excitement I felt seeing John Paul II in person for the first time. It was 1979. I was working in New York and his Popemobile came down our street. I can still see him, standing tall in the sun, a wide smile on his face, bowing left and right, tossing blessings in the air. It was a wonderful day to be Catholic, and he was a radiant star.

To top it off, he was brilliant and brave and profoundly prayerful. Over the nearly 27 years of his reign, he visited 129 countries, survived an assassination attempt with John Wayne heroism, contributed mightily to the fall of communism, challenged the poverty of our materialistic culture, advocated tirelessly on behalf of the world's poor and pleaded the cause of nonviolence to the end.

But there were grave deficiencies in his papacy as well, especially as he aged. He had blind spots, and he surrounded himself with people who would not challenge his views. In spite of his love for Mary, he refused to ordain women. In opposition to the advice of many of his bishops and the majority of U.S. Catholics, he condemned artificial contraception, inflicting untold burdens on people, contributing to the spread of AIDS and unwanted pregnancies. He refused to lift the ban on priestly celibacy (which has no basis in Scripture), thus contributing to a critical priest shortage and threatening the sacramental life of the church. He made Catholic theologians at Catholic universities sign orthodoxy statements. Pedophilia festered too long before it came to light. The list goes on.

This cost the church dearly, decimating the ranks of its members and severely weakening its voice as a moral leader. During his papacy, the Second Vatican Council's call to "aggiornamento" (dialogue and collegiality) gave way to a shocking "Re-Romanization" of the church. Power came once again to reside in Rome; bishops' concerns were routinely overlooked and overruled. Millions of loyal Catholics were labeled dissenters because they could not in conscience forsake the call of the spirit, so alive in council documents, in favor of obedience to Rome. Front row seats were offered to ultra-conservative groups like Opus Dei and the Legionaries of Christ, while progressive Catholics who challenged the church's increasingly dictatorial practices, confronted its sexism and homophobia, and called for reform, were left standing in the waiting room.

For those of us who had hoped this new pope would be more open, this is a sad day. It gives new urgency to the question of how loyal Catholics who hear a different Gospel call can continue to relate to an institutional church that seeks control rather than promoting growth and discounts the concerns of prayerful people. Has the time come to leave an institution that insists the spirit of God cannot blow through voices that challenge the church? Or is the call to stay and pray and continue to work for reform? I don't know the answer. But the question has an urgency I can no longer ignore.

Lalor Cadley is a spiritual director, adult educator and freelance writer with an office in Decatur.

[madprof98]

Spiritual director??? BARF!

[Knitting A Conundrum]

"Whoever has My commandments and observes them is the one who loves Me".

Some people want to say they love him and do what they think is right in their own minds. Forget what Jesus said. This is just another example.

[kittymyrib]

Another gay for the Episco-Baalians.

[Salvation]

I think the Holy Spirit has more wisdom that this writer. What do you think?

[madprof98]

I think the Holy Spirit has more wisdom that this writer. What do you think?

I think our cat has more wisdom than this writer.

[hflynn]

This is the same Lalor Cadley who said, It seems to imply that men were more important to Jesus than women," . . . .

[goldstategop]

I feel liberals' pain, I really do. They apparently want the Church is to be as value-free as their own view of the spirit. In other words, let us have the freedom to do what we want. It is not we who ought to serve God; it is God who ought to let us gratify our desires as we see fit.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[putupjob]

Another liberal kook who wants to rewrite all things religious that are not acceptable to liberal kooks while flying under the radar by claiming to be a religious director. Obviously this nut was living in misery under Pope John Paul II and was looking forward to Hillary or Bill Clinton (or someone with similar beliefs or morals) to be named the next Pope.

[gbcdoj]

loyal Catholics who hear a different Gospel call

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema.
As we said before, so now I say again: If any one preach to you a gospel, besides that which you have received, let him be anathema.

Hmm...

[lawgirl]

You know I can't understand how these people that say "I haven't been a practiciing Catholic for YEARS, but let me go ahead and slam the new Pope" feel like they have any right to say ANYTHING. I am not Catholic, and I feel I have no right to say anything- it's not my church!

[A. Pole]

Here is your bird:

Imaging God from Women's Experience: A Celebration of “She Who Is”
Lalor Cadley leads a prayer experience based on Elizabeth Johnson's book, She Who Is. God's face is visible not just in kingly lords and shepherds but in nursing mothers, working women, and sisters. We view images of God from women's experience and contemplate a world where God's image shines in all Her people, and men and women are equals in building God's KINdom on earth. Cadley is a spiritual director/retreat leader whose master's thesis was on spirituality in midlife. She writes guest columns on faith and values in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Active with CTA Georgia, she organized a Holy Week protest of the bishop's ban on footwashing for women, an action that attracted national media attention. Sat. (4.01) & Sun. (12.01), 7:45 AM"
Lalor Cadley the Spiritual Director

[Casloy]

My church was being hijacked --- the church of my childhood; the church where I had faithfully consecrated all the milestones in my life; the church to which my ancestors, including a Sacred Heart nun, a Jesuit priest and a cardinal, had given their lives

Excuse me, but it seems to me that church of his childhood is what Pope John Paul II was trying to preserve. He wants to change it dramatically to fit his own political agenda. He's the one trying to hijack it.

[Carolina]

We view images of God from women's experience and contemplate a world where God's image shines in all Her people, and men and women are equals in building God's KINdom on earth.

Any guesses on how she prays the Our Father?

[sodpoodle]

Folks like this looney bird are responsible for driving the faithful out of the Church.

IMHO


sp (agnostic receiving spiritual guidance from Christian and Jewish friends)

[End Times Sentinel]

He was among those most adamantly opposed to the reforms that I and other progressive Catholics believe are so badly needed if the church is to be true to its mission...My church was being hijacked

 

Yeah, definitely.  I liked The Church so much better when we had the women priests, gay marriage and transgendered Masses.  What The Church needs to do isn't uphold Sacred Doctrine.  F- The Catechism.  I want to be able to sin all I want and never have to apologize or feel bad in any way over what I've done.

Let's just take up whatever bizarre social custom is blowing in the wind and make that the Will Of God.  Who the heck does God think he is anyways?  Bossing me around?  I'd like to take a rocket ship up to heaven and spit in his surly face, and I'd like Lalor Cadley to be my co-pilot.

 

Owl_Eagle

(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,

 it was probably sarcasm)

[Conservative til I die]

The arrogance literally drips from the author's pen. Unbelievable.

[Old Sarge]

he was among those most adamantly opposed to the reforms that I and other progressive Catholics believe

I stopped reading at this point, because it's all I needed to know about the author.

[NewCenturions]

'progressive Catholics' = "Christ is too out of date"

[kstewskis]

Millions of loyal Catholics were labeled dissenters because they could not in conscience forsake the call of the spirit,

I don't know what the heck kind if "spirit" this pathetic lib is talking about, but it sure isn't The Holy Spirit.

Let me borrow your barf bucket.

[LibKill]

Disclaimer: I am not Catholic.

That said, if the selection of the new Pope makes liberal pukes unhappy, then that is a good thing.