To Roman Catholics, I extend my sympathy for the loss of your spiritual leader.
To all those who feel victimized by the church and its policies, I extend my sympathy for the very real hurt you have suffered.I'll begin with a quotation from a nice Jewish boy named Paul:
I realize that it's fun to vent one's spleen with a well-phrased comment. But, I wonder if we might not all step back from the precipice and moderate our comments with regard to the death of John Paul II, lest we devour one another?
Let me quickly explain where I'm coming from: I was raised in an Irish-Catholic family, attended Catholic school from grade 1 through Bachelor's degree, was confirmed during my seventh grade year, became a 'lapsed Catholic', finally left the church and I am now an active member of a United Church of Christ congregation.
The extreme comments on both sides of this discussion hurt me.
Let's get something clear:
1. The pope is a human being who has recently died. As such, he should be accorded the same amount of respect that any human being should be given by word and deed in our world.
2. Comments expressing gladness that John Paul II has died are hurtful to members of the Roman Catholic Church, some of whom are members of this online community. Derogatory remarks are hurtful to Catholics even though they do not necessarily share the pope's views on many issues.
3. The pope was an imperfect human being. Many people in this world, especially gay, lesbian, bisexual and (presumably) transgender people feel very much attacked by the words and deeds of Pope John Paul II and the Roman Catholic Church.
4. Comments that deny the real hurt and damage done to the lives of GLBT by the pope and members of the clergy are also offensive.
5. The media coverage of the pope's death can be very frustrating for many people (especially GLBT)who feel that it is very one-sided and completely ignores their situation.
6. Knee-jerk reactions are either side of this issue are not helpful.
7. My extended family and many of my friends are still Catholic and even though I disagree with their church on many issues (as do they), their church's leader has died. They deserve a modicum of respect. Tread lightly.
8. Criticism of the church and/or its leaders does not necessarily equal criticism of individual Roman Catholics as I have said in previous posts. Please be mindful of this and it wouldn't hurt to preface comments with this understanding.
9. The fact that the pope died and that I believe this situation should be treated with respect does not change the fact that I have very strong feelings about the injustices done by the Roman Catholic Church in the name of Jesus Christ. I will continue to speak out against such injustices. I will also speak out against similar injustices done by other churches and religions.
10. The Roman Catholic Church is not the only Christian church with problems and that has done bad things. Nor is the Christian faith the only problematic religion.
11. There are many liberal, progressive Roman Catholics who fight the sentiment directed against them that Democrats and liberals are secular and anti-religion. Comments celebrating the death of the pope only reinforce this idea and make it harder for liberal Catholics.
I have left a lot of issues out-especially regarding the treatment of women by/in the church. I do not presume to speak for women or any other group to which I do not belong. I invite comments from women and others whom I have not specifically included.
I realize that this is a community of open debate. Perhaps, my comments will be met with disdain or apathy but there is no reason to 'go ugly' over this person's death. There is enough division within our ranks. The extremism is not helping. Please post some constructive remarks so that my effort has not been in vain.