Sorry I haven't been here to reply. Life has been real busy.
The problem is not the Head of our Church. The problem in our Church mirrors the problem of society in general. The polarization caused by self the identification of either Conservative or Liberal is tearing us all apart. Even here in OBOB, where we should be joined in fellowship there was a split because OBOB was not Conservative or Liberal enough. There are two other Catholic forums here, and there are a number of our Catholic brothers and sisters to stay away from all three forums.
Conservatives see our Pontiff as flawed because he does not seem to share their views. The Liberals saw Benedict as flawed because they view the Church differently. The contempt shown for those with whom some disagree is becoming less subtle every day.
The world is a sad place when one judges everything and every one by the touchstone of their politics.
I am off to work, but I will return to thios discussion this evening.
[TT]God bless us, everyone![/TT]
Matthew 23:2
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, 'The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice.'
Hello Longhair,
There was tremendous conflict in Jesus' Church, during His ministry days on earth. To keep His Jewish Church united under conflict, Jesus demanded that His followers do everything that God authorized Church leaders tell them to do, even when God authorized Church are evil. This respect for God's authority in Church leaders, even when God authorized Church leaders are evil, is what keeps us united.
Matthew 23:23
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. (But) these you should have done, without neglecting the others. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel! "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.' Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; now fill up what your ancestors measured out! You serpents, you brood of vipers, how can you flee from the judgment of Gehenna?
Matthew 12:14
When the Pharisees were outside they began to plot against him to find a way to destroy him.
