Triangulating the Vatican
Of these, Cardinal O’Brien, who appears to have the widest range of scientific disciplines in his background, has recently been the target of accusations of impropriety.
As those who read me regularly are aware, I “come from” the arts rather than the sciences myself. But I cannot help but agree with Anthony Judge’s comment, particularly insofar as it relates to mathematics and the sciences:
It is striking how few disciplines are represented in what amounts to a table of cognitive competence of those from whom guidance in world governance is expected.
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I’m tossing you these three quotes not so much for themselves as for the ripples of thought, the further questions they may raise. Colet’s sermon, for instance, was delivered only five years before Martin Luther “nailed his theses to the door” — or at least sent them to his bishop — thus starting the Protestant Reformation in 1517.
The aptness of Colet’s sermon to today should give us considerable pause.
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Madhu:
February 25th, 2013 at 2:07 pm
Medicine is such a racket. When still practicing within the “nonprofit hospital group” environment, I never could figure out where all that money was going. Everyone’s benefits were being cut, salaries stagnant, departments running a loss (we were told) and so where was it all going? Lots of new shiny buildings on campus, glamor hires, and marketing television adds, though. Never could figure it out. What a racket.
Curtis Gale Weeks:
February 25th, 2013 at 4:50 pm
Cardinal O’Brien has resigned, effective immediately.
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Wasn’t it the point of the Church that expertise in mundane affairs was not relevant to administration of the world? I suppose if we go far enough back in its history, “administration of the world” was not the goal at all; after all, kings and emperors and such were put here by God to do that. But then a funny thing happened on the way to Rome’s forums….
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I’m greatly curious to know how the Church will handle the issue of homosexuality. I expect they will continue to hold the line they’ve always drawn in the sand–that is, the dotted line, with moralistic and spiritual teachings (abstractions) representing the drawn portions of the line and all those bothersome mundane realities seeping through the gaps.
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I believe that the Iranians took a different approach for their own clensing revolution, targeting and killing and persecuting the homosexuals that they blamed for their misfortunes prior to their own revolution. Homosexuals, you see, were manipulative, controlling cabals who had taken over the state, leading to all that was bad in Iran; so, the revolutionaries took action. I don’t expect the same from the new Papacy however, but it is certainly an issue they will need to address whether they do so openly or behind-the-scenes. But it needs to be said that holding back reality with dotted lines of carefully constructed abstractions has always been a losing proposition, even if it might succeed on a temporary basis. (Which is why I assume that the Iranians utilized more mundane methods, like executions and real-world persecutions. Those who can’t win an argument….etc.)
larrydunbar:
February 25th, 2013 at 7:29 pm
“Wasn’t it the point of the Church that expertise in mundane affairs was not relevant to administration of the world?”
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Sounds logical to me, but I might assume that “mundane affairs” included, from a historical perspective, homosexuality.
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How does losing command of the most powerful Christian army in history rank? If this did happen, it would tell me it is time to hang it up, if I were Pope.
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I mean reformation? How about no virgin birth, Christ is born a man then becomes a God, the promised land is in New Jersey, and by now, the way Mormons are baptizing people, there are probably only 10 Tribes, but then who could count such a thing? I am not Catholic, but that really is some reformation that would be pretty hard to swallow (no pun intended).
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I mean, from what I hear here locally, all the Christian churches in my area, I am supposing Catholic and all the rest, were telling everyone to vote Romney. In fact, Romney won my county, and I don’t think he could have if the churches were not behind him.
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So if you put Conservative instead of “right wise men” I think you have the way the Catholic Church is going. I think TPMB is correct (but for different reasons) on betting on a African or Latin American for the next pope. At least that is what makes up the Conservative element in the Catholic Church locally. They will probably “reform” it back to the Middle Ages, ha!
Curtis Gale Weeks:
February 25th, 2013 at 10:34 pm
Larry, I think there’s an odd conundrum arising between the question, “What does the Church need to do to save itself?” and the question, “What does the Church need to do to save everyone else?”
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Now of course you might quibble over whether it’s the Church’s business to be saving others — maybe, you’ll say, individuals should be the responsible parties in their own salvation — but then, if this is so, why is the Church in business at all?
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I am not a Catholic either, nor a Protestant, nor a Mormon. I would guess, as a quick swipe at the problem, that the major culprit in today’s Church foibles is not homosexuality or even the Church’s stand on it — per se — but rather, bureaucracy. Marriage was viewed as a negative because lustful thoughts distracted from “the mission,” even for the average person; but, for the average person, it was preferrable to having lustful thoughts that were so powerful they might lead to promiscuity or general abandonment to lust in their everyday lives. Priests, on the other hand, should have much more to do, particularly works relevant to God’s word: praying, preaching, and so forth. Once upon a time, those activities could fill a priest’s time — Let’s say, that early in the church’s history, there was much work to do; being distracted by lustful thoughts might impede that work. But then the Church became bureaucratic, or began forming private communes (monasteries), and members ended up with too much time on their hands. And lots of repetitive, boring work. A distraction would be just fine, some would think…. Not only that, an expansive hierarchy demanded having many members who could sit around pushing papers about in very mundane efforts, not very involved in daily interaction with a populace needing to be guided. Some of the guides themselves became lost.
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I would note that celebacy can provide the very same benefits to non-Catholics, non-theists, atheists and so forth. In any case, there is a case to be made for some individuals to refrain from embroiling themselves in romantic liaisons — either because they have too much work to be done that will suffer from such distraction, or because it would be unfair to string along a partner when your main focus must always be on something else.
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Anywho. The subject interests me. Since I’m not a prophet, I won’t bother trying to predict exactly which direction the Catholic Church will take over the next few decades.