Got a Problem.

Disclaimer: This is a religious rant, so if you don't wanna hear it, stop reading now, please.



I'm upset with the Pope. Now this isn't a new thing for me - I've certainly been upset with the Pope quite a few times in the 7 years since my conversion to Catholicism. The problem, here, is that I'm not sure I can get over this.

Here's the thing. I worked really hard to become Catholic. My Vicki will tell you that - she pushed and prodded and made darned sure that I participated in my RCIA classes, did my homework and succeeded in being confirmed. It was like pulling teeth having my marriage blessed in the Church and making Mike go through all the steps to get there. We did class after class after class to get Zion baptised in the Church, too. I've planned for years to send him to one of the area Catholic schools - it's why we were unconcerned about the school district when we moved to our house.

While I'm not ultra-religious, I pride myself on being a member of the Catholic Church.

But I am really pissed at the Pope.

I have spent the last seven years of my life trying to convince anyone who wanted to know that the Church isn't as backwards as they thought it was. Since Vatican II, the Church has been committed to preaching tolerance and love, not hellfire and brimstone. I was PROUD of what I considered progress by a Church that, at one time, was known for is persection and slaughter of millions - billions - of people due to its own religious intolerance.

This week, the Pope "re-asserted" the true papacy of himself and the Catholic Church, and pretty much said that other churches just don't count. No salvation for you!

Did Vatican II say this? Yes, they did. Do we re-assert this every single week during Mass? Yes, we do. "We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church."

Did we need to piss off the entire world in the process? No. I don't think we did. This isn't what Christianity is about - this is a tactic that should be reserved for politics.

I don't want to align myself with an organization that DOES this. As much work as I put into becoming a Catholic, today I am considering walking away from the Church.