Catholicism

Catholicism is a matter of indoctrination for most Catholics. Mind control begins early in life. National and ethnic identity is often wrapped up with Catholicism as well. A child's mind is filled with mythology and fear of a vengeful god and a panoply of moderating patron saints and guardian angels. The religion mirrors the Roman familial model of the late Imperial Roman era, when Roman Christians took over the Western Empire. 

Convicted: Monsignor Lynn

So, when I hear that an American monsignor (executive) of the Roman Catholic Church may now be going to prison for hiding child abuse by his subordinates, I can imagine the emotional turmoil of those people who have not awakened from their childhood conditioning at the hands of this church and its adherents. I know that turmoil well. It led to my own personal liberation and freedom from those haunting superstitions which impose an unenlightened morality.

Organized Roman Catholicism was never really Christian. Once a Roman Emperor became what is now a Roman Catholic, the gig was up. Politics obliterated the Christian message in favor or money and domination. Those rare hermits and cloistered devotees who tried to live Christ-like lives were often condemned and abused by the organization which perpetually tried to monopolize the Christian message. 

Greedy abbots and abbesses turned monasteries into agrarian corporations. The devout became willing, self-effacing drones for producing profits. What a racket! This was, in part, Henry VIII of England's motive, as a disillusioned Roman Catholic, when he leveled a majority of the monasteries in England. His anger was also fueled by the refusal of Rome and the religious orders to cut him a piece of the action, of course.

I am happy to be living in a time when Roman Catholicism is on the slow decline, at least in the educated countries of the West. The business model has changed at the Vatican in response. The poorest pockets of Africa, South America and Southeast Asia are their target markets these days. Overpopulated places with high poverty rates promote ignorance, gullibility and unquestioning loyalty in exchange for blessings, absolution and assurances that their misery will be rewarded after death. The message works for hierarchies in many poor places.

Life is so short on this wonderful planet. As the dominant species, do we need to subscribe to a religion which absolves us of our mistakes in favor of some promised afterlife? Shouldn't we be facing up to our adult responsibilities to the planet, our life source, rather than kneeling to an imagined father-figure? Our life is here, now. I have only one life that can be proven, that can be consciously lived, as best I can. The more I focus on that reality in my daily practice, the easier it is for me to live joyfully, responsibly and compassionately. No religion is required to do this. Just commitment, effort and awareness.