The Vatican at war with the world

My ongoing criticism of the Vatican hierarchy and some of its decisions rests primarily on a very different idea of religion.   And of course, the Roman Catholic Church has existed far longer than I have, and I have no illusions that I can tell it what to do.   That would be hubris of cosmic ego dimensions, and I'm no Newt Gingrich.

Nevertheless, most of the actions of the Vatican in recent years, and of Pope Benedict himself, reinforce -- in my thinking -- the rightness of my views.

The Vatican, of course, upholds the idea of immutable truths handed down by God, and they cannot simply be changed to suit the secular interests and knowledge of today.   Adherence to Catholic teachings and faithfulness to God's will are the measure of religious expression.  It is a theologically based world view.

I have a more secular, humanistic world view -- that is, man-centered, not god-centered.   I do not question the value for many people of a deep religious faith that sustains and comforts them and gives those who need it an answer to the question of what is man's ultimate fate?    Is this worldly life the end?   Or is there an afterlife?

I am comfortable with not knowing those answers.   I grew up in a family that stressed the literal truth of heaven and hell, with nothing quite so important as whether you would spend eternity in blissful reunion with God and family or in agony as you literally burned in hell.

That is no longer my belief.   Doing my part to make this world a better place than I found it, and treating others as I want to be treated are good enough principles for me.  I do not think whatever comes after death will include a literal, individual consciousness, although I'm comfortable with the idea of some sort of absorption of my essence back into some greater cosmic essence.

Now, with that background, what I see happening is the Vatican making all the wrong decisions to deal with the crisis of the Church.   Instead of letting church doctrine evolve in light of modern knowledge and experience on issues like contraception, sexual diversity, celibacy for priests, etc., the Vatican is cracking down, reinforcing the unbending tenets of old.

It is most self-defeating, I believe, when it now tries to deal with its internal problems -- insisting that the American nuns put less time into social service and more into protesting reproductive choice and gay marriage;  reinforcing priestly celibacy, continuing to condemn contraception, even to the endangerment of spouses of HIV individuals, etc.

It was in the news today that the Vatican has stripped the Catholic University of Peru of the right to call itself a Catholic university because of its progressive ways through the years.

It seems to me that the Vatican is choosing a course that will lead to a smaller and narrower and more isolated institution.

But . . . what do I know?   And no one is asking me.

Ralph