I think it is pretty easy to understand why people belong to churches that repress them, as long as it is what they grew up in, and that shapes their lives and gives them meaning, even if it is a distortion of what we (outsiders!) think is full human flourishing. One person's repression is another person's ritual and rules that give their life meaning. And if you think your church is broad enough, you can make it mean what you want it to mean -- a friend of mine says that the Catholic church is even big enough to include the Pope.

But is the Catholic church really that broad? Can you make the church mean what you want it to mean, and ignore the things you don't like. I can see getting away with that if you are a weirdo Buddhist, but can you do that in a church whose central dogmas do involve certain rules. If you don't follow those rules, then you can call yourself whatever you like, but you aren't. I can call myself a major league baseball player, but I am not. That is the great question. Along these lines, taking mild issue with Mick, I think one of the problems is that people like you can cast yourself as "the loyal opposition", but the "loyal opposition" is a technical term approved of, and recognised by Parliament as part of the system. I don't believe that the present Pope recognises such an opposition, in which case one of you is fooling yourself. I assume that the core fight in Catholicism today is whether the church as a whole, the people of the church as a whole, is to be the authority, or the Pope. This was the Vatican II fight, which was temporarily won on the side of the people of the church, but which has been hacked back ever since. Everything I read says loud and clear from the Papal brigades is that your position in the church is ultimately to be one of obedience to the teachings of the Holy Father when he is speaking as the voice of the church, that is where your loyalty lies, if you belong. As a good feisty American, you take issue with this, I assume!! If the Papal position is correct, then I fail to see how you can disagree with him, without imperilling your soul. If you are correct, then he is a serious menace, at the very least. The only saving grace, up to this point, is that people have ignored the Pope because he has no armies these days, and people have been able to fudge around the infallibility dogma. I don't think it has anything to do with how many good things the church or Christians have done over the centuries -- given the bad things, it is pretty much of a wash, I would say. The question seems to me to be one of principle and authority.

Meanwhile, here in Toronto, things are off to a pretty good start. The cardinal giving the keynote welcoming address to the assembled youth warned them against believing that other religions have similar beliefs and values. Doesn't want them wandering into Toronto temples and mosques while they are visiting our fair multicultural city. The Imam of the Toronto mosque was on the radio this morning expressing his dismay -- it turns out they were hosting a Muslim-Christian Ecumenical Youth gathering to coincide with the event!!

yours, Peter T.