Is The Pope Catholic?

The Popes visit to Britain seems to have caused some vitriol from certain circles. some like Peter Tatchell, take a position against the Pope because of the relatively large cases of child sex abuses that have occurred under the gaze of the established catholic church to which, the Pope has not given the kind of apology to those abused as should be. Also, among these people is the criticism of subjugation of women and gay men and women within the church.

There are others opposed to the Popes visit because they suffer from bigotry and have beef with catholicism and those who follow the catholic religion (although I have not seen them give a coherent reason why, they just display some ugly superior disdain without giving reason).

There is no way I am going to defend or make allowances for the above average numbers of cases of child abuse in the catholic church, or the sexism or the homophobia. But I will say the obvious which is there are pressures on priests to have all the answers, to be a bit above the masses and the pressures from celibacy. Often catholic priests go into the profession at a young age and are inexperienced, not mature emotionally and may have no or limited sexual experience.

That they vow celibacy means they might find sexual gratification from children as they are disallowed and disallow themselves a relationship with someone who is an equal. That is out of the question, so they find that children are not only eager to please but also easily manipulated. It is a combination of the sheltered lives that the priests lead and that they are emotionally underdeveloped and insecure.

It is the link between the catholic church and the state that causes this problem. It is not the fault of the people who practise this religion, and the priests themselves need a lot more understanding.

When Marx says that religion is the opium of the masses and the heart in a heartless world, it is true and for a religion to be practiced it requires some level of ritual and ceremony, however bizarre it looks and might be to others on the outside looking in. In no way is this a justification for the vast wealth that places like the Vatican have, it does not cost much to practice rituals and ceremonies, let alone accumulate vast sums.

Due to the unequal society we are born into, every institution will reflect this inequality, and there will be and is struggle within them for something better, for something that has freedom and equality at its heart.

All institutions contain this struggle, from the family, hospitals, schools, leisure, sports industries and also religious institutions. These institutions are here when we are born, we can choose to shape them and / or get rid of them as adults... However this must always be done with the interests of the majority of people. What they (the majority) understand and are prepared collectively to do.