Pope Pushes Psychoanalysis for Priests

After almost 2,000 years, the Roman Catholic Church has learned little about why it is a magnet for homosexual priests; and the fact that heterosexual members engage in intercourse, even rape of young women, to satisfy a sexual appetite that has long been suppressed until it explodes in illicit ecstasy. The sudden transformation of a well respected and highly regarded priest into a sexual beast is noted as a result of a mentally deranged mind. But it is never attributed to celibacy. The church believes the mental condition of the mind to control sexual urges can be found in those worthy to serve God.

The Pope has approved the new guideline for the screening of future priests by providing psychological tests to weed out those that have "psychological defects, deep-seated homosexual tendencies, uncertain sexual identity, excessive rigidity of character, and strong affective tendencies". It bars seminarians who see celibacy as a heavy burden that it "compromises their affective and relational equilibrium". Priests selected must have a "positive and stable sense of their masculine identity".

Catholics are made to understand that celibacy is a reflection of life in heaven, but it makes them go through hell first. It is actually based on guilt originating from false religious beliefs developed to control people. There is clearly no biblical basis for this practice and it may be used for concealing deeper fears of intimacy. The qualifications for future priests sought by the Church are those that are detached from any sexuality. How they can have a stable and positive sense of masculine identity without expressing their manhood, or at least their human masculine emotions, is a tall order. There may be no priests qualified over the long term for such demands. Applicants may pass and be celibate for some time, but it cannot hold for the long haul, and the same problems will emerge.

Priests have been allowed to have wives and concubines before the middle ages, until Pope Pelagius I made new priests agree offspring could not inherit church property; Pope Gregory followed by declaring all sons of priests illegitimate; Pope Benedict VIII banned marriages and concubines for priests; and Pope Innocent II voided all marriages, and for all new priests to divorce their wives. It had nothing to do with morality, it was all about money and the protection of Church property. Even Peter the Apostle was married. Celibacy is physically unnatural and can result in several physical and mental problems. When even masturbation is denied under this vow, the body cannot be used for what it was intended. Prostate blockage and painful wet dreams are the most common reactions of the body to this unnatural imposition.

Jesus was a practitioner of natural law, and He wouldn't impose an act so unnatural among his followeres and members of His Church. The entire celibacy issue was the result of middle age Gnostic influence that preached falsely that the body and its needs are dirty and unspiritual. To be serving God in a spiritual sense, natural sexuality must be avoided. This is the basis for the "derangement" of priests. If a priest is stable upon ordination, the years of sexual avoidance will certainly result in intense mental imbalance - borne of need and guilt - until he can no longer ignore the explosive release of this natural hunger. Having an illicit heterosexual relationship is the least of his sins. Pedophilia and rape are the most grevious; but resorting to homosexual relationships for a straight priest is an option. This starvation for sex of male priests is the very reason why the Church is a magnet for homosexuals.

So, rather than providing all these tests which will not remove the problem at some future date, the Church has two options: to require all priests to be castrated; or allow them to marry. Otherwise, the problem of priests with their sexual drives will be a recurring one. Should priests be allowed to marry, the Church should also follow the Anglican example of ordaining women priests. Then, having a couple who are both priests would produce a holier generation. While they're at it, why not make the seminaries co-educational, so they can start early on the Heavenly experience here on earth? By the time of their ordination - when they are launched to serve God - they would have gotten used to the mantra they recite at the coed seminary: "Oh God, I'm coming"!

Haaaarrrrwwwwk...Twoooooph...Ting!

The Pope, Piety and Popularity

After Pope John Paul II died in April 2005, a vacuum developed between the Catholic Church and its 1.131 billion Catholic membership worldwide. The assumption of the Papacy by Joseph Ratzinger, who chose the name Pope Benedict XVI, has done little to ease the sense of loss and displacement of Catholics in their faith that missed the comforting presence of John Paul II. The Church seemed distant, and the initial pronouncements of Pope Benedict XVI regarding changes in the conduct of the Holy Mass engendered a disconnection among many Catholics who find difficulty feeling the present Pope.

Pope Benedict XVI espouses fundamental Catholic practices of worship. His views and principles that promote orthodox Catholic teaching is an abrupt departure from the openness and liberalized methods that had been universally accepted as welcome changes. Practices which made the Holy Mass more participative, more open and involved, unified and adapted to local cultures, were ordered reversed to the traditional worship procedures. These include the priest with his back to the churchgoers, veils for women, and use of Latin. The impact of this order hit the entire Church membership instantly since it is where Catholics converge on Sundays. Confusion followed unanswered questions , and the hopes of the local Catholic leadership for ready compliance turned into disassociation.

Being the immediate successor to Pope John Paul II, comparisons may be unfair but unavoidable. John Paul II had a very friendly and approachable persona. He was a charismatic Pope who had the ability to inspire billions of members globally; the knack for rallying professionals, elderly, and working class Catholics to a regeneration of the faith; and the communication savvy to connect with the youth worldwide whose influence they embraced, whose words they absorbed, whose humanity they accepted and loved. His memory lives on in the youth whom he has touched spiritually and emotionally.

In contrast, Benedict XVI has a stern projection that can be daunting to those who want to reach out. As the present head and spiritual leader of the Catholic Church on Earth, his words and actions were taught to be infallible. This teaching no longer holds as much awe and wonder as it used to. His address at the University of Regensburg inappropriately used a 14th century Papal quotation that slammed the Muslim faith - causing protests from Muslims worldwide. The fiasco was done at a time when inter-faith harmony was being promoted.

The 6-day Papal visit to the United States, where 67 million Catholics (22% of the population) reside and whose practice of the faith differ widely with the tenets of conservative Catholic teaching, will test the Pope's diplomacy and will. Compared to Europe, America is largely conservative and he will find it more to his liking. Conservatives reign in America, from government, business and industry, Christian and Evangelical denominations, and the American population at large. But underneath this conservatism are legal practices that contradict Catholic tenets, where one remains a good Catholic despite having an abortion, using birth control devices, divorcing a spouse, remarrying, marrying someone of the same gender, changing of one's gender, and going to Church when convenient. These, he cannot undo. Also, he will have to face the issues regarding sexual abuses done by priests and nuns that undermined the moral authority of the Church and the faith itself.

The conflict within conservative America may have rendered the Catholic tenets irrelevant, and perhaps irreconcilable with their way of life. This lack of attachment has caused a serious disconnect between American Catholics and the Church. A purification of the practice of the faith is needed, one that will find agreement within their ranks and bring them in harmony and unity with all people in the world through God. But how can he reconcile unity with all men and love of God when God's teachings are disregarded and ignored? Would not retaining the contradictions in practice make the religion hypocritical and senseless? Are the contradictions beneath the veneer of conservatism in America manifestations of pretense and hypocrisy? If the Pope glosses over these contradictions, is he being hypocritical?

It is almost impossible to be a Catholic in a world so mired in untruth that is regarded as an angle of the truth or a version of the truth. If Jesus is the only truth, then the inter-faith harmony is seeking unity with a lie. If peace and co-existence is the goal, then Catholics are allowed to coexist in peace with a contradiction. This is what will perhaps reunite American Catholics with God and heaven, in making their bed for peace and coexistence, they can lie with a contradiction.

Haaarrrrwwwwwk...Twooooooooph...Ting!

Church Control of Contraception

Women from Manila's poorest sector have decided to temporarily stop making love, and have declared war against the Catholic Church for pressuring local officials to ban the use of contraceptives and its free access to indigent couples and sex workers. They have filed a legal challenge against Executive Order 003, issued by then Mayor Lito Atienza, which supports natural Family Planning, but carefully worded to avoid mentioning an outright ban on artificial contraception. The Executive Order, which follows the devolution of health services to local governments, have caused the disappearance of all family planning initiatives and services in the city; including the access to free pills, condoms and other effective contraception methods.

The influence of the Catholic Church is undeniably forceful. The Philippines' 80 million population is 82% Roman Catholic, and the pressure it applies on the politicians and government officials who are mostly Catholics, is the withdrawal of the Catholic vote; or a massive demonstration by catholic organized groups that could pressure the government into a very public capitulation. President Gloria Arroyo, herself being a devout Catholic, supports the Church ban on contraception in a country where abortion is banned and considered a criminal offense.

During the 1970s, the USAID initiated a massive family planning program supported by then President Ferdinand Marcos under a martial law regime. Commitments by the Philippine Government to the program were continued until after Marcos fled, but hardly supported by then President Corazon Aquino. The program by the end of the 1990s was considered a big failure and was not renewed. USAID pulled the program out in frustration. But from the time Marcos initiated family planning, the Church and its grassroots organizations in the rural areas and cities outside Manila, condemned the artificial methods as an evil that promotes promiscuity and sin. The priests spewed fire from the pulpits and went to the extent of excommunicating the officials and extension workers of the country's Population Commission.

The women of Manila claim that the Executive Order has caused unwanted pregnancies, pushed them farther into poverty, and has harmed their health and well being. In addition, refusing their husbands at times led to quarrels that became violent. The policy is discriminatory since costs of contraceptives impact only on the poor. Rich women can afford to buy contraceptives.The case will also be filed in international courts and will seek assistance from US based organizations like the Center for Reproductive Rights, since the ban violates the constitutionally guaranteed right to plan a family based on individual beliefs. The case filed in Manila will be a tough battle since Pope Benedict XVI stated recently that the spread of HIV and Aids in Africa (60% of 40 million have Aids), should be tackled with fidelity and abstinence and not by condoms. Being the Pontiff, his words would carry a lot of weight in a Catholic dominated country.

It's as if the Catholic Church wants to make sexual deprivation the greatest achievement of mankind since splitting the atom. Ignoring the disease, poverty, hunger and environmental pressure of large populations, it insists on the traditional view that sex is only for procreation of children and should not be enjoyed for its own sake. And this present Pope is a traditionalist, who may just as well have said that castration is the next best thing after abstinence to prevent AIDS and population increase. Coming from someone who presumably hasn't had sex or made love in a very long time, or none in his lifetime; the proposition will create neurotics out of everyone and will remove one of the last bastions of gratitude to God when heaven is reached at that precise moment of total ecstasy.

The women of Manila must be openly supported, especially by the intelligent, educated, and middle class Catholics who still hide in the shadows of the silent majority. Worldwide support from women's groups should also be tapped to put pressure on the Church to reconsider its views in the light of realities in poverty, disease, and environmental concerns.

Most of all, the men, who will be equally affected, if not the most affected, should stand up and raise their objection to the ban. Otherwise, they will turn into Christmas trees where the thing is dead at the roots, and the balls are only for decoration.

Haaaarrrrwwwwk...Twoooooph...Ting!