Complacency

My favorite New York Times columnist has written another scathing critiicism of the Church. At some point in my life, such articles would have really bothered me, to the point of fury. Now, given current events, I'm glad someone is writing about these topics. Someone has to speak up.

I struggle with my opinion of the current administration of the Church on a daily basis. If you're Catholic and not struggling, then something is wrong. Complacency is a far greater sin than zealotry. Complacency allowed thousands upon thousands of children to be molested.

While I get annoyed with the idea that old = archaic (naturally, as a historian, this makes me glower), I can admit that some traditions within the Church should be changed. But the Church is an entity unlike anything the world has ever seen. It is older than Islam, older than any monarchy, older than any country. It has changed, in great leaps, over the years. But it has not changed its own institutional hierarchy to fit modern times.

The Church, the beliefs that are 2000 years old, have not changed and this is what Catholics must hold on to. As my friend, AL, said, those traditions are comforting in a world that is always changing. I know that they are a comfort to me even with my current struggles.

But something must be done. A Church that is so vehemently against abortion and contraceptives must also be vehement in its protection of those children actually born into this world.