As a cradle Catholic I continue to be amazed and ashamed of The Catholic Church and particularly the Holy See. It continues to show how #SilenceIsViolence. Many of its historic crimes really stand out: It was complicit in its support for General Franco and the Franconistas through the Spanish Civil War of 1937. Worse was to follow: It was silent when the Nazis perpetrated the most heinous crimes and even supported the Nazis. Another example of the breathtaking arrogance of its dogma on “sin” and “retribution” – in Nazi Germany this was the “sin” of, and “retribution” for the killing of The Christ. And despite its pretentious apolitical mask, did not this same Church also actively engage with Reagan and the CIA in the fall of Socialism? Meanwhile, speaking of discrimination: It has continues to be duplicitous on homosexuality: silent about ministers yet condemning others for their sexuality. It is also consistently silent and continues to turn a blind eye towards the horrors of pedophilia among its own; it has systematically refused to apologise for this, just as it has consistently refused to do likewise for the horrors of Residential Schools… And now it is silent again on #BlackLivesMatter; or muted, at best.
Hardly surprising… The Roman Catholic Church may call itself “inclusive” but it has also whitewashed Christ, the Son of God, who – we know from history – was a brown-skinned, socialist son of a carpenter who condemned all of the evils that this Church is silent about – especially discrimination. Christ was never silent when he saw wrong. He spoke out about those who were wronged and – remarkably – also forgave those who wronged. And who but a socialist Christ would have preached “Passive Resistance”, never fearing the consequences even to the point of death…?
