Crucifixion of the Faithful 2

Photo credit: blirk.net

"As I was saying, a church knows no fury like a raped victim scorned. The Church and the State almost engaged in hand to hand combat over the small girl's misfortune and the unjust treatment she got from the church. What really erked the people was the seeming exoneration of the rapist. To the church the man's crime is not as serious as committing abortion. Hence the hefty punishment doled out to the girl's mother and the doctor."

"How did the state react to this seeming injustice?"

"The Brazilian president, I was told, was not happy about the church's stand. Hear what he said: "As a Christian and a Catholic I deeply regret that a bishop of the Catholic Church has such a conservative attitude". He believed the doctors were more right than the church in saving the girl's life. No, insisted the archbishop, "God's law", he said, "is above any human law. So when a human law is contrary to God's law, this human law has no value."

"Is the law not supposed to protect the oppressed against the oppressor?"

"That's a germane question. Their minister of health was equally disappointed. Said he: "Two things strike me, the assault on the girl and the position of the bishop which is truly lamentable". Indeed it is a matter of regret. One of the doctors involved in the abortion could not hide his disappointment. Hear him: "The people want a church full of forgiveness, love, tolerance and mercy."

"Well said. The church lately has become a sanctuary for the overzealous, the legalistic, the surreal and the bizarre. Officials hold on rigidly to dogmas that have seen better days and already discarded in the consciousness of the liberal minded. Needless reemphasising the fact that both the church and the mosque have become havens of obsolete dogmas, medieval intolerance and stone age abuse of the rights of the congregation all in the name of God. In fact one is at a loss that the Catholic Church which tactically and pragmatically tackled the issue of gay priests among its flock, by conceding their right to belong to the clergy provided they adhere strictly to their oath of celibacy, could be a party to the abridgement of the fundamental human rights of individuals to seek redress and justice. Is the church not supposed to be a refuge for those in need of salvation? Where is the Rock of Ages we are promised will "cleft" for us in the time of adversity? The Catholic Church in Brazil, nay the world, has a serious problem over its premordial, rigid dogmas that daily call for a touch of reality in the face of continuous mass exodus of the congregation to where not only the spirit is catered for but also the body. Hear what one of the doctors involved in the life saving abortion saga had to say, "I will keep going to mass regardless of the Archbishop's (excommunication) order. The people want a church full of forgiveness, love and mercy" and, lest he forgot, tolerance."

"Yes, tolerance is the key word. Our world is literally out of joints because of intolerance. For instance, the Anglican Church would not tolerate a Gene Robinson to be consecrated a bishop in the United States because he is gay. Yet nobody had control over the way God created him or her. We are all but mere pencils in the hands of the creator. He uses us to write whatever scripts He deems fit for His divine soap opera. Who are we then to deny others the right to live as God has created them. Are we trying to tamper with destiny or trying to rewrite the da vinci code of every individual to suit their religious excellencies?"

"I wonder! Every day the clery teaches the congregation the virtues of being tolerant as individuals and as a nation but it finds it difficult to tolerate and forgive. For writing "The Satanic Verses" Salman Rushdie must be rushed to death via a fatwa. For publishing a cartoon about Prophet Mohammed the editor of Jyllands-Posten in Denmark must die. And for beautifying her writeup with a seemingly harmless religious analogy our own Isioma Daniel must kiss the dust. I believe that religion should wear a divinely human face not Gorgon Medusa's."

"That's true.

If care is not taken, at the rate the church and mosque are creating a hostile
environment for the congregation it may start breeding new protestant
worshippers.

Of course, it's no longer news that Europe is already brimming with those the faithful would readily describe as "Islamic Dissidents". These are educated, well enlightened Muslims who abhor the excesses of Islamic fundamentalists whose credo is “two eyes for an eye.”

"Not even an eye for an eye?"

"Don’t mind them. The world is changing. Both Muslim and Christian leaders should wake up to their responsibility of ensuring harmony in the world. The days of swallowing every bitter pill from the pulpit are gone. The congregation is now wiser and asking questions and demanding love and tolerance. "

"Yes, the tyranny of the clergy must stop."

Photo credit: virtualtourist.com

This is the second part of the Opilogue Crucifixion of the Faithful, which first appeared in edition of No 22 of TELL. You may want to check for the first part.