God, Christ and Faith`: “Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church” by Bishop Geoffrey Robinson

Sylvester J. Kowalski, June 12, 2018

I was given the gift of Faith by The Holy Spirit when I was a young adult. My search for God took me on a difficult, multi-year pilgrimage. I had my Epiphany in somewhat the same manner as St. Paul had his on the road to Damascus. I have to emphasize that my Faith is a gift from God. Not withstanding my Faith from the time of my young adulthood, I have endeavored to read and study the works of outstanding Christian thinkers. The two major figures are Hans Kung and Bishop Francis Hodur (Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church, now deceased).  What I wish to discuss is a relatively new profound, Christian thinker – Bishop Geoffrey Robinson. His book, Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church is a must read. Bishop Robinson was an Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Sydney, Australia, and in 1994 was assigned in an official position in regards to sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in his diocese. His book intelligently shows the complexity of the issue, and he insists that further study in the following areas are needed in order to fully understand the root cause of Catholic clergy sexual abuse of children: (a) the clergy live in “An Unhealthy Psychological State”; (b) “Unhealthy Ideas Concerning Power and Sexuality” exists in the autocratic Catholic hierarchy’s dominant beliefs, dogmas, practices, etc.: and, (c) the Catholic clergy live in “An Unhealthy Environment of Community”.

Bishop Robinson worked on this sexual abuse tragedy for about 10 years, and experienced a great deal of emotional and psychological stress in dealing with the uncovered issues. But the most difficult point was when he came under attack by the Vatican regarding his work. I quote from his book: “When in front of several journalist’s at a public meeting, I answered a victim’s question by saying I was not happy with the level of support we were receiving from ‘Rome’, I received an official letter (7 August 1996) expressing ‘the ongoing concern of the Congregation for Bishops that you had in recent months expressed views that are seriously critical of the magisterial teaching and discipline of the Church”. In addition Bishop Robinson was told that these issues disturbed the Pope. Two months later, he received notification that all relevant documents that he was involved with relative to his sexual abuse duties were to be forwarded to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (The Inquisition.). Bishop Robinson’s conclusion was that the Vatican was “implying that I was suspected of some form of heresy”. So, we can forget that the Pope and the Vatican are Christ-like in their actions. Both are perfect examples of the anti-Christ, and the evil that resides in the Catholic hierarchy. The end result of all this (and, likely more), Bishop Robinson resigned, later wrote his book relating to power and sexuality in the Catholic Church. His book devotes most of its pages at looking at the wider Catholic church issues that were instrumental in both the Catholic clergy sex abuse and the cover-up by the Catholic hierarchy.

The titles of the first three chapters shows the profound thinking of Bishop Robinson: Chapter 1. Healthy People in a Health Relationship with a Healthy God: Chapter 2. The Two Books of God; and, Chapter 3. Spiritual Discernment.   This book provides an outline with specifics for the re-assesment of the present state of the Catholic Church and, at least, a starting point for rethinking what a Christ-like church should like and act.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x    God, Christ and Faith

“What is it that human beings owe to each other”

Rowan Williams states that Dostoevsky was in general asking the question: “What is it that human beings owe to each other?” His answer:

“At the beginning of this introduction, I summed up the central question posed by the various moral crises to which Dostoevsky was seeking to respond as “What is it that human beings owe to each other?” The incapacity to answer that question coherently—or indeed to recognize that it is a question at all—was for Dostoevsky more than just a regrettable lack of philosophical rigor; it was an opening to the demonic—that is, to the prospect of the end of history, imagination, and speech, the dissolution of human identity”.    (Williams, Rowan. Dostoevsky (Making of the Christian Imagination) (p. 14). Baylor University Press. Kindle Edition.)

Some questions: Doesn’t our current world look demonic as Dostoevsky wrote in the 19th century? Wasn’t George Bush’s War on Terror demonic? Isn’t Obama’s terror war in Syria which was aimed at regime change demonic? Isn’t Trump’s pledge to nuke North Korea demonic? (This is not to say that all of his utterances are other than demonic.) Isn’t the U.S. policy of controlling the world which was developed prior to Pearl Harbor demonic? Isn’t the blather emanating from the cultural Marxists demonic?

God help the United Syates!

The People in the Chimney and The Perfect Mothers by Donya Kowalski

Donya’s Poem The People in the Chimney and her essay The Perfect Mothers

 Donya Noudoshani Kowalski is an 8th grade student at St. Mary of the Lakes in Medford, New Jersey. In the fall of 2016, she plans to enter Bishop Eustace Preparatory School which is located in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

 In my opinion, her poem, The People in the Chimney, is powerfully insightful regarding the German people and its un-forgetful and un-forgiving twentieth century crime against humanity – The Holocaust: the genocide of millions of Jews, Slavs, and Roma. The Germans always considered these three groups as the untermenschen – the sub-humans.

 What we see in Donya’s poem and essay is humanity. Humanity appears to be a characteristic which is sorely lacking in the Germanic psyche.

 

 The People in the Chimney

By: Donya Kowalski

 

Darkness overtakes Auschwitz

as people in striped pajamas filled the camp

 

The smoke of my people

filled the once clear sky

 

I look out past the barbed wire

at the world I used to live in

 

I push a wheelbarrow full of dirt

and imagine that I am doing yard work

 

As the list of numbers for the showers was being called

I heard

Vier und fünfzig drei hundert ein und neunzig

My life

was going to go up a chimney

 

The German guards barked orders

The people in the striped pajamas

marched to the shower

 

Thousands of us squeezed into the chamber

The door was bolted shut

 

The gas began to fill our lungs

We slumped over into piles

 

We did not deserve this fate

We did not deserve to end our life

by going up a chimney

We did not deserve to be killed like

an infestation of bugs

We did not deserve this at all  

  

The Perfect Mothers

By: Donya Kowalski

           All my life my mom has gone to the ends of the earth to make me happy. When my best friend passed away, I was devastated. My mother knew exactly what I needed to hear. Mary shared the same maternal instinct with her son. Mothers always know what their children need. Mary knew that Jesus needed her to stay by his side and my mom knew I just needed a hug from her.

My mother has shown her endless love for me all my life. When I get sick, she cares for me. My mom brings me food and medicine and helps me to feel better by simply loving me. If I am scared, she will embrace me in a tight hug. I automatically know that she loves me so much that she wouldn’t let anything hurt me. Mary showed the same love to her son, Jesus. As he was carrying the cross that he would soon die on, Mary followed by his side. Mary loved her son so much that she stayed with him through his suffering. I see that same love from my own mother.

When I have doubts that I am able to do anything, my mom encourages me to do my best. She knows that I am capable of doing anything I set my mind to. The night before the entrance exam for high school, I became very worried. Thoughts of not being accepted filled my mind. Without me saying a word, my mother could tell I was worried. She told me she knew I would do great and that I had nothing to worry about. I knew that if she thought I could do it, then I really would do well. Like my mom, Mary encouraged her son. Even though Jesus did not feel ready to perform his very first miracle, Mary knew he was ready. Jesus changed water from a well to an abundance of the best wine at a wedding with help from his mother’s encouraging words.

My mom is patient with me when she asks me to do my chores. I usually respond with, “I will do it in a minute.” My mom knows that I really mean that I am not going to do my chores. She is patient with me and calmly tells me to do them. After a while, I give in and do them. Without my mom’s patience, she would have a hard time when I need to do chores. When Mary and Joseph were leaving Jerusalem after the Passover, they discovered that Jesus was missing. They searched everywhere for him. Mary was patient and did not get mad at Jesus when they found him sitting in temple with the teachers. That took a lot of patience and bravery not to worry about Jesus.

Out of all the people I know, my mom is the bravest one. She always manages to smile, no matter what the situation. When my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer, my mom went with her to all of her chemotherapy and radiation treatments. After spending a long day at the hospital with my grandmother, she would come home with a smile. Although my grandmother was going through harsh treatments, my mother made sure I knew everything would be alright. Like my mom, Mary was also brave. When the angel Gabriel came to Mary, she took on a great challenge. The angel told her that she would be the mother of God’s son. She knew it would be tough, but Mary accepted it.

I am so grateful to have a mother as loving as mine. She always believes in me and I know that she will always keep me safe. I see Mary in my mom everyday. Mary loved her son so much that she stayed by his side during his suffering. She was brave enough to take the challenge of being his mother. Both my mom and Mary are the perfect example of a mother who would do anything for their child because they care about them so much.