At The Intersection Of Religion And Politics

In this blogger's imagination, there is an intersection, figuratively speaking, that Christians and believers of other religions go to voice their political opinions.  Sometimes, this imaginary intersection becomes too real when a celebrant at Mass intertwines politics with his homily.  Such creatures remind this blogger of Eve, the one who was not satisfied with what God has given to her and Adam, who did not love God unconditionally, but instead want to become God herself and in her feeble mind, thinking that she could be like God, that she would have knowledge and power, just like those who have power in their positions within a religion who act like as if each of them were God, judging, and speaking for God, especially those within the Catholic Church, who together (with a limited number of exceptions) are apparently not satisfied with what they were once called to do, to be like Christ, to be humble, to preach to people, and to be like His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, to pray for (and with) them, so that they might amend their wicked ways (which in reality is a constant work-in-progress, which is why God's mercy is necessary to save man from eternal damnation), but they do not--not frequently praying and not always sincerely and faithfully with love for sinners and to God, but instead find excitement in passing politics, keeping their adrenaline flowing in their relatively sedative lives within the confines of their respective orders and congregations, supported by tax-exempt donations that they spend on themselves first, without sharing with the very needy that they always preach about, so they might as well defrock themselves and run for office, including Bergoglio, who is not only dabbling in politics, but who is immersed in it, which prompted John L. Allen Jr., editor of Crux, to publish an article dated July 16, 2017, entitled Agree or not, it’s good to know what Vatican insiders think of America [1], which lays out the intricacies of Vatican politics which lie beyond the interests and the intellect of this blogger to appreciate.

This blogger is a simpleton and can only grasp simple concepts.  First is poverty.  It is the old currency of the modern Catholic Church, without which it would likely be silenced.  Apparently nobody can eliminate it.  Christ had said "The poor you will always have with you; but you will not always have me." [2]

Refugees are the new currency of the Catholic Church.  As a result of this new currency, the Catholic Church has developed a partial blindness that does not see the path that refugees take is a two-way street, that those who are able to receive them can travel to the places that the refugees originate and set up infrastructures there, raise their standard of living and provide them with assistance in their respective countries that they had once called home.  Of course, very few, if any, of those power players ensconced within the Catholic Church would even think of leaving their creature comforts behind and serve the very ones they talk about; they only pay lip-service to them, delegating to others to come up with a plan and do the difficult work.

Health care is the newest currency of the Catholic Church. This currency is the trickiest: it inflates with advancements in medical technology which are expensive to develop, and the Catholic Church believes that anyone is entitled to them even though it does not think that everyone is entitled to be housed in a mansion (the equivalence of staying at a modern, well-equipped hospital) and being served by a team of helpers to maintain the living quarters, to clean and to cook (the equivalence of having highly trained doctors and nurses in attendance and costly medications).  When all the Catholic basilicas, cathedrals and churches around the world are turned into first-class medical facilities (each with a chapel inside or shrine next door for worship and prayers) serving the needy in their health-care needs, then the Catholic Church can preach about health care access for all without being hypocritical.

This blogger recommends the Catholic Church to stay out of politics entirely and listen carefully to the words of Christ: "The poor you will always have with you; but you will not always have me," [3] paying particular attention to the second half of the sentence, which this blogger believes to mean that it is far more important to look inward and spend time with Christ, by examining one's own conscience and praying for forgiveness and guidance and become, ironically, poor in spirit first, before attending to the poor, lest one may not have Christ in the "always" of eternity, despite busying oneself with the politics of the poor.  In other words, one needs to walk the path of Christ, to be faithful to God, to love God, to be humble, holy, loving and forgiving in every way before one looks to others, to lift them up, if not economically, habitably and healthfully in this life, then spiritually toward Heaven in the next, for it is there where true riches are kept.


[1] https://cruxnow.com/analysis/2017/07/16/agree-not-good-know-vatican-insiders-think-america/
[2] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/26 at 11.
[3] Ibid at 11.