I cant decide whether this new pope is a good thing for humanity or not: that is, whether his reforms can possibly change the moribund Catholic Church enough that it becomes a positive social force*, or if they simply give the creaky, lumbering, stagnant Church goodwill it hasnt earned and, by extension, perpetuate its survival on the modern stage. I also feel somewhat guilty for feeling as such, given the tangible benefits for many church-repressed minorities and sub-culture groups that may benefit from, achieve greater social legitimacy because of, etc, these statements of Pope Francis... but thats the question. Can a negative force on our society do good? Or does what good it do simply perpetuate the its legitimacy and popularity, allowing it to remain a negative force? Incrementalism vs radical revolution, and so on—can the system be fixed through slow and steady improvement, or is it so broken that it must be discarded wholesale? * I, perhaps, do the Church a disservice here by not giving credit where its due for combatting global poverty and providing a community focus for many. That said, I will maintain that it is an outmoded body with a laundry list of flaws the length of its long reach: issues of reproductive rights, policies that increase STI transmission, minority exclusion, insularity (and the consequences thereof, such as the child abuse scandals and their cover-up), not to mention the historical atrocities the Church has committed, justified, called for, given carte blanche, etc, or even my atheist leanings and subscription to the idea that organized religion is the ossification of morality that impedes social betterment and imparts a false assurance of truth and infallibility, which justifies all sorts of knee-jerk exclusion, and on, and on... so from the court where I am, I stand my my original assertion that it is _not_ currently a positive social force.
Posted on: Wed, 27 Nov 2013 14:05:04 +0000