Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been a long time since my last
confession. I am guilty of many things but mostly of misunderstanding the Gospels. I thought they called us to a life of service.
The Catholic bishops have showed me a
better way. I understand now that God
wants us to judge others first, then if they're worthy, we can serve them;
perhaps talk to them about God's unconditional love, like Jesus did.
Too often to count, I've helped someone without asking if
they use contraceptives or had an abortion, or were homosexual. And if
I knew they were homosexual I never asked if they were sexually active or, in the
words of the bishops, "objectively disordered."
I just, well, I just didn't know that's what God wanted. The nuns were
my teachers in school. Maybe that is the
problem.
Really Father, since the Catholic hierarchy focuses on these
bio-sins to the exclusion of most everything else, I thought they had it
covered. But that left a lot of life
issues not covered, like poverty and the economic systems that thrives on it,
and war, and homelessness, greed, domestic violence; all kinds of things that
kill people left and right once they're born. Think of it: if the hierarchy gave
as much time and attention to the sins of capitalism as they have to, let's
say, contraception, lives could be saved by the millions.
Forgive me, but I thought these lives mattered too. I thought life mattered whether it was pre-born,
homeless, starving, bleeding from the shrapnel of a drone attack, or bleeding
from rape.
Life matters to a lot of people who do not focus on ending
abortion or contraception or homosexuality.
Some of these people are Catholics.
Some of these Catholics are nuns.
Some of these nuns have been so disrespectfully treated by your brothers
in Christ that one wonders if their lives matter at all.
I am almost sure that somewhere in the Gospels Jesus talks about
the last judgment when the people will be separated, like sheep and goats, to
stand by the right and left hands of God.
And to those on the right it is said, "Come, O blessed of God, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
I know I shouldn't be quoting scripture to a priest, but
just this last little bit seems important: "For I was hungry and you gave me
food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed
me, I was naked and you clothed me I was sick and you visited me, I was in
prison and you came to me".Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the
least of these, you did it to me." And the
goats are told, "go to hell." (Matt, 25:
31-42.)
The work of the nuns your brothers in Christ have once again
disrespected and dismissed and found in need of controlling because it lacks focus
on abortion, contraception and homosexuality, is so obviously the work of those
inheriting the kingdom that I'd be worried, if I were you, just exactly who is
in the group going to hell.
And now Father, let's talk about penance.