Catholicism
Posted: Fri 1 April, 2005 Filed under: Thoughts 7 Comments »So – why am I so anti-Catholic? (in general)
The reasons are many. Recently, we saw a film called “The Magdalene Sisters“, which illustrates the Catholic Churches attitude in Ireland. It dealt with the stories of three girls, who were “guilty” of either having a baby outside marriage, or simply of flirting with boys. For committing these “sins”, they were consigned to a convent laundry, where they would be beaten for any infraction of the rules, and were basically slave labour for the church. There’s more information about the film here. This wasn’t a story based at the turn of the century – this was only the 1960s. The last laundry closed in 1996 – less than ten years ago.
To see a church that blithers on unremittingly about forgiveness and understanding, the way the Magdelene girls (and many, many others) was nothing short of Evil.
My primary reason though is my grandmother. She was, without any exaggeration, a poisonous old cow. She didn’t have a good word to say for anyone, believed herself to be devout, yet always judged everyone else against her standards. The final straw for me was that when my grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimers, she packed him away to a nursing home. Fair enough, on that score – they were both in their 70s, I think, and neither was exactly on top form.
However, once he’d gone into the nursing home, she never visited him. Not once. Even when she was diagnosed with a virulent cancer, and given six months to live, she never went to see him, to tell him what was happening. When she died, my grandfather never understood, and my father had to tell him on every visit that his wife was dead, that she wouldn’t be visiting again, and go through the entire shock and grief process with him. For that, I could never ever forgive her.
At her funeral, the Catholic priest was new, and had barely met her. To all those who attended (and I suspect that for a fair number it was really just to make sure the old cow was actually dead) he described her as “a good Catholic”. If she was a good one, I don’t want to meet one that they think is a callous fucker.
It always makes me a little uncomfortable when people attack Catholics and Catholicism because of my upbringing and the fact that I come from a very Catholic family. I know a lot of “good Catholics” and by that I mean they are genuinely good people. Being a hypocrite and a holier than thou, arrogant, selfish fuckwit isn’t strictly the domain of Catholics either. There are a lot of “Christians”, hell, a lot of “religious” people who regularly attend their chosen place of worship who are just awful, awful individuals and generally behaving in a manner totally unbecoming of their professed beliefs.
Incidentally, your commment box is fucked. It’s going the length of the screen and being hidden behind the sidebar. Your link list is fucked too – I can’t see my site on there! 😛
Catholic hypocrisy
Lyle posts on So – why am I so anti-Catholic? (in general) I guess what bugs me is that while there are plenty of people who use their faith and spirituality to help them try to live a better life*…
Lyle, you of all people know a little of my politic and religion. I haven’t a good word to say about Catholics, mind as Dragon says, there may be some good ones out there, just aint crossed my path yet.
I’ve never understood where or how any of the issues surrounding abortion, euthanasia etc come from, do we read totally different bibles?
On another note, my grandparents, both godfearing people, left the church they used to attend (Presbyterian) becasue they couldn’t do with the two faced religious goodie two shoes who would try and rip you off outside of the church.
Dragon – No idea why the comments box is fucking up again. Slightly cynically, I’d suggest using a decent browser, as the problem only seems to occur in IE. However, I’ll look into it some more. Just probably not this weekend.
Oh, and the link has been added (well, re-added, and the name changed, if I’m honest)
I have had no personal ‘run-ins’ with Catholics, but my mother hates them with a passion.
Between having my sister, and having me, she had a son. He was stillborn. While she was still in hospital, a Catholic ‘friend’ visited her. Told her that because her son hadn’t been Baptised, he wouldn’t go to heaven.
Great thing to say to someone who has just gone through that.
Thats harsh Anni. That particular person definitely tops the chart for ‘sensitive person of the year award’.
Anni, that person was just ignorant. The problem with religions, like so many things, is human failing.
Lyle, you’re right. Forgive me for I have sinned and used IE as it was the only browser available to me at work owing to me having broken my laptop. (He was asking for it m’lud – the laptop was just the nearest blunt object I could use to bash his head in with!)