UNITED STATES
The New York Times
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: April 7, 2012
WASHINGTON
THERE was a boys’ club, of course, a band of ardent, jockeying disciples. But as his fame grew, the messiah was also surrounded by women and talked about women with great respect. With his father far away, the golden boy was most influenced by his strong mother and the women in his inner circle.
I’m talking about the real messiah, not Barack Obama, although it applies to both. …
Finally, in the perverse pantheon of reactionary men in robes, we have God’s Rottweiler, as Pope Benedict is known. He welcomed Easter by sitting on a golden throne and denouncing the “disobedience” of Catholic priests who want the decaying, ingrown institution that sheltered so many abusive priests to let in some fresh air and allow female and married priests, as well as Holy Communion for Catholics who have remarried without an annulment.
“It seemed like a bitter statement,” said Kenneth Briggs, the author of “Double Crossed: Uncovering the Catholic Church’s Betrayal of American Nuns.” “It further erodes, almost tragically, the respect for the papacy because it looks like what you want is institutional conformity rather than obedience to the Gospel.”
The message of Jesus, after all, is not about exclusion, but inclusion.
Briggs said that most American Catholics will never go along with retrogressive dictates of the church, like the one against artificial contraception. “God,” he noted dryly, “only had one son.”
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