Laurie Penny

Pop culture, politics and feminism

Don’t judge Catholics by the Pope

Despite evidence to the contrary, there are still people doing beautiful things in the name of relig

By Laurie Penny Published 09 September 2010 13:26

Britons, beware. As the nation prepares for the Pope's visit, Catholic dissidents are making trouble in the countryside again.

On 6 August, one priest and two lay worshippers crept up to the perimeter of the Aldermaston nuclear weapons base and cut a hole in the fence, attaching a sign on the new doorway bearing the legend "Open for Disarmament: All Welcome". The three then knelt down inside the base and prayed.

In statement following the protest, the demonstrators, two of whom had previously served prison sentences for anti-nuclear action, said: "We come inspired by the message of Jesus to love our enemies, to be peacemakers and to act non-violently at all times." Parents, lock up your children: the fundamentalists are coming.

In a world where organised religion is very often a cipher for co-ordinated homophobia, misogyny and dogmatic social control, it's good to know that people can still do brave and beautiful things in the name of faith. These are the sorts of Catholics we should be inviting to speak around the country -- not former card-carrying fascists with personal responsibility for covering up institutional child abuse, opposing sexual health initiatives and promoting discrimination against women and homosexuals across the world.

This story gave me pause for thought, as I'm working on a longer article about anti-Catholicism and why the snowballing Protest The Pope movement has little to do with the Catholic faith itself, but everything to do with the barbaric, anti-humanist dogma peddled by members of the Catholic hierarchy.

Of course, like any arbitrary belief system, the faith can also be bloody silly. As a heathen unbeliever from a lapsed Maltese Catholic family, I am still mystified why some of my relatives regularly attend mass hallucination parties where everyone pretends that bits of wafer blessed by a celibate in a robe are magically transformed on the tongue into gruesome chunks of dead prophet.

On the other hand, I've got secular friends who believe that the Horrors are a good band, or that the Liberal Democrats are a party of the left. Judge not, lest ye be judged.

Tags: Papal visit 2010

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51 comments

Thu, 2010-09-09 23:35 — writeoff (not verified)

Religion pays. I can't find the ONS link but when they correlated average household wealth with religion it was enough to wipe the smug smile off Dawkins and his ilk.

Sat, 2010-09-11 23:03 — mikebach

Oh if we could educate our children that 90% passed A Level Pure Maths of the seventies. Assume there is a set of religions. (Jedi, Religion A, Religion B, Religion C ... Religion Z). Each adherent to a particular religion is certain that all other religions are not rational. Note the number of religions increases grows in leaps and bounds. There are over 30,000 variants of Christian type religions mentioned in a recent survey. If the first religion Jedi is patently absurd or senseless or not rational, the next religion is not rational and the next religion is not rational and so on. As more and more religions exist it is less and less likely that a religion will exist that is rational. The chances become vanishingly small thus all religions now, all in the past and all in the future can be said with absolute certainty that they are not rational.

I would like to stress I am not being critical of those who are religious. It is a product of their DNA gene sequence. It helped with understanding nature or fighting wild animals perhaps. Being critical of this is as foolish as being critical of someone because of their skin colour or whether they are male, female or intersex.

For absolute truth we can only consider the great work of those giants of intellect Euclid, Pythagoras and the other mathematicians who have produced laws and proofs that are true for all time. We should convert our churchs and temples and other houses of religious observance to contain memorials to these great men. We could combine mankinds love of the solar calendar with celebrations in memory of these truly greats.

How is it possible that our society celebrates illiterate nobodies who through chance at a particular time rehashed the thoughts of people like Epicurus and then were used by aggressive leaders to bolster their hold on power, wealth and land.

My parents told me of life before penicillin. Look at your great grandparents generations and life expectancy. The lists and lists of dead children. Look at the wickedness of certain religions making promises about life after death with unbaptised children left for ever in limbo.

I remember when the first heart transplant took place. After those religious numpties, put back stem cell and embryo research, these are great leap forwards that all of mankind can be proud of. We live in the greatest age of discovery.

Remember it was and is religions that suppress knowledge. Just think where mankind would be if the Greek Philosophical Schools were not suppressed or the Library at Alexandria burnt. I get such a high from knowing, through our DNA, that we are all descended from a small group of people that left Africa 70,000 years ago.

Religion knows it is important to indoctrinate when young. In my day they knew how to abuse children through corporal punishment and use psychological methods to make the abused feel guilty. In England as corporal punishment has declined so has religion. Look at some of the main religions who burn schools (Afganistan, Pakistan), stone women, deny education to girls, force children to read the same foolish text over and over again so that they feel it is right to kill themselves and others while they are still young and impressionable and prevent these children from knowledge that might raise them out of poverty. A child who can solve Schrodinger's wave equation will never kill through religious conviction.

In the Catholic church; God is top, then the pope, cardinals, catholic kings etc etc right down to slaves (though this has been removed in recent times). Women are inferior so cannot be popes or cardinals or bishops. Look at roods in churches to separate the mighty from the humble. When I was at a Catholic school, I was taught that Africans were an inferior race. Now we find senior individuals in this religion appear to have been hiding child abusers for years. As an atheist I am appalled that we as an enlightened country can allow such a disgraceful person into this country. I hope he gets the reception he deserves...at the least boycott...if you can, do more. Give him the welcome he deserves.

In a hundred years religion like the flat earthers will be a minor footnote to history. I am sorry I will not be around to see it.

Fri, 2010-09-10 00:31 — John (not verified)

Great to see another Catholic bashing article. I wonder whether the same sort of piece would be written about a leader from the Muslim faith? No, it wouldn't is the answer, but the Catholics are an easy target. As a practicing Catholic under the age of 30, I will hold my hands up and admit that the Church is a long way from perfect, and we have a long way to go to keep up with modern society. However articles like this never take into account the incredible generosity of the people who go to mass each week. One reply criicises Cafod for not giving out condoms. I think most people Cafod help would rather they spent the money on food to prevent starvation!!
Somehow articles like this and the replies that come from them seem to imply that people who believe in one God or another are somehow less intellectual than the all knowing
atheist. I can't help but think that the replies show up a level of ignorance which people are so quick to accuse the Church of.

Fri, 2010-09-10 00:34 — Des Demona (not verified)

@ Writeoff

Lets parse that post shall we.
'Religion pays. I can't find the ONS link but when they....'
Huh? You make a statement then say you don't know where the basis for the ststement came from.
'But when they....'

Who? Again you don't state who your source is.
'Corrrrelated average wealth with religion'

For all I know from the evidence you supply the survey might have been taken on a Native American tribal land with a couple of casinos and they all worship the Storm God.

'it was enough to wipe the smug smile of Dawkins and his Ilk'

Again HUH? So this is a survey which you can't find, can give no parameters for and don't know who undertook it but you do know that
'Dawkins and his ilk' have smug smiles and those smiles were wiped by the survey.

D-
Must try harder.

Fri, 2010-09-10 00:38 — Des Demona (not verified)

' I think most people Cafod help would rather they spent the money on food to prevent starvation!! '

Very little point in stopping someone from starving one week and letting them die of AIDS the next. What a shocking piece of self justfying claptrap.

Sun, 2010-09-12 01:34 — thomas vesely

@ ali .................................should we judge them by the beheadings,rape,genital mutilation and ability to stone to death victims of rape.

Fri, 2010-09-10 23:24 — writeoff (not verified)

Not ONS Des, that's why I couldn't nail it: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/jan/27/national-equality-pa...

So, the main religions leave you better off than atheism, unless you're a Muslim. Interesting reading..

Wed, 2010-09-15 16:31 — hurt catholic (not verified)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1311761/The-Left-using-Popes-v...

Sat, 2010-09-11 01:02 — Mrs.Josephine Hyde-Hartley (not verified)

Perhaps it may be helpful to remind Laurie that the Eucharist is celebrated because we're supposed to "do this in memory of me" and eat the bread God has given us together in the same inclusive way Jesus did ie even knowingly and still thankfully sharing it with Judas -the one who sold him.

I think this bit about Christian reality can be very hard to understand in a world full of so-called secularists who may be so busy sharpening their knives but not really understanding of why such instruments can never be sharp enough to undermine the average Joe Catholic, so to speak.

Fri, 2010-09-10 10:06 — Tommy Danger (not verified)

I'm not remotely interested in following any organised religion of any flavour, but I do feel that there is a lot of latent hatred towards this new pope, somewhat due to him being German. This smacks of racism to be honest.

Mon, 2010-09-13 17:04 — Iain Bagnall (not verified)

Let him come, but if festival organisers have to pay the Police to allow them to run festivals (because they have to cover the Police's costs) then the Catholic church should be expected to cover the cost of his security. Don't make restriction on his visit based on beliefs (judge not lest ye be judged) but don't expect all the people who don't share those beliefs to pick up the tab. No-one expects people who don't like festivals to pay for them.

Sun, 2010-09-12 13:52 — James (not verified)

One of the great things about Benedict is that his accusers have so few true weapons to use against him. Instead we get lies, invented quotes, and a panoply of idiotic accusations. If they took the time to read a single work - a book, a speech, whatever - by him, they'd realise how off-target their nonsense is. Still, I look forward to cheering the Holy Father when he comes to these shores.

Fri, 2010-09-10 11:38 — ?? (not verified)

Great short read. I, myself, partake of the cynical view that the head of ANY organization, wether ecclesiastical or secular, is likely to be a bit shady and corrupt, either morally or otherwise.. and judging an organization by it's leaders as opposed by the actual people in it is ridiculous.
On the subject of judging though, as whole.. religious people are seen as being judgemental by all those who subscribe to moral relativism .. there IS such a thing as a right and a wrong sometimes and religion's main teachings, across all faiths are more beneficial than detrimental to humanity - take, for example, ' thou shalt not kill', which has been sorely ignored by both religious and non-religious folks of late. Both sides seem to have lost their understanding of religion, really.

Sat, 2010-09-11 08:12 — Luddite (not verified)

Catholicism is a ghastly religion. I don't know, which i detest the most. Mohammedanism or Catholicism. They are 'both' desert dogmas, that belong in the desert.

Thu, 2010-09-09 13:32 — Sheila (not verified)

Religion is dying and as humanity moves forward past the mystical we will move towards science and factual explanation of everything.

I give religion 5x generations max before it goes from the mainstream.

Thu, 2010-09-09 13:42 — Laurie Penny1

I'm still trying to figure out quite how much of the planned demonstrations - which I fully support and plan to attend - are to do with religion itself. I think Britain, quite possibly more than any other country in the world, is sick of religion as a form of social control. And that's a good thing.

Thu, 2010-09-09 13:43 — Jesse (not verified)

I'd give humanity five generations max, full stop.

Thu, 2010-09-09 13:45 — Elly (not verified)

Oh, I love this post. :-)

(As you probably know, I grew up very much in the Christian peace movement. Most of the Catholics I've met in my life have been of the breaking-into-Aldermaston type. They're awesome. They're also *very* unimpressed with the current pope.)

Thu, 2010-09-09 13:49 — Laurie Penny1

Elly - you're a Quaker now, aren't you hon? In the piece I tried to be very clear about the distinction between 'faith' and 'religion' - the former, I believe, has only circumstantially to do with the latter.

Jesse: don't be a cynic. It's hugely important both that we live as if the human race will continue into deep time and take active steps to ensure that that happens.

Thu, 2010-09-09 13:52 — David Gerard

As long as Catholics give the Church their attendance and money in support, they share moral culpability, sorry. They can't disclaim support for it verbally while showing support with their actions. They really can't.

Thu, 2010-09-09 14:00 — Laurie Penny1

David - I'd take issue with attendance at mass as demonstrating moral culpability, but I agree that funding the Vatican does indicate some element of responsibility for Vatican policies.

Thu, 2010-09-09 14:06 — Elly (not verified)

Laurie - yep. Well, Quaker/pagan thing. I'll feel happier about self-defining as a Quaker once I'm able to Attend regularly. :-)

Thu, 2010-09-09 14:07 — David Gerard

Well, no. Showing up at Mass gives the Church numbers. The government would not be paying for a Papal visit without lots of Catholics showing up at church.

The money and attendance are the *precise* things that give the Church power. Giving or not giving those things is the personal dilemma. (Weighed up against community expectation and so forth, but the support remains support and is the thing that gives the CHurch its power.)

Thu, 2010-09-09 14:49 — Harri Kay (not verified)

Brilliant article.

As an atheist from a heavily Christian family I find the romanticism that many attribute to the church hard to deal with, especially when I fall into the trap, go to church for a wedding all misty eyed, full of wonder and whatnot, then I listen to the words they preach and can't help but feel huge discomfort.

In other thoughts, The Horrors' first album - awful. The Horrors' second album - quite alright.

Thu, 2010-09-09 15:11 — Becky (not verified)

Thanks for the article. I think an irony with how Catholicism evolved over the centuries is that the stories of Jesus in the gospels have him confronting the pomp, hypocrisy,and religiosity of those around him. It seems likely to me that the pope with all his pomp and ceremony would have been ridiculed by the figure I have read about - who promoted peace and love at all costs, and actually seems to have gone out of his way to oppose the societal standards of the time against women (I insert that knowing you are a feminist)

It seems to me that when Christianity first emerged and was persecuted it was as it was intended to be - a force for love and social justice. It then in the aftermath of Constantine et al became part of the power system and systems of control and was hijacked. The pope is just the latest manifestation of that

Thu, 2010-09-09 15:14 — Abbas (not verified)

"Religion is dying and as humanity moves forward past the mystical we will move towards science and factual explanation of everything"

Why are all articles about religion followed by a patronising atheist who has decided that intelligence is measured by a lack of belief in a deity.

Thu, 2010-09-09 15:17 — Jenny (not verified)

As a non-Catholic who went to a Catholic school I grew up disagreeing with Catholicism but respecting it. Several of my Catholic friends and their parents were despairing at this Pope's appointment. Definitely agree with the sentiment you shouldn't judge Catholics by their Pope, but still not happy he is here on an "official" visit.

Thu, 2010-09-09 15:26 — firsttimer

Laurie,

"I think Britain, quite possibly more than any other country in the world, is sick of religion as a form of social control."

This in itself is interesting, as I think many other developed and developing countries have experienced this to much stronger degrees than Britain.

Fri, 2010-09-10 15:23 — Papist (not verified)

I have been going to mass every week for over 30 years. I have NEVER heard one comment on homosexuality, contraception, or sex before marriage from the priest. The extreme left - like this author - would do well to come to mass one week. They'd find it a lot more boring, and therefore hopefully enlightening, than they might expect.

Thu, 2010-09-09 16:26 — 9th (not verified)

This "some of my best friends are Catholic" stance is a little stale, and starting to smell. Have the courage to stand by your principles.

Fri, 2010-09-10 16:22 — writeoff (not verified)

Tommy, I don't think there is anti-german sentiment toward this pope. He's the front man for a massive organisation that goes out of its way to cover up corruption, child abuse and god knows what (so to speak). Let's not forget also that from a Left perspective the Catholic Church in Latin America has traditionally been closely allied with the vicious right-wing forces. Rogue priests not towing the line have often come to sticky ends. It's not an attractive organisation.

Des. I said I can't find the link. Not that the data doesn't exist. I'll keep an eye out for your footnotes in future.

Fri, 2010-09-10 16:47 — thomas vesely

ok,can i judge catholics by the priest-hood ?

Thu, 2010-09-09 17:40 — stuart (not verified)

i think that is a very fair and balanced article that laurie penny has posted and i am very impressed. its about time this catholicaphobia was put to bed and the likes of the attension seeking peter thatchell and his zealoted demonstators find something better to do like picket the iranian embassy whos regime hangs gays from cranes and stones women to death.

Wed, 2010-09-15 00:40 — stuart (not verified)

people ask me why i hate the left,well lets look at the lefts attack of on pope and catholics in general,its at fever pitch at the momemt,how ironic the left embraces radical islam and would never attack that religion and there homophobia and treatment of women, but attacks on the pope just because of a minority of preists not the majority abused children is just appalling.its open season for the far left to attack catholics and the pope.

Tue, 2010-09-14 02:06 — James (not verified)

Does that mean Catholic taxpayers shouldn't be made to subsidise Pride parades?

Thu, 2010-09-09 18:46 — swatantra

Great BBC 4 programme: 'How to read local churches'. The early Church had a stranglehold on the everyday life of the ordinary peasants, from cradle to grave, from baptism to prep for life here after. You couldn't move or breathe without the Church dictating how you did it. Things haven't changed all that much in 1000 years.
All orgnised religions have that strong grip on their populace and adherents. Its fear and terror that holds them in line, even though the for example, the RC Church has abolished purgatory.

Thu, 2010-09-09 19:04 — Laura M (not verified)

@ Stuart - You obviously have no idea about the life of Peter Tatchell to say that. For his faults he's consistently protested state and religious homophobia *all* round the world, including Iran and the UK. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Tatchell http://www.petertatchell.net/international/international%20index.htm

Unless your comment was a cleverly ironic prank, that is.

Fri, 2010-09-10 18:08 — stuart (not verified)

tell me something laurie,if on the invitation of ken livingstone and he has done this before or some other wacky left wing loonies some muslim preacher from abroad with a track record of homophobia and hate preaching against the gay community was invited to speak at one of ken livingstones meetings in london would you and peter thatchell and other pro gays groups hold demonstrations against these preachers of homophobic hate.i have always wondered what is the lefts stance on this issue.

Thu, 2010-09-09 19:35 — stuart (not verified)

nah laura, he might be a good and decent man i dont doubt that, but i just dont like professional bandwagon jumpers like peter thatchell,whos whole aim is life is to appear on the media getting slapped around by mugabes henchmen or getting beat up by some nutty russein skinheads and then declare he is the moral voice of the oppressed in the world.

Thu, 2010-09-09 20:31 — Abbas (not verified)

Well done for getting your history from television. "The early Church" "1000 years". The church is 2000 years old. You don't mean the early Church which certainly did not have some sort of stranglehold on power and operated very much under the radar and on a very different line to 'organised religion' (nice and simplistic to put everything in neat boxes).

Thu, 2010-09-09 20:31 — Abbas (not verified)

Last comment was @swatantra nandanwar

Thu, 2010-09-09 21:12 — Laurie Penny1

Stuart,

You'd better not be slagging off Peter Tatchell on this blog. Nobody says ANYTHING nasty about Peter Tatchell on this blog. It's the law.

Thu, 2010-09-09 21:25 — stuart (not verified)

laurie,we all love peter bless him(lol not by the pope),but you have to admit his drama queen act is just wearing a bit thin lately,but dont me wrong he is a fine man.

Thu, 2010-09-09 21:27 — Des Demona (not verified)

''You'd better not be slagging off Peter Tatchell on this blog. Nobody says ANYTHING nasty about Peter Tatchell on this blog. It's the law.''

I once offered him a crisp, and he took two! Greedy bastard.

Thu, 2010-09-09 21:52 — Nile (not verified)

Last papal visit, we had a pope who looked like a spiritual leader, and had some history as a heroic figure in a country whetr thr church was persecuted. This time round...

Lets be blunt: he looks the part, if looking the part means we asked Central Casting for a Borgia Pope, sinister and cynical and steeped in vice. It is, of course, deeply unfair to judge a person by their face; but it does seem to fit a powerful and politically-skilful man with a troubling history of involvement in the darker affairs of the church.

He can, of course, give full and frank and forthright answers to his critics, and to the criticism of his church; were he to do so, all ridicule and unfair judgements would be rightly rebuked and duly silenced. But he is evasive and equivocal and altogether cynical in his responses... And in his lack of responses and his very, very public failure to confront the problems in his doctrines and his church.

So I might stop short of throwing rotten cabbages and overtly-rude invective, but not all that far short.

As for who should pay, I'd say that it is right and proper for the state to pay for a state visit: the Pope is a head of state, and a particularly influential one, so it follows that the visit is a big affair. But I see no reason for the state to pay for thise parts of his visit that are religious services; that's the business of the Catholic Church and I want none of it.

Thu, 2010-09-09 21:52 — triedeinsursE

Karl's remark on religion may be about the only thing he got right.

Thu, 2010-09-09 22:16 — Mrs Nobody

The media has taken over from religion as a means of social control.

Whilst I understand the teachings of Jesus Christ and believe in them, do unto others as you would be done, the media's control seems far more malignant.

Thu, 2010-09-09 22:23 — Des Demona (not verified)

Laurie
I don't think anyone does judge catholics by the pope. The heirarchy of the catholic church have, are and always will act in the best interests of the heirarchy of the catholic church with very little reference to or compassion for its followers.
Did most catholics know of the systematic abuse of hundreds of thousands of children, or the 24 years the now Pope spent covering it up by hiding behind cannon law rather than reporting it to the police? Of course not. How instead of removing these priests from any chance of harming others by putting them behind bars he shifted them to Africa and Asia so they could bugger little coloured kids instead?
Do most catholics know that CAFOD, working in some of the most AIDS ravaged countries in the world is forbidden to supply, fund or promote the use of condoms despite it preventing infection by a minimum of 87%? Probably not.