Haiku 051509

moonless spring sky
in inky darkness --
my eyes closed

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Washington Post: "Priestly Celibacy: A Self-Inflicted Wound" (by Susan Jacoby)

“Should the Catholic priesthood be restricted to single, celibate men? Do clergy restrictions based on gender, marital status or sexual orientation make sense these days?

“… Palestinians and Israelis are going to embrace one another in a joint ceremony at the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock before the rigid old men who run the Vatican open up the doors of the priesthood to people who want to serve their god and enter into the full experience of loving and being loved by another human being….

“The vast majority of American Catholics see no need for priestly celibacy and support the ordination of women…. Pope Benedict XVI will not change his position on female priests or on priestly celibacy. One of the most ridiculous rationales for priestly celibacy used by the church has always been the notion that the celibacy requirement is not just about sex but about the need for a priest to be fully free to devote himself to the spiritual needs of his parishioners…

“This church, with no room in its priesthood for women or for men who simply wanted to love and live with another adult, then proceeded to turn a blind eye to the pedophile predators whose evil deeds were covered up by the hierarchy for decades….

“In the U.S., an astonishing 25 percent of those raised as Catholics have left the church. Priestly celibacy, like the church's position on birth control and female priests, is part of the mix that has led so many once-loyal Catholics out of the church….”

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….Ditto. It just seems that the Vatican has stubbornly been turning a blind eye to a reality that an increasingly greater number of its flock finds compelling. More and more are seeing that the times need a revisiting of “dogmas” that appear to be so illogical, silly, and no longer in touch with its flock and its needs. Perhaps the times are ripe for a Third Vatican Council. Not under this pope though....

Haiku 050909

goslings
paddling behind mom ...
spring training

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New York Times: “Priest Known as Padre Oprah Strays in South Florida” (by Damien Cave)

“They called the Rev. Alberto Cutié 'Padre Oprah' for his insightful advice about relationships. Now his parishioners, his television and radio audience, and readers of his best-selling book, 'Real Life, Real Love,' know he speaks from experience.

“On Tuesday, photographs in a Spanish-language tabloid showed the 40-year-old priest with deep blue eyes lying shirtless beside, and cuddling with, a dark-haired woman on a North Florida beach. Within hours, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami removed him from his post as pastor of a Miami Beach church, and now all of South Florida seems to be abuzz with discussions of celibacy, celebrity and temptation….

“Father Cutié, born in Puerto Rico to Cuban parents, grew up in Miami. He developed an international following of millions with his television show, ‘Padre Alberto,’ which was first broadcast on Telemundo in 1999….

“Father Cutié’s parish sits in the heart of South Beach, where even the mannequins have extra-large breasts, and many here have also questioned whether this was the time or place for Catholic priests to stay celibate….”

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….Is it outmoded -- requiring priests to be celibate? There are fewer and fewer entrants to the priesthood. There is a relatively smaller number of priests to go around to minister to the faithful, especially the growing numbers of alienated and distressed "faithful". How should the church address this reality?

A number of married men have been given special dispensation by the Vatican to become priests. Maybe it’s time the church seriously debated whether to allow priests to test the waters of marriage or not. "Married" priest sounds better than "fornicating" priest; indeed, much better than "pedophiliac" priest….