Pope Benedict XVI is absolutely correct ‘Catholicism
is not open to popular vote or democracy’.
However, there is little doubt
that the institutional Church under Pope Benedict is operated under a distinct
form of autocracy or even a theocracy. History
teaches that the Roman Catholic Church once claimed the role of supreme ruler
of the world (a role Jesus clearly rejected while spending 40 days in the
desert). It is precisely this form of
institutional religion Jesus came to reject and turn upside down. By following
a way of life as lived by Jesus we no longer have the need for earthly power or
control. When our communities are places
where everyone is welcome we will discover the true meaning of God's
unconditional love. Here we lead by
example not by fixed dogmas or doctrine which has brought the world so much
division and exclusion.
God did not create us to be robots. God created us for greatness endowed with
holiness and diversity. God created us to become responsible adults trusting in
the Holy Spirit. God created us as unique individuals to share our diverse
gifts as a means of unity and reject any feelings of superiority. Even before we were adults we were confirmed
in the Holy Spirit. Has Benedict
forgotten that ‘the People of God’ through this sacrament were assured that ‘the Holy Spirit will
teach us all we need to know’? (Jn 14:26; Lk. 12:12) Now Benedict XV! would
have us surrender what God gave us freely through his Holy Spirit. Why? Because the Vatican seeks power and
control by reinforcing and centralising its hierarchical institution. Benedict has rejected many of the visions
held by Vatican II. For example , why is
collegiality is no longer practised, and why must theologians now surrender their
God given inspiration to the Bishops? And
why must the laity now surrender and hide their gifts of the Holy Spirit under
a bushel? (Mt. 5:14-15) What has happened to the supremacy of the individual
conscience as stated in the documents of Vatican II? There simply is no
hierarchy among Kingdom people.
Jesus never wrote anything down and never insisted we embrace
or practise his Jewish religion. Jesus
merely asked we become kingdom people. Isn’t that what we pray for when we say
let ‘thy Kingdom come’? Here is the place where God accepts us as we are not as
others would have us be. Here is the
place we have no need for condemnation, scapegoating or separation from all
others be they relativists, secularists, atheists, gays etc., etc.. Here is the
place where God is only interested in our potential not our sins. Here is the place where it is safe to
acknowledge that the ‘Devil’ or ‘Satan’ is none other than our individual ego’s
which is responsible for so much pain and suffering in the world. Here is the place we will discover that the
life we lead is not about us, but rather about God experiencing himself through
each of us in a unique and mysterious way.
http://www.religiousconsultation.org/Church_IS_a_Democracy.htm
Democracy versus Autocracy
 |
| Old and New model of church |
The term ‘People of God’ was first introduced by Vatican
II in its document now known as the ‘Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic
Church’ (Lumen Gentium). This document radically introduced a church that has moved
away from the previous overemphasis on the hierarchy to a concept of church as
including the whole people of God. Thus the major shift at Vatican II was from
a church too concerned with juridical and the official church aware of itself
as a mystery that expresses the love of God for all humankind.
Pope Benedict XVI on several occasions
firmly criticized dissent from church teachings as disobedience of God's will. While this charge would affect an estimated
90+ percent of Catholic women who have practiced birth control at one time of
more during their lives – it is hardly encouraging for any meaningful and true
dialogue between the faithful and the clergy on matters of faith.
In this
regard “the body of the faithful as a whole, anointed as they are by the Holy
One (cf. 1 John 2:20,27), cannot err in matters of belief. Thanks to a
supernatural sense of the faith (sensus fidei) which characterizes the
people as a whole, it manifests this unerring quality when ‘from the bishops
down to the last member of the laity,’ it shows universal agreement on matters
of faith and morals” (Lumen Gentium, 12).
When Benedict quotes his understanding of “sensus fidei”
he subordinates its meaning by adding that this sense of faith “can
come only when Catholics actively participate in the life of the church and
follow the teaching of the pope and bishops”. In other words, only the Catholic hierarchy alone
holds the truth.
The Church Is a Democracy
Daniel C. Maguire, Professor of Ethics at Marquette University offers this valuable insight on why the Church Is a Democracy
http://www.religiousconsultation.org/Church_IS_a_Democracy.htm
