BILL WESTCOTT
The Compass

It seems I stirred up a small hornet's nest with my criticism of our Roman Catholic Church recently - A cancer inside The Roman Catholic Church (Oct 20 Compass).

And as well negative reaction to my letter to the editor (Telegram Oct.31) where I supported columnist Peter Jackson, who wrote a penetrating critique on the current sexual abuse scandal inside the RC Church.

George McIsaac of St. John's was upset by my stance as was Ed Micca of Bayport, New York whose letter, Church will not disappear, appeared in The Compass Oct.27 edition.

Obviously I welcome and appreciate and respect their views and criticism, but I remain firm and continue to be both an angry and a skeptical catholic.

Open windows
It is time to take ourselves out of the dark ages and let go of those unflinching rules, rigid dictates, doctrines, encyclicals, apostolic-orders and decrees. As the great Pope John XX111 requested, "open the windows and allow a breath of fresh air into the Vatican and move towards a less rigid, tolerant and modern day church".

The current direction is not working. That's an opinion widespread. If it is working why are our young people not interested - notice all the grey heads in the pews on Sunday - and why are so many churches around the province vacant, closed up, some converted to B & Bs even some turned into apartments and one I know into a town hall?

We can also rightfully ask why the Archdiocese of St. John's has to resort to a win a new home lottery to earn enough money to support itself and its parishes. Vocations to the priesthood and the convent are disturbingly low and the future of seminaries is most likely in doubt for various reasons.

The beatified John XX111 who was known as blessed John XX111, after calling the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) wished for big change and shortly after he was invested he called for and relentlessly promoted ecumenism. Regretfully he died a year later (1963). One of his successors, the extremely popular Pope John Paul 11 and now the rigidly-conservative Pope Benedict XV1 appeared to have slammed those doors and windows shut again.

Stodgy Vatican
Two weeks ago (Nov. 10) newspapers around the world reported the Vatican has no intention and won't even consider the request to admit married priests into the fold. A guideline issued from The Holy See press office titled, Requirements remain despite invitation to Anglican priests, confirmed it. The Vatican has confirmed that opening the door to married Anglican priests doesn't mean the RC Church is easing the requirement for celibacy for its priests. The Vatican praised priestly celibacy as "a sign and a stimulus for pastoral charity."

Tired old attitudes
It is troubling to me that under the pope's new initiative, Anglicans, turned off by their own church's embrace of openly gay clerics, women priests and blessing of same-sex unions, can now join new parishes, called "personal ordinariates" that are headed by former Anglican prelates.

I have to ask myself, aren't these disgruntled break-free Anglicans guilty of prejudice? Because someone is gay or is a woman priest or that loving couple in the pew next to you, are both gay and married, are these children of God or not? Aren't those tired old attitudes considered a sin?

I have to ask myself too, is not the Roman Catholic Church endorsing and fostering this prejudice and Christian division? And, are these disgruntled (turned off Anglicans) about to make more waves and bring with them more tension into an already fledgling RC Church?

The possibility is there.
All these happenings in a time during the renewed sexual abuse turmoil in the church somehow or other indicates to me a sense of desperation. 

The foundations are crumbling, pews are becoming increasingly empty and a great number, perhaps the majority of young people don't know if the Old Testament or the New Testament is fact or fiction or to be more factitious fit to eat!

Anti Roman Catholic?
I have been called "anti Roman Catholic" by certain people who read this weekly column. 
That very well may be true from their pew, but I have good reason to feel that way. A practicing RC for 68 years, I have been disillusioned for a long time and events of the past 15 years or so have taken away my desire to be part of it anymore unless radical changes take place.

Christ's message down through the centuries, and now evident in our time, has unfortunately become highly politicized and allied with power struggles inside and outside our church. That is sad.

I want to make it quite clear I am not an atheist or anti-Christian, far from it, nor have I lost my faith in my saviour Jesus Christ. In fact the light of the gospels still shines for me even if at times it flickers out and then flares up again. That is why I feel justified in expressing my core concerns in public.

To my critics from Newfoundland to New York, I tell you honestly I am not trying to destroy anything. I am simply and without malice saying, I am assailed by doubts about the leaders of my church, from the stodgy Vatican right to our local parishes with their sexual predators and pedophiles inside and at the top. These clergy should be tracked down, all of them, and defrocked immediately.

Narrowing the Christian message
In shutting the windows and refusing to foster real change in the way the Roman Catholic Church is operating and by giving sanctuary to other Christians who obviously don't care about their prejudice towards gays, women priests and same-sex couples, in my view is narrowing the pivotal Christian message.

The great gospel preacher and Christian super star Billy Graham in one of his televised sermons once said: "It is possible to win a cause and lose your soul, to mistake personal and political victory for salvation itself."

What is required more now than ever is resilience and adaptability to the core message of Jesus Christ. Moves that will strengthen not divide people of faith. Adaptability is the key word and a willingness to unlock the centuries old Vatican doors to reform and change.

Bill Westcott writes from Florida.