Monday, March 23, 2015

Humanae Vitae, Catholic Identity, and the state of the world today

From "Does Method Matter? Contraception & Catholic Identity" from Commonweal, March 20, 2015, by Lisa Fullan, pp.20-21

Humanae vitae also presumes a degree of self-determination that many women do not enjoy, especially (but not exclusively) in the developing world. Paul VI warned that contraception would leave women vulnerable to sexual exploitation by men. Sadly, such abuse long predated the Pill. What reliable contraception does—especially contraception that women control—is give women greater determination over their reproductive lives, even if their partners are indifferent to their well-being and that of their children. What Humanae vitae described as self-indulgence sounds to many women like self-defense, or at least self-care and more responsible parenting.
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During the papacy of John Paul II (one of the few members of the birth-control commission who had supported the line taken by Humanae vitae), adherence to the church’s teaching against artificial contraception became an unofficial criterion for ecclesiastical promotion, a policy that eventually unified the church’s leadership in opposition to a practice accepted by most lay Catholics. Over time, a culture of silence took hold in parishes; people stopped confessing the use of birth control, believing in conscience that it was not sinful (even as confession itself became rare for most church-going Catholics). Priests, many of whom also harbored private disagreements with the teaching, largely dropped the question.
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And now? The church stands uneasily divided: many bishops continue to argue that the teaching of Humanae vitae is an important marker of Catholic identity, giving this aspect of moral teaching an unwarranted significance. Most of the laity find the teaching unconvincing and so disregard it. Priests stay quiet, lest they be caught between their congregations and their bishops. A few bishops are calling for a new look at the teaching in light of its near-universal lack of reception by the laity. It remains to be seen whether Pope Francis will revisit the question.
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Doctrine should reflect the way those basic values are incarnate in the lives of Catholics, and especially women, whose voices have largely been absent from the formulation of the church’s teaching on this question.
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To double down on a doctrine that presents an unnatural vision of sex to Catholics who know better would only exacerbate the atmosphere of distrust between the laity and their bishops. Silence is not the answer. 

  • My ex-wife and I had 9 kids. We were married in the Catholic Church and raised our children Catholic. We used birth control and Natural Family Planning to space our children.
  • I have never found the RC's teaching on birth control convincing but its teaching on human sexuality has some good aspects to it which I find empowering and affirming.
  • It could be argued that the RC's teaching on birth control has been more oppressive and disempowering to women than respectful and protective.
  • Jesus, the God of Christianity, had very little to say about sex and I think would be supportive of birth control as a means of limiting reproduction while supporting what the RC calls the "unitive" contribution of human sexual behavior.
  • Unitarian Universalism has little to say about sex other than it needs to be respectful of the inherent worth and dignity of every person and it should promote justice, compassion and equity in our human relations.
  • Roman Catholicism has been hurt by the teachings of Humanae Vitae because it does not fit with the lived experience of most Catholics who have followed their own consciences which has brought them into opposition to the teachings of their church. This phenomenon has led to demoralization and defection from RC to other Christian denominations or religions or none.
  • It would seem that at this point in human evolution, the limiting of human reproduction is a desirable thing for the planet and the survival of our species and other species. Out or respect for the interdependent web it would appear the teachings of Humanae Vitae, while perhaps well meant, are unethical and immoral.
  • I don't regret having nine children and I believe it was God's will for me and my partner, but today this might be considered self indulgent and anti-social.


Sunday, March 22, 2015

ACIM and UU - Miracles are natural; they are the awareness of Love's presence

The sixth miracle principle is:

T-1.I.6     Miracles are natural.  When they do not occur something has gone wrong.

Kenneth Wapnick writes in his commentary on the 50 miracle principles about the sixth principle, "The course teaches us that the most natural thing in this world is to be at peace and one with God, because peace comes from the Holy Spirit within us." p. 32 It is our egos which obstruct and block our awareness of Love's presence. In other words one person is not holier than an other. As the Universalists have taught us we all are unconditionally loved by God, the Spirit of Life. Some people have erected more impediments to the awareness of Love's presence or they have not purified their lives of these impediments so their awareness is dim. Jesus was a master as have the other enlightened people who have walked and walk this earth. Enlightenment means to become aware of Love's presence and to have removed or overcome all the impediments to this awareness.

In the Unitarian Universalist tradition we have covenanted together to affirm and promote the acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations and I like to add, and the world. How do we do that - encourage spiritual growth? According to this principle of ACIM, the awareness of Love's presence is natural and when we lose this awareness something has gone wrong. And what is it that has gone wrong? It is the ascension of our egos, our sense of specialness, our separation from God and the Body of Christ, the communion of saints, the peace and oneness with God. Universalism teaches that we are all are one and yet in our daily lives we forget. God, I imagine, laughs at us because we behave and think so stupidly. God laughingly says to us, "Don't believe everything you think because it is your ego that is playing tricks on you and makes you believe in things which in the last analysis are no real threat to you at all. Once you have become aware of this you will experience my peace."

Friday, March 20, 2015

Responsibility for the formation of one's own conscience is a value that Roman Catholicism and Unitarian Universalism hold in common

From Commonweal Magazine, March 20, 2015, "Does Method Matter: Contraception and Catholic Identity" by Christopher C. Roberts, p.17

Catholics believe in the primacy of an “informed conscience,” but, in this case, I doubt the relevant information has been effectively conveyed

One normally has to seek out such information for oneself.

The ignorance of Catholics on this subject indicates a massive catechetical failure. 

As a Roman Catholic Unitarian Universalist I am gratified by the statements that Christoper Roberts makes in his article about the responsibility of Catholics to inform their own consciences. This teaching, so similar to the UU fourth principle, "the free and responsible search for truth and meaning," kept me in the RC fold much longer than I would have stayed had it not been for the Catholic support for the informed conscience. It is this respect for the responsible informing of one's own conscience that RC and UU have in common.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Pope Francis like John Paul II, and Benedict XVI have denounced the death penalty - pass the word

From Commonweal Magazine, March 20, 2015, "From Trastevere To Texas: Sant'Egidio's Campaign Against The Death Penalty" p. 15

In 2014 Francis followed John Paul II and Benedict XVI in denouncing the death penalty as a violation of civilized norms and our common humanity. It was the strongest statement against the death penalty the church has ever made.

Is the use of the death penalty against the first principle of UU, the inherent worth and dignity of every person? Should all UUs stand in solidarity with Pope Francis and the Catholic Church on this issue? If we remove the possibility of exoneration and redemption by killing a person what does that say about our faith? If Universalists believe in the unconditional love of God for all of God's creations no matter how heinous their behavior what does this belief call us to do when we are faced with atrocities?

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Why is Unitarian Universalism such a hard religion?

Rev. Richard Trudeau writes in his book, Universalism 101, on page 23:

"Abraham Lincoln, though very reserved about expressing his own religious views, once quoted, with apparent approval, an old Baptist who in Lincoln's youth had proclaimed at a public meeting: 'When I do good, I feel good. What I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion."

To which I would add Dr. Laura's observation that "Feeling good, and doing good, can sometimes be two entirely different things."

To which I would add that I have been doing some good things lately that I don't feel entirely good about like speaking up when I know that my views are not popular with the group I am speaking in front of. In fact, it came to my attention yesterday that some people called my views "vile" and it was asked that I be kicked out of the group, excommunicated if you will. I thought long and hard about my position and I still believe it is the right thing. What should I do?

We are coming up to that time of year when we commemorate the killing of Jesus. I am sure that did not feel good, at least physically, to Jesus and some of the witnesses I would guess were quite distressed, and yet to the Pharisees and the Romans I guess they felt good about it, relieved to be rid of the son of a bitch.

Also, I have been doing somethings recently that feel good like compulsively overeating, but which with my Type II diabetes is bad for me. So perhaps President Lincoln's quote of the "old Baptist" needs a deeper reading.

By the numbers, Unitarian Universalism is not a popular religious denomination. There are many reasons why the pundits give for this phenomenon, but I would guess that a major reason not often recognized and acknowledged is that it is too hard. It is a difficult religion to understand, to identify oneself with let alone practice.

Us UUs say that God is Love and Loves everyone and a deeper understanding of this means that we should strive to become better people to live up to this wonderful grace bestowed upon us. Why are we so mean to ourselves and each other when we believe that God loves everyone?

I'll tell you why. Because we allow our egos to block our awareness of Love's presence. When we take our own egos away or try to take other peoples' egos way we and they cry like two year olds and have a tantrum. Giving up the ego for heaven on earth is a high calling some would say impossible. Not me, I am a dreamer, like John Lennon, and I'm not the only one. Some day perhaps the rest of the world will join us and we will live together as one.

Amen! And so it goes...........................

Sunday, March 15, 2015

How not to preach

From "How Not To Preach" by Rev. John J. Conley in the 02/02/15 issue of America:
1. It’s all about you. Keep the sermon strictly autobiographical. Your congregation is dying to know all about your last vacation. There’s no need to discuss that pesky reading about Abraham and Isaac and the knife.
I recently heard a sermon about a priest’s socks. Father explained how difficult it is to keep pairs of socks together. He noted his preferred detergent for washing socks and the advantages of using a clothesline over a dryer. He said there was a controversy over whether priests should wear all-black socks or whether they could add stripes. (News to me.) We kept waiting for the spiritual punchline. Was the lost sock like the lost sheep in the parable of the Good Shepherd? It remained a mystery. The sermon concluded with the revelation that he found doing the laundry difficult at times.
On a darker note, I once heard a sermon in which the preacher discussed the problem of resentment. The theme matched the Gospel, which featured the apostles’ jealous squabbling among themselves. Warming to his subject, the preacher described his own resentment against his brother (the prize-winning athlete), his sixth-grade teacher (too critical) and then his dear mother (too distant). As we cringed into our missalettes, I wondered if Doctor Phil would rush from the sacristy to take over the bathos in the sanctuary.
You were not ordained to tell your own story. You were ordained to proclaim someone else’s.
I would add that there is no need for a travelogue. 
At one UU church I attended for a few years one of the regular pulpit fills traveled about 35 miles to the church and would begin every sermon with a description of the scenery she observed while driving: the shape of the clouds, the geese she saw flying, the color of the leaves on the trees, the rain, snow, sunshine. I used to wonder what is the stipend you are receiving for this? Did you forget that we all drove here too and saw the same stuff? I mean connecting with nature is nice but I can get better on the National Geographic Channel. I suppose if it was just once, or done to make a point, but every sermon started with her travel report. I stopped attending the services when she was preaching. She was a nice person and meant well but must have skipped or slept through Homilectics 101.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

How to build a church so they will come

From UU World, Fall, 2014, "Ready For Change" by Elaine McArdle

McArdle describes the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder, CO:

Founded by a young mother in 1947 as the American Unitarian Association’s first fellowship, the church had more recently developed a quitting culture, where disgruntled members would leave rather than staying and working through conflict. By the mid-2000s, with no money in the coffers and a couple of bad matches between ministers and congregation, the church was on life support. “Oh, we were in trouble,” says Skiendzielewski.

I was struck by this paragraph because they is exactly what happened in my church. As a former Roman Catholic I was surprised at the lack of commitment to the denomination of UU. Attachment to any identity as a UU seems superficial and ephemeral. I found more loyalty at Rotary than I have found in UU.

While our statement of seven principles begins with the preamble, "... covenant to affirm and promote..." I don't see the covenanting. It is just a slogan, there is no investment in living a life based on these principles and helping others. It is surprisingly easy for supposed UUs to just walk away.

The attempts at times to provide "conflict resolution services" by district staff is little more than psychobabble from what I've seen. In the two different congregations where I have been involved in these attempts to stem the defections, there was no mention of the importance and meaning of the covenanting which we supposedly committed ourselves to let alone the importance of holding ourselves accountable to the principles. The attention of the facilitator seemed to be on process and not on content and while process is important it is not enough to bind together a faith community which is, afterall, what religion is about. The word "religion" comes from the latin word religare which means to tie, to bind.

As you undoubtedly have noticed, the title of this blog is "UU A Way Of Life" which implies a deep commitment to UU values. While a member can believe what he/she wants, we have covenanted together to promote and affirm our 7 principles. The catechesis explaining this covenanting process is nonexistent or very weak.

McErdle's article goes on to describe how the congregation set some goals and then hired Rev. Howell Lind to come and provide the leadership to hold the congregation accountable. However, reading between the lines, it seems he did more than that. He provided religious leadership and they transformed from a social club to a religious community.

“My experience as a field staffer for the UUA helped, in that I’d seen a variety of congregations—those with bad practices and those with good—so I had learned what works,” said Lind, who is married to Bowen. “Ministry to spiritual needs is more than just pastoral; it also means knowing how to build a community. It’s having a sense of how to motivate a congregation to move the way it wants to. I think the Developmental Ministry program is an excellent way to do that.”

It’s important to note that the goals were set by the board, not by Lind, creating shared leadership. And because the minister contracts with the board for five years, it gives them incentive to make the relationship work. “That’s significant, because it means the board is in the game no matter what,” said Wheeless. “It allows some buy-in and commitment [from the board] even if the congregation starts being concerned about changes.”

As soon as Lind arrived, his every step was strategic, to help the congregation reach its goals, including the shedding of its image as a social club.

“The first Sunday Howell stepped into the pulpit, he wore his robe,” recalled Richards. “He wears it every Sunday he’s preaching. It sets the stage—it says that this is a place of worship and that we belong to a larger association than ourselves.”

Lind moved the minister’s office from a secluded area in the back of the building to the front, signaling access, visibility, and transparency. He then persuaded the congregation to fix its run-down building: first, a new front door, then carpet and paint.

This is an inspiring story and you can read it for yourself by clicking here.
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