— and the Church
We have seen two faces of this man — a man who claims to be a Catholic.
A man who met with John Paul II.
A man who, seen on the front page, prayed at St. Francis of Assisi’s tomb before the war began.
A man who has supported a madman since his rise to power in the 1950s.
A man who could NOT possibly NOT have known about the torture chambers, the murders, the rapes, the gassing of women and children.
A man, who like any high-ranking member of the nazi party, can easily be found guilty of many crimes against humanity.
Our Church has publicly embraced this man — and then we wonder why people get away with scandalous claims that Saints, like Pius XII, were engaged in helping the nazis exterminate Jews.
Our Church has not even given the slightest hint that someone like Aziz should not be eligible for the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
Yet, just recently our pontiff ensured that people who have committed much lesser crimes — such as divorce — remain a “scandal” to our community.
We know of many hurting Catholics who, through no fault other than that of human imperfection, have made drastic mistakes in their lives.
If former cardinal Bernard Law can still offer the Sacrifice of the Mass; if a priest involved in the pedophile scandal can be forgiven and receive Holy Communion — after he has broken his Sacramental ordination vows — we question why others whose lives are already broken cannot receive Holy Communion.
The Church, under the Authority of Jesus Christ, exists for one reason and one reason only: to offer the forgiveness of sins to sinners, of which each and every one of us are, and then to administer the Sacrament of Holy Communion to those who believe.
There is no higher purpose for the Catholic Church to exist. To deny the Sacrament of Communion to those who believe is a sin unto itself.
Even Timothy McVeigh, the notorious Oklahoma bomber received the Sacrament after confessing his sins to a priest just before his execution.
We cannot comprehend that if McVeigh — who we do not deny the right to receive despite the fact that his crime is one of the most heinous in history — can be granted the Lord’s greatest Gift on Earth, how can someone who is divorced seem so evil and reprehensible that they cannot receive?
Which is a greater “scandal” to the community? The divorcee, the murderer or the one who supports genocide?
We suggest, as we did before, that it is time for our Church to excommunicate Tariq Aziz and reexamine its policy of how it treats sinners who have committed far less grievous crimes in their life than a former henchman of sad man insein. Our Church, despite the latest encyclical by John Paul II, should show as much mercy to the divorced as it does to thugs like Aziz and murderers like McVeigh. If pedophile priests and cardinals who hide them can be excused and forgiven, surely so can individuals who have made a mistake in their married life.
We are sure that what we are saying is not popular nor what the Church and perhaps most of the laity wants to hear, but by the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and in the Spirit of Divine Mercy, someone has to speak out for what is right and what is terribly wrong! Perhaps our bishops are too busy contemplating lawsuits against one another in between golf tournaments for them to examine this issue.
Regardless of the fact that most bishops (see our Lord's words to St. Faustina marked in red in this article) are not directly involved, we suggest each and everyone one of us should ensure we are honoring the Divine Mercy of Jesus this Sunday above every other human need we have.
For we are all in desperate need of it.
© 2003 Agnus Dei Presents!
