Saras World

Sex and the City of God, Part 1: The Catholic Church’s Treatment of Women - "‘The Church is our mother and we love her, but she’s a whore’ – This saying gets used a lot in Catholic circles. It’s attributed to Saint Augustine, who probably never said or wrote it. Is the Church a whore? If "she" is, it is the hierarchy that turns her out every time it puts its own primacy and potency before her essence and substance. In other words, the hierarchy objectifies her. The Church is, after all, a "she," and she is treated accordingly. Such is the hierarchy’s regard for the female half of its Church. The Church would experience great growth and healing were its leadership to find the courage to take its foot off the neck of its women. … " – Origin: The Huffington Post 

Sex and the City of God, Part 2: Celibacy and Sexuality in the Catholic Church - "Is the child abuse scandal plaguing the Roman Catholic Church a result of compulsory celibacy for priests? No. Is there a connection between the abuse and celibacy? Maybe so. The child abuse crisis and the Church hierarchy’s homophobia, misogyny, and fixation on policing the sexuality are intertwining, often-overlapping aspects of the broader sexual dysfunction that cripples the Church. …" - Origin: The Huffington Post 

Sex and the City of God, Part 3: Homophobia and the War on Eros - " I have seen it a hundred times, the moment during High Mass when the priest, vested in white, circumnavigates the altar, blessing it with burning hyssop or frankincense in preparation for the celebration of the Eucharist. Recently, however, the beauty of this ritual took me by surprise. The mass was a funeral for a Haitian-born woman. As the priest, who was her friend, walked the perimeter of the altar, swinging the burning fragrance on a chain to the accompaniment of the organ, West Indian steel drums, and Haitian-Creole vocal Musica Sacra that fused and ascended into the apse of the church, he drooped a little: the sorrow of this wonderful priest was as palpable as his hope. My eyes watered. I choked up. My body directed my soul to the fullness of the moment and to the strength of my belief, which sometimes fades, and which I sometimes take for granted. I have been accused of being Catholic because I like the smells and bells. That’s not entirely untrue. I’m a poet. Anyone who’s ever read Keats’ "Ode on a Grecian Urn" knows that we have a weak spot for beauty. …" - Origin: The Huffington Post 

Articles by: Michele Somerville