“Womanpriests”, “Pope Joan”… and a side of PC
Lately, I’ve come across several stories, websites, conversations, etc. about ‘womanpriests’. [Some of the websites 
claim to be in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. They aren’t. No matter their claims, they aren’t.] One story is about a movie that’s out, exclusively in Europe right now, about the legend of a female Pope that lived during the 9th century. This claim is unsubstantiated and completely fabricated. One story, which I saw posted on Facebook, spoke of a ‘womanpriest’ from the St. Louis area who is pregnant. “The first female Roman Catholic priest to be pregnant in history.” What is the obsession with women being priests?!?!
I think the obsession is the false understanding of freedom in our culture, mixed with a heavy dose of moral relativism, topped with a false sense of equality… served with a side of PC. In our culture, fairness has been turned into a “if they get one, I deserve one too” system. Society completely distorts the understanding of gender, gender roles, equality, fairness and the intention of God in regards to gender and sexuality. The world has turned everything into a competition and some people believe that in order to be considered ‘equal’, they must have the same opportunities as everyone else. Think about that – it doesn’t make sense.
Why is it, that as soon as a man is allowed (created) to do something, some women automatically insist that they should be allowed to do the same? The insistance includes many such things that are outside the scope of a woman’s role. See, when a man is ordained a priest in the Catholic Church, he becomes the spouse of Mother Church. Plain and simple. No apologies here… politically correct or not.
Being politically correct is not Catholic. It’s not charitable, it’s not what Jesus did, it’s not what we should do. Being politically correct asks us to waterdown our faith, to become “tolerant” of everything that’s going on around us – whether morally acceptable or not. No thanks.
As always, I’m not diggin’ on women. I’m not trying to deify men. What I’m saying is that we were each created for something great, as a man or as a woman. Those things can be (and most likely are) different.
Stand up for the dignity of each person. Respect life. Respect what God created you for. Stand up for Truth. Stand up against the notion of tolerance. Ruffle feathers, if that’s what it takes. Christ wasn’t a fairweather prophet… He didn’t take the position of “acceptance”… See, what Christ did (which is what we are supposed to model our lives after) is that He loved sinners too much to allow them to stay where they were.
TrueMan up!
What Makes Porn So Bad?!
So last post (Porn Gone Mobile) I said that I would talk about why porn is so bad. The totality of the answer can’t fit into this post, so here’s what I’ve got for you today. A great number of people, even those who do not currently look at, use, buy or sell porn, believe that there is nothing wrong with porn. This is a sign of a culture that has completely lost its moral compass. Not only has the moral compass been lost, it has since been replaced with a compass (better stated as a philosophy) that is so far from the truth that it actually denies that absolute truth exists! This philosophy… moral relativism. Relativism states that all things are relative. If you really believe that the composition of the stuff that makes up the ocean is not H2O, but actually H3O7, then in relativism, H3O7 is “truth for you”.
Sure, that’s a silly example, but it can be extended onto any philosophical issue… any issue related to morals, ethics, virtue, choices, life, death… you name it. You may believe that abortion isn’t murder of a human life, but that doesn’t make your belief true. The problem with moral relativism is, well, everything. It denies the absolute truth and leaves everything for the individual to determine. Not a good place to start. If relativism is true, then what Christ did on the cross doesn’t matter. If relativism is true, then God isn’t the ‘unmoved Mover’. If relativism is true, then there’s no definition to what manliness is. So…
That brings us back to porn and why it IS so bad. It’s not that porn is only bad for me and for some other select group of people. It’s not that I’m ‘trying to force my morality on someone’. It’s not that only certain kinds of porn are bad. It’s all intrinsically evil. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2354, states: “It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act… It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants… It is a grave offense.” The production of, distribution of and/or the use of pornography damages the individual, causing them to enter into mortal sin, a total turning away from God. It is a lie. It is repulsive.
On another note, porn is intrinsically evil because it destroys our brain’s ability to function properly. When porn is viewed/used, a chemical bond is created. The chemical involved is a hormone, called oxytocin. Oxytocin exists in both males and females. One of the most commonly known occurrences of oxytocin is in child birth. It is one of the bonding agents between a mother and a newborn child – a very powerful bond. Oxytocin is also released in sexual orgasm, thus creating a bond. When the bond is based on a fantasy, ie porn, the bond is incredibly detrimental. This false bond distorts the understanding of the sexual act. Once the distorted bond is in place, often times, the bond continues to deteriorate. Many men choose to allow this bond into their life and then wonder why real intimacy and actual giving of oneself in marriage is so difficult.
If you haven’t been exposed to porn, I urge you to do everything in your power to stay away from it. Porn is just like meth… it only
takes one time. If you have been exposed to porn, it will continue to bond you to the fantasy, to the sexual act, to the addiction. If you’re a single man using porn, the distorted bond will damage your relationships, it will be a stumbling block to finding the right spouse, it will become your motivation. If/When you get married, it will cause you to be selfish in regards to intimacy with your wife, not to mention in day-to-day activities and interactions. If you’re a married man using porn, I’m almost 100% certain that the intimacy with your wife is distorted by your addiction. Not only does it distort your relationship with your wife, it distorts the relationship you have with your children, friends and co-workers.
The good news, as stated before many times, is that freedom from porn exists! I’m walking proof. I had these distortions in my life. It takes a ton of hard work to get over them, as well as daily prayer, the Sacraments and God’s grace. You can do it! Get rid of the porn today!
TrueMan up!
