With Confession and Forgiveness for All

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

Peacemaking is not for the faint of heart.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

The voice that tells us to speak untruth does not come from you.
The voice that tells us to take advantage of the poor does not come from you.
The voice that tells us we can pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps does not come from you.
The voice that tells us that might makes right does not come from you.
The voice that tells us you are on our side in war does not come from you.
The voice that tells us life is cheap does not come from you.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Thanks. I’m glad you liked the sermon.”

[Liked it, but didn’t do what He said. But then, He never said this either.]

D. Blog: Confessing and Asking for Forgiveness

I read today that the Vatican will be offering additional training to priests regarding the confidentiality of the confession booth. The percentage of lay people who go to confession has declined drastically.

Perhaps the reason for that is the one the hierarchy proposes: confessions not being kept in strict confidence. I propose another reason: churches and church leaders themselves have a lot that needs confessing. They should be begging for forgiveness, too.

Sexual abuse by church leaders, of course comes to mind. In addition, what about the church’s historic sanctioning of war? What about the church’s alignment with the powerful instead of with the poor? What about the church’s continuing abuse of homosexuals? What about the church’s disregard for controlling the population on Earth? What about the church’s continuing debasement of women?

The scales tip heavily in the direction of the institutional church’s need to confess and seek forgiveness. What we do as individuals in the way of sinning seems almost petty in comparison.