If the Catholics do it, you should too!

By Jon Roe

Canada has done it again. Even though we’ve elected a socially conservative government, and despite the fact we may re-open the same-sex marriage issue once fall parliamentary sessions open, we can’t seem to please anybody. Pope Benedict recently attacked us saying Canada’s low birth-rate was a result of godlessness, blaming it on the “pervasive effects of secularism.”

Maybe I’m a little confused here, but since when was secularism a pervasive effect, like a sexually transmitted disease? Here I was, mistakenly believing that secularism was actually moving us towards a better society. You know, where people maybe have different beliefs, but that’s okay because there isn’t one unified ideology ruling over us and dictating what we think.

Silly me, I guess things like the witch-hunt, the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, and religious persecution are just things we’ve been missing out on these days. It’s not that secular society is beyond sin, but history has shown that individuals and governments have committed many horrific crimes under the guise of religion.

How unfortunate for us that we don’t have to live in a country where beatings and public stonings are doled out as punishment and religious laws clearly favour men.

It is really a shame that most children grow up without being forcibly taught the miracles of Jesus, the teachings of the Bible and the amazing act of creation. It’s really too bad we’re no longer sending missionaries out to foreign lands en masse to force our beliefs on the primitives as means towards colonization and subversion.

Maybe that was the message the Pope was trying to expound to the visiting Canadian clergy at the Vatican: go out and spread the word of Catholicism, because right now it’s not working. We have become rather godless these days, what with all our open minds and acceptance. The Catholic church has received a massive black eye recently from all the scandals and stereotypes relating to the misconduct of priests. Perhaps before saving everyone else, there should be a little cleansing done inside the ranks.

Though I suppose we’re all innocent before the eyes of God–at least if we subscribe to those kind of things. A few Hail Mary’s should fix the straying sheep of the clergy flock, where apparently the rest of us need the iron hand of the law to be protected from such blasphemic occurrences as legally recognized same-sex relationships.

I guess it’s a sad thing for the Pope to look at the world and see so much of it out of his grasp and influence. He must yearn for the good ol’ days when his predecessors crowned rulers, authorized them to invade countries by papal decree, and interfered in political affairs. You can’t really blame him for trying to swing what influence he has.

If I was a Catholic in an elected position, I’d be worried. It seems like they’ve been failing in their duty as real Catholics. Apparently, that duty involves forcing their beliefs on others and using their position of power to push their religious agenda.

No one can really win here. If we allow same-sex marriage to continue, those poor Catholics will be failing their religion, we Canadians will be godless and we’ll be affected by the terrible results of secularism. On the other hand, being godless and secular is far better than being forced to believe one school of thought, and being subverted to some meaningless miser sitting on his throne in Rome.

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