Currently, there is a conflict between traditional Catholics and liberal Catholics regarding the reason for the possible resignation of Pope Francis. Francis has been accused of ignoring the sexual abuse of gay seminarians; if the accusations are the truth, the Pope must resign. Traditional Catholics believe that abuse would decrease if the loyalty to the church was strengthened, while liberals believe that if we at least tolerated homosexuality, the abuse would decrease.
The issues discussed in this article remind me of the religious conflicts that occurred in the late 16th/early 17th century in England. When Queen Elizabeth I--a Protestant--took the throne in 1533, Catholics began to be persecuted and were no longer tolerated by the Protestants. Though the current issue is between two Catholic groups, this past issue is similar because two religious groups, who once lived together somewhat peacefully, turned on each other because of a higher power.
It saddens me to think that though we are improving when it comes to acceptance of all people in the 21st century, we are still having major issues like these, causing many people to leave their own faiths just because of one powerful person’s beliefs. Matthew Schmitz, the author of “A Catholic Civil War?”, has written previously about Pope Francis and similar issues regarding Donald Trump, leading me to believe he cares quite a bit about the topics of justice and acceptance of others.
Excellent synthesis!
ReplyDeleteGood blog! I think that comparing this to the religious conflicts in England in the early 1500s to recent Catholic tension regarding the pope is a great synthesis, as Ms. Countryman said. I also agree with your opinion about how we should make an even more consecutive effort to recognize that their are still major conflicts within peoples, and how to help them accept one another.
ReplyDeleteI really agree with everything that you said, it's disheartening that the opinion of others allow us to drastically change our way of life.
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