What Is Really Wrong

I live very near to a Catholic Church which is just like the last one I lived near. These parishes are mostly Hispanic and very devout/pious. I have nothing against the Hispanic community except its voting patterns. The religious ones tend to vote on a single issue basis (abortion and sexual morality). My proof is that heavily Hispanic Texas is still a Red State. If Texas Hispanics decided to take over the Democratic Party and the Governor's office and the State House, THEY COULD DO IT EASILY. Hispanics in the Valley and elsewhere in Texas suffered horrendous losses during the peak of the pandemic here. Yet Texas GOP leaders care more about being third-rate ideological hacks than they do saving lives. So accuse me of being a patronizing, racial profiling White Woman all you want: pious Hispanics such as the beautiful people in the Catholic parishes I've been member of, are voting against their own interests in my view, and for no good reason. 

Having said that, I often walk in my neighborhood to keep the weight off. I finally quit smoking after trying for a whole year (long story), right before the pandemic. Descriptions of suffocating Covid19 victims went a long way toward motivating me. I cannot abide the feeling of not being able to draw a deep breath. George Floyd said "I Can't Breathe" and the whole world started to choke... 

When I walk I always pass by the church I mentioned. Since I began my letter writing campaign several months back, I had written to a Deacon in this parish and at times to the Pastor. Prior to the pandemic I had regularly visited the Adoration Chapel to pray and meditate. I still haven't returned to the small chapel or to Mass, and I never met any members of that parish. Once several weeks ago, I had seen that the electronic sign posted some blurb about 'religous freedom' (just a catch phrase for the assault on human rights being waged by intolerant religious groups) and I was at that time in the worst throes of my rabid anti-trump/anti-GOP obsession so I called the parish and left a message for a Deacon whose voice on the voicemail recording sounded very kind. I was just complaining about the evident culture warriorism I so despise. I continued to write this Deacon from time to time, but he never returned that one call or replied to any of my emails. I am going to post most of one of those letters here. You see, on my walk recently I saw a new message on the electronic sign out front which read: "SAVE YOUR CRITICISM FOR WHAT IS REALLY WRONG". Of course I am not so grandiose as to think this message was directed at me. Yet I took the opportunity to ask the question of what do we believe is Really Wrong?

Note: I am fully aware that over the course of the last five or six years I have become radicalized. I can be accused of the same extremism that I am condemning in others. However, I am not the Catholic Church, the Pope, or a bishop or priest or deacon and am not in a position of authority over others. In fact, this whole endeavor is partly to find a way to return to the Church. I just cannot determine if there is a place for someone like me there. 

Dear Deacon ___, 

I saw your sign during my walk and I became extremely curious as to what you or the Pastor of Saint Jerome believe to be 'really wrong'? Could things be REALLY WRONG such as:

*culture wars and demented false teachings and conspiracies abounding in Christian communities and belief in absolute lies such as about the election, leading to so-called Christian patriots (including many Catholics) perpetrating a violent assault on our government leading to the deaths of three police officers and two of the rioters? [I believe the actual death toll is higher] How is this pro-life? 

*Hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths from a horrible illness having long term effects for up to 40% of survivors, whereas culture wars and false teaching and ideological extremism IN MANY CHURCHES including Catholic, are leading to people refusing to wear masks EVEN TO SAVE LIVES? Where is the charity in that? How is this pro-life? ... 

*Catholic priests, bishops, and media empires such as EWTN PREACHING POLITICS INSTEAD OF THE GOSPELS??!! How does this save lives? ... (End of excerpts) 

I'd like to paraphrase the rest of the letter. I had talked of the End of Days because there is a Scripture which describes times very much like the ones we are living in today. Most conservative Christians tend to demonize everything that is "not us"...They believe that all the evil in the world comes from non-believers. It is this projection and denial of their own wrongdoing that I object to so strenuously. So I pointed out the fact this particular Scripture is addressing the CHURCH ITSELF, not the world at large. In other words, some of the most horrific offenses against God are really done by believers and not by non-believers, (or non-pious believers).

(I am quoting from a Messianic Bible, specially translated for Jewish readers. The Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern)

2 Timothy Chapter 3 verses 1 thru 9

"Moreover understand this: in the acharit-hayamim [end times] will come trying times. People will be self-loving, money-loving, proud, arrogant, insulting, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, uncontrolled, brutal, hateful of good, traitorous, headstrong, swollen with conceit, loving pleasure rather than God, as they retain the outer form of religion but deny its power...Stay away from these people...In the same way as Jannes and Jambres oppposed Moshe, so also these people oppose truth. They are people with corrupted minds, whose trust cannot pass the test. However, they won't get very far; becasue everyone will see how stupid they are, just as happened with those two." 

This passage perfectly describes the Tea Party/Trump Cult, most of whom claim to be Christian. This also perfectly describes EWTN which is the Fox News of the Catholic Church. On what grounds do I claim this passage describes the Church? Most unbelievers don't keep a "form of religion". At the very least Paul is referring to nominal adherents, the un-evangelized or unconverted, WITHIN the church.  Furthermore, the rebels Paul cited who opposed Moses were from within the community, not gentiles (or 'pagans').   Of course it's true many who participate in religion are totally unspiritual.  However, there are too many of the pious  who THINK  they are converted, who become zealous in a way that is most un-Christ-like. This fact only supports my assertion that carnal or extremist religion is more evil than no religion at all.