“Women are naturally unfit for political office. Both the Natural order and facts show us that political being par excellence is male; the Scripture shows us that woman has always been the helper of man who thinks and does, but nothing more”—Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (now known as Pope Francis)
One of the first posts I noticed on Facebook about the election of Pope Francis was a picture postcard with Cardinal Bergoglio’s face with the quote above and the caption, “Misogyny, much?”
As a spiritual agnostic, Pope Francis’ election amid the finance and sexual scandals whirling like vultures around the Vatican triggered a bout of familial nostalgia, and an understanding of the bottled up feelings I’ve had about the Catholic Church in general since first watching Mea Maxima Culpa on HBO a month ago.
There are many Catholics out there looking at the election of the new Pope with some well-deserved skepticism. And even more out there who are excited about the possibility of a new Pope coming into power. As one raised “almost” Catholic, I am in the realm of No Person’s Land, siding ever more with my atheist friends and family.
Raised in a Catholic culture, there are rituals and rites — sacraments — that mark your birth, the fullness of your childhood, and the onslaught of your puberty — baptism, communion, confirmation. For girls especially these sacraments, usually cloaked in white for all three rituals and inclusive of the sacrament next in line — marriage — had its message for us. Knees shut tight. Thus the war between young Fe and the Church began.