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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Different Strokes for Different Folks


Stroke 29 Rocket Fuel by Gun Oil

I used to have a certain admiration for the late Pope John Paul II as an indefatigable supporter of human rights in general, notwithstanding his also obvious support for the Catholic moral position on matters of sexuality.

But I can never forget the cold and cutting pronouncement he made in his last book, Memory and Identity, reported in the news media just a week or two after my husband's death, that same-sex marriage was an "ideology of evil."  Yes, two men and a little dog living quietly and peacefully in a little town far out on the prairie, working their jobs, serving the community, paying their taxes, attending church, buying groceries, doing all the very same things their neighbors did, day in and day out, were "objectively disordered" and "intrinsically evil," points he had already made in a letter to American bishops twenty years earlier. 

But now with my husband barely cold in the ground, I felt His Holiness's nasty, coldhearted, evil-minded words more acutely than ever before.  This was a man, it must be recalled, in a position of ultimate moral authority over more than a billion people; and for all his great intellect and wide experience, the best he could say about Cody and me is that we were evil, and promoting evil.  Really. 

Well now come to find out, as Sullivan and others have reported, the late Pontiff
whipped himself with a belt, even on vacation, and slept on the floor as acts of penitence and to bring him closer to Christian perfection, according to a new book by the Polish prelate spearheading his sainthood case...

"It's an instrument of Christian perfection," Oder said, responding to questions about how such a practice could be condoned considering Catholic teaching holds that the human body is a gift from God.

"As some members of his close entourage in Poland and in the Vatican were able to hear with their own ears, John Paul flagellated himself. In his armoire, amid all the vestments and hanging on a hanger, was a belt which he used as a whip and which he always brought to Castel Gandolfo," the papal retreat where John Paul vacationed each summer.
Sullivan, a devout Catholic, approves, saying
I have every respect for the practice of self-mortification and self-denial. . . .  I see the last Pope's embrace of these things as affecting signs of his deep and genuine closeness to God.
Yet despite his loyal support for self-flagellation - a practice which Jesus never indulged in, and never, ever recommended - that brilliant mind also has the independence to ask the pertinent question here:
So why is self-abuse inherently wrong when it is done by hand and yet saintly when it is done by whip?
Masturbation, of course, is also an "intrinsically and gravely disordered action," the Church says.

So - if you jack yourself off, or you get off with your committed partner, you are committing outrageous evil.  And destroying civilization while you're at it.  Don't even think about asking for the law to protect your love and marriage, you filthy, twisted, disordered creep, you.

But - if you whip yourself bloody in your bedroom every night, why, God smiles - and loves you even more.

Now I ask you, fellas:  Just how fucked up is that?

Christian perfection, my ass. 

And again I refer my truckbuddies to Matthew 25 for clarification.

9 comments:

Mareczku said...

I really liked and admired Pope John Paul II but this is really creepy to me. Why in the name of heaven would God be pleased with someone physically abusing themself? That is crazy. I feel bad for people that whip themselves. I think it is tied in with a hatred of one's sexuality. Have an erection. Whip yourself. Have a wet dream. Whip yourself. Masturbate. Whip yourself. Perhaps people think by beating themselves into submission, they won't have erections, produce semen or produce sperm and can be closer to being a pure and perfect person. Is this sick or what? Sad, sad, sad.

Anonymous said...

First, I'm sorry this has brought up the painful memories of your husband's death.

Second, I’m not all that into self-flagellation, myself. I do like the occasional spanking by an older muscular daddy…anyway, what I was meaning to say is that the practice itself isn’t that bad as it was intended way back in the day. A lot of people misuse it as a way of “getting closer to God.” As with any spiritual practice—this includes prayer and such things—if the goal is to somehow change God—get more love or make God be closer to you—the focus and practice is wrong. These things were always meant to change the person doing them. Asceticism is training. God really doesn’t need any; we do. Whipping one’s self does produce changes in the body and then in the mind; as to how this leads one to a greater openness to the will of God—I don’t know. And I really don’t want to find out. I do know as well that masturbation also produces changes in the body and then in the mind. I’m willing to go there and see what happens.

And third, the unfortunate thing about all this is that it is again a reminder that the Catholic Church has never really been able to deal with the body. Because everyone has one and uses it so differently, and because there are so many ways in which one body can differ from another—it would seem to normal people that making general rules about how the body should act would be in advisable. But that is exactly what the Church attempts to do. Anyway, I’m getting a bit long winded. So, I’ll just go practice some of my own asceticism…

Anonymous said...

I can’t believe inadvisable turned out to be “in advisable.” What an idiot. Sorry.

David said...

Frankly I believe my right hand and Gun Oil are the true gifts from god.

Tom said...

Russ this is a fantastic post. Would you mind letting me post it on my site as a guest blog? Your thoughts on the matter are completely right. The self-abuse that JPII and others inflict upon themselves while condemning masturbation and homosexual acts in the name of Jesus is complete hypocrisy.

Gary said...

Great post, Russ. Thanks.

I started to write more here, but it got pretty lengthy, soap-boxy, and a little fiery, so I decided to post it on my own blog instead. Look under "Christianista Rant." The gist of it is that I think the church has done more damage than good, all things considered.

PS - dont pass that "soap-boxy" thingy on to Sister Sarah P. We'd never hear the end of it!

Frank said...

As much as I agree with the sentiments that the church has inflicted unspeakable harm on non-heterosexual persons, and as much as I consider JPII to have been most complacent in the church's (Razinger's) attacks on homosexual persons, I must be somewhat of an apologist in this matter. Knowing that JPII must have had his demons and that he may have had doubts about his own worth and worthiness only makes him more human. He was, of course a product of a very different time, when Catholic theology due to all kinds of influences, saw the human body and human desires as obstacles to holiness. But Catholics are so good at "catch 22". I'm not sure who said "Holiness is like humility - as soon as you think you have it, you lose it." I never held JPII in high regard and shudder at prospects of his canonization; rather than despise him, I see only pathos.

Russ Manley said...

Appreciate all your comments, guys.

Tom - you can repost, just link back to me, okay?

Frank - I do understand that JPII was operating out of a good motive and ancient practice; but not according to right reason. What in the hell does whipping or mutilating yourself have to do with the message of Christ? Now *that's* a true perversion in the deepest sense of the word, if you ask me, even if done for holy motives, as is all extreme asceticism. Though I understand his human plight.

Problem is, these guys with, as you say, their own inner demons, who turn around and terrify everyone else into submission to their badly misconceived notions of sin and guilt. Which you and I both suffered horribly from, and millions more besides us.

Tom said...

Thanks, Russ! I just posted your guest post on my site.

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