This is about childhood, the notions of Sin, Love, God\u2014and a brief comment on the all-male priesthood\u2026send hate mail straight to my trash folder, please.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve given formal retreats and provided direction for older men and younger women, including a few priests.\u00a0 But I\u2019ve never understood or made sense the notion that 6- or 7-year-old children should formally go to confession.\u00a0 I get the value of forgiveness and the relevance of the vast eternal Catechism questions:\u00a0 whatever one\u2019s belief or unbelief, those are intriguing life-long questions that could occupy some deeper realms of a conscious, balanced mind.\u00a0 What a wonderful world where some Creative Generosity, by whatever name, where the All wishes us to know who we are, to See and Love ourselves and each other as truly, as compassionately and completely as the Great Spirit Sees and Loves us.\u00a0 But compulsory childhood confession or \u201creconciliation,\u201d as they\u2019ve politically corrected it, stumped me when I was young and still does.\u00a0 Honestly, how much \u201csin\u201d worthy of \u201cConfession\u201d is a kid really capable of?\u00a0 And if there\u2019s more than a bit, then that\u2019s a child who might need more than a few minutes with an old priest who\u2019s snoring, or a young one who\u2019s otherwise distracted.<\/p>\n
I shouldn\u2019t get started on all that\u2014there are some very good and devoted priests, I know.\u00a0 Not that the non-egalitarian social injustice of an all-male priesthood is something I care to keep faith with or tithe into.\u00a0 But skipping to Confession:\u00a0 I\u2019ve done it, and it was dark and scary.\u00a0 I was frightened by the little black room, the screened window between us, and but the Father\u2019s strict reputation and epic flatulence.\u00a0 I left with my penance, and since then haven\u2019t darkened any other old priest\u2019s day with any more of my deadly sins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This is about childhood, the notions of Sin, Love, God\u2014and a brief comment on the all-male priesthood\u2026send hate mail straight to my trash folder, please. I\u2019ve given formal retreats and provided direction for older men and younger women, including a few priests.\u00a0 But I\u2019ve never understood or made sense the notion that 6- or 7-year-old […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n