Many years ago, I learned German and was eventually able to work in Germany over summer break. For the last 10 years I have spent 1-2 months working in Essen, Germany and except the first couple of years, when I was still struggling with properly understanding the language, there hasn’t been one year when I haven’t heard of a sexual scandal involving priests of the Catholic Church. I am not Catholic, but in Germany, I worked for a foster home and retirement home complex owned by a pro-catholic organization, where these cases were heavily debated by the employees. I have heard many stories as I worked there, on TV, or told by my co-workers but I cannot testify to their authenticity. The story that I want to talk about is one told to me by a retired Catholic priest that would occasionally drop by for dinner and a chat. During our rare but lengthy conversations, we debated the problem of sexual abuse within the church and what he told me was shocking at the time. I come from an Orthodox…
The Church, specifically white, masculine, evangelical Christianity, has been a driving force behind colonialism, white supremacy, and Christian nationalism. The church has sought to erase any and all culture that does not align with its beliefs sought to hold power over women, force Black, Indigenous, and other people of color to assimilate, and excommunicate the LGBTQIA+ community. This same Church claims to follow the teachings of Jesus, but if you ask me, I don’t think the Church today looks very much like Jesus at all. In fact, most Christians are more like the Pharisees - making up rules to exclude others, casting judgments - and less like the people Jesus spent his time with. Growing Up Southern Baptist When I was a kid, the church was about community. I thought of the people within this community as family. I was young and unaware of the inner workings, the hierarchy, the patriarchy. I just enjoyed the Easter egg hunts and church dinners and tried to be kind - like Jesus. Wasn’t…
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