I am a convert to the Catholic Faith. I love the message of social justice. I have found tremendous comfort in the rituals and the message of peace, love and service. I am not the best Catholic that there ever was, and I certainly don't agree with everything in the Church, but what is there in life that we always agree with?
So, tonight, for the first time in my life, I walked out of the Mass. My pastor used the Holy Thursday mass, the homily of one of the most beautiful, sacred ceremonies of the entire year, to rail against our Evil Government, to tell us that we should be frightened of our president, and that when he sees Obama stickers on cars in his parking lot, he wants to slash the tires.
I took my 12 year old son with me. He did not want to go. He wanted to stay home and play video games and watch TV. I dragged him out, and as we drove, I taught him the meaning of the Holy Thursday Mass we were on our way to. I told him this is one of the most beautiful masses of the entire year, with it's emphasis on Love and Service. As pre-teens can be, he was annoyed with me, but I knew that he would remember this lesson, especially when we got to church and went through the actions and songs of washing of the feet.
I was so happy to be at the church. Everything was beautiful, we sang with our full voice and I was filled with joy to be there. Then the homily started. I knew this priest had preached politics from the pulpit before. Before the Iraq war started, he used to praise Bush and Condoleeza Rice. I did not worry so much because I knew that Pope John Paul II and the American Council of Bishops had called on Bush to not invade Iraq. I knew that the worldwide church was larger than Father Larry. I knew that I could join with our Pope and pray for peace even while Father Larry pumped up the war fever. I knew that Bush had carried out the death penalty more times than any other governor in the history of the United States, and that he started a war that was unjustified and killed hundreds of thousands of people . Bushes policies created extreme wealth for a few while leaving millions without health care.
But now, we have democratically, overwhelmingly elected a president that I am very proud of. I understand that Father Larry was talking about the abortion issue when he spoke out against Obama. But Bush did not prevent a single abortion, in fact, abortion rates went up under Bush. Obama is not pro-abortion and neither am I. Obama is trying to create a world where abortions will not be seen as necessary. He cares about poor people.
My mother-in-law, an iliterate poor woman from Brazil, had 10 children, two that died, and 8 self-induced abortions. She is not evil. She was starving and working her whole life to provide for her family. She was beaten by her husbands and survived untold misery, and her son went to college. I cannot judge her. I do not want Father Larry to judge her.
And I do not want Father Larry to preach politics from the pulpit during the most beautiful, sacred masses of the year. Why would he condemn me for having an Obama sticker, dressed in his Holy Robes, from the pulpit of where we just sang Thanks Be To God for the Holy Oils? He condemned me in front of my child, yet he never condemed Bush for his use of the death penalty or asked us to help the refugees created by the Iraq war.
I wrote a letter to the Bishop. I am very sad now, and disconcerted that this happened tonight, in a Holy Thursday Mass. This is a night where we remember that Christ washed the feet of others, that he told us to be a servant to others. Not a night of fear and hatred. I am sad, because I feel like I lost my church home, and it was terrible to try and explain to my son why I was crying as we drove away from the church without taking communion.
I am comforted by the diary of Al Rogers earlier today, with the beautiful photos of President Obama and the Seder at the White House. I think we are at a truly transformational moment in history. I am so proud of our president, and of the American people for finally getting it right. We won. And the world is a better place. And President Obama is going to go down in history as the finest president we have ever had, and I am lucky to be alive now.