So we've decided to leave our parish. This all stems from a homily made a few weeks ago by one of the Deacons assigned to our parish. Deacon Skip is pretty well known for his anti-Bush anti-war stance. In other homilies he has been critical of the war. This time though he went beyond the pale. He opened his homily by telling the story of the strong nationalism in Argentina prior to the Falkland Islands war with the United Kingdom in 1982. He went on to talk about how much nicer and less nationalistic Argentina was after they lost the war. It was easy to see the not-so-subtle comparison he was trying to make. Once the US stops being so mean and full of nationalism, jingoism, and xenophobia, the world will be happy and we will have learned an important lesson. What a crock of shite.
He then went on to insult those of us in uniform by offering juvenile psychoanalysis of those who join the military attributing their motivation to "dreams of glory." His basis for this judgement is that this was the reason he joined the military. He then expressed remorse and hoped that anyone he shot at when he was in the military wasn't harmed by his bullets.
The arrogance of this man is amazing. He knows nothing about me or anyone else who is presently serving. he knows nothing of our motivations so he makes broad sweeping judgements. First, if I were in a unit with him, I'd do my best to get him sent elsewhere. No one wants a glory hound nearby, they tend to attract bullets. Second, every single Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, Coast-Guardsman, etc, comes to the service with their own story and their own reasons. Finally, while he may feel remorse for sending rounds downrange, I doubt highly that his opponents had or have similar feelings of remorse. His harangue should have been given from a couch to his therapist not from a pulpit to a congregation.
The homily had absolutely nothing to do with the Gospel, not that it seems Skip would let something as minor as the Gospel interfere with what was really important, expressing his opinion. The intentions were also a piece of work as we only prayed for those servicemen and women who asked for our prayers, not for all of them. Way to be inclusive Skip! If I recall correctly, Jesus was moved by the faith of the Centurion yet, if it were up to Skip and other clergy like him, they would have instead lectured the Centurion on being a part of the oppressive, imperialist, colonial occupiers of Judea and sent him on his way.
Recent Comments