More Springtime Yard Art

THERE IS NEW YARD ART!!!!

WWJD? Better yet, WWMD?

Long, long ago, after the death of a great teacher named Jesus, a religious organization was started.  Supposedly, the church was started by one of Jesus' disciples--Peter.  Although there is no evidence to suggest that Jesus discriminated among his followers, Peter's new Catholic church was a "boys only--girls stink" club.  There was good reason to keep those stinky girls out of the boys club; if the guys could discredit worshipers of the Goddess and the priestesses of Her temples, they could get a lot more followers for their new religion.  Peter and his guys were a sly bunch--unwilling to take on those big guys--the Muslims and the Jews, they instead focused on the easy target--the Pagans.  Pagans celebrated the return of the Sun at Winter Solstice with a big party?  No problem!!  Peter's guys conveniently had a holiday then too--they celebrated the birth of a Son!  Pagans had a lot of fun with their Spring holiday, honoring Ostara.  Peter and his guys said they had a better holiday, called Easter....and so on.

It took some time, some money, and a lot of killing, but eventually Peter and his guys got a big, big religion going--they called it the Holy Roman Church, now known to most of us as the Catholic Church.  They settled in Rome, and set about building a sovereign "nation", called the Vatican.  With the exception of one mistake named Pope Joan (as seen on the right), all of the leaders of the church have been men.  That's not to say that there haven't been many, many, many talented, smart, worthy women throughout the ages (Hildegaard von Bingen  comes most readily to mind)--the "boys" just wouldn't allow it.  Today, there's a desperate need for "priests" in Catholic churches throughout the world; the church needs leaders in many poor and rural parishes, and although female nuns have proved themselves again and again, the "boys" just won't allow it.  "It's unnatural", they say.  It's also "unnatural" for male priests to marry too.  It's also "unnatural" to be gay.  Alas, this "boys club" will eventually sink under the weight of all its' rules, just like all those clubs that kids start on those hot summer days when there's nothing better to do.  We have seen the cracks in the facade, and they are getting bigger.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.  
For an organization that has strayed so far from its' original message, it sure does think highly of itself.  Until recently, we had no idea how much the leaders of this religion thought they were above all of us.  You see, for decades--years and years and years--priests in the Catholic church have been abusing children, and there have been bishops and cardinals and popes--yes popes--who have ignored it, overlooked it, kept it quiet, have done all they could to protect the priests--just so the CHURCH could survive, presumably untainted (in their eyes).  Women have been abused too, but for now let's think about the youngest victims, the ones who absolutely had no voice at all.  It chills me to think this has gone on, sickens me to think of the probably hundreds of thousands who lost their innocence at the hands of those who were supposedly the most trusted in the community.  One child is bad enough, but to knowingly subject more children to these monsters just to preserve the riches of the Vatican is beyond comprehension.
I watched Sinead O'Connor on The Rachel Maddow Show tonight, and it made me so angry.  Almost 20 years ago, Sinead O'Connor appeared on Saturday Night Live; she had been invited to be the guest musician.  After she sang the Bob Marley song, "War", she ripped into pieces a photo of the then-pope, John Paul II.  I remember the uproar that followed, and it was completely focused on how wrong her actions had been--there were death threats, condemnation from the Vatican, on and on and on.  Her rising career was over.  What everyone completely missed was her message--that hundreds of children in Ireland were being abused by priests, and nobody was doing anything about it.  Nobody.
She was right.  She was telling the truth.  And it took nearly 20 years for the cries of the victims to be heard.   20 more years of victims.
Her message tonight was clear--now is the time for the true believers in the Catholic Church to make a stand. It's time for them to take over, and to reclaim this church for its true followers.  And I agree.
So, WWJD?  What would Jesus do?  Probably the same thing he did to the sellers in the temple--throw them all out.  Probably cause a big ol' earthquake right under the Vatican.
And WWMD?  What would Mary do?  She would kick some ass, take some names, and make damn sure the next pope was a woman.