Mon, 22 Mar 2010 7:53p.m.
By Philip Patston
Catholic priests have been at it again, this time in Ireland, which of course begs for a joke:
What do you call an Irish Catholic priest? No better than the rest.
Not funny in any sense of the word, but you would think the Pope could harden up (ahem...) when it comes to admonishing the sin and the sinner. Quoting a passage from the bible about adultery (slightly different, I would have thought, but who am I to question such spiritual authority?), he said:
"While acknowledging her sin, he does not condemn her, but urges her to sin no more. Trusting in his great mercy toward us, we humbly beg his forgiveness for our own failings, and we ask for the strength to grow in his holiness."
I doubt the priests were "growing in his holiness", but they were probably doing something very similar to those poor children.
I don't want to turn into a religion basher, but it does seem a little rich when Christians – and particularly Catholics – hold themselves so piously above us free-thinking non-believers, and then ask for forgiveness when their clergy engage in indecent acts of sex against children.
Of course, for the record, paedophilia and sexuality have nothing in common. Paedophiles are abusers. Abuse is an act of violence, not sex. And paedophilia is certainly not a sexual orientation (yes, I have heard the argument).
But if it's not ok to abuse children, even when you're a Catholic priest, maybe it's ok to kill a whale.
John Key seems as clear as mud about it – it's akin to murder but acceptable sometimes, if fewer whales are killed. Say, what? Sir Geoffrey Palmer, can you clarify what the PM means? "Let's not be emotional."
Ok, so this is what our leaders are saying, people: Murder is reasonable if it reduces murder, forgive paedophiles and don't get too emotional. Well, let me lead us in a very different direction.
Let's protect whales, let's hold people who abuse children to account and, most of all, let's get emotional. But not angry like we usually get over these sorts of things. Instead, let's get sad – really sad. Let's get really sad about the fact that we live in a world where harmless, beautiful animals get butchered in the name of business and financial gain. A world where adults have such low regard for self and others that they can find it in themselves to harm those for whom they should be caring.
Let's get sad about the fact that our leaders are too constrained by commercial and political imperatives to be able to do what is right. Let's get sad about the fact that rationality is held in higher regard than intuition. Let's get sad that we don't get sad about things that happen in the world often enough.
Sadness doesn't hurt, it doesn't judge, it doesn't need apology. It is a vulnerable, honest emotion. Sadness needs time and gives time for reflection and creative response.
Imagine a world where people sobbed instead of shouting, wailed instead of warring, blubbered instead of blaming.
They say laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and you cry alone. Well, I'm prepared to have the last laugh, on my own, and say that sometimes, I think a shared tear could be just what the world needs.
Better than abusing a kid or killing a whale. But, as I say, who am I?