A large, powerful organization with often-misguided leadership.
Its stated intentions are good, and its rank-and-file members are good at heart and do a lot of good for the world. Unfortunately their leaders often lead them astray and sometimes do grievous harm. Yet the members, instead of abandoning it, stay and hope for change and perhaps work for to make things better.
What am I describing?
a) The Catholic Church
b) The Democratic Party
c) The United States of America
I've been disappointed in a lot of (what I perceive to be) the over-the-top criticism of the Catholic Church and, often, Catholics themselves. Some comments would make one think we were talking about the KKK or some other hate group. Indeed, a number have called the Catholic Church itself a hate group.
I should say that I am not Catholic-- in fact I am athiest. I have a natural skepticism of organized religion, and deeply disagree with many of the Catholic Church's rules on abortion, homosexuality, and women in the church. I'm also disgusted by the way certain church officials handled the pedophile priest scandal.
However, I also know that the Catholic Church and many other religious groups are also a major force for social welfare in this country and others. I've met quite a few Catholics who have forsaken more lucrative careers to instead work for charities because of their religious beliefs. Many of them are liberal, and vote Democratic. To say that they are hateful is wrong.
Obviously, I can't speak for Catholics, but I imagine many of them view their church the same way we Democrats view our party, or we Americans see our country-- as imperfect organizations trying to do the right thing. Organizations that have problems that can be fixed, over time. The Democratic Party did not always oppose slavery or favor gay marriage (see our presidential nominee, 2008). It has not been as responsive to many of our nation's problems as it could be. Its leadership is more beholden to corporate interests than public interests at times. And the dark years from 2001-2008 serve as an easy reminder that the United States is not immune to major mistakes s well. Yet most of us remained Democrats and Americans, and indeed were insulted when others criticized us for it.
I think regardless of one's view of today's Catholic Church, we should hope that the new pope helps lead the church in the right direction. Remember that the church evolves too-- among other things, it learned from its mistakes with indulgences and acknowledged the ideas of Galileo and Darwin. So today, I wish all Catholics the best and hope that Pope Francis is worthy of your hopes for the church's future.