Parodie

Dominicanus postete kürzlich einen Artikel aus dem National Catholic Reporter. Ich dachte zuerst, es sei eine Parodie, doch (mit Blick auf die Zeitschrift, die es veröffentlicht hat), muss es wohl echt sein.

I picked up the phone to hear a precise French accent pleading, “Peg, tell me it is not so!”
“What is not so, Abena?”
“On the news they say they will ordain a woman as priest. How can this be in the Catholic church? All day I pray, ‘Jesus, how can a woman be priest?’
“ ‘Call Peg,’ he said. ‘She will give you peace.’ So, I know you are a woman of wisdom and faith. Tell me, how can this be?”
“Abena, in the current Roman Catholic church this cannot be. Perhaps they mean some other church or an unrecognized ordination.”
“Oh, thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Peg. Not our Roman Catholic church!” She was laughing, nearly giddy with relief. “I prayed, ‘Lord, take me now if this should happen.’ I would rather be dead than see such a thing.”
“Abena,” I sighed with regret, “You and I will not live to see such a day in our Catholic church. This will not happen in our lifetime.”
“Oh, thank you! You give me so much hope and happiness.” But, suddenly serious, she said, “I think this cannot happen ever -- as it was in the beginning it shall be in the Catholic church until Jesus comes again.”
Her distress evident, she continued:
“I do not know why women keep trying to be Jesus. They should try only to imitate the example of humility and obedience of our Blessed Mother.”
“Abena, are you saying that men should not try to imitate the example of Mary?”
I struggled to contain my anger. And I succeeded because this was Abena, a very simple woman, not a bishop, the pope or a Vatican spokesperson, all of whom, I think, should have a broader view of church history and the place of culture in determining our ever-evolving, collective understanding of God.
She laughed readily, “Of course, we all should. But what is more important is that women learn the beauty of raising children.
“Just today God has answered my prayer. The husband of a sister of ours planned to divorce her because she has not been pregnant in many years. I learned today that she is two months with child. God is so good!”
My blood nearly boiled at the sexist content of this assertion and her archaic proof of God’s mercy. Yet, I forgave her immediately because I recognized that she is a product of her culture. Only recently from Cameroon, she was jailed there for her faith. Shackled, she was beaten on the soles of her feet. Now, walking is difficult. Wearing shoes is still painful.
“They wanted to break my spirit,” she laughed when she told me. “They only strengthened my faith!”

Die Heilige und die [eigene Beurteilung hier einfügen]. Letztere endet das Ganze auf einer Happypepi-Note:

If the Holy Spirit truly guides the church, it is our responsibility to stand at the point God has placed us within the church and proclaim from the honest depths of our souls, “This is how I see God!” and respect each vision as equally valid. If the whole church entered into such respect-filled dialogue, surely the Kingdom of God would be manifest upon the earth.

In ihrer "vision of God" kommt offenbar auch jene sonst nicht überlieferte Episode vor, als Jesus zu Seinen Aposteln sagte:
"Ok, Kinder, jetzt setzen wir uns alle nieder und stellen uns vor, wie wir Gott gern haben möchten... Und dann reden wir darüber, wie toll und geschwisterlich das ist, dass wir so unterschiedliche Gottesbilder haben!"