Healing the Christian-Pagan divide

By J.F. Mezo

NEW YORK, Sept. 26 – It’s just before 11 a.m. and the annual NY Pagan Pride Harvest Festival has kicked off with an opening circle to celebrate the Autumn Equinox in Washington Square Park. The din of shamanic drums and the rows of vendors offering from jewellery and cauldrons to herbs and incense are a marked contrast to the event that dominated the week here – the visit of Pope Francis, who  just two days ago the Pope held a public mass just 25 blocks north in Madison Square Garden.

The opening ritual of the Pagan Pride Day is a world away from the Church. The first key speaker, Jeff Mach, asks for the crowd’s attention, drawing their eyes to the main stage and the historic Judson Memorial Church behind it. For Pagans, a lot rides on the notion of peaceful coexistence, acceptance and an open-minded approach to different religious beliefs; it’s not just their public image, they explain, but the fact that many of them come from Roman Catholic families that do not take well to their personal convictions.

“People still stare,” says the Tribal Coordinator of the Queens Branch of the Spiral Scouts, who goes by her Pagan name, Gem.. “There are many misconceptions, even within our families.”

When asked about said misconceptions, Pagans have a lot to say. “My students think Wicca [a modern branch of Paganism] equals Paganism and that Pagans are flaky, out of touch, unable to deal with 21^st century life and basically half-crazy” says Chip O’Brien, a high school teacher representing Hekate’s Sacred Temple at the Pagan Pride Day. His  experiences at the Catholic high school he attended left him perplexed by the Church’s unwillingness to adapt and its anachronistic, frozen-in-time approach motivated his search for a different path. He expresses admiration that Pope Francis seems to be bridging the divide between the religious and secular worlds that only seemed to be growing during the reign of his predecessors in the Vatican. 

Some Pagans believe that it will take more than one pope to bring about an era of peaceful coexistence between the Church and the multitude of Pagan religions (Druidism, Wicca, and Ásatrú, just to mention a few). But there is one thing they all appear to agree on: Pope Francis is making a difference.

The Pope has demonstrated never-before-seen willingness to get involved in worldly matters, as he was the first Pope to address the US Congress on Sept. 24 and he has also been very vocal about matters, such as the refugee crisis, the excesses of capitalism or climate change. This, Pagans believe, might eventually help bridge the divide between them and the Catholic Church as protecting and preserving the environment has always been a top priority for many – if not all – branches of Paganism.

“Have you seen the renewable energy booth yet?” says Christabel, a volunteer at the Pagan Pride Day Info tent who gestures towards a small table covered in bright yellow brochures that read “Global Warming/Climate Change Is Here”. The sponsoring organisation, United for Action, has little to do with religion, be it Pagan or Christian, but it wouldn’t be out of place at a  Catholic event these days either – a demonstration of the effect Pope Francis' message is having on previously alienated  communities.

By bridging the divide between the Church and the State by addressing the Congress and in pushing the Church to adapt to the 21^st century when offering forgiveness for the “sin of abortion” during the upcoming Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has already opened many doors. By forcefully engaging the debate on climate change, he may unlock another; one that has been firmly locked since the rise of Catholicism.

“It is great that the Pope promotes some of the same ideas that we have” says Christabel, who comes from a Catholic background. She says she was initially hesitant to join the Pagan community but has been amazed by the openness, acceptance and diversity she encountered within the ranks of this often misunderstood circle. “But the past is still there – we have to let it go.”

And letting go has never seemed easier than now, when Pagan groups can celebrate the Autumn Equinox in public in the wake of the visit of the Pope. In this new era of opening doors, Pagans and Christians are often passionate about the same issues and family members frequently find themselves backing the same causes even though one of them prays to the Lord and the other to Bastet.

“The goal” says Jeff Mach “is to coexist in peace, do good and work together.” And seeing that this year’s Pagan Pride Day book drive collected enough money for the charity City Harvest to feed 1600 people in need, there is hope among the faithful that this is no longer a fantasy.

The Pope in America – Can one swallow make a (Catholic) summer?

By J.F. Mezo

Photo by Blink Ofanaye: 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/blinkofanaye/21042696064/ 

NEW YORK, Sept. 18 – The kids are back in school, the leaves are turning red, and Pope Francis is getting ready for his American visit starting on September 22. Although the Pope will only spend 5 days in the US before flying back to Rome, he is ready to shake things up and prove, yet again, that the Catholic Church made its smartest move in a long while when making him Pope.

After a long period of drifting further and further away from the secular world, Pope Francis has made repeated efforts to reconnect the Church to the bloodstream of the 21^st century. By now we all know that Pope Francis is not afraid to do things differently – just remember the shock of the Vatican after he proclaimed that he will not be moving into the papal palace. But his newest decision might carry unusual significance.

On September 24, the Pope is going to speak to the Congress for the first time in history.  This coming together of the political and the religious might prove oddly relevant not merely because the motto “In God We Trust” is written in block capitals on the central wall behind the Speaker’s rostrum in the House Chamber. Recently, a number of significant political figures, such as Hilary Clinton, openly expressed their admiration for Pope Francis, opening the door between the Church and the State – and the Pope is not afraid to step over the threshold.

However, this step might prove a turning point in the history of Catholicism, as it will no doubt have a great influence on whether the Church will be able to secure its last Western stronghold in the face of growing secularism. Just in the four years between 2010 and 2014, the share of Christians within the US population dropped from 78.4% to 70.6% according to Pew Research’s survey, as more and more people abandoned their faith and joined the group of those who are not affiliated with any religious denominations. Under Pope Benedict XVI’s years as the head of the Catholic Church, a special sense of disillusionment swept over those groups within the Christian community who were seeking a modern approach to and reinterpretation of many Catholic teachings that might have made sense at the time of their creation but whose revision was, even then, long overdue.

Among those were the Catholic Church’s strict views on abortion, the use of contraception and gay rights – issues Pope Benedict failed to appropriately address. This has not only earned him a reputation of being a rigorous, conservative man but also made him largely unpopular. Even the launch of the official papal Twitter account (@Pontifex) backfired on him as he failed to understand that joining social media was not the kind of modern approach to faith that Catholics have long been asking for. 

However, Pope Francis knew better. Although he stands by many Catholic teachings that are regarded by many as past their due date, he doesn’t seem to be afraid to push the boundaries. "This jubilee Year of Mercy excludes no one," Pope Francis stated in a letter to Archbishop Rino Fisichella in September 2015, right before making the unprecedented gesture of offering forgiveness for the “sin of abortion”.

This was not his first meddling in secular affairs this year. Pope Francis surprised many when he joined the debate on climate change in May or when called for global wealth-redistribution in July. The Pope seems to make a genuine effort to bridge the divide between the Catholic Church and the secular world, that deepened significantly under the reign of Pope Benedict and his predecessors. Many see in him what they failed to see in Pope Benedict; a progressive thinker and a moderate reformer, who can lead by example and show the world what it means to be a good Christian in this day and age.

As several public figures who are not themselves Catholic (the list includes non-religious Jim Carrey and atheist Bill Maher) spoke up in his favour, many have been hoping that Pope Francis and his modern approach will be able to win back at least some of those who left the Church because of its former unwillingness to adapt. And indeed, when he speaks to the Congress on September 24, America will be listening. Thanks to Pope Francis’ wide appeal, the USA’s Hispanic community, Christians, scholars, atheists, unaffiliated people and those simply interested in all things Congress will all tune in on Thursday. For what feels like the first time in a long while, people are generally interested in what the Church has to say – and not only about the psalms. In a country that has always been proud of its Christian values, people have long been ready for a genuine discussion between the Church and the State.  And thanks to Pope Francis, that now seems to be within reach.

Oh boy, have we come a long way since the news that generated the most interest about the Pope was when a Twitter user asked Pope Benedict if it hurt when Darth Vader threw him down the reactor shaft.