Written by Bishop Andrew Gentry   

Beloved Friends,

Recently I posted my observations on the slaughter of the innocents in Arizona on the emag "Catholica Australia". I have had many observations published there and in fact my "Contemporary Stations of the Cross" was the featured Holy Week meditation several years ago. "Catholica Australia" has a widespread readership and is considered a very progressive Roman Catholic publication. Not everyone who reads and or subscribes to this e-publication is liberal nor for that matter even a believer Catholic or otherwise. A few are very conservative and one in particular considers himself quite the philosopher who openly disdains anything even remotely Christian. Most of the responses were positive but one from an American right wing religionist was especially vitriolic (naturally) and however unintentionally proved the point on incendiary speech. But what truly struck me was the responses from our Australian brothers and sisters about America and I am afraid they are absolutely spot on!

Almost to a person there was sadness and confusion about this country's "state" of internal affairs. Why the violence, why the hate rhetoric, and why the love of guns! they are right on all counts. Did you know that for every 100 persons in the United States there are 90 guns of some description or caliber!? In the state of Texas it is even worse. There in the heart of the farcical mythology of "the cowboy" there are 3 guns for every man woman and child! Now multiply this by the population of the state and you have some idea of the insanity and the power of the gun lobby and and the mythology.

Every time there is a mass shooting what used to be called a mass murder and there have been numerous ones in the last decade we wring our hands and shed our tears and nothing changes! When Columbine happened we blamed it on bullying but and this is not to in anyway excuse it, God forbid, we have always had bullies but never until Columbine did anyone ever think that anyone had the right to drive to school and proceed to systematically murder fellow students and members of the faculty! Now Arizona and we are now blaming the lack of good mental health for our citizens. Before Arizona when slaughter occurred in our schools and or workplaces we cited everything from dysfunctional families to lack of proper socialization! Again dear hearts we have always had and indeed most of us come from dysfunctional families and you but have to walk down the street to observe the lack of proper socialization.

No the reasons are legion but the underlying root cause to use the parlance of the day, is that we have as a culture and society abandoning any standard of personal responsibility or personal accountability! When Tiger Woods was finally caught people were saying, unbelievably enough, "poor Tiger" and talking about his "indiscretions". Let me tell you here and now he was guilty of ADULTERY! not indiscretions!!!! His only "indiscretion" was being caught with his preverbal pants down! When members of the Senate or the House are proven guilty of the same adultery or worse we allow them every avenue of avoidance known to the hype and spin high priest and priestesses of our media culture. They walk into a press conference like a child caught in the act of self indulgence, appropriately teared up and say a "heartfelt" mea culpa for the "mistake" they made. Again they did not make a mistake they committed the worse violation of a covenant relationship possible, ADULTERY!

When corporations and banks and insurance companies lie and steal and cheat and literally take food and shelter from people in the name of the god of the U S called profit we call it "aggressive business practice"! When hospitals and doctors and dentists (and most especially politicians) allow people to die we call it "sound fiscal policy"! It is murder by indifference not fiscal responsibility!

We have defied the ego and the bible of this religion is relativism. The appetite is the gospel of this false god and the gratification of the ego the false sacrament of the couch upon which the believer reclines. We hold to no standard save our own and we answer to no one for anything. We are the new Babel and the new Parthenon.

The dollar sign has replaced the Cross. Until we acknowledge again that it is only in the responsibility and the interconnectedness of community founded upon the absolute standard of Love and only we renounce the deification and appeasement of the self can we hope to melt the guns and end the violence. Never forget guns are made for one purpose and one only and that is Death!

Peace
Bishop Andrew Gentry
The Church of All Saint and Sorts,
A Congregational Catholic Church