Quote of the Day

. . . Religious dogmatism is the scourge of the twenty-first century. The major religions of the book, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity not only seem incapable of effectively dealing with their dogmatic brethren, but in too many cases cater to them – as if they are terrified that the emotion behind all that dogmatism will be turned on them. Pope Benedict is in the process of catering once again to Catholic dogmatists. He is assuring them, that when the leaders of the world's religions meet in Assisi this summer, he will not be praying with those leaders as they all work for world peace. He will stick to Catholics for his praying, and only give a speech to the other religious and secular leaders – leaders the Vatican itself has invited to Assisi.

. . . Maybe it is a good idea that [the pope] keep his praying in the safe confines of St Peters and with his fellow Catholics. There's just something sadly right about this pope praying with true believers in fortress Catholicism before he goes out to encourage the rest of the world to engage in open dialogue and seek peace and fraternity. That's the hall mark of dogmatism, it is perfectly stellar at holding utterly contradictory notions via air tight intellectual compartmentalization. And so Benedict will not be praying with Muslims at the Basilica of St. Francis, a church dedicated to a saint who helped avoid a catastrophic war with the Islamic world by praying with Muslims. Go figure.

– Colleen Kochivar-Baker
"Religious Dogmatism is the Curse of the Twenty-First Century"
Enlightened Catholicism
April 5, 2011