Religious Dogma, the prison of the soul
by Athos A. Altomonte
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Q : ‘Jesus Christ tells his disciples, that is yesterday's Church as well as today's: ‘Who listens to you listens to me, who despises you despises me as well. And who despises me despises he who sent me'. Esq. Mr. Altomonte, by despising the Church, you despise God. Why do you do it?'

A : Dear friend, I don't ‘despise' Jesus Christ, which I recognize as the ‘Master of Masters'; but I point my finger at the catholic Church, which is only a model of intolerant temporal sovereignty, antithesis of the spiritual Principle expressed by the original Christians.

The catholic Church doesn't represent Christianity but only its own absolutism.

It is the child of the compromise with the imperial power of Rome (See Constantine) and of the several monarchies whose misdeeds it blessed; it is still subjugated by the lies of its own history. The ‘uplifting excuses' of its highest representative (excuses not shared by the majority of its ecclesiastical hierarchy) are not enough to square things up with a past that is other than uplifting, indeed streaming with the blood of fratricidal wars.

The only thing that we can say is that too many ‘present religions' are committing the same liberticidal mistakes, for which the leader of the Roman Church is asking the world for forgiveness ( Pope John Paul II, Note of the Author ). But this is not enough. It is necessary that the whole of Catholicism repudiate the mistakes, without the usual half measures, where they take back with a hand what they've given away with the other.

Pope Luciani, a man deserving the highest esteem, asked himself how his Church could be redeemed of all the horrors committed to Women, which were even considered soulless beings.

The absurd misogyny of theocracy accompanied by the stupid arrogance of the ‘male gender', have been an obstacle to the progress of half the Humankind, the female part of it.

A ‘moral segregation' conditioned by the Marian image of a sexless Woman, lacking any human attribute. Therefore the only Woman accepted by the theocracy is an alien, non-human Woman.

And all this to please God, You say! But, please!

Q: ‘…the Catholic Church is…at the same time a divine and a human society…'

A : Dear Friend, from your point of view You are certainly right. But many people are still waiting, after so many demonstrations of humanity, for at least a tiny bit of divine that seems to be mixed up with too many television programs. Therefore, I agree with You that the Church of Rome is a human society; too human, I might add. But this doesn't mean that it is fair to ‘tar everybody with the same brush'.

Therefore, let's save the base of ‘devotees'.

What remains, though, is the dissent for a ‘management' all but illuminated and spiritual, except in the claims of infallibility upset by the banality of events.

Here comes the distinction between the ‘Christian', follower of Christ, and the ‘Catholic', follower of those not-so-much-illuminated high ranks, who still practice pagan and superstitious rites.

In conclusion, I appeal to Reason by sharing a thought commonly attributed to Voltaire: ‘ although I don't agree with you, I will always fight for you to be able to express your ideas'.

Dear Friend, how many of those ‘high rank characters' are keen on following this statement of freedom? Very few, I think; indeed, almost none.

This difference is the ‘difference' that distinguishes the intellectual and the person subjugated to the hierarchies that even Dante (Hell) called the savage She-Wolf of Rome .

I conclude with a thought shared by many believers, among which I can count myself: Universal Religion is not subjected to the Dogma but it is a result of free inner convictions.

Religious Dogma is the prison of the soul. Who asserts the Dogma doesn't know, knowing that he doesn't know, therefore lying to himself and others.

With this, I think that our discussion can be considered concluded; each on his own way in peace. Best wishes.