tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254272216866737058.post3318003984352882854..comments2024-02-14T14:53:03.810-07:00Comments on Καθολικός διάκονος: A few observations prompted by the passing of Ronnie James DioDeacon Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01385969740195992108noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254272216866737058.post-19810476031269999812010-05-16T23:42:24.131-06:002010-05-16T23:42:24.131-06:00May he rest in peace.May he rest in peace.rebeccanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254272216866737058.post-5662910827868360902010-05-17T09:57:40.124-06:002010-05-17T09:57:40.124-06:00I understand where he's coming from when he sp...I understand where he's coming from when he speaks of the Church's "tactics". Fear was the prime motivator used in my ultra-conservative Catholic home and my equally ultra-conservative Catholic grammar school and, ultimately, it failed because there was nothing of God's love to be found in either place. We were resented and neglected by our mother, who was so worn out by pregnancy after pregnancy and having the burden of caring for all of us exclusively on her shoulders. She ultimately committed suicide and my father remarried and basically rejected all of us as he moved on to his new family. <br><br>I'm closer in age to Ronnie James Dio than I care to admit, so I understand where he's coming from. <br><br>The Church has indeed engaged in fear tactics and reduced women to walking uteruses in the past. Those of us who grew up under those circumstances and witnessed the fallout are wary of the Church and their motivations. <br><br>Even now, it is easier for me to hear that God loves me from a non-Catholic Christian minister than it is for me to hear it from a priest -- my first reaction in the latter case is "what do they want to do to me now?". <br><br>--SMcGAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254272216866737058.post-78422139307990357362010-05-17T10:33:41.327-06:002010-05-17T10:33:41.327-06:00Thank you for your thoughtful article about this i...Thank you for your thoughtful article about this interview with Dio. I learned a bit more than I knew before. Dio was a good man; I don't think he went around picking fights with people. Thanks for not picking one back.Neil R Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07152701972294397499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254272216866737058.post-37621798935099963752010-05-17T18:05:49.813-06:002010-05-17T18:05:49.813-06:00Thanks for the thoughtful comments. Neal: You'...Thanks for the thoughtful comments. <br><br>Neal: You're correct. Ronnie James Dio was not the kind of guy went around picking fights. I appreciate that my intention came through, which was not to castigate him in any way. He was good and decent man. <br><br>SMcG- I understand your perspective and apprecicaite very much the honesty with which you share it, especially given the pain and tragedy you have gone through. What is important is that you experience God's love given us so fully in Christ. It is a remarkable thing, an astounding thing, really and truly. <i>1 John</i> 4:18 "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." <br><br>As a deacon I am a member of the Catholic clergy, refreshingly not a priest, and, with my wife, a parent to 5 children. Having our children are decisions my wife and I made together. I certainly don't see her as a talking uterus and neither do I see our decision to have 5 children as somehow more righteous than married couples who choose to have fewer. I suppose I can see where all that comes from. However, the Malthusians among us have always been wrong. There is nothing about which we are more messed up societally than sex. It is certainly important for couples to have no more children than they can materially and emotionally provide for, this the church teaches, though it is ignored on both sides (i.e., by those who do see the importance of church teaching in this regard and those who think you have to have as many children as you possibly can. From my perspective, they are both wrong.<br><br>As Rebecca wrote, <i>"May he rest in peace."</i>Dcn Scott Dodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09994604395739905637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254272216866737058.post-87396819100011754052010-05-18T10:47:57.405-06:002010-05-18T10:47:57.405-06:00Ronnie James Dio fans might also enjoy this lost ...Ronnie James Dio fans might also enjoy this <a href="http://www.mrmedia.com/2010/05/remembering-late-black-sabbath-singer.html" rel="nofollow"> lost interview with the singer from May 22, 1986</a> on Mr. Media Radio.Bob Andelmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11597509758682459743noreply@blogger.com