Ding, Dong, Witch Dead

 Ding, Dong, Witch Dead

Archbishop Nienstedt has resigned.

The world will become a little kinder because of it.

My dislike for this man is no secret to readers of this blog.  He represented all that is hateful and divisive in the Catholic Church.  In light of the current Pope’s more enlightened point of view, I was surprised Nienstedt hung on as long as he did.

It’s not just the recent charges that he and his staff failed to protect children from a known pedophile.  And it’s not just because he’s anti-gay and wasted a million dollars on a stupid DVD that was supposed to persuade followers of the church to resist the idea that gay people should have the right to marry.  His old-school values may have played a part in his demise, but I believe it’s the manner in which he tried to bully Catholics that really sealed his fate.

It’s his arrogance.  His sense of self-importance.  His ego. 

They were his undoing.

He has no one to blame but himself.

Three weeks ago, he paid a Sunday morning visit to the church I attend.  I opted not to attend that week.  At one point, I considered mounting a protest – a little ‘welcoming’ committee - but I like the priest at our parish and did not wish to cause him embarrassment or anguish.  Also, mounting a protest would only serve to draw attention to myself – something I am loathe to do. 

I did let my mother, a hardcore Catholic, know why I would not be attending mass that weekend.  She surprised me and boycotted the event, as well. 

Not attending mass?  That’s a big statement on her part.

And now the witch is dead.

Let the bells resound throughout the land.

Ding, dong.