Controversial entertainer Charly Boy wrote an open letter
to the present head of the Catholic Church.
Most of you are probably expecting a scandalous letter,
but i myself was shocked.
Read it below: -
The first 20yrs of my life, I seriously had this dream of
being a priest. I was overfed with an overdose of religion which has always
been a very serious business in my family. You dare not be late for morning
mass or else you get the whipping of your life, yes my father was that strict,
no nonsense when it came to going to church or anything spiritual. That’s where
I’m coming from, we were a family that prayed together and were very staunch
Catholics for that matter.
When I turned 16 I became an altar boy, at that time that
was the coolest thing to be, considering years of going to bible classes and
regular confessions. Eight months into the spiritual things as an altar boy, I
made a big goof; I drank the priests wine and ate a bunch of Holy Communion enough
to fill me up. I figured I could be more spiritual by that action, but I got
expelled as an altar boy, needless to say how scandalized and angry my father
was then, OMG.
By the time I turned 20, I’ve had enough religion to last
me two life times. By 1974, I left to further my studies in the USA, I was
overjoyed because for the first time, I was going to be on my own. I was really
carried away with my new found independence. Being an adventurous young man I
started dabbling into not only the occult but with metaphysics, Buddhism,
astrology, magic and all that Jazz. However, I still believe I was
fundamentally a Catholic by birth, but the catholic fate has suddenly become
boring and old fashioned for me.
When I read that
controversial book, “In God’s Name”, all the negativity I started to feel about
the Catholic Church became magnified in my mind. What about the s*x scandals
about priests and little boys. Hummmmmmm! I am aware that the Catholic Church
is not a perfect body, and doesn’t claim to be one. Of course it is plagued
with the same corruption, scandals and sin as any other organization. Last
night as I was watching CNN, the Pope’s visit to Brasil was being beamed to the
world and all of a sudden, there it was, “who am I to judge as long as they
walk in the light of Christ” Pope Francis on Gays. As reflexes would have it, I
jumped out of my seat and hugged my TV, funny ha ha. Not because homosexuality
has been part of my advocacy through the years but because I feel that every
adult has a right to make their bed and lie on it as they choose, and who the
hell are we to judge. I have always said that it is really not our place to
judge those who do not fit our view of normal. So once again the church is
attempting to evolve in order to keep up with the rest of civilization. That is
how a religion survives. Its belief has to be flexible enough to stay somewhat
relevant to current or the public will abandon it.
Ever since the
Pope’s election, my man has taken actions that seem to be very ‘unpopelike’. He
even used public transport as a cardinal, he lives in a smaller quarter, he
asked for blessing before blessing the crowd which gathered in St Peters square
on the day of his election. But my people, what is stranger than Pope France’s
action have been evangelicals’ reactions all over the world. Never before has a
Pope become so widely accepted by Protestants and evangelicals. It’s a proud
day for Catholics and all mankind. Finally a Pope who doesn’t see himself as
equal to God, unlike our men of god down here. It is really amazing. Every Pope
in the Catholic Church’s past has had a mastery over catholic rhetoric, because
theoretically they always say the right things. But Pope Francis has decided to
lead with his actions. Before delivering his message at the Holy Thursday Mass,
Pope Francis spent time on his Knees washing the feet of young women
incarcerated at a nearby prison. This is the first time a Pope has ever washed
the feet of women, not to mention that one of the women was a Muslim, which is another
break in papal tradition. In the holy book, the bible calls us to be the light
to the world if Christ is to be present to the world. This is why Pope Francis’
way should be imitated for imitating him we make Christ visible and that is
what influences others to walk in the way of Christ. So much to be said for our
so called “men of god” in this neck of the woods who strut around as if they
are God’s gift to mankind, most of them bunch of con men and fraud stars who
are continually ripping off unsuspecting Nigerians, living in fancy houses,
building universities their congregation can’t even afford for their children
and buying private jets because their God is not a poor God, as Nija’s hand
over their pay checks in return for a miracle because they have bought into the
Hocus-pocus that is Pentecostalism. Just look at our churches today, tell me
those priest, pastors or our so called men of god, who makes Christ visible.
Jesus needs us to make him Visible and present in this troubled world. Blessed
mother Teresa is a perfect example of showing us the love and mercy of Christ
in the millions she cared for. The gospel calls us to imitate Christ and it is
in the way we live that the gospel of Jesus gets proclaimed, that is how we
speak Christ to a world that does not know him.
I am very scared for this Pope, he is a little too Christ
like for his own good. There are still some die hard winches, vampires in the
Vatican. I fear assassination, probably by the very people who call themselves
“devout”. If any Pope can show us what Jesus was saying, I think this one is
the one. At least I hope so. I am impressed with this Pope not for his
Catholicism but for his Christianity. As I lay in the comfort of my room
watching the Pope’s visit to Brazil, it was clear to me that Pope Francis will
go down in history as the greatest Pope ever, I just pray that he lives out his
Pope ship for many years to come as to spread his light and make our lord Jesus
more visible in the world. More than 3million people where at Copacabana beach
for the re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross and farewell mass. This world
Youths Day smashed previous attendance records and goes down in the record
books as one of the best attended papal events ever. In short, this Pope is a rock star. Here is a
Pope who speaks the language of the people; In fact in Rio he kicked his
penchant for simplicity, humility and accessibility into high gear. The
security operatives were all overwhelmed by zealous pilgrims, he insisted on
leaving the windows of his car down so he could extend his arm to those seeking
his blessings. Countless babies kissed, photo ups with adoring faithfuls only
added to the pontiff reputation for being a man of the people, and all of this
took place in the roughest side of town, a crime ridden zone in Rio.
Pope Francis is
now standing up to the Mafia. First the Vatican honoured Rev Giuseppe Puglisi,
killed 20yrs ago by mobsters for preaching against the Mafia, as a martyr. Pope
Francis himself demanded that Mafia members abandon their “evil ways”
especially those who exploit their fellow humans via human trafficking, drug
dealing and prostitution. “They cannot make our brothers slaves; let us pray
that these Mafiosi convert to God”. Hummmmm na wa, if the Mafia decides to take
Pope Francis out in retaliation for his words against them, I pray that there’s
a Pope Francis army out there ready to throw down. If the Pope manages to mobilize all of
Italian society against the Mafia, his days maybe numbered, but he will be
unable to do so, and as a result I pray that the Mafia won’t remember him. They
say the only thing needed for Evil to exist is for good men to do nothing. I am
glad that he is doing something. He looks and sounds to me like he has a
beautiful spiritual light burning inside
of him and is preaching goodwill for all and trying to turn around the corrupt
so they too can walk in the sunlight of the spirit. I really admire him for
standing up to the Mafias. I recognize the Popes effort in trying to bring a
better image and name to Christianity. Anyway you flip it, the Holy Father is
full of surprises, born of true and faithful humility, at another occasion, he
declared that all people, not just Catholics, are redeemed through Jesus, even
atheists. “Those people must still do good. Infact, it is in doing good that
they are led to the one who is the source of all that is good” In essence he
simply restated the hope of the church that all come to know God, through his
son Jesus Christ. Pope Francis is saying more than ever before, that Christ
offered himself as a sacrifice for everyone. That has always been a Christian
belief, but rarely do you hear it said by Catholics so forcefully, and with
such evident joy. And in this era of religious controversies, it is a timely
reminder that God cannot be confined to our narrow categories. Thumbs up for my
man Pope Francis, nothing do you.
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