Amelia' reflections on spirituality, love and politics...
It was July 1996, it must have been 1 p.m., but Amelia was still lying in bed - she had the splitting headache and felt melancholic. One of her best male friends, called Arkadius, was going to marry a stupid blonde deprived of brain cells. Why did he choose her?
"What a shame.. and what a pain," Amelia thought, "I had lost him, lost my illusions and love".
She tried to convince herself that his fiancee probably was better in bed or maybe she wasn't such a silly girl, as it seemed. No doubt, Amelia disliked her rival and felt the great despair.She didn't go to church to see the wedding ceremony, because she wouldn't be able to listen to the words of the Catholic priest - which united the couple until the end of their lives.Amelia couldn't help thinking that this marriage will be a disaster, that was another reason why she wasn't at the ceremony. (By the way, she was right - Arkadius was very unhappy then...).
In the evening Amelia met her friends in the small pub in Olkusz and talked about the meaning of wedding ceremonies, divorces, contraceptives and abortion. As you know, Catholics can't make love before marriage, they mustn't take a divorce or even use condoms... They also talked about the essence of spirituality, God's care and other religious issues. After the exchange of different views, which sounded like a quarrel, Amelia asked Peter, one of her best friends, about the role of the Catholic church in politics.
"Well, I can't imagine our political life without some noble priests like Father Jankowski or Father Rydzyk", he said.
"You must be kidding, Peter", Amelia spoke up, " Can't you see that both of them aren't true patriots? They are full of hatred towards Jews, and you call them 'noble priests'???"
"Amelia, calm down a bit, don't you notice that Father Rydzyk takes care about moral values based on the Bible?" Peter replied, " He only preserves our Polish traditions, because Poland should be free from those, who want to buy our land - Jews, German people etc."
The discussion lasted for two hours and led to nowhere...Amelia wasn't able to understand, why educated people mix religion with politics. Why are they manipulated by politicians and some priests greedy for power? Why are they so blind and stupid...?
A few years later she read a very fascinating article, which opened her eyes. And now, my dear bloggers, you are also invited to read it...in next post.
It was published in Warsaw Voice.