11/24 Instance: With Powers comes Responsibilities

[Saint Kurt]

Timelined after "Jukebox Musical"...
(Note: I transcribed this and thought I had posted this on Saturday. So it was played on the 24th, but it being posted to day due to my *literal* retardation. Apologies.)

Classroom, shortly after Fr. Wagner's Languages and Cultures class has been dismissed.


FrWagner: Kurt stood up and watched the students file out. He shuffled this week's essays (Pick a significant historical incident from the history of one of the countries we are studying. Discuss how it has altered the government and the way people interact.) into a neat pile. From what he could tell, nearly everyone had picked Germany and the Third Reich.

FrWagner: "Oh. Tessa. Anything the matter?" She'd stayed behind and was looking slightly uncomfortable.

Tessa: "In a matter of speaking." Tessa ran her tongue around her teeth cautiously. "In this essay you've set us, can we do how religion shaped the modern country? I'd say that's a significant part of history."

FrWagner: "Absolutely," Kurt said. "That's exactly what I want. Depending on which country you choose will depend on how they deal with religion now. If you pick... say France, it's going to be very different from ... Italy."

Tessa: "You don't have to tell me that. Religion shapes everything, in practically every country but this one."

FrWagner: "Ah," Kurt said with a grin. "That's the thing though isn't it? You see, America was founded by people who came from countries with state religions and part of their determination here was to create a country free of religious influence. But - even by doing that, religion or lack of one, still played a huge part in shaping the way this culture works."

FrWagner: "So you see," Kurt said with a wink, "I've got the monopoly no matter where you go. Belief, whether it is to believe or not to, is a major factor in any place we go."

Tessa: Tessa smiled and shook her head. "That was tricky, boxing us into a corner like that." She bit the inside of her cheek. "And believing something different from everyone around you can really change how you see things."

FrWagner: Kurt nodded in agreement. "Yes, it can. What's important is not to discuss whether or not you agree with a particular set of beliefs, but how those beliefs affect people - in their daily lives, whether they believe them or not. Think about it. In this country every voter must decide whether or not they want abortion to be legal not because it affects them, but because it has been made an issue here. That is an example of religion changing the face of secular government campaigning. See?"

FrWagner: "And yes, being a single one who goes against the flow whether it be religious or political or ... academic is never easy."

Tessa: Tessa cleared her throat and resisted rolling her eyes. "You don't say. The church is pretty good at polarizing people without them knowing it. And not just the Catholic church, especially here. It seems like all of them do it."

Tessa: "Ought to be an interesting group of essays to read, at any rate."

FrWagner: "I think so," Kurt said.

FrWagner: "Seems like it's not an essay that you're so eager to write," Kurt said matter-of-factly.

Tessa: "It's not." Tessa said as she balanced her books on one knee to put them in her shoulder bag. "Religion has no good side at this point. It's turning into a no-win situation."

FrWagner: "It is?" Kurt said. He sat down and gestured for Tessa to do the same. "Why do you think that? Don't worry about offending me. I'm curious."

Tessa: Tess set her bag on the floor and sat opposite Wagner. "If you believe in something too strongly, you risk alienating people who think differently, and at the same time, if you believe in nothing, people think you're immoral. It's a dilemma that's getting easier to get into, and harder to get out of."

FrWagner: "Well, it depends on what you mean by believing in nothing. And by 'immoral'," Kurt said. "Immorality refers to acts not beliefs. Even an atheist believes in something. You don't think .... I'm alienating do you?"

Tessa: Tess shook her head no. "No, you're not. But when you believe that nothing is infallbile, you act differently, and that means a lot of people who may or may not know the reasons for doing it interpret those actions very differently."

Tessa: "And religion tends to polarize people's reactions to one extreme or the other, leaving no room for people to be neutral. You're either someone's friend, and you like them, or you're not, and you don't. I don't think people should be forced to make those choices by a group of people who effectively don't know the situation and its circumstances."

FrWagner: Kurt was thoughtful for a moment, because in the world at large, that wasn't true. With the exception of a select noisy few, people with differing beliefs got along just fine.

FrWagner: "I will give you two examples," Kurt said at last. "Tell me what you think. I'll do my best not to add my own personal slant on either." He smiled.

FrWagner: "The first is that I attend alcoholics anonymous meetings. They talk about a 'higher power' or a 'God of your understanding' and it is up to each individual member to decide what that entity is whether it is Jesus, or Allah, or ... an empty chair at the back of the room. At one of the meetings I attend there is another cleric. He is a 'Mullah', an Islamic cleric. There are also a number of atheists. We're all in the room together," Kurt said.

FrWagner: "And the second is an idea in Catholicism: that the Pope is 'infallible'. Can a man truly be 'infallible'? How do I sit in a room full of people, each of us believing we are 'right' and not go to war with them? What makes it possible for these things to happen?"

Tessa: "I'd have to say I had no idea as to how you leave the room with the same amount of people as came in." She pulled her hair out of her face easily. "And no, a man can't truly be infallible. He's got to be wrong at some point in time. It's human nature."

Tessa: Tess thought about it for a moment and contnued. "I don't think any man can be declared in an office designated by God, when the election to that office doesn't involve said being directly. There's too much room for people to ignore what should be done in the interest of politics."

FrWagner: Kurt leaned back laughing. "Indeed!" He said, grinning. "But you know, I think Islam is lovely. When they're not blowing up cars and buildings of course. I've learned a lot from him. And as for atheism as a system of belief ... I would say that NOT believing in God takes just as much effort as believing in Him and for that reason alone they have have my respect."

FrWagner: "Now, as for the Pope... I think we agree, no one is perfect. And there have been some terrible Popes in the past who have abused the privilege of 'Papal Infallibility", however I think that a good Pope, one who understands the responsibility he has would be infallible in at least one thing: That he's not always right. And with that knowledge would, hopefully, invoke that power only when absolutely necessary."

FrWagner: "So, here we have... very powerful examples of organized religion not ... polarizing but broadening. Yet, I am also sure that you have very good reasons for believing the opposite," Kurt said.

Tessa: "In my experience, religion isn't so much a personal belief, but really more of an institution. It's a lot like a double-or-nothing game where I come from. Either you believe wholeheartedly and you never explore your own beliefs, or you disagree with one thing and you're effectively screwed. There's really no middle ground. but that may be simply a local thing."

FrWagner: "You're experience? You mean in Greece? Your family are Roman Catholic if I recall. And I doubt that it is a ...'local thing'. Unfortunately for the rest of us, bigotry and unfairness are universal. What is it like in Greece? It visited Athens many years ago, but I wasn't there long enough to get an impression," Kurt said.

Tessa: "My family is indeed Roman Catholic, but they're also Roma, and that's where things get a little weird. They don't really tend to think a lot about what they believe before they put it into action." Tess recalled. "Athens is a very modern city, where Mesta is definitely not. I liked Athens more because it seemed more in touch with what was giong on in the world around it, where Mesta really tried to ignore it as much as they could."

FrWagner: Kurt nodded. "European circus families are about 50% Romani so I grew up with them and even worked with them, though... not that closely. There were some, usually the younger ones who were fine with me, but their parents and grandparents would hiss and shout "beng!" until I went away." Kurt shrugged.

FrWagner: "I got used to it," he said. "And those who were my friends helped my understand why it was that way. I can't say that I didn't truly understand it until I was older, but now... I realized that probably the only people on this Earth who might understand what it's like to be me, or you, or any other extraordinary ... are Rom."

Tessa: Tessa halfway smiled and moved a shoulder up, then down again. "I can see how that'd work."

Tessa: "Except that Roma families can smother their children with tradition. And one of the best things you can give your children is wings." She fluttered her fingers and winked once.

FrWagner: "So," Kurt said, sitting back. "You've experienced prejudice from probably the single most intolerant culture in Europe. And understand," Kurt added with a finger up, "I don't use this word as an insult. For a culture in 'diaspora' - for that is the word to describe a culture with no geographical base, tradition and intolerance is the only way to establish unity, to ... 'keep things together'. It is an unfortunate necessity that probably does as much harm as it does good."

FrWagner: "But, you are condemning the rest of the world for the same crimes. Surely something in particular must have happened - to make you believe what you do," he added.

Tessa: Tessa blinked and her mouth firmed up. "Being exorcised when you're eleven will do that to you. Even if said event isn't like it's portrayed in the movies, having strange men touching you and saying things in dead languages isn't the best time."

FrWagner: Kurt was silent for a long moment. "No. I can imagine it's not. Was it a ... legal exorcism? Because ... surely the church would have been able to conclude before any intervention..." He paused again. "I was trained as an exorcist," he said finally. "I don't know if you knew that. But that's what I did before I came here. I was taken on as an apprentice while I was still at the Vatican Diplomacy school."

Tessa: "I don't know if it was legal or not, as I really had no part in it other than being excruciatingly bored and frightened half out of my wits at the time." Tess sighed. "As far as I was ever told it was my mother's thought that I was posessed. Apparently putting me in the hospital with broken fingers and an arm wasn't good enough."

Tessa: She shrugged without much emotion showing on her face. "But it wouldn't surprise me to learn it shouldn't have been done in the first place."

FrWagner: "Well, in my time as an exorcist, I only participated in three. All three times the person was deemed by the Church as legitimately demonically possessed. But it can take a year or more for that decision to be made. All other explanations for the behavior must be ruled out; that means medical, psychiatric... anything that could explain it. Finally, they are 'tested' by an exorcist who knows what to look for. If they don't pass that test... there isn't an exorcism," Kurt explained.

FrWagner: "I assume what happened to you was what we call a "Rite of Solemn Exorcism". It must be performed by one with special training. A "simple exorcism", which is very short, can be performed by anyone, a priest, a lay person... And it's used to ... well, 'remove' evil influence - the things people say to us like "go to hell" or "I wish you were dead". Insults that can have a certain power over us whether we realise it or not," Kurt said.

FrWagner: Kurt sighed. "I'm sorry if that was what happened to you. The priest did the wrong thing."

Tessa: Tessa shrugged again with a little half-smile on her face. "I just came to the conclusion he was incompetent as well as rude." She smiled cheekily at Wagner. "Though you're appearing to be the opposite."

FrWagner: Kurt laughed. "I've never been good at rude," he admitted. "I've found that when everyone is afraid of you it's best to be extraordinarily nice so they don't run away. As far as competent... Well I think some may argue with you. Luckily," Kurt paused to look around, "they're not in this room at the moment."

FrWagner: "So," he said, a little more serious, "It sounds like you have a very interesting essay to write."

Tessa: Tessa laughed and quirked an eyebrow. "Oh, I'm looking forward to seeing what everybody else writes too." She gathered her bag with a small smile and waved goodbye as she headed out the door.