My View

For all "The View" fans out there, as well as Father Jonathan Morris fans. This should cover a few bases.

Religious discussion is a frequent topic on "The View" and one co-host especially enjoys slight jabs at the Catholic Church from time to time. This week Joy Behar along with Whoopie Goldberg concurred that statues of Saints in Catholic Churches was equivalent to worshipping false idols. Joy went on to state that there are no Saints anymore because mental illness is contained and people no longer hear voices.

Father Jonathan makes some good points in his blog. I watched this particular episode and wanted to calmly explain to the two misinformed co-hosts that a statue in a church is as much worshipping false idols as much as pictures of relatives in your home. This point could be made a thousand ways, but I'll stop there.

Also, there have been many Saints who have not 'heard voices', so Joy's points about there not being Saints because of the advances in mental illness is just false. St. Therese of Lisieux, labeled the "Greatest Saint of Modern Times" never had mystical encounters. A popular new Saint, Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, a doctor, wife, and mother, simply gave her life to her unborn child in a heroic act of faith. No voices in her head caused her actions. She loved God, and and her intense desire to do His will has brought her to Sainthood.

Then there is Padre Pio. Is Joy Behar suggesting that someone like him was simply suffering from mental illness? Here we have a priest who suffered Stigmata, read souls, performed miracles and wrestled with the devil. Today his popularity is unparalleled, and yet, she claims that if he were medicated these mysterious and miraculous occurrences would cease.

Behar is obvioulsy a Freudian, believing that all things religious and spiritual will one day be explained by science. I don't think it's that simple.