Mother Teresa's mental state

calebprime said:
Well said, and persuasive.
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Thank you.

calebprime said:
I bolded the part I'm wondering about.

Maybe there are feelings of power, if not real power:

-The respect of parishioners.
-Access to people's psyches through formal or informal confession.

-The feeling of being part of a hierarchy and a vast, ancient institution.

-In asceticism, the victory of one's will over one's ordinary desires.

-The feeling, therefore, of cultivating oneself, in whatever bizarre way cultivation might be defined.

-Superiority over the hideous, noisy, pointless secular world.

-Aesthetic pleasures only possible when sheltered from the hustle, bustle, turmoil, pell-mell.
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Yes, I was wondering if someone was going to bring up power over others’ thoughts. In 1984, the inner circle of the party, while better off than ordinary party members, are still restricted and what they can do and own. The character of O’Brien say that it doesn’t matter because what man most wants is pure power, and draws a parallel to religion (specifically, to the fact that being able to will your power to your genetic offspring is not as important as being in control of who your successors are). However, I still can’t see a non-believer seeking power in the modern Catholic church. In the Renaissance, absolutely, but not now. Why not become a politician and avoid that whole poverty, chastity, obedience thing?

These are all compelling reasons to become a priest, but I still can’t see it being appealing to someone who does not believe. For instance, you have to balance “the respect of parishioners” against “having to obey your superior.” I don’t see how being part of a vast, ancient institution would appeal to someone who didn’t believe in the institution (because then it would just seem old, decrepit, and foolish). Feeling superior over the secular world depends on believing that you do, in fact, possess something superior.

I don’t really see a person who didn’t believe in God and the Church seeking asceticism and quiet within the Church. You can fast and meditate in your own home just as easily. Also, asceticism and quiet would probably be best-served by monastic life, not life in the hierarchy.

As for access to people’s psyches…it would take someone really, really sick to do this if they were not convinced that the person in question was benefiting from this. Psychopaths exist, but they’re not that common. Also, the church is well aware of the damage that a psychopathic priest could do. Seminaries these days have in-depth psychological screening, and seminarians have always been watched for hitches in their "formation." I doubt that more than a tiny number of psychopaths get through the seminary.

calebprime said:
As you can tell, I'd like to be part of some secular, individualist monastery: shelter from the storm. But there ain't no such thing. Maybe sanitariums?
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What an interesting idea.
 
juniper_ann said:
As for access to people’s psyches…it would take someone really, really sick to do this if they were not convinced that the person in question was benefiting from this. Psychopaths exist, but they’re not that common. Also, the church is well aware of the damage that a psychopathic priest could do. Seminaries these days have in-depth psychological screening, and seminarians have always been watched for hitches in their "formation." I doubt that more than a tiny number of psychopaths get through the seminary.
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Umm: Aren't you ignoring another category of psych that we are all very familiar with?:boggled::boggled:
 
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