.gif)
Meanwhile, at least I know what I'm going to here on the podcast now. Anyway, being born to a Roman or other (e.g., Byzantine) Catholic does not make one a Catholic. Geraldo is a Reform Jew, although his dad (the late Cruz Rivera) was a Puerto Rican Roman Catholic. Geraldo himself has stated that he was raised "mostly Jewish". His mom, Lillian Rivera nee Lillie Friedman, is an Ethnic and Religious Jew; and (as Geraldo stated) she wanted Cruz to convert to Judaism if and when she married him, but "he never got around to" it or stopped being a Catholic layman.
Catholicism is not an ethnic grouping, whereas Jewishness is. Besides, I have a claim to Catholicism more than Geraldo does, but I myself am not a Catholic. Like Geraldo, though, I was born in an interfaith home--which eventually became a broken, divorced-parent, single-mom home. I, specifically, was born to an Anusi Ashkenazi dad and a mostly-Irish Roman-turned-English Catholic (Episcopalian) home (Mom, though, is of Jewish descent--at least through the Siedenburg-Mueller Pundts. They eventually became Anusi Protestants as well, since they had their daughter Betha Mueller baptized; and Great-Great-Granddad Pundt became Roman Catholic when he married the Irish-American Mary Ellen Green. So, Mom's mom is Jewish; but given that Mom is only 1/32 Jewish--so far as we know--she's of Jewish descent, but not Jewish.
(Mom could be Jewish, however, if--for example--Pop-Pop "McCoy" [Mom's paternal grandma's maternal granddad] was a Sephardic Jew--regardless of that he [assuming that he was Jewish] an Anusi Catholic.).
I'm, therefore, descended on both sides from Catholics--regardless of that they were a mix of Anusi and genuine, Jewish and gentile, Roman and Non-Roman Catholics. Geraldo does not have this claim. Let's also assume, just for hypotheticality's sake, that his granddad Juan Rivera--who was an Ethnic Spaniard--was actually a Sephardic Jew and Anusi Catholic. The claim that Geraldo claims to have on being Catholic would be even less; especially since Anusim really don't count as Catholic (unless, of course, they're truly Catholics who are just hiding their Ethnic Jewishness; but that is another discussion)--and I say the same of my Anusi relatives (including living relatives): unless they truly believed (or believe) Catholicism and were (or are) just hiding their Ethnic Jewishness, they were not (or are not) truly Catholic.
I was also baptized as a Roman Catholic and raised as an English Catholic, and became saved in the graveyard of Christ Episcopalian Church on Easter Day 1996 or 1997 (I still have that memory of Mom and the then-pastor Jen talking in the parking lot while I, in a blue dress and white shirt under the dress, was praying by Miriam Thomann's grave--not to or through Miriam, in case anyone is wondering; but Miriam's legacy did affect me to become saved. Incidentally, her dad--Ron--has long since been deceased, but I'm not sure whether he's buried next to her. Also, I don't know whether Miriam's mom--Alma--is still alive.).
In conclusion, Geraldo Rivera is less Catholic than I am--and I'm not religiously Catholic; though I descended from both Jewish (including Anusi) and gentile Catholics, and was baptized and raised as a Catholic.
Catholicism is not an ethnic grouping, whereas Jewishness is. Besides, I have a claim to Catholicism more than Geraldo does, but I myself am not a Catholic. Like Geraldo, though, I was born in an interfaith home--which eventually became a broken, divorced-parent, single-mom home. I, specifically, was born to an Anusi Ashkenazi dad and a mostly-Irish Roman-turned-English Catholic (Episcopalian) home (Mom, though, is of Jewish descent--at least through the Siedenburg-Mueller Pundts. They eventually became Anusi Protestants as well, since they had their daughter Betha Mueller baptized; and Great-Great-Granddad Pundt became Roman Catholic when he married the Irish-American Mary Ellen Green. So, Mom's mom is Jewish; but given that Mom is only 1/32 Jewish--so far as we know--she's of Jewish descent, but not Jewish.
(Mom could be Jewish, however, if--for example--Pop-Pop "McCoy" [Mom's paternal grandma's maternal granddad] was a Sephardic Jew--regardless of that he [assuming that he was Jewish] an Anusi Catholic.).
I'm, therefore, descended on both sides from Catholics--regardless of that they were a mix of Anusi and genuine, Jewish and gentile, Roman and Non-Roman Catholics. Geraldo does not have this claim. Let's also assume, just for hypotheticality's sake, that his granddad Juan Rivera--who was an Ethnic Spaniard--was actually a Sephardic Jew and Anusi Catholic. The claim that Geraldo claims to have on being Catholic would be even less; especially since Anusim really don't count as Catholic (unless, of course, they're truly Catholics who are just hiding their Ethnic Jewishness; but that is another discussion)--and I say the same of my Anusi relatives (including living relatives): unless they truly believed (or believe) Catholicism and were (or are) just hiding their Ethnic Jewishness, they were not (or are not) truly Catholic.
I was also baptized as a Roman Catholic and raised as an English Catholic, and became saved in the graveyard of Christ Episcopalian Church on Easter Day 1996 or 1997 (I still have that memory of Mom and the then-pastor Jen talking in the parking lot while I, in a blue dress and white shirt under the dress, was praying by Miriam Thomann's grave--not to or through Miriam, in case anyone is wondering; but Miriam's legacy did affect me to become saved. Incidentally, her dad--Ron--has long since been deceased, but I'm not sure whether he's buried next to her. Also, I don't know whether Miriam's mom--Alma--is still alive.).
In conclusion, Geraldo Rivera is less Catholic than I am--and I'm not religiously Catholic; though I descended from both Jewish (including Anusi) and gentile Catholics, and was baptized and raised as a Catholic.
1
1
No comments:
Post a Comment