Power is seductive, even
within religious organizations. It is like a drug in that denial can accompany
an instinctual urge for immediate power even at the expense of the person’s own
credibility. Put another way, self-discipline can easily succumb to the urge
for power, even if the person has previously foreswore acting on that urge. Warped
discernment between minor and major issues can also occur from the gravity of
the instinctual urge. For example, a cleric may choose to break his or her
decision to disavow acting on the urge in part because he or she incorrectly
views the issue at hand to be a major one, when in fact it is not, at least as
far as the religion is concerned. As in the case of a drug, perception,
judgment and cognition may be impaired, or warped, by the urge itself. The
Roman Catholic ex-Pope Joe Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) is a case in point.
