Does the catholic church really have nothing better to do?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

In a time of joblessness/homelessness and poverty in America, is this really what Catholics and the Catholic Church prioritizes?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/us/bishops-renew-fight-on-abortion-and-gay-marriage.html?_r=1&hp

"BALTIMORE — The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops opened a new front in their fight against abortion and same-sex marriage on Monday, recasting their opposition as a struggle for “religious liberty” against a government and a culture that are infringing on the church’s rights."

[hedgehog]

1. Of course it does! Why, in just a few weeks, we are going to change

all the prayers in the Mass to sound more like the baroque Latin we used to use!

(for those of us not familiar with this, let me add: :sarcasm: . We have ongoing issues with a lack of priests, viable and active parishes being shut down all over, "reform of the reform", still no good accounting for treatment of children, etc and Rome is focused on tweaking the Mass responses!)

[LibDemAlways]

9. Yep, the focus on changing a few words around absolutely consumes the

powers that be, while important issues go unaddressed.

The parish I take my 88-year-old mom to on Sundays is full of mostly elderly people who attend because they grew up being told it was a sin not to. My mom still won't touch meat on Fridays. These old-school Catholics are dying off and the younger people are losing interest for a variety of reasons - sex scandals, irrelevancy, an out of touch clergy to name a few. The pastor, who thinks he's a comedian and jokes his way through his sermons, chides the teens of the parish for attending a more activist Christian church nearby, but offers them nothing to hold them there. It's pitiful.

[hedgehog]

12. I think people are leaving not because they don't believe, but because

they believe and can't find what they are looking for at Mass. The interest is there, but it's not being met. Too many priests are bucking for bishop, too many bishops are bucking for a larger diocese. I've noticed that my kids really connected with the priests assigned to campus ministry. Often times, these are the guys who don't go with the flow. The Jesuits and Franciscans are pretty good, too.

[Angry Dragon]

10. I read an article about that a couple of weeks ago

in it it said that a lot of priests were having trouble with it because a lot of the new words made no sense

[GodlessBiker]

2. People are catching on and their supply of children is diminishing. They need to do something...

between novenas.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

3. imagine if this national conference was held by mormons

& how many 'liberals' would have jumped on the mormon churches hate-mongering. the catholic church is given a free pass in a way that no other religious group would have gotten

[HowHasItComeToThis]

11. THEY WANT POWER, THAT IS IT.

[RKP5637]

19. Around here they are always after the children, this school and that one, so they

can indoctrinate them at a young age. Speaking of all religions ... we have quite a scattering, always signs up for child indoctrination schools/camps.

[racaulk]

4. No, they don't.

Their faith demands that they sell their possessions and give to the poor and needy, yet the Vatican sits on untold riches while billions of people on this planet suffer from homelessness, disease, and hunger.

I have zero respect for the leadership of that church. They're greedy hypocrites acting under the guise of piety.

[William769]

5. I say this as a Christian how on earth is

"government and a culture that are infringing on the church’s rights."? Are they being forced to perform Gay marriages? Are Catholic women being forced to have abortions? If anything the Catholic Church is trying to force it's religion on Government and our culture.

Someone once said and it escapes me at the moment who, "freedom of Religion" was not to protect Religion from Government but to protect Government from Religion (if anyone knows who that quote is from & the exact quote it would be greatly appreciated).

Recommended.

[hedgehog]

13. They don't want to buy health insurance for their employees

that covers contraception or abortion. There is also a concern about Catholic hospitals being forced to allow these procedures. The hospitals are problematic; very few are under direct control of the bishops. Somehow the bishops forget Catholic teachings when hospital employees try to organize a union and/or ask for a living wage!

[William769]

15. I'm sure they have enough money in Rome to start their own insurance company.

If a Catholic hospital is private with no public funding they have nothing to worry about.

[mysuzuki2]

6. It is the height of twisted logic to claim that your religious

liberty is diminished because you are not allowed to restrict the liberty of others. If catholics do not want to get an abortion or enter into a same sex marriage, fine! No one will make them. How is this restricting their liberty! I guess it is just restricting their liberty to tell others what to do. Timothy Dolan was an asshole when he was archbishop in Milwaukee and it looks like nothing has changed.

[valerief]

7. You mean other than rake in billions of dollars and make more money for themselves with it?

No.

[lbrtbell]

8. I left the Catholic church

This is why.

[joeybee12]

Religious liberty for them and no one else...what assholes...knr

[hedgehog]

14. BTW - "Study: Strong Catholic support for gay rights"

The Public Religion Research Institute team released today the most comprehensive portrait of Catholic attitudes concerning rights for gay and lesbian Americans to date. This new analysis paints a clear portrait of Catholics that may be surprising to some: across a range of issues regarding rights for gay and lesbian Americans, Catholics are more supportive than the general population and are more supportive than any other Christian group.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/guest-voices/post/why-do-catholics-support-gay-rights-when-the-hierarchydoes-not/2011/03/24/AFqObxVB_blog.html


The argument could be made that the bishops are trying to use secular law to enforce Church teachings on their own flock!

[queerart]

16. Hummmmm........

<snip>The bishops have expressed increasing exasperation as more states have legalized same-sex marriage, and the Justice Department has refused to go to bat for the Defense of Marriage Act, legislation that established the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.</snip>



But yet, they seem to be rather lackadaisical about cleaning their own front porch, while throwing handful, after handful of shit at the Queer community.....


You just can't make this shit up!


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2054674/Roman-Catholic-churchs-paedophile-investigator-jailed-possessing-thousnds-child-porn-images.html

[closeupready]

17. K&R.

nt

[RKP5637]

18. They play to their base, it's profitable. To me, many religious have done far more

to make people unhappy than as a positive force. I view religions as political parties, and here they are playing to their base IMO. And if one looks at global politics, to me at least, it's hard not to view religions as all about politics and control.

[hedgehog]

20. But in this case, as I pointed out above, they are going against

their base!

[RKP5637]

21. That study you posted was quite interesting, I was quite surprised, it was

refreshing.

[lindysalsagal]

22. How ironic that the country based on freedom of religion is something they need to free themselves

from.

And the word for all that freedom is liberal-

So, liberated from freedom is good?


But, being liberal, and accepting other people's religion is bad, because you want your religion accepted...

Makes my head hurt, their complete lack of logic. And they wonder why they loose members.....They could try making sense....:crazy:

[MNBrewer]

23. Whatever happened to good old-fashioned American anti-Catholicism?

Catholics run the country now?

[NMMNG]

24. When "religious liberty"

includes oppressing others, naturally protecting that will come before anything else.

[laconicsax]

25. They must not have many priests who need transferring right now. n/t