Catholic church and its shortcomings

[bcbudrockz69]

It seems a topic that just will not go away - particularly in North America, where the feminist movement has successfully promoted an end to almost all gender discrimination in commerce, government, industry, and education. Increasingly, adults in North America are viewing gender-based discrimination in the same class as racial discrimination, and are rejecting it as bigotry, profoundly immoral, and irrational. Many criticize the Roman Catholic church for its stance on male-only ordination; the number will probably continue to grow into the future.



Loving and Life-Giving Union

"The Church... celebrates the divine plan of the loving and life-giving union of men and women in the sacrament of marriage." CDF Letter, no.7

God created sex for two combined purposes: the happiness of a man and woman uniting in married love, and the happiness of new life being born from that union. Take away either one -- for instance with adultery, prostitution, masturbation, premarital sex, or homogenital activity -- and sexual activity turns negative and limiting, because those two purposes are built into us. We are made physically for loving and for generating new life. Sexual acts which are anything less than that will separate us from part of our selves and from what God wants for us; they leave out and suppress part of what sex is and part of who we are.

2. A Complementary Sexual Design

"To choose someone of the same sex for one's sexual activity is to annul [erase] the rich symbolism and meaning, not to mention the goals, of the Creator's sexual design. Homosexual activity is not a complementary union able to transmit life..." CDF Letter, no.7

God's plan for us is to engage the mystery of male and female, travel the distance between the sexes, and unite. Homosexuality uses sex for something other than what the Creator intended. The nature of our bodies requires no elaborate scientific data to prove the obvious fact that our bodies are not made for same-sex union. The Church is saying our hearts aren't either, and so it's not good for us or for our long term happiness and growth. God created us physically and emotionally for "complementary union" and procreation.

3. The Homosexual Inclination is Objectively Disordered

'Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder." CDF Letter, no.3

Homosexual erotic attractions may arise for a number of reasons which can be understood, both psychologically and emotionally. Sometimes they're temporary -- especially for adolescents -- but for some people, homosexual feelings are deep rooted and difficult to overcome. The Church says it's not a sin to have such attractions (especially if the erotic element is not willfully cultivated), but it is an objective disorder, a problem.

It can be difficult to understand what an "objective disorder" is. It means that the very inclination toward a same sex act indicates that the desire itself is moving in the wrong direction; ordinarily the vast majority of men and women have a natural God given attraction toward physical union with a person of the opposite sex. This is natural and good because it leads the majority of people into marriage whereas same sex attractions while not sinful, end up in a disordered act if one gives into them.

It may be objected that a man lusting for a woman is a disordered act, but the inclination to such an act is considered natural but misdirected under ordinary circumstances. Under the circumstance of marriage however this inclination is good because it leads to a strengthening of the union between a man and woman and the procreation of a child.

Same-sex erotic attractions do not lead to a strengthening of the union between a man and woman nor to the procreation of a child; therefore they are considered objectively disordered but not sinful in and of themselves.

4. Not Morally Acceptable

"Therefore special concern and pastoral attention should be directed toward those who have this condition, lest they be led to believe that the living out of this orientation in homosexual activity is a morally acceptable option. It is noL . . It is only in the tnarital relationship that the use of the sexual faculty can be morally good." CDF Letter, no.3 & 7

The only reason the Church goes to the trouble of calling certain activities morally wrong is that those activities cause real harm. To act on homosexual feelings is to increase their strength. Many who were formerly active in the homosexual life-style report that the temporary sexual pleasure -- and this is true of every form of unhealthy sex-- left them profoundly empty. On the other hand, when they abstained from illicit sexual activity, even if abstaining was a struggle, they found they experienced greater peace and confidence.

5. The Church Calls No One "A Homosexual"

"Today, the Church... refuses to consider the person as a "heterosexual "or a "homosexual," and insists that every person has a fundamental identity: the creature of God, and by grace, His child and heir to eternal life." CDF, no.16

The Church won't put a label on anyone. To say someone is "gay" or "lesbian" or a "homosexual" is to define a whole person by just one aspect. It can lock up a person's identity and block further emotional growth. That's just the sort of labeling which gives rise to prejudice and discrimination. The Church stands against any behavior it calls immoral, but always teaches support and respect for the person. Labeling limits and disrespects people.

6. The Church Condemns Violent Malice

"It is deplorable that homosexual persons have been and are the object of violent malice in speech or in action. Such treatment deserves condemnation from the Church's pastors wherever it occurs." CDF Letter, no.10

Some people despise those who struggle with homosexual attractions. The Church condemns any expressions of that attitude, for insfance: anti-gay or anti-lesbian jokes, verbal and physical attack, social exclusion, rejection of friends or family members, avoidance of the topic of homosexuality, and so on. That behavior is all very wrong. It's what the Church calls "a sin against charity." People with homosexual struggles face many challenges. They need love and encouragement, not mistreatment.

7. Respect Each Person

"The intrinsic dignity of each person must always be respected in word, in action, and in law." CDF Letter, no.10

When you hear insulting remarks about people who struggle with homosexuality, the Church is saying: Don't stand for it. Speak up. And when a friend or family member confides in you about experiencing homosexual attractions, that's the moment your friendship and Christian response really count. Good friends also challenge one another, so you can and should say what you believe. You can continue to show both Christian love and faithfulness to the Truth, no matter what decision they make.

8. Pressure on the Church

"...increasing numbers of people today, even within the Church, are bringing enormous pressure to bear on the Church to accept the homosexual condition as though it were not disordered and to condone homosexual activity." CDF, no.8

One of the Church's toughest duties is to speak the truth with love and confront the self-destructive ideas and behavior of any society, and often those societies resist. Our Christian "tough love" insists that God intends more for us than homosexual activity can ever offer. Our long standing Judeo-Christian tradition is coming under strong attack especially in America. Every young Catholic can expect to feel this pressure -- some of it even from dissenters within the Church, some of it from otherwise respected teachers or counselors. If you openly affirm the Church's teaching and ask your friend to question the "gay-positive" path, you will very likely get labeled "homophobic." It takes courage to speak an unpopular truth, but it's an act of real love. Reaffirm your love to your friend and hold your ground.

9. Generous and Giving People

"Homosexual activity... thwarts the call to a life of that form of self-giving which the Gospel says is the essence of Christian living. This does not mean that homosexual persons are no. often generous and giving of themselves; but when they engage in homosexual activity they confirm within themselves a disordered sexual inclination which is essentially self indulgent." CDF, no.7

What if your actively homosexual friends are otherwise good people? Their sexual activity still works against that goodness, and for friendship's sake and honesty's sake you need to say clearly, at least once, what you believe and why. Apart from that, you can still affirm other good things you see in your friend, as the Church does. And you can still be there for your friend no matter what, and say so. Such loyalty has at times been the life-line for people who deep down didn't want the homosexual identity and life but had been convinced they had no choice in the matter -- because they'd never heard anyone say anything different.

10. Always and Totally Compulsive?

"What is at all costs to be avoided is the unfounded and demeaning assumption that the sexual behavior of homosexual persons is always and totally compulsive and there' fore inculpable." CDF Letter, no.11

"I can't stop" is the cry of the addict and it means a person feels that his/her freedom has been taken over by something else. But not all homosexuality is compulsive, especially at first. Some people experiment with homosexual sex just to see if they like it. Sex just for pleasure, however, often leads to sexual addiction -- whether it's heterosexual or homosexual. Catholic teaching reminds us that our free will is God's gift, and anything that controls us is against God's purposes. Some people who were once actively homosexual testify that it didn't take long to become deeply addicted to gay or lesbian sex. Overcoming the addiction was a very difficult, but not impossible, struggle.

11. Abandoning Homosexuality

'Abandonment of homosexual activity will require a profound collaboration of the individual with God's liberating grace. CDF Letter, no.11

Many people experience difficulty in trying to leave the terribly risky homosexual life. Four factors are necessary for success: deep conviction that only chaste living is good, sturdy support from others, total personal effort, and reliance on God. Many people do successfully establish a life of sexual self-control. But are they happy? Popular opinion says, "No!" imagining a never-ending torment of suppressed desire. Not so, say these over-comers. They report instead great happiness and much gratitude to God for being set free at last from the demeaning power of their lust. The result is increased self-confidence and inner peace.





comedy at its worst

[grammafreddy]

When you quote something, it's good to give a link to where it came from.

[coffeeFreak]

Another one bites the dust...disgusting perverts!!

Resigning German bishop accused of sexual abuse

Fri May 7, 3:54 pm ET
BERLIN (Reuters) – German prosecutors are investigating accusations of sexual abuse by a Roman Catholic bishop in Pope Benedict's native Bavaria, authorities said on Friday.

Prosecutors and church officials said an investigation had been opened but gave no further details of the accusations of abuse against Bishop Walter Mixa, who has already offered to resign after being accused of hitting children.

A spokesman for the diocese of Eichstaett said the accusations referred to a time between 1996 and 2000 when Mixa, currently the bishop of Augsburg in the predominantly Catholic Bavaria, was bishop of Eichstaett, also in the state.

The Augsburg diocese said it had provided information to prosecutors after a meticulous examination of the accusations.

"The Augsburg diocese has transmitted details to the appropriate authorities according to the guidelines of the German Bishops' Conference," the diocese said in a statement.

Earlier the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper reported, without naming its sources, that Mixa was accused of abusing a boy while bishop of Eichstaett.

Mixa's lawyer, Gerhard Decker, denied the accusations against the 69-year old bishop, who also faces allegations of financial misconduct. "My client fully rejects the accusations now made against him, and will do his utmost to work with prosecutors in Ingolstadt to clear up the matter completely," Decker told the newspaper.

Mixa wrote to the pope in April to offer his resignation, after denying for weeks that he had hit children in the 1970s and 1980s before later admitting he had slapped them. Some victims say he hit them with full force in the face.

The accusations revealed Friday were the first made of sexual abuse. Mixa had previously asked for forgiveness from those he says he may have slighted.

German daily Die Welt reported Friday that the Vatican had accepted Mixa's resignation, saying that it expected an announcement to be made in Rome and Augsburg at noon on Saturday. The paper cited unnamed church sources in Rome.

A survey published last month found that a quarter of Germany's Catholics were considering leaving the church following reports of hundreds of cases, some many decades old, of sexual abuse by clerics.

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold, writing by Brian Rohan; editing by David Stamp)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100507/wl_nm/us_germany_priest_abuse

[bcbudrockz69]

When you quote something, it's good to give a link to where it came from.

http://couragerc.net/PIPElevenChurchTeachings.html

[bcbudrockz69]

Pope accepts resignation of German bishop
Vatican says he was 'unfit' for service
Last Updated: Saturday, May 8, 2010 | 11:45 AM ET Comments99Recommend32The Associated Press
Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday accepted the resignation of a leading bishop from his German homeland who is accused of abusing children and possible financial misconduct at a children's home.

Augsburg Bishop Walter Mixa, an outspoken conservative voice in the German church and a military chaplain for Germany, has admitted he might have slapped children decades ago when he was a priest.

But the pressure on him to step down increased on Friday, when German officials said prosecutors were investigating him over what a Augsburg area paper said was an alleged case of sexual abuse.

Allegations of striking children decades ago
The terse Vatican announcement on Saturday cited no reason for accepting the resignation of Mixa, who offered to step down two weeks ago amid persistent allegations of hitting children while he taught at a children's home and of financial irregularities at the home during his tenure.

The statement simply said that Mixa's resignation was accepted under a canon law regulation that allows a bishop to go if he has become "unfit" for service.

Mixa is the latest in a line of churchman to be toppled as the Vatican reels from allegations that bishops and other church hierarchy systematically covered up physical or sexual abuse of minors in several European countries.

In some cases, such as Mixa's, bishops have themselves been accused of committing the abuse.

Mixa's lawyer was quoted by the Augsburger Allgemeine on Friday as saying the bishop "resolutely denied" the allegations of alleged sexual abuse.

German prosecutors have declined to give details.

In the earlier allegations, which prompted Mixa to offer to step down and ask forgiveness of "those whom I may have caused heartache," the bishop was accused of hitting children.

He initially denied ever using violence against youngsters but later, after intense pressure, said he may have cuffed children.

The case, coming in the country of Benedict's birth and involving a prelate who was a key member of Germany's bishops conference for more than a decade, was particularly embarrassing for the German church and German faithful, who, church authorities say, have been leaving the church in droves since abuse allegations started surfacing in recent months.

Benedict on Saturday met at the Vatican with bishops from Belgium, where the church has also been rocked by recent allegations of abuse by priests and slow, clumsy handling of the cases by the bishops.

Churches in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and even in Nordic countries, where Catholics are a small minority, have been grappling with a steady stream of abuse allegations.

The latest scandals followed Benedict's scathing blame earlier this year of Irish bishops, after a government-led probe of church abuse in heavily Catholic Ireland turned up decades of systematic sexual and physical abuse of children in parishes, orphanages, schools and workhouses by priests, brothers and nuns, and cover-ups by church hierarchy


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/05/0 ... z0nQW1Juy1

[grammafreddy]

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton

[bcbudrockz69]

.Cardinal's abortion remarks anger politicians
Marc Ouellet calls abortion a 'moral crime' that is not justified even in rape cases
Last Updated: Monday, May 17, 2010 | 8:35 PM ET Comments871Recommend315.
CBC News
The Quebec City Archdiocese sought to clarify comments about abortion made by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the primate of the Catholic Church in Canada, following a firestorm of criticism from politicians and women's groups.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet called abortion a crime as serious as murder. (Francis Vachon/Canadian Press)A spokesman for the Archdiocese said on Monday that Ouellet, who is also the archbishop of Quebec City, was simply stating Church doctrine when a reporter asked him about rape and abortion on the weekend.

Once touted as a possible candidate to become pope, Ouellet apparently had no intention of wading into a public policy debate when called abortion a "moral crime" as serious as murder and said it is never justified — even in cases of rape.
"There is a spin, saying the cardinal would like to re-criminalize [abortion], and this is not what he said," said Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre.

'He was talking [about] a moral thing. This is a moral issue.'
—Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebre, Quebec City Archdiocese"He's not calling for re-criminalization. He was talking [about] a moral thing. This is a moral issue. He was not bringing this to the judicial level."

He said Ouellet wasn't condemning women and believes they need better care before and after abortions. He also said that when Ouellet discusses abortion as a political issue, he is merely urging Canada to offer some form of protection for the unborn.

"Canada is the only country in the world to have a complete legal vacuum on this issue," Lemieux-Lefebvre said in a statement.

"[Ouellet] leaves it to the politicians to explore a balanced solution from among the basket of options that exist elsewhere."

Ouellet made the comments while attending an anti-abortion rally in Quebec City on Saturday.

Ouellet said he understands that a sexually assaulted woman has been traumatized and must be helped and that her attacker must be held accountable.

"But there is already a victim," he said. "Must there be another one?"

Abortion issue resolved: minister
Ouellet's comments were denounced by several Quebec politicians.

Christine St-Pierre, the minister for the status of women, said the abortion issue has been resolved in the province.

'Never will we women, and many men in Quebec, go back to the days of knitting needles,'
—Christine St-Pierre, Quebec Minister Responsible for the Status of Women"Never will we women, and many men in Quebec, go back to the days of knitting needles," said St-Pierre, referring to the types of crude instruments used in the days of clandestine, back-alley abortions.

"[Abortion] is a choice that is a personal one, and we as a society have a duty to make sure that things are done in a safe way."

Parti Québécois Leader Pauline Marois, speaking at a weekend party policy conference, said she was "absolutely outraged" by the remarks and that Ouellet was trying to undo rights won decades ago.

"These remarks … take us back to [the] Middle Ages," said Alexa Conradi, president of the Quebec Women's Federation.

"At the same time, my concern really is at the federal level. There is movement of right wing Catholic groups to find different ways to re-criminalize abortion."

Conradi said that since the Conservatives came to power, there have been a number of — failed — attempts to get private member's bills passed that threaten Canadian women's legal rights to an abortion.Women will not tolerate a return to the days when knitting needles and other crude instruments were used to perform abortions, says Christine St-Pierre, Quebec's minister for the status of women. (CBC)
Last Thursday, Ouellet attended a large anti-abortion rally on Parliament Hill where activists and some MPs urged the federal government to reopen the debate on abortion in Canada.

But, the Harper government distanced itself from Ouellet's comments on Monday.

"It is well-known that I am pro-choice," Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Josée Verner told reporters in Quebec city on Monday.

"To suggest that we could reopen the debate on abortion is unacceptable."

Ouellet applauded the Harper government for its stance against funding abortions in the developing world.

Canadian officials say they will instead focus the G8 plan on other measures aimed at improving the health of women and children in poor countries — including safe drinking water, nutrition and immunization programs.

Verner said the government isn't looking for endorsements like the one from Ouellet.

The issue also dominated several Quebec newspaper columns on Monday.

In one particularly strident reaction, a Montreal La Presse columnist expressed his wish that Ouellet would die a slow and painful death.

Columnist Patrick Lagace compared Ouellet to the Iranian imam, Kazem Sedighi, who recently suggested scantily clad women were to blame for natural disasters. The column was titled, "The Scorn of Kazem Ouellet."

"We're all going to die," Lagace wrote. "Cardinal Ouellet will die someday. I hope he dies from a long and painful illness.…

"Yes, the paragraph I've just written is vicious. But Marc Ouellet is an extremist. And in the debate against religious extremists, every shot is fair game


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/0 ... z0oFVGjtXb





mabey some one should remind the catholics of all the ppl they murdered in the name of thier so called god remember the inquasition ? or witch hunts? or coming to north and south america? or the crusades? the list goes on

[bcbudrockz69]

Story Tools: EMAIL | PRINT | Text Size: S M L XL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACK | .
Portugal's president signs gay marriage bill
Last Updated: Monday, May 17, 2010 | 5:34 PM ET Comments17Recommend17.
The Associated Press
Portugal's conservative president announced Monday in Lisbon he is reluctantly ratifying a law allowing gay marriage, making the predominantly Catholic country the sixth in Europe to let same-sex couples wed.

President Anibal Cavaco Silva said he would not veto the bill, because majority liberal lawmakers would only overturn his decision. The country must focus instead on battling a crippling economic crisis that has increased unemployment and deepened poverty, he said.

"Given that fact, I feel I should not contribute to a pointless extension of this debate, which would only serve to deepen the divisions between the Portuguese and divert the attention of politicians away from the grave problems affecting us," Cavaco Silva said.

He said he was setting aside his "personal convictions," though he did not elaborate and did not take reporters' questions.

The country's parliament passed the Socialist government-backed bill in January, with the support of all of Portugal's left-of-center parties, who together have a majority. Right-of-center parties opposed the measure and demanded a national referendum.

Elsewhere in Europe, gay marriage is permitted in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Norway. As well, five U.S. states and Washington, D.C., have legalized same-sex marriage, as have Canada and South Africa


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/05/1 ... z0oG5Mhaqa



bet the neo cons not happy about this lol

[NAB]

Funny really. With all the ranting that goes on regarding the Catholic Church "covering up" for its own... ...you would think similar outrage would be directed toward the public school system too when such things occur.

But I guess few even notice or, because of their fixation on "The Church", ...are even motivated to look for similar examples in our public institutions.

http://www.vancouversun.com/Coquitlam+m ... story.html
--

[bcbudrockz69]

Funny really. With all the ranting that goes on regarding the Catholic Church "covering up" for its own... ...you would think similar outrage would be directed toward the public school system too when such things occur.

But I guess few even notice or, because of their fixation on "The Church", ...are even motivated to look for similar examples in our public institutions.

http://www.vancouversun.com/Coquitlam+m ... story.html
--

no injustice is injustice church, schools dnt matter , we must always fight the good fight and stop injustice in its tracks

[coffeeFreak]

Funny really. With all the ranting that goes on regarding the Catholic Church "covering up" for its own... ...you would think similar outrage would be directed toward the public school system too when such things occur.

But I guess few even notice or, because of their fixation on "The Church", ...are even motivated to look for similar examples in our public institutions.

http://www.vancouversun.com/Coquitlam+m ... story.html
--

no injustice is injustice church, schools dnt matter , we must always fight the good fight and stop injustice in its tracks

I don't understand why these people and the organizations that they hide behind are not charged with failing to report. It is clear the law states it is a legal (and moral I would add) responsibility to report any abuse of children to either the Child Welfare or the Police.

If you think a child is being abused or neglected, you have the legal duty to report your concern to your local child welfare worker.

http://www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/child_protection/pdf/handbook_action_child_abuse.pdf

Duty to report is the most important of all child abuse laws.

In Canada, if someone knows of or suspects that a child is being abused, that person has a legal obligation to report the known or suspected abuse. Failure to report can result in charges being laid, as well as a fine of up to $10,000.
http://www.child-abuse-effects.com/duty-to-report.html

[bingoman99]

I was brought up Roman Catholic.......I'm near 50yrs old now......sorry to tell you any of you Roman Catholics out there,...but the Catholic faith is a dying religion.....only OLD people go to Catholic services.....to see a youth there is a rare sight...... (just speaking the truth).... it's too structured and too anal in this new millenium.

[bingoman99]

I used to count the number of "crosses" that were etched in the hanging lamps during the service,...and other things like that...WHY?..... b/c Catholic services are THE most BORING in the world..... in fact, when my brothers & I were young and 1 of my brothers had his drivers' licence, we would meet our parents at the church,...but we'd all stay in the car & "bid" on who would go in and get the weekly newsletter (to prove we went when we met our parents at home later).... the lowest brother's bid would go in, and "snag" the newsletter and run back out to the car....then we'd go to Dairy Queen for the hour......(our parents always sat up front, so we got away with this for years)...

[Type_O]

It seems a topic that just will not go away - particularly in North America, where the feminist movement has successfully promoted an end to almost all gender discrimination in commerce, government, industry, and education. Increasingly, adults in North America are viewing gender-based discrimination in the same class as racial discrimination, and are rejecting it as bigotry, profoundly immoral, and irrational. Many criticize the Roman Catholic church for its stance on male-only ordination; the number will probably continue to grow into the future.

And here I thought I may be enlightened by a practicing Catholic.

[bingoman99]

I remember being about 16 or 17 yrs old,.....and 3 other catholic buddies of mine's famliies "had" to go to "midnite Christmas mass" at Immaculata Church....,...years ago.... so on Dec 24th...at about 9pm....we (me & my friends) got together BEFOREhand at 9-10pm.....2 hrs before the "scared BORING event"......,... who were also "forced" to go to midnite C'mas mass..,..we all got just Sh##-faced,...and we all staggered in to the church (so our parents would see us there and have big SMILES on their faces that we were getting some catholic spirituality in us at this time of year)......if they (all of our parents) only knew that was the LONGEST 1 HOUR of our lives,...but the ALCOHOL helped with the SHEAR CATHOLIC BOREDOME that C'mas eve'.....I think all i remember is having to take a PEE the entire hour........ HAH


see?...how the catholic faith is dying?..... and THAT was YEARS ago....