Vatican, U.S. Fundamentalists Join Forces in Unholy Alliance
☥☽✪☾DAW ☽✪☾
2012/05/25 19:01:33
THE NEWS: Several Catholic churches and organizations have filed suit against the Obama administration over a mandate that insurance companies provide coverage for birth control.
THE PROVOCATION: This is not your father's Catholic Church ... it's your great-grandfather's.
These days, the Catholic Church is increasingly forging ties with the religious right that go far beyond their longtime agreement on abortion. Want evidence? Just listen to Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, issuing a call to arms against the federal government.
"We are called to be very active, very informed and very involved in politics," Dolan said, apparently ignoring the First Amendment the same way the church of old was wont to ignore the human rights of people who didn't accept its teachings. "In the public square, I hate to tell you, the days of fat, balding Irish bishops are over."
It would be nice if this were just the rantings of a single Catholic, but this is a Cardinal. There are just 125 of them in a church that numbers 1.1 billion worldwide. For the uninitiated, it's the Cardinals who elect the pope - and they are, in turn, chosen by the pope, so you can be pretty sure that they speak for him. Dolan, in fact, was selected by the current pope to serve as archbishop of New York in 2009, and was named to the College of Cardinals this year.
So it seems reasonable to conclude that we can trace the current conservative realignment in the Catholic Church to the Vatican. The buck, as Harry used to say, stops there. And, indeed, the current pope has been a champion of conservatism in the church. This is important because it's all to easy to view "the pope" as a position rather than considering the person who holds it. As with presidents, there are good popes and not-so-good ones. There are traditionalists and reformers.
The current pope and his predecessor, for instance, offer a study in contrasts. It's somewhat like comparing George W. Bush and Abraham Lincoln.
Karol Józef Wojtyła who held office for more than a quarter-century as John Paul II, was well known for his good humor, compassion and progressive policies. In his youth, he attended the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, where he studied such subjects as philosophy, language and literature. He was an actor, athlete and playwright who learned a dozen languages.
As pope, he embraced the theory of evolution. He apologized for the horrors of the inquisition, the church's treatment of women, its silence during the Holocaust and its condemnation of Galileo Galilei. Of course, he was far from perfect. Many of the scandalous sexual abuse cases that have come to light in recent years took place on his watch, and there were times when the church tried to bully political candidates into adopting its stands on various social issues as a matter of public policy.
But there was always a sense that the church under Wojtyła was pursuing a policy of reconciliation with those outside the communion - with other faiths and with other belief systems. The opposite has been true of the church under Ratzinger. In 2006, he outraged Muslims by quoting a 14th century Byzantine emperor who said, "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." More recently, on a trip to Africa, he condemned "witchcraft" while ignoring the real problem - the widespread practice of exiling, mistreating and even killing anyone even accused of practicing it.
Ratzinger stated his personal philosophy neatly when he condemned what he termed a "dictatorship of relativism," and stated that "having a clear faith, according to the Creed of the Church, is often labeled as fundamentalism." In doing so, he aligned himself part and parcel with the kind of absolutists and evangelicals who have been pushing for what amounts to a theocratic revolution in the United States.
Indeed, the church as a whole appears to be reasserting itself as an alternative to secular government.
Recent months have seen an increasing attempt by the church to control public policy. It has launched an investigation into the Girl Scouts (as though the Catholic Church has any authority whatsoever to conduct such an investigation). And now it has filed suit against the administration over the birth-control issue ... notwithstanding Jesus' advice to "make peace quickly with your opponent while you are on your way to court" (Matt. 5:25).
Obama sought to do just that, altering his initial proposal to ensure that insurance companies - not religious employers - would be responsible for coverage. Church organizations, on the other hand, took a "my way or the highway" position and filed lawsuits. Those organizations included archdioceses and the University of Notre Dame.
Why should we find this worrisome?
Because it's very difficult to accept that an apology is genuine when a person (or, in this case, an institution) turns right around and engages in the same sort of behavior all over again. Wojtyła apologizes for the church's uncompromising views toward women, evolution and Galileo's heliocentric model. But now the church of Ratzinger and Dolan has turned right around and begun to exhibit the same sort of stubborn, holier-than-thou attitude.
Dismissing any hope of compromise, Dolan framed the church's stand on birth control as "battle" - and not just with the government, but with secular society as a whole. "It is a freedom of religion battle," he declared. "It is not about contraception; it is not about women’s health." What it is about, he said, is "an unwarranted, unprecedented, radical intrusion" into "a church’s ability to teach, serve and sanctify on its own."
He then went even further, railing against a secular culture that "seems to discover new rights every day."
"I don't recall a right to marriage."
In a few short words, Dolan has made it clear that he has no interest in settling matters with his adversaries on the way to court. He's calling for an all-out battle against secular institutions that doesn't stop at the issue of birth control, but which encompasses a whole slew of issues - including marriage rights - where he believes his church's teachings trump the law of the land. I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way. You can't simply pull out the "religious freedom" card when you want to deny others their basic rights. You can't do that when you're renting a piece of property, hiring an employee or providing medical services. It just doesn't work that way, nor should it.
Dolan's rhetoric sounds a lot like the kind of thing you'd expect to hear from Pat Robertson or the late Jerry Falwell. But what makes it so troublesome is that it's coming from the mouth of a man appointed directly by the pope to the most prestigious Catholic post in North America.
Please keep in mind: This is not a condemnation of Catholicism in general. In fact, a poll taken just two months ago by the Public Religion Research Institute (PPRI) found that only 38 percent of Catholics agreed with Dolan that the administration's policy on birth control posed a threat to freedom of religion; 57 percent felt just the opposite. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Catholics actually supported contraception requirements for publicly held corporations - 3 percentage points more than Americans as a whole.
On the issue of marriage, which Dolan brought up in an attempt to broaden his "us vs. them" challenge to the supposed evils of secularism, the findings are similar. In a PPRI poll conducted this month, 72 percent of Catholics said society should accept same-sex marriages, and 52 percent think gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry.
In fact, more evangelical Protestants than Catholics in the U.S. seem to agree with the Vatican. They even adopted a Catholic whose views sound a lot like Dolan's as their favorite candidate in the Republican primary: Rick Santorum (after a brief flirtation with another Catholic, Newt Gingrich). All this is more than a little ironic when one considers that evangelicals were churning out pamphlets 20 years ago deriding the Catholic Church as "Babylon" and the pope as the Antichrist.
I suppose the enemy of my enemy no longer qualifies for the position of Antichrist.
What we have here is a radical disconnect between the Vatican, which has tilted conservative and is seeking to reassert its authority, and the laity. The degree to which the Vatican enforces its beliefs upon parishioners is a matter for the church, the faithful and their god. But when it seeks to enforce those beliefs on the American public at large - and tries to play the victim in a make-believe war on religion - it crosses the line.
In campaigning for president 42 years ago, John F. Kennedy stated: "I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party's candidate for President, who happens also to be a Catholic."
I'd like to paraphrase that in response to Cardinal Dolan: "This is not the Catholic States of America. It is a society that accepts all faiths, is administered by a secular government, and some of our citizens also happen to be Catholic."
Isn't it time Dolan and others like him recognize the difference?
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It's amazing how quickly the evangelical right will compromise their beliefs. I remember not too long ago being taught that the pope was the anti-christ and that Mormons were a demonic cult from the pit O' hell. But now it's "Better a Mormon than Obama." Christ
In a few short words, Dolan has made it clear that he has no interest in settling matters with his adversaries on the way to court. He's calling for an all-out battle against secular institutions that doesn't stop at the issue of birth control, but which encompasses a whole slew of issues - including marriage rights - where he believes his church's teachings trump the law of the land. I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way. You can't simply pull out the "religious freedom" card when you want to deny others their basic rights. You can't do that when you're renting a piece of property, hiring an employee or providing medical services. It just doesn't work that way, nor should it.
Dolan's rhetoric sounds a lot like the kind of thing you'd expect to hear from Pat Robertson or the late Jerry Falwell. But what makes it so troublesome is that it's coming from the mouth of a man appointed directly by the pope to the most prestigious Catholic post in North America.
Please keep in mind: This is not a condemnation of Catholicism in general. In fact, a poll taken just two months ago by the Public Religion Research Institute (PPRI) found that only 38 percent of Catholics agreed with Dolan that the administration's policy on birth control posed a threat to freedom of religion; 57 percent felt just the opposite. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Catholics actually supported contraception requirements for publicly held corporations - 3 percentage points more than Americans as a whole.
On the issue of marriage, which Dolan brought up in an attempt to broaden his "us vs. them" challenge to the supposed evils of secularism, the findings are similar. In a PPRI poll conducted this month, 72 percent of Catholics said society should accept same-sex marriages, and 52 percent think gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry.
In fact, more evangelical Protestants than Catholics in the U.S. seem to agree with the Vatican. They even adopted a Catholic whose views sound a lot like Dolan's as their favorite candidate in the Republican primary: Rick Santorum (after a brief flirtation with another Catholic, Newt Gingrich). All this is more than a little ironic when one considers that evangelicals were churning out pamphlets 20 years ago deriding the Catholic Church as "Babylon" and the pope as the Antichrist.
I suppose the enemy of my enemy no longer qualifies for the position of Antichrist.
What we have here is a radical disconnect between the Vatican, which has tilted conservative and is seeking to reassert its authority, and the laity. The degree to which the Vatican enforces its beliefs upon parishioners is a matter for the church, the faithful and their god. But when it seeks to enforce those beliefs on the American public at large - and tries to play the victim in a make-believe war on religion - it crosses the line.
In campaigning for president 42 years ago, John F. Kennedy stated: "I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party's candidate for President, who happens also to be a Catholic."
I'd like to paraphrase that in response to Cardinal Dolan: "This is not the Catholic States of America. It is a society that accepts all faiths, is administered by a secular government, and some of our citizens also happen to be Catholic."
Isn't it time Dolan and others like him recognize the difference?
-------------------------------------------------------------...
It's amazing how quickly the evangelical right will compromise their beliefs. I remember not too long ago being taught that the pope was the anti-christ and that Mormons were a demonic cult from the pit O' hell. But now it's "Better a Mormon than Obama." Christ
Read More: http://www.theprovocation.net/2012/05/vatican-us-f...
Top Opinion
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gocar 2012/07/22 01:54:50
+3I am not an adherent to any religion. I am of the opinion that religion has been the cause of much folly throughout history. People willing to die or kill for a belief in something that cannot be proved is the height of ignorance. How strange that conservatives want the government out of our private lives but insist on religion being able to determine our laws. The Mayans used to throw virgins and newborns into the volcano to appease the gods for all sorts of reasons. We don't seem to have progressed so very much when some old guy belonging to an exclusive men's club can decide for many what they can and cannot do in the privacy of their bedroom.
The Homosexual Agenda, or homosexual ideology, consists of a set of beliefs and objectives designed to mandate acceptance and approval of homosexuality, and the strategies used to implement such. The goals and means of this movement include indoctrinating students in public school, restricting the free speech of opposition, obtaining special treatment for homosexuals, distorting Biblical teaching and science, and interfering with freedom of association. Advocates of the homosexual agenda seek special rights for homosexuals that other people don't have, such as immunity from criticism (see hate speech, hate crimes). Such special rights will necessarily come at the expense of the rights of broader society.
President Barack Hussein Obama and nearly all Democrat politicians now advocate the homosexual agenda, reflecting the growing financial power of the homosexual network. Obama's self-centered obsession with his own reelection, and fundraising for his campaign, has caused him to create a national political issue out of this, rather than deal with other issues like the economy.
Among all the liberal belief systems, the homosexual ideology is the most self-centered.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia referred to the "so-called homosexual agenda" in Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003) (dissenting opinion).
OPUS DEI is the CULTURE of CRUELTY, the IDEOLOGY of LEGAL SPIRITUAL TERRORISM, the THEOLOGY of SPIRITUAL DIRECTION PIRACY, the PRELATE of SOULS TRAFFICKERS, the SECT that INFECTS like INSECTS, the WAY of MALIGNANCE, the FURROW of COMPUTING PROSTITUTION, the FORGE of DOMICILE KIDNAPPING, the CREED of ASSAULTS on REASON and the CATECHISM of PUBLIC TREASURY ROBBERIES in INVISIBLE CASSOCKS. OPUS DEI brings OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER, MENTAL DISORDER, PERSONALITY DISORDER, CONJUGAL DISORDERS and CONSCIENCE DISORDER. OPUS DEI embraces a SATANIC and a HARMFUL CULT. OPUS DEI icludes FASCISM, INTOLERANCE, DISHONESTY, BLINDNESS, UNDEMOCRACY, MANIPULATION, AGGRESSION and ELITISM.
OPUS DEI is a HOLY TRIBALISM and TALIBANISM SECT. OPUS DEI SCHOOLS are TALIBANIST MADRASAHS where APPRENTICES or TRAINEES are instructed at CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALISM, CATHOLIC INTEGRISM, CULTURE of CRUSADES, the CONCEPTS of LEGAL SPIRITUAL TERRORISM and the PRECEPTS of ILLEGALITY for GOD. Thanks LIFE that has given me TOO MUCH to LEARN at the HOLY SUPREME MAFIA of OPUS DEI as an OPUS SUPERNUMERARY and an EDUCATOR at COLEGIO RETAMAR in MADRID, a CORPORATIVE, a LUCRATIVE and a CORRUPTIVE WORK of OPUS DEI, where HIGHNESSES an...
OPUS DEI is the CULTURE of CRUELTY, the IDEOLOGY of LEGAL SPIRITUAL TERRORISM, the THEOLOGY of SPIRITUAL DIRECTION PIRACY, the PRELATE of SOULS TRAFFICKERS, the SECT that INFECTS like INSECTS, the WAY of MALIGNANCE, the FURROW of COMPUTING PROSTITUTION, the FORGE of DOMICILE KIDNAPPING, the CREED of ASSAULTS on REASON and the CATECHISM of PUBLIC TREASURY ROBBERIES in INVISIBLE CASSOCKS. OPUS DEI brings OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER, MENTAL DISORDER, PERSONALITY DISORDER, CONJUGAL DISORDERS and CONSCIENCE DISORDER. OPUS DEI embraces a SATANIC and a HARMFUL CULT. OPUS DEI icludes FASCISM, INTOLERANCE, DISHONESTY, BLINDNESS, UNDEMOCRACY, MANIPULATION, AGGRESSION and ELITISM.
OPUS DEI is a HOLY TRIBALISM and TALIBANISM SECT. OPUS DEI SCHOOLS are TALIBANIST MADRASAHS where APPRENTICES or TRAINEES are instructed at CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALISM, CATHOLIC INTEGRISM, CULTURE of CRUSADES, the CONCEPTS of LEGAL SPIRITUAL TERRORISM and the PRECEPTS of ILLEGALITY for GOD. Thanks LIFE that has given me TOO MUCH to LEARN at the HOLY SUPREME MAFIA of OPUS DEI as an OPUS SUPERNUMERARY and an EDUCATOR at COLEGIO RETAMAR in MADRID, a CORPORATIVE, a LUCRATIVE and a CORRUPTIVE WORK of OPUS DEI, where HIGHNESSES and ROYALTIES have been EDUCATED. I have experienced OPUS DEI ASSAULTS on REASON for THIRTY THREE YEARS, the same AGE of CHRIST on EARTH.
MOISÉS IBRAHIM: EX PROFESSOR at ESCUELA OFICIAL de IDIOMAS in MADRID. EX EDUCATOR at COLEGIO RETAMAR for the THIRTY THREE YEARS. EX SUPERNUMERARY at the OPUS DEI HOLY SUPREME MAFIA. EX REPRESENTATIVE of the WORKERS at COLEGIO RETAMAR, a CORPORATIVE, a LUCRATIVE, a CORRUPTIVE and a DESTRUCTIVE WORK of OPUS DEI, originated from ILLEGAL FOUNDATIONS, according to the DOCUMENTS that ACCREDIT, SAY and EVIDENCE the TRUTH. EX EDUCATOR at COLEGIO RETAMAR for THIRTY THREE YEARS, the same AGE of CHRIST on EARTH, a SEE of SPANISH PUBLIC TREASURY SACKING, a BUNKER of SPIRITUAL TERRORISM, a HEADQUARTER of OPUS DEI LORD BLACK MONEY, a FORTRESS of PROSECUTION, a BAND OF TRIBALIST MONKS, a BURDEL of PROSTITUTION with the POOR HUMAN RIGHTS whose BREAD is DEVOURED to MAKE wheels of MILLS or HOLY HOSTS for the ALTARS. an EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION for ABUSIVE APOSTOLATE, a LEGION for RECRUITMENT of ADOLESCENTS and a CENTRE of MALEDUCATION, where ARISTOCRACY, NOBILITY, HIGHNESS and ROYALTY have been EDUCATED, in CONCRETE where I have EDUCATED two GENERATIONS, being at the SERVICE of EDUCATION, and at the moment they are controlling the SUBLIMITY of the POLITICAL, ECONOMICAL, RELIGIOUS and the SPORTIVE POWERS in our BELOVED SPAIN.
MOISÉS IBRAHIM: EX PROFESOR de la ESCUELA OFICIAL de IDIOMAS de MADRID. EX SUPERNUMERARIO de la SANTA SUPREMA MAFIA del OPUS DEI. EX REPRESENTANTE de los TRABAJADORES del COLEGIO RETAMAR de MADRID, OBRA CORPORATIVA, LUCRATIVA y CORRUPTIVA del OPUS DEI, ORIGINARIA de FUNDACIONES ILEGALES, según los DOCUMENTOS que ACREDITAN, INDICAN y EVIDENCIAN la VERDAD. EX EDUCADOR del ILUSTRE COLEGIO RETAMAR durante TREINTA y TRES AÑOS, la MISMA EDAD de CRISTO en la TIERRA, SEDE de SAQUEOS de las ARCAS PÚBLICAS ESPAÑOLAS, BUNKER del TERRORÍSMO ESPIRITUAL, CUARTEL de OPUS DEI LORD BLACK MONEY, una FORTALEZA de MONJES TRIBALES, un BURDEL de PROSTITUTIÓN con los DERECHOS HUMANOS de los POBRES, cuyo PAN se DEVORA para FABRICAR ruedas de MOLINOS o HOSTIAS SAGRADAS para los ALTARES, una INSTITUCIÓN EDUCATIVA para el APOSTOLADO ABUSIVO, LEGIÓN DE RECLUTAMIENTO de ADOLESCENTES y CENTRO de MALEDUCACIÓN, donde se EDUCAN ARISTOCRACIAS; NOBLEZAS, ALTEZAS y REALEZAS, concretamente donde he EDUCADO dos GENERACIONES, estando al SERVICIO de la EDUCACIÓN, y que en la ACTUALIDAD están OSTENTANDO la SUBLIMIDAD de los PODERES POLÍTICOS, ECONÓMICOS, RELIGIOSOS y DEPORTIVOS en NUESTRA QUERIDA ESPAÑA.
If those are true, then that they won't chose Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger as pope and Mormons would come to torture everyone on the Earth like right now.
Do you hate the Mormons and other religions, just because they declined the gay's/ lesbian's marriage? We didn't make a commandant from beginning, God did! We didn't announce to stop the homosexually act, God did. All religions are committed to have following our Lord's will. I know many of you saying "love one another" from scripture, but most of us knows that Adam and Eve were married and passed to generation and to next generation. If not, then Adam and other gay won't passed the generation then we won't be born on the Earth. Oh, the end of humanity.
Oh, if you approve yourself that the everyone on the Earth would throw the religion and left our Lord and Heavenly Father in heaven alone? Thats your real goal to lead us to hell, DAW?
what i do hate is people who use Religion to promote hate ignorance and violence people who advocate hate and evil in the name of thier god or Religion That I hate
i wish no harm on anyone let me worship my Gods Goddess my way you do your thing dont bother me i dont bother you
There is no such thing as hell i am not leading you to hell only you lead your self to your own Salvation or Damnation all i do is provide information
you don't believe me then dont believe me im not forcing you to believe
They dont have much time left.
Daw, hate whom ever you choose; that is your right but do try for some factual information when trying to discuss the basis for these 43 law suits. Distorting what they are about with your personal hate message does no one any good and what you have posted with the disgusting pictures has nothing to do with the law suits or the attacks on our Constitution.
Have a great day