ShivaX
1742
He says it well.
The whole point of Christianity is that we’re all flawed and make mistakes.
And yet Jesus loves us anyway.
Timex
1743
Except Ted Cruz.
Jesus told me Ted Cruz sucks balls.
CraigM
1744
Its the residual cheetos flavor.
Women are such whores, walking around with little men in their uteri that got there by means of lustful intercourse. Isn’t that kidnapping? If they’re not dutiful vessels, they should be banned from eating the flesh of the incarnation on Earth of the tribal god of the ancient Hebrews by an Archbishop who eats mostly boy ass. Why else did that tribal god create them from man’s rib?
Protecting the earth, our common home, or making food, water, shelter, education and health care accessible, or defense against gun violence… these are life issues too.
This position is known as the “seamless garment” ethic in Catholic circles, and while you’ll meet Boomer conservatives and pro-life political activists who think it’s damaging to their movement, under Popes Benedict and Francis, I think it’s become pretty broadly accepted. Benedict did warn against accepting the corollary that all such life issues are necessarily equal in gravity. The point is more that the same principles of the sacredness of all human life and the primacy of the common good animate Catholic social teaching on all these issues, and cut across the ideological lines in American politics.
Bishop Flores of Brownsville, Texas (not the diocese of Uvalde, but next-door-neighbor) posted about guns on Twitter:
The language is a little awkward, but what stands out to me is the word “sacralize.” Another way to restate what he’s saying is that Americans treat guns and the 2nd amendment like idols. To Bishop Jackels’ point, treating them like holy objects and not as means to protect the common good is basically modern day Moloch worship.
Here’s the USCCB’s most recent statement on gun violence:
Matt_W
1747
I forgot to clarify this. “NOMA” means Non-Overlapping MAgesteria. It was coined, I believe by Stephen Jay Gould. It’s the idea that religion and science are investigating separate questions and deal with separate, non-overlapping spheres of knowledge, so there’s not any conflict between them. The idea has fallen from popularity in atheist circles recently.
I think there’s firm ground for philosophy and even metaphysics based entirely on materialist principles. I think naturalism/materialism is perfectly capable of answering “is science good?” It’s perfectly capable of asking and answering ethical questions. (I mean I really hope so. If religion is our only source for ethics, we’re fucked.)
Ah, thanks! Yeah, I think if these areas of knowledge were non-overlapping that would be really convenient, but I don’t think that’s the case at all.
Oh yeah, I think you can have a non-religious philosophical source for ethics, but I’m skeptical that you can get there via true materialism or that you can prove it via scientific inquiry. What provides a solid grounding for value? I don’t know if you have a brief sketch of an answer at hand, but I’d be curious to hear it if you do.
You’d do well to read Gould, while not particularly well-known outside of his circles he’s one of the greatest minds we’ve produced. Like Feynman without the playboy bent.
Slate has a long piece on the gradual politicization of EWTN, the Catholic news network which has become basically Fox News with an early time slot for showing daily mass. As one person quoted in the piece says, they’re “more exuberant about Trump than Pope Francis.” Pope Francis took a not-so-veiled swipe at them for their criticism last year.
To me, the article doesn’t focus nearly enough on Gloria Purvis, an African-American Catholic radio and tv host who was essentially fired from EWTN for speaking out about police brutality. As far as I can tell (very few, including Purvis, have talked about what happened behind the scenes), that event drove a number of journalists to leave EWTN and Catholic News Agency, which EWTN purchased several years ago. Unfortunately, losing Purvis and voices like hers, as well as the recent shuttering of the Catholic News Service–a more even-handed service run by the USCCB (the US bishops’ organization)–means EWTN will probably continue its downward and rightward spiral and Catholics looking for relevant news might have a hard time finding less politicized alternatives.
In other news, the bishops of Colorado (where I live) have asked Catholic politicians who voted for Colorado’s recent abortion law–which makes abortion legal at any stage for any reason–to voluntarily not present themselves for communion.
Quote from the bishops’ letter:
The burden from their decision does not rest upon the shoulders of priests, deacons or lay Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist. It rests upon the consciences and souls of those politicians who have chosen to support this evil and unjust law.
We pray that this letter and our request to refrain from receiving Jesus in the Eucharist spurs sincere reflection and conversion in the hearts of those who have participated in allowing this grave act of injustice to become law. This request is not one that we make lightly, but since it is our duty to safeguard the faith and care for the souls of all the faithful – including these politicians – we must make it.
We are always willing to engage in conversation with any Catholic politician to whom this applies, and we want you to know that we regularly pray for all who hold public office.
KWhit
1751
Well, they could just watch the news. Not everything should be viewed through a religious lens.
I assume a lot of Catholics would do both! But only one is likely to go deep into the massacre this week at a Catholic mass in Nigeria or the ongoing trial of a cardinal for financial impropriety in Vatican City.
KevinC
1755
Next, they’re going to stream all the gay porn they can in order to DoS PornHub.
Hide the Pride indeed.
Alternative recommendations included such titles as
Oswald the Obstinate Altar Boy
My Swarthy Monsignor
What’s Under My Robe?
The Dark, Dark Confessional
The Apostolic See Men
The Patron Taints
Beating the Bishop
Something very similar happened with a school in Indianapolis–in fact, both are Jesuit schools–but over a (in my opinion) matter of significantly more import than a couple of flags, which was the refusal to dismiss a teacher with a same-sex spouse. The archbishop, after much discussion and debate with the school, ended up decreeing that if they continue to employ the teacher they can’t claim to be Catholic. Church law is pretty clear that the bishop has the authority to do this, but the school in Indianapolis appealed to the Vatican (like the Worchester school is saying they will do) and the Vatican put a temporary stay on the archbishop’s decree and then… has done nothing about it since (this was in 2019). Something similar might happen with this on appeal.
The Dicastery for Catholic Education at the Vatican is likely to get new leadership soon (possibly a lay-person, as Francis recently opened that up as an option for major Vatican offices), so that could create movement one way or the other. Or we’ll need to wait for Francis’ replacement. For better and for worse, this is part of Francis’ governing style–stepping in to local or national matters in different parts of the world, only to leave his preferred resolution ambiguous.
Timex
1759
The Jesuits continue to be my favorite Catholic sect.
Something seems wrong with a system that exempts churches from taxation but permits them to spend millions on what are effectively political campaigns.
CATHOLIC CHURCH DONATIONS Meanwhile, Value Them Both’s fundraising continues to be largely driven by Catholic churches and dioceses in Kansas. While churches are usually barred from donating to campaigns, issue based ballot initiatives are an exception. Catholic leaders in Kansas have framed the amendment as a moral and religious issue that merits church involvement. The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, which contributed $500,000 last year, donated an additional $2.45 million since January. The donation covered more than half of the organization’s total fundraising this year. Archbishop Joseph Naumann previously led the U.S. Conference of Bishop’s Pro-life Activities Committee. He has been a leading voice advocating on behalf of the amendment in Kansas, holding a rally in June and authoring opinion columns to urge “yes” votes.
Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article263615833.html#storylink=cpy
Scuzz
1761
I believe the Mormon Church got into some kind of trouble when they donated money against a California proposition several years ago that dealt with some gender item, either same sex marriage or maybe just equal rights for gays.
Small fine or something IIRC.
It was same-sex marriage. They donated tons of money and were successful that year, IIRC. I didn’t know they’d been penalized.
Tax exemption for religious organizations in the US is a racket, obviously. Now that they’ve brought back slave states and are pushing hard for The Handmaid’s Tale in court, let them at least pay taxes.
