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Alessandra Tarantino / AP
Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio "Chito" Tagle arrives for a meeting at the Vatican on Wednesday.
MANILA, Philippines — On the face of it Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio "Chito" Tagle has a lot going for him as a contender for pope. He's young: At 55, the second youngest of the cardinals. He sings and preaches on television, and has 120,000 followers on Facebook.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) has named him among the three "least worst" papal candidates because of the way he has spoken out on sex abuse by members of the clergy.
He speaks fluent Italian, English and Tagalog, and his French and Latin are said to pretty good too. The National Catholic Reporter recently called him "an effective missionary and communicator," and described him as the face of a "dynamic and relatively angst-free form of Catholicism."
There's a growing tension between those who seek institutional tradition and those who want to move the Catholic Church forward and reenergize its ranks. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.
He became something of a protégé of Pope Benedict, and if elected would be Asia's first pope.
Before getting carried away, though, it is worth looking at what he has been doing with those communication skills and the state of Catholic Church here in the Philippines.
It is locked in a fierce battle with the government over social reform, in what has become a struggle for hearts and minds in a country where for centuries the church wielded enormous and almost unchallenged power.
Four-fifths of the Philippines' 104 million people are Catholic, and the country has one of the highest birth rates in Asia.
The most recent dispute was over a law to help the country's poorest women gain access to birth control and introduce sex education in public schools and family-planning training for community health officers. It was finally passed by parliament late last year after being stalled for a decade by opposition from the church.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippine declared that "contraception is corruption!" and that the moral fiber of the nation was at risk.
Critics say the Church's doctrinaire attitude has for decades been the biggest single drag on social and economic development in the Philippines, where the U.N. estimates that half the country's 3.4 million annual pregnancies are unintended, and improved maternal health care would save hundreds of pregnancy-related deaths every year.
A large banner opposing the law still hangs on Manila Cathedral, and the Catholic groups are mobilizing for forthcoming senate elections, where they intend to target senators who supported the legislation.
The passing of what's called the Reproductive Health Act was a severe blow to an institution that had commanded almost unwavering support.
Suddenly it is no longer taboo to defy the church, and President Benigno Aquino III has vowed to press on with changes, with reformers urging him to liberalize abortion and divorce laws.
Surprisingly, the coverage of the conclave by the Philippine media has been very low key, though that could change if it drags on and Tagle is seen as having a serious chance.
There is nothing Filipinos like more than seeing one of their own making a big impact on the global stage. One young woman even described the battle for the papacy as rather like watching Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao in one of his international prize fights, and feeling the same sense of pride.
On the face of it, there's a big difference between the boxing ring and the Sistine Chapel, yet both require some pretty deft footwork.
And Tagle, with his easy smile and disarming charm, will be a key player, even if he is regarded as an outside bet for the crown.
But his is not the easy charm of a social reformer. Far from it. And reformers here in Manila fear that in the knockabout world of Philippine politics, a strong performance by Tagle in Rome could strengthen the hand of conservatives at home fighting what many regard as much-needed reforms.
/
The pope delivers his final audience in St. Peter's Square as he prepares to stand down.
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Elect a non-white pope and the remaining white Catholics will leave the religion and become agnostic. Catholic religion is a Corporate entity under the guise of religion.
Why would you say such a thing? I am a white Catholic and I will welcome a non-white pope with as much joy as a white one.
Most all religions are corporations anymore. GOD's church is right outside my door...the trees, the grass, the wind blowing through my hair...thats where you find GOD. He doesn't exist in a building built by permits and screws, drywall and wiring. The creator is in everything he created!
GOD > entropy...always!
We have a black president but didn't leave the U.S. I attend Mass in a church with blacks, Asians, and Hispanics and we all worship together. Outside of the United States and Europe most Catholics are black, Hispanic, or Asian. They deserve representation too. And don't forget, Jesus wasn't a white European.
Fool
To say that the Catholic Religion is a white religion is absurd. What narrow minded plane to you live in you bigot. There are probably more non-white Catholics than White Catholics, some people are so ignorant.
In any event it is time the Catholic Church changes their stance on contraception. In the world today it is not financially nor morally right to just keep having children like litters of animals. Not everyone can be the Dugger's and just keep pumping out children without a means of support, and it is time the Catholic Church realizes this. I know the bible states "Be Fruitful and Multiply" but that is just not practical in today's world.
They also need to alter their stance on a number of other situations that are present in todays world and society if they want to continue on being the leaders of their religion. Trying to guide their flock with ideas and practices from the 14th century is not practical any longer and if they want to grow their flock they need to make changes or it will just keep dwindling more and more as it is doing today. It is also time they let Priests and Nuns marry if they so choose, the MAN MADE law that they must be celibate obviously is not working any longer, probably never did it just wasn't as visible as it is in todays high technology society.
Any new Pontiff needs to bring the Catholic Church into the 21st Century.
Um, I think the poster was trying to say that some Catholics are narrow minded.
The BIBLE says.."Be Fruitful and Multiply".......but it FORGOT to say, "Yes...MULTIPLY..but within reason." But......whenever the CATHOLIC CHURCH is DOMINANT in any country of the world....like the Philippines..... You can almost BET....on TOTAL abject POVERTY among it's people......simply because the masses, like a bunch of IGNORANT HERD listen to their FATHER CONFESSOR.......to be "Fruitful and Multiply".........REGARDLESS of the ability of the family "to provide" a decent and moral way of life for their children.
All you have to do is LOOK at the countries of the world where CATHOLICISM is DOMINANT. And then.....DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS. You don't have to be a ROCKET SCIENTIST to think REASONABLY on this. Just add..."Two and Two" together.
I have since LEFT the RELIGION where my parents "Baptist me Catholic" without my KNOWLEDGE....or APPROVAL.....simply because I was "too little" to have a say on the subject. The CATHOLICS just LOVE....."STATUES, POMP and CIRCUMSTANCE, HOCUS POCUS, BLACK MAGIC, and certain beliefs that are NOT based on the BIBLE." I dare you to tell me whether this is TRUE. Other CHRISTIANS have said that this PARTICULAR RELIGION....is FALSE.....and full of the DEVIL.
Europe is already a godless society, the American Atheist is no longer afraid to say it loud and proud. A non-white pope just makes it a lot easier to leave the faith, whether we talk about it in polite society is a different question. Bluntly speaking, Catholic Inc. is going ghetto.
We have a priest from Ghana at our parish and everybody loves him he is very smart and Holy man, so stick that up your pipe and smoke it you ignoramus.
Too many ultra-conservative Cardinals to elect a non-white Pope. Besides, the next Pope will be an Italian. They haven't had one in 35 years, they have a large block of votes (25), and it's "tradition".
Oooooh, I want cream of sum yung guy! Send in alter boy!
realist,
Wow, spoken as if you had a clue. But you don't.
next....
BillyBob,
It has not been a tradition for 35 years. So, it is not tradition right now, is it?
Actually, anyone who has been to the Philippines knows that most of your views are wrong. The church has wielded some majority in the terms of society and it has caused poverty in many instances simply for the fact, that birth control and divorce was not allowed. That is practically the only reason anyone ever wanted to leave the Philippines for.
Having said that, the Philippines is one of the kindest and most welcoming places around. Part of the reason, is because God has played an important part in the Philippines lifestyle.
Are poor people religious or are religious people poor?
This is my fear exactly: either not electing or worse, ELECTING because of skin color. Lets not react either way to an "appeal" factor. Please! But I have another prejudice in the matter which I'm holdin' on for dear life to. I'm hoping against hope that some clown who preaches on TV and sings, doesn't get it. Billy Graham may have had a talent, but he was aware of the charisma/confidence factor he had, and didn't try to either lighten up or sing: he left that to the Gaithers, down home. Lets leave the genres each to its own expertise. At the local level, to marshall a known populace, I'm sure he's great. A Pope shouldn't have personal PR value as top card on the deck. Well spoken, with dignity. Friendly and approachable looking but with the implication that this is a very serious tough minded man; WITH EXPERIENCE and a track record I approve. I want to know he moved Church forces on issues. I want to know there's a fury about the priest scandal. A guy strong enough to listen to the urgings of all parts of the world and do what's right for the core faith. Lets have strong and deep. I don't want tap dance. This is an international, serious post. Frankly, we want that familiar firelight to warm at and a parade that impresses the world with how incredible it is that Catholicism still flourishes in spite of many meanderings. I want some pomp and circumstance too. USA lists quite enough evening quickie and "folk" masses, or accompanied by some little musical ditty written by Sister Mary Frittata. (Thank God for ecumanism. At least the hymnals got some damn fine anthems added back in for popular use.) I'm for High Mass in Cathedral churches to "remind" and "raise" us occasionally. It's just as dopey to ignore the huge scope, magnificance and seriousness of God as to only see Him in the poor and simple and wanting. [It's not simple minded. Take science: if I were going to break the space barrier and travel light years away for the first time, I'd put my faith in the God of the grand universe and complete scheme including quantum physics and every other thing the hip of hop will never study or want to, and the poor can't take the time surviving to envision.] Everybody I know who elected Obama because of skin color because they thought he'd know how to benefit the "poor" wants to cancel their ticket before they're laid off at work. If you like his politics, leadership, character and think he's strong enough to do the job: great. If it's just appeal - -think it over.
unhappy: um, yeah, that's why we can't send packages to our friends in the Philippines....truthfully, the parcel delivery system, like much of everything else in the Pilippines, is corrupt with a capital "C"....fine Catholics that they are....
Corrupt with a capital "C" fine Americans elected to the people's house (which is now closed to tours -- unless you have a spare $500k lying around). Try not to throw stones when we are living in a glass country.
Ralph J. Monasterio........you are pathetic to be using the the roman catholic church as the root of poverty. all you said are lies, the truth is the government corruptions in all shapes/forms made the people of the world without the upper hand poor. yes, corruptions are the common denominator building a society with predominantly poor people period. you should redeem yourself with your lies by acknowledging the true reason of poverty is nothing but corruptions, has nothing to do with the roman catholic religion. to say, you left the roman catholic church causing poverty to the people is too ridiculous, definitely you can leave the roman catholic church as you wish, but your bad mouthing accusations of the roman catholic religion is blasphemous.
They need a Pope from the middle east.
If all the people in the United States who identify themselves as practicing Catholics were told to leave the Church if they didn't fully support the Church's stance on birth control, there would be almost no one left to lead.
But why would we do that? The Catholic Church takes a lot of positions that have nothing to do with our basic beliefs (the Nicene Creed). Theologically they are correct (Genesis says God said to be fruitful and multiply), but practically that teaching can be hard to follow. Do you think priests look at their parishes and don't recognize that most Catholic families now consist of only one or two children, and that large families are a rarity? Of course they notice that.
Catholics lie as often as anyone else, but they church doesn't "Well, people lie, so let's preach homilies saying that lying is ok." We have Catholics (soldiers/law enforcement officers) who have killed, but the church doesn't say "Killing is ok, as long as you have a good reason." Jesus said that to look at someone other than your spouse with lust is committing adultery in your heart, and by that standard most of us have committed adultery at some time, and many of us do it daily, but the church will never say that adultery is ok because everyone does it.
I don't think I'd want to belong to a church that says anything goes, that there are no standards. I expect my church to preach the ideal. However I also expect my church to accept the fact that most of us don't always measure up to that ideal. Jesus was known for hanging out with sinners in his day. I guess that he still does.
People attending church are all hypocrites. They pick and choose what they want to follow as it suits them. But that doesn't stop them from condemning others who do the same.
Bingo, Gawker! But they will never admit to that.
Alice,
Oh? How do you "know" that? Just your "opinion"? Hmmm?
Gawker,
How would you know that "all" or even "most" are that way? Do you know most or all of us? No?
So why say what you don't know? Just being nasty?
New Gawker........your are the hypocrite to weigh in, on the roman catholic religion, for not a roman catholic, but a catholic basher/bully, stirrer of true issues to falsehood. yes, the rest of hypocrites like you, with made up stories against the roman catholic church will not break the faith of 1.2 billion roman catholics. too bad your ego trip will just be that a trip to nowhere.
Cardinal Tagle is the atheists' and liberals' worst nightmare.
Which is why I like his candidacy!
actually you like him because he is obviously on the "sweet" side as they say! Don't forget to tithe me that 10% now OK? Baa baa baa
Why? Is he ready to crank up the german military do genocide again?
Intelligence and education is the churches worst nightmare. Too bad they cannot stop the internet.
Intelligence and education are the Devil's playground. You sir should not rely so much on the internet for your education and intelligence. Apparently it's taking you nowhere good.
losghost,
Seems that the atheists are the ones that like to crank up the killing machines against the Christians and other religious. Hitler. Stalin. Mao. Hmm. Why is that?
Um Hate to burst your bubble, but Hitler was a devout catholic. Got mitt uns (god with us) was stamped on every nazi belt buckle.
The reason he hated jews was due to Catholic teachings. It started with the apostle Paul beginning the idea that jews were responsible for the death of jesus. The blame expanded then to ALL jews by Melito of Sardis around 167 AD and later expanded upon by Peter Chrysologus.
His words:
Yup, sounds like something an atheist would say.
Not to mention Hitler was instrumental in the vatican being it's own state today. He put pressure on Mussolini to give the church it's autonomy.
And before you being with the "Hitler wasn't a real Christian.... ".
He killed 6.5 million men, women, and children for his beliefs. What have you done to show your conviction?
Even if you could (and you cannot) prove that Hitler wasn't a christian, all those people that followed him, and committed those atrocities with their hand, were, in fact, Christians.
No matter how you slice it, the holocaust is christian and in particular, Catholic baggage.
Stalin didn't kill anyone in the name of not believing in a god. He did for political reasons. What supports your assertion that there was a doctrine behind it? He targeted other power brokers, which includes the church.
Mao is from a part of the planet that has religious ideology that is simply incompatible with western god head concepts. Taoism, Shintoism, Buddhism, et al is not exactly atheist from my point of view.
Again, vying for political influence with the church through military means is not equal to atheist doctrine. You don't kill people in the name of non belief and I challenge you to show that they did.
Try again.
Hitler, 1941: "I am now as before a Catholic and will always remain so."
Never3putts, lol!
If he really is a contender, the church would do well to elect him. He is young and handsome and more likely to be in tune to younger generations. He would appeal greatly to younger Catholics.
You want a pope that's handsome? Really?
What does his looks have to do with anything???
Spare us the honor as it would only highlight the shortcomings of Catholicism in the Philippines from cleric sexual abuse to its insincere stance on the fight against corruption.
What?
arthur-1525682........the roman catholic religion is not political, but spiritual, focuses solely on prayers for the truths to prevail, like the cases of priests sexual abuse where deep prayers were/are offered for the lying priests to come clean with their sins. cleric sexual abuses must be punished to the fullest extent of the law if guilty, proven beyond reasonable doubt. clerics (priests) are humans facing daily temptations to become sinners, while those who can resist temptations are saints. the divider of evil (bad) and good is a thin line like thread. go figure that out.</strong>
They claim "contraception is corrupt" ... yet what about the church coverups. Their own practice of sex is what is corrupt and without contraception their religion will continue to lose those members who have better common sense about the problems of our planet. How would they know what is corrupt if they continue to practice the form of corruption they turn they eyes away from and pretend it isn't happening. You know all we hear about are the males who are being homosexually abused by priests. Too bad the nuns will never come out with the truth about how much they are sexually abused by their male brethren - the alter boys are just the tip of the iceberg.
Allan Griffith........you are not a roman catholic to understand, its so easy for you to judge the roman catholics. sadly there are roman catholics with the same irrational thoughts like yourself. roman catholicism teachings are simply that teachings to individual, therefore its up to the individual to carry out the moral teachings of GOD, yes its between the individual and GOD or between you and GOD alone, nobody else to live with the moral teachings of GOD. one of many roman catholic teachings is you are not to judge others, GOD despise judgmental people, only GOD is to judge. but prayers are done collectively with each individual holding in their hearts earthly wishes, GOD will favor/grant. the true meaning of roman catholic religion can simply be defined as spiritual faith/belief, concentrating solely on prayers, not on philosophical thinking of men, because man's logic is earthly can never ever be in line with the way of GOD's thinking.
Why are people looking for reformers if the Catholic church is the church of God? If it's the church of a group of men then I could understand, however God is not the author of confusion - and His laws are His - and don't change with the persuasions of men/womem. It's the opposite - if you believe it's really God's church here on earth then YOU change your life to live HIS values, principals, and laws.
Being the church of man though I guess I can see why they all have such a differing of opinion.
Really?-5403351:
Even the Galatian church needed to be cleared up on their confusion, as you read St. Paul's letter to them.
this is the harmful effect of bible interpretations. pros/cons mainly to satisfy egocentricity.
Just goes to show you that the Catholic Church is not that different from Islamic thinking. Regardless of the outcome they will push their controlling ideology that will harm millions just to maintain their illusion of being "God Like". They as a group are the delusional idiots that have done far more harm than good in the history of the world.
My, William, you are scared already, and they have not even voted! ROTFLMAO
No one is forced to be a Catholic. You can quit anytime you want to.
William-360414........shame on you to line roman catholicism with islamic thinking. for you to put up such a sham is ignorant.
Here's a catchy tune to enjoy while following the conclave:
http://lyrics.wikia.com/Tim_Minchin:The_Pope_Song
Don't know how its run in other catholic countries but in the Philippines it is MONEY that makes the church go round. Ask anyone and they will tell you that catholic schools run by priests have the most outrageous tuition fees(4 times more than non-catholic schools), and their mission for starting a school was to help educate the poor. Its really BS to hear our parish priest talk during homily cuz almost everything he says he does differently. Its really a shame that the church today is nothing but a sham.
Most private schools are higher in cost than public schools since they do not normally get tax money.
You might want to leave then.
Parents send their children to Catholic schools in the Philippines primarily because there are to many gang bangers in the public schools. You really do pay for your child's safety.
did these roman catholic churches and schools hold a gun in your head to force you to give money to the church or force you to pay catholic school high tuitions?
I nominate Barack Obama for Pope.............Oh, that's right...........you have to be Catholic, not a MUSLIM!!!!
ooooh, don't you sound all edumacated like....
This is the century of CHINOS.
Whether from China Mongolia Philippines or other areas on earth.
No Anglos Latinos Afros or others. 20th Century and before 1000 years the conquests of Anglos Latinos are 'legendary'. Many lands were occupied and people tortured and killed.
Chinos Occupy Tibet and Northern India with military forces and weak and stupid scared are accepting occupation.
CHINOS are expanding and threating and occupying all its neighbors including Chinos lookalike.
This is the Century of CHINOS.----- It will the best move by Anglos to have CHINOS POPE.
At one step Billions of Catholics- Grand Bargain!
Wow. Cotton pants have come a long way!
bitteruglytruth........what chinos are you talking about in this holy conclave. is there a chinese cardinal present in the conclave? or are you just playing sarcasm, say what? chinos lookalike exposing your ignorance of the topic.
Luis Antonio "Chito" Tagle , Just what the world needs.
What amazes me is all of you naysayers who say they don't care, yet you spend time commenting when something is posted. Hmmmmmm I really don't care who they elect; the Catholic church needs a new Pope be that person, black, white, brown, yellow or pink with purple polkadots. And the Catholic church is not the only corrupt church - look at Westboro Baptist (although even the Baptist church does not recognize them) remember Jimmy Swaggart? The chick who wore all the mascara (her name escapes me at the moment) and cried all the time; her husband ended up in jail so don't go pointing fingers at the Catholic church before you take a good look around.
Tammy and Jim Baker.
By the way, Jim Baker is still on TV, still reaping the donations of gullible idiots.
SteveR,
Thanks for that. I had no idea, and find it to be the most incredible news of the day, so far. How stupid can people be?
From the article:
"Least worst" are the operative words. Unfortunately Tagle advocates the same irresponsible "don't call the cops" position that caused the pedophilia scandal in the first place
In other words: "don't call the cops when you discover a pedophile priest." And for god's sakes don't tell the media lest the community be informed that a pedophile is in their midst. Sounds like the same old criminal conspiracy.
Sorry but the "coloreds" will be disappointed again, a White will be chosen!
I love how SNAP considers this guy the LEAST worse of all candidates. LOL! That should tell you something about the corporate entity known as the Roman Catholic church. Seems like choosing a new pope is like choosing the BEST cellphone carrier.
At least Tagle hasn't personally raped any kids (as far as we know), but like his colleagues he thinks when a kid is raped by a priest you should call a bishop and definitely not call the cops.
He simply doesn't get it.
That's because anyone who has been to the Philippines knows that the Catholic church there really is a hideout for gays.
Being that you are such an advocate of gays, do you really want to start the discussion on how pedophilia is only done by heterosexuals and not by homosexuals?
The results would surprise you.
ok lets get a black pope now so we can thruelly see the white mans face we have a black president and they have there foot up there ass lets see a pope..please lord let it happen .........amen
Can't change Jesus color now can you kunta kentae!! How bout your black pope and black president stops the 500 blacks from killing each other in chicago
A pedophile priest is simply a "sick man" like many other sick men around the world. Just remember, You can lock your door on a thief but not a liar. These "men" lie and manipulate their way into the church and into the lives of their victims. They are the scum of the earth and found everywhere not just the Catholic Church.
Agreed. Peds are in all walks of life.
But it was the Catholic hierarchy which conspired to cover up those crimes, moved the pedophiles to new unsuspecting parishes so they could rape even more children, paid $20,000 bonuses to pedophiles.....and never once called the cops or alerted the parents or the local community.
skrekk,
Some did. Not acceptable anyway. Most did not.
Next....
You mean call the cops? There's no evidence anyone in the Catholic hierarchy ever called the cops when they suspected pedophilia. Their first instinct was always to call a bishop and cover up the crime. Their second instinct was to move the pedophile to another parish so he could rape more children. Their third instinct was to give the rapist a huge bonus. Their fourth instinct was to hide church assets, to keep them safe from rape victims seeking justice.
shrekk........do you really have the facts or do you really have pieces of unsubstantiated made up events taken from liberal main stream medias, as if your accusations are the absolute truth. get your strongest evidence of these rapist priests getting bonuses, superiors conniving, priest moving to another parish. priests are moved around to other parishes all the time, a practice used maliciously by roman catholic bashers, like you.
OK, since you obviously are rather clueless and haven't been paying attention to this issue at all, here's where the church paid $20K bonuses to a number of priests who had raped kids:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/us/cardinal-authorized-payments-to-abusers.html
An ethical organization would have simply called the cops and fired the pedophiles, but that's not what the Catholic church did at all.
And here's where Cardinal Dolan moved assets into "cemetery funds" which couldn't be touched by a bankruptcy court, in order to avoid paying compensation to rape victims:
http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/victims-caught-milwaukees-shell-game
The rest of your comment reveals that you know nothing at all about this issue, since the church has a consistent pattern of moving pedophiles from one parish to the next. Never once did they call the cops.
strong>ng>
skrekk........NY times the most far, far lefty newspaper, now dwindling in sales is not a believable source of factual news. these lefty liberal main stream medias are known to edit the truth fooling the general public, showing degree of success with obama's reelection. your second source did not match any documents.
what do you mean, i am not knowledgeable about what's the truth about the roman catholic religion. who are you to say, you are the well informed, when in fact you are ill informed about the roman catholic church. the infos against the roman catholic church are the results of the cleaners for the public to digest.
Archaic institution, led by archaic men. Keep a country backward, by pushing unwanted babies through womens bodies, increasing childhood death, mothers deaths and having too many kids to meaningfuly support. The virgin birth is so obviously made up its pathetic that anyone would belive that nonsense. Pedophiles hiding behind church robes is a heinous crime. A God man, trained in india, a master of meditation pays a visit and that ignorant italian bunch, stops killing the world and starts lying to the world instead. All the clear thinking people on earth look at this institution and shake their heads in total disbelief. Proof that mankind is irrational, and not just a little bit stupid. I hope, for the sake of 1.5 Billion people on this planet, they grow up...or cease to exist.
Precisely. A ritualized attempt to take us back to the Bronze Age.
And yet, most of the US describes themselves as Christians. Hmmm.
clearshot........the women itself were the one who pushed these unwanted pregnancies to themselves, not the roman catholic church. the roman catholic teachings, one of them is anti abortion are embraced voluntarily by the true followers/believers of the roman catholic religion. for you to say the roman catholic teachings are forced to anybody is a big fat lies. nobody are forced to become a roman catholic, now there are currently 1.2 billion roman catholics. get your facts straight, there are over 7 billion people on earth.
That woman who "described the battle for the papacy as rather like watching Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao in one of his international prize fights" has it exactly right. That is exactly how the cardinals should decide who will be the next pope...boxing. For all we know, it makes as much sense as what they're doing anyway. Look for cuts and bruises on the new pope when he shows up on the balcony, and you'll have your answer. In the meantime, read your Bible...Yahweh loves a good fight!
Isn't Islamic "sharia Law" similar to the "Catholic Law" when it says that everybody must follow our teachings! The teachings are different of course, but the premise is the same. I feel that all religions have a right to teach their followers whatever they want but you must not impose your ideological laws on everyone else. I say no to Sharia Law and Catholic Law!
The spirit is the same, but unlike Islamic theocracies, the Roman church no longer kills people who don't follow their teachings.
Not because they wouldn't left to their own devices, but because the rest of us no longer allow them to do that. The Catholic church even kept slaves in Ireland until 1996 and they only stopped due to public outrage.
And in the US (and many other countries) the Catholic church still spends millions lobbying our secular government to enforce Catholic sharia law against gays and women.
TRUTH. Nope.
skrekk........what a stirrer of facts. you concocted what Catholic sharia law? you cannot fool people all of the time. so, be precise what roman catholic church or churches are lobbying in this current godless government. show your evidence, stop fabricating ill statements against the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, again i said ROMAN catholic church, if you really know what i mean, which i strongly doubt, since you are not a roman catholic yourself.
Ummmm......the Catholic and Mormon cults are the leading funders of hate groups like NOM which lobby against the civil rights of gay Americans.
And the Catholic cult is leading the charge against the reproductive rights of women under Obamacare. Apparently they realize that since 98% of Catholic women ignore the church on contraception, they need the government to impose Catholic sharia law even on non-Catholics.
skrekk........the stance of the roman catholic church against providing birth control pills to women, only a roman catholic understanding the religion will see through, its against GOD's teachings. the roman catholic church is not saying they can control the actions of the non believers, those identifying themselves as catholic women already on birth control pills, who can easily get these affordable birth control pills, like buying the comparable price of a cosmetic. birth control pills surely will not be financed by the roman catholic church, who have the right to express their belief, being infringed upon by the federal government. shame on you, to call that lobbying. this is religious freedom being undermined by obamacare, a fight expected to go all the way to SCOTUS.
Actually that's exactly what they're doing - the RCC wants the religious views of an employer to trump the religious views of all of his employees.......even if that employer is a Jehovah Witness who wants his employees to be denied insurance coverage for blood transfusions, even though that insurance is part of an employee's total compensation for their hard work.
Nonsense. You nutballs will lose since there's lots of legal precedents about the difference between employees who are clergy vs those who are secular employees of a church-owned business. This one will be a no-brainer for the court - they won't even bother to hear the case.
And on the issue of equal civil rights for gays, the Catholic church wants all Americans to be forced to comply with the RCC's sharia law against same-sex marriage........which is pretty funny given that no one is forced to comply with the RCC's sharia law against divorce or remarriage. Maybe that's why 71% of American Catholics support marriage equality, because their cult's bizarre views force them to understand the difference between a secular legal contract and an irrelevant religious rite.
skrekk........you really are the twister of the truth. the roman catholic church an employer itself is only speaking fighting for themselves against this obamacare birth control pills provision. the roman catholic church is not intimidating, involving other sector of religion. clearly, you got this lies from lefties medias. what nonsense are you talking about, the roman catholic church as an employer employs qualified employees, not based on employee's religion. the issue is straight forward the roman catholic religious belief is against financing birth control pills period, for a liberal government to direct the roman catholic church to pay for birth control pills is against their religious belief, infringing on the freedom of religion, the SCOTUS is obligated to intervene, if not resolved in the lower courts.
the roman catholic church is not legally fighting the same sex marriage in court. the many teaching of the roman catholic church is marriage between man and woman only, disallowed divorce and remarriage. those raised as roman catholics knew these teachings, not forced to anybody like there is a gun held in anybody's head, if they cannot comply they also know what to do next. stop your nonsense made up ignorant concoction of RCC's sharia law, are you saying its right to say GAY's sharia laws?
Wow, you really are totally clueless, aren't you? The US Conference of Catholic Bishops filed two amicus briefs with the supreme court, one in favor of DOMA and the other in favor of Prop h8.........and that's not including all the amicus briefs their numerous hate group proxies like NOM filed.
skrekk........show your hard evidences, so far you have none to show except your made up stuffs. your stated stuffs is more of a turn around to make it look like a case, rather than amicus briefs, with two issues upheld as laws, trying hard to be overturned by people like you, lefties liberal, again you think you can fool people all of the time with your twisted informations. what? call me clueless, well i call you manipulator of the truth, liar to push your foolish agenda of bashing the roman catholic religion, whose belief is marriage is between a man and a woman period and not with each other.
As I observed, your cult wants to use our secular government to force everyone to live under your sharia laws. You've just proved my point.
Not a reformer: that sounds right up the Catholic Church's alley.
but, clearshot, the church does a lot of good things too... like, um, well there's... uhh, um... i'll be right back
Partially repair the tremendous problems they instigate?
The Roman church, like most allegedly "Christian" churches, does feed (some of) the poor and treat (some of) the sick. That's the secret to why Christianity gets converts in 3rd world countries: free stuff!
Steve,
It worked for Obama.
The Catholic Church helps more people than any organization in the world.
NC- it also hurts more people than any other organization in the world. Look at the zillions of homeless kids in South America, begging in the streets. Why does that happen? Because poor people are told it's wrong to limit their family size according to their income. The church helps some of them. But the church caused the problem in the first place.
third world countries main problems are corruptions in all forms and shapes. the roman catholic church, as one of many christian churches do what they can do, to help the poor, following the words of GOD bless are those helping the poorest among us, since GOD loves the poor. obama's nanny projects comparison to the poor people of the world are like comparing the dead heat of summer to the dead cold of winter. poor people of the world are the victims of their own corrupted ruling government, either they themselves put them in power or rig election results, a no win win situation for the poor masses.