Posted on 06/06/2009 6:58:57 AM PDT by NYer
Ding, dong, the bells are dead – at least on weekdays.
By court order, the electronic chimes that were rung each day by Cathedral of Christ the King Catholic Church in Phoenix, Ariz., are now confined to Sundays and special occasions, while the cathedral's leader, Bishop Rick Painter, faces potential jail time for playing the daily melodies.
Responding to complaints that the electronic bells at the northern Phoenix church were rung too loud and too often, a municipal court gave Painter three years probation and a suspended 10-day jail sentence on charges of violating city noise ordinances.
The judge further ordered that the church – which had been ringing the bells daily on the hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. – may now only ring the bells on Sunday mornings and a court-ordered list of select religious holidays.
"It's ridiculous to be sentenced to jail and probation for doing what churches have traditionally done throughout history," said a statement from Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, which has been retained by Painter. "Christians shouldn't be punished for exercising their faith publicly."
Separate investigations found the bells to be no louder on the street than a conversation or even local traffic, yet according to a report from KNXV-TV in Phoenix, neighbors testified the music disturbed them and made them feel like captives in their own homes.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
may now only ring the bells on Sunday mornings and a court-ordered list of select religious holidays.
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If it were me I’d ring the bells anyway.
This is nutty.
This is more sad news.
And actually,I am one of those people who find the hourly chiming annoying whether it be church bells,or the city(in my case) speakers which also play holiday music non-stop in season.
Why must some people constantly make noises ?Can't they enjoy a little quiet? Must they ruin the quiet for evreyone else,especially those who have worked the night shift or just don't feel the need of constant time reminders?
And I consider wind chimes an invention of the devil,designed so one cannot enjoy nature's own sounds of the wind in the willows(or pines)!
Ironically, in Hamtrank MI, the same thing occured. The court mandated that Churches stop ringing bells - but - gave permission to the local mosques to erect loudspeakers to call worshipers to prayer, 5 times a day.
Then spake the bells both loud and deep/ God is not dead nor doth he sleep./ The wrong shall fail, the right prevail . . .
(If you didn’t like the bells, why did you move your sorry asses next to a cathedral?)
I know this issue is not in the Constitution, but isn’t there something called separation of church and state? And if Catholics are being told when they can ring church bells, I think Muslims should be told about broadcasting their call to prayers!
I often feel that I’m living in Bizarro world these days.
How ridiculous! St. Mary’s downtown and my own church ring the bells every half hour. It’s a lovely sound.
Hear the mellow wedding bells -
Golden bells!
What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!
Through the balmy air of night
How they ring out their delight!
From the molten-golden notes,
And all in tune,
What a liquid ditty floats
To the turtle-dove that listens, while she gloats
On the moon!
Oh, from out the sounding cells
What a gush of euphony voluminously wells!
How it swells!
How it dwells
On the Future! -how it tells
Of the rapture that impels
To the swinging and the ringing
Of the bells, bells, bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells -
To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!
I’m with you hh. But I’m sure the little wannabee gangster punks are still driving around with their “boom box cars” blaring full tilt. A more recent annoyance for me are the boom box boats that go to a small lake where we like to camp. They have huge high tech speakers on them and blare some of the most disgusting rap songs I’ve ever heard. Even when they’re docked at the campsites.
We go there to be in nature and relax. These idiots spoil it for everyone.
These people march to the beat of their own drum and are not in communion with the Holy See. They are not Catholics. I see that Farah still has that crack staff of editors working for him at World Nut Daily.
It's not a Cathedral, it's a neighborhood church with the word "Cathedral" in it's name.
We used to live across the street from the Catholic Church. They’d ring bells every 15 minutes from 7 AM to 10 PM. We got used to it. They’d also play patriotic music or Christmas tunes on holidays. it was beautiful! We’d sit on the front porch so we could hear more. This ruling is ridiculous!
We used to live across the street from the Catholic Church. They’d ring bells every 15 minutes from 7 AM to 10 PM. We got used to it. They’d also play patriotic music or Christmas tunes on holidays. it was beautiful! We’d sit on the front porch so we could hear more. This ruling is ridiculous!
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