Waaaaaahhhhhh!
Posted on 02/03/2010 3:30:03 AM PST by Berlin_Freeper
You don't have to be RC to admire the Pope. Benedict is the equal or better of his predecessor John Paul, in my opinion -- less populist and more theologically deep (with great respect to John Paul's astounding job of global travel, smashing communism in Eastern Europe, revitalizing young believers around the world and enduring personal suffering).
I'm not RC, either; but I recall reading somewhere that before Benedict became Pope, his post as a key advisor to John Paul was as head of Vatican theological "policy" -- a critically important job due to the emergence of instant world communications during the 25-year reign of John Paul, which suddenly ramped up the speed and volume challenges to traditional authority. The Vatican had to interpret the scriptures for a barrage of of fashionable "new" satanic argument -- feminism, gayism, secularism, cloning, abortion, the normalization of out-of-wedlock sex, etc.
Despite the disappointing failures of some local clergy and dioceses in the priestly sex scandals and the incursion of Marxist/leftist "liberation theology" among Catholic leaders in this country and in South America, both John Paul and Benedict have led a church that remains theologically sound at the top. This is a saving grace and greatly deserving of respect, in that the former cultural leaders of Protestantism -- Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists, etc -- have vastly deteriorated theologically during the same period of challenge.
Amen. Least of all the unborn. Very true, except for martyrs.
Has been this way since the inception of God's Church. Lucifer and Co. never rest.
If the Protestant mainstream hadn't laid down and died and embraced abortion, living in sin and the homosexual agenda, it would be able to share the pain -- but noooooo.
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. —Matthew 10:22
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. —Matthew 19:29
Harry Knox’s religion is HOMOSEXUALITY!
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Harry Knox
Director, HRC Religion and Faith Program
Harry Knox joined the staff of the Human Rights Campaign in July 2005.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week940/pics/p_feature_knox.jpg
Knox’s prior management and advocacy experience includes having held the positions of business manager for patient services and comprehensive school health programs for the American Cancer Society, Georgia Division; director of development at Equality Florida; executive director of Georgia Equality; and program director for Freedom to Marry.
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HARRY KNOX (Human Rights Campaign): Gay people deserve the same right to marry that everybody else does. And God cares about our relationships the same way God cares about heterosexual relationships. We’re making the same commitments to each other. We have the same responsibilities to each other, and we deserve the same rights and responsibilities under the law that everyone else has.
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“The Pope’s statement that condoms don’t help control the spread of HIV, but rather condoms increase infection rates, is hurting people in the name of Jesus. …On a continent where millions of people are infected with HIV, it is morally reprehensible to spread such blatant falsehoods. The pope’s rejection of scientifically proven prevention methods is forcing Catholics in Africa to choose between their faith and the health of their entire community. Jesus was about helping the marginalized and downtrodden, not harming them further.”
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Knox, in an Apr. 6, 2007 statement on the HRC’s Web site, wrote: “In this holy Lenten season, it is immoral and insulting to Jesus to use the body and blood of Christ the reconciler as a weapon to silence free speech and demean the love of a committed, legally married couple.…The Human Rights Campaign grieves with the couple, Leah Vader and Lynn Huskinson, over this act of spiritual and emotional violence perpetrated against them.”
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In reaction to the Vatican’s refusal to sign a U.N. agreement that called for decriminalizing homosexuality and equating all sexual orientations, Knox and the HRC signed a statement with other pro-homosexual groups that read, in part: “As faith leaders we were shocked by Vatican opposition to this proposed initiative….By refusing to sign a basic statement opposing inhumane treatment of LGPT people, the Vatican is sending a message that violence and human rights abuses against LGBT people are acceptable. Many are speaking out against this immoral stance in the name of religion.”
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In March 2009, the HRC launched a new, interactive Web site called EndtheLies.org designed “to confront right-wing lies and distortions repeatedly used to defeat LGBT equality measures.” The wall features an image of Pope Benedict XVI and this statement: “Pope Benedict XVI has called same-sex relationships ‘a destruction of God’s work,’ opposed a U.N. resolution decriminalizing homosexuality, and claimed in March 2009 that the use of condoms increases HIV infections.”
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Mar. 19, 2009: The Bay Area Reporter in San Francisco quoted Knox as following, “The Knights of Columbus do a great deal of good in the name of Jesus Christ, but in this particular case [Proposition 8], they were foot soldiers of a discredited army of oppression.
“Knox noted that the Knights of Columbus ‘followed discredited leaders,’ including bishops and Pope Benedict XVI. ‘A pope who literally today said condoms don’t help in control of AIDS.’”
Someone once observed of children of divorce that they behave badly against the parent who has stayed with them and idealize the parent who has abandoned them. They unconsciously compute who will abandon them if they act out and who will stay there and take it.
Yes. It is one of the more astounding phenomena of American political life. It speaks to an intellectual deprivation or a laziness among working-class or poverty-class families (where Catholics and blacks traditionally outnumbered white Protestants until recently) about both politics and the true meaning of the Gospel.
IMO, only 5% to 10% of the adherents of any religion truly attempt to understand the meaning of their belief system. For most people of any religion, it's about family tradition, cultural habit or an emotional need for belonging, not about the integrity of living the true implications of their faith.
I'd have to agree with that, based on what I've seen over the years.
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