[topher]

I personally know a lot of Catholics who have had abortions. I guess they are not very good Catholics. Many Catholics also take birth control pills. I guess they will burn in hell for that as well if it hasn't been decreed that it is no longer a "sin" (like meat on Fridays). God will judge everyone. I'm too damned busy.

Even if a person has had an abortion, they can repent of it. In fact, in the Atlanta area, there are prominient Pro-Lifers who have had abortions that are doing everything they can to prevent young girls (and women) from making their mistake.

It is a sin to eat meat on Friday during Lent. However, the Catholic church has asked people not to eat meat on Friday the rest of the year (even though it is not a sin).

The Catholic Church teaches receiving the sacraments frequently, especially Holy Communion AND Penance (confession).

And the Pope is trying to get members of the conservative sect "Society of Pius X" to rejoin the church. Three of the four bishops ex-communicated will rejoin the church shortly. The fourth one has elected not to. It is unclear how many of the priests of this sect will rejoin the church.

Also, the Pope's most recent Encyclical on the Eucharist is meant to bring focus on this sacrament as well as crack down on abuses (something will be happening in the future with regards to rules to correct the abuses that have come in since Vatican II).

[thetruckster]

"It is a sin to eat meat on Friday during Lent. However, the Catholic church has asked people not to eat meat on Friday the rest of the year (even though it is not a sin)."

It was a sin to eat meat on Fridays when I was growing up. The schools served fish on Fridays so the Catholics could have a "non-meat" protein in their lunch. Funny, how sin gets reclassified.