[Clemenza]

"The clergy, by getting themselves established by law and ingrafted into the machine of government, have been a very formidable engine against the civil and religious rights of man." --Thomas Jefferson to Jeremiah Moor, 1800.

"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes." --Thomas Jefferson to Alexander von Humboldt, 1813. ME 14:21

"In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own." --Thomas Jefferson to Horatio G. Spafford, 1814. ME 14:119

That being said, lets all agree that it would be foolish to think that our Catholic fellow citizens (including much of my own family) are due loyalists (the countless Catholics who have died in service to their country prove this) nor that even many in the clergy desire a dictatorship. Nevertheless, there remains an extremist wing in the RCC (which includes a handful of freepers) who are outright hostile to the principles of the Anglo-Scottish Enlightenment that gave birth to this country, and who seek the return of a so-called "glorious age" when all are/were united religiously under Rome (the "unity" has been disproved by the countless wars, between Christian nations, as well as conflicts between throne and altar), and the Enlightenment never happened.

The best thing to do with these people is to point and laugh. Merely a Confederacy of Dunces.

[HereInTheHeartland]

I won't stay up at night worrying about this one. I just wish they would have succeeded with the Crusades.

[TradicalRC]

Let us please ignore the historical fact that virtually ALL dictatorships have been secular, NOT Catholic. But by all means, keep straining at the gnat while swallowing your camel.

[r9etb]

Reginald Firehammer.... doing his part for America by reminding us what a damned fool looks like.

[Romulus]

The ultimate intention of Catholicism is the restoration of the Holy Roman Empire.

The ultimate intention of Catholicism is the salvation of souls. Which the restoration of a Christian empire would tend to promote. Where do I sign?

[HarleyD]

Is this any surprise to anyone? The Catholic Church has always viewed itself as the ONE true church and historically before the Reformation had a view of groups of countries ruled over by the Holy Roman Empire. Sir Thomas More, a saint of the Church, wrote Utopia about this issue.

They have a schism within their own theology these days. If they believe salvation can take part outside the Catholic Church, then they are really saying they are not the ONE true church. Really, for what practical purpose is the Eucharist? If they say salvation and grace is given ONLY through the Catholic Church, then they do wish to become the Holy Roman Church. God's grace is truly given through the Eucharist dispense by the Church. They are really at odds with their own Canon 1 from the Fourth Laterin Council of 1215.

There is one Universal Church of the faithful, outside of which there is absolutely no salvation. In which there is the same priest and sacrifice, Jesus Christ, whose body and blood are truly contained in the sacrament of the altar under the forms of bread and wine; the bread being changed (transsubstantiatio) by divine power into the body, and the wine into the blood, so that to realize the mystery of unity we may receive of Him what He has received of us. And this sacrament no one can effect except the priest who has been duly ordained in accordance with the keys of the Church, which Jesus Christ Himself gave to the Apostles and their successors.

But the sacrament of baptism, which by the invocation of each Person of the Trinity, namely of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is effected in water, duly conferred on children and adults in the form prescribed by the Church by anyone whatsoever, leads to salvation. And should anyone after the reception of baptism have fallen into sin, by true repentance he can always be restored. Not only virgins and those practicing chastity, but also those united in marriage, through the right faith and through works pleasing to God, can merit eternal salvation.

Part of Canon 1 of the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215

You can't say you are dispensing God's grace through the Eucharist and still believe there are other means of salvation. You're either the ONE true Holy Church despensing God's grace or you're not. Their doctrine and logic is flawed IMO.

[ThomasMore]

The most important point is to understand that when a Catholic talks about liberty or freedom, it is not individual liberty that is meant, not the freedom to live one's life as a responsible individual with the freedom to believe as one chooses, not the freedom to pursue happiness, not the freedom to produce and keep what one has produced as their property. What Catholicism means by freedom, is freedom to be a Catholic, in obedience to the dictates of Rome

Absolute Baker Sierra!

Deacon Francis

[rosettasister]

I am more than a little alarmed at how much anti-Catholic sentiment there is out there.

Doesn’t seem very Christian or very Loving.

Too much disinformation. How will we ever arrive at anything approaching truth?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as_q=vatican+illuminati+freemason&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&num=10&lr=&as_filetype=&ft=i&as_sitesearch=bibliotecapleyades.net&as_qdr=y&as_rights=&as_occt=any&cr=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&safe=images#q=vatican+illuminati+freemason+site:bibliotecapleyades.net&hl=en&lr=&tbs=qdr:y&source=lnt&sa=X&ei=AM-GTJipLIT78AaI07CAAg&ved=0CA8QpwU&fp=42b734c4058bf708

[x_plus_one]

The ultimate intention of Catholicism is the restoration of the Holy Roman Empire

Conspiracy theories are great if you have competent conspirators. The catholic church is mired down in social justice dogma and it is not too big to fail. All big bureaucracies age and fail. Using the church as a straw man or pinata is at best low entertainment.

[Graybeard58]

Intended Catholic Dictatorship

I, as a Mason, resent that! We're already in charge.

[Gene Eric]

>> Article: “the complete rule of every aspect of life.”

Except that it’s derived from Christianity. Slight problem there.

[servantboy777]

ping

[HapaxLegamenon]

Holy Roman Empire

Not Holy

Not Roman

Not an Empire

In any case, the main purpose of Catholicism has to do with the heavenly kingdom, not an earthly one.

[phobia-dude]

It would very difficult to attack Islam or Judaism without causing a major fire storm. Christians, and especially Catholics are very peaceful people, hence you can dump on them with no consequences.

[Shadowstrike]

This is pathetic

How about we worry about the true threat to life, liberty and happiness...ISLAM!

This is a Muslim manifesto, that has just substituted the word Catholic.

Am I Catholic? No, but I worry more about the Raghead that keeps saying online, in print, and on TV that "Islam will rule the world", than I do about a Catholic with their Rosary.

[jimmygrace]

Catholics are by definition self-bound in servitude to Jesus. When a Catholic talks about freedom, it is freedom from the state, which always tries to displace bondage to God with bondage to government.

I find that when liberals or libertarians talk about freedom, it is often in the form of something debasing, such as cussing or doing drugs or nonvoncentional sex or being selfish. A Catholic will tell you that these things enslave rather than give freedom.