One of many reasons...

[Amethyst Hunter]

...the Catholic Church needs to be permanently abolished. (Or at least forced to relinquish their tax-exempt status, since they're so bent on meddling in politics where they have no business being)

Note: This is not about Catholicism per se, but specifically the institution itself that claims to be the head of the religion. I think the Church is and has been corrupt as hell (no pun intended) for ages, not to mention it's bloody misogynistic, and its borderline stone-aged thinking has just got to go.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7926694.stm - I find it very interesting how the leader in this case is focusing his wrath on everybody BUT the rapist scumbag who is responsible for the whole situation in the first place. This poor little girl is 9 YEARS OLD, already suffered one indignity, and now she can't even talk to her own mother lest *she* get excommunicated as well. (And before the anti-abortion stuff starts, her doctor specifically said that there was *no* way the child could have safely carried to term, much less given birth, so abortion *was* a medical necessity in this case.)

[Rapscallion]

That sort of thing would make me not want to be a part of a church that demanded such from its followers - were I one.

Rapscallion

[Talon]

Excommunicated?

Once the child understands everything that transpired, she should be excommunicating herself. "Bless you father, for thou hast sinned..."

What good are condemnations from such men?

[Seshat]

Martin Luther, we need you!

[tropicsgoddess]

This is exactly why I don't practice the religion I was baptized in (Catholicism).

[tabbyblack13]

Some of the beliefs are important but a book written by Man to control others is wrong. The bible is a book of morals that have been written and rewritten time and time again.

This poor girl had no option and the Church need to get a grip with reality. A nine year old girl can't carry a child full term unless the body is abnormally large. I don't care if the child is in Brazil, India, South Africa, or America. A child should not have to bear this burden. I do believed the *beeping* bastard should be strung up and various tools tried out on him.

[Evandril]

The part that gets to me the worst...there is no indication that the rapist was excommunicated.

[Slytovhand]

I had a really insane thought today. JC said that a new covenant was created, one in which the only thing humans need to do was worship God and love each other. The idea of judgement should be God's alone.

In this case, I don't think any church or religion should indicate that a human is unable to achieve a connection with divinity.


I think the priest would have been far better off just stating that he was a moron and had no connection with human values, rather than making some sort of religious comment

[Lace Neil Singer]

Where in the bible does it forbid abortion? In any case, I guess the rapist was spared excommunication cuz he's a man, and it's a woman's point in life, even if said woman is a poor little girl, to bear sons for men.

[MadMike]

I'm against abortion in most cases. However, I have no problem with it in cases of rape, or where having it will seriously injure or kill the woman (or girl in this case.) And it's definitely a case of the former, and most likely a case of the latter as well.

My reaction was the same as the OP's: Why is the church making so much noise about the doctor who provided the abortion, and yet silent about the rapist?

[Talon]

In any case, I guess the rapist was spared excommunication cuz he's a man, and it's a woman's point in life, even if said woman is a poor little girl, to bear sons for men.

Only sons? Wouldn't that mean if everything went according to plan, the world would run out of daughters to bear new sons? I guess that means Adam will have to spare another rib

[Lace Neil Singer]

If you read the first chapters of the bible, there is no mention whatsoever of there being any women born. XD They mention the men having wives, but where the bloody hell did they all come from?

[Amethyst Hunter]

If you read the first chapters of the bible, there is no mention whatsoever of there being any women born. XD They mention the men having wives, but where the bloody hell did they all come from?

Women didn't count in those times (and one might feasibly argue that we STILL don't count, in a lot of societies). It's amazing that any mention of women was made at all considering the stories of Deborah and Esther, but then they were probably only granted special status because they were there to - you guessed it - serve the men in some capacity. (Deborah was a prophetess if I'm not mistaken, and her insight was so important that the leader of an Israelite army refused to go into battle without her. Esther was given away in marriage to a king who was hellbent on nailing the Jews; her strategy was able to spare them a death sentence and a traitorous relative got offed instead.)

Read yesterday that a senior dipshit - I mean, official - from the Vatican is backing the Brazilian church official who called for the excommunications. Color me not surprised. I can't wait till the Vatican is relegated to an impotent relic of ancient history.

[protege]

Read yesterday that a senior dipshit - I mean, official - from the Vatican is backing the Brazilian church official who called for the excommunications. Color me not surprised. I can't wait till the Vatican is relegated to an impotent relic of ancient history.

That doesn't surprise me. These are, after all, the same people who tried to cover up the recent sex scandals. Rather than deal with the problem, they tried to pretend it didn't exist...by moving accused priests to different parishes, and/or by paying victims to keep their mouths shut. That all fell apart when the negative publicity forced the Vatican to actually do something.

My problem with the Catholic church, is that it's always been slow in adapting to changing conditions. They're still teaching "abstinence-only" when it comes to sex education, and then can't understand the rise in pregnancies. Telling someone not to do something is only going to make them curious...and do it anyway. Instead of telling children not to have sex, or telling them they'll go to hell if they do...isn't helping matters.

I hope nobody thinks I'm bashing the Catholic *religion.* No, my problem is with the *institution* behind it.

[Flyndaran]

...
I hope nobody thinks I'm bashing the Catholic *religion.* No, my problem is with the *institution* behind it.

Why not? I hate how I'm not allowed to call any religion on its cruelty and self-interest no matter what its followers do. No other organization gets that freedom.

To me, religion has always been, at its base, a communal excuse to do what its followers were already going to do.
Anyone actually fully following any religion's main books would be arrested, looked on as crazy, and bombared with all the, "That's not what that/he meant." BS.