NEWS: Pope is Really Scary...Seriously

CULTURE: Pope is Really Scary...Seriously

I don't like bashing on the Pope--he's got it bad enough as it is. He's like that crazy grandfather or uncle that is a little bit racist, a little bit sexist, but it's really hard to argue with him because he's INSANE.
Case in point, Sunday is for God, not fun:

The Church wants to take away condoms, women's right to abortion, and the right for people to hump each other (no matter the gender). Now they want Sunday cartoons, golf on TV, and matinees? WHAT THE FUCK?!?
I would rather be in "the shadows of moral confusion" then have a priest lead me anywhere where they could conceivably rape me or any member of my family.

Now I remember why I stopped going to church.

I'd understand if the average joe was making this point, but for the man who runs the church to say it is just disgusting. Especially the part where he outlaws matinees.

Nobody thinks the Pope is more out of touch than I do......but I think you're taking shots at an easy target. Around here, religion is only slightly less repugnant than child molesters & rapists.

Is the Pope excommunicating people for watching football on Sunday? no. It would appear to me, that he's urging religious leaders to stress the importance of the commandment "Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath Day"

I'm not a practicing Catholic and haven't been for several years, but I fail to see what's wrong with the Pope, the highest figure in the Roman Catholic Church, stressing the importance of one of the Ten Commandments, which is supposed to be the code of conduct for Catholics.

If you dismiss religion entirely......then what the pope says shouldn't matter at all.

I second that.
I once got reprimanded for playing footsies with a girl.

I was going to say pretty much the same thing. The Pope is simply preaching the Bible. Up until the 1900s, people DID still rest on Sunday and read Bible passages to each other after spending most of the morning in church. Sunday was devoted to rest. Many religions have a day of rest, actually.

The stuff about birth control isn't news either. The Catholic Church has always been against birth control. Why do you think Catholics always have so many kids? It's an old joke.

This is old hat to me since I was raised in a Catholic family, but it's also why I left the Church. I prefer to celebrate life, not worry about my death and possible judgment.

Oops... guess I should add that I don't support him for trying to impose that faith's rules on everybody, but I do see where he's coming from.

[Edited on Mar 26, 2004 by Sorcha]

god bless all the little childeren

While I don't agree with the statment completely, I understand what the Pope is saying. As the leader of a religious organization he is protecting its "turf" which is, and always has been, Sundays. Why is that insane?

Also, the Church does not "take things away", it just advises its followers (sometimes strongly) on the doctorines and creeds. No one is forcing anyone to do anything, at least not for a few centuries

Please find something more relevant to write about.

[Edited on Mar 26, 2004 10:53AM]

[Edited on Mar 26, 2004 10:53AM]

hell, what about the people who have to work at Home Depot at 6 am on Sunday and can't watch football?

As long as they are supplying the Romans with nails and wood they are playing their small but important part.

You know, I probably shouldn't be laughing this hard, but that was pretty clever.

Well, there's a lot of debate on the whole Saturday/Sunday as religious "turf". See Seventh Day Adventists.

I would totally agree with these statements above if the Pontiff said, "All good christians should keep the sabbath day holy...". He didn't. I do think it's insane that anyone can define for me what a day should or shouldn't be used for.

Except the cover-up of over 5,000 cases of priests and bishops fucking little boys and girls. I think the Church took a lot from those people. Things that can't be repaid.

Will do.

agreed that the pope is basically doing his job here, but in addition, it's important to talk about what the whole concept of a "sabbath" is about. basically, the whole idea is that people take some time off to concentrate on something else other than the daily grind and address the Big Questions of why we're here and what makes the grass grow.

to catholics, this means something pretty structured and specific, but i feel that in general it's a pretty good idea to try and put some time away to develop yourself and focus on what it is you really DO believe - something that most modern sorts don't feel they need to do. instead, we just distract ourselves from it, for the most part.

agreed

We stopped going because the Catholic Church wouldn't let my mom get remarried in our church because she had been divorced. They told her that in order to be allowed to get married in a Catholic Church she would have to have her first marriage annulled, effectively turning me into a bastard son because, by church law, an annullment means that her first marriage never happened.

For a long time the pope has been more than a religious figure, he's been a political figure. What the pope says and does often has repercussions that go far beyond the scope of religious dogma (ie. advocating preaching that condoms don't prevent transmission of HIV, for example.) So while I can see where you're coming from, I don't agree with you - especially when the Catholic church starts lobbying to get rid of Sunday NFL games.

And just who do you think believes that stuff? He's preaching to the choir.

I'm not a heavily religious person, but religion-bashing is pretty lame. There is nothing wrong with religion at its core. Some things carried out in the name of religion are deplorable, but not the concept of religion. The main theory behind all major religions is "Don't be an asshole", and what's wrong with that? I still carry a lot of things from my Catholic upbringing. Things like "do unto others", "turn the other cheek", "Honor thy father and mother" I just chose to ignore the things like a man lying with another man as an "abomination" The way my parents used religion in my upbringing was as a teaching tool......how to be a good person. While it is possible to learn those things without any religious influence, if you learn to be a good person through religion, what's the harm?

Whereas many Catholics rebelled against their faith, I chose to deny the things about the Catholic Church that conflict with my personal beliefs. I masturbate, I use contraception, I eat meat on Friday, I take the Lord's name in vain, I covet and I think a woman has the right to choose.

The Catholic Church might never have lost me if they weren't stuck in the dark ages.

Hell, I could use a day of rest. I think we all could.

I just wish you'd stop appearing to me as a serpent. If I eat the fucking apple will you leave me alone?

I keep telling you, dude- that's not me.

I think your garage needs to be a touch more well-ventilated.

I'm a bit like Cash. Actually, I'm just like him. I still uphold some of the values, like "do onto others", "respect your parents", and so on, but I don't like the Dark Ages mentality.

Even my mother, who considers herself and is a good Catholic, thinks the Pope is retarded for not allowing birth control. She often says, "Doesn't he see all those starving babies? Doesn't he have any mercy for them?" I was surprised to hear her go against the Church, but she answered that with, "What good is a religion if you can't question it once in a while? The world is always changing, and we have to accommodate that as best we can. I'm sure God would understand that things like birth control are necessary now that the population isn't going to die out. He has to see that it's doing more harm than good when so many babies are dying of starvation."

I had 160% more respect for my mother after that. It went up 250% more this past summer when she told me she wouldn't care if my brother or I were gay, as long as we were happy. (I thought my jaw would never come back up off the floor).

Anyway, this is why I don't have a problem with all Catholics. I'm friends with many of them, and my roommate and family are deeply committed to it. The reason I am friends with and respect those people is that they don't try to shove their personal faith down my throat. We're all nice people, and we respect others, so why should we hate each other?

Please site one piece of legislation, one law, one suggestion to a law maker that the "Church" is actively taking the things you mention away. Name one country where the "Church" has successfully achieved this under punishment of law.

Look at the big picture: take away all the ritual and fancy vestments and imaginary rules, and the Pope is just a really old man with very old ideas who hasn't much longer in this world. If you're a Catholic, anything he says or does means nothing. If you are Catholic, then you make the concious decision of whether or not the things he says or does really matter to you. And if you're really still worried about it, keep in mind that you are going to see his replacement in the near future, and there's a good chance that said replacement will be fully aware of what century he is in and that the church will have to (grudgingly) change with the times.