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In reply to the discussion: Why does every religion on the planet [View all]beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)114. My focus is the Church's war on women and guess who's leading the charge?:
How Pope Francis is perpetuating the Catholic Church's radical anti-abortion position
Another week, another flood of stories about Liberal Pope Francis.
This week they focused on the Vatican's declaration that during the Jubilee year that runs from Dec. 8, 2015, to Nov. 20, 2016, the pope will be empowering priests around the world to grant absolution for the sin of abortion. In what has become a recurring pattern, the media has greeted this announcement with barely contained excitement. Oh, there goes the reformist pope yet again, opening wide the doors of the church to the modern world, offering a healing message of mercy instead of a harsh hand of judgment and rebuke!
Informed commentators have noted that the comparatively conservative Pope John Paul II did the same thing during a Jubilee year of his own pontificate. But with Francis, every expression of empathy, however miniscule, gets interpreted as a sign that the church is moving in a new, more progressive direction.
In this case, at least, such hopes are woefully misplaced. The fact is that the church's position on abortion is breathtakingly, stunningly radical more radical, even, than the mainstream pro-life movement. Viewed in the context of this radicalism, Francis' proposal of temporary pastoral leniency is hardly something worth applauding. On the contrary, it's an act so small that it deserves to be denounced as a woefully inadequate response to a fundamental injustice at the heart of the church.
No one would be surprised to learn that the Vatican considers abortion to be an act of murder. In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable." (Par. 2271) When fair-minded lay Catholics (like Ross Douthat of The New York Times) argue about abortion as a matter of public policy, they see no conflict between upholding this moral teaching and proposing that those who procure abortions be legally punished with less severity than those who engage in other forms of lethal violence. That's because these commentators recognize that abortion differs from all other kinds of murder: In no other form of homicide does the victim reside within the body of the perpetrator.
But then why does the Catholic Church officially lean in the opposite direction, treating abortion as worse than other forms of homicide and deserving of more severe punishment?
According to the church, if I commit adultery, my priest can hear my confession and absolve my sin. If I murder my wife, my priest can hear my confession and absolve my sin. Heck, if I engage in an act of genocide, my priest can hear my confession and absolve my sin.
But if my wife procures an abortion, she incurs an automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication, meaning she instantly falls out of communion with the Catholic Church. That precludes her from partaking in the sacraments, including the sacrament of reconciliation, which is the means by which a priest can hear a confession and absolve sins.
That makes abortion worse than every other form of murder, including mass murder.
http://theweek.com/articles/575293/how-pope-francis-perpetuating-catholic-churchs-radical-antiabortion-position
Another week, another flood of stories about Liberal Pope Francis.
This week they focused on the Vatican's declaration that during the Jubilee year that runs from Dec. 8, 2015, to Nov. 20, 2016, the pope will be empowering priests around the world to grant absolution for the sin of abortion. In what has become a recurring pattern, the media has greeted this announcement with barely contained excitement. Oh, there goes the reformist pope yet again, opening wide the doors of the church to the modern world, offering a healing message of mercy instead of a harsh hand of judgment and rebuke!
Informed commentators have noted that the comparatively conservative Pope John Paul II did the same thing during a Jubilee year of his own pontificate. But with Francis, every expression of empathy, however miniscule, gets interpreted as a sign that the church is moving in a new, more progressive direction.
In this case, at least, such hopes are woefully misplaced. The fact is that the church's position on abortion is breathtakingly, stunningly radical more radical, even, than the mainstream pro-life movement. Viewed in the context of this radicalism, Francis' proposal of temporary pastoral leniency is hardly something worth applauding. On the contrary, it's an act so small that it deserves to be denounced as a woefully inadequate response to a fundamental injustice at the heart of the church.
No one would be surprised to learn that the Vatican considers abortion to be an act of murder. In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable." (Par. 2271) When fair-minded lay Catholics (like Ross Douthat of The New York Times) argue about abortion as a matter of public policy, they see no conflict between upholding this moral teaching and proposing that those who procure abortions be legally punished with less severity than those who engage in other forms of lethal violence. That's because these commentators recognize that abortion differs from all other kinds of murder: In no other form of homicide does the victim reside within the body of the perpetrator.
But then why does the Catholic Church officially lean in the opposite direction, treating abortion as worse than other forms of homicide and deserving of more severe punishment?
According to the church, if I commit adultery, my priest can hear my confession and absolve my sin. If I murder my wife, my priest can hear my confession and absolve my sin. Heck, if I engage in an act of genocide, my priest can hear my confession and absolve my sin.
But if my wife procures an abortion, she incurs an automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication, meaning she instantly falls out of communion with the Catholic Church. That precludes her from partaking in the sacraments, including the sacrament of reconciliation, which is the means by which a priest can hear a confession and absolve sins.
That makes abortion worse than every other form of murder, including mass murder.
http://theweek.com/articles/575293/how-pope-francis-perpetuating-catholic-churchs-radical-antiabortion-position
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Well they said she was a virgin but since there was no artificial insemination back then
malaise
Jan 2016
#18
Not a single one of my friends stayed in the Church after they were old enough to leave.
beam me up scottie
Jan 2016
#30
Thank you, kind fan. The Christians have no good answer for me on that.
Manifestor_of_Light
Jan 2016
#69
Some break free, more than a few DUers were raised as fundamentalist Christians.
beam me up scottie
Jan 2016
#68
Nope, it's not but they've made it their modern day crusade and they have the numbers to wage it.
beam me up scottie
Jan 2016
#115
Yes, many do but the only one powerful enough here to affect laws is Christianity.
beam me up scottie
Jan 2016
#119
"The RCC was behind every law restricting access to birth control, women's health clinics and
rug
Jan 2016
#82
Every recent law, splitting hairs about how involved the RCC is in restricting my rights?
beam me up scottie
Jan 2016
#85
Knowing the facts is not splitting hairs. And the issue is far greater than "your" rights.
rug
Jan 2016
#93
Anyone who feels he needs to defend the Church from its victims is no ally.
beam me up scottie
Jan 2016
#94
Has someone ordained you to declaim who is or who is not an ally of whatever you think you're doing?
rug
Jan 2016
#99
Oops, missed one: Catholic dominance over hospitals endangers women
beam me up scottie
Jan 2016
#100
The Church frames it as a religious war, rug and they wage it every day.
beam me up scottie
Jan 2016
#104
There it is! The word "religious", thanks for admitting that religion is the source.
beam me up scottie
Jan 2016
#106
Another uppity woman speaks: Beatriz Case Reveals Catholic Hierarchy’s War on Women
beam me up scottie
Jan 2016
#111
Your disregard of Pelosi suggests yorur real target here is not women's rights at all.
rug
Jan 2016
#112
My focus is the Church's war on women and guess who's leading the charge?:
beam me up scottie
Jan 2016
#114
You asked and I answered, my opinion is just as valid as Nancy's and counts for more than yours.
beam me up scottie
Jan 2016
#121
More: "Thank the Catholic church for terrifying abortion restrictions in Latin America"
beam me up scottie
Jan 2016
#107
Rightwing Watch: The Personhood Movement: Internal Battles Go Public
beam me up scottie
Jan 2016
#96
Yes there are female bodhisattvas (enlightened beings) in Buddhism.
Manifestor_of_Light
Jan 2016
#81
Until this year, The Presiding Bishop of the U.S. Episcopal church was Katharine Jefferts Schori...
Journeyman
Jan 2016
#24
Funny thing. Look up the origins of the goddess Columbia and her importance
Promethean
Jan 2016
#128
I think that's true for most institutions - the views of the dominant class prevail
malaise
Jan 2016
#49
And they are codified in texts considered to be hand made by God, backward norms made sacred
Bluenorthwest
Jan 2016
#76
The dictionary definition of the word squaw is "an American Indian Women". Had no idea
doc03
Jan 2016
#133
Movies? Of course one must base all one knows about First Nations people on movies.
Cleita
Jan 2016
#103
TPTB are also killing the planet AKA "Mother" Nature. They really hate women. nt
valerief
Jan 2016
#102
It's easier to justify injustice if you are guided by an invisible being whose will only you know
DFW
Jan 2016
#134
Because almost every religion codifies the existing power structure. eom.
Bad Thoughts
Jan 2016
#144
I think it's more like the power structure adopting and adapting what suits them
malaise
Jan 2016
#148
Yes. It's the outward show of the crux. The crux can be ferreted out. One theory is Marilyn French's
ancianita
Jan 2016
#149
Most of the ones that have gained and retained power were made up for that very reason.
Arugula Latte
Feb 2016
#165