Reply #51: It saddens me also ... but those of us remaining Liberal Catholics

[ElectroPrincess]

Must press home the ORIGINAL intent of Christianity. We do not convert people with money or pressure but only through a pure heart and kind works withOUT conditions.

The only area that I disagree with the Pope is in the area of equality for our homosexual parishioners. I personally do not believe in abortion nor execution. However, the difference between myself and other Catholics is that I do NOT preach or work through governmental action to FORCE my Catholic beliefs on others. Yes, the vast majority of the liberal Christian community believes in the separation of Church and State.

Although I respect The Pope and other Patriarchal hierarchy of the Catholic Church, I also do not identify with their methods and heavy handed approach to moral issues. IMHO you can NOT force people to behave in a manner that you wish but instead must provide a living example of charity through your own good works and interactions with others. And yeah, that it through PRIVATE means, not through governmental legislation.

My point: Fellow DUers, please hesitate to ostracize the significant number of America's Liberal Christians. By our very nature, we are anti-authoritarian. That is, we work with small budgets, in small groups and not through large organizations with domineering media-savvy voices.