No , as a practising Catholic, I don't need anyone's pity. Yes , I am disgusted at the child abuse scandals and more disgusted at those in charge who themselves were not paedophiles and who covered up .
But to be so against the catholic church because of this is akin to labelling all fathers as child abusers ,indeed all men, as the majority of sex abuse of children is done in the home by those whose duty it is to care for them i.e. their fathers.
As this is patently ridiculous and the majority of men are decent human beings, in the same way the majority of the clergy are decent. The set up, and lets not forget, the society of the time, enabled this type of abuse, not just in Ireland, and hopefully openess and questioning of authority with sexual abuse awareness will not facilitate this again.
People are entitled to believe what they want provided it doesn't harm others and some people, mainly ex Catholics will never forgive and maybe can't.
However, many people believe in the message despite flaws on the part of the messengers and will be interested in the Eucharistic Congress. They will however at times struggle with turning the other cheek as the catholic church seems to get more than its share of vitriol.But then again, nobody said it was easy.One thing I think is that some of the atheists would be quite insulted if catholics told them they pitied them.
If abuse within the clergy hadn't happened would you hold the same views? Would you accept that it was a minority of the clergy that were abusing?
Hey I believe in most of the messages that the church comes out with. The thing is, lots of people did so long before the church told them that they should or god would be unhappy. Apart from the commandments that relate to god directly, the rest of them are just 'Guidelines to Being Nice'. To claim that as religous is like trying to patent the act of walking.Brianne said:However, many people believe in the message
Thank you, Purple!!
One thing I think is that some of the atheists would be quite insulted if catholics told them they pitied them.
Newsflash: They're imaginary!
Do people think that a 5 year old 'believes' in god ? Why not let them decide when they have all the facts instead of brainwashing a kid by memorising chants without even understanding the words, let alone the overall meaning!?
That's not fair on the child imo.
Why not let them decide when they have all the facts instead of brainwashing a kid by memorising chants without even understanding the words, let alone the overall meaning!?
Being offered pity would be the least of worries - consider the Popes attitude to atheism
as leading to the "greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice ever known to mankind."
A tad more insulting to all atheists, I would have thought ?
Science has theories that are based on evidence and hypothesised on.Isn't that the beauty of the argument, you can't prove there's no God and i can't prove there is one. your belief is what by the way? No matter what theory people lean towards there plenty of holes in every theory - big bang, evolution, Adam & Eve.
So now you're comparing santa & the tooth fairy to god, finally we're getting somewhere5 year olds believe in Santa and the tooth fairy so God has a fair chance even with your kids.
You can't see that my disdain leads me to actually giving them a chance to understand the (using the word very lightly here) 'reasoning' behind religions (all of them) and then deciding which (if any) to choose at a time when they're old enough to make that decision for themselves.Why not explain the words to them as a good parent? Is it fair to pass on your very obvious disdain towards the church rather than let them make up their own minds?
Science has theories that are based on evidence and hypothesised on.
You can't see that my disdain leads me to actually giving them a chance to understand the (using the word very lightly here) 'reasoning' behind religions (all of them) and then deciding which (if any) to choose at a time when they're old enough to make that decision for themselves.
Not, as is the current status quo, baptising them into Catholicism at a few weeks old, Communion at 5 or 6, 'Confirmation' at 12 and Mass every Sunday. This is not in anyones language comparable to letting them make up their own minds. This is called brainwashing. It's tantamount to child abuse. No baby born is Christain, Jewish, Muslim or whatever. That choice of path can only be made by someone who has matured sufficiently to decide for themselves, based on the EVIDENCE.
Otherwise, we should give the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the Orbiting Teapot as much credance as any god.
Science has theories that are based on evidence and hypothesised on.
As this tread is getting very serious i was wondering if the Government has any plans to introduce legislation which did in 1932 which, inter alia, relaxed some driving regulations and banned the opening of pubs during 2 and 6 pm on a certain day.
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