catholic church

Pope Francis Declares Support for Civil Unions for Same-Sex Couples! Big Deal, How About Allowing Gays to Marry?

“Pope Francis has declared support for civil unions for same-sex couples for the first time, according to the Catholic News Agency.

The Pope made the historic remarks in a new documentary film, ‘Francesco,’ which was released in Rome on Wednesday.

‘Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it,’ the Pope said in the film, the Catholic News Agency reported.

‘What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered,’ the Pope said.”

CNN

I’m glad that the leader of the historically homophobic Catholic Church has finally declared his support for civil unions for same-sex couples. The pontiff has suggested in past interviews that he isn’t against civil unions, but this is the first that that he has explicitly supported same-sex civil unions.

The pope argues that homosexual people have a right to be in a family. He states that they’re children of God and have a right to a family. Damn Skippy, they are the children of God, not the step-children of God, and they shouldn’t be treated like second-class citizens. The pope should advocate for gays and lesbians to have the right to marry, just like their heterosexual brothers and sisters in the faith.

The pope should also declare that priests should have the right to marry, whether it’s to a fellow priest, a sister or anybody else.

I’m not a Catholic, and I think organized religions are the greatest threat to democracy and liberty, but unfortunately millions of people around the world live their lives according to the dictates of the Catholic Church, and that’s why I wish the Church would join the 21st century and treat gays and lesbians with dignity and respect.

Catholic Church Forgives Sins of Those Stricken With Coronavirus! How Presumptuous!

The Catholic Church on Friday granted forgiveness — under certain conditions — for the sins of the faithful struck by the novel coronavirus.

A decree published by the Vatican also covers healthcare workers and those who pray for their wellbeing. Relatives who care for their sick family members may also be forgiven.

The conditions include the sick saying a certain number of prayers or following important celebrations from a distance.

AFP

American white evangelicals aren’t the only faithful who rely on thoughts, prayers and miracles to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

How presumptuous of the Catholic Church to forgive the sins of the faithful struck by the novel coronavirus. Who can forgive sins, but the Almighty? The Catholic Church, indeed no church, can forgive sins. Only the Almighty can forgive our transgressions.

What is the Catholic Church anyway, but a patriarchal and misogynist organization that doesn’t have a direct line to God. The prayers of the pope and two dollars won’t even buy you a cup of coffee at Starbucks, let alone forgive your sins or cure you of the virus.

Reciting a dozen Hail Marys won’t cure you of the common cold, let alone the coronavirus. And they are as efficacious as singing the Barney the dinosaur song in washing away your sins.

The Catholic Church should be concerned with asking God to forgive them for the sins of homophobia, misogyny and a clergy rampant with pedophiles.

During a pandemic only a madman will look to the church for guidance, only physicians, scientists and wise politicians (I know they are in short supply) can deliver us.

Video of Chainsaw-Wielding Nun, Sister Margaret Ann, Becomes Symbol of Irma Recovery

“The cleanup after Hurricane Irma is a massive undertaking, after the destructive storm hit Florida and neighboring states over the weekend. In Miami, a nun chipped in to clear trees in her neighborhood – and no one, it seems, can resist a story about a chainsaw-wielding nun.

Sister Margaret Ann was spotted at work by an off-duty officer of the Miami-Dade Police Department, which posted video and images from the scene in the community of Kendall West Tuesday.

The department calls the sister`s work another sign that Miami`s community will work together to repair what Irma broke, writing on its Facebook page, “Thank you Sister and all of our neighbors that are working together to get through this!”

NPR

I was raised Catholic, and as a child I attended catechism classes, the memory of ruler-brandishing nuns terrorizing their young charges is indelibly etched in my mind.

Had I seen a chainsaw-wielding nun as a child I would have required lifelong therapy.

I imagine sisters as sadistic creatures who indulge in meaningless religious rituals like clutching rosary beads and lighting votive candles.

But Sister Margaret Ann breaks all the stereotypes, she`s a no-nonsense principal of Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll High School, and she`s loved and respected by the students.

When the shi* hit the fan and Hurricane Irma wreaked devastation in her neighborhood, the good sister didn`t retreat to her prayer closet and recite a hundred Hail Marys.

Homegirl grabbed a chainsaw and cleared the trees in her neighborhood. The video of the nun dressed in her habit, using a chainsaw to cut downed trees into smaller parts so they could be removed from roadways after Hurricane Irma swept through the area has gone viral.

An image of a butt-naked Kim Kardashian failed to break the Internet, but the video of Sister Margaret Ann serving God and her community by clearing trees has gone viral.

Perhaps there`s hope for humankind after all.

Link to video:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/13/550629622/nun-with-a-chainsaw-becomes-symbol-of-post-irma-cleanup-she-rocks

Follow Robert Paul Reyes on Twitter: http://twitter.com/robertpaulreyes

Mexicans Who Help Build Donald Trump’s Wall Are Traitors, Mexican Archdiocese Says

“Mexicans who help build President Donald Trumps planned border wall would be acting immorally and should be deemed traitors, the Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico said on Sunday, turning up the heat on a simmering dispute over the project.

In a provocative editorial, the country`s biggest Archdiocese sought to increase pressure on the government to take a tougher line on companies aiming to profit from the wall, which has strained relations between Trump and the Mexican government.

`Any company intending to invest in the wall of the fanatic Trump would be immoral, but above all, its shareholders and owners should be considered traitors to the homeland,` said the editorial in Desde la fe, the Archdiocese`s weekly publication.”

Huffington Post

Donald Trump has defamed Mexico frequently since his first day on the campaign trail. In his announcement speech he called Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals, and throughout his campaign he rallied his supporters by demonizing Mexicans.

Trump`s hatred of Mexicans is so deep that he even has animus towards Americans of Mexican descent. Trump called U. S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel a “Mexican” who may be biased against him because of his ethnicity. Judge Curiel was born in the United States, and alleging that a citizen is incapable of performing his job because of his racial background is the very definition of racism.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico is spot on, any Mexican who helps build the wall separating the United States from Mexico is a traitor to his homeland.

I would argue that any Mexican-American who supports Trump`s wall is a traitor to his racial heritage, and to the democratic principles of our great democracy.

We are a nation of immigrants, and I implore my fellow Americans of all ethnicities to join their Hispanic brothers and sisters in opposing Trump`s proposed wall.

The wall is an affront to the Almighty and to our democracy, and it`s incumbent upon all of us to fight against this abomination.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-border-wall-mexico_us_58d8894ee4b02a2eaab52799

Follow Robert Paul Reyes on Twitter: http://twitter.com/robertpaulreyes

Pope Francis Grants Priests the Authority to Absolve Abortions

pope-francis
“Pope Francis has extended indefinitely the power of Catholic priests to forgive abortions, making the announcement in an apostolic letter released Monday.

It continues a special dispensation granted last year for the duration of the Year of Mercy — which finished Sunday — which gave all priests, rather than just bishops, the power to absolve the sin of abortion.

The announcement reiterates that the Church’s stance on abortion has not changed — it is still viewed as a ‘grave sin.’ But it makes it easier for women who have had abortions to be absolved for their actions, and rejoin the Church.

‘I wish to restate as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life,’ the Pope’s letter states.”

CNN

The idea that any man can forgive sin, let alone a fraternity of pedophiles, is anathema to any person, regardless if they’re Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim or atheist.

If you grant a human being the power to forgive your transgressions, in effect your giving him power over your body, mind and spirit.

I don’t begrudge a person the right to join an organized religion, but this is the 21st century, and no rational person should deify a mortal to the point where he can absolve us of our sins.

The idea that a patriarchal organization that treats women like 2nd class citizens is being magnanimous by forgiving women who’ve had abortions is loathsome.

A woman’s decision whether or not to have an abortion is between her and her God if she’s religious, or between her and her conscience if she’s atheist or agnostic.

Certainly she should consult with the father of her unborn child, but why should she care what a celibate priest of an organization that doesn’t allow women to be leaders thinks?

If a woman has been ostracized by the Catholic Church for having an abortion, she should interpret that as a divine sign to leave the misogynist organization.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/21/europe/pope-francis-absolve-abortion/index.html