catholic, church, gay, marriage, poverty,
I really didn't think the Catholic Church could disgust me any further after the "we hid pedophile priests and enabled them to gain access to even more victims" scandal, but the Church has apparently rededicated itself to the disgrace limbo.
The District of Columbia is considering allowing same sex marriage in the District. While no church in DC would actually have to marry gay couples, they would have to extend benefits to spouses of both straight and gay marriages.
No, really, that's what the fight is about. Extending benefits to spouses. No, the Catholic Church is not fighting this on financial grounds. If they would end up employing so many married gay couples that extending benefits to the spouses would bankrupt the Church in DC, I might understand the argument, but apparently, giving health insurance to a gay man's husband (not the gay man himself, they're already doing that) will land you in hell. Or something.
What was the Catholic Church's response? Threatening to cut off charitable services to tens of thousands of DC's most desperate citizens. These poor people have absolutely nothing to do with what DC's governing body intends to do. In fact, the poorest of the poor are those least able to influence policy.
The Catholic Church will spank them anyway. During the worst economic climate in years, in the midst of terrible unemployment and rampant foreclosures, the Catholic Church finds it moral to punish the least of its brothers for the actions of others.
I don't understand this at all. I find it despicable, repugnant, disgusting. And I'm the immoral atheist. Huh.
Friday, November 13, 2009
8 comments:
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“If you don’t believe the Catholic Church is a force for evil, just give them a few days; they’ll do something deplorable.”
ReplyDeleteSomething like that, the tried-&-true saying goes. Although, frankly, this is a new low even for them. They were always brainwashing, dishonest charlatans who believe in (and spread the belief of) the stupidest of nonsense, but to actually use the poor and helpless as leverage …
Truly despicable.
Considering the fact that any number of Christians use the poor and helpless as leverage to get in good with their god, this isn't exactly surprising. It's despicable that they'd show their true nature in this way, but if the Bible didn't say to help the unfortunate a lot of "good Christians" wouldn't lift a finger.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty low, even for the Catholic Church.
ReplyDeleteI take it you've been avoiding Angie's blog lately, Fannie? Good for you!
ReplyDeletemy recovering-fundy-best-friend and i were discussing this, and how UN-Christian it is. she said this:
ReplyDelete"a lot of people who claim to be Christian suffer from what i call "Job disease". they really truly believe that if someone is having a trouble or ten [like being poor, homeless, unemployed, ill, *any* bad thing] then they are having that problem because God wants them to suffer, God wants to "teach" them something"
she says a LOT of Christians justify not helping people in need, DESPITE some pretty strict calls from Jesus *specifically* to help those in need, justify not helping because if they help, they might be "opposing what God wants"
can someone PLEASE explain this to me? this whole God-is-so-omnipotent that he can DESTROY your life and cause eight fucking billion things to go wrong at *once*, but is totally incapable of stopping someone helping the person he is "Job-ing"?!
how God can be soooooooooo omnipotent he can make a person get pregnant, and "save" a baby too deformed to live, but is completely POWERLESS to stop an abortion?! i mean, IF God were really that powerful, wouldn't HE have stopped abortion? wouldn't he have STOPPED US from even figuring out how?
God is so omnipotent that he can send a dozen plagues to wipe out a nation - and so impotent that he can prevent the intervention of doctors to keep a person alive longer, even if God wants that person dead. God made the whole entire universe, but is so impotent he can't *prevent* us from exploring it, even though he doesn't want us to.
i...
who the fuck LIMITS a limit-less god, ya know?
Christians are ORDERED to help the helpless, give fortune to those less fortunate. to give aid to the sick and needy.
but DOING SO might be "thwarting God's plans"
i have to say - if we can thwart a plan, than maybe it was MEANT to be thwarted?
i really wish the RCC could be tried for war crimes.
The man I trained horses for used to refer to the weather, on occasion, as being "cold as charity". He knew what he was talking about, I've discovered over the years.
ReplyDeleteI will be playing for Thanksgiving at the St. Vincent de Paul, and on xmas for the Salvation Army. I have a lot of problems with these two organisations, but around here there are a lot of people who would have no shelter, clothing, food, or much of anything. Plus, I'm playing for the people who will be using the facilities, not the organisations themselves.
Here in central PA the poor are quite problematic. And so are gays. Throw religion into the mix and things start to get very confused.
Around here people seem to think that if you are poor, you SHOULD suffer, that's why you're poor, as an object lesson. And don't stand up for yourself, either. A meek, sickly smile and deference to one's betters is what's required.
Back when the movers and shakers were closing down the mines and mills around here there was an order of nuns that came down from Canada and they organised shelters, kitchens, "safe" houses...and the local bishop ran them off. Apparently they were making the local establishment "look bad". Better people should suffer than dignity be affronted, I suppose. Priorities, don't you know.
@Denelian:
ReplyDelete« i really wish the RCC could be tried for war crimes. »
Hear, hear. Only, do one better yet and try them for crimes against humanity over the course of nearly two thousand years.
Though, they’d only get let off the hook one way or another – they were just doing God’s work, after all. *twitch*
Joe -
ReplyDeleteyou're right, MORE crimes that have been committed...
and sadly, also right that they'd get out of it fine :(