His head just continues to go further up his own ass........

[RedRonin]

I wrote a couple of days back about the local archbishop publicly stating his non-support for a fundraiser to raise money for the childrens hospital in St. Louis.  His reason was that Sheryl Crow was appearing and he couldn't be associated with an event in which she participated due to her support of stem cell research and being pro-choice.

Now today, this twit has publicly speaken out against the Komen Breast Cancer Research Foundation.   We're still trying to find out exactly what his reasoning is for this one.

What St. Louis did to the Vatican to piss it off so much that they sent this clown here is beyond me.  His brain set goes back to the middle ages.

[Zenon]

Devout (blind) Catholics have no ethics (sorry...) except what the guy in the big hat - the pope - says.  Smart Catholics have free minds but an archbishop is more prone to doing what the guy in the big hat says.  Catholicism's ideas about stem cell research, abortion and all other useful sciences are rooted in religious dogma, not reason.  So don't expect them to be reasonable.

[RedRonin]

From a purely religious standpoint, I can see his position clearly.  I have not problem with that whatsoever.

My issue is Burke's methodology.  The whole process of telling the flock to not support this or that charity because it has other supporters that think differently is what has my hackles up.  He doesn't seem to have issues with the various parishes accepting collection funds from parishoners that openly flaunt their opposition to the church position on birth control.

And don't many of these same parishoners work for organizations that support causes the church finds unpalatable?  Still accepting the cash from them.

Too many contradictory actions in my opinion.

[Zenon]

Again, I don't really expect catholic priests to be reasonable about anything, religious issues or not.  And about his flock... if anyone does what this man says, then they are being used by right wing politics.  In essence, religious leaders in the west are not any less crazier than the leaders in the middle east.  It's all about controlling people.  What a shame.

[Still Kate]

Whatever happened to  "The Right to Choose"

I think that is what is missing nowadays, give people the facts and allow them to make their choices, dictatorship went out the window with Idi and Adolf..... didn't it ?

stem cell research may have allowed my first husband to live a longer life but I am not for nor against it. ( I don't know enough about it.) I wouldn't encourage abortion but I am not totally against it in exceptional circumstances and as for breast cancer research .... bring it on!!!  

if we are given the facts from a reputable source then allowed to make our own choice then thats our look out.
This guy obviously made his choice then made it public which he seems not to be in an academic position to do.

[Zenon]

This guy obviously made his choice then made it public which he seems not to be in an academic position to do.

Unfortunately Kate, in a religion such as catholicism that is opposed to freedom of choice, you are not allowed to make your own judgement as to what is right and what is wrong.

Catholic leaders' claim that the catholic faith says man has been given the right to choose by God is bogus, since those who choose not the way of the church will burn in hell after the day of judgement.

The archbishop's statement is something I would totally expect from a Catholic priest.  A completely unreasonable and contradictory argument, coming from a pseudo-humane church that would love to see you die in pain and disease for not agreeing with their politics.

He is not in an academic position to argue about anything.  He is listened to simply because he represents a religious group.  Catholic priests have a disdain for academics, secular science and philosophy.  They reject human and technological growth on grounds of religious dogma.

[Zenon]

Since the man's claim is based on a dogma that rejects freedom of choice, which is a basic element of human reason, which is the thing that keeps people awake and alive in this world because without reason we would not be able to create and control the things we need to survive... and because without freedom to choose our thoughts we would not be able to think for ourselves and thus the human race would stagnate and die...

We can and must hold to the claim that this man is WRONG and the Breast Cancer people are RIGHT.

[Anonymous]

a number of years ago I attended a small Pagan Pride picnic where canned food items were collected for the local Shelter.

When some "Good Christians" found out about the donations intention they wrote letters to the paper suggesting that people not donate to the shelter because they accepted donations from (gasp!) pagans.

That prompted the shelter to write a letter stating that they hadn't received a donation from any pagan organization.  Which then prompted a letter from one of the organizers of the event stating that they had indeed dropped off the donation and that isn't it a shame that some people would be so frightened as to be uncharitable.  The last letter was well written and made the hysterical letter writer look extremely bad, all without resorting to namecalling or religion bashing.  

It's amazing what a little intelligence will do.