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Steven Barrett
Member
| Joined: | Tue Nov 14th, 2006 |
| Location: | Hadley, Massachusetts USA |
| Posts: | 804 |
| First Name: | Steven | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic, Episcopal communicant, Baptist, Catholic |
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Posted: Sun Mar 16th, 2008 02:56 am |
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If you want to see an example of how some of the more smug and vitriolic members of my former estate are treating the Church's "new" list of sins, take a look at this piece of red-meat anti-catholicism from a columnist in New Zealand.
Hmmmmm, too bad Mordor wasn't for real down there when the LOTR was shot. It'd be a good return address for us to send OUR sentiments.
------------------- Tolle legge Time -----------------------
New Zealand Herald
"Vatican desperate for evidence"
5:00AM Saturday March 15, 2008
By Paul Thomas
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=301&objectid=10498253&pnum=0
 real eye-rolling stuff. Here's a few snippet "trailers."
" ... Being on the rich list should occasion pity rather than envy since "excessive accumulation of wealth" is now a mortal sin, along with paedophilia and murder. That might seem to suggest the Vatican has entered into an unholy alliance with the anti-capitalist atheists of the far left but organised religion, in its historic role as an instrument of social control, has always promoted heaven as a glittering consolation prize for those condemned to earthly poverty."
Now he really starts to bare his fangs ...
" ... Consigning the obscenely rich to hellfire is simply a re-statement of the New Testament warning that "it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God".
"By attaching a moral cachet to poverty and promising the poor and downtrodden bliss in the hereafter, the Church effectively portrayed a rigidly stratified and unjust social order as God's will and discouraged the deprived masses from doing something about their lot - for instance, tearing the lord of the manor limb from limb.
"Despite these warnings, Christians have been and continue to be just as eager to accumulate wealth as the ungodly.
"In his brilliant polemic God is Not Great (a must-read for anyone interested in the subject, particularly those perched on the fence), Christopher Hitchens argues that religion does itself no favours by continuing to swear by its repertoire of "miracles" and divine interventions in this increasingly sceptical and scientifically enabled age.
"Last week the Italian press reported that a historian has discovered documentary proof in the Vatican archives that Padre Pio, a monk whose stigmata (the otherwise inexplicable appearance of wounds on the hands, feet and side replicating those suffered by Christ on the cross) gained him a huge following early last century, was a conman who created the effect by mutilating himself with carbolic acid.
"But Padre Pio was canonised five years ago and as the head of the Catholic Anti-Defamation League pointed out, "canonisation involves the infallibility of the Pope". Seeing the Pope couldn't possibly be wrong, the documents must be. ..."
This  unimaginative writer then goes on to pull out all the rest of the old nuts n' bolts anti-catholics have thrown at us for centuries.
Here's my officially unofficial addition to the sin list: boorish writing.
He must have a large readership among the Orcs. (Oh hell, he'll probably be dumb enough to think WE'RE dumb enough to believe in Orcs.) 
____________________
For anyone suffering from a mental illness or has a loved one with a mental illness, my book "Lead kindly Light: A Devotional For The Mentally Ill" might be of some help: http://www.lulu.com/ (Use search box at the top of page.)
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David W. Emery
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 1805 |
| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Sun Mar 16th, 2008 03:56 am |
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For the uninitiated, here are a few observations of fact regarding this author’s revelations:
Consigning the obscenely rich to hellfire is simply a re-statement of the New Testament warning that "it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God"
If one would take the trouble to read the original story, nobody but the media hype said that these are “new sins.” In reality, it was simply one cardinal’s musings on the perennial relevance of the old ones. He points out some inventive applications proper to our age, but they are ultimately just the same old human failings repackaged.
Despite these warnings, Christians have been and continue to be just as eager to accumulate wealth as the ungodly.
Human nature is another thing that hasn’t changed. In case no one has noticed, Christians are just as human as atheists. Just as the Catechism says, original sin is universal in its application.
Last week the Italian press reported that a historian has discovered documentary proof in the Vatican archives that Padre Pio, a monk whose stigmata (the otherwise inexplicable appearance of wounds on the hands, feet and side replicating those suffered by Christ on the cross) gained him a huge following early last century, was a conman who created the effect by mutilating himself with carbolic acid.
Are they just finding this out? I read about it decades ago. It was an unfounded charge made by one of the author’s own anti-religious fraternity. The “documentary proof” was itself scientifically disproved back when it first appeared. The bishop in charge had it checked out thoroughly before proceeding in his canonical investigation of Padre Pio, which was ongoing at the time to decide whether he was deluded, hoax or genuine. Eventually, Padre Pio was cleared of all charges and allowed to return to regular duty at his monastery.
The remainder of the rhetoric is easy enough to figure out.
David
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