The random political thoughts thread (Part Deux)

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

I'm just wondering, though, that if a known, say, prostitute who was out on the corner selling herself daily came in, would they serve her communion? It would be known that as a prostitute she was not in good standing. I'm wondering if that has something to do with it.

In my personal opinion, if a hooker came in to a Catholic Church, she should be cut some slack. Jesus was BFF with Mary Magdeline - the once hooker and now saint.

I don't think a known prostitute would be denied communion. I ain't a priest, but I do know that all she would need to do is go to confession, clean her slate and line up for wafers.

And this whole "deny public figures communion" thing is a relatively new law. The dialogue about the new law was started (not surprisingly) on June 17, 2004. Before a certain presidential election that year... Hmmm. Political move? Yes.

Catholic World News reported on June 17, 2004:

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has weighed into debate within the American hierarchy, saying that public figures who openly dissent from Church teachings should not receive Communion.
In an official letter to the US bishops, which has not been made public, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith writes that Catholics who are "living in grave sin" or who "reject the doctrine of the Church," should abstain from the Eucharist.
Cardinal Ratzinger's letter was prompted by the sharp differences among American bishops on the question. These differences have been discussed at length by US bishops and Vatican officials in recent weeks, as the American bishops made their ad limina visits to Rome.
The existence of Cardinal Ratzinger's letter was first reported by the Italian daily La Reppublica , and subsequently confirmed by informed sources at the Vatican.
The thrust of Cardinal Ratzinger's message was at odds with reports from a few American bishops, who had returned from their visits to Rome saying that Vatican officials had discouraged any effort to withhold the Eucharist from public figures who oppose Church teachings on issues such as abortion and same-sex unions.
This question has been thrown into sharp relief this year because of the presidential candidacy of John Kerry, a Catholic who has been outspoken in his support for legal abortion and has opposed Church positions on issues such as euthanasia, stem-cell research, and homosexuality. Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis has said that he would deny Communion to Kerry; several other American bishops have stated that politicians holding such views should not receive the Eucharist.

Source

[scaeagles]

Interesting, GC. I did not know that was a new thing.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

This is indeed grossly inaccurate and I believe calculated to say that the Catholic doctrine has changed on this issue. It has not.

You are correct, the church has always officially condemned abortion. What has changed over the centuries has been exactly what constituted abortion (it wasn't always from the moment of conception onward), when abortion is better than the alternatives (allowances for the life and health of the mother have changed over the centuries) and just how significant of a sin it is (at one point in time, as measured by required penance, oral sex was a greater sin than abortion.

[JWBear]

I have a good friend who is a devout Catholic - goes every Sunday, volunteers at his church, etc. He always refers to Pope Benedict as "Joseph Ratzinger". I think that says something.

[innerSpaceman]

Originally Posted by Alex

at one point in time, as measured by required penance, oral sex was a greater sin than abortion.

I wonder if that's because there were far fewer Catholic priests who performed abortions than there were who demanded oral sex from altar boys.

[Gemini Cricket]

There's a new icon that's showing up next to CNN.com's headlines now. It's an icon of a T-shirt. If you click on it, you can have quotes that are on CNN.com printed on a t-shirt. So weird.

Click

[Tom]

Can we do that with LoT quotes?

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by Tom

Can we do that with LoT quotes?

That would be sweet.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

There's a new icon that's showing up next to CNN.com's headlines now. It's an icon of a T-shirt. If you click on it, you can have quotes that are on CNN.com printed on a t-shirt. So weird.

That's actually been there for at least a few months now.

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by Motorboat Cruiser

That's actually been there for at least a few months now.

Really?
Wow.
I visit there everyday and missed it.
I notice the camera ones all the time. I avoid those. I usually want to read my news and not watch TV.