Comrade Gulper wrote:Err, so Boniface VIII, John XXIII, Alexander VI, and Leo X were Popes, but Francis is not?
Suits me, I suppose. The first four are my favorites because they are the indisputably most corrupt, pretentious, and frankly hilarious Catholic potentates to read about. Machiavelli dearly loved Alexander VI for giving him so much to wax philosophical on. The same for Dante and Boniface VIII.
Francis I kinda like for his surprisingly progressive stances, although I'm still not ready to eat the wafer and call him my Infallible Middle Man.
piusv wrote:is a celibate clergy church doctrine?
piusv wrote:ok so since the time when the catholics climbed out of the catacombs the church has been in error? It has believed the wrong things and worshipped in the wrong way for 17 centuries?
Lucian of Samasota wrote:“The poor fools have persuaded themselves above all that they are immortal and will live forever, from which it follows that they despise death and many of them willingly undergo imprisonment. Moreover, their first lawgiver taught them that they are all brothers of one another, when once they have sinned by denying the Greek gods, and by worshiping that crucified sophist himself and living according to his laws. So, they despise all things equally and regard them as common property, accepting such teaching without any sort of clear proof. Accordingly, if any quack or trickster, who can press his advantage, comes among them he can acquire great wealth in a very short time by imposing on simple-minded people.”
Quote:Church should apologize to gays & women for ill treatment – Pope Francis
Pope Francis has publicly declared the Church should ask gay people and women for forgiveness for hundreds of years of ill treatment at its hands.
The comments were made as the Pope flew back from a visit to Armenia. Francis did not restrict them to just the LGBT community and women, adding that the Church was “turning a blind eye” to child labor and should apologize for “blessing” weapons, according to Reuters.
Francis was answering a question about a similar remark by a German cardinal regarding an apology to gay people. He reminded journalists that, according to Christian teachings, gays “should not be discriminated against. They should be respected [and] accompanied pastorally.”
He went on to say: "I think that the Church not only should apologize ... to a gay person whom it offended, but it must also apologize to the poor as well, to the women who have been exploited, to children who have been exploited by [being forced to] work. It must apologize for having blessed so many weapons."
Pope Francis is the most progressive pontiff to date and is known for being an outspoken critic of a number of traditional attitudes, with his persona polarizing the religious world. Many Catholics take issue with his views, arguing them to be too ambiguous on sexual morality. His attitude on the LGBT question dates back to 2013, when he first famously said “who am I to judge?”
"The questions is: if a person who has that condition, who has good will, and who looks for God, who are we to judge?” he reiterated. A Vatican spokesman clarified the Italian word for “condition” also meant “situation.”
According to the religious leader, “We Christians have to apologize for so many things, not just for this [treatment of gays], but we must ask for forgiveness, not just apologize! Forgiveness! Lord, it is a word we forget so often!”
Despite his admittance there are still cultures in existence which take some demonstrations of homosexuality to be “offensive,” Francis believes there is no continuing bases for marginalization in the modern world.
The Catholic view on homosexuality considers it sinful, and even priests can get in trouble for so much as admitting to being gay. In October last year, Polish priest Krzysztof Charamsa openly accused the Church of making the lives of gay Catholics worldwide “a hell”. The letter was addressed to Pope Francis, following Charamsa’s expulsion from priesthood. This was after he admitted to being in a gay relationship.
France’s ambassador to the Holy See, Laurent Stefanini, is also openly gay, something that led to the Vatican’s refusal to recognize him.
And in January tens of thousands flooded the streets of Rome to demand the Italian government give up on a law that would provide legal recognition to gay couples, as well as limited adoption rights. The crowd included priests.
The country remains split on the issue, with many ministers, including interior minister Angelino Alfano, openly against the coalition government of Matteo Renzi greenlighting any laws that would favor the LGBT community.
The Pope likewise did not shy away from remarks on the EU, but expressed optimism the complicated union would find another form of existence after Britain leaving.
Also, perhaps surprisingly, he said the previous Pope, Benedict, defended his views against Church officials who had gone to him to complain the new Francis was being too liberal. According to Francis, Benedict “sent them packing.”
The Pope has just returned from a trip to Armenia, where he could not avoid drawing criticism from Ankara after making repeated references to the 1915 ‘genocide’ of the Armenians by Ottoman Turks. Ankara has accused him and the papacy as a whole of having a “crusader mentality.”
Quote:Russia’s Supreme Court has banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses, declaring it an “extremist organization” and ordering to hand over its property to the state. The Christian group says it is planning to appeal the decision.
Delivering the verdict on Thursday, Judge Yury Ivanenko ruled that all 395 branches of the religious group on Russian territory are subject to disbandment and the property is to be forfeited to the state.
In the run-up to the ruling on its liquidation, based on a lawsuit filed by the Russian Justice Ministry, the Jehovah’s Witnesses group has repeatedly found itself in trouble with Russia’s anti-extremism legislation. In October last year, a lower court notified the organization of a looming ban if it did not stop engaging in what it considered extremist activity. In January this year, the warning was upheld by the Moscow City Court.
Jehovah's Witnesses leaflets promoting information “posing a threat to health” were provided as evidence by the Ministry of Justice during the hearings, Svetlana Borisova, the ministry’s representative said, as cited by RIA Novosti. More than 90 printed booklets of the organization have been found to contain extremist materials.
One of Jehovah’s Witnesses strict beliefs – a complete ban on blood transfusions – can potentially endanger the life of a child, argued Borisova. She cited a case when devout followers of the group refused to give consent for the procedure needed by their child.
The present lawsuit was revolving around Jehovah’s Witnesses’ chief managing organization in Russia, based in St. Petersburg, which is in charge of all its outfits scattered on the Russian territory.
n March, Justice Ministry already suspended the center’s activity pending the final decision by the Supreme Court.
Next week, the Moscow City Court will examine the legality of the March suspension. The hearing is scheduled on April 24.
Jehovah’s Witnesses, however, deny all the extremism-related accusations, stating that the extremism in question was found in Biblical quotes and alleging that some of the illegal materials were fake evidence planted in their offices.
The group has announced it will contest the ruling in the appellate division of the Russian Supreme Court and is also prepared to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, if necessary.
“We are greatly disappointed by this development and deeply concerned about how this will affect our religious activity,” Yaroslav Sivulsky, a spokesman for Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, told Reuters.
On its website, the organization claimed that the nationwide ban on its activity could lead “to grim consequences to the adherents of different denominations as well as for Russia’s international image.”
If the Supreme Court’s decision is upheld by the three-judge appellate panel, Jehovah's Witnesses may face from two up to six years in jail if they defy the court ruling and continue operating in Russia.
Yeqon wrote:I'm not one to jump to conclusions before investigating further, but at first glance I gotta admit, this sounds like some pretty harsh shit.
Thoughts comrades?
I always thought dem Jehovah's Witnesses to be a little bit annoying; but never ever really heard of them being referred to as extremists on par with Islamist Jihadists.
What's the deal ya'll?