Why do we subsidize the Catholic Church?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All organized religion needs to go.

Nope, sorry, not the USA. We have a Constitutional right to our religion, whatever that may be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course, Catholics are outraged. I am Catholic and I am outraged. However, I am also outraged at the overall hatred and Catholic bashing that goes on because of this issue and the pass that is given to Protestant Churches for the same issue. The public should be outraged over child sexual abuse without a doubt. My point is that the public should be outraged by all child sexual abuse and not reserve that outrage solely for the Catholic Church.

+1,000

Fellow Catholic, here. You nailed every point.

[Anonymous]

OP, I may agree with you ideologically, but you are a short-sighted idiot if you think the government should start taxing religious organizations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course, Catholics are outraged. I am Catholic and I am outraged. However, I am also outraged at the overall hatred and Catholic bashing that goes on because of this issue and the pass that is given to Protestant Churches for the same issue. The public should be outraged over child sexual abuse without a doubt. My point is that the public should be outraged by all child sexual abuse and not reserve that outrage solely for the Catholic Church.

+1,000

Fellow Catholic, here. You nailed every point.

Sorry, no other Christian demonitation has had the same level of problems as the Catholic Church with respect to pedophiles. Part of this no doubt is due to the highly centralized power structure of the Catholic Church, which is highly protective of its kind and its power. When a minister in some small Christian group has these issues, that tarnishes only that group. It now appears, however, that certain conservative Jewish groups in NYC may have had similar problems.

But you failed to address the recent P's comparison between govt funding of PP and govt funding of Catholic Church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a Christian, I am proud that my Church allows women priests, recognizes gay marriages, does not object to family planning, and opposes the death penalty.

Good for you. That's why we get to choose our religion. Your faux-righteousness is unattractive.

And whatever "faux-righteousness" that PP has does NOT compare to BS that the Christian right and the Catholic Bishops are pushing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Catholic Church is sexist

The Catholic Church is the only Christian denomination that holds Jesus' mother, Mary, in very high regard.

And the Protestants trample on Mary. Give me a break. I at least get to listen, on Sunday morning, to Bishops and Ministers who happen to be women and who are treated equally in fact in my Christian Church. Separate but equal is not equal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The fact that this number includes all credible accusations, not just those that have involved insurance companies, and still is less than the number of cases in Protestant churches reported by just three insurance companies, should be making front page of The New York Times and the network evening news. It’s not.

The Catholic Church reported all credible accusations not just those that involved insurance companies. Also, there would be no reporting of any kind for the plethora of "storefront" churches without the requisite insurance. The point being that the abuse in Protestant churches has never received the same scrutiny, public outrage or abundance of news coverage received by the Catholic Church. No doubt this is due in part to the actions of the Church itself, but I think there is a large issue at play. Thre is a general hatred of the Church for its conservative teachings and the idea of celibacy (by choice) is unfathomable in a society embracing few social or moral restrictions on sexuality. The point I was trying to make and which seemed to be lost on you, is that there is a constant barrage of "child rapist" comments thrown about on this forum without recognition that child abuse crosses denominational lines and indeed is prevalent in our society generally. I think it is dangerous to ignore the incidences of abuse in the Protestant churches (and indeed elsewhere) giving the impression that children are only unsafe in a Catholic setting.

To the extent that there is push back on The Catholic Church, particularly the Conference of Bishops, that is because the Conference has been very aggresssive about pushing its conservative agenda onto the rest of the country. If the Conference can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Moreover, the "Church" has been very aggressive in promoting itself as the sole and rightful Christian Church. Many Christians, including most Catholics, fundamentally disagree with many current beliefs of "The Church." To this mainstream Protestant, "The Church" comes across as arrogant, overly rightious and hypocritical. When I mean "The Church," I mean the Conference and the Vatican, not practicising Catholics. While "The Church" can't be blamed for a few pedophiles in its midst, the Church is directly responsible for cover up, including Cardinals and Bishops still in power. The Church can come across as hypocritical in much the same as the right wing Evangelicals who preach family values and who later are revealed to be gays, sleeping around, etc. And there are multiple examples of the latter.

+1

[Anonymous]

The Church of Scientology is tax exempt too...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Church of Scientology is tax exempt too...

Now, now, you're getting into Hollywood territory here. The liberals won't allow negative images of Hollywood. Tolerance only goes one way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Church of Scientology is tax exempt too...

Now, now, you're getting into Hollywood territory here. The liberals won't allow negative images of Hollywood. Tolerance only goes one way.

Good lord. You are one gummy smile away from spelling it "libruls" and ever to it as "Hollyweird.". Are we liberals supposed to be defending Hollywood like it's the Motherland or something?

The Mormons get the tax exemption, too, and they've sunk five billion dollars into a retail development in Utah. If I tithed to that church, I'd be pissed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Church of Scientology is tax exempt too...

Now, now, you're getting into Hollywood territory here. The liberals won't allow negative images of Hollywood. Tolerance only goes one way.

Won't "allow" negative images of Hollywood? re you freaking kidding me? What planet have you been living on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Catholic Church is sexist

The Catholic Church is the only Christian denomination that holds Jesus' mother, Mary, in very high regard.

But does not pay nearly enough attention to the Holy Spirit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course, Catholics are outraged. I am Catholic and I am outraged. However, I am also outraged at the overall hatred and Catholic bashing that goes on because of this issue and the pass that is given to Protestant Churches for the same issue. The public should be outraged over child sexual abuse without a doubt. My point is that the public should be outraged by all child sexual abuse and not reserve that outrage solely for the Catholic Church.

+1,000

Fellow Catholic, here. You nailed every point.

Well, what evidence is there of the problem in protestant churches, and have the churches condoned/hid it or fired and forwarded ministers for prosecution? If you are outraged, I expect you have information to support that outrage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Catholic Church is sexist

The Catholic Church is the only Christian denomination that holds Jesus' mother, Mary, in very high regard.

But does not pay nearly enough attention to the Holy Spirit.

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" .... yep, every time we cross ourselves, not to mention Pentecost, to start.

[Anonymous]

All churches and the like are tax exempt under 36 USC 501(c). The federal government MAY NOT favor one religion over another OP, as you would have it.