Earth to Vatican: Shut Up Already
Last week the Vatican, in the person of Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, floated a trial balloon advocating automatic excommunication of anyone doing stem cell research. "Destroying an embryo is equivalent to abortion," said the cardinal. "Excommunication is valid for the women, the doctors and researchers who destroy embryos." The New York Times article goes on to say that "The Church regards such early stage embryos as a human life, not to be used or destroyed."
Should the above opinion become official Vatican policy, stem cell scientists who work with human embryos will join abortionists and their patients as categories of Catholics who are automatically excommunicated without Church action or proclamation by a Church official. Oddly enough, the historical view among Catholics regarding whether abortion (or the death of an embryo) is equivalent to the taking of a human life has bounced around quite a bit over the centuries, as you can read about here. So much for the unquavering moral stance for life.
I'm a firm believer that the Catholic Church should step back and reassess whether it should even express an opinion regarding issues of morality--afterall, it would be extremely difficult to find an organization with a poorer moral compass than the one employed by the Vatican. Let's review ....
(1). Numerous bishops advocated refusing communion to U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry, a pro-choice Catholic, while remaining mysteriously silent regarding whether communion should be given to pro death-penalty Catholic politicians (such as Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum). Also, during this very same period of time, Pope John Paul II is completely happy to personally give communion to the Mayor of Rome, a pro-choice Catholic.
(2). The Church excludes openly homosexual men from becoming Priests, just a few short years after gay Catholic Priest Father Mike (Mychal Judge) becomes a hero (posthumously) for his rescue efforts and the sacrifice of his own life during the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center bombing in New York.
(3). The Church spends decades covering up the criminal acts of pedophile priests, gay and straight, in the United States and around the world, often in direct violation of civil law.
(4). The Catholic Church, one of the richest organizations on the planet, encouraging many archdioceses to declare bankruptcy as a way to avoide making payouts to the victims of Priest sexual abuse.
(6). The Spanish Inquisition.
Should the above opinion become official Vatican policy, stem cell scientists who work with human embryos will join abortionists and their patients as categories of Catholics who are automatically excommunicated without Church action or proclamation by a Church official. Oddly enough, the historical view among Catholics regarding whether abortion (or the death of an embryo) is equivalent to the taking of a human life has bounced around quite a bit over the centuries, as you can read about here. So much for the unquavering moral stance for life.
I'm a firm believer that the Catholic Church should step back and reassess whether it should even express an opinion regarding issues of morality--afterall, it would be extremely difficult to find an organization with a poorer moral compass than the one employed by the Vatican. Let's review ....
(1). Numerous bishops advocated refusing communion to U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry, a pro-choice Catholic, while remaining mysteriously silent regarding whether communion should be given to pro death-penalty Catholic politicians (such as Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum). Also, during this very same period of time, Pope John Paul II is completely happy to personally give communion to the Mayor of Rome, a pro-choice Catholic.
(2). The Church excludes openly homosexual men from becoming Priests, just a few short years after gay Catholic Priest Father Mike (Mychal Judge) becomes a hero (posthumously) for his rescue efforts and the sacrifice of his own life during the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center bombing in New York.
(3). The Church spends decades covering up the criminal acts of pedophile priests, gay and straight, in the United States and around the world, often in direct violation of civil law.
(4). The Catholic Church, one of the richest organizations on the planet, encouraging many archdioceses to declare bankruptcy as a way to avoide making payouts to the victims of Priest sexual abuse.
(6). The Spanish Inquisition.
Labels: Religion
1 Comments:
Right on - brilliant! It's refreshing to read an honest assessment of the Catholic Church like this... while the mainstream media tiptoes around the obvious.
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