Ragtime wrote:
Rjaye wrote:
The Catholic Church as an organization has the right to determine what constitutes a Catholic, and I don't understand the big todo about it. Why do Babtists or Lutherans care? As groups they have the right to believe as they do.
Why'd you change the word "Christian" to "Catholic"? Their position is, and has been, that non-Catholics as Catholic leaders define them aren't Christians. When, if they'd read the Bible, they'd see that many
Catholics aren't Christians, because they don't trust in Christ alone to save them. They trust in bread, wine, Mary, and various works that the pope tells them to do in order to cleanse their sins. It's its own spin-off religion.
The reason I separated out the Catholics is that they are setting the parameters for what constitutes a Catholic Christian, just as your church sets the parameters for what it takes to be a Christian. There are many Christian groups that do this, and for some reason, how the Catholic Church defines a Christian somehow is of some importance to you. Why would it matter to your faith? I've had people question my philosophy, and it meant nothing to me because those people obviously didn't understand, or were jackasses--it was their problem, not mine.
As to the comment about the publicity around boys abuse (a gay issue? Puhleeze.) within the church (and it goes beyond the Catholic Church) is that for some reason it's more accepted for females to be abused. Why this is could take books, and countless years of study, and others have already done so. This is why it's mostly women who are sexually abused, raped, and who are not likely to be believed, or told to not tell anyone, because it's more shameful for a female child to have been assaulted, than for a male child. It's not news for females to be abused--it's still scandalous for boys to have been abused--it's the carwreck theory of voyeurism. People are shocked at boys' abuse by priests; no-one is surprised at girls being abused.
And there are women involved in the lawsuits against the Catholic Church (and against the other sects as well). We just don't hear about those cases. Why? Not shocking enough.
There is a value judgement being made here, both by the media and the public. Why aren't people more up at arms about these Mormons marrying off thirteen year old girls to old guys wanting another wife? The boys end up escaping, and finding help--but the girls? It's the value judgement. The abuse of girls is there, but it's not talked about.
Metta, Rjaye.