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Posts with tag: catholic | Return to MediaCynic.com Homepage
Cardinal Bernard Law Celebrates Mass
What a slap in the face to Boston Catholics: Cardinal Bernard Law celebrated Mass in mourning for Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica today, in spite of protests from victims' rights groups. You remember Cardinal Law? He's the guy that moved known pedophile priests from parish to parish, instead of turning them into the police. Many Catholics in Boston called for his resignation, but the Vatican called him to Rome and gave him the job of being archpriest at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, one of the four basilicas which report directly to the Vatican. Some punishment.
Posted on April 11, 2005
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American Catholics Out of Step With Vatican on Social Issues
A recent USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll sheds some interesting light on the attitudes of American Catholics. 78% believe Catholics should be allowed to use birth control. 63% believe that priests should be allowed to marry. 59% would like church doctrine on stem cell research to be less strict. 55% believe women should be allowed to become priests. 49% believe Catholics should be able to divorce and re-marry without getting an annulment. But only 37% of Catholics believe that church doctrine on abortion should be less strict.
These poll numbers illustrate the challenges ahead for the next pope. American Catholics are an independent lot, and donations from American churches send a sizable amount of money to the Vatican. Many dioceses are without priests at all; they have to rely on a "circuit-riding" priest who handles several parishes. If priests could marry and women could become priests this would alleviate the priest shortage, argue many American Catholics. Some also believe it would raise the standards on the kind of people seeking the priesthood and would help greatly with the church's devastating sexual abuse scandals.
But given the fact that John Paul II personally chose 100 of the cardinals who will be locked in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope, it seems unlikely that they will elect a liberal Catholic who thinks Vatican II was a good thing.
Posted on April 3, 2005
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Pope John Paul II Dead at 84
Pope John Paul II passed away today at the age of 84. Of all of his many accomplishments, I believe that his ecumenical outreach and recognition of Israel as a sovereign state will be his most lasting legacies. Considered a liberal on the subjects of religious tolerance and civil rights, he was the first Pope to set foot in a mosque and a synagogue. He traveled the globe to meet Catholics from all nations and to meet with leaders of other religions. His apology for the Catholic Church's actions during the Holocaust was a bold move, not appreciated by his native Poland. He rebuked President Bush for the Iraq War and remained opposed to that war to the end and tirelessly campaigned against the death penalty. His liberalism on these issues contrasted strongly with his ultra-conservative attitudes on abortion, euthanasia, birth control, celibacy for the priesthood, homosexuality and women's role in the church. Although embraced by the third world churches, those attitudes did not sit well with many American Catholics, especially the issues of birth control and not allowing priests to marry. A linguist, he was outgoing, caring and openly affectionate: all traits which endeared him to the public.
He was a complex and devout man who changed the Office of the Holy See in profound ways. May he rest in peace.
Posted on April 2, 2005
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