Pope says condoms make AIDS worse

[Shafted]

Of course his position is unacceptable. But it isn´t new. All popes said that. So, it isn´t a special Benedict-thing. It´s the position of the catholic curia.
But it is unacceptable too to call Benedict a Nazi. He never was a Nazi (he was 6 years old when Hitler became "the Führer"), he did what all young peolpe had to do in that times. Or did you call him Nazi because he is German? That is also unacceptable.

In Africa they didn´t hear what he said about condoms. One woman said: "We hope he will say something about poverty. That is our problem. Condoms? Okay, it´s his opinion - we don`t think so.
We need words against our leaders!"

I call all the religious police nazis.

 

[HenryReardon]

The announcement of new dogma is rather rare; even from Rome, I don't think there's been any in our lifetimes. Most new dogma Rome has pronounced has had to do with Mary; the ever-virginity, Immaculate Conception, and Queen of Heaven business are the big ones, and they're nothing but pious opinions legislated into the theology books -- things that some of the church always believed, but not all... just another expression of Rome's totalitarian streak.
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Something rather big relative to dogma, or a significant change in beliefs in a particular area, was announced within the last couple of years, but not being a Roman catholic I didn't really pay any attention.

Before that you might have to go back to the year it became once again ok to eat fish on Friday. 70s?

 

[HenryReardon]

Something just occurred to me, which I'll throw out here before giving it a great deal of thought: what if the exemption were per weekly per capita attendance? Say, $1000/yr. exemption per (statistical) person?

.

Not sure that would work. I can think of one major southeastern city where the First Baptist Church has thousands and thousands of members and doesn't do much social outreach at all - if they do, it's a state secret. The Episcopal Cathedral in that same city, with something like 2,000 or so families ( my numbers may be out of date ) supports and runs three high rise apartment towers for the elderly (of any faith); numerous charitable functions; operates meals on wheels; founded Episcopal High School decades ago which school still has the highest academic standing in the county. etc. Program of social outreach was started way back in the late 60s and had been going strong ever since.

I suspect tax exemption for religious groups goes all the way back to the founding. Despite some efforts to paint them otherwise, most of the founders were religious, hence our judeo-christian heritage. It will be a few decades before all that goes away, I suspect.

 

[Kulindahr]

Something rather big relative to dogma, or a significant change in beliefs in a particular area, was announced within the last couple of years, but not being a Roman catholic I didn't really pay any attention.

Before that you might have to go back to the year it became once again ok to eat fish on Friday. 70s?

Fish on Fridays was never a dogma, not even a doctrine -- it was a silly piece of canon law with a less-than-ethical background.

Allowing marriage of priests wouldn't even be a latter of dogma. Some might contend it's a doctrinal issue, but again it really comes down to canon law. Allowing female priests might have the status of dogma, as it directly relates to the person and work of Christ, but that's an arguable one.

 

[Kulindahr]

Not sure that would work. I can think of one major southeastern city where the First Baptist Church has thousands and thousands of members and doesn't do much social outreach at all - if they do, it's a state secret. The Episcopal Cathedral in that same city, with something like 2,000 or so families ( my numbers may be out of date ) supports and runs three high rise apartment towers for the elderly (of any faith); numerous charitable functions; operates meals on wheels; founded Episcopal High School decades ago which school still has the highest academic standing in the county. etc. Program of social outreach was started way back in the late 60s and had been going strong ever since.

Well, I said it was a raw idea -- oh, well.

I suspect tax exemption for religious groups goes all the way back to the founding. Despite some efforts to paint them otherwise, most of the founders were religious, hence our judeo-christian heritage. It will be a few decades before all that goes away, I suspect.

"Decades"? Try "generations", if at all.

 

[webshots]

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[HenryReardon]

Fish on Fridays was never a dogma, not even a doctrine -- it was a silly piece of canon law with a less-than-ethical background.

Allowing marriage of priests wouldn't even be a latter of dogma. Some might contend it's a doctrinal issue, but again it really comes down to canon law. Allowing female priests might have the status of dogma, as it directly relates to the person and work of Christ, but that's an arguable one.

Dogma, doctrine, canon, rule, law - what's in a name?

 

[Kulindahr]

Dogma, doctrine, canon, rule, law - what's in a name?

A lot.

Dogma is unchangeable.
Doctrine is, generally speaking, an explaining of dogma, and can be changed if better understanding comes along.
Canon law is temporary in nature, and may or may not have anything to do with doctrine or dogma. It's also, in the Roman church, the same everywhere.
Rules are a statement of a way of life, to which people freely choose to give assent -- e.g. the Rule of the Benedictine Order. OTOH, the term can also apply to diocesan codes of how to do things, which aren't part of canon law; those can chage with the wind, being, generally, administrative in nature.

Then there's "private opinion", which is what Pope Rat was expressing in his blundering ignorance about AIDS and condoms. He's as much entitled to his private opinion as each of us is to our own.
It's my private opinion, held for many years, that Ratzinger is bad for the Church. He was bad as an ordinary Cardinal, bad as head inquisitor of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and he's really bad as Pope.

 

[Kulindahr]

Bin Laden can only dream of killing as many people as the church has during the AIDS pandemic.

That's a very weak comparison. What the church has done would be the equivalent of there being a known gun range where live fire takes place on a fairly frequent basis, and Bin Laden encouraged people to hold picnics and sports events there.