Pope to resign?

Health & age related

Pope Resigning, Cites 'Incapacity To Fulfill Ministry' of Papal Office
Reached his quota of young altar boys!

Not funny.

Not funny.

You're right. The Catholic Church has spent billions of dollars defending pedophile priests. For years they saved themselves money by admonishing the victims not to talk on fear of condemnation by the church while they shuffled the perverted priests to other parishes. When the scandal finally became public they defend them in court or buy off the victims with money donated by parishioners.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-wolff/is-the-pope-toast_b_496910.html

If you are catholic you have probably helped defend a pedophile! Support SNAP!

Check out the Pope Song.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHRDfut2Vx0

Thanks for the link.
"Citing wavering strength of mind and body, Pope Benedict XVI announced his decision to resign from the papacy at the end of February. He will be the first pope to abdicate in nearly six centuries. In 2010, as allegations of pedophilic priests continued to swirl, Christopher Hitchens decried individual and institutional corruption within the church’s sacred walls. His original article is reprinted below."
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2010/03/the_great_catholic_coverup.html

For one billion Catholics, the Pope is an honored figurehead, worthy of respect and a symbol of the worldwide church and its 2,000-year history. They hope the personality of the pope brings credit to the church and its mission, but they may have little interest in the Vatican machinery and the elderly men running it.
the next few weeks, the eyes of the world will be focused on Rome and the conclave that will elect the next pope. And when the new Pontiff is chosen, all the panoply of Catholic ritual and history will be on display as cardinals in red vestments, priests bearing incense and processions of the faithful will surround the making of the next pope. All this is of course, the Catholic Church, but it is not the whole church and maybe not even the most important part of the church. The lives of millions of faithful Catholic and tens of thousands of parish priests preaching, teaching, baptizing, marrying, and counseling in the ways that they deem best. They may respect what goes on in Rome, but may rarely think about it. they are the Catholic Church most visible to most people.
Catholics still believe in the essentials of what the church teaches about Jesus, salvation, the sacrament and personal piety, but they no longer consider their priest and bishops infallible on everything related to faith and morality.
Rotorhead it is people like you that create problems in this world. Your intolerance and indifference to others beliefs and values are sickening.

Something to live by!
Judge Lynn Toler,
Don't let fools, the fearful and the haters conduct their business in your head.

Amen to that CityGuy!

i wonder if that would be different if the church would allow them to get married

Catholics still believe in the essentials of what the church teaches about Jesus, salvation, the sacrament and personal piety, but they no longer consider their priest and bishops infallible on everything related to faith and morality.
Rotorhead it is people like you that create problems in this world. Your intolerance and indifference to others beliefs and values are sickening.

Your piety and adherence to dogma is sickening. You are mistaken about who creates problems in the world. Non-believers didn't crash planes into buildings on Sept. 11, 2001. Pious believers like you did. People who have been conned by generations of superstition and mythology.

When it comes to intolerance, the religious among us are the most intolerant of all. I have never killed anyone nor advocated the killing of anyone because of their beliefs. Can Catholics say the same thing? The religious among us have invented words to describe their intolerance: Heretic, Infidel, Blasphemer, words of tolerance and love no doubt.

Catholics have killed millions of people in the name of their religion, there were 9 crusades over a period of two hundred years. Why? Because the holy lands were in the hands of Muslims and this could not be tolerated. Tolerance? Hardly.

The Inquisition (Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis; Inquiry on Heretical Perversity), was a group of decentralized institutions within the judicial system of the Roman Catholic Church whose aim was to "fight against heretics". It started in 12th-century France to combat the spread of heresy and error, and was later expanded to other European countries. Historians distinguish four different manifestations of the Christian Inquisition:
1.the Medieval Inquisition (1184–16th century), including the Episcopal Inquisition (1184–1230s) the Papal Inquisition (1230s) and following Christian inquisitions.
2.the Spanish Inquisition (1478–1834)
3.the Portuguese Inquisition (1536–1821)
4.the Roman Inquisition (1542 – c. 1860)

What about the slaughter and forced conversion of the native peoples of the Americas by the Roman Catholic Church and other Christian churches of Europe? How many Christians were there in the Americas 500 years ago? Tolerance? Do you think that they became good little Catholics because they saw the light?

This is the past you say? Hardly! I would be happy to give you many modern day examples of religious intolerance on the part of believers.

I wonder how hypocritical you are? How far does your tolerance go?

Do you accept that the beliefs of Scientologists should be respected as much as those of Catholics and other Christians? Should we teach our school children that we are all inhabited by the spirits of space aliens (thetans)?
What about Muslims? Should their beliefs also be respected? Should we set up Sharia courts so that Muslims in this country can follow their beliefs as they see fit?
What about Rastafarians? Is Haile Selassie I the reincarnation of Christ? You respect that belief I assume? After all The Vatican is Babylon!
Or Mormonism? The Book of Mormon was found in a cave in Palmyra, NY written in reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics and was translated into English using a magic rock which Joseph Smith put in his hat and allowed him to read the golden plates.
What about the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM). Can we all be saved by meatballs and spaghetti? Believers go to heaven filled with beer volcanoes and stripper factories. YES!

I doubt that you respect these beliefs, I suspect that you just don't like anyone discussing your beliefs in a manner which calls into question their reasonableness. You would rather the discussion of religion and reason just not occur. You probably support the suppression of free speech when it comes to religion, suppress the blasphemers!

I respect intelligent ideas, not superstition. Belief (in the religious sense) is just another word for an idea based on something other than fact or reality. Usually superstition and mythology. I have no respect for these ideas, but I do respect your right to have them. I won't suggest that you should be killed for having them and that separates me from the religious.

Rotorhead
You have never read or heard me vent on any group of religious or no religious people, you assume a lot. Your hate has consumed you and it sickens me.

Rotorhead
You have never read or heard me vent on any group of religious or no religious people, you assume a lot. Your hate has consumed you and it sickens me.

Not venting is not the same as respecting. Do you respect the beliefs of the religions that I mentioned above?

Why is it when an atheist is opinionated and disagrees with a theist we are accused of hating? I don't hate anyone. I am opinionated on the subject of religious beliefs and disagree with you. I do not hate you. There are no laws against blasphemy in the U.S. Now if I lived in Catholic Ireland that would be a different story. Why is it that the religious do not like to talk about religious beliefs, are they that insecure?

"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been
bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle.
We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has
captured us. It is simply too painful to acknowledge -- even to
ourselves -- that we've been so credulous. (So the old bamboozles tend
to persist as the new bamboozles rise.)" - Carl Sagan

It's all a scam! Follow the money!

they [Catholics] may have little interest in the Vatican machinery and the elderly men running it.
Catholics still believe in the essentials of what the church teaches about Jesus, salvation, the sacrament and personal piety, but they no longer consider their priest and bishops infallible on everything related to faith and morality.

The church is it's own worst enemy.

If you are going to" quote," don't add or subtract a word here or there it takes the statement out of context.

What happened to "RESPECTING THE BELIEFS OF OTHERS?"

Rotorhead doesn't have to believe but the venomous lengths he goes to in order to belittle and ridicule so many things is quite out of context and I find it abhorrent. I guess his Mommy never taught him the old saying, "if you can't say something nice, then don't say it at all"

Rotorhead. believes that its his mission in his life to demonize all people of faith and their leaders. He believes its a contest of will with his feeble attempts and statement will sway believers into non believers. As I have stated before" he sickens me". I'll not post on this subject again, it only encourages more of his moronic statements.

I find I'm in agreement with many of RH's comments regarding religion.

What I don't certainly don't agree with is CG's depiction of his comments as hatred. I think that is uncalled for.

And Alana, when did pointing out facts equate to 'belittle and ridicule'? If you find the facts about the history of religious intolerance ridiculous then maybe it's time to take another look at Bill Maher's movie.

Whatever. Freedom of religion. Which logically should include "non-religion.

Smile on your brother. Roto makes good points. Maybe a little fanatic...? (i.e. the anti-fire&brimstone-bible-thumper)

I self identify as a "catholic". But, I will not align my self with the catholic church. The hierarchy of the church has set up a culture which is hypocritical and counter to the premise of achieving individual promise through life in community. Like if you do the correct thing in your actions and interactions with others; open your thoughts and intentions to positve and fruitful parts of life, good things will come. To me "God" is an abstract phyloshical ideal, not a mythical super-hero.

Bless ya'll. (i.e. may good karma prevail).

Religion and politics two things I never discuss, no one is ever right and no one is ever wrong.

What happened to "RESPECTING THE BELIEFS OF OTHERS?"

Rotorhead doesn't have to believe but the venomous lengths he goes to in order to belittle and ridicule so many things is quite out of context and I find it abhorrent. I guess his Mommy never taught him the old saying, "if you can't say something nice, then don't say it at all"

I never said that I "respected the beliefs of others". I started that thread and you should reread the very first post.

I said that I respect the rights of others to believe whatever they want but I do not have to respect those beliefs! If you want to believe in the Easter Bunny you have that right. You will most certainly pay a price in your credibility when you voice this belief but you certainly have a right to this belief.

I said "As an example. If you were to talk to an aboriginal person about their beliefs and they told you that they believe that the earth is a flat disc balanced on the back of a giant turtle, am I required to respect this opinion? This view of the world was widely held among native peoples. If I show them a picture of the earth from space am I engaging in hate speech?"

Didn't your Mommy ever tell you "Sticks and Stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you."

What I find sickening from the religious side is that they think that for thousands of years they were able to force non-believers to be quiet through inquisitions and blasphemy laws and when we finally have free speech we should continue to say nothing about the nonsense that is religion.

Religion poisons everything!

Rotorhead. believes that its his mission in his life to demonize all people of faith and their leaders. He believes its a contest of will with his feeble attempts and statement will sway believers into non believers. As I have stated before" he sickens me". I'll not post on this subject again, it only encourages more of his moronic statements.

We all need a mission in life. I am not trying to demonize anyone. I make it my mission to try to enlighten delusional believers.

Why do I do this? If believers insist on voting in elections based on their religious viewpoints then the rest of us have a right to discuss the validity of those viewpoints.

If the religious are anti-gay or anti-abortion because of the Bible or the Qur'an then we all have an obligation to discuss the validity of these ancient books. Are they an acceptable source of moral authority? I think not! Why not discuss that instead of name calling?

If the catholic church holds itself up as a moral authority and then it's leaders condone pedophilia then we have an obligation to discuss the moral authority of the catholic church. If the Catholic church declares itself a moral authority when it comes to helping the poor and then engages in decadent displays like the pictures above, someone needs to call foul!

Ideas/beliefs only deserve respect if they stand up to logical scrutiny. Where is the evidence to support these "beliefs"?

Why is it that whenever a non-religious person disagrees with a religious person he is called a hater? Why is it hateful to discuss ideas or voice opinions? I might not agree with you but I don't hate you. Why is it that most religious people refuse to discuss religious faith except with others who believe the same as they do?

I believe that everything has a natural cause. I do not believe in the supernatural. We may not have all of the answers yet as to how everything works but that does not mean that we should start making up answers. The answers offered by religion fail my baloney detector test. I have a right to discuss this and voice my opinion. You have a right to join in or not, your choice. But name calling is childish.

I find I'm in agreement with many of RH's comments regarding religion.

What I don't certainly don't agree with is CG's depiction of his comments as hatred. I think that is uncalled for.

And Alana, when did pointing out facts equate to 'belittle and ridicule'? If you find the facts about the history of religious intolerance ridiculous then maybe it's time to take another look at Bill Maher's movie.

Thanks. My real purpose in voicing my opinions is to get other non-believers to come out and voice theirs as well. I am eager for us to become a voting block to be reckoned with.

The religious among us try to marginalize us by calling us haters, that is the way they work. You either agree with them or you hate them. Intellectual discussion and religious humor are not supported.

I am here to discuss ideas. Do the stories depicted in the ancient holy books make sense? Did two of every animal species on planet earth really live within a days walk of Noah's house? Did they all fit into a boat that was half the size of the Titanic? To me this all seems like nonsense, I am amazed that modern people actually believe in this stuff. But I guess I shouldn't be, every newspaper in the country still has an Astrology column.

Speak up, spread sanity!

Smile on your brother. Roto makes good points. Maybe a little fanatic...? (i.e. the anti-fire&brimstone-bible-thumper)

I self identify as a "catholic". But, I will not align my self with the catholic church.

Thanks. I self identify as "a believer in philosophical naturalism". I reject the supernatural in all of it's forms. I do not believe in gods or demons or ghosts or angels or witches or warlocks or magic of any kind. Everything has a natural explanation whether we understand it yet or not. Science is the best path forward, not superstition.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/17/why-i-am-a-naturalist/

I believe that religion, all religion, was invented by self-serving men.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C Clark