“We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context."
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At the 5:03 mark of the following audio clip E.J. Dionne makes cogent criticism of the church's narrow - and narrowing - obsessions, pointing out that fixation on abortion, gay marriage and contraception displace peace and justice issues of greater importance. http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=224514642&m=224514617
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By "obsessing" over 1.) abortion, 2.) gay marriage and 3.) contraception, conservative Catholics content themselves with "chanting" slogans unrelated to the dirty work and grassroots commitment essential to a gospel-illuminated life. By obsessing over three simple sound-bites having little or no direct bearing on their lives, Catholics who fixate on sex-and-gender give themselves a "free pass." Carte blanche in hand they overlook the demanding realities that require preferential option for the poor. Most church-going Catholics were bred in "hothouses" of trans-generational "rectitude," and are thus exempt from the temptation to abort, partly because a decisive majority avoided unwanted pregnancies by using contraception during those 20 years when reproduction is "instinctually driven." As for same-sex marriage, "everyone" -- from Church-going Catholics to Dick Cheney -- supports gay matrimony "as soon as it affects them personally." However, since only 3% of the population is gay (and many Catholic gays hide their sexual orientation), relatively few Catholics are personally challenged to support their son or daughter in a same sex marriage.
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By "obsessing" over 1.) abortion, 2.) gay marriage and 3.) contraception, conservative Catholics content themselves with "chanting" slogans unrelated to the dirty work and grassroots commitment essential to a gospel-illuminated life. By obsessing over three simple sound-bites having little or no direct bearing on their lives, Catholics who fixate on sex-and-gender give themselves a "free pass." Carte blanche in hand they overlook the demanding realities that require preferential option for the poor. Most church-going Catholics were bred in "hothouses" of trans-generational "rectitude," and are thus exempt from the temptation to abort, partly because a decisive majority avoided unwanted pregnancies by using contraception during those 20 years when reproduction is "instinctually driven." As for same-sex marriage, "everyone" -- from Church-going Catholics to Dick Cheney -- supports gay matrimony "as soon as it affects them personally." However, since only 3% of the population is gay (and many Catholic gays hide their sexual orientation), relatively few Catholics are personally challenged to support their son or daughter in a same sex marriage.
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Lest we forget...
Jesus never mentioned abortion, contraception homosexuality or same-sex marriage.
Not a word.
If these issues had been of non-negotiable, "existential" importance, surely the Son of God would have addressed them, or at least one of them.
Instead, not a word.
Jesus never mentioned abortion, contraception homosexuality or same-sex marriage.
Not a word.
If these issues had been of non-negotiable, "existential" importance, surely the Son of God would have addressed them, or at least one of them.
Instead, not a word.
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Essentially, Francis is committed to re-appropriating those elements of Aquinas' moral theology which see "disproportion" and "lack-of-perspective" as invariable characteristics of sin. For four decades, the Catholic Church and The Republican Party have devoted themselves to the decontextualization of Truth, so that the remaining "shards" are presented as absolutely non-negotiable, magma-hot red button issues requiring in-your-face sine qua non focus for the Church to simply survive. This unrelenting attack on proportion and perspective has relocated Catholic (and Republican) conservatives to a new home deep in The Bosom of Beelzebub.
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Notably, the Russian Orthodox Church permits artificial contraception - except for abortafacients.
The Greek Orthodox Church offers different views on abortion, some approving, others prohibitive.
The Greek Orthodox Church offers different views on abortion, some approving, others prohibitive.
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