Sunday, October 18, 2015

Are Anti-Gay Cardinals Trying to Torpedo Catholic Church Reform?

Cardinal Timothy "Porky Pig" Dolan
Any readers who have followed this blog for any period of time know that I am very harsh when it comes to the hypocrisy and corruption of the Roman Catholic Church and its despotic, anti-modernity hierarchy who oppose any change in the way women, gays and the divorced are mistreated by the church.  Many of these same despotic bishops and cardinals love to harp on the sins of others yet seem to have forgotten about the sin of gluttony given their own obesity.  Two such foul individuals are Cardinal Timothy Dolan - often referred to as porky pig on this blog - Bishop Francis DiLorenzo of Richmond.  Now sources are indicating that Dolan has joined with other reactionary cardinals seeking to sabotage much needed change in the Church as the synod on the family continues at the Vatican.  Here are highlights from Religion News Service:

Tensions already roiling a high-level Vatican summit spilled into the open on Monday (Oct. 12) with the publication of a letter allegedly sent to Pope Francis from 13 conservative cardinals — including Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York — warning of plots by progressives to hijack the proceedings.

In the letter, the senior churchmen said that if the reformers succeeded in changing the church’s approach to modern families it could send the Catholic Church down the path of Protestant denominations that abandoned “key elements of Christian belief and practice in the name of pastoral adaptation.”

But within hours of the letter’s release four of the cardinals denied having signed the letter. . . . Meanwhile, a spokesman for Dolan said the cardinal declined comment.

The outright denials — from the archbishops of Paris, Milan and Budapest, plus an Italian cardinal who works in the Roman Curia — and uncertainty about who signed what, raised questions about the legitimacy of the letter, which was published by an Italian Vatican watcher, Sandro Magister, a persistent critic of Francis.

The mystery also fueled intrigue about the three-week meeting, called a synod. It also spotlighted increasingly bold efforts by traditionalists to thwart any changes to church doctrine or practices, in particular proposals to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.

The Communion issue — as well as efforts to make the church more open to cohabiting couples and gays and lesbians — has become a focus and flashpoint for the wide-ranging synod of 270 bishops from around the world.

Catholicism has always been about exclusion rather than inclusion. In my youth we were told we were headed straight to Hell if we attended a protestant service.   Would I like to see the Church change and become gay friendly?  Certainly, because I want to see an end to the harm being done to so many LGBT individuals across the globe by the Church's poisonous teachings.  That said, the best thing gay Catholics and their friends and families can do is to walk away from the Church and make it known why they are leaving.  With membership declining in the West, the Church will ultimately change or become utterly irrelevant and the monies that support it will fall to a trickle.  Historically, nothing speaks louder to the foul hierarchy than a loss of money and members.  As I have said before, if one has a need to cling to the Church's rituals, the Episcopal and Evangelical Lutheran Church provide sane and mentally healthy options.  If one is gay, the worse thing you can do is remain in a denomination that condemns and demonizes you.  WALK AWAY.

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