With all of the internal house cleaning the Roman Catholic Church needs to be doing in the wake of the sex abuse scandal - not to mention all the poor and hungry people around the world who need to be clothed and fed per Christ's directive - one would think that the Church would have better things to do than continue obsess over same sex marriage and/or the acceptance of gays as fully human. But such is clearly not the case. First, we have the Catholic Church officials in Finland threatening the Evangelical Lutheran Church about accepting gay marriage. Next we see the Vatican cutting a deal to allow anti-gay Anglicans into the Catholic Church. Sometimes I truly believe that the Vatican deliberately sets off stories such as these merely in the hope that the media will be distracted and not do another story on the still on going sexual abuse lawsuits around the USA and the world. Meanwhile, of course, the message to people is that gays are inferior and a threat to society. First some highlights from IceNews on the situation in Finland:*
Finland’s Catholic Bishop, Teemu Sippo, has warned of an impending rift between the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church and Finland’s Catholic Church over the issue of gay marriage. Sippo has expressed his concern over recent events in Sweden where the Lutheran Church is set to extend the performance of religious ceremonies to same sex couples. “The Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex couples. It doesn’t view it as morally acceptable,” Sippo stated. “Everything that happens in Sweden usually reaches Finland sooner or later.”
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In addition to the condemnation of gay marriage Sippo also denounced the practice of the city of Helsinki and liberal groups of distributing free condoms claiming the move incites sex rather than protects the individual. “Handing out condoms is like telling people to use them. I believe youths should instead be encouraged to practice abstinence,” the Bishop said.
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Meanwhile, it turns out that the Vatican has been secretly negotiating a deal that will allow break away Anglicans and married Anglican priests to join the Catholic Church. Apparently, the requirement of celibacy for priests goes out the window if the Pope believes that there's more to gain by turning a blind eye on this alleged theological requirement. How does one say HYPOCRITE?? Here are some highlights from the Washington Post:
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In a bid to attract disillusioned members of the Anglican Communion, the Vatican announced yesterday that it would establish a special arrangement to allow them to join the Catholic Church while preserving their own liturgy and spiritual legacy, including married priests.
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The Catholic Church plan "reflects a really bold determination by Rome to seize the moment and do what it can to reach out to those who share its stance on women priests and homosexuality," said Ian Markham, dean of the Virginia Theological Seminary, an Episcopal seminary in Alexandria. "It is very, very bold and very interesting." . . . These former Anglicans would be considered theologically Catholic but with their own traditions, such as use of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.
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Between 100 and 200 of the 7,000 Episcopal congregations have broken away in a dispute over the 2003 ordination of Gene Robinson, a gay man, as bishop of New Hampshire, as well as over female clergy and the church's definition of salvation. Many allied themselves with conservative Anglican primates in such countries as Nigeria and Uganda.
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[T]he Vatican's move could strain the sometimes delicate alliances within the breakaway conservative churches, Markham said. One camp sees Anglicanism as a version of Catholic theology, while the other group is more evangelical and suspicious of Catholicism. "This offer by Rome could peel off some of those Anglo-Catholics," he said. "I think some of them will be tempted to go."
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As one who was raised Catholic, NOTHING could ever convince me to return to the Catholic Church which has done - and continues to do - so much damage to LGBT individuals. Between the hypocrisy and corruption of the Church hierarchy and the fact that the faith that is based on guilt and fear with no hint of a loving God, I would never go back. I feel at home and accepted in the Evangelical Lutheran Church which gives me a catholic like mass without all the negative baggage.
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