Ask a Roman Catholic

[MayNilad Man]

Basically a thread that seeks to send people back to the fold

Few guidelines:

-We will not defend the actions of individual Catholics, including clergy. This is only a thread for discussion on the merits/demerits of Catholic teaching.

-No proofs of God's existence.

-No Palpatine posts, as much as possible. And other such permutations of the theme, like Ratzinger shooting force lightning.

-No Hitler-Ratzinger posts. That thing's been done to death.

-Oh, and I live on the other side of the Pacific, so I can't answer specific questions on American type Catholicism.

-People who used to be Catholics and people who are Catholics are, of course, welcome to contribute.


Be kind.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Be kind.

Good luck with that. I mean, very few people feel half as strongly about Mormonism as about Catholicism, and there were no pulled punches in the "Ask a Mormon" thread.

 

[MayNilad Man]

Hence why there is no hyphen denoting it as a guideline.

Phew, I hope I know what I'm getting into.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Okay, well here's a question:

How much does the Vatican's doctrines on homosexuality reflect the views of the average Catholic? Do they think it is too "soft" on what they view as deviants, or too cruel and discriminatory against what is perfectly acceptable? This might be one that American Catholics can answer as well, I suspect there might be a wider range of views in the US than the Philippines.

 

[Pannonius]

No Ratzi-Nazi jokes?! But they get funnier every time!

 

[Phlegmak]

Where are you located? I'm guessing the Phillipines.

 

[MayNilad Man]

Hard to say.
It depends if you're chatting to a ultraliberal or a ultraconservative. The moderates pretty much agree that homosexual orientation does not make one evil.
It also depends on their understanding of the concept of Natural Law.

What I can say is that here in the Phil., we're not very outspoken about it. What we might be outspoken about, though, is gay marriage, which currently lacks a movement calling for it.

 

[MayNilad Man]

Where are you located? I'm guessing the Phillipines.

That's a single "L" and a double "P", please.

 

[Arwon]

What hope do you hold for the liberal sections of the Catholic Church managing to gain some ascendency?

 

[Bill3000]

No Ratzi-Nazi jokes?! But they get funnier every time!

They tend to get old and boring after the fifty billionth time.

Sexual sins are of a lesser degree compared to others, IIRC - pride is considered far more deadly.

 

[MayNilad Man]

What hope do you hold for the liberal sections of the Catholic Church managing to gain some ascendency?

A lot. It's happening all around us. But complete and unchallenged authority is a pie in the sky.

 

[Bill3000]

A lot. It's happening all around us. But complete and unchallenged authority is a pie in the sky.

No chance for a gain in power until the current pope kicks it, sadly. I mean, he friggin' brought back the Tridentine mass - last thing the Church needs is to go back into communion with the traditionalists.

 

[MayNilad Man]

Odd. I understood the Tridentine mass thing as just scrapping the red tape involved with it. 'Sides, why should he favour the liberals?

 

[stormbind]

Dear Catholic,

How do you feel about the iconic statues and other representative adornments in Catholic churches and in Catholic jewelry?

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

I viewed him as a rebound pope who has lived longer than expected. But I thought that he was only making the Tridentine Mass easier to hold, not making it required, or even preferred.

 

[MayNilad Man]

Dear Catholic,

How do you feel about the iconic statues and other representative adornments in Catholic churches and in Catholic jewelry?

Unnecessary, but appealing.

 

[Bill3000]

Odd. I understood the Tridentine mass thing as just scrapping the red tape involved with it. 'Sides, why should he favour the liberals?

Yeah, that's true, but Benedict has been known for condemning various liberal stuff in the past, and it's quite clear that he has been catering to the conservatives rather than be, well, pretty much neutral like JP2 was. (Then again, you'd hardly expect anything different from a guy who was the former head of the Inquisition...)

 

[MayNilad Man]

I viewed him as a rebound pope who has lived longer than expected. But I thought that he was only making the Tridentine Mass easier to hold, not making it required, or even preferred.

You mean like Pope John XXIII? The man who started Vat. II?

They really need to stop expecting people to kick the bucket on time.

 

[stormbind]

Unnecessary, but appealing.

Do they appeal to your material, spiritual or other desires?

 

[MayNilad Man]

Yeah, that's true, but Benedict has been known for condemning various liberal stuff in the past, and it's quite clear that he has been catering to the conservatives rather than be, well, pretty much neutral like JP2 was. (Then again, you'd hardly expect anything different from a guy who was the former head of the Inquisition...)

Didn't even want to be the bulldog of the Catholic Church though. He wanted to be a contemplative, but Pope JP II made him stay.