NP my anti-Catholicism

[Bandwraith at aol.com]

In a message dated 8/7/02 4:36:06 PM, alfredjprufrock at club-internet.fr writes:

<< hi bandwraith,

have you ever heard of opus dei, also known as "the vatican maffia", "the

white maffia"? >>

Yes. 

I find it rather bizarre being in the position where I might
consider defending the pope! Not being a christian, I have
no stake in the doctrinal disputes, e.g., whether priests
should marry or remain celebrate, etc. And certainly I
am not happy with any religious movement- catholic, islamic,
jewish, hindu, you name it- which would like to establish
itself as a state religion. Admittedly, it is difficult to
worry about the catholics taking over the governmental
apparatus here in america, where all the presidents, save
the original Deists and John Kennedy, were some form of 
white anglo-saxon protestant, but I suppose anything is
possible. There seems to be other more secular forces 
to be worried about here, e.g., the academic-
military-industrial-complex, interlocking cartels of one
sort or another, etc. All of which I find troubling.

What concerns me most about the Catholic Church is
the same concern I have about all large organized
religions, i.e., a less than total commitment for preserving
the sanctity of the earth, and, a re-focusing of attention
and energy away from the material basis of our mutual 
exsistence.

With regards to the pope, I was reflecting on his human
nature and his commitment to world peace, both of 
which I can relate to. Certainly, some of his more
conservative views are in conflict with my own.

However, in some regards, I am more conservative 
than he is- vegetarianism, for example.