NP my anti-Catholicism

[Paul Mackin]

American Catholics seem to pay very little attention to what the Pope tells
them. According to public opinion polls. The things he says are bad--sex,
birth control, abortion when need be, capital punishment, low wages for the
unskilled--the flock finds perfectly OK, by and large.

As far as the superstitious stuff goes I really wonder how much interest
American Catholics or American church goers in general have in that end of
things these days. My impression is that "God" is a useful concept with
which to support youth morality--enough morality at least to stay out of
jail-- which is what parents are overwhelmingly concerned with. And there
may be many in the church who do sincerely and actively believe in the
resurrection and the life.

But I  admit I'm out of touch with church goers. One lone Catholic family
member whose five kids are all complete materialists.  Christian
fundamentalists are a bit of a puzzle. The ones I know (and I know this
doesn't apply to all of them) tend to be at the lower rungs of the social
ladder and I suspect their religion is in part at least a protest against
the more educated professional classes. Incidently that's a function
religion has played in America since the beginning and isn't all that bad.


P.





David Morris wrote:

> I don't know what you are talking about.  This old man mouths platitudes
> about peace while holding his flock in mental hostage.
>
> David Morris
>
> >From: Bandwraith at aol.com
> >
> >I'm not Catholic (not even a christian) but this old man in the
> >funny costume strikes me as one of the more heroic figures
> >on the current world stage. Apart from the superstitious aspects
> >of his creed- not unlike the similar rubbish of all the other
> >religions, the need for which seems fairly universal, and will
> >probably hasten our collective demise by distracting us from
> >the impending environmental melt-down- it would be hard to
> >name other religious leaders who have tried harder to bridge
> >the gaps that separate the peoples of the world. He is an
> >old, fallible man, whose actions, like anyone in a position of
> >great power and authority, might have unintentionally harmed
> >many people, but he is trying to be a good person, and I
> >respect him for that.
>
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