Catholic values without the church
Yeah, that's me.
What values am I talking about?
"Visitors entering Bethlehem had to cross through a massive metal gate in the separation barrier that Israel built between Jerusalem and the town....
We call it the Apartheid Wall 'round here.
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"Bishops seek end to Israeli ‘occupation’
Bishops from the Middle East summoned to Rome by the pope demanded yesterday that Israel accept UN resolutions calling for an end to its “occupation’’ of Arab lands. The bishops also told Israel it shouldn’t use the Bible to justify “injustices.’’ (AP)."
That's why the Catholic Church is a threat to Zionist Israel.
"Bishops blame Mideast conflict for Christian exodus from region" by Nicole Winfield, Associated Press / October 14, 2010
VATICAN CITY — Bishops summoned to the Vatican to discuss the flight of Christians from the Middle East have blamed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for spurring much of the exodus and warned that the consequences could be devastating for the birthplace of Christianity.
Some bishops have singled out the emergence of fanatical Islam for the flight. But others have directly or indirectly accused Israel of discriminating against Arab Christians and impeding solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In fact, the working document of the two-week synod accused the Israeli “occupation’’ of Palestinian territories of creating difficulties in everyday life for Palestinian Christians, including their religious life, because their access to holy sites is dependent on Israeli military permission.
Not only for Christians, either. Our Muslim brothers are under siege as I type.
Pope Benedict XVI called the two-week synod, which continued yesterday, to try to encourage Christians in the largely Muslim region, where the Catholic Church has long been a minority and is shrinking as a result of war, conflict, discrimination, and economic problems....
American Cardinal John Foley, a Vatican official who raises money to support Christian sites in the Holy Land, also said the conflict had contributed to the growth of Islamic fundamentalism but blamed Israeli policies.
“While many including the Holy See have suggested a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, the more time passes, the more difficult such a solution becomes, as the building of Israeli settlements and Israeli-controlled infrastructure in East Jerusalem and in other parts of the West Bank make increasingly difficult the development of a viable and integral Palestinian state,’’ he told the gathering.
Related:
Rabbi David Rosen, head of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee, said he expected some degree of blame would be voiced against Israel during the synod. But he said he thought the Vatican had done a responsible job in containing it and trying to ensure that the synod “is not totally politically hijacked by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.’’
What charged terminology from the Zionist representative.
In his speech to the synod yesterday, Rosen objected to the suggestion that the Israeli “occupation’’ of Palestinian territories was the root cause of the conflict, noting that the conflict preceded the 1967 war during which the West Bank and Gaza came under Israeli control.
On that I agree; Israel was ripping off land and displacing people since before 1948. It's been all downhill since.
“ ‘Occupation’ in fact is precisely a consequence of the conflict, the real root issue of which is precisely whether the Arab world can tolerate a non-Arab sovereign polity within its midst,’’ Rosen said....
That is not the issue at all, and stop trying to spin it that way.
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor contended that Israel is “the only country in the Middle East where the number of Christians has been constantly increasing over the years. In the Palestinian territories, the Christian population has dwindled over the years because of pressures by Islamic extremists.’’
The reason the Christian population has increased is because of Christian-Zionist zealots migrating to the Holy Land.
“To ignore this key factor and to pretend that the Christian plight is one and the same across the region is to do a disservice to truth,’’ he added.
Then how come they lived rather peacefully with (and where even protected by) Muslims for centuries (until Israel was established by U.N dictate)?
And Israeli's complaining about disservices to the truth? Does the chutzpah know no limit?
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Another value I'm sharing with the Vatican:
"Vatican cites biotech crops’ downside; Seems to aim for nuanced stance" by Nicole Winfield, Associated Press / January 5, 2011
VATICAN CITY — A Vatican cardinal backed off the Holy See’s perceived approval of biotech crops yesterday, saying farmers in the developing world should not be dependent on foreign multinationals for their seeds.
Especially when they are s*** seeds that reduce yield!
Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson, a Ghanian who heads the Vatican’s office for justice and peace, likened such economic dependence on big corporations to a new form of slavery.
He's not far off.
It was the second time in a month the Vatican has made clear that while it is not entirely opposed to biotech foods, it is firmly not in favor of them, either. The United States, home to major multinationals that produce biotech seeds and crops, has lobbied the Vatican for years to speak positively about genetically modified organisms, calling biotech a “moral imperative’’ to feed the world’s hungry.
As if those elite bastards cared about the hungry!
Plenty of food to go around; it is the distribution that is all f***ed up!
And for years Turkson’s predecessor, Italian Cardinal Renato Martino, obliged, touting the benefits and safety of genetically modified organisms and even hosting a biotech conference at the Vatican in 2003.
Even though they are not safe at all, and may be contributing to the extinction of bees and bats.
But Turkson reversed course in an interview yesterday with the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano....
The Vatican’s position on genetically modified organisms has been carefully watched, given the moral weight of its positions concerning combating poverty and hunger.
I don't know how much moral weight they are carrying after the, well, you-know (blog editor makes hands-on-hips-from-behind thrusting gesture).
US cables from the WikiLeaks trove of documents illustrate how critical the Vatican’s position was — and how the United States tried to sway it in light of resistance from some parts of the Catholic Church.
One cable concluded that there was “cautious acceptance’’ of biotech food by the Holy See but that economic dependence was a concern, particularly for Catholics in the developing world, and that regardless the Vatican wouldn’t challenge individual bishops who opposed them.
Yeah, the fact that Catholics dominate in Africa and Latin America is a factor not ignored by the Zionist string-pullers and the puppet elite they parade before you. Viewed as a threat. Same with the Muslims.
Washington’s greatest ally in the lobbying effort was Martino, who would frequently refer to all the genetically modified organisms he safely ate while living in New York as the Vatican’s UN ambassador. But the cables indicate Martino may have merely been playing a good diplomat.
“A Martino deputy told us recently that the cardinal had cooperated’’ with the embassy on biotech over the past two years in part to compensate for his “vocal disapproval of the Iraq war and its aftermath,’’ and to keep relations with the US government smooth, according to one cable.
“According to our source, Martino no longer feels the need to take this approach,’’ the cable said.
The Vatican has said the WikiLeaks cables do not reflect official Vatican positions.
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Related: Obvious kept secret in classified US data
I'm not surprised the Israeli intelligence operation is targeting Catholics at all!
That's the obvious secret!
Related:
Vatican allowed pedophile to remain in priesthood, report says
Vatican reportedly told bishops in Ireland not to report abuse
Vatican defends Irish abuse guidance
Vatican says pope did not endorse condoms as contraception
Maybe he should, although it's a little late.
Vatican rejects lawsuit from alleged victim
Quincy church closing stuns worshipers
F*** 'em and forget 'em, 'eh?
They never forget you: Jury awards $30 million in Del. priest abuse case
Delaware diocese offers $74m to settle abuse suits
No secret that the agenda-pushing paper does.
Where the church starts to lose me a bit:
"Church pressures Berlusconi on morals" by Associated Press / January 22, 2011
VATICAN CITY — Premier Silvio Berlusconi came under increasing criticism yesterday from the Catholic Church over his dalliances with young women, with the pope saying public officials must set moral examples and Italian bishops planning to discuss the sex scandal....
Oh, I admit he is a scum; however, wrong messanger for this message. At least the old man is chasing women not altar boys.
Related: Berlusconi Burlesque
Prosecutors have said Berlusconi had sex with several prostitutes during parties at his Milan estate.
Wiretapped conversations of participants at the parties, printed this week in Italian newspapers, have described the villa as a brothel with topless girls, who at least on one occasion were offered nurse uniforms and police outfits to wear — an allegation that prompted a police union to formally protest.
I must admit, I like it when fascist scum are done in by their own devices.
Berlusconi has denied the allegations and accused prosecutors of a politically motivated witch hunt. He has not been charged....
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Related:
"Thousands rally against Berlusconi
MILAN — Thousands of people yesterday attended a rally to demand Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s resignation after allegations that he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl and used his office to cover it up. Some of Italy’s prominent left-leaning intellectuals, including Umberto Eco and anti-Mafia author Roberto Saviano, as well as labor union leaders and others, addressed the crowd at a Milan sports stadium. (AP)."
The REVOLUTION is GOING GLOBAL!!
Berlusconi better be careful or he could end up here:
"MACABRE TOURIST ATTRACTION -- Fully clothed human remains, representing some of the world's best-preserved bodies, are displayed at the Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo, Italy. The catacombs, frequented by tourists, contain thousands of remains of clerics, nobility, and families of local citizens dating from about the mid-16th century, well preserved due to an ancient and highly efficient embalming process. The last burial there was in the 1920s (Boston Globe February 2 2011)."
Remember what Italians did to Mussolini?
Related: Stretching to fit a growing flock
No, I never go to those services.
But look who is coming to mine!
"Muslims make way at Catholic colleges; Schools making efforts to adjust" by William Wan, Washington Post / December 21, 2010
WASHINGTON — In the past few years, enrollment of Muslim students such as Reef Al-Shabnan has spiked at Catholic campuses across the country. Last year, Catholic colleges had an even higher percentage of Muslim students than the average four-year institution in the United States, according to the Higher Education Research Institute.
The influx has astonished and sometimes befuddled administrators. Some Catholic campuses are creating prayer rooms for new Muslim students and hiring Islamic chaplains to minister to them. Others are unsure how to adapt....
Oddly, I often rise before sun-up to begin blogging.
Muslim students say they enroll at Catholic schools for many of the same reasons as their classmates: attractive campuses, appealing professors, and academic programs that fit their interests. But there is also a spiritual attraction to the values that overlap the two faiths.
No wonder I feel such a kinship with my Muslim brothers and sisters!
Next thing you know the Zionist propaganda organs known as the AmeriKan press will have us Catholics in a terror plot!
They try that one and they really will have jumped the shark.
“Because it is an overtly religious place, it’s not strange or weird to care about your religion here, to pray and make God a priority,’’ said Shabnan, a political science major who often covers her head with a pale beige scarf. “They have the same values we do.’’
:-)
Echoing Islam’s conservative culture, the school separates men and women in its dorms and imposes visiting hours. The university prohibits sex before marriage. Daily prayer and periodic fasting are common concepts.
So do conservative Jews, but.... ever notice everyone always bends over backwards to accommodate Jewish sensitivities without it being the least bit controversial?
At the same time, Muslim students find themselves immersed in what can seem at times alien iconography. Almost every classroom is adorned with a crucifix. Statues of the Virgin Mary and Holy Child dot the campus. Professors often open their classes with an appeal to Jesus. Courses in theology are an undergraduate requirement.
Actually, they know all about Jesus and consider him a Prophet. They just don't consider him the son of God as do Christians.
That’s how Shabnan found herself buying her first Bible, for a required Old Testament class. It’s also the reason, she said with a smile, that she registered for an introductory course on Islam.
“I was looking for an easy course,’’ she said. “I learned a lot that was new to me . . . and just seeing how someone completely outside our religion views it was fascinating.’’
Do you feel that way about me, dear reader?
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Related: New Catholic U. leader strikes an informal note
Businesses seek ways to tap Muslim market
‘You are not forgotten about’
Nor are their holy days as I reciprocate the observation:
"Shi’ite holy day is marred by attacks; Two die in Iraq as saint is mourned" by Zeina Karam, Associated Press / December 17, 2010
:-(
BEIRUT — Shi’ites across the Muslim world commemorated their most somber day of the year yesterday with solemn processions in which some beat their chests or cut themselves with swords and chains to mourn the death some 1,300 years ago of one of their most beloved saints.
Please stop blaming yourselves.
Bombings in Iraq targeted Shi’ite pilgrims, killing two as they walked to holy sites. In Pakistan, 16 people were wounded, two critically, when an assailant threw an explosive device at a Shi’ite procession.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah leader Hassan Narsallah used an address marking the occasion, called Ashoura, to call for armed resistance against Israel and unity between Shi’ites and Sunnis.
I think they pretty much have it in places where western intelligence agencies are not stirring up trouble.
Notice the sectarianism only flares up after we have arrived, Americans?
In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai urged insurgents to embrace peace.
Ashoura is being observed amid tensions between Islam’s rival Sunni and Shi’ite sects.
So says the Zionist War Daily. Good thing the revolt in the streets has brought together Sunni, Shi'ite, and Christian, 'eh?
Two suicide bombings Wednesday blamed on a radical Sunni group killed at least 39 people at a ceremony marking Ashoura near a Shi’ite mosque in southeastern Iran. The group — Jundallah, or Soldiers of God — claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its website.
Jundullah on the website, 'eh?
Related: CIA Protects Al-Qaeda Group From Extradition
Prop 101: Al-CIA-Duh and the OSI
Prop 101: Al-CIA-Duh's Greatest Hits
Prop 101: The "Terrorism" Business
New York Times Admits War on Terror is U.S. Creation
Yeah, gotta watch those websites.
Security was tight yesterday at Ashoura commemorations in Sunni-majority Pakistan, where a long-running sectarian conflict has gained traction in recent years because of the Sunni Taliban insurgency.
That's such crap.
Shi’ite Muslim processions in major cities have sometimes been attacked by bombers.
To mark Ashoura, Shi’ites march in massive processions, beating their chests in mourning for the 680 AD martyrdom at Karbala, in present-day Iraq, of Imam Hussein, one of the sect’s most beloved saints and a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
Some Shi’ites cut themselves with swords or razors or lash their backs with razor-lined chains to draw blood, rituals that reflect the sect’s immersion in a narrative of mourning, martyrdom, and suffering.
Police were out in force in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city. As in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, people who wanted to join the main procession in the city of Karachi had to undergo body searches.
Thousands of people joined in, hoisting flags and banners as they mourned Hussein.
Authorities in Pakistan are on high alert for attacks on Shi’ites. But an assailant in the city of Peshawar near the Afghan border wounded 16 pilgrims when he threw an explosive device on a Shi’ite procession.
Iraqi Shi’ites did not make their customary annual pilgrimage to a holy shrine in southern Jordan this year, amid rising Sunni-Shi’ite Muslim tensions in the Arab world.
In Iraq, bombings in Baghdad and a small town to the north killed two pilgrims and wounded nine who were headed to ceremonies in Karbala, home of Imam Hussein’s shrine.
The killed and wounded were among hundreds of thousands who headed to Karbala to mark Ashoura.
Security forces created three layers of checkpoints outside the gold-domed Imam Hussein shrine in the city’s center to protect the pilgrims expected to converge there by Ashoura’s peak this morning.
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Related: Pope calls Christians the most persecuted
Oh, I don't know about that. Muslims seem to be the most maligned to me.
Christian lawyers lose bids to be judges
Then again....
Also see: Poor join pope for lunch at Vatican
Church plants find their roots in Greater Boston
Anglicans ordained as Catholic priests
Church must reflect, pope says
O’Malley apology for priest’s comments draws a rebuke
O’Malley holds prayer service at shelter
Catholic schools report surge in preschool programs
Empire State Building denies Mother Teresa tribute
Pope John Paul II will be beatified week after Easter
Santorum to talk at Catholic fund-raiser
Firestorm over piece on gays in Catholic paper
I'm putting the fire out. MSM Monitor's Sunday sermon is over.
