The Catholic Church Needs to Stop Throwing Stones

,That's right! The Catholic Church needs to stop throwing stones because they have lived in a glass house for centuries. I'm very angry at the self-righteous, pompous and arrogant members of the clergy that have expressed outrage at the University of Notre Dame inviting Barack Obama to be the keynote speaker at this year's commencement. Thank God there are still clergy left that walk the road of Christ. I was taught that Christ was open to all of humanity; including sinners, the Church evidently is not.

This attitude is not unique to this time; there have been many Popes in history that have been immoral and a disgrace to humanity (click here to learn about a few). We all know that there have been a lot of priests of late that have been immoral and a disgrace to their robes. In the United States alone, it has been well documented that 4% of the priesthood took advantage of young people during the last 4 decades (click here to see an independent church survey). While not in the same category, church attitudes towards listening to the President of the United States is another ugly chapter in a long line of ugliness.

Today a group of Holy Cross priests expressed their outrage at the University of Notre Dame for inviting President Obama. Nothing is said about a past invitation to George W. Bush who turned a deaf ear to the Pope on issues of clemency for Texas inmates that were sentenced to death.

The reality behind the Church's stance is a product of outright ignorance and puritanical attitudes towards sex. The millennial held belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus was forever virgin is a fantasy drilled into the minds of followers. All you really have to do is read the Bible and you learn that Jesus had 4 brothers and 2 sisters. It's right there in Mark and Mathew. The brothers of Jesus were; James, Joses, Simon and Judas (Mathew 13:55). The Church has spent the last 2,000 years trying to warp reality.

My broader point is this; we know how children happen. Conception is an act of man, not an act of God. If you want to believe that Mary had a virgin birth, that's fine; but we have figured out how other babies are conceived, and it's an act of man (this was God's plan). If you believe that God gave everyone "free will" ; do you think that God wants a person to rape a child? Do you think that a resulting pregnancy is God's will? This is where reasoned people have to draw the line. The Catholic Church is dead wrong here. Do you think the 9 year old girl in Brazil that became pregnant with twins because she was repeatedly raped by her stepfather should carry the pregnancy forward? The Catholic Church did! The local Bishop excommunicated the mother and doctors because a court ordered abortion was performed on this 80 pound child. Maybe the mother was complicit in the rape and should have been excommunicated. Guess what; the stepfather was not excommunicated. This poor innocent child should never have to carry those babies to term and God did not want this pregnancy. If you think so, that's downright sick! God did not want this scumbag to father 2 children with his 9 year old stepdaughter.

Barack Obama has said on more than one occasion; "nobody believes in abortion". I agree; I do not believe in abortion. The trouble is; "shit happens". If my 12 year old daughter were raped and became pregnant, I believe that there would be an abortion. I wouldn't be happy about it, but it definitely can't be against the law.

In the final analysis, the Church needs to look inward while reaching out. Isolating those that disagree with a church teaching is simply not Christian. The Church has every right to form it's own belief system, but making everyone follow Catholic dogma conjures up the history of the Inquisition. Thank you; University of Notre Dame. Sorry Mom.

tomtoak