Religion - a respectful discussion, for those interested

*FACT CHECKER* SNAP and the TRUTH About False Abuse Accusations Against Priests

"It is an alarming and incontrovertible fact: False abuse accusations against Catholic priests, which have always been present, are on the rise. "

In weighing the costs of fighting lawsuits versus settling them, dioceses routinely pay out sizable settlements even for abuse claims against long-dead priests whose records were completely unblemished when they were alive and where accusations were never even substantiated.

Therefore, contingency lawyers have been incentivized to bring claims against dioceses which are either completely bogus or greatly exaggerated, or to seek outsized sums for minor claims.

Over the recent past, we have cataloged a shocking number bogus cases against Catholic priests, but clearly this is only the tip of the iceberg.

And indeed it is rare that the issue of false accusations against priests is even acknowledged in the mainstream media. Over the past dozen years, we have located only a couple of passing mentions in the media.

In truth, the media is structured in such a way that few reporters, editors, or columnists are ever brave enough to pursue a story which runs counter to the accepted narrative on an issue.

http://www.themediareport.com/2013/11/26/false-accusations-catholic-priests/

...why do I even bother with this anymore, when JStokes is the only one still talking about it!

 

Now back to something that's actually relevant today (not to mention to the topic of this thread)...

"Pope Hopes Year Of Mercy Is a Time Of ‘Fervent Dialogue’"
By CINDY WOODEN

"Opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica and the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis also hopes to open a year of “fervent dialogue” among Christians, Muslims and Jews, so that all who profess faith in a merciful God may be stronger in showing mercy toward one another. ...

The opening of the jubilee year a month after the terrorist attacks in Paris and at a time of continuing strife in the Holy Land and around the Middle East shows the size of the challenge facing those committed to interreligious dialogue, but it equally shows the need.

In his official proclamation of the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis noted that the Christian profession of faith in God’s mercy “relates us to Judaism and Islam, both of which consider mercy to be one of God’s most important attributes.”

He prayed that the jubilee would “open us to even more fervent dialogue so that we might know and understand one another better; may it eliminate every form of closed-mindedness and disrespect, and drive out every form of violence and discrimination.”

“This jubilee of mercy is an inspiration,” said Shahrzad Houshmand, a Muslim scholar who teaches at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University. “At this difficult moment in history, it is time to return to the original name of God who, for all three of us, is mercy. We have lost so much on the way because of pride, because we have not recognized each other as brothers and sisters and some have even gone so far astray that they see each other as enemies. This jubilee can help us return to the roots of our religious existence which is based on the name of God, the merciful.”

For Rabbi Naftali Brawer, CEO of the Spiritual Capital Foundation in London, being religious means imitating God, particularly in the pursuit of justice and the demonstration of mercy.

Making the world a better place, he said, “is all about individuals, it is about bottom up, it is about little acts of mercy...it’s about people of different faiths living together and trying to see the other for who the other really is and responding accordingly. “It happens in a million different little acts every day,” the rabbi said."

Houshmand said 113 of the 114 chapters of the Quran open with the phrase, “Bismillah al rahman al rahim,” usually translated as, “In the name of God, the most gracious, most merciful.” Muslims begin their formal prayers with the phrase, they say it before meals, begin formal speeches with it and recite it at the beginning of wedding and funeral rites.

As in Catholicism, in Islam invoking God’s mercy is tied to asking God’s forgiveness for one’s sins, she said. Islam teaches that “God, the fullness of love, knows and sees the mistakes, errors and sins of the human person. But his mercy never stops in the face of anything."

http://cny.org/stories/Pope-Hopes-Y...ort=&content_class=&sub_type=stories&town_id=

 

That's a good question. In order to be properly disposed to receive communion, we must not be cognizant of any mortal sin that we have committed since our last confession. The key here is that it applies only to mortal sin: these are serious sins for which we gave free consent of the will. That means something like murder, or adultery, or some other serious matter in which we have knowingly broken God's law. The little sins we all commit from time to time, like unkind words, lying, stealing, etc, those kinds of things, we can still receive communion. It is a good idea to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation (aka penance/confession) as frequently as we need to, but unless we have committed mortal sin, it is only required once a year. Most people go to confession before Christmas and Easter at least, to "cleanse" their soul before celebrating these Holy feast days, but it is recommended to go maybe once a month. That is a tremendous help in keeping God'a grace and the Holy Spirit within us, making us much happier and able to experience God's love and joy to the fullest. Sadly, some Catholics almost never receive communion, because they think that they are not worthy to, when in fact God wants us to receive communion at least once a week during Sunday Mass, and if we need to, go to Confession ahead of time to prepare for it. For example, some Catholics tragically think that if they are divorced and remarried they are banned from receiving communion, when in fact all they need to do is make a good confession and live the best they can under their current circumstances. When in doubt, however, it is best to consult an experienced Priest. .... as for people who have been away from the Church for awhile, they just need to discuss it with a Priest in confession (which of course can be done anonymously), express true sorrow/regret or simply a sincere desire to return to the Church, and they will be forgiven and welcomed back with open arms. They are then free to resume full participation in the liturgy, including communion. They are in full "communion" with the Church, the Body of Christ, the community of Catholics worldwide. As for non-Catholics, if they do not accept the teachings of the Church, then why would we expect them to be a part of this "communion", this community? Jesus Christ himself required that his disciples follow him and his teachings in order to be saved. Those who are aware that Christ is the Savior and God Himself in human form, understand that they must follow Christ's teachings, as a good son or daughter listens to his or her parents. Those who do not realize this yet may still be saved, over the course of their lives, through the mercy of God, if their ignorance of truth is no fault of their own.

It's really not hard to be a good Catholic in full communion with the Church if we really want to; all that is require is a sincere desire to do so and an honest effort. God understands. And the vast majority of Priests and other religious are friendly, warm, and welcoming to those who wish to join or re-join the Church.

 

So you dig up an article from some obscure website halfway around the world, and you call it a "world class headline", how naive can you be Stokes?!?!

You're the only one still polluting this thread with your nonsense....I'm trying to have an intelligent discussion about religion with another poster right now, and you keep trying to get this thread off topic! Just stop it already, none of us want to listen to your closed-minded hateful propaganda! And besides, I've already proven you wrong numerous times, this is getting old (scratch that, this was old 50 pages ago!)

 

You are the biggest troll I've ever seen in any bulletin board. And why don't you tell people the real reason you left the Church, the reason you told me privately, that has nothing to do with the priest abuse scandal. You have an axe to grind and you just keep digging up old news to try to smear the Church with, which we've already gone over ad nauseum, starting about 80 pages ago! I'm really surprised the mods have not blocked you from this thread, which they do sometimes for people who try to get a thread off topic.

 

Now back to something that's actually relevant today (not to mention to the topic of this thread)...

"Pope Hopes Year Of Mercy Is a Time Of ‘Fervent Dialogue’"
By CINDY WOODEN

"Opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica and the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis also hopes to open a year of “fervent dialogue” among Christians, Muslims and Jews, so that all who profess faith in a merciful God may be stronger in showing mercy toward one another. ...

The opening of the jubilee year a month after the terrorist attacks in Paris and at a time of continuing strife in the Holy Land and around the Middle East shows the size of the challenge facing those committed to interreligious dialogue, but it equally shows the need.

In his official proclamation of the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis noted that the Christian profession of faith in God’s mercy “relates us to Judaism and Islam, both of which consider mercy to be one of God’s most important attributes.”

He prayed that the jubilee would “open us to even more fervent dialogue so that we might know and understand one another better; may it eliminate every form of closed-mindedness and disrespect, and drive out every form of violence and discrimination.”

“This jubilee of mercy is an inspiration,” said Shahrzad Houshmand, a Muslim scholar who teaches at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University. “At this difficult moment in history, it is time to return to the original name of God who, for all three of us, is mercy. We have lost so much on the way because of pride, because we have not recognized each other as brothers and sisters and some have even gone so far astray that they see each other as enemies. This jubilee can help us return to the roots of our religious existence which is based on the name of God, the merciful.”

For Rabbi Naftali Brawer, CEO of the Spiritual Capital Foundation in London, being religious means imitating God, particularly in the pursuit of justice and the demonstration of mercy.

Making the world a better place, he said, “is all about individuals, it is about bottom up, it is about little acts of mercy...it’s about people of different faiths living together and trying to see the other for who the other really is and responding accordingly. “It happens in a million different little acts every day,” the rabbi said."

Houshmand said 113 of the 114 chapters of the Quran open with the phrase, “Bismillah al rahman al rahim,” usually translated as, “In the name of God, the most gracious, most merciful.” Muslims begin their formal prayers with the phrase, they say it before meals, begin formal speeches with it and recite it at the beginning of wedding and funeral rites.

As in Catholicism, in Islam invoking God’s mercy is tied to asking God’s forgiveness for one’s sins, she said. Islam teaches that “God, the fullness of love, knows and sees the mistakes, errors and sins of the human person. But his mercy never stops in the face of anything."

http://cny.org/stories/Pope-Hopes-Y...ort=&content_class=&sub_type=stories&town_id=

 

That's a good question. In order to be properly disposed to receive communion, we must not be cognizant of any mortal sin that we have committed since our last confession. The key here is that it applies only to mortal sin: these are serious sins for which we gave free consent of the will. That means something like murder, or adultery, or some other serious matter in which we have knowingly broken God's law. The little sins we all commit from time to time, like unkind words, lying, stealing, etc, those kinds of things, we can still receive communion. It is a good idea to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation (aka penance/confession) as frequently as we need to, but unless we have committed mortal sin, it is only required once a year. Most people go to confession before Christmas and Easter at least, to "cleanse" their soul before celebrating these Holy feast days, but it is recommended to go maybe once a month. That is a tremendous help in keeping God'a grace and the Holy Spirit within us, making us much happier and able to experience God's love and joy to the fullest. Sadly, some Catholics almost never receive communion, because they think that they are not worthy to, when in fact God wants us to receive communion at least once a week during Sunday Mass, and if we need to, go to Confession ahead of time to prepare for it. For example, some Catholics tragically think that if they are divorced and remarried they are banned from receiving communion, when in fact all they need to do is make a good confession and live the best they can under their current circumstances. When in doubt, however, it is best to consult an experienced Priest. .... as for people who have been away from the Church for awhile, they just need to discuss it with a Priest in confession (which of course can be done anonymously), express true sorrow/regret or simply a sincere desire to return to the Church, and they will be forgiven and welcomed back with open arms. They are then free to resume full participation in the liturgy, including communion. They are in full "communion" with the Church, the Body of Christ, the community of Catholics worldwide. As for non-Catholics, if they do not accept the teachings of the Church, then why would we expect them to be a part of this "communion", this community? Jesus Christ himself required that his disciples follow him and his teachings in order to be saved. Those who are aware that Christ is the Savior and God Himself in human form, understand that they must follow Christ's teachings, as a good son or daughter listens to his or her parents. Those who do not realize this yet may still be saved, over the course of their lives, through the mercy of God, if their ignorance of truth is no fault of their own.

It's really not hard to be a good Catholic in full communion with the Church if we really want to; all that is require is a sincere desire to do so and an honest effort. God understands. And the vast majority of Priests and other religious are friendly, warm, and welcoming to those who wish to join or re-join the Church.