they report that the number of U.S. residents who self-report being affiliated with the R.C. is down to 20% from 24% in '07.

Norah scored an hour-long interview, I'm not sure if they were alone or if he relied on advisors...

he looks vital although confined to a w.chair.

I was disgusted with Norah's rear kissing. She didn't press him about MALE priesthood, women's rights, etc. I think that Church has done more harm than good and continues to hold people back overall.

He did say one thing that made me chuckle. It had to do with why people should come back to church. He said something along the lines of (my words) "The Church is BIG. It's not like some temple." I don't know exactly what kind of temple he meant by that little dig but I thought it was a strange thing for him to say.

I was intriguied by that temple comment as well. It was about all I heard of the interview, though. I was too upset to listen closely. The Pope also said something about a big children's event that the church is sponsoring or supporting. If only the church would do more to protect children from the child molesting priests.

dagny Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was disgusted with Norah's rear kissing. She
> didn't press him about MALE priesthood, women's
> rights, etc. I think that Church has done more
> harm than good and continues to hold people back
> overall.


That would be a rare/ unusual 87 yr old who would pull the rug out from underneath some 2,000 + yrs of RC traditions let alone church beliefs - doctrine, but I guess it’s possible…
Same Pope that Russ visited?

Looks like women’s roles in the church will be addressed on 60 Minutes. Meh.

The only thing he said unequivocally and with force was that people who do not think climate change should be addressed are uninformed or have special interests. I’m assuming monetary.

Once again, the science on something has become so obvious that they have to go along with it. Then they act all progressive about it (eye roll).

I took a couple of classes with him, and I loved the guy.

Remember the Dover intelligent design case where the Dover, PA school board was trying to sneak a creationist book, “Of Pandas and People” into high school biology class? _Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District_ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitzmiller_v._Dover_Area_School_District

IIRC, one of the witnesses for the prosecution was a Jesuit priest who said that you can believe in god while accepting evolution as good science. On the whole, Jesuit schools and colleges seem to be more rigorous and seem to try to foster an environment of critical thinking, notwithstanding the whole religion thing. I sometimes wonder if some of the priests are undercover agnostics, but that could be wishful thinking on my part.

This is information about the PBS special about the case, “Intelligent Design on Trial” https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/judgment-day-intelligent-design-on-trial/ It’s no longer streaming on PBS, but it’s on YouTube https://youtu.be/x2xyrel-2vI

Yeah, soooooo, I just rewatched it. There were no priests.

dagny Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Once again, the science on something has become so
> obvious that they have to go along with it. Then
> they act all progressive about it (eye roll).

Actually, the RC has been quite supportive of climate actions, especially since this man became Pope. There are many white evangelical Protestant churches in the U.S. who refuse to accept the reality of climate change, despite all of the available evidence. For the RC, however, accepting climate change as a reality really hasn't been a problem as it doesn't conflict with any of the primary religious texts and philosophies on which it relys. Sadly, the same can't be said for women priests, sexual relationships outside of marriage, the use of birth control, homosexual rights, and the turning over of alleged predatory priests to the proper authorities, among other areas of concern.

Catholics have traditionally considered Jesuits to be the most educated of the priestly orders. My brother went to a Jesuit high school, and he received an excellent education there. A neighbor's priest brother teaches at a Jesuit college. The order highly values education. However, as with many other highly religious people, education often stops at the church door.

Francis came in as a reformer, and in many respects he has lived up to expectations. However, he is still a member of an often stodgy bureaucracy. My major disappointment with him is in how he has chosen to handle the child abuse scandals. He still will not mandate turning in the perpetrator priests to law enforcement. As for equal treatment for women, I consider that to be a lost cause. It was the main reason that I left the RC church, but many female members put up with it.

Catholics in general have never been Bible literalists. So they would not necessarily have a problem with evolution.

on the QT, a couple of RfM posters asked me to find out if it's required to be Catholic to become a RC priest; I promised not to disclose their identity, I have no idea why they asked me to front this for them...

Is the pope Catholic?

Is Rusty Nelson a Mormon? (This is a trick question.) ;)

Rusty is a victory for Satan. He has made some dumb ass decisions that he has to be on the Devil’s payroll.