Congresswoman [Diana] DeGette's comments - “I gotta tell you, last I heard we had separation of church and state. I don’t think the Catholic bishops are in charge of writing our healthcare bill. I think that they are one of many groups that we should listen to, but in the end they should be concerned that 36 million more people in this country will get healthcare. Many of them are their parishioners.”
[Family Research Council]'s version of her comments - “religiously-affiliated groups…should be shut out of the process” in the health care debate because of their support for the Stupak/Pitts amendment. She told The Hill, “Last I heard, we had separation of church and state in this country,” she said. “I’ve got to say that I think the Catholic bishops and all of the other groups shouldn’t have input.”
So they literally put words in Diana DeGette's mouth that she didn't even say! And why would they do that, especially knowing that their imaginary friend Goddy McGod doesn't like lies? Oh, they just want more control over women's bodies and over women's health care decisions.
I guess since they let Johnny Casino off the hook for lying, cheating, and money laundering, what's a few lies to ban reproductive medicine and save the zygotes?
But wait, it gets even more ridiculous. They're already denying communion again to any and all politicians that support people's civil rights, but they may now take it even further.
It was a narrowing of Catholic theology to strip issues like poverty and social justice from the forefront of the Church, and replace them with opposing abortion, gay marriage, and stem cell research. It was also a call to Catholic politicians: oppose abortion and gay marriage at all costs, or risk the threat of the Church denying you Communion and publicly tarring and feathering you as a sinner.
Bishop Tobin's action toward Rep. Patrick Kennedy doesn't have anything to do with gay marriage on its surface (Rhode Island doesn't allow gay marriage, and Rep. Kennedy has kept a relatively low profile on the issue). Rather, Rep. Kennedy's sin in the eyes of the church was voting against the Stupak amendment to the U.S. House's health care bill, and siding with reproductive rights activists.
But the question is that if the Church is now ready to do this on the issue of abortion, are they also ready to do this on the issue of gay marriage, an issue the Church says that they view with as much disgust? Do Massachusetts politicians who support gay marriage or abortion rights now have to wonder whether they'll be denied Communion at weekly mass? What about Catholics in Vermont, Iowa, Connecticut or New Hampshire?
Time will tell. But we've already seen bishops with the Catholic Church threaten to stop caring for the poor in Washington, D.C. over the issue of gay marriage. There's no reason to think that Church leaders won't head to even deeper depths, politicizing one of their oldest traditions in Communion to simply toe a line on gay marriage that is increasingly out of step with public opinion.
So they're actually willing to toss overboard the entire social gospel that Jesus actually wanted them to care about... To save the zygotes and prevent gay couples from being happily married? How does this make sense? Oh yeah, that's right. It doesn't have to any more.
After all, we still haven't heard any bishops here in Nevada condemn their religious right buddy Johnny Casino for committing adultery, lying about his adultery, lying about his parents funneling a cool $96,000 to the Hampton family, and violating federal campaign and tax laws in funneling that "hush money". Shouldn't our local Catholic
I'm not holding my breath on this...
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