Religion: you’re doing it right.
reasons why san diego is awesome
![stfuconservatives:
(trigger warning for rape, incest, molestation)
networkofwormholes:
[Source]
Declaring that “life must always be protected”, a senior Vatican cleric has defended the Catholic Church’s decision to excommunicate the mother and doctors of a nine-year-old rape victim who had a life-saving abortion in Brazil.
Cardinal Giovanni Batista Re, who heads the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, told reporters that although the girl fell pregnant after apparently being abused by her stepfather, her twins had, “the right to live, and could not be eliminated”.
In an interview with the Italian newspaper, La Stampa, the cardinal added: “It is a sad case but the real problem is that the twins conceived were two innocent persons. Life must always be protected.”
Police believe the girl was sexually assaulted for years by her stepfather, possibly since she was six. That she was four months pregnant with twins emerged only after she was taken to hospital complaining of severe stomach pains.
The controversy represents a PR nightmare for the Vatican. The unnamed girl’s mother and doctors were excommunicated for agreeing to Wednesday’s emergency abortion yet the Church has not taken formal steps against the stepfather, who is in custody. Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, the conservative regional archbishop for Pernambuco where the girl was rushed to hospital, has said that the man would not be thrown out of the Church, because although he had allegedly committed “a heinous crime”, the Church took the view that “the abortion, the elimination of an innocent life, was more serious”.
The case has set off fierce debate in Brazil, where abortion is permitted only in cases of rape or a medical emergency. Brazil is one of the most populous Catholic countries, but conservative attitudes in rural areas are strongly at odds with the relatively progressive public view of abortion in major cities.
Even the President, Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, has waded into the row. “As a Christian and a Catholic, I deeply regret that a bishop of the Catholic Church has such a conservative attitude,” he said “The doctors did what had to be done: save the life of a girl of nine years old. In this case, the medical profession was more right than the Church.”
One of the doctors involved in the abortion, Rivaldo Albuquerque, has raised the prospect of public clashes at his local church, telling Globo, the nation’s main TV network, that he would keep going to mass there, regardless of the archbishop’s order. The young girl at the centre of the case escaped excommunication only because she is still a child in the eyes of Church authorities. The stepfather, who is 23, was arrested last week, apparently trying to escape to another region of the country. Police say he is also suspected of abusing the girl’s handicapped 14-year-old sister. He is in protective custody, and if convicted faces up to 15 years in prison.
[source]
Surprised they didn’t force the young girl to marry her rapist, but I suppose that’s only because he was already married to her mother.
The Vatican and everyone in it needs to burn.
I’ve blogged about this story before, but yeah. A stepfather molested his young stepdaughter, and she became pregnant with twins. At age 9. N-I-N-E. That’s basically the definition of “babies having babies.” Her mother found doctors willing to terminate the pregnancy, and they were all excommunicated. But not the stepfather. Because sexually abusing living, actual children is totally cool - the Catholic Church has proved that on multiple occasions - but preventing a nine-year-old from giving birth to her stepfather’s children conceived in rape is worthy of excommunication.
Awful.
-Jess](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4ft58huYa1qd7hayo1_500.jpg)
(trigger warning for rape, incest, molestation)
[Source]
Declaring that “life must always be protected”, a senior Vatican cleric has defended the Catholic Church’s decision to excommunicate the mother and doctors of a nine-year-old rape victim who had a life-saving abortion in Brazil.
Cardinal Giovanni Batista Re, who heads the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, told reporters that although the girl fell pregnant after apparently being abused by her stepfather, her twins had, “the right to live, and could not be eliminated”.
In an interview with the Italian newspaper, La Stampa, the cardinal added: “It is a sad case but the real problem is that the twins conceived were two innocent persons. Life must always be protected.”
Police believe the girl was sexually assaulted for years by her stepfather, possibly since she was six. That she was four months pregnant with twins emerged only after she was taken to hospital complaining of severe stomach pains.
The controversy represents a PR nightmare for the Vatican. The unnamed girl’s mother and doctors were excommunicated for agreeing to Wednesday’s emergency abortion yet the Church has not taken formal steps against the stepfather, who is in custody. Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, the conservative regional archbishop for Pernambuco where the girl was rushed to hospital, has said that the man would not be thrown out of the Church, because although he had allegedly committed “a heinous crime”, the Church took the view that “the abortion, the elimination of an innocent life, was more serious”.
The case has set off fierce debate in Brazil, where abortion is permitted only in cases of rape or a medical emergency. Brazil is one of the most populous Catholic countries, but conservative attitudes in rural areas are strongly at odds with the relatively progressive public view of abortion in major cities.
Even the President, Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, has waded into the row. “As a Christian and a Catholic, I deeply regret that a bishop of the Catholic Church has such a conservative attitude,” he said “The doctors did what had to be done: save the life of a girl of nine years old. In this case, the medical profession was more right than the Church.”
One of the doctors involved in the abortion, Rivaldo Albuquerque, has raised the prospect of public clashes at his local church, telling Globo, the nation’s main TV network, that he would keep going to mass there, regardless of the archbishop’s order. The young girl at the centre of the case escaped excommunication only because she is still a child in the eyes of Church authorities. The stepfather, who is 23, was arrested last week, apparently trying to escape to another region of the country. Police say he is also suspected of abusing the girl’s handicapped 14-year-old sister. He is in protective custody, and if convicted faces up to 15 years in prison.
[source]
Surprised they didn’t force the young girl to marry her rapist, but I suppose that’s only because he was already married to her mother.
The Vatican and everyone in it needs to burn.
I’ve blogged about this story before, but yeah. A stepfather molested his young stepdaughter, and she became pregnant with twins. At age 9. N-I-N-E. That’s basically the definition of “babies having babies.” Her mother found doctors willing to terminate the pregnancy, and they were all excommunicated. But not the stepfather. Because sexually abusing living, actual children is totally cool - the Catholic Church has proved that on multiple occasions - but preventing a nine-year-old from giving birth to her stepfather’s children conceived in rape is worthy of excommunication.
Awful.
-Jess
This is an enormous chain and I’m sorry, but I need to say this:
The laws in the Old Testament were set forth by god as the rules the Hebrews needed to follow in order to be righteous, to atone for the sin of Adam and Eve and to be able to get into Heaven. That is also why they were required to make sacrifices, because it was part of the appeasement for Original Sin.
According to Christian theology, when Jesus came from Heaven, it was for the express purpose of sacrificing himself on the cross so that our sins may be forgiven. His sacrifice was supposed to be the ultimate act that would free us from the former laws and regulations and allow us to enter Heaven by acting in his image. That is why he said “it is finished” when he died on the cross. That is why Christians don’t have to circumcise their sons (god’s covenant with Jacob), that is why they don’t have to perform animal sacrifice, or grow out their forelocks, or follow any of the other laws of Leviticus.
When you quote Leviticus as god’s law and say they are rules we must follow because they are what god or Jesus wants us to do, what you are really saying, as a Christian, is that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was invalid. He died in vain because you believe we are still beholden to the old laws. That is what you, a self-professed good Christian, are saying to your god and his son, that their plan for your salvation wasn’t good enough for you.
So maybe actually read the thing before you start quoting it, because the implications of your actions go a lot deeper than you think.
/An atheist who understands Christian theology better than Bible-thumpers do.
^
(mic drop)
boom
Hey, errybody! Y’know what Jesus did say? Made it The Eleventh Damn Commandment, even! “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
The only thing Jesus ever had to say about marriage was that Moses effed up about divorce, and that a man who divorces his wife makes an adulterer of her. Pay attention to that one, because it’s more or less the only even vaguely conservative thing Jesus ever said. He was kindasorta big on the whole “loving and helping other people even if it sucks for you” thing.
Supposed Biblical references to homosexuality are deliberate mistranslations made by assholes in a knowing and willfull attempt to inject their own bigotry and hatred into the Bible. The original words most commonly claimed to mean “homosexual” do not in fact mean “homosexual”. If the intent of the reader is to place the ancient language in historical context— as opposed to finding flimsy excuses to justify hatred and falsely claim it as “holy”— then it is patently obvious that alleged proscriptions against homosexuality were in fact proscriptions against temple prostitution, raping male prisoners, and being lazy and fancy while those around you worked hard.
Haters: get the hell out of my religion. Jesus loves you anyway, but everyone else thinks you’re assholes. Come back when you’re willing to actually listen to the Christ you falsely claim to worship, and we’ll be glad to have you back.
This is an enormous chain and I’m sorry, but I need to say this:
The laws in the Old Testament were set forth by god as the rules the Hebrews needed to follow in order to be righteous, to atone for the sin of Adam and Eve and to be able to get into Heaven. That is also why they were required to make sacrifices, because it was part of the appeasement for Original Sin.
According to Christian theology, when Jesus came from Heaven, it was for the express purpose of sacrificing himself on the cross so that our sins may be forgiven. His sacrifice was supposed to be the ultimate act that would free us from the former laws and regulations and allow us to enter Heaven by acting in his image. That is why he said “it is finished” when he died on the cross. That is why Christians don’t have to circumcise their sons (god’s covenant with Jacob), that is why they don’t have to perform animal sacrifice, or grow out their forelocks, or follow any of the other laws of Leviticus.
When you quote Leviticus as god’s law and say they are rules we must follow because they are what god or Jesus wants us to do, what you are really saying, as a Christian, is that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was invalid. He died in vain because you believe we are still beholden to the old laws. That is what you, a self-professed good Christian, are saying to your god and his son, that their plan for your salvation wasn’t good enough for you.
So maybe actually read the thing before you start quoting it, because the implications of your actions go a lot deeper than you think.
/An atheist who understands Christian theology better than Bible-thumpers do.
^
(mic drop)
boom
(Nuns) were the first feminists, earning Ph.D.’s or working as surgeons long before it was fashionable for women to hold jobs. As managers of hospitals, schools and complex bureaucracies, they were the first female C.E.O.’s.
They are also among the bravest, toughest and most admirable people in the world. In my travels, I’ve seen heroic nuns defy warlords, pimps and bandits. Even as bishops have disgraced the church by covering up the rape of children, nuns have redeemed it with their humble work on behalf of the neediest.
So, Pope Benedict, all I can say is: You are crazy to mess with nuns.
The Vatican issued a stinging reprimand of American nuns this month and ordered a bishop to oversee a makeover of the organization that represents 80 percent of them. In effect, the Vatican accused the nuns of worrying too much about the poor and not enough about abortion and gay marriage.
What Bible did that come from? Jesus in the Gospels repeatedly talks about poverty and social justice, yet never explicitly mentions either abortion or homosexuality. If you look at who has more closely emulated Jesus’s life, Pope Benedict or your average nun, it’s the nun hands down.
Since the papal crackdown on nuns, they have received an outpouring of support. “Nuns were approached by Catholics at Sunday liturgies across the country with a simple question: ‘What can we do to help?’ ” The National Catholic Reporter recounted. It cited one parish where a declaration of support for nuns from the pulpit drew loud applause, and another that was filled with shouts like, “You go, girl!”
At least four petition drives are under way to support the nuns. One on Change.org has gathered 15,000 signatures. The headline for this column comes from an essay by Mary E. Hunt, a Catholic theologian who is developing a proposal for Catholics to redirect some contributions from local parishes to nuns.
“How dare they go after 57,000 dedicated women whose median age is well over 70 and who work tirelessly for a more just world?” Hunt wrote. “How dare the very men who preside over a church in utter disgrace due to sexual misconduct and cover-ups by bishops try to distract from their own problems by creating new ones for women religious?”
Sister Joan Chittister, a prominent Benedictine nun, said she had worried at first that nuns spend so much time with the poor that they would have no allies. She added that the flood of support had left her breathless.
“It’s stunningly wonderful,” she said. “You see generations of laypeople who know where the sisters are — in the streets, in the soup kitchens, anywhere where there’s pain. They’re with the dying, with the sick, and people know it.”
“
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New York Times columnist NICK KRISTOF, “We Are All Nuns” (via inothernews) I think this is the petition mentioned. Right now it has 26,887 signatures. The petition is organized by Nun Justice who are on tumblr. (via coolchicksfromhistory) I’ve known so many wonderful, sweet, amazing Nuns. Even though I am an atheist now, Nuns are the best feature of Catholicism, and one that I still respect today. |
Did you ever notice how in the Bible, when ever God needed to punish someone, or make an example, or whenever God needed a killing, he sent an angel? Did you ever wonder what a creature like that must be like? A whole existence spent praising your God, but always with one wing dipped in blood. Would you ever really want to see an angel?
“
| — |
Thomas Daggett, “The Prophecy” (film , 1995)
(via luxettenebris) |
Jesus was a Middle-Eastern Jewish man who advocated for the seperation of church and state, pacifism, free healthcare, and reform. Frankly, I’m surprised he’s so popular among conservatives.
He also hung out with prostitutes and prisoners, immigrated illegally, didn’t speak English, frowned upon laissez faire capitalism, and advocated love and acceptance for all. Oh and he wore what by modern standards we’d pretty much call dresses and Berkenstocks.
Kony 2012′s Invisible Children Connected To ‘Kill The Gays’ Uganda Pastor Martin Ssempa
People for the American Way’s Josh Glasstetter has found what seems to be a connection between Invisible Children, the organization responsible for Kony 2012,and Martin Ssempa, a virulently anti-gay pastor in Uganda who advocates for the “Kill the Gays” bill. The link stems from a student group at Grove City College, an evangelical school, that worked with Invisible Children, and through it, Martin Ssempa:
STUDENT 1: A guy named Martin Ssempa came our way, who is a Ugandan-born world leader in the AIDS activism and abstinence education. He came to Grove City College and spoke to us and gave us the plan to send this shipment of “love” over to Uganda.
STUDENT 2: Martin Ssempa is an amazing man. He just shared a lot about his vision for healing in Africa, particularly in his country.
The connection, if true, is not surprising. Alternet reported earlier this week that Invisible Children receives large sums of money from anti-gay groups linked to Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, The Fellowship Foundation (“The Family”), and Lou Engle’s The Call. While Kony 2012, an exposé on Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony that has been viewed nearly 80 million times on YouTube, is not explicitly anti-gay, it seems clear that Invisible Children is committed to a similar worldview as these other groups.
No doubt, Ssempa’s complete opposition to the separation of church and state aligns with the Christian Dominionist mentality that links the other organizations. He opposes the use of condoms to fight the spread of HIV, promoting instead abstinence-only education, but he is best known for his anti-gay evangelism. Ssempa shows gratuitous gay porn in his presentations, claiming homosexuality is an “abomination” and that all gay men engage in fisting and “anal licking.”
