non-Catholics KNOW NOTHING about the Pope, the Catholic Church

[diamond14]

and the work of the Catholic Church....it is clear that those posting hateful threads against the Pope tonight are simply ignorant of the Catholic Church, and Catholic teachings, and the role of the Pope in our society today...

There seem to only be a very few DUers posting here tonight, who actually ARE Catholics...you may say you are Catholic, but married to a person of a different religion...but in reality, that makes you a non-Catholic...further, to be a Catholic requires a very disciplined series of commitments throughout your life...unlike born-agains and other churches...to be a Catholic requires serious religious commitment that cannot be entered into lightly, and mandates YEARS of study and affirmative steps....you can't just walk into a Catholic Church and sign-up....it's not that easy...


What I have noticed here tonight, is a LOT of non-Catholics entertaining themselves by disrespecting the Pope, who has died tonight....it makes me sick to read such disgusting ignorant garbage as has been flung out here tonight by those who know little about Catholics and the Catholic Church....

[Steel City Slim]

1. Hmmmmmm

That's very open minded of you.

[liberal43110]

2. Does being a catholic...

...require that you hate gays and refuse to allow any woman anywhere to use contraception?

Just wondering.

[diamond14]

7. no.

:nuke:

[Discord]

17. sorry, wrong answer. Indeed it does.

It is a very old and lasting tradition that gays are considered an abomination to humanity. While THIS Pope was against gays, he steadfastly preached tolerance to all.

You find me a Catholic Bishop who says being gay is NOT a sin.

Please.

[diamond14]

30. you show a complete lack of knowledge of Catholics, the Catholic Church,

Catholic teachings, and the Pope....

[foreigncorrespondent]

33. Actually...

...if you truly believe your answer to the question asked above is no, then you arethe one who lacks total knowledge of the Catholic faith, and the Pope.

[Discord]

35. So do you my friend. Your digging your hole deeper

with each post, take your rage and do something constructive with it would ya please.

[retnavyliberal]

28. hate is not why the church is against gays and contraception. n/t

[JVS]

3. That's just a lame re-hash of the old "If you weren't there, shut up"...

line that gets tossed at pacifists by pro-war vets

[tedzbear]

4. I know a gay basher when I hear one.

And I have been physically bashed so I know the difference.

[Crunchy Frog]

5. I'm not Catholic, not even religious

but I do think it's incredibly sad that people are so unable to restrain themselves from that kind of behavior, even for just a day or two, out of some basic sense of respect for the people on here who are members of the Catholic faith.

I offer my sincere condolences to anyone who is grieving tonight.

[diamond14]

14. agree...it's incredibly sad.........and I am certain that REAL Catholics

appreciate your sincere condolences and respect tonight....

[beam me up scottie]

What exactly do you mean by

"REAL Catholics" ?

[foreigncorrespondent]

40. No mate...

...what is sad here is you flamed all other religions with your OP.

That truly isn't very Christian of you.

[Discord]

19. Oh. I agree 100% that there have been some

very out of line posts. But I also consider the OP's post on this as very out of line as well.

Its an insult to Catholics and non-religious people as well.

[Placebo]

6. While I agree with you about DU & the Pontiff...

I don't think becoming a Catholic is as special as you make it sound, especially if you were born into it like me any many people I know were. I need not go into how many total fuck-ups and just plain mean, bad, slacker idiots made it pretty easily through CCD and the whole kit & kaboodle.

[alcuno]

13. The point was that you don't just have to say that

you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. The Catholic Church has years of history and rituals.

[Snap]

26. Right

I guess Catholicism is pretty much a cross section of society, but all that theological razzle dazzle, and magic has got to get confusing.

[alcuno]

8. I'm a Catholic and just think that many people don't understand.

They don't have to. I'm confused by one of your comments. Are you saying that a Catholic who marries a non-Catholic isn't a Catholic anymore? That isn't true, they are just in a bit of trouble.

[WatchWhatISay]

9. My apoligies for them

Im not Catholic or even religious
But a man who shares so many of our own principle does not deserve to be disrespected in this manner
Does anyone here really expect a Pope to approve of abortion?
But he was against the war in Iraq and said so.
And I do think he defended and tried to improve the plight of the poor and abused in this world.

Anybody whose done that much good in his life passes the test in my eyes.

[Arugula Latte]

10. Would you say the same thing about Republicans?

I.e. "if you're not a Republican you can't begin to understand them or know what they're about"?

[Nite Owl]

11. I've been trying to avoid the threads

myself. All I can say is I understand that there is some disagreement but I would not be a liberal today if it were not for the Catholic Church. Pope John Paul II did much to promote peace and justice thoughout the world.

[Tweed]

12. Same here, I live my life according to the words and actions of Jesus

I use the Catholic leadership's words of wisdom to supplement it. I'm a Democrat because I'm Catholic.

[Clark2008]

32. Same here!

In a sea of red state ultra-fundies, my Catholic mother chose her profession (nursing) as a direct result of Catholic teachings and her ultra-liberal politics, too.

I'm a conservative compared to my Mom.

Imagine our surprise when we both adored Wesley Clark - a, as my Mom would say, "nice little Catholic boy." ;)

[diamond14]

21. agree.....Pope John Paul II was a liberal and a progressive....

if you are not a Catholic, then you have NO IDEA....



spouting off ignorance about Catholics, the Catholic Church and the Pope, here on DU tonight is really pathetic....it seems that non-Catholics are just entertaining themselves with such nonsense....and seem to enjoy hurting as many REAL Catholics as they possibly can...just to amuse themselves....

[Dookus]

15. I was Catholic for many, many years

and I know a lot about the Pope and the Church.

I also know he was a misogynist homophobic arch-conservative.

[Vektor]

16. In defense of the OP,

I think he or she is probably very hurt by some of the negative things that have been being said about Catholics and the Pope. When someone feels attacked, it is really easy to come off sounding angry, and I do understand why it upset him or her. When one feels their faith and their religious leaders are being criticized it can seem very personal. I sense I know where this person is coming from, and probably wrote this because they were in pain. To a Catholic, the death of the Pope is earth shattering, and to a member of a political community (in this case, DU) to feel your own are persecuting you feels awful - to experience both at once is devastating. We certainly don't all have to agree, but maybe we could try to refrain from bashing one another's religious beliefs, or lack thereof, if that's the case.

[Dookus]

20. And in defense of

gays and women and victims of pedophilia....

WE were very very hurt.. in REAL ways, by the actions of this pope. It goes beyond hurt feelings. The right of Catholics to mourn freely is not greater than my right to speak out against such offenses.

[Discord]

23. Counter-Attacking is not the way to go about it.

Many other people, myself included, have stood up and let them know their posts are unwelcome and unwarranted.

Thats what the ALERT button is for.

[Arugula Latte]

24. I think a big part of the problem is that

some are looking at the pope as purely a religious figure while many see him as a religious AND political figure (and thus a more "legitimate" target for criticism).

[Doctor Panacea]

18. Ah gee

Just when I was feeling really good about how nice everyone was being in all the postings that I had read earlier today on this subject on this board, I have to see this from somebody with over 1000 posts.

Crap, I wish I had not checked DU one more time tonight.

For your information, I am NOT a Catholic, but I have found that I know more than the average Catholic does about his/her own church, especially when it comes to history of the church.

But you are grieving now ... and we should give you some latitude.

Things will be brighter tomorrow.

[TahitiNut]

34. "somebody with over 1000 posts" often just has more practice posting ...

... pretentious NONSENSE. :shrug:

[Behind the Aegis]

22. I tired to say this before

As I finished typing, your other thread was deleted. I haven't seen hateful threads, but I have seen a few questionable posts. The mods are very busy, but they seem to be cleaning up pretty quickly. Disagreeing with someone, no matter who that person is or was, is not always disrespectful.

AS upset as you are about these "hateful threads," I feel you are adding fuel to the fire. As an example, I find it very disrespectful that you and you alone have decided who is and isn't a Catholic. I know if I were one, I would be even more offend that one of my brethren made a comment like that, then I would any "Pope-basher."

Seems to me that there is an alert button and it should be used. In a perfect DU we wouldn't need one. But, in a community of over 60,000, it is to be expected that there will be a few 'over the top' posts and threads.

I hope your anger doesn't get the best of you.

[merh]

25. I don't get this statement

"you may say you are Catholic, but married to a person of a different religion...but in reality, that makes you a non-Catholic..."

Could you explain it to me.

[BuyingThyme]

27. Any way you cut it, the Pope is one of the planet's top 5 hate mongers.

Who besides the Pope and George W. Bush has been more successful in promoting hate against gays and against those who don't discriminate against gays?

And, by the way, you don't have to study shit to be Catholic.

[ultraist]

29. Why are you spreading hate and bigotry against ALL OTHER RELIGIONS?

"unlike born-agains and other churches...to be a Catholic requires serious religious commitment"

EXCUSE ME? Do you REALIZE that MANY other religions ALSO require a "serious religious comittment?"

"If you are not" Jewish, Episcopalian, Muslim, etc "you have NO IDEA." :eyes:

[foreigncorrespondent]

31. Flame bait!!!

How dare you lumber all non Catholics into the same category.

I happen to not be a Catholic, but you can bet your damned ass I know a lot about the Catholic faith. And when I don't know something I ask questions.

And please don't flame all other religions and make yours sound to be the begin all end all of all religions, because you are simply acting like a bloody evangelical by doing so.

[ultraist]

36. He stated that only Catholics have a "serious religious comitment."

Typical majority privilege comment.

I heard this BS growing up in the Episcopalian church from Catholics. Their religion was superior and we did not have a "serious religious commitment."

[Dookus]

37. exactly

I'm not Catholic, either, but I used to be, and I *KNOW* that I know more about the church and its teachings than most catholics I've met.

[JanMichael]

41. Good point. This is a shit thread and should be locked.

.

[JanMichael]

38. non-Catholics "know nothing" about the Pope or Catholicism? Bullshit.

Sorry but it's that sort of blind arrogance, and ignorance, that I abhor in many people of "faith".

So totally un-cool and incorrect.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

39. So, are you saying that you can't post an opinion about the late pope....

...if you're not a Catholic?? That sounds a lot like the media being told that they can't report negative news about the rightwing fascists controlling this country.

Newsflash for you...there are lots of non-Catholics on DU who know quite a bit about the Catholic Church and the policies it generates.

Your problem is that the brainwashing applied to you by the Catholic Church has been very successful. That makes you completely incapable of reading ANY negtive comments about the late pope and the church without having a series of knee-jerk reactions.

[liberalmuse]

42. I have a lot of Catholic friends...

and I asked one very strict Catholic friend last night how she felt about the Pope dying. She said she wasn't sad because he is going to a better place where he won't suffer anymore.

You may be offended by a few disrespectful, harmless remarks, but in the same vein, some are offended by the bloody and debauched history of the Papacy and the Catholic church.

Your post is just one example of why I avoid piously religious people like the plague. Yeesh!

[mvd]

43. Locking

Flamebait. Please, let's be respectful to each other.

DU Moderator