Today's example of Christians behaving badly

[byco42]

I don't buy any of that. Good they do in the community? haha...most churches only do what's good for them. There seems to be a church on every corner...these big buildings with heat and water that sit empty 6 days a week while there are homeless people sleeping in the streets. Churches should open their doors and let the homeless sleep in their pews.

You don't know what you are talking about. The proof is self-evident. LINK

Further, Churches are not "empty" the other six days. And every parish I have belonged to either hosts a homeless shelter, prepares meals for the homeless, gives money to the homeless or walk-ins or supports numerous charities and missions, local and global.

 

[tomdalton22]

You don't know what you are talking about. The proof is self-evident. LINK

Further, Churches are not "empty" the other six days. And every parish I have belonged to either hosts a homeless shelter, prepares meals for the homeless, gives money to the homeless or walk-ins or supports numerous charities and missions, local and global.

things must have REALLY changed. When I went to school (1st - 12th grades) at catholic schools the church building was always empty except when we were forced to go to mass about once a month.

 

[Michchamp]

things must have REALLY changed. When I went to school (1st - 12th grades) at catholic schools the church building was always empty except when we were forced to go to mass about once a month.

same here.

The Monsignor would not deign to let homeless people anywhere near the church. and the rich suburbanite catholics that made up the congregation would've probably stopped going to church if they had to hobnob with homeless people (even homeless catholics).

We did have all-school mass on every wednesday though, so it only really sat empty 5 1/2 days a week; they also had saturday afternoon mass.

 

[Michchamp]

the Catholic church is a fraud just like every other church. Don't get me started on their tax exempt status. In my town a movie theater was purchased by some fly by night church for about $2.5M. They don't have to pay any property taxes which would be about $70k a year. It's horse shit.

This is a good opinion.

I nominate you for King of the Message Board.

 

[byco42]

things must have REALLY changed. When I went to school (1st - 12th grades) at catholic schools the church building was always empty except when we were forced to go to mass about once a month.

So you were baptized and confirmed. There is hope for you, then.

 

[Michchamp]

So you were baptized and confirmed. There is hope for you, then.

someone serious question: we baptized one of my kids, but not the other.

what do you think will happen?

 

[byco42]

someone serious question: we baptized one of my kids, but not the other.

what do you think will happen?

You unbaptized child will grow up and join the Faith on his or her own as an adult.

 

[Michchamp]

Today's example comes from South Korea, and has a tie-in to the Covid-19/Coronavirus outbreak!

The virus was first confirmed in the country on Jan. 20 when a 35-year-old Chinese woman who flew from Wuhan, China to Incheon international airport, which serves Seoul, was isolated upon entry into the country.

In the four weeks following the incident, South Korea managed to avoid a major outbreak with only 30 people contracting the virus, despite many interactions between those later confirmed as being sick and hundreds more people being identified as contacts of the sick patients.

This changed with the emergence of ?Patient 31.?

It?s not clear where Patient 31 became infected with the virus, but in the days before her diagnosis, she travelled to crowded spots in Daegu, as well as in the capital Seoul. On February 6 she was in a minor traffic accident in Daegu, and checked herself into an Oriental medicine hospital. While at that hospital, she attended services at the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, on February 9 and again on February 16.

In between those visits, on February 15, doctors at the hospital said they first suggested she be tested for the coronavirus, as she had a high fever. Instead, the woman went to a buffet lunch with a friend at a hotel. In an interview with local newspaper JoongAng Ilbo, the woman denied that doctors had advised her to be tested. As her symptoms worsened, however, doctors say they once again advised her to be tested. On February 17, she finally went to another hospital for the test. The next day, health authorities announced she was the country?s 31st confirmed case. In only a matter of days, those numbers had soared as hundreds of people at the Shincheonji Church and surrounding areas tested positive.
​

 

[byco42]

Link

I heard about this a year ago, but without the specifics or details. Only that priests in the Newark Diocese were shuffling kids and others about like backgammon chips in the 80s. It's heinous, and these men will pay for their transgressions, in this life and the next.

 

[Spartanmack]

Link

I heard about this a year ago, but without the specifics or details. Only that priests in the Newark Diocese were shuffling kids and others about like backgammon chips in the 80s. It's heinous, and these men will pay for their transgressions, in this life and the next.

Awful. this is my current diocese and was my wife's at the time this was happening. Thankfully, she and her brothers didn't grow up anywhere near Metuchen.


Edit: my wife grew up in the Archdiocese of Patterson but she remembers having heard the accused's name as Archbishop of Newark.

 

[Michchamp]

Coronavirus doesn't care whether your faith is "lukewarm" or not (link):

The pastor of a Capitol Hill Catholic church tested positive for the novel coronavirus the same day he suggested parishioners who did not attend in-person church services over fears of infection were ?lukewarm? in their faith.

...

Nine days before his test, (Monsignor) Pope had written an article criticizing shutdown measures in the National Catholic Register, writing, ?There is more to life than just not getting sick and not dying.? The morning of July 27, he said on the religious talk radio program ?Morning Glory? that some parishioners avoiding in-person observance were ?lukewarm? Catholics.
​

 

[tinselwolverine]

Coronavirus doesn't care whether your faith is "lukewarm" or not (link):

The pastor of a Capitol Hill Catholic church tested positive for the novel coronavirus the same day he suggested parishioners who did not attend in-person church services over fears of infection were ?lukewarm? in their faith.

...

Nine days before his test, (Monsignor) Pope had written an article criticizing shutdown measures in the National Catholic Register, writing, ?There is more to life than just not getting sick and not dying.? The morning of July 27, he said on the religious talk radio program ?Morning Glory? that some parishioners avoiding in-person observance were ?lukewarm? Catholics.
​

The dude?s actual name is Pope?

Damn.

He had to have gotten some shit over that in seminary school.

 

[tomdalton22]

He's just being tested.

After quarantine, he will be back at his church passing around the donation baskets

 

[byco42]

The entire essay places the Monsignor's viewpoint in context. He makes a lot of salient points in it.

Link

 

[Michchamp]

The entire essay places the Monsignor's viewpoint in context. He makes a lot of salient points in it.

Link

I strongly disagree.

 

[Gulo Blue]

The entire essay places the Monsignor's viewpoint in context. He makes a lot of salient points in it.

Link

Disappointing.



There's a world of difference between taking precautions and living in fear. If you raise the issue of living in fear without drawing that distinction and explaining why this is crosses that line, your one-sided approach is less of an argument and more just a complaint. Especially when you repeatedly wiggle out of responsibility with caveats about not being a doctor or a scientist. We have to strike a balance between undesirable outcomes. Seeking that balance isn't much helped by this approach where you label the side those you disagree with a fearful and cowering - that's an unfair smear.

 

[byco42]

Here are a few clauses from the Monsignor's essay that I believe are accurate.

Watching the news only exacerbates the anxiety, as the media naturally focuses on the areas where things are not going well in our fight against the virus. It has now become politicized and commercialized, because fear is recognized as one of the best ways to control people, to attract viewers, and to sell products.​

In the current pandemic, which is admittedly severe, we have quarantined the healthy along with the sick, the resilient along with the vulnerable. Crippling fear has seized so many people, and at some point, fear begins to feed on itself. We have shut down our economy, depriving many of their livelihoods and of the dignity that comes from working, from using their talents and from providing for their families.​

We have limited and even denied the sacraments to the faithful, conveying the silent message that physical health is more important than spiritual health. In some dioceses, churches were locked, confessions forbidden, and Holy Communion inaccessible.​

 

[Gulo Blue]

We have quarantined the healthy at times and in places where we couldn't tell who was spreading the virus. Apparently healthy people can be spreaders. We're trying to get away from that everywhere it appears to be safe. That complaint (which sounds good out of context) doesn't really reflect the situation at the time of writing anyway.

 

[byco42]

Disappointing.



There's a world of difference between taking precautions and living in fear. If you raise the issue of living in fear without drawing that distinction and explaining why this is crosses that line, your one-sided approach is less of an argument and more just a complaint. Especially when you repeatedly wiggle out of responsibility with caveats about not being a doctor or a scientist. We have to strike a balance between undesirable outcomes. Seeking that balance isn't much helped by this approach where you label the side those you disagree with a fearful and cowering - that's an unfair smear.

For the time being, follow the recommended precautions, but ask yourself, ?When will this end, and who will get to decide that??​

This is a reasonable approach and a reasonable question to ask.

 

[byco42]

We have quarantined the healthy at times and in places where we couldn't tell who was spreading the virus. Apparently healthy people can be spreaders. We're trying to get away from that everywhere it appears to be safe. That complaint (which sounds good out of context) doesn't really reflect the situation at the time of writing anyway.

"Their" story keeps changing in regards to this topic and it's articles like this that only obfuscate matters.