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From: tjc@hrcca.UUCP (Thomas J. Chapin)
Newsgroups: soc.singles
Subject: Re: Catholics & Sex
Message-ID: <201@hrcca.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 29-Sep-86 19:17:14 EDT
Article-I.D.: hrcca.201
Posted: Mon Sep 29 19:17:14 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 30-Sep-86 21:06:16 EDT
References: <170@wheaton> <90000016@ism780> <1011@rti-sel.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Resource Management, HRCC - Lisle, Il
Lines: 70

Bill Ingogly writes:
> In article <90000016@ism780> jimb@ism780 writes:
> >I'll beg the question, but contend your premises, which seem to think there
> >is *A* Catholic viewpoint on all of the above.
> 
> This was an interesting posting for me, since I'm a former Catholic. 
> 			 Right now, I'm sort of a wavering agnostic. 

Great!  I've been a fallen away Catholic most of my life, well at least
since the priest requested I no longer attend CCD (Sunday School for the
rest of youns) cause I was spreading heresy (he couldn't answer my
questions about theodicy).  And I am an agnostic, though I go for the
aesthetic experience and the fellowship with suburbanites the only time
they are on their best behavior, and to innoculate my daughter against
the evangelicals.

>  
> >                ...  The last time I asked a nun if the Pope was
> >aware of the view that the Church is not a top-down hierarchial organization
> >(as she had just been discussing), she replied that she hadn't heard from
> >His Holiness lately and didn't know what his personal opinion might be.)
> 
> However, isn't it still true that the Church hierarchy can decide to
> deny you communion or otherwise punish you for straying from the fold?
> That at least in theory it's against the rules to refuse to bow the
> neck to the dictates of the Holy Mother Church? That's how things were

The Church can ride herd pretty well over the priests and nuns because
they are its employees, and employers have always been able to ride
roughshod over employees.  But how many of the laity have been
personally excommunicated lately for anything they said?  Really
excommunicated where they ring the bell, shut the book and extinguish
the candle, and forbid God to save the sucker?

> when I left the Church, and it always seemed hypocritical to me to
> return to Catholicism with the thought, "I have my beliefs, and I'll
> follow them; the dictates of the Church have no power over me, and if
> my parish priest disagrees I'll just find another congregation." It's
> always been difficult for me to understand how American Catholics
> reconcile this.

It's American Catholics who have a problem with this because they are
Americans and they have been infected with the environment of
Protestantism, specifically Sectarian Protestantism as opposed to
mainline Protestant Denominationalism.  The difference between a sect
and a church is that a sect excludes on the basis of minute theological
differences, while a church includes for as long as possible.

> That's interesting if it's true, because it means the Church is truly
> no longer like the Church I left.
> 
>                              -- Cheers, Bill Ingogly 

Are you truly sure it ever was?  Did you ever publicly test the limits?


I suspect this should be in another newsgroup, but it didn't start
there, and I don't feel like wasting disk space by crossposting to talk
groups we don't get here.

-- 
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Tom Chapin  @  AT&T-RM, Hickory Ridge Conference Centre, Lisle, IL 
	       (312) 971-5652 & (312) 960-0481   {ihnp4,allegra}!hrcca!tjc

    Christian, n. One who believes that the New Testament is a divinely
    inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his
    neighbor.  One who follows the teachings of Christ in so far as they
    are not inconsistent with a life of sin.
						- Ambrose Bierce