Why Catholics Can't Aid Birth Control Or Family Planning

[TheMastersNemesis]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Violet_Crumble (a host of the General Discussion forum).

The stance of the Catholic Church is a Catholic cannot provide or cooperate in the dissemination or use of any birth control or family planning because they are "materially cooperating" in another's sin. According a a Cardinal Burke this material cooperation is also a sin for a Catholic if they provide the service. Even if the person requesting such services is a non believer a Catholic still has to refuse the service as a matter faith.

In cases where there is abortion even a Catholic can be thrown out of their church. Based on that logic even if you are a public servant you have to refuse to provide a public service the Church forbids. The evangelical fuindamentalists also support this position.

The above reasoning is why the Catholic Church will most likely tell its congregations that they cannot vote for any politician who is pro choice and supports family planning. Voting for a Democrat is a sin and when they confess they have to promise not to vote for a Democrat again.

Sooooooooo I guess we all will have to convert to Catholicism. The local bishops are now in charge of the US.

I guess the government will have to set its policy based on the authority from Rome.

How ironic they will raise Holy H over this matter, but there is not a peep when businesses steal peoples wages and screw them out of their retirements. And they claim immunity when it comes to child abuse.

[pnwmom]

1. Voting for a Democrat is not a sin and no one in Confession has to promise not to vote

for a Democrat again.

If some Catholic told you that, he or she was absolutely wrong.

And, since some 98% of Catholics use or have used artificial birth control, you're not going to hear any of the hierarchy making empty threats about that.

[Mc Mike]

5. Catholic bishops denied Kerry communion in '04, because he was pro-choice.

In '08, my catholic bishop (Zubik in Pittsburgh) made the public statement that there were many important political issues in the election, but the only 'non-negotiable' issue was the candidate's stance on pro-choice vs 'pro-life'. Not the death penalty, not starving children, not war, just pro-choice. (Therefore, voting for a pro-choice Dem is a sin. Our Catholic doctrine requires us to confess sins. You're supposed to not commit that sin again after absolution.) After we rank-and-file catholics put Zubik on ignore and whomped his pig repug buddies' asses in the election, he issued the statement that 'now that the election is over, he hopes that Prez Elect Obama will pay attention to the concerns of the Catholic Church.'

This year, Zubik pushed the repug's b.s. issue of Obama's 'attack' on religious freedom and the church, both in the Pittsburgh Catholic weekly newspaper, and by sending flunkies to state his views from the pulpit, during the sermon. The National Catholic Reporter weighed in on the issue:
http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/pittsburgh-priests-bishop-listen-laity-contraception

excerpt from the link:

"Asked what he might say to a Catholic woman who had attempted to follow the church's official teaching on contraception but had found it painful or difficult to do so because of health or other reasons, the bishop would only say that he thinks 'that really is an issue that's between a confessor and a penitent.'"

I'm a practicing Catholic, and it seems like you are too. I'm with you on the 98% statistic. To me, it looks like the thing to do is ignore the hierarchy when they say things that rise to the Zubik level of stupidity. I walked out when Zubik's muscle bound Deacon delivered his repug campaign propaganda during the sermon, and I never give the church any money. But I still go to church, because I'm not going to let the bad guys spoil my good time.

[Mz Pip]

2. This was why I walked away

from Catholicism when I was 17. The local parish priest gave a rant against BC and basically said that if you didn't want to abide by the rules then the Church didn't want you. Okay, fine. I was 17. I wasn't having sex but even so this just sseemed way to draconian for me. So I left and eventually my beliefs evolved into benevolent agnosticism.

Whatever concept I may have of some kind of God, it isn't one that demands such rigid adherance to dogma.

[MADem]

3. Well, I think the federal government ought to stop "materially compensating" them for the running of

their little charities where they take the credit and pretend that they didn't get any of that welfare cheese they're handing out in sandwiches from their "feeding centers" from Uncle Sam. Same deal with a lot of other subsidies they get. If they want to be a charity, be one--stop taking people's medicaid cards for reimbursement from the evil gubmint at the emergency rooms, or taking funding and food from government surplus.

The bottom line is "Don't like it? Don't do it." They need to stop telling others what to do and mind their own damn sins.

And I suggest that if the Bishops want to be really honest, they'd start grilling all these "Catholic families" who show up at mass with only two or three children. Surely if they were giving it a decent go, they'd have a half dozen or more, and a boy for the priesthood and a girl for the convent.

When once-devout 90 year old ladies are turning their backs on the Catholic church, there's something fucked up about THE CHURCH--not the little old ladies. And I'm seeing that happen, in increasing numbers, the more rigid and angry the church gets.

[ButterflyBlood]

4. Fuck them, I left them long ago

I don't even think of myself as ever being Catholic since by the time I realized what it was (about 13 or so) I decided it was all bullshit and didn't associate with it. I don't even associate with the church in a cultural sense, for that I associate with the Lutheran side of my family and would call myself a cultural Lutheran. I actually regularly go to a charismatic evangelical church now, and it's light years more progressive than the Catholic Church, which is quite telling.

[IndyJones]

6. Yeah, good to know. So what is their position on raping young boys? Oh, we already know that one.

[Kath1]

7. I've been away from the Catholic Church for 8 years.

I have a lot of relatives who still attend. I think their attitude, at least the younger ones, toward all of this was summed up by my sister in law when the issue of what was being preached about contraception came up at a family gathering - "I say nunya, none of your god-damn business!" That sort of sums it up.

[Violet_Crumble]

8. Locking...

No religion in GD. Try the Religion group.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1218