The Vatican, under Pope Benedict (still doesn't sound right) has issued a document stating that non-Catholics are not full Christians. The story states that:
A 16-page document, prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which Pope Benedict used to head, described Christian Orthodox churches as true churches, but suffering from a "wound" since they do not recognize the primacy of the Pope.
Yeah...I'm sure they're really suffering. I mean, Pope JP2 was a good guy. We didn't agree on everything, but he was a healer. This guy has done nothing than throw gasoline onto already raging fires.
Have we yet to remember that the whole thing about Jesus and being Christian is
acceptance? As Catholics, we have got to cut the games. This is exactly the reason why I can't fully believe in the teachings of the Catholic church. Things like this. It's not the religion that's wrong--it's the politics of it. And because it's such a paternalistic organization, the politics are determined by old, white, crusty men. Men without any real clue about what it means to have true faith.
And yet, the Vatican believes this is not a bad thing.
"But, as you know, it is fundamental to any kind of dialogue that the participants are clear about their own identity. That is, dialogue cannot be an occasion to accommodate or soften what you actually understand yourself to be."
You're right--dialogue shouldn't compromise, but for Christ's sake (quite literally) maybe a morticum of understanding that people have different ideas and none of us probably have it all right. (There are probably none that have it even 80% right.) And a church that built itself on many occasions of war, torture, and bad foreign policy has no right to start asserting a moral high ground until it learns to apologize for its mistakes and ensure they don't reoccur.
Flat out. What would Jesus do? Jesus would cut the games. That's what he'd do.
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