Tag Archives: Roman Catholic Church

Another reason to despise the Catholic Church!

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(Note: part of this was originally posted as a comment here.)

I am even more disgusted with the Roman Catholic Church than ever! Why? Because of this:

http://www.countmeout.ie/suspension/

This is a website based in Ireland telling people how to leave the Church. However……

Suspension of the Defection Process

In April of this year, the Catholic Church modified the Code of Canon Law to remove all references to the act of formal defection, the process used by those who wish to formally renounce their membership of the Church.

Since then, the Catholic Church in Ireland has been reflecting on the implications of this change for those who wish to leave the Catholic Church. Despite our requests for clarification, the Church have yet to reach a firm position on how or whether they will continue to accept requests for the annotation of the baptismal register.

In recent weeks we have been contacted by an increasing number of people whose defections have not been processed, due to the limbo created by this canon law amendment.

Because of this uncertainty, we have taken the decision to suspend the creation of declarations of defection via CountMeOut.ie from today (12th October 2010).

In response to this, the Church in Ireland released the following statement to RTE News:

The Holy See confirmed at the end of August that it was introducing changes to Canon Law and as a result it will no longer be possible to formally defect from the Catholic Church. This will not alter the fact that many people can defect from the Church, and continue to do so, albeit not through a formal process. This is a change that will affect the Church throughout the world. The Archdiocese of Dublin plans to maintain a register to note the expressed desire of those who wish to defect. Details will be communicated to those involved in the process when they are finalised. Last year 229 people formally defected from the Church through the Archdiocese of Dublin. 312 have done so, so far this year.

Look, you do not need permission of the Catholic Church to leave it. To even bother to go through any “”Declaration of Defection” process is to acknowledge the authority of the Church over you.

http://www.countmeout.ie/why/

If you were baptised as a Catholic you are still counted among the congregation of the church, regardless of what beliefs you currently hold.

Which is of course a grievous lie! And you can publicly and loudly condemn the Church for this.

Go here to send messages of condemnation:

http://www.catholicireland.net/contact-us

Now, for those who do wish to abandon Catholicism but don’t wish to submit to the Church’s hoop jumping, there are alternatives. By joining another religious body, you make your rejection of Catholicism beyond dispute.

Ex-Catholics who are still Christian: Join a Protestant church. Protestants are growing as a strong minority in Latin American countries and have always been common in Europe, where the Protestant movement began. Start here:  http://www.lutheranworld.org/lwf/ The Lutherans seem to be the closest in nature to Catholicism, which makes sense when you consider that they were the first to break away and were conservative compared to the Protestant movements that arose later.

Ex-Catholics who are no longer Christian but still believe in the God of the Jewish Bible : Join a Jewish Synagogue. Most Jewish groups make it difficult to join, so you may have to spend a long time convincing the rabbi that you are sincere and willing to follow the Jewish rituals and standards. The Reform Jews seem to be the ones most likely to fit you, since they are not as dogmatic and stuck in the past as others.   http://urj.org/    http://www.wupj.org/index.asp

Ex-Catholics who are theists and believe that prophets came after Jesus:  Join an Islamic community or a Bahai comunity. Not just any Islamic or Bahai community, but ones that allow you to think for yourself. Look here: http://www.liberalislam.net/ or here: http://www.unitarianbahai.org/

Ex-Catholics that are deist or non-theist: The best option for you is to join a Unitarian Universalist (UU) church, since deists and non-theists are welcome there.  http://www.uua.org/   There is even a ministry for those who do not live near a UU church:  http://clf.uua.org/  Once you are established as a UU, you can freely explore other options without having to ever leave that congregation. There are even UU Christians, UU Jews, UU Pagans and UU Buddhists that have their own groups within the Unitarian Universalist Association.

The important thing is that you identify as anything other than Catholic and that if you have children they not be raised Catholic. If enough people around the world do this, the power and influence of the Roman Catholic Church will be broken.

What credibility does the Anglican church have?

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This  news story just blew my irony meter:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100403/ap_on_re_eu/eu_church_abuse_58

Anglican leader: Irish church lost its credibility

By JENNIFER QUINN, Associated Press Writer – Sat Apr 3, 10:53 am ET

LONDON – The Roman Catholic church in Ireland has lost its credibility because of its mishandling of abuse by priests, the leader of the Anglican church said in remarks released Saturday. A leading Catholic archbishop said he was “stunned” by the comments.

FILE - In this Tuesday Oct. 20, 2009 file photo, Britain's ...

It was the first time Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of the Church of England, has spoken publicly on the crisis engulfing the Catholic church. The remarks come ahead of a planned visit to England and Scotland by Pope Benedict XVI later this year.

“I was speaking to an Irish friend recently who was saying that it’s quite difficult in some parts of Ireland to go down the street wearing a clerical collar now,” Williams told the BBC. “And an institution so deeply bound into the life of a society, suddenly becoming, suddenly losing all credibility — that’s not just a problem for the church, it is a problem for everybody in Ireland, I think.”

The interview with Williams, recorded March 26, is to be aired Monday on the BBC’s “Start the Week” program. His remarks were part of a general discussion of religion to mark Easter.

The Catholic church has been on the defensive over accusations leaders protected child abusers for decades in many countries.

Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said he had “rarely felt personally so discouraged” as when he heard Williams’ opinions.

“I have been more than forthright in addressing the failures of the Catholic Church in Ireland. I still shudder when I think of the harm that was caused to abused children. I recognize that their church failed them,” a statement, posted on the archdiocese’s Web site, said. “Those working for renewal in the Catholic Church in Ireland did not need this comment on this Easter weekend and do not deserve it.”

Relations between the two churches were strained last year after the Vatican invited conservative Anglicans to join the Catholic Church. How many will take up the offer is still unknown.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a big deal for the Church of England, I must say,” Williams said. “I think there’ll be a few people who will take advantage of it — and they’ll take advantage of it because they believe they ought to be in communion with the bishop of Rome. And I can only say fine, God bless them.”

Williams said he would meet with the pope at Lambeth Palace, that he would be welcomed as “as a valued partner, and that’s about it.”

In the interview, Williams said Christian institutions, faced with the choice of self-protection or revealing potentially damaging secrets, have decided to keep quiet to preserve their credibility.

“We’ve learned that that is damaging, it’s wrong, it’s dishonest and it requires that very hard recognition … which ought to be natural for the Christian church based as it is on repentance and honesty,” he said.

We must remember that the Anglican Church split off from Catholicism in 1538 so King Henry VIII could divorce his Catholic wife and marry a younger woman who he hoped would give him a son. So that church never had credibility to begin with. Physician, heal thyself!