I can understand your passion, metmom, but your fears are unfounded. Do you honestly think the current liberal Catholic Church, which is in the process of crashing down into rubble, is ever going to reinstitute the Middle Ages? REALLY???
Come on. Their clergy are a bunch of sprout eating, new age philosophy spouting hippies. They pray with pagans and animists--in front of the latter's own idols. I'm sorry. I'm probably the most anti-Catholic member of this forum, but to me the idea of a resurgent conservative Catholic Church is about as likely as one of the other planets belching out Captain Kangaroo or something. It's never going to happen, any more than Salt Lake City "ruling the world" as some FReepers so fear.
On the other hand, such a world, while far worse in some ways, but actually be superior to our own in others. The Protestant notion of "freedom of religion" (based on the identification of religion as an "offer of salvation" rather than a simple statutory legal system) is in some ways the progenitor of all our troubles today (though this has roots in Catholic/Orthodox chrstianity as well).
Please. Let me know when some limp-wristed, evolutionist, Democrat bishop starts building pyres.
Not at this point in history.
What my point was is that the mindset is alive and well, and I am grateful to God that there are mechanisms in place that prevent those desires from being able to be fulfilled.
Problem is, with that kind of thinking still being more widespread within Catholicism that I would have imagined, it goes to show that nothing has really changed within it. Only that external sources prevent them from acting on it and that given the chance, I don't doubt that we'd see action, if it were possible.
Please. Let me know when some limp-wristed, evolutionist, Democrat bishop starts building pyres.
They wouldn't. They'd just look the other way while someone else did.
They DO??
Ha ha ha!
(Cue Mr.T's favorite response here.)