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Well, I don't know if I am welcome back to my parish of 35 years. The Priest was standing at the door as we left Mass tonite. Our parish had done a survey,, I filled it out. There was a lengthy section of the questionaire on politics. A question about the Death Penalty is what set him off. He obviously didn't like my answer,,, I'm wondering is he is equally turned off by my church support checks. Priests come and go,,, I will be there until they bury me.

We had quite a discussion on the Church steps. I reminded him that I had an old set of Baltimore Caticisims,,, and that the people of my generation were taught from this document, which clearly states approval of the Death Penalty. He says the Church has changed it's teachings.

I said, the Church has absolutely no business interperting the Bible for me,,, I am perfectly capable of reading it myself,,,.

My husband is ready to kill me. I wonder if the Death Penalty would apply if he did?

He says the Church has changed it's teachings.

Perhaps the church should consider that the word of God is unchanging and inerrant. The death penalty is just one of the issues - like homosexual behavior - on which some denominations have decided God must not have really meant what He said. Just the same, I'll stick with the Word, not the interpretation du jour.

While I respect the current Pope, I wholeheartedly disagree on some of his latest rulings. The death penalty, to me, is warranted in certain cases, and would be more of a deterent if there was a limit to appeals. I don't mean eliminating appeals, just limiting the time sequence.

For instance, that horrible man in the CA Van Damn case - he got the death penalty, and deservedly so, but will he ever see the executioner in CA? Doubtful, as they are so far behind in excecuting the people who have been on death row ahead of him. He will rot in jail, but justice won't be served and our pocketbooks will be emptied.

Priests today, and the seminaries they come from, are increasingly liberal, full of humanism. Christ, I believe, would be appalled. The biggest complaint I have against the current Pope is that he hasn't been more stringent on the Boston Archdiocese (read:Cardinal Law) and on the whole issue, in general. It is ridiculous to think the pedophilia problem, as well as the homosexual priest problem, is only confined to America.

The Catholic Church had better wake up fast. Its' parishioners are becoming disillusioned, and I can see why. The leadership will bear the responsibility for this when they "mature" as we say in the planned giving realm - they will not only have to speak for their own lives but the effect their decisions have had on others.

The same is true for ministers in my church - the Methodist church. It has become nothing more than a mouthpiece for the organized liberal mantra. I'm sure that both God and John Wesley are seriously peeved.

One of these days, God is going to come cleanse the temples again, and I will cheer him on.