Posted on 03/19/2009 5:06:17 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Pope Benedict's repeated gaffes and the Vatican's inability to manage his message in the internet era are threatening to undermine his papacy, Vatican insiders have said.
The Holy See is struggling to contain international anger over the Pope's claim on his first official visit to Africa that Aids "cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems".
The Pope's remarks about condoms, and a recent furore over his lifting of the 20-year excommunication of a British bishop who has questioned the Holocaust, has left him looking isolated and out of touch, prompting calls for a radical shake-up of the way the Holy See delivers its message.
The Pope is isolated and fails to adequately consult his advisers, said a Vatican source with 20 years' knowledge of the Holy See.
Another Vatican insider described Pope Benedict's four-year-old papacy as "a disaster", recalling the pontiff's previous inflammatory remarks on Islam and homosexuality.
"He's out of touch with the real world," the Italian insider said. "On the condom issue, for example, there are priests and bishops in Africa who accept that condoms are a key part of the fight against Aids, and yet the pope adheres to this very conservative line that they encourage promiscuity. The Vatican is far removed from the reality on the ground."
The Vatican's traditional culture of secrecy has made it ill-equipped to communicate its message in the internet age.
The Holy See claimed that the Pope had no idea that British bishop Richard Williamson had denied the extent of the Holocaust, but critics have pointed out that a simple Google search would have uncovered the maverick's anti-Semitic views.
"Until recently the Vatican was secretive and their way of controlling the message of the Church was to release information slowly and highly
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Hadn't you heard? Ronald Reagan and Cardinal O'Connor created AIDS in the Oval Office one Saturday afternoon and got JPII's approval to release it in San Francisco bath houses. I thought everyone knew that.
That's exactly right!
Well, he may not be the anti-christ but it is said in some Catholic prophecy that he will be evil and the last Pope. Anyone remember that prophecy?
In the end times, ALL Christians, Catholic or not, will have to make forced choices. Do we serve God, a false church leader, anti-Christ, or ourselves? Let’s hope we choose God and live or die with the consequences.
He was trying to tell you how most FReepers feel about paragraphs. He even offered to help you with them. YOU need to lighten up yourself.
Another fine example of loving your brother in Christ, eh Quix. Cheez.
Hmmm... A harvard professor has noted that, statistically, the Pope is CORRECT - Condom distribution INCREASES the spread of AIDS.
F the ‘graph.
Ah wellllll . . .
I consider a great variety of things to be potentially loving . . . even slaps up-side-the-head . . . depending on heart attitudes involved and goals desired! LOL.
LOL.
Others have a narrower range of options in such matters. Pity, that.
LOL.
Ahhhhh welll . . .
I get in lots of trouble volunteering too much help! LOL.
Thanks much.
I stand corrected, the AIDs virus cannot pass through the wall of a latex condom. I didn’t know that.
I think they probably get the same quality that's available in your local drug store, but under a generic name. The biggest problem is the shelf-life of latex - it degrades over time.
Countries that stockpile condoms or distribute them to people who let them sit for long periods of time, could be delivering a very false sense of security - but, a questionable condom is better than no condom at all.
No worries!
Nobody offered to help me with any paragraphs. What thread are you reading?
Wow. YOu win all time high marks at being an annoying crank.
I gather
additional
great gobs of proof are being gathered to demonstrate that most RC’s have shattered mirrors?
Fascinating!
I understand your concerns. The sources are Catholic saints and approved apparitions. The Church is very, very strict about these matters. There is a high standard for approval. Most cases are dismissed. We have a structured system for evaluating these types of experiences to avoid being misled by demons. I have complete confidence in these sources who have passed the test for credibility.
Neato. Can you do limericks too? How bout a haiku?
dork
Jesus Christ himself drank wine with sinners. Was Jesus out of touch with the “real world”?
Have decided to try and post a potentially life-saving post below. I hope some folks pay practical, useful attention and apply the truths below appropriately. It may be that some loved ones need to bore a hole and pour it in before any awareness will register. However, these are not trivial issues for a number of folks that tend to collect on such threads. I hope those for whom such information would most apply pay useful attention.
Was going over my INTRO TO PSYCH text for the last couple of years earlier in the day.
These portions jumped out at me regarding some folks I have been concerned about hereon for some time.
Now we seem to have an ever increasing new crop in the same vein.
Sad. I hope they get the care, help, growth they need . . . and that their family members need them to get in order for more livable family relationships.
Perhaps our list can earnestly pray for folks who seem so glaringly trapped in such straights, histories, compulsions, attachment disordered dynamics, habits, attitudes, perspectives etc.
========================================================
pp400, 401
“. . . Those who seemed the most reactive, competitive, hard-driving, impatient, time-conscious, supermotivated, verbally aggressive, and easily angered they called Type A. . . . 69 percent [of those from A & B who] had heart attacks were type ‘A’” “More recent research has revealed that Type A’s toxic core is negative emotions—especially the anger associated with an aggressively reactive temperament (Smith & Ruiz, 2002; Williams, 1993). Type A individuals are more often ‘combat ready.’ When harassed or challenged, their active sympathetic nervous system redistributes blood flow to the muscles and away from internal organs such as the liver, which removes cholesterol and fat from the blood. Thus, their blood may contain excess cholesterol and fat that later gets deposited around the heart. Further stress—sometimes conflicts brought on by their own abrasiveness—may trigger the altered heart rhythms that, in those with weakened hearts, can cause sudden death (Kamarck & Jennings, 1991). In important ways, the hearts and minds of people interact.” “The effect of an anger-prone personality of an anger-prone personality appears most noticeably in studies in which interviewers assess verbal assertiveness and emotional intensity. (If you pause in the middle of a sentence, an intense, anger-prone person may jump in and finish it for you.) Among young and middle-aged adults, those who react with anger over little things are the most coronary-prone. One study followed 13,000 middle-aged people for five years. Among those with normal blood pressure, people who had scored high on anger were three times more likely to have had heart attacks, even after researchers controlled for smoking and weight (Williams & others, 2000). Another study followed 1055 male medical students over an average of 36 years. Those who had reported being hot-tempered were five times more likely to have had a heart attack by age 55 (Chang & others, 2002). As Charles Spielberger and Perry London (1982) put it, rage “Seems to lash back and strike us in the heart muscle.”” “Pessimism seems to be similarly toxic. . . . pessimists were more than twice as likely as optimists to develop heart disease, even after other risk factors such as smoking had been ruled out.” “Depression, too can be lethal. . . . found that among those with no depressive symptoms, 7 percent died within six years, as did 24 percent of those with six or more depressive symptoms (Whooley & Browner, 1998). In the years following a heart attack, people with high scores for depression are four times more likely than their low-scoring counterparts to develop further heart problems (Frasure-Smith & Lesperance, 2005). Depression is disheartening”
1. Teach us, Lord to walk humbly before you and one another.
2. Teach us, Lord to forgive quickly and thoroughly.
Teach us, Lord to have your understanding and compassion one for another.
.
3. Teach us, Lord that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers in high places in the spiritual realm.
4. Teach us, Lord that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal . . .
5. Teach us, Lord to rest in you in the midst of the race, in the midst of the battle.
6. Teach us, Lord, give us, Lord YOUR PEACE THAT PASSES UNDERSTANDING for today.
7. Teach us, Lord, give us, Lord the confidence that YOUR PEACE, YOUR PROVISION, YOUR SAFETY IN YOUR ARMS, YOUR GUIDANCE, YOUR SECURITY, YOUR HIGH TOWER, YOUR FOUNDATION, YOUR SPIRIT, YOURSELF WITHIN US WILL BE EVEN MORE WITH US TOMORROW.
In Your Precious Name, Lord, Amen.
ENGLISH LESSONS FOR NAYSAYERS
(and any others addicted to cluelessness about Religion forum rules and other daily life simplicities)
RE INSULTS AND DIFFERENT VS SAME:
It appears that a major proportion of the naysayers need some ENGLISH REFRESHER LESSONS:
“personal”
IS NOT REALLY that difficult a concept.
It comes from the word “person.”
A “PERSON” is
DIFFERENT from
1. A GROUP
2. THEY
3. Y’ALL
4. THEM
5. SOME OF THEM
6. CADRE
7. A COLLECTION OF
WHICH IS DIFFERENT FROM [i.e. NOT the SAME as]:
A “PERSON” IS directly associated with
1. YOU
2. HE
3. SHE
I realize that the more chronic naysayers tend to have a dreadfully difficult time distinguishing between
DIFFERENT
VS
SAME
but it does make it a lot easier when some of them try.
AND, I realize that the more chronic naysayers have this THING about
OBSESSIVE, ADDICTIVE EXTRAPOLATING, ASSUMING, INFERRING . . .
however, as I understand things . . .
EXTRAPOLATING, ASSUMING, INFERRING
[accurately or not]
PERSONAL “INSULT” DOES NOT COUNT.
The rules have to do with plainly written PERSONAL insult.
We will return screens to regularly scheduled programming after the following freebie additional refresher lesson:
This English Comprehension lesson has concluded.
DISTINCTIONS REALLY ARE IMPORTANT.
DISTINGUISHING
THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN
THE CHURCH AGE
VS THE MILLENNIAL AGE
IS IMPORTANT IN SCRIPTURE. It could rationally be considered important in life.
DISTINGUISHING
THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN
AN INDIVIDUAL
VS
A GROUP
IS IMPORTANT.
DISTINGUISHING
THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN
calling even a group idiotic vs a belief, perspective, idea, doctrine idiotic
IS IMPORTANT.
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