Replies

wideawake: Thanks for bashing your fellow Americans, oh ironically-monikered GWB. I was not bashing in any way. I was merely pointing out that many, if not most, who are counted among the 1 billion claimed by Rome and its supporters are not practicing Romanists. Quite a large percentage have left the church of Rome and joined other churches and still Rome counts them.

sinkspur: Are there even one hundred million who follow your droll Calvinist doctrine? And how many of those are faithful? Got me. Since they are not uniform in their doctrine of Calvinism, it's harder to estimate the actual numbers. But they are nowhere close to the numbers of regular attendees of Mass. That wasn't my point.

You've used this "one billion" thing before as though it proves something. Maybe the pope should hang a sign outside of every RC church that says "Over one billion served". Pretty ridiculous when you think about it. You know it is. And yet you parade this number as though someone, anyone, should be impressed by it.

I think American RC's like to use this fraudulent little statistic to overcome their minority status here in the States.

Actually, I was being quite generous when I allowed for even two hundred million faithful. Why don't you tell me, sinkspur, just what percentage of American RC's are actually obedient to church law and doctrine. Let's just use birth control and abortion statistics alone and leave aside the many other indicators which show how obedient American RC's are to Rome and your pope.

Personally, I doubt that even 1 in 10 American RC's is obedient in even this matter let alone many others. Care to correct me?

sink, I forget to include you in my #272. I answered you there.

As far as JP2 in the current situation, I don't care much what he says. He's not relevant to the situation anyway and I think he knows it, far better than you do anyway. So it's fine for him to advocate peace and be "understanding" about seeking justice through warfare. To me, this sounds like some of the same mealy-mouthed sermonizing we hear from non-Roman sources which I have little regard for either. All in all, it's not much of a statement anyway. I'd guess that JP2 is just issuing his expected opinion, designed to offend no one, a mushy boilerplate statement. So I don't have a problem with it and simply could care less. Heck, if he ordered every RC in America into the streets to oppose military action, probably only about one hundred of the more liberal nuns would even show up. It has occurred to me that JP2 may have a number of motives here to quell the peacenik faction of American clergy like some of those annoying liberal bishops in the U.S. who constantly congregate to issue some statement on such tpoics. The bishops in my state are the sturdy and sensible types who don't race about using their religious authority to forward their personal secular political agenda.

Pretty ridiculous when you think about it. You know it is. And yet you parade this number as though someone, anyone, should be impressed by it. I think American RC's like to use this fraudulent little statistic to overcome their minority status here in the States.

Excellent point and one I have made myself here. Add to that the ludicrous, ever-growing claim of 30,000 different Protestant denominations (they used to say 10,000 which is also ridiculous) without any proof and repeat it over and over and over as if it is true and meaningful. (Notice that nobody has ever taken me up on even naming 10% of the claimed number). It just makes them look stupid to anyone with a brain and an ounce of common sense. But that doesn't stop them, of course.

You've used this "one billion" thing before as though it proves something. Maybe the pope should hang a sign outside of every RC church that says "Over one billion served".

I think American RC's like to use this fraudulent little statistic to overcome their minority status here in the States.

Actually, I was being quite generous when I allowed for even two hundred million faithful. Why don't you tell me, sinkspur, just what percentage of American RC's are actually obedient to church law and doctrine. Let's just use birth control and abortion statistics alone and leave aside the many other indicators which show how obedient American RC's are to Rome and your pope.

Personally, I doubt that even 1 in 10 American RC's is obedient in even this matter let alone many others. Care to correct me?

The fact GWB is that actually a very small percentage of the "baptized"are "faithful"

In my immediate family tree..out of 26 adult baptized Catholics only 4 are "practicing Catholics".......one is unchurched (for 20 years,but would still call herself a Catholic) a couple unchuched that would never call themselves Catholics.We have a few Presbyterians,a couple Charasmatics,a few Baptists..and some Wesleyans

I do not believe that Rome has any clue just how many Catholics there are in the world......

There are lots of "social" Catholics..and lots that have left and will NEVER return..

So to give those numbers to impress is actually to mislead!