This is Marion.
I believe you mean Marian.
Posted on 07/15/2005 11:29:25 AM PDT by nypokerface
JACKSON, Miss. - A Christian adoption agency that receives money from Choose Life license plate fees said it does not place children with Roman Catholic couples because their religion conflicts with the agency's "Statement of Faith."
Bethany Christian Services stated the policy in a letter to a Jackson couple this month, and another Mississippi couple said they were rejected for the same reason last year.
"It has been our understanding that Catholicism does not agree with our Statement of Faith," Bethany director Karen Stewart wrote. "Our practice to not accept applications from Catholics was an effort to be good stewards of an adoptive applicant's time, money and emotional energy."
Sandy and Robert Steadman, who learned of Bethany's decision in a July 8 letter, said their priest told them the faith statement did not conflict with Catholic teaching.
Loria Williams of nearby Ridgeland said she and her husband, Wes, had a similar experience when they started to pursue an adoption in September 2004.
"I can't believe an agency that's nationwide would act like this," Loria Williams said. "There was an agency who was Christian based but wasn't willing to help people across the board."
The agency is based in Grand Rapids, Mich., and has offices in 30 states, including three in Mississippi. Its Web site does not refer to any specific branch of Christianity.
Stewart told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger that the board will review its policy, but she didn't specify which aspects will be addressed.
The Web site says all Bethany staff and adoptive applicants personally agree with the faith statement, which describes belief in the Christian Church and the Scripture.
"As the Savior, Jesus takes away the sins of the world," the statement says in part. "Jesus is the one in whom we are called to put our hope, our only hope for forgiveness of sin and for reconciliation with God and with one another."
Sandy Steadman said she was hurt and disappointed that Bethany received funds from the Choose Life car license plates. "I know of a lot of Catholics who get those tags," she said.
She added: "If it's OK to accept our money, it should be OK to open your home to us as a family."
Bethany is one of 24 adoption and pregnancy counseling centers in Mississippi that receives money from the sale of Choose Life tags, a special plate that motorists can obtain with an extra fee.
Of $244,000 generated by the sale of the tags in 2004, Bethany received $7,053, said Geraldine Gray, treasurer of Choose Life Mississippi, which distributes the money.
"It is troubling to me if they are discriminating based on only the Catholics," Gray said.
... ah, I'm thinking that might have been Jesus, actually...
Yes - through Jesus. Can't believe I flubbed and left that out.
No offense, but you might want to change your analogy. Unless, of course, you are a "former Grand Duchess" or royal.
i really didn't! people, chill out. i wasn't trying to say anything about any other religion. if I opened a neopolitan ice cream stand and served only neopolitan ice cream, would you come to me expecting rocky road or mocha almond fudge ice cream? both are ice cream. just different kinds.
We believe that as well, OF COURSE.
>> Saying a Catholic doctrine is weird is not insulting a person<<
I AM a Catholic, stating that my way of praying is weird is insulting to me.
Fact (in your mind) or not. If my pants were blue and you didn't like blue, to state that my pants are ugly is an insult. You can say that the bad breath statement is childish but stating that your word is an absolute is as well.
I am adult enough to understand that I may or may not be totally correct, only God knows the absolute truth. Until I get to Heaven, I will cover my bases.
And until then, it might do you well to have come decorum.
Mariology is one of the worst IMO and full of error.
When you come out of a group, you may feel you have authority to speak on some of the issues discussed in that group.
Thanks, I thought so. We believe that too. Otherwise, we wouldn't pray "Our Father."
Yes, Paul's analogy about the body members is appropriate. We all bring something useful to the body. Of course, we Methodists are the stomach ;)
This is Marion.
I believe you mean Marian.
I did not intend for my post to be anything other than a note of the difference in words. That's all. I did not intend to make it seem as if Christians are better than Catholics or that Catholics are not Christians. However, It's not called the Roman Christian Church and the religion Christianity is not called Cathlianity. That's all. Chill people. Just chill.
No.
While we believe in the efficacy of intercessory prayer, that does not imply in any way that we cannot pray directly to God. If we believed that, we wouldn't say the Our Father at every Mass.
Asking a saint to pray for us is not really different than asking a friend here on earth to pray for us, except that we know the saints are in Heaven, which would seem to make their prayers especially helpful ("For the continual prayer of a just man availeth much.", James 5:16).
As someone pointed out earlier, the most important theological rift between most Protestants and Catholics/Orthodox is on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
maybe if I got a zot, I could get some laundry done....
(((hugs))))
There is no suggestion that Christ is insufficient for salvation. Consider this: If you were not Christian or were a nonpracticing Christian and someone found you and witnessed to you and you became Christian, you might might think of them being responsible for your salvation, in a way. You wouldn't mean that Christ was insufficient, quite the opposite, that person's witnessing to you was only possible because of God. But, knowing what you meant, you might say they were responsible for your salvation, taking nothing from the necessity of Christ in your salvation.
My point is, that if they were called Christians, they would not be called Catholics. Americans are not called Europeans as the Catholic Church is not referred to as the Roman Christian Church.
All the food jokes are making me hungry for my Baptist roots. I'm a Lutheran now and the potlucks can't compare...all jello salads.
Yes, I did ask them to clarify and, yes, that's exactly what they meant. I've run into plenty of Catholics that say "Catholic" instead of "Christian" and once I've pointed the distinction out to them, they still sometimes fumble and then correct themselves when they realize what they've said. The main reason why I bring it up is that while I'm sure some people mean "Are you Catholic or Christian?" as an underhanded way of saying that Catholics aren't Christians, I suspect at least some of them are trying to say, "Are you Catholic or Protestant?" and you shouldn't automatically be offended beause people tend to think of Christianity from the perspective of their own sect.
One day, we're going to be sitting at the feast, with all the best food you've ever tasted, sweet music in the background, our loved ones at our side, and Jesus at the head of the table. Something tells me we won't remember any of this sillines on that day.
You do ask a Priest for forgiveness and confess your sins to he or she right? Now, does the bible say that you are to confess your sins to man and be forgiven, or to God?
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