Cardinal O’Malley: housing illegals more important than protecting unborn

Boston Catholic Insider ^ | 7/19/14 | Boston Catholic Insider

[CynicalBear]

Well, you tell me. If they don’t lose numbers, they don’t gain numbers but they maintain the numbers they have what word would you replace “maintain” with?

[cothrige]

That isn't maintaining numbers. It is simply not affecting the numbers, which is a different thing. If it had the effect of maintaining them then it would have to be demonstrably the case that immigration encourages people to remain in the Church, and that just isn't true at all. As a matter of fact, by moving from a traditionally Catholic country, such as Mexico, to a traditionally Protestant one, like the US, one would expect more people to leave the Church than would otherwise stay in it. So, if anything, as long as immigration is stronger from Mexico to the US than the other way one would be able to make a better argument that immigration is actually bad for the Church's numbers.

[CynicalBear]

Ok, so you don’t have a word to replace maintaining. But dagnabit, it ain’t maintaining right?

[goat granny]

Along time ago I read an article that the floor of hell is covered with the skulls of bishops and priests. I thought at the time that was nuts, then I grew up and found how many bishops and priests do God awful things..and don’t tend their flocks but love mammon.

[cothrige]

No, it isn’t maintaining just because the numbers don’t change. When I get into my car the number of Catholics in the world is the same too, and yet getting into cars does not “maintain” the number of Catholics. It isn’t like people not getting into cars makes the numbers go down. And if somebody actually decides to make the absurd statement that “getting into cars is how Rome gains or maintains Catholics” they would be wrong then too. The fact that getting into cars causes no net change in the number of Catholics does not actually argue for it being a way to “maintain” the number of Catholics. Going to Mass and participating in the faith does maintain the number of believers because doing this actually does encourage retention, but simply moving form one place to another does nothing at all. Nothing. And doing nothing is not “maintaining.”