Catholic Church gives D.C. ultimatum

Catholic Church gives D.C. ultimatum:Same-sex marriage bill, as written, called a threat to social service contracts

www.washingtonpost.com

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn't change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care.

(visit the link for the full news article)



[edit on 11/12/09 by WickedStar]

Shame on you, Washington Archdiocese! Shame on you!

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." - 1 Corinthians 13:13 KJV

It's quite a telling threat isn't it. That they would withhold charitable services from nearly 68,000 people for fear that they would be forced to pay employer benefits to same-sex couples is simply mindboggling. How very Christian of you!

www.washingtonpost.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by WickedStar


Having come from a ridiculously Catholic family, I am not at all surprised. There is absolutely no tolerance there. They have forgotten all about the whole "Love the sinner, hate the sin" philosophy. My aunt had to wait until my grandfather died to tell us she was gay. Even then my dad and uncle refused to believe it.

I would like to call this bluff myself.

Other churches and groups will step in and take the burden from them in helping people in such a criminal and hedonistic wasteland. Surely the catholic church can regroup in the vatican, away from d.c. politics.

Ut oh! Rome has spoken! Should Columbia fail to obey?

I shudder to think it.

Hail Caesar!

In that case, the government should stop all hand-outs to the church, start taxing the church for the profitable business that it is and then use the revenue to help the homeless and hungry.

Churches... middle-aged bastions of insanity with tax exempt status.

If they want to pull out of their involvement in Social Services then they should feel free to for any reason they want. I do not think this beause they are a church, but rather because it is a free country.

Plus, how are you going to tax them if you scream separation of church and state? So you only separate when it is beneficial to the government?

Why should the Church be forced to abide by something they feel goes against their beliefs?
The city of DC can not run any program effectively. They could have double the funding Catholic Charities have now, and never come close to helping a fraction of the people faith-based organizations do.
I doubt any church who runs shelters and kitchens would shut down. They will probably simply reduce services and rely on tithing and donations.

Originally posted by stevegmu

I doubt any church who runs shelters and kitchens would shut down. They will probably simply reduce services and rely on tithing and donations.

Help for the less fortunate will be determined by those who will take the mark of xtianity. Help will be conditional.

This is the way it was done long ago when the church went into foreign countries as missionaries. In exchange for yams and rice they had to commit to listening to religious services. Later, they were expected to go along with the xtian program by some allegience of membership in order to continue to receive.

(Baptism is not what you think it is; it is a contract of church membership.)

If the churches have greater assets than the gov. (and I think they prolly do) then churches can control the masses by dangling the food and shelter carrot.

Here comes the mark. All others will be "cut off" for their ecclesiastical sins.


And btw....most religions are now regrouping into "inter-faith" organizations and are working under a new corporate umbrella. Many of these interfaith charities are spending big bucks (your contributions) on bio-scanner technology so they can weed out the undesirables and the chronically hungry/homeless.

Charity has always been selective and will be even more strict in the future.

I find it interesting that 2 of the 3 of our world's City-States are in conflict. Good thing they don't have armies....

Will London play peacemaker? - Send in the crowns!

[edit on 12-11-2009 by Maxmars]

I'm calling the whole article BS. Read between the lines. From what I've heard, the Catholic Church is being given a choice: start marrying gays, or lose all tax-benefits as a non-profit organization. They will of course refuse to marry gays, then leave the DC area to shambles. . . which is exactly what DC wants, because they don't like the Catholic Church and want to get rid of them, and at the same time, the 68,000 people they help will either freeze to death this winter, or fall into the hands of the government to be taken care of, which is exactly what a Liberal government loves to do. Then they will blame it all on the Catholic Church. . . Case closed. . . I'll talk to you all in 6 months when it all comes true.

Right. Lets hold charitable aid to the homeless and parentless children hostage in order to prevent a certain group of people from marrying the ones they love.

Good job, Catholics. Maybe you can remove the wheels from the wheelchairs of paralyzed and limbless veterans next.

Get over yourselves. People have a right to choose who they want to love, marry, and raise children with no matter the gender, race, or religion of either person.

Fortunately many people are beginning to realize that and support the gay rights movement. This is just a sign of desperation on the part of the religious nuts, and frankly, it makes me laugh.

The unchallenged power of the Church can only last so long. I'm pleased to say that it has just about met it's end. Good riddance.

Fearful that they could be forced, among other things, to extend employee benefits to same-sex married couples, church officials said they would have no choice but to abandon their contracts with the city.

"If the city requires this, we can't do it," Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said Wednesday. "The city is saying in order to provide social services, you need to be secular. For us, that's really a problem."

www.washingtonpost.com...

The church is under no obligation to submit these conditions. Catholic Charities can provide for the needy without the help of D. C.

There's no need for the Catholic bashing. In fact, it is abhorrent.

Originally posted by WickedStar


Shame on you, Washington Archdiocese! Shame on you!

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." - 1 Corinthians 13:13 KJV

It's quite a telling threat isn't it. That they would withhold charitable services from nearly 68,000 people for fear that they would be forced to pay employer benefits to same-sex couples is simply mindboggling. How very Christian of you!

www.washingtonpost.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

You are right!!! Shame! Shane for standing up for what you believe in. Shame for thinking that a firm stance is anything but RACIST and HOMOPHOBIC.

Shame for being the worlds largest provider of AIDS healthcare..oooo wait. Shame for housing more AIDS victims then all governments combined...crap.

Shame for threatening the same goverment that is calling for you to be investigated for challeneging abortion.

Sheese...

reply to post by NovusOrdoMundi


Do you really propose that the institution of the Catholic Church should abandon it's dogmatic position based on social pressure? That is precisely what religion resists. I think it is a bit biased to focus the practice of rejecting same-sex marriage. They are just the largest group that exists to express the position.

Bigger targets are easier to hit I know, but its Christianity - with a few questionable exceptions - that generally reject homosexuality.

And as far as religions go, they are not alone in the assessment.

What part of "no" is unclear here? Catholics have proscribed the practice. The State can now come in and demand change, or it will abandon it's commitment to leave church property untaxed?

Interesting, but not trivial threat, if you ask me.

[edit on 12-11-2009 by Maxmars]

Do they not understand the words 'separation of church and state' ?

How gimpicidal.

Now many years ago, I once helped out in a soup kitchen, ran by the Catholic Church, to feed those who were hungry. After we were done and I had a chance to talk to one of the priests, I asked if they got help from the federal governemnt, and he answered, "No, because of all of the paperwork, and too many string attached to it." Now we go forward, and I find it amazing that they are accepting federal funding. What they do not realize is that as long as they do not take federal funding, they don't have to follow federal guidelines.
I also thought that after the scandal with the comic and the pope, that the vatican would stay out of politics.

Originally posted by Maxmars
I find it interesting that 2 of the 3 of our world's City-States are in conflict. Good thing they don't have armies....

Will London play peacemaker? - Send in the crowns!

[edit on 12-11-2009 by Maxmars]

Who says they don't have armies? Rome has the Swiss Guards, and Columbia has the Park Police, Secret Service, FBI, CIA, DEA, ATF, Customs and Marion Berry's Crack Pipe!

I got 20.00 on the Swiss Guards!

Oh yeah I forgot Rome also has the United States Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy and Coast Guard the United Kingdom's armed forces, her common wealth country's armed forces, the European Union's Armed Forces and the Israeli Armed Forces.

If we could sucker Rome into wiping out Columbia for us, I have to say I am all for it.

Stick to your guns City Council oh and you better unplug those Civil War Cannons too!

Oh there is a good chance Rome can also resurrect everyone buried at Arlington National Cemetary too. If they do try to ask the guys from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier who the heck they are!

Keep in mind that the world is constantly evolving, and that religious pricks like this should not be held at the same standards now as they were hundreds upon thousands of years ago.

Charity from most religious institutions always comes with a price tag. The recipient must either accept the teachings of the denomination providing aid and/or conform to its dictates for the control of behavior.

If one does not wish to conform one need not apply for aid from that religious group.

Despite our belief in the separation of church and state, many churches insist on manipulating the politics of the populations they serve.

If the churches receive federal funding then I think they cannot make such religious demands on their beneficiaries.

But if it's their money they can attach whatever strings they like.