September 17, 201014 yr I have to be open minded. Much to my own chagrin .... I had my son baptised a Catholic (thus burdening him with the Catholic Guilt that I've been burdened with by my parents) but it just sort of happened. I suppose having him baptised a Catholic was a result of that Catholic Guilt. At my son's christening there were three gay blokes as guests ... one of whom is my son's Godfather. He was a bit worried given the words we all had to say during the 'ritual' but we got by because I know that he was the only person I wanted as my son's Godfather. One of the other gay blokes there was another good friend of ours ... a man in his 70's who is a Catholic and has never missed a Sunday mass ... ever! Sure ... he knows how the 'big chiefs' of the Church look down on homosexuality ... but it won't stop him going to church ... he goes because he has an affinity with the work of this bloke called Jesus. I sound like a real preachy person here ... believe me ... I'm not. Although I go to church now and again ... the only time I'm certain of going is at weddings and funerals. I just don't think that the work of that bloke Jesus should be tarnished by what the Head of the Catholic Church stands for now. Watch some old episodes of The Borgias .... just see how much those old popes liked their sex! Kath The lazy caricature that all Catholics are homophobic really does annoy me. Catholics are in this country are actually pretty socially liberal on the whole... there's a reason they're overwhelmingly Labour voters. Speaking from personal experience, my aunt is a devout Catholic and is passionately supportive of gay rights because of her belief born out of her religion that all love should be celebrated, while the guy she's married to is an avowed athiest yet is pretty homophobic (not in the "hang them" sense, just in the "keep it in the bedroom and out of my sight" sense). And also, the Prime Minister who did by far the most for gay rights was the first Catholic to ever be PM. And I actually do have a feeling that within the next 20 years the Vatican is going to change on these types of issues. It probably won't be long before this pope dies, and I do have a feeling the next one will realise he'll have to change the Church's stances on issues like gay rights and contraception or risk extinction.
September 17, 201014 yr The lazy caricature that all Catholics are homophobic really does annoy me. Catholics are in this country are actually pretty socially liberal on the whole... there's a reason they're overwhelmingly Labour voters. It is a lazy caricature. Also ... the belief that we all believe in the 'no contraception' bit. If that were true ... then the population of Great Britain would be a lot bigger than it is now! Kath
September 17, 201014 yr The lazy caricature that all Catholics are homophobic really does annoy me. Catholics are in this country are actually pretty socially liberal on the whole... there's a reason they're overwhelmingly Labour voters. Speaking from personal experience, my aunt is a devout Catholic and is passionately supportive of gay rights because of her belief born out of her religion that all love should be celebrated, while the guy she's married to is an avowed athiest yet is pretty homophobic (not in the "hang them" sense, just in the "keep it in the bedroom and out of my sight" sense). And also, the Prime Minister who did by far the most for gay rights was the first Catholic to ever be PM. And I actually do have a feeling that within the next 20 years the Vatican is going to change on these types of issues. It probably won't be long before this pope dies, and I do have a feeling the next one will realise he'll have to change the Church's stances on issues like gay rights and contraception or risk extinction. This will happen before the catholic church modernises and changes its stance on things Sky News Ticker - "Breaking News - Hell Has Frozen Over"
September 17, 201014 yr And having 'all girls schools' and 'all boys schools' is sexual discrimination. Do you not agree? Kath Technically but at least boys and girls schools don't brainwash their kids with bigotry like catholic schools would
September 17, 201014 yr Technically but at least boys and girls schools don't brainwash their kids with bigotry like catholic schools would I think you're a bit out of touch with what goes on in most progressive Catholic schools Craig. To be honest ... my son knows more about Judaism and Islam than he does about Catholicism. Do you imagine nuns stand over the pupils with whips and crosses chanting 'God is Good' every half-hour? Incidentally RE takes up just two periods a week and as I say ... that time is finding out about other faiths as well as its own. Kath Edited September 17, 201014 yr by Kathyp
September 17, 201014 yr I think you're a bit out of touch with what goes on in most progressive Catholic schools Craig. To be honest ... my son knows more about Judaism and Islam than he does about Catholicism. Do you imagine nuns stand over the pupils with whips and crosses chanting 'God is Good' every half-hour? Incidentally RE takes up just two periods a week and as I say ... that time is finding out about other faiths as well as its own. Kath LOL kind of :blush: Well I imagined the typical class in a catholic school to be run by a strict nun who would ram catholic doctrine down the pupils throats and be ultra strict and loads of prayers every day etc, as you can tell I have never been near a catholic school or chatted to anyone that has :lol: :blush:
September 17, 201014 yr Scotland Yard say 5 Algerian men arrested in 6am raids after intelligence uncovers " threat to Pope in London". :o Visit will continue on schedule for now but situation under constant review and Pope has been informed of the threat. His armed Special Branch security stepped up even more. Hope nothing happens to him. Would be tragic for it to happen in the UK. Edited September 17, 201014 yr by Common Sense
September 17, 201014 yr Scotland Yard say 5 Algerian men arrested in 6am raids after intelligence uncovers " threat to Pope in London". :o Visit will continue on schedule for now but situation under constant review and Pope has been informed of the threat. His armed Special Branch security stepped up even more. Hope nothing happens to him. Would be tragic for it to happen in the UK. Go Algerians B) kill kill kill
September 17, 201014 yr http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/49150000/jpg/_49150018_010211728-1.jpg DEAR GOD MY EYES. the world is coming to the end, that much evil in one place cant be good.
September 17, 201014 yr http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/49150000/jpg/_49150018_010211728-1.jpg Margaret Thatcher is looking more like her Spitting Image puppet as the days go by.
September 17, 201014 yr I wouldn't worry; both Maggie and the Pope are clearly on their last legs. Well I hope you live long now, I pray the Lord your soul to keep I think I'll be going before we fold our arms and start to weep I never thought for a moment that human life could be so cheap 'Cos when they finally put you in the ground They'll stand there laughing and tramp the dirt down
September 17, 201014 yr Well I hope you live long now, I pray the Lord your soul to keep I think I'll be going before we fold our arms and start to weep I never thought for a moment that human life could be so cheap 'Cos when they finally put you in the ground They'll stand there laughing and tramp the dirt down Oh Elvis. You and your funky basslines. How did that woman become PM for 11 years? (That's not a rhetorical question. I'm asking genuinely, as I can't for the life of me understand why)
September 17, 201014 yr Oh Elvis. You and your funky basslines. How did that woman become PM for 11 years? (That's not a rhetorical question. I'm asking genuinely, as I can't for the life of me understand why) Because she allowed Argentina to invade the Falklands / Malvinas to provide a nice, easily winnable war and Labour were a shambles at the time :( Plus most of the press were a Th***h*r fan club
September 17, 201014 yr Because she allowed Argentina to invade the Falklands / Malvinas to provide a nice, easily winnable war and Labour were a shambles at the time :( Plus most of the press were a Th***h*r fan club I'd heard about using the Falklands to get re-elected before, as well as the fact that any news that came from the islands were heavily censored in favour of the government. Did it really make such a big difference in terms of election? I'm not the biggest fan of Thatcher either, although that goes back to her treatment of Irish nationalism and the hunger strikers (although I don't really classify myself as a nationalist now)
September 17, 201014 yr Britain is a secular society, there should be no state funded religion and taxpayers money being spent to have the pope over to spread his bigotry goes against the very concept of a secular society. In terms of the Vatican I wasn't aware it is classed as a country, I stand corrected though AFAIK Vatican City is a principality in similar vein to San Marino and Monaco. "1816: The Pope has a special message for the young people of Scotland, saying they face many temptations including drugs, money, sex, pornography and alcohol: "These things are destructive... the one thing that lasts is the love of Jesus Christ."" I've had a very destructive youth, i need to love jesus more. I wonder if the pope has heard of the phrase 'p***ing against the wind'? Scotlands Teenage pregnacny rate [sex], drug and alcohol abuse rates are some of the worst in the developed world. It's like closing the stable door after the horse has been gone 15years and died 7weeks ago.
September 17, 201014 yr I'd heard about using the Falklands to get re-elected before, as well as the fact that any news that came from the islands were heavily censored in favour of the government. Did it really make such a big difference in terms of election? I'm not the biggest fan of Thatcher either, although that goes back to her treatment of Irish nationalism and the hunger strikers (although I don't really classify myself as a nationalist now) Before the Falklands she was very unpopular and seen as stubborn. After the Falklands the same attitude was portrayed as a strength. A week before the Falklands invasion Roy Jenkins won a by-election in the Tory seat of Glasgow Hillhead for the SDP / Liberal Alliance as it then was. In June 1982 while the conflict was ongoing there was a by-election in Mitcham and Morden where the sitting MP, Bruce Douglas Mann, had left Labour to join the SDP but chose to resign and fight again for his new party. He lost to the Tories. How old do I feel doing this from memory for the benefit of someone who wasn't even born then? :cry:
September 18, 201014 yr Because she allowed Argentina to invade the Falklands / Malvinas to provide a nice, easily winnable war and Labour were a shambles at the time :( Plus most of the press were a Th***h*r fan club You missed the bits like tax cuts, mass share ownership, enterprise culture, right to buy scheme, economic prosperity that transformed us from a country handing out the begging bowl to the IMF to become the 6th strongest economy in the world, union reforms that meant Britain could no longer be held to ransom by unions
September 18, 201014 yr I wouldn't worry; both Maggie and the Pope are clearly on their last legs. She looks pretty well there compared with some of her pics from the last year
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