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Yeah, apparantly it's a big deal. Personally, I see everything the Catholic Church does as an affront to free speech and sensible thinking, so I've been ignoring it.

But AAAARSE! It's an excuse to get drunk and be loud! In front of the pope! What more could you want!

And let's avoid your views on religion, 'kay? Hell, I thought MY views were irritating.

It's still annoying when everyone's like, "Even if you don't believe, Mary MacKillop is an icon for all Australians."

**** that.

What, really? You don't think that ratting out pedophile priests and then... I don't actually know what else she did, charitable works? Isn't praisworthy?

I mean, hell, I'm not Catholic, but I can still respect what Mother Theresa or John Carroll or Mary MacKillop accomplished.

I feel a compulsion to clarify: John Carroll, first Catholic archbishop in the US, Marylander, founded Georgetown University and at least one other school, proponent of English-language sermons and bible, proponent of gradual, voluntary emancipation which, while ****ty, is slightly less ****ty than it might be.

What about all the sick people cure by modern technology? The people who have dedicated their lives to actually helping others (regardless of their faith, I might add), rather than just praying and hoping?

But when their Pope says things like: "Modern technology is dangerous, and causing us to be confused between reality and make-believe." how can you not love them?

... Um, well. Last I checked Mother Theresa helped everyone. I mean, she worked in India. Which isn't exactly the Christian capital of the world. Yes, she played missionary at the same time. But just because you missionairize while you help doesn't make your help invalid. And Georgetown University-- and Georgetown University Hospital, which is just full of that there scienceness-- helps everyone.

And employs people of from everywhere. One of the doctors we remember fondly from there was Indian. No idea what religion she was, but whatever it was she still worked for a hospital that was made possible by the work of Catholic priests.

Even more than that, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Born from the prayer of a Catholic actor who was down on his luck, dedicated to a Catholic saint. They will treat anyone who needs it, free of charge, regardless of whether their insurance will pay. The most desperately sick kids in the world, from all over the world.

What, Arse, are you going to denigrate every contribution made to the world by Catholics? It'd be a tall order. And a truly disgraceful thing to do.

Sure, I have a fairly low opinion of Catholicism. That doesn't mean that Catholic people and the Catholic Church haven't done good things.

... Goddamn 420-character limit. We really probably should use the conversations instead.

Hmm... Touche. Though I still can't grant any credibility to an organisation which elects a senile old man as their head, and then declares that nothing that man says can be wrong. That's actually one of their doctrines.

Not exactly. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_infallibility

I agree that it's bullshit, mostly from my position as a former Protestant of the Baptist, southern, very conservative, type; but unless I am much mistaken, what that means is that the Pope is the final authority in matters of what Catholics believe.

They're a lot more hierarchical than your average Protestant, so they have this whole complex mass of laws to determine what they believe an how it's applied.

It isn't really a matter of him being infallible, or that nothing he says can be wrong. Because it's explcitly stated, at least by Wikipedia, that he CAN be wrong, just not when making these very specific pronouncements on Catholic doctrine.

Like how the Supreme Court is the final authority on whether something is Constitutional for the US, the Pope is the final authority on whether something is Catholic. Short of god, anyway.

Whatever, they still elect a senile (and in this case, possible Nazi) man as the head of their organisation. And when he says things like "modern technology is dangerous", it makes me wonder how the Catholic Church has survived this long.

Then I remember that they use fear rather well.

Yes, I don't really approve of the pope all that much.

What, you mean fear of hell? Fear of getting raped by priests?

Fear of hell, mostly.