Simple question?

Quote: Nareed

And yes, the tax-exempt status can and is abused. But among a long litany of faults and "sins," this isn't really one the Catholic church can be accused of. Look to other Christian churches for that 8and there are plenty), as well as many fringe cults. Such abuse also exists in secular non-profit organizations, charities not excluded.

I didn't mean to imply it was just Catholics.

My wife was in several fraternal organizations, and was directly attributable for giving away hundreds of pairs of glasses while with the Lions club. I agree with the organizations 401c3 tax status. But those groups aren't trying to sell an illusion about eternity, or trying to sit in judgement over the sight challenged.

The Catholics to me, just seem more cult like. Maybe that's just my observation. But as for hypocrisy, they are in a league of their own.

Their claim to moral superiority, is not only off-putting, they seem to get pleasure out of it. The church is making idols out of terrorists like MT and Serra. How they can defend this monster, let alone idolize him is sickening. Idolizing sadists is the definition of a cult. But that does not mean I "hate" anyone, but Catholics, if they love anybody, love this guy. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/junipero-serra-native-americans_us_560171fbe4b0fde8b0cfcb32

Junípero Serra “created and brought genocide to the California Indian people.”

I don't want to remove their tax exempt status, I want them de-certified as a Christian religion.

Remember, Vlad "the impaler" was Catholic: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/yimcatholic/2011/10/because-dracula-was-catholic-oh-my.html

Quote: petroglyph

Remember, Vlad "the impaler" was Catholic

Why is that not at all surprising.

Petro I am really sorry for whatever happened to you to make you so against the Church. You anger has reached a point where you have been led into illogical lunacy to compare two saints, Mother Teresa and Junipero Serra to terrorists. I feel for you, especially as the news of Brussels breaks and we see what people intent on hatred and violence are capable of and what they desire. While Junipero Serra was not perfect, please take an objective look at his efforts, the good he did, and his reasoning behind some of the things he is criticized for today. Certainly if you went to his time his upstanding morality and treatment of the Native American peoples would resonate with us the same way that Mother Teresa's radical care for those who are literally dying in the gutters resonates with us today.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jun%C3%ADpero_Serra

in the inquisition:

Quote:

and that these persons,…flying through the air at night, are in the habit of meeting in a cave on a hill near a ranch called El Saucillo, in the center of said missions, where they worship and make sacrifice to the demons who appear visibly there in the guise of young goats and various other things of that nature…

note that the accusations, admissions, and 'proofs' were that a person was a witch, not that young goats and various other things of that nature were demons.

A typical example of how a religion imposes its beliefs on others:

Quote:

Deborah A. Miranda, a professor of American literature at Washington and Lee University and Native American, stated that "Serra did not just bring us Christianity. He imposed it, giving us no choice in the matter. He did incalculable damage to a whole culture".

We already talked about Mother Theresa having people baptized without their full knowledge or consent of what was happening.

Quote: FrGamble

Certainly if you went to his time his upstanding morality and treatment of the Native American peoples would resonate with us .

Not really. The guy was a monster, he ran the
missions like they were Nazi concentration
camps. Very typical of the Church in this era,
they did the same in South and Central America.

"Junipero Serra should not be made a saint. He should be considered nothing less than a monster. He headed-up a system of hegemony and genocide that was intent on imperial conquest. He and his legion of Spanish conquerors were intent on a manifest destiny which saw the enslavement of aboriginal people. The violent rapes of indigenous women, the cruel and barbaric tortures and murders of Indian men, such neglect that little Indian children died as the end result, and draconian tactics which ultimately forced First Nations people from their traditionalism, religion, languages, customs, and beliefs, should not be celebrated by the powerful and mighty Roman Catholic Church.The decision of Pope Francis to grant sainthood to this priest - Junipero Serra - is blatantly wrong. Serra should be considered no less than a dark religious, political and societal figure who committed crimes against humanity."

This is all very well documented, it's not idle
speculation. The Church had a thing for wiping
out native cultures any way possible and replacing
it with their own. The horror stories in some of
these places even shocked the Vatican at times,
but they did little or nothing to stop it because
it was so effective.

The Wikipedia article on him is very interesting and it sounds very fair. He was a very humble and pious man who sacrificed a cushy academic career to serve heroically in the missions. I had to laugh a little bit at the cherry picked quotes you guys were throwing out there. There is a lot of support for him and his canonization from Native American groups and historians. He is certainly a sinner and most definitely a saint.

Quote: FrGamble

Petro I am really sorry for whatever happened to you to make you so against the Church. You anger has reached a point where you have been led into illogical lunacy

Not perfect, but a typical example of Christian "love."

Quote: FrGamble

He is certainly a sinner and most definitely a saint.

They could canonize Al Capone and you'd say
it's wonderful. You're the original 'company
man'. No matter what the company does,
no matter how egregious, you go along with
it, grinning ear to ear. It's really an amazing
performance.

That is absolutely not true.

Quote: FrGamble

That is absolutely not true.

Capone was Catholic, even went to a strict
Church school. He later 'rediscovered' his
religion in prison and I'm he's sure sitting on
the side of Jesus right now, Jesus will forgive
anybody.