Vatican Reprimands a Group of U.S. Nuns

@JTT,

JTT wrote:

Thanks, Ceili, for that info. That begs the question. Why is there this Vatican-US kerfuffle over this issue when it has been going on in at least two other countries [Australia and Canada] for as long as they have had public health care?

Are only US bishops guardians of what's kosher with the almighty?

Could it be that in the Australian and Canadian legislatures lawmakers are not nearly as accessible to theistic lobbyists as they are in the US? And that the Church has far less inluence on what the news media publicize?

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@Lustig Andrei,

Quote:

Could it be that in the Australian and Canadian legislatures lawmakers are not nearly as accessible to theistic lobbyists as they are in the US? And that the Church has far less inluence on what the news media publicize?

I have no idea, Merry. You may well be right.

But whenever the pope/Vatican sticks their nose in anything, in any country, it usually receives pretty wide coverage.

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If I knew how to embed video, I would embed this one.

Listen to her. She reminds me that there are still person of actual goodness in this world.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17794961

Joe(we split on politics, not on faith.)Nation

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@Lustig Andrei,

lustig andrei wrote :

Quote:

... staying at the Sheraton Hotel on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, having driven in from Windsor, Ontario. It happened to be Good Friday. I couldn't get a drink in the hotel's cocktail loung to save my soul. Good Friday no liquor could be served.

those days are gone . liquor is served freely any day of the week .
liquor laws are easiest in quebec , where you now can buy wine in corner stores - but not super markets .
anti-abortion protests flare up now-and-then , but are not taken too seriously .
we've had a succession of catholic prime ministers - trudeau , chretien , mulroney and now harper - whho have all stated firmly that women have control over their bodies .

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@Lustig Andrei,

Lustig Andrei wrote:

Could it be that in the Australian and Canadian legislatures lawmakers are not nearly as accessible to theistic lobbyists as they are in the US?

generally speaking, religion has very little meaning/power in Canadian politics.

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@ehBeth,

ehBeth wrote:

Lustig Andrei wrote:

Could it be that in the Australian and Canadian legislatures lawmakers are not nearly as accessible to theistic lobbyists as they are in the US?

generally speaking, religion has very little meaning/power in Canadian politics.

As it should be.

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@ehBeth,

Quote:

generally speaking, religion has very little meaning/power in Canadian politics.

A similar situation in Oz (certainly compared to the US) , though there are those who would like it to be otherwise.
Also the influence of Christian fundamentalism on the federal government & also the voters, is negligible. An important factor, I think.
We do have some groups who picket some abortion clinics (in my city anyway ... not sure about the rest of the country) , but they are very small in number & not at all influential on the general public, say nothing of the bulk of voters. They are considered to be a menace, cranks ....

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Nothing to do with wayward nuns & Bishops setting them straight, but I thought I'd take advantage of this thread to post this. Love it.
I hope that's OK, Andrew.
Consider this an entertainment break. Smile

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@msolga,

Of course it's all right, Olga. That's one of my favorite comic songs.

I met Tom Lehrer many years ago when he did a benefit gig in aid of the civil rights movement at a Boston bistro. I was active in the Boston chapter of CORE [Congress of Racial Equality] at the time and had helped arrange the benfit performance. He was a very retiring, even shy, person to speak to. Until he got on stage with a mike in his hand. Then all bets were off.

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@Lustig Andrei,

Interesting, Andrew, very interesting.
Including finding out a bit about your political background, too!
I think he was/still is wonderful.

But back to the thread subject now, everyone.
Digression over. Wink

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@msolga,

Reigion is a basic litmus test in US politics. I find it distasteful but I ony count 1 vote. Even when I testify as an expert, I do NOT argue with the swearing iin statement "do you swear"?

and they hold a Bibe at me.
Certain states will use the phrase"Do you swear or affirm"?...

I will never be elected to any pubic office, but what me worry?

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Farmerman sez:

Quote:

I will never be elected to any pubic office, but what me worry?

"pubic" office--an interesting concept. Is that the kind of job that Richard "Dick" Nixon held?

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@farmerman,

Quote:

Religion is a basic litmus test in US politics.

Yes, so I've gathered.

Our parliament begins with a prayer.
Though it's pretty much lip service, a tradition, I'd say.
All the same, there are those who'd like that tradition abolished.
And fair enough, I think.:

Why Prayers in Parliament Should Stop:
http://www.rationalist.com.au/articles-and-papers/general-papers/220-why-prayers-in-parliament-should-stop

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@msolga,

When I was arguing with Ionus last year I began doing reading about how similar your constitution is to ours. Yet ours has more "Shalt nots" built in for reigning in concepts of a state religion

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@MontereyJack,

Im having trubble with my "l". Ya never know how much you rely on a cean keyboard until it gets all constipated.

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@Joe Nation,

Quote:

If I knew how to embed video, I would embed this one.

Listen to her. She reminds me that there are still person of actual goodness in this world.

I just watched the video & I couldn't agree more with you.
Perfectly reasonable.
How odd that these nuns could be considered such a threat to the church hierarchy.
Perhaps their differences stem from what they actually do? As this nun says, the sisters work with people on "the economic margins of society", which is why they supported access to better health care for those people.
I'll bet is a long time since those male church "leaders" had any real, ongoing connection with the poorest in society.

Quote:

Sister Campbell suggested that her organisation's vocal support for President Barack Obama's healthcare bill was behind the slapdown.

"There's a strong connection," she said. "We didn't split on faith, we split on politics."

American Bishops saw the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act as backing state-funded abortion. The nuns disagreed.

The Vatican said that the mandate to carry out reforms of the nuns' leadership "will be for a period of up to five years, as deemed necessary".

Archbishop Sartain said, "I hope to be of service to them and to the Holy See as we face areas of concern to all."

But Sister Campbell suggested a difficult time ahead: "It's totally a top-down process and I don't think the bishops have any idea of what they're in for."

Leader of 'radical' US nuns rejects Vatican criticism:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17794961

I don't think those bishops have any idea of what they're in for, either! Wink

`

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@ehBeth,

Quote:

generally speaking, religion has very little meaning/power in Canadian politics.

Really odd that, Beth. The US has a constitutional separation of church and state. There is constant chatter of the primacy of this doctrine and yet we have this going on in the US.

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@farmerman,

Turn it upside down & gently shake from side to side for a bit it.
Preferably outside.
That might help. Smile

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re: the video of Sister Simone Campbell.
I think it's about time for the Church to impeach Benedict and elect a female Pope again. Get with the 21st century, guys, not the tenth.

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@MontereyJack,

Yeah, after a couple of fairly enlightened pontiffs, Benedict's a throwback to an earlier, harsher era of the papcy. Are there any provisions for impeachment of a pope in the Vatican rule books?

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Vatican Reprimands a Group of U.S. Nuns

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