Speaking of Catholicism…

Here’s a Catholic priest writing about the problems of Catholicism.

Everywhere from Boston to Minneapolis, Catholic churches have closed or been consolidated into regional clusters. The chief reason is declining Mass attendance.

In New York, Mass attendance has fallen to European levels, around 15 percent on an average Sunday, according to The New York Times. In Boston, it is even lower, around 12 percent.

Nationwide, only 24 percent of Catholics go to Mass on an average Sunday, down from 55 percent in 1965.

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Those wacky Italians

Pope “Not in the face! Not in the face!” Francis has been offering advice on child-rearing, based on his deep experience with the process, I’m sure.

One time, I heard a father in a meeting with married couples say ‘I sometimes have to smack my children a bit, but never in the face so as to not humiliate them’, Francis said.

How beautiful. he added. He knows the sense of dignity! He has to punish them but does it justly and moves on.

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Mary’s Monday Metazoan: UNCLEAN

After learning that some media are practicing “cultural sensitivity” and being delicate about portrayals of animals that certain religious groups found offensive, Mary suggested that today’s metazoan should be a pretty pink pig. A good idea, I thought, but you know me — I can’t just stop there. So I read Leviticus.

Boy, Leviticus doesn’t just despise pigs…it detests just about everything. All these dirty, filthy animals (except the ones their tribe happens to raise for food and milk and fur, of course) that are disgusting and unclean. They are not only unfit to be sacrificed to the Lord, and not to ever, under any circumstances, be eaten, but if you touch them, alive or dead, you are befouled; if they touch any object it is unclean and must be destroyed. This is like the anti-biology chapter of the Bible.

So, for your edification, I’ve put the complete text of Leviticus 11 below the fold, along with a sampling of examples of the animals the Bible frowns upon. You know, it’s not just pigs — the Bible really loathes birds, and all invertebrates except 4 species.

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Tear it all down

Let’s stop drawing out the pain. The St. Paul-Minneapolis Catholic archdiocese filed for bankruptcy today. Look at the numbers:

The filing estimates that the archdiocese — the largest in the state with more than 800,000 parishioners — has assets between $10 million and $50 million, with liabilities between $50 million and $100 million. It also estimated 200 to 300 creditors.

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A papal conundrum

Uh-oh. The Pope has just grossly insulted my beliefs.

I believe you have a right to criticize anything — I go further and think you have an obligation to criticize.

I also believe that violence is never the answer, and that the proper response to words is more words, not flinging punches.

But look at what this pope is saying, violating what I hold dear.

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