Sigh....another day, another bash

[AngryOldDem]

Can't JPII do ANYTHING right?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1113876

I'm all for freedom of speech, expression, what-have-you, but I have to think that there is no other purpose to the Rome/Pope/Vatican threads but for some to blow off steam -- sort of the cyberspace punching bag.

And while I'm at it, I wish I could declare a moratorium on the sex scandal being brought up, except when discussing the scandal. Having it come in almost every thread is getting to be tedious.

(I know, I know...I should just bypass these threads, but you never know when you may find the pearl among swine...case in point, DemBones' thread on Catholic Relief Services that had some actually acknowledging that the Church does some good in the world.)

Rant over. Peace out.

[FarLeftRage]

1. I'm surprised at one person

who posted on that thread.

I would have never have thought that he'd be the Catholic-bashing type.

I was wrong.... :(

[Princess Turandot]

2. Bad Cat.. Bad Cat

you made me go over to that thread and respond to it.
Bad Cat. Oops, sorry: I say that so often to my cats that it comes natural to say it to humans.

Be glad you are not close enough to hit for me to aim a water-pistol at you..

[AngryOldDem]

3. If you didn't post something about your excellent reply....

I was going to! GOOD JOB.

If we listen closely, what do we hear from the bashers?

<<chirp, chirp>>

Their shallow logic cannot allow them to respond.

Again -- thanks for saying it, and saying it so well!

:thumbsup: :hi:

[Princess Turandot]

4. What were posts 14 & 18 abt? They were on my ignored list..

and unlike other boards, you don't seem to be able to access them by clicking on them. More of the same garbage?

I don't know for certain whether JPII's faculties are as intact as they were as when he was 50, but right now, he probably still possesses a far greater intellect than a large number of people in this world.

[DemBones DemBones]

5. I would bet JP II's intellectual faculties, and I mean as they are now,

up against those of anyone at DU. We have some very intelligent posters here but I don't think any are brighter than Il Papa, even as he is at 84. The same goes for his courage. His speech can be difficult to understand but that means nothing about his mind or his courage.

I'd guess his physical stamina also exceeds that of many DUers. He continues to celebrate Mass, give audiences, and so on despite his obvious physical disabilities. For years, he's been assisted in getting to St. Peter's altar, but once there, he stands and genuflects as appropriate during Mass. His schedule is still one that would tire anyone.

I admire him for his strength and hard work for the Church, and especially appreciate the example he is giving by staying in the public eye, making people accept his disabilities, challenging their perceptions of age and disability. It may help the public perceptions of the disabled and the elderly as much as the practice of "mainstreaming" in public schools does.

BY THE WAY ;-) GREAT POST IN THE OTHER THREAD, PRINCESS!!!

[Princess Turandot]

6. Don't encourage me lol..

growing up on the Lower East Side of NY probably has made me more pugnacious than I need to be.

[Princess Turandot]

7. People like to forget that he has been the most ecumenical Pope..

in history. He's reached out to more denominations than probably the sum total of every Pope before him. He was the first Pope known to enter a synagogue, the main one in Rome. He has made more minorities bishops & cardinals than any other pope. He visited and forgave the whacko who shot him, something I doubt Ronald Reagan ever did with Hinkley.

Do I wish he was less orthodox in some ways? Sure. But he is also the product of his times. he survived Nazism as a young man and Communism as a middle aged man, and was instrumental in encouraging the Poles to stand up to their Communist masters. (I was shocked when during the coverage of Reagan's funeral, one of the CNN analysts actually commented that it was the Pope and Gorbachev who had the real credit for the downfall of communism.)

[AngryOldDem]

8. Posts 14 and 18...

...were by the same author. 14 was in response to you, with the oft-repeated but still ludicrous refrain of, "The Pope is subject to criticism"; and 18 is in response to a deleted post that apparently took offense at the story being posted in the first place.

I shot off responses to both, which I kind of regret now because I'm functioning with only six hours of sleep since Dec. 30 and many, many cups of coffee and cans of pop in the meantime. Not the most elegant of prose, I'm afraid, but I think I got my point across.

From what I've read, JPII intellectually is still pretty sharp. A sad case of a vibrant man being trapped in a deteriorating body.

[JohnKleeb]

9. My philosophy teacher told our class a story

about Carl Sagan and JPII meeting, and the pope says Carl for such a smart man, I can't believe you don't believe in god, and Sagan says well I feel the same way about you your holiness. I don't get where people think JPII has been a terrible pope, yes he hasn't been everything they want but he has done a lot of good, it will be a sad day when he goes.

[Stunster]

11. One of the ironic things about Carl Sagan

is that his novel entitled CONTACT centers around humans realizing that there must be other intelligent life in the universe because the folks at SETI pick up an electronic signal with mathematically intelligible meaning to it.

But, if you think about it, the universe itself is one huge big electronic signal with mathematically intelligible meaning to it. Yet apparently that didn't suggest to Carl that it might have been 'sent' by some 'intelligent life'.

[ElectroPrincess]

10. I agree, and personally I'm quite frustrated with angry atheists ...

they seem to be the most vicious. I don't understand why Democrats can't respect those of us who may believe many of basic tenets of the Catholic Faith, yet are against mixing our faith with government.

It seems that a few Democrats despise religion in any form almost as much as they hate Republicans.

Just my "best guess" on the latest round of Catholic bashing festival.

EP

[AngryOldDem]

12. And if you look at the whole of Catholic Social Teaching....

...it makes the antagonism among some Democracts harder to understand. The Church is on their side.

People have a right to their beliefs, and others have a right to disagree with those beliefs. However, at no point does that mean that respect cannot be shown.

That's all I'm asking from those DUers who can't seem to get the difference -- R-E-S-P-E-C-T.