North Dakota bishops issue list of groups Catholics shouldn’t support
March 16, 2011 at 8:27 am in Grand Forks Herald
Bishop Samuel Aquila of the Fargo diocese and Bishop Paul Zipfel of the Bismarck diocese released a joint document warning Catholics against giving to or working with the March of Dimes, UNICEF, Susan G. Komen for the Cure or Crop Walk because they say the groups have supported abortion rights, contraception or stem-cell research. Continue Reading
The Catholic Church lost all credibility a long time ago.
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To oppose a charitable organization because a difference in some beliefs is unchristianlike. But whom am I to judge? The Bishop has already passed judgment. Now kiss his ring.
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All donations should be sent to the Philadelphia Diocese to help cover legal fees!
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Unbelievable!!!
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Didn’t see the North American Man Boy Love Association on the list. Guess they didn’t want to limit themselves.
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I am not a Catholic, but it seems you are being a bit more than unfair. The groups the bishops targeted were groups that most people would think are totally in line with their religious beliefs. The bishops were simply stating that Catholics need to be aware that by supporting some of these groups they may be supporting some practices that are contrary to Catholic doctrine.
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Funny; the Catholic Church didn’t have any problem not valuing human life during the Inquisition period of history !!!
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This wil be a public relations nightmare for the Catholic Church. How embarrassing!
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“It’s a much bigger deal than that.”
Not to me it isn’t, and that’s all that matters. This country was founded on the basis of freedom of religion, which also means freedom from religion. That means you should keep your religion to yourself, and I’ll keep mine to myself. It’s simple, really.
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“It’s a much bigger deal than that.â€
“Not to me it isn’t, and that’s all that matters.”
So that is your definition of morality? If it doesn’t bother you, that’s all that matters?! Think about that statement, Chuck. The same statement could have been made by a psyco or sociopath. If you decide your kid isn’t getting good enough grades in school, kill him. That is the logical extension of your reasoning. You’ve got to come up with some better justification than that. Considering the overwhelming percent of “Likes” you’re getting, we’re in trouble.
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I don’t think you are being fair nor consistent in your arguments, Chuck. The Bishop was addressing Catholics (of which I am not one) and not to you personally (as it’s apparent you are not Catholic) nor was he addressing all of society. Your statement was basically a straw-man argument. And really, you are the one who isn’t practicing what you believe. And I quote, “keep your religion to yourself, and I’ll keep mine to myself. It’s simple, really.” By espousing on here what people should do with their lives (by remaining silent and not sharing their opinions) you deny in exercise what you “preach” which is hypocritical. If this really is a value of yours (that people should just keep their religious views to themselves) then you really have no right to demand others to do likewise without compromising your own held beliefs. The Bishop was addressing Catholics, not all people, so in essence he was “keeping it to himself” by expressing his views to like-minded, mutually associated people who value what he has to say. You however, are jumping in and telling people who think differently than you what to do. Tell me, who is the one forcing their opinion on others? To me it seems obvious.
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And donating to the Catholic church is against my morals
because while some of the projects they take part in have merit they have covered up for their pediphile priests. I guess it’s a priority to protect children while they’re in the womb but once outside it’s ok to look the other way while these same children are sexually abused by priests.
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If donating to the Catholic church is against your morals, don’t. I don’t. I agree with you that they have covered up for pedophile priests. That is reprehensible. There simply is no excuse for that. However, that does not mean the statement by the bishops is wrong. A wrong does not make a right wrong.
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I’d really like to know what the priests tell their women parishioners each confession when they admit to using birth control – or, maybe the women don’t admit to it and it’s a sin by omission. If you come back each week admitting to the same sin and asking to be absolved, say your Hail Marys, then repeat the sin, are you being taught any morals at all? I think not. I also am pretty sure it says in the Bible, and I’m paraphrasing, “let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”
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There is a very good liklihood that the priest will not absolve her of this sin. If she doesn’t express true regret and resolve to never use birth control again, they will not absolve you. I know a woman whose husband had a vasectomy and their priest will not absolve her. She is poor and has 4 children with her husband already at the age of 31. Murderers can be absolved, but not her. I guess she will have to become Lutheran.
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Don’t be a fool! Wrap your tool!
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I don’t hate the Catholic church. I just have little respect for it. As for gays being pedophiles at a rate higher than heterosexuals, that’s a myth, a lie, propagated by people, like you Zardoz, who are supposed to be living by the words of the Bible which, if I am not mistaken, says it’s bad to lie. Of course, religious uber-zealots like to pick and choose which parts of the Bible are valid to them, and which are not.
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Chuck, I don’t notice you taking offense at the vile accusations against priests. But you should donate to the Catholic Church. Isn’t that your point? That people must donate to causes they disagree with?
PS: If March of Dimes supports aborting kids then it doesn’t really love kids.
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This isn’t about people donating to charities with which they disagree. It’s about people being told which entities they can and cannot donate to. That’s a significant difference. But that’s only part of the problem.
Equally troubling is that the bishops’ myoptic stance disregards all of the good that these charities do. Many, such as March of Dimes, actually save children’s lives or, at the very least, make their lives significantly better. Ironically, by issuing such a short-sighted decree, these bishop’s may actually be putting children’s lives at risk.
As someone alluded to earlier, the Catholic church seems less interested in children once they’re actually born.
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In fact the Church operates all kinds of charitable services for children both before and after they are born. So when can we expect a check from you? You should donate to us even though you don’t agree with us.
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Zardoz, I never thought I’d be congratulating you for making sense, but in this instance, you make moew sense than those whose sole goal seems to be to bash the Catholic church.
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March of Dimes? What’s wrong with these Bishops?
Jesus loves children, the March of Dimes loves children, what’s the problem? I can’t believe this garbage, with all that’s going on in the world, stop giving to the March of Dimes???
DISGRACEFUL and SHAMEFUL BEHAVIOR
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The March of Dimes loves children except when they are not “perfect,” in which case they say it okay to abort them.
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Did Steve Lee or editors at the Herald read the message from the bishops? Based on this article, I doubt it. The PDF which shows the bishops actual letter, asks Catholics to be prudent in their donations and be mindful of Catholic teachings when making donations. Later, it gives a list of charities that Catholic “entities” should not support and gives reasons for this. Since the bishops are the heads of the ND churches, they would seemingly have the authority to ask those churches not to donate to some causes. One of the charities which Steve Lee mentioned was Planned Parenthood. Unfortunately, this did not make the bishops list as Steve Lee reported (unless the wrong list is on the Herald’s linked PDF). Perhaps, Steve Lee should write a blog, that way it wouldn’t matter if what he wrote was true.
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This is a quote from the Bishop’s letter.
“Church teaching: All human life is sacred and must be protected. This is why we should not support or endorse
individuals and organizations that provide, promote, or advocate for abortion, contraception, “reproductive rights/
family planning,†or embryonic stem cell research.”
Get it-Reproductive rights/family planning.
Technically it’s not on the ‘List’ put I think it’s self explanatory.
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My point is not that Catholics support Planned Parenthood, my point is that the story is written about a letter that specifically lists a group of organizations that support issues that are contrary to Catholic teaching. As such, the report ought to have focused on those organizations that were listed rather than those that were not. If another source was in fact used, I would have liked to see it attributed in the story. Another story, with more research involved, might focus on a more complete list. My assumption is that Catholics are opposed to Planned Parenthood also, but how would one know? Because Steve Lee says it is true?
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Justine, I’m going to give you a heads up with Jeff. In his mind he is correct on every issue, regardless of debate, or in this case faith. In this instance, I agree with you 100%, there is nothing shocking about the bishops statements in the letter it is just another reason for the so called tolerant to look down their noses at Catholics.
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But if you don’t do anything with your beliefs, then what’s the point? Anti-Catholics can go around all day belittling the Catholic Church, so I can defend it.
And “freedom of religion” is about protecting religion from government, not protecting people from hearing things they don’t want to hear.
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This should really come as no surprise to anyone that is Catholic. It’s been long apparent that the Catholic Church is against any type of abortion, and I for one would have to agree. Even though a group may save a life, or make one better, who is that group to also say that an aborted fetus does not have the right to live. Again I’m amazed by the tolerance of some of you, everyone has the right to their own opinion, but the Catholic bashing is ridiculous.
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When Bishop Aquila required, not recommended, which candidates to vote for in the 2008 election, the Fargo Diocese violated the conditions of their tax exempt status. As an American taxpayer, I demand that the Church pay it’s share of taxes owed. The Church has violated tax law and must be held accountable.
The Catholic Church in many areas of the US has committed tax fraud. Political cowardice prevents the IRS from enforcing tax law. Criminal tax evasion, covering up and providing a fertile culture for child molesters. How many crimes is the Church allowed to perpetrate before they are held accountable? Change will happen when they get hit where it hurts most – in the bank account! Pay up what you owe the US Treasury Bishop Aquila! I am certain your Higher Power will hold you accountable if the IRS won’t!
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carcassparker said, “When Bishop Aquila required, not recommended, which candidates to vote for in the 2008 election ….”
Please provide for us a link to the list of actual candidate names that the Bishop of Fargo required Catholics to vote for in the 2008 election. Because you are quite correct in your tax law accusation, if such a list exists.
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The bishop did not do that. Carcass is willing to use falsehoods in his bigoted attack on the Church.
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He’s getting close to the issue of weather churches should get taz exempt status. The Catholic church has flirted with this issue for long enough. Maybe the IRS should step in and look at all churches to see if they are too politicaly involved to get tax exempt status.
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Why hasn’t Christ stepped in and atomized the pope for being ridiculous and casting down the rest of the church by opening a wide chasm to the center of the earth and pushing all the rest of the priests into it?
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Anyone in authority can easily direct a vote for a political candidate(“a mortal sin if not in compliance”) without specifically naming the candidate. The Bishop has a higher moral standard than to use slimy political rhetoric to try to avoid responsibility. Check the news about this issue in the Fargo Forum and Grand Forks Herald in the fall of 2008 before you call me a liar. I spoke about this commonly known issue with a US Senator. Who is your source that can prove this didn’t happen? Check your facts Tom!
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Your denial is so strong, you must be Catholic, Zardoz. Check it out. Can you google?
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The Catholic Church is actually the “Anti-Christ” of prophecy. No more anti-christian organization exists on the globe, except, possibly, the right-wing, evangelicals!
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