ChristianityVille : Week In Review

by Patrick Allen ... patrickwilliamallen@comcast.net

Using the Bible as a club to discriminate against anyone doesn't seem to be a core Christian value, but it is used repeatedly and clearly demonstrates Christian bigotry. Two items surfaced this past week which deserve your attention and deliberative thought: Illinois Bishop to Exorcise Marriage Equality Demons. Exorcising marriage equality demons sounds like something that would come from the mouths of Pat Robertson and Sarah Palin, not a sitting Bishop in the Catholic church. Next thing you know, Bishops will spend millions of parishioners dollars to upgrade their living quarters and purchase $20,000 bath tubs ... never mind. This selfish and self-rewarding behavior by leaders in the church raises the question; Does a $20,000 bathtub make you cleaner than a bathtub from Lowe's or Home Depot? Pope Francis Is Pissing Off the Mafia. And how 'bout this new Pope? He washes his own socks and the feet of the less fortunate. This guy is turning the church upside down ... drinking water from a paper cup rather than expensive whiskey and wine from a golden chalice. Is the wildly popular Pope Francis angering the Italian mafia? Credible sources warn his anti-corruption reforms are cutting into their profits.

Illinois Bishop to Exorcise Marriage Equality Demons Marriage Equality was embraced by two more states last week: Hawaii and Illinois have become the 16th and 17th states (including D.C.) to do so. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn will hold a ceremony for the signing today, November 20 at the University of Illinois. Gov. Quinn chose the date to give LGBT Illinoisans something to be thankful for. That date is also the Transgender Day of Remembrance, when transgender victims of violence are memorialized. Springfield Bishop Paprocki Is Mad. While supporters of marriage equality will be celebrating this achievement, there will also be a ceremony of another kind going on at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield. There, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki will be offering Prayers of Supplication and Exorcism in Reparation for the Sin of Same-sex Marriage. According to Bishop Poprocki, It is scandalous that so many Catholic politicians are responsible for enabling the passage of this legislation and even twisting the words of the Pope to rationalize their actions despite the clear teaching of the church. All politicians now have the moral obligation to work for the repeal of this sinful and objectionable legislation. We must pray for deliverance from this evil which has [1] penetrated our state and our church. Bishop Paprocki Attacks Catholic Politicians Who Voted For Equality. When the Illinois House was debating the bill they eventually passed, Speaker Michael Madigan cited the Popes September comments.[2] It seems that House Speaker Madigan and Gov. Quinn, who are both Catholic, understand the point of Francis remark. But Bishop Paprocki apparently does not. Unlike these compassionate Catholics, he focuses on sin. He notes that both Quinn and Madigan were morally complicit as co-operators in facilitating this grave sin. He said that is was scandalous that so many Catholic politicians were responsible for letting people love who they love enabling the passage of this horrible legislation. Analysis. Bishop Paprocki has some inner demons he would be better off dealing with than using the pulpit and the press to attack same gender relations. He has the constitutional right of free speech to quote about Gods mercy while calling love evil and a grave sin. But, what he is doing is just showing how hateful he is.

Pope Francis Is Pissing Off the Mafia Will Pope Francis wake up with a horses head in his bed or end up sleeping with the fishes? Neither, according to Vatican insiders. Some of the Italian Mafia is reportedly very upset with the new pope and they havewaysof dealing with people that upset them. <cue Godfather music> This Hollywood sounding story is based on a warning delivered by well known (in Italy) anti-mob prosecutor, Nicola Gratteri. Gratteri has the (mis)fortune of working in southern Italy where the local mafia (the mafia is not a single organization), is very active and theyre rumored to be expressing their displeasure with Pope Francis financial reforms: Those who up to now have fed off the power and wealth coming directly from the Church are nervous, upset, he said in an interview published by the newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano. The Pope, Gratteri said, is dismantling the Vaticans economic centers. If the mafia bosses can trip him up, they wont hesitate. Trip him up? One has to wonder what that means. It wouldnt be the first time in history that a Pope was on the losing side of an argument. Is Pope Francis the Batman of Popes? Who else could make the mafia this nervous? Hes rich, hes idealistic and he fights corruption? He even has his own tricked out bulletproof car: The Popemobile! In other words, Pope Francis is Batman. All he needs are some Pope-arangs to throw at bad guys and hes good to go. That, and an underage sidekick named Altar Boy. But seriously, this is one the many reasons why people all over the world (who are not American conservatives) have embraced this Pope. Its no secret that the Catholic Church has been riddled with corruption for decades (centuries?). No organization with that much money is free from financial shenanigans. Lets be honest, they cant even deal with pedophiles in an aboveboard fashion. Were supposed to be shocked that the mafia is involved with their money? And thats what makes Pope Francis so dangerous. He is, by all appearances, a true believer in the written words attributed to Christ. A man like that is bad for business: One of his first steps was to install a special commission tasked with investigating the Vaticans bank and another to probe Vatican finances in general. The pope has also called in a US consultancy, Promontory Financial Group, to conduct an external review of the Vatican banks money-laundering rules and, more recently, to look into the internal agency handling its many real estate holdings. A lot of people stand to lose a lot of money under Pope Francis. His security detail may be losing sleep at night. Then again, keep your eyes peeled on the nighttime rooftops to see if a mysterious figure dressed in ceremonial robes is skulking about, fighting crime
[1] Diocese of Springfield, Illinoise http://www.dio.org/communications/press-releases [2] http://wdtprs.com/blog/2013/09/pope-francis-comments-on-homosexuality-in-the-big-interview/ Reference : Addicting Info http://www.addictinginfo.org/ T. Steelman, Justin Rosario

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