Well this ought to piss off the Vatican

[Reforged]

Well, the pope himself says condoms are immoral and hes the head of the catholic church and supposedly Gods representative on earth. I mean its a great thing what shes doing but why continue to be a catholic? She has to know this is going to mean excommunication.

[Ziploc Surprise]

Well, the pope himself says condoms are immoral and hes the head of the catholic church and supposedly Gods representative on earth. I mean its a great thing what shes doing but why continue to be a catholic? She has to know this is going to mean excommunication.

I don't know why she is still a Catholic. Perhaps she thinks she would have a better chance at changing the RCC if she fought as a Catholic. Honestly I think there's some strategic reason for her doing this. If you notice on the video her words are chosen carefully and it appears as if she's had some coaching. What comes through this coaching though is when her voice cracks when she talks about human suffering. I think her desire to help women, the children who can be orphaned by their mothers dying in childbirth, and the children who could go hungry, uneducated, and unhealthy because limited resources are spread to thin, is genuine.

If the RCC stands up and challenges her it will be interesting to see who has more power.

[Minimalist]

The "power" of the church is an illusion. The world needs to abolish the fiction that it is a "state" and treat them as what they are. One more criminal enterprise.

[Ziploc Surprise]

The "power" of the church is an illusion. The world needs to abolish the fiction that it is a "state" and treat them as what they are. One more criminal enterprise.

I'm talking more about how much power they have over their followers. Not just in mind manipulation but in political manipulation. I'm also curious about how they could stage a Public Relations war against the Gates's and their cause. Given how they failed horribly (and continue to do so) at dealing with the sex scandals I don't think they will be able to go far in the secular world but with the religious, that may be different. I don't know. I'm curious.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

You mean Bill Gate's wife? I would be more impressed if the concept of condoms had applied to his crappy software for the past 30 years.

Straw man and pretty idiotic thing to say.

[Autumnlicious]

Some people can never get over the fact that Bill Gates left Microsoft and managing it for good.

To them, their hate of him takes precedence over him and his wife's collaboration to vaccinate, educate and help the needy, the destitute, the unwanted.

Such goes forth from small minds.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

[/quote]The "power" of the church is an illusion.

Well no,it isn't actually. The Vatican is a de fcato state,with accredited embassies all over the world. The only non voting member of the UN, the Vatican nevertheless has representatives on dozens of UN councils and committees,where it exercises a great deal of influence.

The world needs to abolish the fiction that it is a "state"

Agreed,the Vatican does not meet ONE of criteria under international law used to define a state. The current situation began with the shameful Lateran Treaty of 1929, with Mussolini. The Church managed to extend the idea outside of Italy by chicanery and pure chutzpah.

The Catholic Church has protected itself as an institution above all else since the first Nicene Council (325 CE)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Lateran Treaty was one of the Lateran Pacts of 1929 or Lateran Accords, agreements made in 1929 between the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See, signed on February 11, 1929 and ratified by the Italian parliament on June 7, 1929, ending the "Roman Question". Italy was then under a Fascist government; the succeeding democratic governments have all upheld the treaty. The Lateran Pacts were in 1947 incorporated into the democratic Constitution of Italy.[1]

The pacts consisted of two documents, with four annexes:[2]

A political treaty recognising the full sovereignty of the Holy See in the State of Vatican City, which was thereby established, a document accompanied by the annexes:
A plan of the territory of the Vatican City State
A list and plans of the buildings with extraterritorial privilege and exemption from expropriation and taxes
A list and plans of the buildings with exemption from expropriation and taxes
A financial convention agreed on as a definitive settlement of the claims of the Holy See following the loss of its territories and property
A concordat regulating relations between the Catholic Church and the Italian state

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateran_Treaty

[Cato]

The "power" of the church is an illusion. The world needs to abolish the fiction that it is a "state" and treat them as what they are. One more criminal enterprise.

Min, why so nice? The RCC isn't just a criminal enterprise, they invented the concept of hierarcacal mob enforcement.

[Anomalocaris]

RCC is the ultimate VICE, Vertically Integrated Criminal Enterprise.

[Taqiyya Mockingbird]

The "power" of the church is an illusion. The world needs to abolish the fiction that it is a "state" and treat them as what they are. One more criminal enterprise.

Not to mention the world's largest and most powerful pedophile ring.