Catholic Church and poverty

[FreeTony]

So, thanks to work, I'm stuck in a hotel abroad watching BBC World. We're in Manila talking about large family sizes and how this is preventing people escaping from the slums, with many even ignoring feeding some of their children to feed the most important ones.

Of course, the Catholic Church is at the heart of this.

Interviewing the local Archbishop, he says:

You need to find a natural way of not having loads of babies e.g. abstinence. So have sex with your wife twice in your life, and that's fine?

Any government that offers free contraception to the poor is a "dictatorship".

If Catholics do use contraception, then it might be ok, depending on what God they believe in. It just depends on their relationship with their God. WTF?


It just seems to be a tacit admission that the teachings are wrong, but they're not going to say it in case they get in trouble with those above them. Office politics on a grand scale. What is worse is that most richer Catholics just ignore these rules because they realise they are stupid and having ten children might not enable them to have a decent life.

I'm sure they'd change their tune if you could get a ten year old choirboy pregnant.

[abaris]

It just seems to be a tacit admission that the teachings are wrong, but they're not going to say it in case they get in trouble with those above them. Office politics on a grand scale. What is worse is that most richer Catholics just ignore these rules because they realise they are stupid and having ten children might not enable them to have a decent life.

The problem is twofold. For one, you have these societies where having many children basically meant being cared for when falling sick or getting old. That's no longer true in this day and age, but the traditional belief still sticks like glue. Btw, it's not so long that this was the case in our western societies too. Farmers tried to father as many as possible to have additional hands at their disposal. Especially when it was a given that some of the children died at a very young age.

On the other hand you have the church preaching that contraception is evil. So two poisons actually make up the cocktail of poverty.

[Drich]

Do you really think less children= no poverity? I can think of at least 6 regions where Christianity is all but nonexistant, and poverity still abounds.

Poverity is a by product of the distribution of wealth. You can't have the rich (Meaning wester culture aka you) without someone taking one for the team/Poor people. So long as we live in our current way of life we will always have the poor. Children or rather an over abundance of them is a symptom not a cause.

[vorlon13]

No particular surprise the catholics are cherry picking the wrong verses, or just making up shit, to justify promulgation of their various edicts, strictures, rules, laws commandments and dogma.

Slavering horny priests aren't going to restrict their own access to little boys are they ?

[Spooky]

Do you really think less children= no poverity? I can think of at least 6 regions where Christianity is all but nonexistant, and poverity still abounds.

Poverity is a by product of the distribution of wealth. You can't have the rich (Meaning wester culture aka you) without someone taking one for the team/Poor people. So long as we live in our current way of life we will always have the poor. Children or rather an over abundance of them is a symptom not a cause.

I believe he's saying: less children = less poverty.
Remember people, everything you say can and will be misquoted than held against you.

This ban on birth control is indeed archaic and needs to be lifted.

[TheRealJoeFish]

Do you really think less children= no poverity? I can think of at least 6 regions where Christianity is all but nonexistant, and poverity still abounds.

Poverity is a by product of the distribution of wealth. You can't have the rich (Meaning wester culture aka you) without someone taking one for the team/Poor people. So long as we live in our current way of life we will always have the poor. Children or rather an over abundance of them is a symptom not a cause.

Yeah, I don't think he implied "less children = no poverty."

A poor family in a third-world country is still going to make, maybe, $500 a year while the rich in the country make $500 an hour or $500 a minute.

But isn't it obvious that splitting that $500, say, between two parents and one child is going to be a hell of a lot easier than splitting it between two parents and seven children?

[Minimalist]

Do you really think less children= no poverity? I can think of at least 6 regions where Christianity is all but nonexistant, and poverity still abounds.

Poverity is a by product of the distribution of wealth. You can't have the rich (Meaning wester culture aka you) without someone taking one for the team/Poor people. So long as we live in our current way of life we will always have the poor. Children or rather an over abundance of them is a symptom not a cause.

And I bet in those other places some other dumbfuck (can you say islam) religion predominates. Xtianity is not special, drippy. It is just as stupid as all the others.


But you do finally have a point about the distribution of wealth.



Too bad it is the wrong point.

[Thumpalumpacus]

In 2002, the Catholic Church opened the doors for their new cathedral in Los Angeles. It cost $190 million to build. One hundred ninety million dollars. According to Wiki:

The prices for some cathedral furnishings have also caused consternation. $5 million was budgeted for the altar, the main bronze doors cost $3 million, $2 million was budgeted for the wooden ambo (lectern) and $1 million for the tabernacle. $1 million was budgeted for the cathedra (bishop's chair), $250,000 for the presider's chair, $250,000 for each deacon's chair, and $150,000 for each visiting bishops' chair, while pews cost an average of $50,000 each. The cantor's stand cost $100,000 while each bronze chandelier/speaker cost $150,000.

Some about a camel and a needle comes to mind.

[SteelCurtain]

St. Mary's Cathedral Douses Homeless who Sleep on the Steps.

Bet Jesus would be proud.

[FatAndFaithless]

SURPRISE BAPTISM MOTHERFUCKERS.