Interesting to see these people constantly trash Catholicism yet say nothing about the great discrimination in the Islamic faith. You think women have it tough in the Vatican? Take a trip to Mecca or Medina.
The Catholic church has transformed itself. The Enlightenment, Galileo and other events in the past have really helped the Catholic church move forward. Yes they did try to suppress Galileo and the notion that we actually did revolve around the sun, but it has softened its positions in the recent years. Today's Catholic church is much more inclusive and open minded than the Catholic church of a thousand years ago. Remember, the Catholic church brought law and order to many places in the world, including Ireland.
Those who are brining up the pedophelia issue are vastly exaggerating it. Yes there were some priests who engaged in this outrageous behavior, but they were a tiny fraction. The Church has taken steps towards compensating the victims and removing those Priests from power. They realize that the public won't tolerate this type of behavior, no matter what the institution is.
About gay marriage: Let this be clear, all major religions of the world are opposed to gay marriage and think the behavior of gays is immoral. In fact, most people feel the same way.
The catholics have been steadily losing youth and new converts to the evangelical movement everywhere because of their perceived strict religiousness and but lack of perceived spirituality. Youth want personal experience, and not church dogma.
Wrong, the Catholic faith is one of the fastest spreading religions in the world. There is a revival among young catholics around the world. The youth loved the late Pope John Paul and he loved them. You simply don't understand what is taking place. The youth are attracted to the Catholic church because its not wishy washy and has firm beliefs.
An orthodox pope with even more emphasis on the 'rules' is the last thing the church needs to become attractive to today's youth and to help build the church for future generations.
Wrong again, the late Pope John Paul was a very conservative Pope yet he enjoyed great support from the youth. The Church is very attractive to today's youth.
Maybe there is still hope then that the North won't be lost.
The South is a lost cause for sure though.
Why is the South a lost cause? Because they are religious people who attend Church regularly?
And guess what, the North is just as religious as the south. So I guess thats a lost cause as well.
I believe that the Catholic church is the last true place where Christianity is pure and hasn't changed its beliefs because other people simply don't like it. The same cannot be said of other factions of the Christian faith. Although the Evangelical denominations from the conservative wing are pretty strict as well. The Catholic Church conforms much closely to the biblical data and offers a history of Christianty.