Tag Archives: roman catholic church

Pope wants you to stop popping out babies — but don’t even think about using birth control

Pope wants you to stop popping out babies — but don’t even think about using birth control

By on 20 Jan 2015commentsShare

Yesterday, in a huge change of position for Ye Olde Catholic Churche, Pope “Swaggy F.” Francis spoke out against people reproducing “like rabbits.”

From BBC:

He replied with an unexpected turn of phrase: “Some people think that — excuse my expression here — that in order to be good Catholics we have to be like rabbits.”

“No. Parenthood is about being responsible. This is clear.”

Thanks, Papa! Abandoning the “be fruitful and multiply” and “every sperm is sacred” view of reproduction is a crucial step toward a more reasonable approach to population growth. And since addressing climate change also means ensuring that those disproportionately affected by it — women, minorities, people in developing countries — aren’t continuously trapped in cycles of poverty and suffering, we are especially pleased to see the Leviathan-esque Catholic church take a slow, creaky turn in the right direction.

However, an excellent way to two-fer-one your climate- and gender-equality goals is to give women access to contraception and reproductive healthcare. Around the world, an estimated 222 million women want but don’t have access to modern methods of birth control. So: Where does the Pope stand on birth control?

Still “firmly against,” per the BBC report. No surprises there, as his position is consistent with the rest of the Church: In the U.S., bishops are even trying to abolish sterilization procedures — the second-most popular form of birth control in the country, with 15.5 percent of reproductive-aged women choosing to get their tubes tied — from Catholic hospitals. With this and other forms of contraception off the table for practicing Catholics, that leaves so-called “natural” methods — or as I like to call it, the “Pull Out and Pray Plan.” These are not nearly as dependable as long-acting contraceptives or hormonal birth control.

To declare — after millennia of advocating for the exact opposite — that people stop popping out kids willy-nilly while simultaneously refusing to support modern contraception is the equivalent of asking someone to build a house with their hands tied behind their back. It makes absolutely zero sense. In the race to catch up to women of the 21st century, it looks like the Catholic Church got stuck somewhere around 1912.

Cool! At this rate, we’ll see you guys around 2400 — but all life on Earth may have sizzled away by then, so maybe we won’t see you at all.

Source:
Pope Francis: No Catholic need to breed like ‘rabbits’

, BBC.

Share

Please

enable JavaScript

to view the comments.

Find this article interesting?

Donate now to support our work.

Get stories like this in your inbox

AdvertisementAdvertisement

Original source: 

Pope wants you to stop popping out babies — but don’t even think about using birth control

Posted in Anchor, FF, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Pope wants you to stop popping out babies — but don’t even think about using birth control

Is 2015 the year Pope Francis defeats climate change?

Is 2015 the year Pope Francis defeats climate change?

By on 29 Dec 2014commentsShare

At the very beginning of 2014, we reported that Pope Francis had begun drafting a big green manifesto to guide the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics in their interactions with creation — that is, pretty much everything they do. As the year draws to a close, the environmental edict has at last been scheduled for publication next March, on the heels of a papal visit to Tacloban, the Philippine city most thoroughly destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.

Pope Francis cannot be blamed for the slow progress on his big encyclical, a letter from the papacy to all bishops of the Roman Catholic Church. He was busy getting shit done in 2014. Just in the past few weeks, he’s helped put the U.S. and Cuba back on speaking terms, and used his traditional Christmas speech to sharply criticize Vatican officials for their gossiping, power-hungry ways.

The forthcoming encyclical on climate change and human ecology is so important to Francis that he plans to distribute the 50- to 60-page document to the whole Catholic world, from priests to parishioners. The Guardian‘s John Vidal reports that this pronouncement is a key piece of the Holy Father’s grand plan to influence next year’s United Nations climate talks in Paris, where the world’s countries will try to end 20 years of climate change disagreement. Also on the docket for 2015: a trip to New York in September to meet with other global religious leaders, and then address the U.N.’s general assembly as it sets new anti-poverty and environmental goals.

No contents of the encyclical have been leaked, which these days means the procrastinating pope probably hasn’t written a word yet. But we can make some guesses as to what he might pontificate based on what he’s had to say this year on nature, humanity, and our economic system — which His Holiness equates with idolatry.

In May, on knowledge:

Creation is not a property that we can rule over at will, or, even less, the property of only a few. … Safeguard creation. Because if we destroy creation, creation will destroy us!

In October, to landless peasants from Latin America and Asia, as well as other social activists:

An economic system centered on the god of money needs to plunder nature to sustain the frenetic rhythm of consumption that is inherent to it. … The monopolising of lands, deforestation, the appropriation of water, inadequate agro-toxics are some of the evils that tear man from the land of his birth. Climate change, the loss of biodiversity and deforestation are already showing their devastating effects in the great cataclysms we witness.

And in November, from a letter to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott:

[T]here are constant assaults on the natural environment, the result of unbridled consumerism, and this will have serious consequences for the world economy.

Capitalism is an easy punching bag for anyone who thinks people and other life are more important than material wealth, but coming up with something better and a plan to get there peacefully is, of course, the complicated part. Perhaps the pontifical proclamation will lay out his vision for transforming the world economy into something, say, smaller and less destructive. In which case I’m converting to Catholicism.

Source:
Pope Francis’s edict on climate change will anger deniers and US churches

, The Guardian.

Pope Francis to tackle global warming, encyclical due in March

, Catholic Online.

Share

Please

enable JavaScript

to view the comments.

Find this article interesting?

Donate now to support our work.

Get stories like this in your inbox

AdvertisementAdvertisement

Read more:  

Is 2015 the year Pope Francis defeats climate change?

Posted in Anchor, Everyone, FF, GE, LG, ONA, PUR, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Is 2015 the year Pope Francis defeats climate change?

Pope Francis: ‘We Are Custodians of Creation’

Pope Francis lays out a religious and scientific argument for caring for the planet. Source article:  Pope Francis: ‘We Are Custodians of Creation’ ; ;Related ArticlesHefty Global Goals from a Vatican Meeting: Stabilizing the Climate, Energy for All and an Inclusive EconomyCan a Pope Help Sustain Humanity and Ecology?Exploring the Social and Environmental Challenges as Brazil Prepares for Two Sports Spectacles ;

Continue reading here – 

Pope Francis: ‘We Are Custodians of Creation’

Posted in alo, alternative energy, Citizen, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, Monterey, ONA, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Pope Francis: ‘We Are Custodians of Creation’

Dot Earth Blog: Pope Francis: ‘We Are Custodians of Creation’

Pope Francis lays out a religious and scientific argument for caring for the planet. More:  Dot Earth Blog: Pope Francis: ‘We Are Custodians of Creation’ ; ;Related ArticlesNote to Olympic Sailors: Don’t Fall in Rio’s WaterCatastrophic Floods Hit Balkans, Raising Fears for Land Mines and Power PlantsOutlasting Dynasties, Now Emerging From Soot ;

Link:

Dot Earth Blog: Pope Francis: ‘We Are Custodians of Creation’

Posted in Citizen, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, Monterey, ONA, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Dot Earth Blog: Pope Francis: ‘We Are Custodians of Creation’

Dot Earth Blog: Can a Pope Help Sustain Humanity and Ecology?

green4us

All New Square Foot Gardening, Second Edition – Mel Bartholomew

Rapidly increasing in popularity, square foot gardening is the most practical, foolproof way to grow a home garden. That explains why author and gardening innovator Mel Bartholomew has sold more than two million books describing how to become a successful DIY square foot gardener. Now, with the publication of All New Square Foot Gardening, Second Edition , t

iTunes Store
The Home Organizing Workbook – Meryl Starr

Failing the Mary Poppins’ snap-the-fingers approach to cleaning, here’s the next best thing: an utterly practical handbook that offers lasting results for anyone looking to banish clutter from every room in the house. Home organizer par excellence Meryl Starr offers up her hardworking organizing solutions in The Home Organizing Workbook , a straigh

iTunes Store
Warhammer: Wood Elves – Games Workshop

For millennia, the Wood Elves have dwelt beneath the leaves of Athel Loren, defending their greenwood home from the perils of the world. When the King in the Woods sounds his horn, longbows are strung and spears are sharpened as the hosts of Athel Loren assemble beneath ancestral banners. In the depths of the forests, enchantresses sing songs of awakening, r

iTunes Store
Cat Mastery – Tony Buffington

Our cats live happier, healthier lives in our homes when we understand their natural history, behaviors, and how the world looks to them. Cat Mastery shows you who cats are, why they do the things they do, and the simple, essential things you can do to make sure they feel safe and stimulated in your home. Written by veterinarian Dr. Tony Buffington, pr

iTunes Store
Same Place, More Space – Karl Champley

Master carpenter and DIY Network host Karl Champley offers 50 home improvement projects to maximize space in any dwelling, no matter how big or small. Keeping an eye on style and economy, Champley outlines tools, materials, and techniques for searching out and using hidden-away space to achieve incredible results. Readers will learn how to carve out shelving

iTunes Store
How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, says, “Yes,

iTunes Store
Backyard Vegetable Gardening Guide – Larry Stebbins

This monthly organic vegetable gardening guide leads the beginner and veteran gardener through the seasons. It begins with how to plan and design a garden to many other tips and suggestions that will ensure a bountiful harvest. Although it was written primarily for the Colorado front range, it is widely applicable to most mid to northern states.

iTunes Store
Inside of a Dog – Alexandra Horowitz

The bestselling book that asks what dogs know and how they think, now in paperback. The answers will surprise and delight you as Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist, explains how dogs perceive their daily worlds, each other, and that other quirky animal, the human. Horowitz introduces the reader to dogs’ perceptual and cognitive abilities and then draw

iTunes Store
White Dwarf Issue 14: 3 May 2014 – White Dwarf

The Wild Riders charge forth! The Wood Elves get reinforcements this issue, and we put them to the test in the Battle of Fell Glade, a battle report against the vile Beastmen. We’re also proud to present a brand-new minigame for the new Treeman miniature called ‘The Defence of Athel Loren’. About this Series: White Dwarf is Games Workshop

iTunes Store
How to Paint Citadel Miniatures: Wood Elves – Games Workshop

For millennia, the Wood Elves have dwelt beneath the leaves of Athel Loren, defending their greenwood home from the perils of the world. When the King in the Woods sounds his horn, longbows are strung and spears are sharpened as the hosts of Athel Loren assemble beneath ancestral banners. In the depths of the forests, enchantresses sing songs of awakening, r

iTunes Store

Source article:  

Dot Earth Blog: Can a Pope Help Sustain Humanity and Ecology?

Posted in alo, Citadel, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, LAI, Monterey, ONA, organic, PUR, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Dot Earth Blog: Can a Pope Help Sustain Humanity and Ecology?