Sex tourism thriving in Bible Belt

[LCMS_No_More]

Fitz:

You must feel alone in your opinions. You are not. However, this is not a pollitical argument. I see it differently. I apologize if you feel picked on being a liberal, if that is what you are getting at. I think that being liberal in caring about others and in some areas of social thinking is good. However, liberal politics as a whole make me angry.

This is the thing. I’m not really that liberal. Economically, sure, I’m a bit to the left of many people because I don’t believe in individualistic capitalism (as the Catechism says) but I do believe in capitalism. When it comes to public morals, I’m quite conservative.

If your unpopular opinion is against Catholic teaching you won’t stand a chance on this forum. Most people here adhere to the catechism. When the catechism gets involved, then our political allegiance falls by the wayside. When you go on unpolitical threads and you will see some of us that never agree on politics are totally in allignment with each other on matters of greater importance.

Which I welcome! I’ll be received into the Church this Easter Vigil. I am dismayed when I see what appears to be kind of thinking that protestants tend to advocate in the political realm. The Catholic Church is definitely not as right-wing on economics and some believe…yet she’s definitely not left-wing, either.

On the other hand, I really don’t buy the Republicans “morals” stance because I believe their politically motivated so as to marry Christian morals to corporatist economics (but not real capitalism). Never a good thing.

No one should be insulting to anyone. Sarcasm is allowed until it is vicious. When you feel that the moderators are missing something, then you need to point it out to them. They have the final word and they are very good.

I’m not speaking to mods. I’m speaking to this “gang up on the guy we disagree with” method that would drive anyone but the most stout hearted away screaming for mercy as they go.

 

[Ani_Ibi]

LCMS_No_More:

The Catholic Church is definitely not as right-wing on economics and some believe…yet she’s definitely not left-wing, either.

The Catholic Church is neither liberal nor conservative. Notions of orthodoxy or heterodoxy as to the points of view of Catholics, however, may be germane.

 

[LCMS_No_More]

Ani Ibi:

The Catholic Church is neither liberal nor conservative. Notions of orthodoxy or heterodoxy as to the points of view of Catholics, however, may be germane.

On doctrinal matters, yes.

That’s why I hate it when people talk about heterodox bishops being “liberal” and orthodox ones being “conservative.”

On politics, there is no orthodoxy or heterodoxy. There is right/left and authoritarian/libertarian. Republicans tend to be authoritarian-right on moral issues and libertarian-right on economics issues. Democrats tend to be libertarian-left on moral issues and authoritarian center-left on economic issues (socialists and communists are to the authoritarian-left on economics). The Church’s teaching seems to take an authoritarian-right view on morals issues and a centrist view on economics (that is, neither authoritarian or libertarian and neither left nor right).

How one works that out is left to each person. I find the libertarian-right economics views of the Republicans to be amoral and unchristian but I am appaled by the libertarian-left moral views of the Democrats, so I am left without a real party to join.

 

[vern_humphrey]

LCMS_No_More:

The Church’s teaching seems to take an authoritarian-right view on morals issues and a centrist view on economics (that is, neither authoritarian or libertarian and neither left nor right).

How one works that out is left to each person. I find the libertarian-right economics views of the Republicans to be amoral and unchristian but I am appaled by the libertarian-left moral views of the Democrats, so I am left without a real party to join.

The Church does not decide which party you join, but does require you to participate in the political process.

The Church also teaches that not all evils are equal. Among the greatest evils is the murder of the innocent.

So to those who belong to a party, the Church imposes on them the duty to move their party away from the horror of abotion. To those who are independent, the Church says the moral imperative is to always seek to defeat abortion.

 

[Ani_Ibi]

LCMS_No_More:

On doctrinal matters, yes.

The Church is neither liberal nor conservative on any matter.

LCMS_No_More:

That’s why I hate it when people talk about heterodox bishops being “liberal” and orthodox ones being “conservative.”

Same here. These sorts of statements operate to divide the Church where the Church has never authorized such division.

 

[Ani_Ibi]

vern humphrey:

The Church does not decide which party you join, but does require you to participate in the political process.

The Church also teaches that not all evils are equal. Among the greatest evils is the murder of the innocent.

So to those who belong to a party, the Church imposes on them the duty to move their party away from the horror of abotion. To those who are independent, the Church says the moral imperative is to always seek to defeat abortion.

Yes, and this is not easy to do. Nevertheless it is our duty as Catholics not to avoid this work. In the last Canadian federal election, there was much angst among Catholics – and other people of faith – as to which party most represented our values.

The answer was that no party did. I personally had to strike “deals” with various candidates in terms of making incremental progress against abortion. Canadians stand to learn a lot from Americans in the fight against abortion.

 

[vern_humphrey]

Ani Ibi:

Yes, and this is not easy to do. Nevertheless it is our duty as Catholics not to avoid this work. In the last Canadian federal election, there was much angst among Catholics – and other people of faith – as to which party most represented our values.

The answer was that no party did. I personally had to strike “deals” with various candidates in terms of making incremental progress against abortion. Canadians stand to learn a lot from Americans in the fight against abortion.

That is in fact the Catholic position – we realize we cannot solve all of man’s problems at a single stroke. What we must to is prioritize, and make incremental progress on the most important problems.